Monday, January 31, 2011

Popinjay - Bewildered



This week's Popinjay prompt is Bewildered:

That's my neighbor's car (and the parking spot on the left of that car USED TO BE my parking space)...he hasn't moved his car ONCE since our very first storm this winter. It sits under roughly 40 inches of snow.


Indeed.


Check out Michelle's photo here...it's a good one!


Next week's word is Innocent.  Hope you'll join us!

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Popinjay - Comfortable


This week's Popinjay prompt is Comfortable.


I'm cheating this week, because we're not supposed to use pictures of our pets...but, truly...how could I not? My cats? They DEFINE comfortable on a daily basis.


Exhibit A: 
Turtle is loungin'...
Exhibit B:


Drama...no, seriously, he was totally comfortable...
Stop by Michelle's to check out who else got "Comfortable" this week. ;-)

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Popinjay - Blue



This week's Popinjay prompt is "Blue". Blue...what a great color blue is. I love blue! There's a certain shade of blue that whenever I wear it, people tell me "you look great in that color".  My favorite fuzzy slippers, that I wear around the house, in the shape of some silly monster paws, are blue.  The ocean, with it's turbulent waves, and calming music...so beautiful and blue...and yet, the word blue also stands for sad, gloomy, dark...everything the opposite of beautiful and calm and soothing...

I suffer from the Winter Blues...I've been in a funk now for weeks...the lack of sunlight, the cold temperatures, the incessant snow and freezing rain...all of it combine to make me not want to leave my house, not want to leave the comfort of my couch...lazy, unmotivated, blue...

So, when in the middle of a winter's day, I catch a glimpse of sky...so blue:



 I thank God, I count my blessings...and I smile. Blue...what a beautiful color...


Make sure to pop on over to Michelle's and check out other "blue" submissions...

Monday, January 10, 2011

Lil' K & Karina - Cooking Up Memories.

In case you missed it, I have list of "Goals for 2011". Among those goals were two important ones: Spend more time with Lil' K, my little sister through Big Brother Big Sister. Lil' K is not so little anymore, she'll be 18 this April, and our busy schedules and active lives make spending time together a bit more of a challenge, but we both know how important it is for both of us that we do.


The other was to cook more. Inspired by the movie Julie and Julia, I decided that I wanted to start utilizing my cookbooks and making at least one meal from scratch each week.


We've decided to combine both, and once a week K and I will be getting together, cooking a meal, and eating, chatting, bonding.

Last Wednesday we had our first cooking night.



 Love the slippers, don't you?


I set an ambitious menu for our first foray into cookbook cooking. A salad of mixed greens with fresh mozzarella cheese and homemade sundried tomato dressing; 



and stir fried beef with mushrooms and green beans in a ginger sauce
The vegetables alone for these recipes were enough to overwhelm a couple of novices.

We set to chopping, and dicing, boiling and blending, and making a mess of epic proportions.






When all was said and done, we had a delicious dinner, which Kayla called a 5 Star meal, and an amazing time.







  
We haven't picked a menu for this week yet...but we've set a date. This is going to be such a fun project!

Sunday, January 09, 2011

Popinjay - Whimsical



This week's Popinjay prompt is Whimsical:

Whimsical: spontaneous, fanciful or playful; given to whims, capricious; quaint, unusual or fantastic.

I thought for sure this would be such an easy prompt to photograph...and then suddenly, I was at a loss...

Then I remembered one of my Christmas gifts from this year. I collect Betty Boop stuff. I have for years, and my collection isn't overwhelming and huge, but it is fun, and something that makes me smile. It is also playful and so cute.

For Christmas this year my uncle gave me a set of salt and pepper shakers, and...looking at them:
They just feel "whimsical" to me. Especially when I note that the lips on the dog (and Betty's cheek) are magnetic, so they are pulled together by magnetic forces...cute right? ;-)

Make sure you stop by Michelle's to see what other whimsy's everyone found.

Monday, January 03, 2011

Popinjay - Redeemed and Bargain Huntress



This is a toughie. I’ll admit I read the word in its Christian sense, and therefore, was having a really hard time coming up with a picture to represent “made amends for, atoned for”…how do you represent such a powerful feeling in a photo?


Then this morning, as I lay in bed, in that middle space between sleep and awake, I saw the other, more day to day definition of the word in my mind.


Redeem: to cash in, to trade in, to use…and what better time to photograph this meaning of the word than right after Christmas, when we find ourselves recipients of gift cards from friends and loved ones?


So, here it is…my boss gave me a card to one of my favorite stores for Christmas…DSW Shoe Warehouse, and last week, I went in search of the perfect pair of boots.


I found these:

And let me tell you something else about these boots…they were one of the best deals I have ever gotten, and I’m a bargain hunter by nature.


The Nine West boots were originally priced somewhere in the $180 range when sold by Nine West. Once they made their way to DSW, their price dropped to $99. When I found them, they were on the 50% clearance rack. But on the day I happened to come across them to REDEEM my gift card, DSW was having an additional 30% sale on all clearance items. Final price to me: $35.


Now that’s a bargain!


Note: This post is also the first in a new series I’m starting here at Candid Karina: “Bargain Huntress” where I will share some of the better bargains I manage to get my hands on as I shop throughout the year, because bargain hunting to me is a sport…and such a fun one at that! ;-)


Be sure to stop by Michelle's and see what other "Redeemed" posts are up!