Tomatoes - It's What For Dinner!

I am LOVIN' the ripe, juicy tomatoes from our garden this week! And when I say "our" I mean my husband's! Yes! - he does it ALL. Well, he does have a little help ... from our two toddlers, that is. They love to trot out there when daddy gets home from work and see what they're allowed to pick that day! I love that they love it and perhaps when my two black thumbs fall off and die two green ones will replace them and then I'll be able to be trusted with living plants. But I digress.

When it's tomato season, I mob the cheese guy for all his fresh mozzarella and we're in business! We are fans of "salad caprese" in its many forms and yesterday I came up with a related concoction minus the balsamic vinegar that I grow quickly tired of shortly after the season opener. :-) Well, actually I "minused" the basil in this one, too, so I'm not sure if it's still even related to Caprese, but let's pretend!

I sliced grilled chicken breasts, then layered with tomato, fresh mozzarella and SUPER ripe avocado. Without the strong balsamic and basil, the other subtle flavors blended yummily!
And ... it's Low Carb! A perfect lite lunch or appetizer for your summer dinner party! Please share in the comments what you love to make with your garden tomatoes!

See my post from last year for another summer tomato recipe.

Book & Art Print Winners!

Time to announce my 100th Post Giveaway winners! Thanks to everyone for entering and sharing your neat "good things" with us all!

Consolation Prize: 20% off special in my Etsy store on regular listings for all my blog readers through this Friday. Write "blog100" as you checkout and I'll refund 20%! Enjoy!

1. The winner of my book, Inspirational Home, is:

"Adie" who shares about herself at
Life, Laughter, Love and Chaos.










2. The winner of an art print of her choice from my Etsy store is:

"angie128"
Angie rambles with sweet humor at Me and My Good Life.










3. The winner of a framed art canvas of her choice from my collection at DaySpring.com is:

"Renee"
who is an artist/instructor/designer from Upper Michigan.









Thank you for your loyalty!!! Be inspired!!

Prayer Reminder

**** Don't forget to enter my big giveaway in my previous post! ****

I know a lot of you are prayin' people, and love to support the missionaries from your church, a child through Compassion Int'l, a ministry, or a loved one serving far away in the military. Here's an idea of how to keep those faces in sight to remember to pray for them:Put a photo in a decorative little medallion. Whether you have a vase filled with fresh or dried flowers, a simple pot you can dress up, or a kitchen canister -- you can make your version of this idea!

First, dig through your paper, ribbons, and memory-keeping goodies. Pull out some supplies that match the decor in the room and play around with them. I loved this little oval cardboard medallion thingy - it came on a sheet with a bunch more from the dollar store! I went with a wide white ribbon that I layered over a scrapbook paper band. For the band I had to glue two 3" strips together. I simply knotted the ribbon in back:
I cut a photo of a missionary couple right out of our church bulletin. If you're doing this for your Compassion child or serviceman/woman you probably have a nice color photo (although personally I love the black and white effect - or black and green in this case!)
Right now this vase is holding some gorgeous fresh flowers my kids picked out for my birthday, but usually it's filled with seasonal dried something or other. So, I can change the photo ribbon look seasonally, too!

**** Don't forget to enter my big giveaway! See my previous post for the scoop! ****

100th Post GIVEAWAY!!

Yeah!!! I made it to 100 posts!! You regulars know I'm not a daily blogger, so it's taken awhile to get here! ... And... how do I celebrate every little occasion around here??

With PRIZES!!!

This time I'll pick THREE winners:
1. First winner receives a copy of my book Inspirational Home

2. Second winner receives choice of one art print from my Etsy shop(these are three of many to choose from - 5x7 or 8x10)
3. Third winner receives a FRAMED canvas art print from DaySpring.com!! Yes! Hot off the press!! DaySpring is carrying 5 of my retro paintings on canvas and framed!:It's a matte canvas print in a black vintage-look frame ~21" x 25." Here are some of them next to the originals in my studio! (Literally just arrived minutes ago!) I think they look great and hope you love 'em, too!!!Here's how to snag something good:
• Leave a comment telling us something good that happened to you this past week. :-)
• For extra entries
(a) become a follower of my blog and/or
(b) subscribe by email or in a reader.
You MUST submit a separate comment for each extra entry - telling me you did or already are - in order to make it easy on me to count them! :-)
AND, don't forget your email if you don't have a blog with a super visible email.
I'll pick the winners next Monday, so you have until midnight MT July 19th to enter! (US shipping address only.)

..................

Incidentally, if you are going to shop at DaySpring.com - which I highly recommend for great Christian products - please enter via my DaySpring button with my iron Icthus pictured over on the right. A portion will go to charity - more on that in an upcoming post. Thanks!!

Summer Souvenirs

I hope you're all getting in some fun travels this summer! Or exploring your neck of the woods with a staycation! I wanted to show you a fun, easy way to display any keepsakes you might pick up on your outings.

I nabbed this little shadow box at a youth garage sale last summer ... but you can find these everywhere - save those Michael's coupons! :-) It was new with an unfinished wood frame. I sprayed it black last fall during my studio makeover frenzy, but then it sat until recently. I finally got back to it and decided to pop in a few entrance pins from The Met. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC was one of my favorite places to visit when I lived out east:I added a piece of black tag board in which I cut 4 slits. I slipped these little pinch-on badges through the slits and didn't have to glue anything! Here it hangs in my studio: While I was putting up the shadow box, I thought of a lot of other things I could put in there. Like these retro postcards from our National Parks: Incidentally, these are all spectacular places to visit, so if you're still thinking about summer travels, I highly recommend!! (And, geek alert, I'm excited to see the new documentary coming out on PBS in September featuring our National Parks!) Anyway, here's how they might look:An inexpensive postcard from your travels would become a special treasure simply by displaying it in a deep-set frame. Enjoy your summer outings and share in the comments YOUR ideas - what inexpensive keepsakes do you like to keep from your travels: sea shells? ticket stubs? brochures? menus?

... AND ...

this is my 100th post!!!! So check back, I think my next post will be a giveaway to celebrate!!

It's My Party!

A GIFT you can RE-GIFT!!To celebrate my birthday this weekend, I'd like to send you a gift!! I'm offering a BUY-one, GET-one special on my book Inspirational Home!! Order one from my Etsy store and I will automatically send you an extra copy!! Gift it, share it, save it, or even wallpaper with it - you decide!

This offer is valid only in my Etsy store and is in effect now through Sunday - expires midnight July 5, 2009 PT. Enjoy!