What do you mean, the year is over????

Where the dickens did this year go? I am trying to believe it is New Year's eve. Why does one day turning to the next inspire such introspection in so many of us, I wonder. I know I have been doing a lot of physical and emotional cleaning recently. What do I want or need to change?

The last two weeks have been a blur, a few cases of the sniffles plus have run through the house. Have my Healthy Simmer going all day everyday right now. Got to get these germs under control! I long to open the windows but, baby, it's cold outside!

Did not want to let the New Year come in without sending you best wishes for 2010. I wish health, happiness and contentment to all of you.

Pat

Roses, Roses

It has been so wicked cold up here in the Lower Hudson Valley, add to that several snow storms and some freezing rain, I find myself longing for some flowers. Some Rose Mist yarn from Lion Brand Yarn Company was just the answer! I did up a pair of Irish crochet roses and did up a scarf. 60 inches of Roses in the Mist. I love you, a bushel and a peck, a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck. This is long enough to wrap in a warm hug around your neck or use as a sash. These roses don't smell as good as the garden roses but that can be easily remedied by storing with a beautiful rose fragranced sachet!

I am trying to get organized and get my Christmas decorations up over the next few days, so it will be busy, busy around the ol' homestead. Will definitely get some pictures when I finally accomplish this and share with you. I enjoy seeing how different families decorate and enjoy the holidays, hope you do too.Everyone stay safe and warm. See you in a few days.

Pat

17 More Days Until Christmas

The time has just flown by. I am such a procrastinator, am not at all ready for Christmas. Uh oh! I sure hope everyone has been over to the Shop Hop and found lots and lots of those shopping bags. Can hardly wait to see who has won The Ultimate Gift Basket. Talk about a spectacular win! The other prizes are pretty awesome as well, I'm particularly fond of the snow globe.

I couldn't resist taking a picture of our first real

snowfall that gave us a few inches to enjoy. So beautiful, there is something so magical about seeing the world transformed into a quiet white wonderland.

A reminder for all my friends, Friday is the last Make Mine Pink Friday of the year. This week's theme is Last Minute Gifts - sounds like it was made for me. Come on over and visit me at Patricia Rose and the rest of the participating boutiques. We will be back with our specially themed Fridays in January.

Once the holidays are over it will be time to hunker down and get through the winter with dreams of gardens in our heads. If you are in need of some essential oils for simmering or therapeutic uses, visit my friend Andrea at Aromatics International. She has some great sales going on right now. Good time to stock up! She has therapeutic grade oils so you can use these without a second thought. A drop or two of an essential oil can lift your mood, relax you, help kill those pesky winter germs. Please remember, do not use fragrance oils for aromatherapy, you will not get the therapeutic benefits you are looking for and some of the synthetics can cause an allergic reaction. I will share with you over the next few months what I am using to give you some ideas. Right now, it's all about balsam. What can I say, I love it and it has the added benefit of being antiviral.

And so, off I go to try and get some holiday into this house. Hopefully, I'll have some pictures for you next week.

Pat

Have A Wonderful Thanksgiving

This week is the kick off to the holiday season! Where in the world did this year go? Simply does not seem possible that we are looking at a new year just ahead. I hope you have all your shopping for the Thanksgiving feast all done, menu tacked to the cupboard and ready to start the preparations. Get the silver polished, tablecloth ironed, napkins folded just so, candles ready to be lit and doorstep swept, ready to welcome all to celebrate.

Are you looking for a new side dish? A friend on Twitter, @GailR, shared this recipe for

Carrots in Chive Cream

8-10 julienned carrots 2 Tablespoons butter 1 teaspoon sugar

Pinch each salt and nutmeg

1 cup water

Place all in heavy saucepan, cover tightly and simmer 20 minutes.

Uncover, raise heat slightly. Cook until liquid is gone. (8-10 minutes)

Stir in 1 Tablespoon lemon juice and bring to boil.

Stir in 1-1/2 Tablespoons heavy cream.

Boil 1 minute to glaze.

Sprinkle on 1 bunch chopped chives.

This will be very pretty and delish! The color will be a nice addition to the menu.

Is everyone planning on staying home safe and sound for Black Friday? I have never been one to love mall shopping and Black Friday is definitely not something I look forward to. You have the marvelous option of Make Mine Pink Friday with the theme "Dreaming of a White Christmas".

That is where you will find me! November 27 is not only MMP Friday it is the beginning of the Twelve Days of Christmas Shop Hop with the grand (and I do mean grand!) prize of the Ultimate Gift Basket. Limber up those fingers and find those shopping bags. The grand prize has a value of over $1000.00!

Have a wonderful week. Enjoy Thanksgiving. If you're traveling be safe, if you're shopping, keep some hand sanitizer in your purse. Keep hydrated and well rested. I am thankful for my family and friends to share this holiday with.

Hugs,

Pat

Wait Until You See This

Over at Make Mine Pink, we have been busy coming up with the most fabulous prize for our Twelve Days of Christmas Shop Hop. So here it is, The Ultimate Gift Basket!

Many of the boutiques have put an item in this amazing basket. Make sure you sign up to participate in this Shop Hop! The widget to take you to Make Mine Pink and read all about it is over on the right of this post. This is the most extravagant prize we have ever had, truly a one of a kind and never to be duplicated prize. Don't miss out on your chance to have this arrive on your doorstep!

I managed to avoid coming down with a full fledged case of the yucks last week. Thank heavens for something so simple as an herbal simmer to avoid getting laid up for a few days. You can keep a few on hand, get it at Patricia Rose. Who has time for getting sick at this time of the year?? Getting ready for Thanksgiving. Have already started shopping for the feast. Can hardly believe the holidays are upon us. Make sure you don't get too stressed out with all the preparations. Take some time for yourself and have a nice herbal soak to relieve tension and muscle aches. Take a look at some of the bath salts available at Patricia Rose. Fifteen minutes can turn your day around! Remember the essential oils of orange and lemon are great for keeping a good mood and a sense of humor, lavender is the all time favorite for staying calm and rosemary is good to stay alert.

Have a great week,

Pat

Look at the Counter!

I wanted to get into the spirit of the upcoming holidays and decided a counter like I've seen on some other sites would be a great idea. How great is the one I found? Even has pomanders on it! Was that banner made for me or what? Of course, the only problem with having a counter up is the terror it is striking in my heart. I cannot believe how fast the time is going by.

I've had to make a lot of use of my Healthy Simmer Potpourri this past week. Fighting off a cold, simply no time for being under the weather. I keep it going around the clock in a big ol' dutch oven on the woodstove. It surely does help. Keep the air clean so the germs don't get passed around the family.

So today I decided to give you some hints to keep these good for you essential oils around you all the time! With all the stress of shopping, do something good for yourself and stay healthy through it all.

Put a couple drops of essential oil in your shampoo bottle! Lavender, our old standby, is known for it's calming effect but it is also an antiviral! Rosemary is nice. It's good for your hair and, guess what--yes indeed, kills germs.

Have a nice soak in the tub if you feel something coming on. Add 4 or 5 drops of your favorite essential oil to relax. Sinuses clogged up, a drop or two of eucalyptus will make you feel better.

Make sure you are carrying a bottle of hand sanitizer with you. A few drops of essential oil will make it smell nicer and improve it's germ killing abilities! I like one of the mints for this, I like the fragrance and it also perks me up! You can make you own, you know. Check out my friend, Andrea's site for a recipe, http://www.aromaticsinternational.com/ .

Homemade cleaning products are so nice and so economical. See the same link above for recipes for this as well. Lemon or orange is such a happy and uplifting fragrance. By using the essential oils, you not only get the great aroma, it encourages alertness and a feeling of well being and, yes indeed, will fight some of those nasty microbes flying around. It's no matter of chance that the fragrance of pine is used is some commercial products, very strong protector!

I hope you try these ideas and stay healthy!

Following is a note from my daughter, Maegan, about our Walk For The Cure on October 18. To this I would like to add my thanks to all the wonderful people who contributed through my fund raising site. Researchers are so close to the cure, every single dollar is making a difference.
On October 18th Justin's Jungle Joggers participated in their 7th Annual JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes. The team was formed in 2002 in honor of Justin Coss y Leon, now 12 years old, to help raise money for JDRF so that one day he and the millions of others living with Type 1 Diabetes could be cured of this medical monster.
In spite of the rain and bitter cold temperatures that day 82 of the 112 Justin's Jungle Joggers showed up to walk on Walk Day. The team managed to raise an astonishing $10,812.85 for JDRF even in this troubled economy!
Justin and all his Jungle Joggers would like to thank the generous sponsors who helped the team raise all those crucial dollars needed to fund the research to find a cure for Type one diabetes. Our 2009 sponsors are...
Louise Kyasky of the TK Memorial Fund
Joe Binetti, ABR,SRES Remax Realtor
Orange County Golf Carts
Pyramid Imprints, Bergenfield, NJ
Pangaia Partners
Dr. Carol Carberry, DVM
Kevin P. Kelly Counselor at Law
Patricia Rose
Anita DaSilva, State Farm Agent
Nicholas Apollo Painting,LLC.
M.Ingannamorte & Son General Contractors
Pictured below is Justin and Tyler Coss y Leon and friend Nicholas Gallo on Walk Day, a JJJ team photo from Walk Day, and Justin's Jungle Joggers from left to right Sarah Gihr, Patrick and James Kane, Bridget Coss y Leon, Kristen Kane, Kayley Coss y Leon, and Kaitlyn Carberry along with the NJ Nets Mascot.
Photos by Maegan Coss y Leon

Maegan Coss y Leon

I am trying valiantly to get the photos up but am ending up with thumbnails that are impossible to see with the naked eye! I'll keep trying and add them on if I can figure it out.

Have a wonderful week all,

Pat

Doot, doot,doot, doot, doot Out My Back Door

Sorry, gotta love Credance Clearwater! So today I am showing you out my back door. It is so beautiful right now, just have to share with you all. In addition to across the road, which is equally lovely! Don't you just love the Colors of Autumn? And isn't this just the sneakiest little segway into telling you about this week's Make Mine Pink Friday? Just so happens, this week's theme is Colors of Autumn! Ta-da! Please join Patricia Rose and all the participating Little Pink Boutiques for this fun themed shopping event.

My sons have been busy at work getting wood ready for the coming cold weather. You know what they say about heating with wood. It warms you twice - once while you're cutting it and once when you burn it.

Glad I don't have to do that any more! But I will sure appreciate their hard work in December (not that I don't now). One son managed to get a case of poison ivy that put him out of work for a few days. Have I ever mentioned to you that the best way to avoid getting and/or spreading poison ivy is to take a warm shower with liquid Dawn after you've been exposed to that rascally vine? Cuts right through the oil from the plant. If you should develop the rash, jewelweed is a great antidote to the burning and itching. You can usually find jewelweed growing fairly close to where the poison ivy is. Jewelweed has a pretty orangy-yellow flower and when it is 'ripe' and you touch it, the seed just shoots right out. You'll have to try and find it and try that next year, it's kind of funny and kids just love shooting the seeds (so do I, guess I'm still a kid at heart). Isn't it amazing that the antidote for many things are found growing right next to the offending plant?

The cold and rainy days this past week had me working in the house. I want to share this easy way to clean your silver. As I was doing it, I made myself a note to share it with you. It's non-toxic so you don't have to worry about using it on flatware or serving dishes. In a large flat bottomed pan, take a piece of aluminum foil approximately the size of the pan, crinkle it up and then open it back up again. Lay this in the bottom of the pan. Then add some water so it will cover what you want to clean. For very large pieces, you can do half of the item at a time. Now, set this on the stove until simmering (not too hot, don't want to be melting the silver), sprinkle in a teaspoon or two of cream of tartar and stir around a little. Add your silver pieces and the tarnish magically falls off your silver onto the aluminum foil. It's a truly amazing little bit of chemistry!

Have an absolutely wonderful, wonder filled week,

Hugs,

Pat

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

It is official, autumn has arrived in the Hudson Valley! I believe this was our first hard frost. The dogs went charging out the door this morning, as they usually do, and proceeded to slide across the deck. They turned around to take a look at me, as if to say, what the heck did you do? The sun was out bright and early and everything was sparkling, so beautiful! Must remember to keep my jacket by the back door though. Way too cold to be out there without a jacket!

There is a new event making its debut at Make Mine Pink, the Pink Twilight Sale. This will be a fast sale every third Saturday of the month from 6PM until Midnight only. There will be deeply discounted items offered from many of the boutiques.

The first Pink Twilight Sale will be October 17,2009. Come on over and visit, we just love company!

We have arrived at the time of year when we will be in closed up homes and offices for extended periods of time. To keep your house and/or office smelling sweet, and perhaps even healthier, you have to go no farther than your spice cupboard! It is suggested that some of these oils will kill household germs that cause the colds and flu that haunt us in the winter! So try keeping a simmer going (your crockpot is a great way to do this). Some great things to try are cloves, cinnamon, sage, lemon, rosemary, savory and thyme. You don't need all of them, just a few or all if you prefer, will give you the germ killing effect! You can also use essential oils for this but make sure you are only using therapeutic grade essential oils, not fragrance oils! A great source (not the only one, but I trust this one completely) for therapeutic grade oils is Aromatics International. What a pleasant way to stay healthy!

Have a wonderful week, stay warm and stay healthy,

Pat

Let Them Eat Apples....

Would you believe how brazen this little guy is? He didn't seem the least bit fazed when I tried to get his picture. In fact, he kept turning for me until I got the shot I wanted. Guess he feels pretty safe around here. In spite of all the apples I am using, there are an awful lot of drops that I am leaving for the critters in the area to enjoy. This has been working out just fine. The deer come graze, the chipmunks, the squirrels, even some birds are partaking of the bounty. We had one tiny glitch with the guest list - SKUNKS! Imagine my surprise when letting the dogs out one night to come face to face with a huge black and white bandit. Before I could grab her, off ran Chloe to try and intimidate this giant 'cat' off her deck and preferably out of her yard. Do I have to tell you the outcome? Whewwwww! This was not a pleasant night. Even Buster couldn't stand being by Chloe and under the bed he went,

and here I thought he was hopeless! Bathing a dog at 2AM is just not a whole lot of fun, especially when they smell like skunk. Have to give a tout for Nature's Miracle Skunk Odor Remover. It did a pretty good job, with that and a rinse with some essential oils mixed in Chloe was at least tolerable. I sure hope she has learned something from this little escapade.

At Patricia Rose, still working hard to get some more donations for the JDRF (http://walk.jdrf.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=extranet.personalpage&confirmid=87421573). I will be Walking For The Cure on October 18. Thank you so much for all the donations so far! The Pink Slipper Project (http://www.pinkslipperproject.org) is growing by leaps and bounds. Lots of slippers have been sent to headquarters to send some warmth to women and children recovering from abuse and living in shelters. Please help in any way you can.

Patricia Rose is also participating in the Pink October Shop Hop, October 5th-11th. Don't miss out! Register and find those shopping bags. Wonderful prizes (as always) and no purchase necessary.

Have a wonderful week,

Pat

Weddings and Slippers and Apples and Cleaning (???)

It has been busy, busy, busy around here lately. On the family front, we have an engagement! My son, Marc, has asked his best girl, Alissa, to marry him and she has accepted! We are looking at a July 2010 wedding. Romance and excitement shall reign over the next 10 months, for sure! When I knew he was going to ask, I got a hold of my friend, Tedi, at The Petite Book Store to make up one of her amazing treasures. Alissa is a big reader and loves books so a treasure from Tedi seemed like the perfect gift. Take a look at this presentation,

It included two books on planning a wedding, a wedding guest book and a Stampington magazine! Alissa loved it!

We have some ancient apple trees here on the property and they have been amazingly prolific this year. I have been drying apples like crazy for the Apple Harvest Potpourri, made several batches of apple butter, yum, and a couple rather outstanding pies, if I do say so myself. Here are some trays of the drying apples (the house smells heavenly).

And then there is the Pink Slipper Project. Made the slippers I pledged and will have them winging their way to Virginia this week. The One Seam Rag Slipper is fun to work with, the most time is spent on cutting it out! I think they come out adorable and am sure our recipients will love their toasty toes!

And then, the last thing I wanted to share with you is this wonderful recipe for an all-purpose cleaning spray from my friend, Andrea Butje, at Aromahead and Aromatics International. I gave it a try this week and think this will be my new cleaner. It smells great and works like a charm!

"Andrea's Cleaner"

16 ounces of water

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

40 drops white pine essential oil

40 drops lemon essential oil

20 drops grapefruit essential oil

40 drops Eucalyptus Globulus essential oil

Mix all in a spray bottle and use as you would any all-purpose cleaner. Spray and wipe!

This is all I have to share this week. Have a wonderful safe week and will see you all next Sunday night.

Pat

Happy Labor Day everyone. Hope all traveling has been safe, time with family and friends has been fun and relaxation has been, well, relaxing. The best thing about a holiday weekend is that most everyone is looking at a shortened work week!

With our nights getting cool and the days getting shorter, I can tell Autumn is just about upon us, in spite of what the day time temperatures are saying. I found myself getting ready for work in the dark! It feels like that happened over night.

Time to get our homes all snuggled in for the cooler times ahead. Be prepared with lots of gorgeous potpourri to keep everything sweet smelling and inviting! Here is Apple Harvest Potpourri -

and here is Pumpkin and Spice -

I love these two! But you know what this means, the big holidays are just around the corner. Time to start planning! I had fun taking a step away from my usual crafting items and making these cute little ornaments. I don't usually play with glitter and glue but had a great time doing these.
Please, please, please do not forget about the ongoing fund raising for JDRF Walk For The Cure. The walk I am participating in will be held October 18, 2009, at Franklin Lakes, NJ at the beautiful MEDCO campus who have been gracious enough to host this for the last few years.

Also, keep in mind the Pink Slipper Project. If you would like to make some slippers for this event, feel free to download the pattern designed by Joyce Lucas at http://www.pinkslipperproject.org. The slippers do not have to be made of this pattern. If you knit or crochet or have your own favorite slipper pattern, that is wonderful as well. Just as long as they are warm.

Enjoy your week and will chat with you soon,

Pat

So Much News!

I have been missing for a few weeks. Not that I didn't think about everyone, just wasn't able to pull together a block of time to get the blogging done. So, I am trying the draft feature and we will see if this works or not.

Everything is fine here, just my work schedule, hubby's doctor and dialysis appointments, usual day to day errands, studying for my aromatherapy course at www.aromahead.com just became overwhelming and I was paralyzed by it for a bit. Have a handle on everything again and hope to get back to normal starting today!

Do you notice the cute new widget off to the right? The Pink Slipper Project is an absolutely amazing new project the boutiques at Make Mine Pink are undertaking. Shabby Lane Boutiques and Nashville Boutiques have recently joined in. The brainchild of Joyce Lucas in cooperation with Enchanted Makeovers is to make slippers for the women and children who are forced to live in shelters to avoid abuse. In addition to the other pledges we have made to Enchanted Makeovers, we are now pledging over 100 pairs of slippers which will be needed in November. Joyce has been kind enough to draft a pattern for the most amazing slippers - only 1 seam per slipper. If you would like to be a part of this program, please contact Joyce through the Pink Slipper Project Blog. Fabric donations, batting donations, monetary donations or slippers will all be gratefully accepted. http://www.pinkslipperproject.org/

How cute are these slippers??

Speaking of feet, my family and I will be participating for the seventh year in the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Walk For The Cure in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey on October 18, 2009. We started participating in the very next walk after my grandson was diagnosed with Type I diabetes (Juvenile Diabetes) several days before his first day of Kindergarten. He was rushed to the hospital with a blood sugar of 904 after playing outside. He missed his first day of Kindergarten but made the second day! Several weeks ago Justin made a comment that about broke all our hearts. He can't remember not having diabetes. For the first few years, this little guy had to be injected four times a day with insulin and have his blood sugar tested four or five times a day. He has been very lucky in that he was eligible for the insulin pump and the past year has been a bit easier for him. He still must test his sugar, but he has learned to program in the numbers and the pump just gives him the insulin he needs.

To put into perspective what these children go through, with 4 blood sugar tests a day for the past 7 years is 10,220 sticks, 6 years of 4 insulin shots a day is 8,760 injections. Another thing that threw me into a tail spin is the fact that the children are taught to take their blood samples from their forearms. The reasoning behind this is the not uncommon side effect of diabetes is blindness and they don't want the children to loose feeling in their fingers in case they need to learn to read Braille. Mind boggling, isn't it? He's only 12 years old right now. So, I am shamelessly begging you to donate even $1 for the cure. Visit my page at the JDRF Walk Site to hear from the pros and hopefully give a donation. http://walk.jdrf.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=extranet.personalpage&confirmid=87421573 Patricia Rose will again be donating 25% of all sales between now and then. Here's a picture of our team from last year--

And so dear friends, that is the news for today. I will try my hardest to be back on Mondays with the fun Show and Tell which the Make Mine Pink boutiques participate in. Hugs to all, I've missed chatting with you all.

Pat

Sunshine

We have finally had a few warm (hot) days here in New York. The vegetables are finally coming in after all the rain we have had. As I was carting in a nice basket of tiny cucumbers, I remembered a fun recipe that I did with my kids and the 4H gang and want to share it with you. Children love this one,

SUNSHINE PICKLES

1 quart water

1 pint vinegar

1/2 cup coarse salt

2 sprigs fresh dill

2 cloves garlic, chopped

dash turmeric

small cucumbers

Heat everything except the dill and the cucumbers, do not boil. Pack a sterilized quart jar with the cucumbers and fresh dill, add the heated brine. Cover jar and set in sunny area for 3 weeks.

That's all there is to it. They are really yummy! I wish I could give credit for this, but it's one of those old recipes that has been passed from friend to friend and I have absolutely no idea where it originated!

As long as we are on a sunshine topic, how about this nice diffuser blend from http://www.aromahead.com/:

SUNNY DIFFUSER BLEND

5 drops grapefruit essential oil

5 drops orange essential oil

2 drops lime essential oil

Add to diffuser and soak up the sun!

Christmas in July is finished for this year. It was great fun. Many of you are now looking at back to school shopping. I can't say I miss those days too much! After a hard week of shopping, come on over to Make Mine Pink for Pink Friday this week. The theme is Tea for Two and Two for Tea. You may need the relaxing break!

I had a wonderful day and night down at "The Shore" with my daughter, her hubby and the grandkids. Takes an hour of watching the ocean for all the tension to just drain away! I just love the beach.

Have a wonderful week all,

Pat

Monday, Monday

The beginning of a bright new week, and some friends and I from Make Mine Pink have declared this a week of happiness and good news. Too many of our friends and family have had some very serious issues over the past few weeks. So, with positive thinking we are hoping for a better stretch ahead!

I am off to spend a day at the beach with my grandkids, how much fun is that? I miss the ocean so much and cannot wait to stick my toes in the water!

Christmas in July at Nasvhville Boutiques and Victorian Heart Shoppes is winding down. The Shop Hop at Make Mine Pink is now officially over. Good luck to all who participated, I have my fingers crossed for you!

Keep an eye out for the national ads that will hit this week for Nashville Boutiques, yours truly is in there! Can't wait to see Patricia Rose in a popular magazine. Let me know what you think!

At Make Mine Pink, we are getting ready for this week's Pink Friday, Pillows and Purses. This should be an amazing week. If you've never seen the amazing tuffets made by Sharon over at C'est Chouette you will have to go take a gander. Amazing confections! Our other pillow queen is Janet of Janet's Creative Pillows. Creative is an understatement! You will not believe what this lady can do.

I have spent a busy week studying for my Certification in Aromatherapy at Aromahead Institute. I cannot believe how much I am learning. This is turning out to be more interesting than I had thought. For what I have taught myself over the years, I am now really understanding why these essential oils work! Go take a look, I have it linked. Tell them I sent you!

And before I dash off, I have a little helpful hint that I learned through Aromahead Institute, at the first signs of a throat infection (annoying tickle, aggravating cough) put 1 drop of Tea Tree Essential Oil in a glass of warm water. Swish it around and gargle with it. Don't worry if you swallow a bit but try to spit most of it out. Do this for 3 days. Easy, peasy and it really works - go figure! Tea Tree Essential Oil is very anti-infective so it's a goody. If you do this, please make sure you are using only organic essential oil, I'm not sure you want to be gargling with pesticides! Buy your oils from a reputable source. Aromatic International is a good source and reliable. You can mail order.

So have a wonderful week, all. I'm off to play in the sand and the water - ahhhhhhhhh!

Pat

Christmas in July,

Hi all, sorry I missed you all last week. My schedule got a bit crazy and then I had Blogger issues. I blogged and Blogger didn't! Simply was no time to redo, so here I am, phew!

Midnight tonite, Christmas in July Shop Hop begins and will run through July 26 at Make Mine Pink. Now, people, we have had this discussion before. Get in there and register, find those bags, you can do it!!! I really, really, really want someone I know to win a prize this time. Limber up those fingers, the more bags you find the bigger the prize you are eligible to win. While searching for shopping bags check out all the wonderful boutiques. You know them all and how beautiful everything is. Ready? WUH, WUH, WUH--START CLICKING!

Christmas in July continues through the end of the month at Nashville Boutiques and Victorian Heart Shoppes. Stopping by at the Victorian Heart Shoppes and entering the $100 gift certificate drawing will be fun! Lots of great boutique and shoppes to browse through at both locations.

Here is a peek of this week's project-

As some of you know, Chloe and I were involved in a terrible glitter accident. It has been suggested I change Chloe's name to Sparkle. It was a fun project until the glitter and glue got the better of me!

One other tiny little catastrophe this week. While playing with my essential oils I knocked a bottle over. You have no idea how powerful these oils are until you get an overload! My word, the dining room still smells of clary sage! These old wood floors of mine just soaked that right up! As I am working on my studies at Aromahead Institute, I should be paying a bit more attention to the safety chapter, I guess. If you want to learn about essential oils and their uses and why they work in the first place, this is the place to go. I am finding that by looking at the class of an oil I am beginning to know what it is going to be good for. Love when you find that key to unlock a mystery.

With all the rains we have had, the plants (and weeds) have taken off like the rain forest. The weeds are winning at this point. UhOh! After a few dry days I have gotten arm fulls of plant material in and drying. Now if the weather will just cooperate so everything doesn't mold, it should be good. Lots of pesto in freezer (and in our tummies if you must know), think we may have some tomatoes this week. Here's a recipe for a really simple but delicious pasta salad -

Millie's (my sister-in-law) Bow Tie Pasta Salad

1-1pound box of bow tie pasta, cooked and drained

In a separate bowl, mix:

2 cloves minced fresh garlic

2 or 3 chopped tomatoes (can use canned if fresh not available)

6-10 leaves fresh basil, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Add this mixture to pasta. Serve room temp or cold.

Have a wonderful week all. Don't forget to find those shopping bags,
Pat

That Yellow Thing In The Sky Is The Sun

After the rainiest June on record, we have had two days of sun. It is just gorgeous outside! The blue skies, fluffy white clouds, temps in the 70's and the most gorgeous breeze have really improved my mood! Amazing how all that rain and gray can pull me down, not good.

Well, it is one very busy month here at Patricia Rose. Christmas in July is in full swing at Nashville Boutiques

and Victorian Heart Shoppes.

The Christmas in July Shop Hop at Make Mine Pink will kick off on July 20th. We have barely had a whisper of summer and I'm thinking about Christmas, geesh! Crazy business this retail! I have started a Christmas Shoppe on the website, http://www.patriciarose-apotpourri.com/shopping/the_christmas_shoppe/page_1.aspx, so go take a peek. Christmas items will be on sale for the month of July and these special events only. Then back to regular price.

This coming week's Pink Friday is The Summer Porch and Garden. At least it finally feels and looks like summer up here. I have started making Porch Pockets to help you get through the dog days of summer -

These are so handy to tuck your necessities in (let's face it, there are no pockets in bikinis!). Large enough to hold your phone, a book, a bottle of water, a bottle of sun screen and hang it on the arm of your chair or a hook on the porch railing.

You could also fill this with our all natural insect repelling potpourri to keep the pesky bugs at bay while you relax.

You can find these on the website as well.

http://www.patriciarose-apotpourri.com/shopping/findings-the_spice_of_life/page_1.aspx

I have had such an enjoyable week with my studying at http://www.aromahead.com/. This has been such a great thing to have embarked on. I can hardly wait to show you my first salves and ointments. I will be starting that this week, I am so excited. This course just takes everything and makes it so understandable but so thorough. I know I sound like a broken record, but if you have considered studying aromatherapy this is the place to go. Take a look and let me know what you think. If you should decide to take one of their courses, tell them I sent you!

Well, I think that is all the news for this week. Hope everyone is enjoying some of this gorgeous weather we have been blessed with.

Please leave a comment if you visit, I just love hearing from you. And just a little mini poll, if you don't mind. What fragrances would you like to see introduced at Patricia Rose? There may be a little sumpin', sumpin' for those who respond - just saying.

Have a terrific week,

Pat

Wow! Can You Believe This?

I thought it would be back to the normal routine of things this week. Well, silly me! Lots of excitement for this gal! I got a lovely package from Make Mine Pink. I won a contest for guessing who was wrapped up in a towel on the beach! Well, a lovely bright tropical beach bag has arrived on my doorstep amidst the monsoons we're been experiencing here in the Hudson Valley.

It is the only bright thing around here at the moment. Isn't that fun! Thank you so much, Joyce, for the fun contest and the beautiful gift. It has certainly helped brighten my mood in these dreary days we've been experiencing!

Then, I not only won that contest, I won a contest at Ribbonsmyth, http://www.ribbonsmyth.com/, for leaving a blog comment! Well, heavens knows I never seem to be at a loss for words! I won some beautiful ribbon and embellishments and a 10% off coupon that have got my imagination running on overdrive at the moment. This photo really does not do these treasures justice! Thank you so much, Vicki, for this fun assortment to play with. Ribbons, fabric, buttons,, charms, lace, a card that can hold an insert, a silk bag, and on and on! Now I just need the time to implement all these ideas.

These rains have smooshed or drowned all my seedlings, sigh. Have saved my containers by moving them under a roof overhang. How have the rest of you on the Eastern seaboard fared with this weather? Our local news says we have had rain for 19 days out of 23 this month - yikes!

Have you noticed the neat new widget over to your right? Will you look at those quilt blocks in the Forget Me Not quilt. This is to be raffled off with the proceeds going to the Susan G. Komen Foundation supporting breast cancer research. You can click right on the widget to buy a chance to win this gorgeous quilt. I certainly don't have to tell everyone what a worthy cause this is. We all know someone who has been affected or have been personally affected by this hateful disease.

This week started my journey toward a Certification in Aromatherapy through Aromahead, http://www.aromahead.com/. With some trepidation, I started reading. Got a little anxious as some chemistry started getting bandied about but now I am finding it's feeling good to flex my brain a little! This course is laid out in such a way that I can digest small chunks of information at a time. Instead of laying out all the chemical make ups that will have to be understood, one or two are described and I can get a handle on it before moving on. Feels like building blocks.

I must say that my nursing background is probably making this a little easier for me because I am familiar with Latin (yeah, I know, I'm dating myself again. Had to have several years of Latin back in the day), already have a handle on anatomy and physiology and vaguely remember some chemistry. So at any rate, in the first couple chapters I have already started to understand dilutions and their uses and the authors have even snuck in a few oils and their uses without me realizing that I learned something cool. If you've ever had a desire to learn about aromatherapy, I would recommend this course. I'm loving the way it's laid out. I'll keep you posted as I keep going. I have to tell you, I forgot how much I enjoy learning. I love the whole process. Taking notes, memorizing different things (even though the author is calming you down telling you not to worry about memorizing it all), the aha moment when random information clicks into a whole concept! Life is good, I'm so happy to have this opportunity.

I am busy trying to come up with some fun ideas for the Make Mine Pink Christmas in July Shop Hop. Going to have some exciting offers for you. For right now, it's a secret! Don't forget to mark your calendars, July 20 is the 'hop off'. Now, people, I want you to get out there and find those shopping bags. I really, really want someone I know to win a prize this time. You can do this!!!

Have a wonderful week all,

Pat

I Believe in Miracles

This has been such an amazing week! As most of you know I have been venturing into 'social media'. I have been busy Twittering and Facebooking promoting Patricia Rose. I enjoy sharing little bits and pieces of the herbal things I have learned. Well, out of all the Twitterers out there in this huge old internet one of my little twits was read by some one at Aromatics International. She direct messaged me to see if I might be interested in doing a guest blog about using essential oils . Well, although I have just dabbled in essential oils compared to what the people at the Institute deal with, I felt I could write a decent article about using essential oils in everyday life. If you would like to read that blog, it is at www.aromaticsinternational.com/blog. It is the June 4th blog.

So many of my friends (and some folks I don't know but hope will continue to follow my saga) left comments about my venture into 'literary greatness', it got the attention of the director of the institute. Well, to make a short story short, we emailed back and forth a few times with the result being that I will be taking the course to become a certified aromatherapist while twittering and blogging about this new journey I've embarked on. I am so excited to be starting this, it is something I have wanted to do for a while and I just find it a miracle that somehow the right people were brought together, against enormous odds, to accomplish something.

And I have to tell you, this is not the first time this has happened to me. About two years ago I read an article about this quirky little group called Make Mine Pink. Next thing I read is that Country Living Magazine is honoring Joyce Lucas, the founder of Make Mine Pink. I went to the site, http://www.makeminepink.com/, to look around and sent an email to Joyce, who was gracious enough to answer the week before leaving for the festivities in Chicago. (Think my timing might have been better?) Meeting Joyce and the other members on line gave me the nudge I needed to start an on line presence. With close to no computer experience, there I sat with my Little Pink Boutique AND a website! Definitely, not something I would ever had done without this group of women behind me! With me hanging back and feeling insecure most of the way, Joyce has pushed me and the other Pinkies into 'social media' and without the miracle of me finding Make Mine Pink, this second miracle would never have happened. I just find this all too coincidental to be simply chance.

I definitely believe in miracles! And give special thanks to the special angels who have delivered these miracles to me.

This is not to say that I haven't worked very hard to make this all work, but without my miracles I wouldn't have had the chance to start. I had no idea any of this was possible! The doors were put in front of me to chose whether to go through or not.

So, speaking of hard work. I tried so hard to get a pillow made by Friday and it was simply not in the cards! Here is a picture of the pillow top which will get attached to the rest of a pillow this week. It's just been rinsed out and is drying on a towel and not how I planned to debut it but I think you may find this as ironic as I do:

I guess working on this let my subconcious take off! The next pillow will be "Believe".

And further business, please join us for Pink Friday at Make Mine Pink. This week's theme is Favorite Finds. Hmmm, this one has me stumped. I think it's illegal to sell my husband on my website. I'll have to go rummaging through the closets, find some treasures--do you suppose that will count as favorite finds? We'll see!

Plans are also afoot to get Christmas in July all pulled together at Make Mine Pink. I am trying to believe that half of 2009 is gone already! (OMG, I sound like an old person!) Keep checking back for updates.

Have a terrific week everyone. My first course at Aromahead U is Introduction to Alternative Medicine. I'll let you know how it's going.

Pat

Show and Tell Monday, June 8, 2009

My table at The Art Tour in Pine Bush, New York

Well, I fell off the face of the earth there for a bit. Life had gotten terribly busy and trying to fit in a bit of time to write was just not in the cards. I participated in the Pine Bush Art Tour on Saturday, June 6. The weather cooperated and the day was spectacular. Many artists came out and set up displays and it was the opening day of our Farmer's Market (I got the sweetest local strawberries which I kept munching on all day and the nicest fresh leaf lettuce, yum). I met a number of interesting artists and hope to be able to continue those relationships. The disappointing part of the day was the lack of foot traffic. Many, many drove through and glanced but very few parked to see what was there. Unfortunately, many of the artists will probably think twice about doing this again. It is all well and good to bemoan the fact that local Main Streets are going the way of the dinosaur but if we as the 'locals' don't support our own Main Street, there is very little room to complain. The Chamber of Commerce coordinated the entire Tour and advertised it in the papers and on line, posters were everywhere and yet relatively few turned out to support the local stores and artists who had put an incredible amount of effort into putting on a really special event. So much for my social commentary, just my observations of a day that was fun but a little disappointing at the same time. Here are a few photos of the booths that were at storefronts close to my spot.

So, out to the garden. The chive blossoms have been harvested and are busy infusing into vinegar. Should be a gorgeous color this year, looks nice already. Found some pretty bottles with corks that I am going to use to decant the vinegar into. I think I will dip the cork and top edge of the bottle into wax to seal well for storage. Think that will look pretty. maybe a little piece of lavender ribbon pressed onto the wax as a finishing touch.

I have got so many flowers pressing right now. Can't wait to start crafting with those. Have a few ideas that I want to try out. Make sure to make use of your edible flowers. A flower or two pressed onto cheese is so pretty, sugared flowers are so nice for cupcake decorations-just looks so exotic.

As your herbs are getting large enough to harvest, a nice easy dip is one part cream cheese to one part mayonnaise. Snip up small a nice mix of fresh herbs and mix them in, whichever ones are pleasing to you. A few crackers or pretzels and you have a gourmet snack!

Take a peek at the right side bar. You will notice a new member seal there for Nashville Boutiques. I am quite excited about this. I have been able to become a front page member of this brand new on-line shopping mall. The first ad will be in Cottage and Bungalow to hit the stands July 26. Keep your eyes out for it! Please take a look at this new site, I think you will really like it! www.nashvilleboutiques.com

Have a wonderful productive week all, talk to you soon,

Pat

Show and Tell Monday-May 25, 2009

Happy Memorial Day everyone! It has been a wonderful weekend and I hate to see it end. The weather has cooperated more or less, pretty much on the Camelot schedule. Only raining in the late evening. Camelot must be a time zone or two to the east. This week, right on schedule, my tree peony bloomed. This is the oddest flower, it looks like it's made of crepe paper. If it has another purpose besides being gorgeous, I don't know what it is but it keeps up the gorgeous end just fine so I'm happy to have it in my garden.

Isn't that an amazing flower? Hard to believe they are real. And they do have a beautiful fragrance as well.

This is the last week of our drive to come up with some more Hope Chests for Vista Maria. See the blog below for all the information at Enchanted Makeovers. This is such a worthy cause, if you can donate anything, these young women can sure use the boost of having a nice place to stay even though under very stressful conditions in their lives. The CHIP IN button is still active to the right, think about it, okay?

Have a wonderful and productive week all.

Pat

Romantic Roses for Pink Friday, 5/15/09

Pink Friday's theme of Romantic Roses has the Pink Boutiques all atwitter! Everyone loves roses. They touch a chord in every one's heart. The beautiful rose speaks of friendship, caring, romance. I think most every woman remembers the first time she received a bouquet of roses. Roses make the most mundane, special. The scent of roses can be musky and sensual, or spicy and invigorating. No matter which kind you like, there is always a rose or two in every household. The beautiful hankies from your Grandmother often were embellished with roses, the special vase from your wedding, a pretty little tray for your dresser - roses peek out and make us smile. Who has ever started a garden and not had the dream of a beautiful heirloom rose blooming in June? And, so I invite you to come visit us on Pink Friday to see where the Boutiques have added roses. There may be just that special touch you need in your bedroom, or the perfect gift that will say how much you care for a special relative or friend.

Now, speaking of caring, I have to mention again the Hope Chest Project we have undertaken at Make Mine Pink in cooperation with Enchanted Makeovers. We are trying very hard to get together enough to donate 20 hope chests to a women's shelter. The women who arrive there come nearly empty handed. It is our hope to have a chest at the foot of each of the 20 beds for these women to store their clothing and belongings. We have 7 more hope chests to come up with! If you could open your hearts and donate anything at all to this project, it will make such a huge difference in the lives of these women who need our help. There is a widget on the right side of this blog to make a donation. Every dollar counts, if you can afford a few dollars, that would be terrific. We have a deadline we are trying to meet in just 2 weeks, June 1. Please give us a hand with this worthy project. Go to http://www.enchantedmakeovers.org/ to read about this worthy organization.

Show and Tell Monday 5/4/09

This is mostly a tell week. The camera has been sitting idle due to some family problems that have arisen. But at any rate, have I got a lot to tell you anyway. Today is the start of the Make Mine Pink Shop Hop and will run all week. Visit http://www.makeminepink.com/ for registration and then start finding those shopping bags. Wonderful prizes as always, and no purchase necessary for oodles of fun. Please do browse the shops as you go through, though. Even if you can't purchase now, bookmark your favorites for a latter shopping trip. Sorry, everyone- I have tried several times to get the Shop Hop Logo on here and Blogger is having issues again! Check out Make Mine Pink.

Spring is here and violet season is upon us. Found a nice recipe for Violet Jelly from my friends at Prarieland Herbs. Here is the link for the recipe, this looks like jars of amethysts -

http://prairielandherbs.com/violetjelly.htm. It's easy and people will think you are so clever!

You can also candy violets. This recipe comes from The Joy of Cooking. Dissolve and cook over low heat until clear 1/2 cup water and 1 cup sugar. Cool slightly and add 4 teaspoons gum arabic. Blend thoroughly and chill. Chill flowers as well. Dip each flower into solution. Run your fingers over each petal to make a smooth, thin coating. Make sure it is completely covered (any uncovered spots will turn brown). Place on a rack to dry. Turn the flowers over after 12 hours. When they are completely dry you can store them in air tight containers. Have fun! These are so pretty, decorate cupcakes with them.

Now all this talk of violets has me wanting some. May have to go pick some by moonlight. It's still May Day and the violets are full of magic today.

It has been suggested that I incorporate what my family has come to call Bridgie-isms into my blog periodically. This past week was a doozie! Bridgie is 6 years old and on the town track team. She had her very first race this past weekend. So there is this little pint of peanuts on the starting blocks, bang goes the gun, whooooosh go all the racers and then comes Bridgie, jogging along, smiling at the crowd, a wave here and there. After the race, her Mom congratulated her on such a good try even though she came in last. Then my daughter asked her if she was feeling okay being it appeared she was only jogging and we all know how much faster than that she can run. Well, calm as can be, Bridgie looks up at her Mom and says, "Well, yeah, but if I win they make me run another race." Can you just feel the love of this sport coming from this girl?

Show and Tell Monday on Sunday, April26, 2009

Another week gone by, wish I knew where the time goes. As most of you know, my dear hubby has been in the hospital all week. Definite makes for a chaotic schedule. He seems to be improving and I am thankful for all your prayers.

With the schedule as it's been, I haven't gotten a whole lot accomplished. Today, I did end up with a few hours to call my own and finally started the tussy mussy out of those gorgeous dried roses I had shown you. So here is a dried flower tussy in progress -

The problem when working with dried flowers is they have their own bend to them and you just have to go with it. So it takes a lot of adjusting to get things to sit right where you want them to!Hope Debby enjoys her tussy.

There is lots of news to share from Make Mine Pink. The Mother's Day Shop Hop is almost upon us. For some reason, Blogger is having an issue uploading the logo but it is our cute little pink shopping bag. The shop hop will run April 4 through April 10, sign up and join in the fun. As usual, gorgeous prizes to be won depending on the number of shopping bags you find. Each participating boutique will have one hidden on their site. Enjoy browsing while looking for the Shopping Bags. You will find so many beautiful gifts for Mom in the shops.

This coming Pink Friday, May 1, is themed Romantic Delights-Gift Ideas for Mom. There are rumors of some amazing one of a kind creations, just like Mom, for this event, shop early, you don't want to miss out on something special!

Make Mine Pink and the boutiques have undertaken a really special project. We have teamed up with Enchanted Makeovers to rehab a women's shelter, Vista Marie. Make Mine Pink has committed to donating 20 hope chests for the center. So far, donations from the boutiques have covered 13 hope chests. If you can help out, we would really appreciate it. Go to www.makeminepink.com to read all about the details. What a worthy cause to participate in.

In addition to the hope chests, the boutiques have decided to also participate in making Traveling Sanctuary Bags for each woman and join in Pat Winter's Comfort Doll Project, http://www.comfortdolls.blogspot.com/, and make dolls for the women at Vista Marie.

So, that's the news for today. Everyone have a terrific week,

Pat

Showing and Telling Time Again, 4/20/09

As most of you know, this has been an unbelievably crazy week for me. My husband has been hospitalized for the last few days and he is now improving. Phew! So today will have to be short and sweet.


Here are a few sachets I had worked on last week and will continue making them (easy to do at the hospital) and will have them on my website. The original batch was for a swap I was in over at The Essential Herbal.
Aren't they sweet? Just needle doodling from pictures in some of the books I enjoy leafing through. This batch is filled with my signature rose potpourri.

And the Winner is.........................

We did our random draw this morning, and the winner is #18! This turns out to be Debbie from Cozy Cottage Gifts and Decor and Patchouli Rose. Congratulations Debbie! Please email me your snail mail address and your gift will be on the way next week.

As I explained in my 100th post, the prize is going to be a dried flower tussy mussy made from that treasure trove of flowers I received. They are quite nearly dried and ready to be fashioned into some fun items. I will most definitely post a picture as soon as it is done. These flowers can only be used for craft items because I don't know where they have been grown and whether or not they have had chemicals put on them. Come June, my own roses will be popping out and then I will have some for bath products as well.

Don't forget these are the last two days to play the Little Pink Slot Machine. Sure am going to miss that. It is so much fun. Just wanted to let you know, these prizes are all donations from the Boutiques. Our gift to you, our customers, to keep things fun and exciting when you come to visit us.

This week, however, we start Make Mine Pink Bingo. Go visit http://www.makeminepink.com/ for all the details. If you have already signed up for the Pink Slot Machine, you are already all signed up on the public forum to play Bingo. Head on over to pick your words, this is fun and all the Pinkies really take this Bingo seriously! This is another fun event at MMP, please join us. We like to keep things fun when you come over to shop!