Under a Blue Moon

Friday Favorites

Untitled ♥ mini cupcakes ♥ Loved ♥ Gathering materials

Heart shaped Le Crueset A lovely Valentine for your favorite chef
I love the simplicity of this bracelet. I would want to engrave it with something meaningful like a date or something inspirational
I wear a vintage kimono for my bathrobe and I feel very elegant swanning about the house in it. This one is so pretty. This shorter silk version is gorgeous
Some pretty for your ears. Ed Sheeran and Andrea Bocelli: A Perfect Symphony (how sweet are Andrea's sons with him?)

A bit of a romantic bent to my findings this week. I like Valentine's Day. I never think of it as a romantic day – more of a equal opportunity, show everyone you love them, kind of day. I can remember as a teenager driving to my friends' houses the night before and leaving little gifts and cards on their doorsteps. Last year I gave everyone wooden spoons with a heart cut out of them and the year before that I sent vintage hankies to all my female relatives. I love doing stuff like that.

I have a date with 20 rose bushes this weekend. We pruned 20 last weekend (and I have the scratches and punctures to prove it) and we have about 20 to go. I am taking today off from work so I can get a jump start on it.

True story – last weekend Rick and I were out front, him tackling the huge climbing rose in the courtyard while I addressed the more manageable roses in front of the kitchen window. I wanted to move the ginormous yard waste toter closer to me and some how managed to tip it over AND fall into it at the same time. Of course this graceful act happened right as some guy was driving by in his jeep and all I can remember is seeing his shocked and delighted face as I went ass over tea kettle.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Now go listen to that Ed Sheeran/Andrea Bocelli video again.

25 Random things about me

There are differing opinions on where this was taken. I'm pretty sure it was in the country formerly known as Yugoslavia but Kate thinks it is Spain. At any rate it was taken in 1969 (or 1970 – depending on whose story you believe) and I love how we are just sort of flopped on top of each other and completely relaxed (me in the foreground).

25 Things About Me (aka ran out of runway for a proper post)

1. I am an April Fool

2. I am left-handed

3. I love those first two things about me – they've always made me feel special

4. I am special – dammit!

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Baby Andrea. Thank goodness I grew into that forehead. I mean seriously – that is a LOT of head…

5. I am a psuedo-vegetarian. I'll eat poultry and seafood. I could easily give up the poultry

6. I used to raise chickens. And it turns out they have adorable personalities. Which explains part of random thing number 5

7. I will never willingly jump out of an airplane or ride in a hot air balloon

8. I have lived in Michigan, Argentina, California, Turkey and Maryland

Me at age 5. Bangs covering huge forehead.

9. I have faux ossicles

10. I took four different languages in High School. German, French, Spanish and English (yes I am counting English…)

11. Growing up I had a big crush on Ernest Borgnine. I used to keep this a secret but it seems everyone knows this about me. Except for Ernest who would never return my calls

12. I am almost half way through with 25 random things about me

Thank goodness I grew into those teeth too. Age 7.

13. Almost every single day I glance up at the clock at exactly 4:44pm. It's starting to freak me out a little

14. I sneeze in threes

15. My very first job was working at Danny's Pastry Shop in Silver Springs, MD

16. Before I moved to MD – I used to babysit for a woman (in California) who's very first job was working at Danny's Pastry Shop in Silver Springs, MD

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My aura. Istanbul, Turkey – Age 10. And NO that is not a glass of wine. Sheesh.

17. I was in an airplane, flying to Madison, WI on September 11, 2001

18. I was in an airplane, flying to Madison, WI and it was struck by lightening. I'm thinking I'll take the train next time

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8th grade English class. My favorite by the way.

19. In 1975 I tried to call Elton John from a pay phone to wish him a happy birthday. I forgot to factor in the time difference between California and England

20. I was devastated to learn that Elton John is gay and would not be available to marry me. I have since gotten over this and wish him and his husband Tony all the best. He still won't return my calls, though

21. I have four sisters. Built-in best friends. One is no longer here in the physical world but she is with us always

22. I'm a counter. When I have to pass time I count things. Red cars driving by. Acoustic tiles in a ceiling. The word "the" in a pamphlet. Turns out my dad does the same thing. Just ask him how many buttons are on his shirt any given day.

Some 80's tanning booth action going on here. 26? 27?

23. I have an accute phobia about moths and butterflies

24. I am determined to speak another language fluently. I wish I paid closer attention in all those HS language classes

25. I played my clarinet for President Ford in 1984.

Me.

Keto Stuffed Mushrooms

This post probably would have been useful yesterday but I'm not much for planning ahead. At least as far as blog posts go. I made these super delicious stuffed mushrooms which are keto-friendly and gluten free. We always go to my Dad's to watch the Superbowl (well we go there every Sunday but anyway…) and instead of our traditional Sunday night dinner we just do a bunch of appetizers.

Rick had requested stuffed mushrooms and I wanted to find some that I could eat (keto) and my niece could eat too (gluten free – although to be honest I'm not entirely sure she eats mushrooms). The thing that holds the stuffing together is breadcrumbs so I decided to experiment and make my breakfast muffin without the sweetener and spices and use that for the breadcrumbs.

As would you know – it worked perfectly.

But before we get into that…

I also made some decent cheese crackers following the Keto Connect recipe. A nice, almost crispy cheesy cracker that has a lovely taste because of the added herbs. I have a few tips to add to the original recipe:

Chill your dough before rolling and after cutting and placing on your cookie sheet
Even-ness is key here and I found that the thicker slices worked better. Not super thick but a consistent 1/8". Use rolling pin guides
It would have benefited from some spice. Like a dash of cayenne
To offset the inherent sweetness of the coconut flour use sharp cheddar

I used a two inch biscuit cutter for mine and came up with 22 crackers and enough left over to make one uber-sized one. These were popular with the keto crowd (which was just me), the gluten free crowd (one niece) and everyone else. So good all around.

Back to the mushrooms.

I made up this recipe based off a million recipes I've made over the years plus some low-carb tricks I've learned over the past half year. I know my crowd likes a sausage element to their stuffed mushrooms so I created these to appeal to everyone's different dietary needs. Unless you are lactose intolerant – in that case you are on your own.

Recipe

24 medium sized mushrooms (I used Crimini)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 uncooked Italian sausage removed from casing (I used turkey sausage)
1 small shallot
4 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup bread crumbs (see notes below for gluten free/keto version)
1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
Dash of cayenne

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
Wash your mushrooms and carefully take off the stems. Toss the mushrooms in 1 Tbsp. of olive oil and set aside
Preheat a small cooking pan and add remaining Tbsp. of olive oil
Chop the shallot and mushrooms stems into small pieces. Saute the chopped mushrooms and shallot until tender
Add sausage and cook through (sausage should be crumbly)
Cool the mixture a bit then add the cream cheese, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and cayenne. Mix very well until combined
Place the mushroom cups into the baking dish. Carefully fill the cups with the mixture pressing down lightly
Bake the stuffed mushrooms for about 15-20 minutes making sure that the mushrooms are completely cooked and hot throughout

Note: If carbs or gluten aren't a concern of yours then just use breadcrumbs of your choosing. Since I am doing the keto (low-carb) thing I needed to come up with a substitute. I made my standard breakfast muffin but I left out the Swerve (sweetener) and the spices. I also added an extra pinch of salt. After cooking I crumbled the muffin onto a small baking sheet and put in a warm oven until dried out. I then crumbled it into breadcrumbs. I had more than enough for this recipe. You can freeze the rest to use in another recipe.

Friday Favorites

Bambi and Popcorn ☆ ☾ Vintage Button Cards ☆ ☾ Cards Display ☆ ☾ vintage cups

Sweet star necklace
What? Have you ever heard of better casting? Tom Hanks to play Mr. Rogers
Get ready to want to collect ALL THE THINGS…have peak at Jesse Lauzon's Instragram account
We are heading into the 70's (temp-wise) for the next week or so. So sorry all of you dealing with ice and snow! I know I'm completely rushing things but isn't this wicker bag cute? Totally summery but so lovely. I have a vintage wicker purse I got years ago and I get SO many compliments on that little $25 bag – here are some less expensive options. I think this one is even cuter, or this one, this one is similar to the one I have, actually maybe this one is closer, and a bit different but this style bag has a cult following

I have a daffodil blooming! I know it is that tricky, slippery thing winter does where you have a week or two of just lovely temperatures and then SLAM! Back into winter we go. I'm just going to enjoy it while I can.

We have, and I mean HAVE to prune our roses this weekend. I want to move a few around to better placements in the garden too. Maybe not the best time but since we are going to have warm temperatures for a while I'm thinking they'll be okay with the move. The weeds need to be beaten back as well. So that's our weekend in a nutshell. Getting dirt under our fingernails.

I had one of those work weeks were I was just super productive. I kept ticking things off my to do list like a boss.

I think there is some sort of sporting event happening this weekend so we'll bring an assortment of appetizers over to my dad's on Sunday. While the men are captivated in the family room my sister and I will chat about skin care or grandbabies in the other room.

I hope you all have a splendid weekend!

Blue Moon

Do you know what is happening tonight? A blue moon! And not just ANY old blue moon but a Super Blue Blood Moon!

I feel like this should be a national Under a Blue Moon holiday. Everyone take the day off! Moon pies for all!

I have always loved all things celestial, the moon and stars especially. When I started this blog some 11+ years ago I had no idea anyone would read it other than me and my niece Sara. She had started a blog and it seemed like a fun idea so I jumped in and didn't give too much thought to the name. I wanted it just to be Blue Moon but that was already taken. It kind of suits since I don't really stick to any one topic – so this is my version of anything under the sun.

Side note – is it just me or does anyone else just LOVE snooping in other people's bookcases? I love to see what books they read. This bookcase houses decorating, gardening and craft books so it doesn't give you too much of a glimpse into my reading preferences. Fiction takes up two book cases elsewhere in the house.

Side note no. 2 – I rarely buy decorating, garden or craft books new. I find they are the type of books people flip through once and then get rid of so you can find them in nearly pristine shape for way less than you would pay new.

A new holiday and book buying tips. My work here is done.

Pen pals

Did anyone have a pen pal when they were a kid? I remember having one when I was in the fifth or sixth grade. It was organized through my school and I remember the girl I was matched up with was in either a Central or South American country. It was so much fun getting a letter in the mail from someone so far away and who, seemingly to me, lived a much more exotic life than I.

When I was in High School we moved clear across the country to Chevy Chase, MD and my girlfriends and I would correspond endlessly by mail. It kept me from being hopelessly homesick until we got back to California.

I've always loved sending and receiving handwritten letters and decided I wanted another pen pal. There are pen pal websites similar to dating websites where you can get matched up to a pen pal. I used PenPal World but I'm sure there are others. You put in your criteria for a pen pal such as the gender and age range you want to correspond with. You can also pick whether you want someone just from your country or anywhere in the world.

I set up my profile for women only, 45-99 age range and anywhere in the world. You can write a blurb about yourself and include a picture if you want. Then you can reach out to other members (or they can reach out to you) and if you click you exchange addresses. While I prefer the written letter there are also people that correspond via email.

I had a few women reach out and I exchanged information with three of them. Only one actually followed through and we have been corresponding for about a year now.

I also had quite a few men reach out despite my interest for women only and my profile stating quite clearly that I am quite happily married. So I deleted my account. I wouldn't mind another woman pen pal from another country. My pen pal just lives half a state away and that's okay too.

I am very much into mail art so my envelopes tend to be quite decorated. My pen pal loves this. I'll make my own envelopes and add embellishments like washi tape, drawings and different colored stamps. I love how the varied stamps look. I order vintage, un-canceled postage stamps from Etsy. They are very inexpensive and it doesn't matter how old they are – if they haven't been used you can still use them on your mail.

I find it is a great way to practice and improve my handwriting too. I use airmail stationery (remember that? The super thin, crinkly paper?) and I use a lined guide underneath each sheet so my lines stay straight and even. Like the stamps I look for vintage airmail stationary on Etsy.

To make my envelopes I use a Martha Stewart Scoring Board (sadly out of stock, but at least you can see what it looks like). There are other similar products available. It's genius for making any size envelope out of any paper you want.

It has been fun getting to know my pen pal. She is retired and is getting ready to move to Utah. We have similar interests and have traveled to many of the same places. She is quite the prolific pen pal-er. She has over 40 (!) of them and keeps up with all of them. I only have the one and at times slow to respond. I'm vowing to do better this year and see if I can add an international one to the mix.

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