I love Aqua Too!

Besides the color pink, I also love aqua!  Aqua AND vintage makes it even better!

Just a few of my favorite aqua finds!

Enjoy the day!

Jen

It's a Quiet Sunday Here

Yesterday was a fun day!  First I ran in another 5k, this time my brother Rick joined me!  Last weekend he competed in a triathlon in Budapest!  I'm so proud of him, he came in 12th in his age category (and this was a huge event with athletes from all over the world!).

The other big event of the day was my daughter, Katherine's homecoming dance.  Her group of  friends gathered at their friend Shirley's house, so I went over there to take pictures of them.  They all looked so cute!   I then had to run off to olive garden to put my name in for a table for 15 at Olive Garden (I've been the chosen one for this fun (haha) job for a few years now!  The wait was 45-50 minutes, but I had one of my favorite magazines, Traditional Home,  to look through, plus I chatted with other people waiting for their tables!  Finally, about 15 minutes before their table was ready, the gang arrived and I was excused from my duties!

Our house is getting close to being an empty nest.  Pretty weird.  It's like it happened in a flash!  (Although time never seemed to be going fast enough when my two youngest, Mark and Katherine, were fighting all the time!).  My son Mark is a freshman at Ohio University, and  my older daughter, Lindsey, has been out of the house for quite awhile (she's 27).  So just Katherine, 17, here now!  I have mixed feelings about it.  Like I said, it just flew by.

But, I have to admit, it's kind of fun to just go out whenever my husband, Bob, and I want to!  Last night around 8:00 pm we decided to just run up to one of our favorite restaurants, Salmon Daves, and get a table at the bar and order appetizers (and I had the yummiest mango and basil martini).

So, what was I saying? Oh yeah, it's quiet here today.  I did make a delicious and easy casserole with some of the leftover spaghettti sauce that I had from a cross country dinner we had for Katherine and her cross country team (that was a loud group!).  So I didn't want the sauce to go to waste since there was so much leftover!

I sauteed onions and mushrooms in olive oil and butter and then added the sauce.  I added garlic salt, italian seasoning, and pepper flakes (I love the added "kick").  To my pot of boiling water I added whatever pasta I had, just to use it up.  I added some lasagna noodles (broken up), and some cute squiggly pasta, and this other favorite of Katherine's.  It's fun to just use whatever you have!

Oh-and I decided to add some heavy cream to the sauce (this is not a diet casserole!).

Then I mixed the cooked noodles with the sauce.  I put a layer of that in a casserole.  Then added lots of mozzerella cheese.  Then I added the rest of the noodle sauce combo.  Then more cheese, italian seasoning, freshly grated parmesano reggiano and popped it in the oven at 350 for about 20-25 minutes.

Soooo good!! I like to make things like this on Sunday for us to eat during the week for lunch.   Plus Bob will bring some to his Mom!

Anyways...I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Jen

I Won! Thanks so much PolkaDotSkies!

So Adorable!

Polka Dot Skies
Polka Dot Skies
Polka Dot Skies!

"Jenscloset"-no-that just does not have the same fun uplifting happy sound!

I just love that name-try it, say "polka dot skies" and see how happy it makes you feel!

Well, I am so glad I became a fan of PolkaDotSkies fan page (check it out!)  I won these oh-so-adorable cupcake hairbands!  My spin class friends will be so envious.  http://www.facebook.com/polkadotskies

You must check out Elizabeth's (she's the crafty creator of my cute prize) Etsy shop http://www.polkadotskies.etsy.com/ what great gifts these make (and Christmas will be here before you know it!  Perfect stocking stuffers!

Became a fan of Elizabeth's fan page!  Maybe you be a lucky winner like me!

Enjoy your weekend!

Jen

Here's a Screenshot

Bare with me while I try out this screenshot too!  Check out http://www.craftcult.com/ -pretty cool!

It worked!

My Necklace on a Front Page Treasury Today

It's so exciting when one of my Etsy shop items makes it to the front page treasury!  It happened today!  Thanks to my Twitter friends for alerting me to that...and helping me get this shot on my blog!

Pink Pink Pink!

Pink is one of my favorite colors!  To be pink and to also be vintage, is even better! 

Well, I also love vintage aqua, but I'll save that for another blog post!

Hazel Atlas

Flannel pj's

Jeannette Glass Shell Pink

Enjoy my collection of vintage pink!

I would also pay tribute to all the families that lost loved ones on September 11th.

Haeger

Etsy Vintage Team Blog

I am so excited about the Etsy Vintage Team Blog!  It's off and running and we'll have daily updates!  I'll be doing a little blog feature on china (like porcelain, not the country) tomorrow, so keep your eye out for that!  Here's the link http://www.etsyvintage.blogspot.com/

If you get a chance please check out our blog!  We have wonderful contributors, fun pictures, and it's just a darn cute blog!

While you're at it, why not follow us!?

Thanks so much!

Jen

Dakos (Greek Bread Salad)

Here's what was for lunch today!  Dakos Greek Salad, so yummy and fresh!  This is my husband, Bob's recipe (well, he got it somewhere, he didn't make it up).  I was his sous chef for this meal.  We pretend we're doing a cooking show, and I think this one went well.  If you love the food channel like we do you probably know all of the chefs.  Giada is always having friends over to share in her delicious meals, and I tried to pretend Bob was my friend for our pretend show, but he didn't say anything, so it was a really boring show.  Giada's friends talk.

1 loaf country bread, sliced into 1/2" thick slices
1 C greek olive oil (I used regular olive oil)
Salt & freshly ground pepper
1/4 C fresh lemon juice
1 T chopped fresh dill (I love the smell of dill!)
2 english cucumbers, quartered & cut into 1/2" dice (I used regular cucumber and scraped out some of the seeds)
2 ripe beefstake tomatoes, cut into 1/2" dice
1 red onion, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
12 oz feta cheese, crumbled (oh how I love feta cheese!)
I also added about 3/4 can of black olives, cut in half (original recipe didn't call for these, but I like the extra flavor and color)

Preheat the grill.  Brush the bread with oil on both sides and season with salt and pepper.  Grill bread on both sides until lightly golden brown. Remove the bread to a platter & let sit at room temperature to get slightly hard.

Meanwhile, whisk together 1 cup olive oil (I def used less), lemon juice, and dill in a medium bowl.  Season to taste, with salt & pepper (I didn't add any extra of this since there was enough salt going on with all the other ingredients).  Fold the cucumber, tomatoes, onion, and feta into the oil mixture and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes (I couldn't wait that long, I was hungry).  The recipe calls for you to spoon the bread into the mixture, but, if you know you'll have leftovers of this, you won't want to do that, since the bread will get soggy.  We just added the bread we wanted to our individual salads.  Garnish with additionaly dill and drizzle with chili oil, if desired (we didn't not add chili oil, but I bet it would be good!).  Serve immediately (geez, they make it sound like an emergency).

Enjoy! (Like how I threw in a pic of my Pyrex!?)

Jen

Happy Labor Day!

I have wanted to run in this area for awhile now, and today was a perfect day for it!  Absolutely gorgeous blue skies and a calm Lake Erie!

I will have more pictures posted on my flickr account http://www.flickr.jenscloset/ -be sure to check them out!

I went up there today with a goal of just having a nice run and checking out the scenery, but after getting there, I knew I needed to get my camera (which unfortunately, was at home); so after about a 20 minute run, I went home and grabbed my trusty camera!

I did a little more running and stopped for these pictures.  What a friendly place too!  I had a nice (but quick) chat with a few people while I was taking my pictures!

These were taken in Bay Village, Ohio (the town next to mine).  I love this town because it has a small town, friendly feel!  Things seem to go a little slower, more relaxed, in Bay!

So get out your camera, take some pictures of your beautiful scenery, and enjoy the weekend!

Happy Labor Day!

Jen

Frame the Lace

I just love vintage lace!  I had this long scarf-like ecru piece of lace, which has several holes in it, but I would never just toss anything like this out!

Even non-creative people like me can do this craft project!  Yes, I consider this a craft project in my little world!

I folded up the pretty lace, stuck it in an inexpensive frame covered with glass, and there you have it!

Jen's craft project!

Have fun!

Jen