Hi everyone. I have had another long absence from blogging and I have a lot to share. I have discovered a very talented person and her blog. Allison from Dream a Little Bigger gave me some great inspiration on how to jazz up plain, inexpensive sneakers. I started out with white canvas tennies from Walmart at a little over five bucks. 
I transformed them into fancy wingtip spectators with just a little fabric paint and a paintbrush. I love how they turned out. The picture just doesn't do them justice. I have since bought another pair of white sneakers and I feel the need for some saddle shoes coming on! Check out her blog. She has some great ideas.
I also completed my latest kit of bracelets and an extender to combine them into a necklace. I am really into this whole jewelry making thing! Do you see the beautiful blue agate bead in one of the bracelets? I found some more on E bay and purchased them so I can make a necklace to match. You know how matchy-matchy I am! I may dismantle the extender at the top of the picture and make earrings too! I don't think I will ever use it to join them all so I may as well get some good use from the beads. I have a friend with a birthday coming up quick so I thought I would make her a bracelet and earrings. I will share how that turns out.
On the food front, I wanted to share a breakfast-for-dinner menu I made recently. I made lazy chiles rellenos from the Pioneer Woman. I changed her recipe up a little by cooking up peppers and onions to put in the bottom instead of canned chiles. I also serve it with warm flour tortillas instead of corn ones that she suggests. I think you should make recipes your own. It is half the fun of cooking.
I also served buttermilk breakfast cake from Moni at her blog Zu Haus at Home. It was wonderful. The whole family loved it. When I have breakfast for dinner, I try to make a coffee cake or serve fresh fruit to balance the savory with something a little sweet. Our family finished off the rest of this cake at breakfast the next morning.
On a sad note, we lost a very important member of our family recently. Our beloved chocolate lab Billie got very sick and we had to make the decision every pet owner dreads. We had to have her put to sleep last Saturday. Our vet confirmed that we had no choice. She had stopped eating and drinking and her organs were shutting down. We couldn't bear to see her suffer any longer. She would have been 14 on June 11th. We had her ever since she was 8 weeks old. She was the best dog, always loving and kind. Everyone loved her. The emptiness in this house and in our hearts is considerable.
I hope you all have a great week. I will be working on my flowers soon. The weather here has been kind of goofy. It was unbearably hot and muggy. Now it is damp and chilly. My thoughts are with the people in Oklahoma that have been devastated by tornadoes. Take care and be well. Nancy
