In The Kitchen: Monterey Chicken

I ran across this recipe for Monterey Chicken posted on the blog, All Things Simple, some time ago on Pinterest and had to give it a try.  It passed the test because the Mister loves it, so I made it again for him recently and thought of sharing it with you dolls.  It is terribly simple to make, tastes wonderful, and is visually appealing.  I didn't have any colby jack cheese so I substituted cheddar and I have to say, I prefer it with the colby jack.  Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Out and About: Hometown Girl

The Mister and I had to go to my hometown to deliver some packing boxes to my daughter since she is moving.  I grew up in the neighboring town from where we live now and to say that its a small town is an understatement.  You know the old saying, "Blink and you will miss it", well it's talking about my hometown.  It covers about a 2 mile square radius.  It was the home of Dr. Charles T. Pepper who was the original inspiration for the soft drink Dr Pepper, or so some say.  You can read about the conflicting stories of the creation of Dr Pepper here.

It is a friendly town where everybody knows everybody, very rich in history and traditions.  You can read about the town's history here.  When the railroad came through, the town began to grow and was once known as the cabbage center of the world.  O. Winston Link photographed our little depot.

O. Winston Link photograph

It was one of his favorite photographs and one of three that he chose to go to the Library of Congress.

This is the depot today, it is in quite a state of disrepair.  A foundation has been formed with the purpose of acquiring, restoring, and maintaining the depot for the community.  You can visit this website to help by making a donation, or to read more about the Rural Retreat Depot.

While we were in Rural Retreat, we decided to treat each other to breakfast at Joey's Country Kitchen.  If you ever pass through Rural Retreat, Virginia, you have to eat at Joey's, and don't forget to try a slice of her famous peanut butter pie.  Yum!

After breakfast we thought we would go for a little drive around town.  Here are a few pictures from our drive.

We then thought we would go to the local antiques store and browse around.  I was so happy when I found this little gal and we promptly placed her on the dash of my car where she happily hulas away.

I also found some cute bangles - a girl can never have too many!

And this sweet set of books.

Overall, we had a very fun and relaxing day and I can't wait until we can hit the road again.

I'd So Wear That: A Fall Inspired Wardrobe

The change of seasons always make me want to have something new to wear so I wanted to share some wardrobe ideas with you lovelies.  I'm not set on one particular fashion era - I like to mix it up from day to day - so I think these outfits range from 30s style to 60s style.  What do you think, would you wear any of them?

Top, Skirt, Beret, Scarf, Boots

Suit, Blouse, Purse, Shoes

Dress, Jewelry, Purse, Shoes

Dress, Bangle, Sunglasses, Shoes

Dress, Hair Clip, Purse, Shoe

Dress, Tights, Purse, Shoe

Autumn Inspiration

Autumn is a season bursting with wonderful sounds, smells and colors.  Geese begin flying south, acorns fall to the ground, the rich aroma of apple cider, cinnamon & spices, the colorful blanket of leaves, the brilliant blue sky.  It is my favorite season and I am so thankful that I live in an area where I get to experience it in all its glory.

Another favorite of mine is Laura Ingalls Wilder.  I loved her books as a child and read them to my children when they were small.  Here is a poem of hers describing this glorious season.

“I strolled today down a woodland path –

A crow cawed loudly and flew away.

The sky was blue and the clouds were gold

And drifted before me fold on fold;

The leaves were yellow and red and brown

And patter, patter the nuts fell down,

On this beautiful, golden autumn day.

A squirrel was storing his winter hoard,

The world was pleasant; I lingered long,

The brown quails rose with a sudden whirr

And a little bundle, of eyes and fur,

Took shape of a rabbit and leaped away.

A little chipmunk came out to play

And the autumn breeze sang a wonder song.”

-Laura Ingalls Wilder

To get you thinking about the upcoming Autumn season, I put together a collection of images to inspire you.  I hope you enjoy them!

One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen

Adventures in Hair Extensions

I have been very busy lately with family issues plus I am feeling run down and under the weather today, so forgive me for being late with my posts.  Even so, I did want to let you dolls in on my new adventure.  I placed an order a few weeks ago for hair extensions with Glam Time.   I love having shorter hair as it lends itself nicely for those styles of the 50s and the 20s and 30s.  I can get some 40s and 60s styles in there too but I was wanting to be able to do some of the longer styles of those eras.  Think Veronica Lake or Brigitte Bardot.  

So, I ordered hair extensions to play with.  I chose to order from Glam Time because they offered high quality human hair at a reasonable cost, plus they had free international shipping.  My package arrived about 10 days after I placed my order.   I had intentionally ordered them a color that appeared lighter than my current hair color because I was afraid I would not be able to match my hair exactly and I planned to dye them to my color.  I ordered the Chestnut Brown #6 color but was a little surprised by just how light they actually were.  But no biggie, hopefully the dye would match up.  

I started out by dying the extensions with my usual color of choice.

I placed the extensions onto a sheet of aluminum foil to protect my counter tops and used my normal process of coloring my own hair.  After each piece was thoroughly saturated with color, I folded them up and let them sit the allotted processing time.

I then rinsed them and gently squeezed the water out, placing them on a towel to air dry for a few hours.

After I let them dry for a while, I then pin curled them and set them aside to dry overnight.

It actually took them about 48 hours to dry on their own.  WOW!  I was not expecting that!  Before I show you what they look like on, here is a shot of my normal, unstyled hair.  It has just been blown dry.  (Please forgive the tired face.) 

And here I am with the hair extensions clipped in.  I purchased the 120 gram set and I am very pleased with the amount of hair that I got.  In fact, in the pictures that follow, I am not even wearing all of the hair pieces.

In this last photo, I only have the two 6" wide extensions in and I think it looks very natural.

I think I will keep them pin curled and stored wrapped in a scarf so that I won't have to wash them very often, but I can't wait to actually get to style them and wear them out!  What do you guys think?

Trend: Pastel Hair

A current trend for the tresses is pastel colors.  This really intrigues me and if I were younger, I would sooo be doing this.  In fact, several years back, before this was the "IN" thing to do, my daughter had me dye her hair a nice fluorescent pink for her high school graduation knowing it would make her easier to spot in the sea of black cap and gowns.  We did it several days before graduation so by the actual day it had faded somewhat to a cute orangish color, which was appropriate since her school colors were orange and black.  

While other parents frowned at her individuality, I stood proud knowing that I had raised my daughter to not be afraid to express herself, .......plus, she graduated 3rd in her class.

Here are some photos I found of several lovely ladies sporting pastel hair.  

Courtney Vogler

Nicki Minaj

  

Kelly Osbourne

Lady GaGa

And of course, one could not forget the ever beautiful Katy Perry.

I think I am partial to the pink.

The Thin Man

Tonight, TCM is airing one of my all time favorite movies, The Thin Man. Released in 1934, it is a comedy murder mystery based on the novel written by Dashiell Hammett.  The film stars William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles.  They are, in my opinion, one of the greatest screen matches EVER.


Nick, a one time detective, has married the rich and playful Nora.  After being gone for several years, they return to New York with their lovable dog, Asta.  Nick reconnects with several of his old friends and is approached by Dorothy Wynant, played by Maureen O'Sullivan, to help locate her missing scientist father, who is suspected of murdering her step-mother.  Nick is not keen on the idea of resuming his old profession.  He is content with spending his days and nights drinking, playing, and looking after Nora's fortune.  But, Nora finds the idea exciting and convinces him to take the case.

The whole whodunit aspect of the film adds to the fun, but the movie is really about the clever, playful, rapid-fire interaction between Nick and Nora.  Their lives seem to consist of cocktail party after cocktail party with a continuous drinking frenzy and in between the wisecracking, witty banter and martinis, they solve the mystery.  The film is one of the finest cinematic examples that shows marriage working more as a partnership, rather than one yielding to the will of another.

The incomparable duo of William Powell and Myrna Loy, with their one of a kind chemistry, along with an outstanding supporting cast and clever script, makes this film a must see.