the granola years



Kork-Ease platform sandals ~ they're back!!!



There is a bit of a 1970's vibe going on these days. Or if you're the beautiful Vix, it IS Your Vibe!
A Lovely Inconsequence just did a sweet post about her Summers with Seventeen Magazine when she was young. You can read it HERE.
I think it was probably the last era when we weren't all plugged in and connected by Social Media. If someone called you on the phone and you weren't home, you didn't even know about it. Or if you wanted to watch something on tv and you weren't going to be around when it was showing, well too bad for you. We could only get information by asking a real person or looking in a book. During the 1970's we all wore very groovy clothes but we very rarely took photos of our bad selves and when we did snap a photo, we usually had to wait days to see the results. And there were only about four types of shampoo in the stores but we all used the yummy dark green one called Herbal Essence. 

  You could wander around for days and nobody knew where you were or what you were wearing or what you were eating or what your feet looked like from your personal perspective. We were Free, just like Joni, Unfettered and Alive.

I refer to these ancient times as The Granola Years. If you'd like, you can check out my 1970's Pinterest Board right HERE.
~~~~~~~~~
I actually love our present era of connectedness. Instagram, Google, YouTube, Pinterest, BLOGS!!! Heck Yeah!  Even though I have my flip flops firmly planted in my 2016 era kitchen I have decided to cook up a batch of my Home-Made Granola using the same recipe I have been using since about 1972.

BASIC GRANOLA ~ makes about 3 cups
3 cups old fashioned rolled oats - not instant
3 Tablespoons packed brown sugar
1/2 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/3 cup honey &/or maple syrup
1/4 cooking oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup coarsely chopped nuts &/or seeds of your choice
Mix this all together until well blended.  Spread evenly on a rimmed baking sheet and bake in a 300 degree Fahrenheit preheated oven for 15 minutes. Stir the mixture around and continue to check and stir every 5 to 10 minutes until the whole thing is a nice toasty brown and the house smells awesome. When it is cool you can add 1/2 cup dried fruit or raisins if you'd like. Store in an airtight container up to 2 weeks.

And in keeping with the spirit of the '70's I'm wearing a pair of vintage flair jeans and an embroidered Baja Surfer tunic from FenixVintage on Etsy.

Do you have a favorite recipe that you've been making forever???

By The Way.

A Big Congrats to the Always Amazing, Gorgeous, Talented and Hysterically Funny GOODY of EAT THE BLOG. She won my Give-Away.

You know Goody don't you? Well if you don't, do yourself an enormous favor and get over there and introduce yourself.!!!





Taking A Breather



HEY FRIENDS!!!

source



I am not the most prolific blogger, that's for sure! 

Posts from snow in the air are few and far between.

If I took a break in blogging I'm pretty certain that very few people would even notice.

But I am not one to sneak out of the back door at a party without saying a word.

For right now I need to take a little break from the Land O' Blog to take care of my health.

Nothing serious. Just Basic Boring Stuff. And I WILL BE BACK. Yes Indeedy.

I'll be reading your blogs and will most likely continue commenting like the chatterbox that I am.

 

source



I will be updating my dreamy tumblr

You can follow me there at : http://conniesnow.tumblr.com

And of course there is ALWAYS Pinterest

You can follow me there where I am known as Constance Snow

source

SOOOO....KEEP BREATHING
 I'LL SEE YOU IN A FEW!!!!!

 



Get An Ugly Girl To Marry You

"If  you want to be happy for the rest of your life.

Never make a pretty woman your wife."

Do you know this song by Jimmy Soul? It was a Big Hit in 1963. Of Course it was.

You can listen to it HERE

 

via PINTEREST

 

I come from a long line of SUPERB Housewives.

Some of them were actually very Pretty.

Generations of Spotlessly Clean Rooms,  Fabulous Homemade Dinners, Chubby Scrubbed Faces, Weed Free Gardens, Immaculate Table Manners. That is the Female Tradition in my Family. And I'm pretty certain that was the plan for me.

However, My Natural Inclination is More towards Bohemian Loft Apartments, Smoky Blues Bars and Stay-Up-Late/Cake-For-Breakfast Parenting.

So I've spent my life feeling Sad and Resentful when I'm keeping House

and Giddy but Guilty when I'm Out and About.

I'm not alone here. Am I????

Anyhoo...You are Not my Therapist. PINTEREST is my Therapist!

So here is My Take on that PIN up there.

 

black linen blouse ~ thrifted
cotton dirndl skirt ~ made by moi - Yes, there are pockets
orthopedic sandals ~ Ecco

 

I Have Cherries in My Bowl.

That sounds like a Blues Song.

 

Rainier Cherries. YUM! Thank you Pacific Northwest!

Close-up of my crummy sewing. I avoid button holes like I avoid parallel parking.

I wore this skirt to a party where a 9 year old girl asked me if I made it myself. I guess that pretty much sums up my feeble sewing skills...recognizable by Children!

Jonathan is my long-suffering husband.

 My Mother-in-Law gave me this charm from her bracelet. She had a charm for each of her six - yes - SIX Sons!

~~~~~~~

And now a brief tour of my soon to be painted kitchen.

 

toujours la francophile

 

My Heart is in Montana
My arteries may be clogged
 

 

Roses from the garden. Martha Stewart Living. I'm trying...

 

Still life tableau by the kitchen sink

 

Lucky Little Pig
I NEVER EVER eat Pigs. They are my Friends.

 

 

Some people inherit Money or Art or Jewelry or Property.

I inherited my Grandmother's Bakelite Handle Kitchen Utensils.

See what I mean?

 

"Say Man!! I saw your wife the other day! Yeah, and she's sure is Ugly-y-y-y!!!"

"Yeah, she's ugly, but she sure can Cook, Baby."

joining the fruit salad over at Mis Papelicos
retroactively joining 52-pick-me-up

Stroll Around the Grounds Until You Feel at Home

It's a sunny breezy day.

Let's take a Stroll around the La Costa Resort, shall we?

 I love this California Mission Style of Architecture or California Romantica as it is sometimes called.

It involves a lot of Wrought Iron Scrolls and Swirls.

I am a serious Swirlophile. I have a Pinterest board devoted to Swirls.

You can check it out HERE if you'd like.

And don't even get me started on Fibonacci Spirals!

If it's been a long time since Math Class, THIS GIRL will explain it to you.

 

 

 

Rumor has it that this place was built with Mob Money.

I really hope so. I love sordid facts.

this is the only photo where I wasn't in mid-sneeze

 

As I was hobbling around I realized that my Urban Outfitters skirt matched the architecture so I asked the gardener to take a photo of me. I then proceeded to have a MAJOR hay fever attack. I sneezed so much that I think I scared him. He looked alarmed, snapped a photo, jumped into his truck and drove away Very Quickly.

I really must show you a close up of my Bag. I bought it years ago from an illegal street vendor in NYC ~ a bit of a sordid fact.

The kitty looks just like my dear departed cat Haley Mills who was gobbled up by a coyote one foggy night ~ a sad and sordid fact. She was a tough cat, though. I'm sure she put up a good fight.   

Well it looks as though our stroll has ended.

 Thank you so much for joining me.

Gesundheit!

 

Linking up with another beautiful kitty ~ PATTI!!!

And joining the mathletes with ANNE!!!

Note: La Costa is VERY Wheelchair Accessible :-)



Day Dream Believer

source

 

When I had major back surgery on December 5, I knew it would be a difficult recovery but little did I know HOW difficult! Here it is more than a month later and I'm still spending a good part of the day in bed! Augh!

Some post-surgery muscle cramping has pushed my recovery time from 8 weeks to more like 12 weeks or LONGER. For a normally very active person comme moi, this is crummy news.
Plus I have to listen to stories of my friends and family going on ski trips and vacations and embarking on impressive exercise regimes. It is So Frustrating!

 I cried and cried for a while and felt very very sorry for myself.

Those that know me well know that these past three years have been somewhat trying.

 Oh well....

source

 

Then I Realized that I have the Opportunity to indulge in Something that most people just don't have time for.

source

 

I have the 100% permission to hang around all day long and just DAY DREAM.




source

source

 

source

 



source

 



source

 

source



source

source

 

source

 

source

 

SUCH A LUXURY!

source

 

I truly hope that you find time in your busy schedule to sneak in a little Day Dreaming.

Note: all images via Pinterest. See more here.