Dinner Party

Big Night Table(above)

Happy Party-goers (below)

Joe and Karen
Woody and Bridget

Paul and Cathy

MANGA!

Hello everyone,

One of my three new years resolutions was to entertain more often. I thought a "Dinner and a Movie" night might be a fun couples event and ran the idea past my hubby. Paul is an avid movie watcher and he loves my cooking....so it was a big green light from him. I invited 3 couples (one could not make it :-( but will be available next month). So six of us had a really tasty Italian dinner and watched the movie Big Night. If you haven't seen this movie, you should, it is a good foodie movie!

BIG NIGHT MENU

Italian Beer

Champagne cocktails (all the rage in the 50s)

Antipasto tray

Caprese salad

Bruchetta

Tossed green salad with home made vinegarette dressing

rosemary foccia bread with olive oil dipping sauce

Lasagna bolognase

hearty red wine

Chocolate tart with caramel glaze and toasted almonds

coffee/tea

What a great time we had and I think everyone enjoyed the movie too.

I am already planning next month's festivities!

This is fun!

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cathy

So What's Clutter?

Clutter: Stuff you do not use....ever....at all. Stuff you shove back on the shelf or in the drawer. Stuff that doesen't fit...you, your lifestyle or your decor. Stuff someone has given you that you feel obligated to keep. Stuff that reminds you of a person, trip, evening, event or activity that you enjoyed. Stuff that you might need.....someday.

There's "good stuff", then there's the rest. You need to get rid of the rest!

Why do you need to de-clutter?

1) So you can lighten your load

2) Easier to clean

3) See what you do have and enjoy the view!

4) So your children won't have to deal with it

5) So someone else can enjoy (your stuff is someone else's treasure)

6) To evaluate what is necessary

I am sure there are many more good reasons to de-clutter. You will probably have to de-clutter more than once since this activity is actually a character-building exercise which requires practice and fortitude (endurance). You must have a sense of humor too!

Questions??????

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cathy

99 bottles of beer on the wall....

Hello Friends,
Bet that header got your attention. Well, seems as my blog for now, has taken on a bit of the simplification-esque flavor, so I will endeavor to share a bit more of my journey towards the simple life.... You are certainly welcome to gleen any widsom or advice or "tricks of the trade" from anything I post.
Backround timeline....simplified
birth-56.....shopper...motto: more is good
56-56 1/2.....slow realization that my "stuff" was dragging me down, but no earthly idea how to change.
56 1/2.....FIRE (God knew how to turn my life around big time!)
56 1/2 to now.....slowing down gradually on the shopping (I still enjoy looking, but changing from the compulsion to get something....anything....just put it in a bag and I will be happy/ to "I do not need another table runner!" (this is big for me folks) motto: less is best
So, now you have a little, short, rather breezy account of my life so far. I am really not this shallow, but we are focusing on the simple life here, don't want to "clutter" the issue with extra unnecessary details. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask in the comments section, I will try to answer.
So, we have already spent some time talking about pre-purchase initiatives, let's talk about sizing up your situation where YOU live. Obviously, we all can't be lucky enought to have a fire....so what do you do when you realize your life/home/car are all out of control and full of stuff, most of which you wanted, but now don't even know why, much less what you actually have! Well all the organization peeps say: Begin small, say a drawer, or a table-top or a shelf. Empty it completely. Have 3 boxes handy (some say four) one:keep, two:give away, three:throw away. Number four could be : think about. But do not think too hard. Another approach is to put items away for a certain amount of time...say 3 months or so. If you do not need them or miss them, then perhaps they can be sent to box 2 or 3. I had purged my home of so very much, no kidding, flat bed truck-fulls, 4 garage sales and a huge amount sent to Guardian Angel thrift....and still, when we were getting the house ready for sale we put that infamous 157 boxes into storage. Granted, we are big-time Christmas decorating folks and 49 of those boxes held Snow Village, and lots of Wonderful-I-will-never-get-rid-of-decor..... but, that still left over 100 boxes of....you got it, stuff. So, now, I am again going through each box deciding once again, keep, store, toss. Actually, I am enjoying the process this time...makes about the third time I have done this huge project, so I am getting real good at it. It is like anything you want to learn to do, you begin and are slow and rather tedious, but somewhere along the way you begin to master the technique and before you know it, you are in the groove.
So, take heart, begin the process...like Julie Andrews says: "Let's start at the very beginning, it's a very good place to start!" One drawer, one table top, one shelf....whatever....just begin
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cathy

Social Network

Paul is checking email while we camp!

Hello everyone,

Paul and I just finished watching Social Network via a Red Box rental...do you ever say: "Wish I had thought of that"? I can name a few things that make me want to say that myself. Such as: Red Box movie rentals, NetFlix, those great candles that run by battery, with timers no less! Crockpots, and, if you give me a bit more time, I bet I can list a few more. But you get the idea. Lately I am feeling the speed of technology...literally. Are you keeping up? I am having a hard time, I mean, I do have to sleep and then there's my life, I should live it, right? When do you find time to hunt up and learn all there is that's new out "there"? I confess that we watch no television, so I miss out on alot of the hype. We don't take the paper, so there's another source that goes untapped in our home. Well, I love facebook and I am glad that whoever invented it did. I also think that Red Box and NetFlix are brilliant (we do watch a ton of movies). I love my computer and honestly don't know what I would do without it. I thought the movie was very good, by the way.

I do not have a smart phone, but, my netbook is wonderful and very handy. I don't text, ever. I think most of the time it is kinda rude at best and dangerous sometimes.

I think that the next best electric-driven item I have and dearly love is my KitchenAid Stand mixer! Bright red, 22 years old and going strong. I have whipped up alot of stuff with this sweetie and can tell you she was worth every cent!

How did I get off on this tangent? Oh yeah, Social Network. Isn't a blog part of the social network? Hey, I am hip!

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cathy

To be or not to be....that is the question!

Hello Friends,
Above is a picture of amazing hot chocolate from Chocolate by the Bald Guy in New York City. The drink was divine. We had a wonderful time taking one of our granddaughters to the city for her first trip! Many good memories. So, why am I telling you this? Well, it has to do with living a simple life. I should have been happy with the hot cocoa, the picture and the memory. But no....I had to go and buy my own little oval cup and saucer to take home. At a hefty "tourist" price to boot. Now, I have a not-so-functional piece of flotsam that I have to deal with!!! To keep or not to keep??? See where I am heading? The very best place to start on your journey to simplification is PRE-PURCHASE! This will save you tons of money and time if you just say to yourself....is it beautiful, functional, or disposable (I am thinking that purchase of H&H bagels...very disposable mmmmmm!) Do I have a place for this??? or a purpose for this?? If you stop to consider a purchase, you will not have to make the hard decision to get rid of it in the future and once again, you will save money!!! This goes for everything you buy and bring into your home....everything. May I confess I am the proud owner of over 80 lovely teapots? I also have managed to acquire a collection of close to 200 bone china teacups and saucers. Excessive? A bit. Do I need to STOP THE INSANITY? Perhaps.
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cathy

Simple life

Hello everyone,
I used to live a very cluttered life. My hobby was shopping and I was probably one of the best shoppers you would ever have met! Maybe even Olympic-class shopper. Not quite as good as my dear friend Barbara D., but we did some damage, that is for sure! I believed every space should have something "in" or "on" it. Now, think about that statement for a moment.....mind-boggeling isn't it??? Every wall, counter, table top and nook and cranny had something adorning it and I was always on the look-out for more! Is anyone thinking obcession??? Harmless you say??? Well, I thought so, but the truth was, these things were making me crazy (not insane, just frazzeled, turbulent in my spirit, the opposite of calm). Then we had a house fire! All of a sudden I experienced what William Wallace meant when he shouted FREEDOM!!!! (Mel Gibson in Braveheart). We moved into a two bedroom apartment with absolutely nothing but the clothes we had on and I had my purse....full of $$$ from the insurance company to buy any necessities we would need while our house was being restored! I bought two dishes, two knives, forks, spoons, mugs ....you get the idea. It was liberating. I know I have written about this before, but just this weekend we have been putting away our Christmas stuff and contemplating bringing back some of the pocessions we stored while we had the house on the market....once again moving back into this house. I want a leaner approach to the look of our home. Not austere, but certainly more open and less cluttered. We have walls with absolutely nothing but paint on them! I want order and simplicity and beauty and peace and comfy and charm. I want clean and hospitable and I want to entertain angels.
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cathy

PB...hold the jelly

Hi
That clever title is PANERA BREAD....hold the jelly can I get a groan? Well, I am trying....
Panera makes you happy as you spend $10 for lunch, easily! Panera makes you happy as you refill your drink 10 times while you watch all back episodes of Serrenity on Netflix while using their free wi-fi. Panera makes you happy to pick two and get added carb dessert for only .99! Panera Bread is the Cheers of the 21st century....If any of you remember my little tea room in Durham, well, Panera Bread stole my whole model for a wonderful place to eat,drink,socialize, and just hang out. The only difference is that my place created a bit of community and at Panera, they give you the freedom to bring your community in with you and stay as long as you like...or until closing! Plus, everything tastes real good there. I get nothing for this review and have no interest in promoting Panera other than I think they are brilliant and admire them from the bottom of my heart. Also, must mention that both Target and Panera come straight from the American Heart....they know US (as in us ---you and me---) they like us, they understand us and they cater to US, hooray and only in America (a flag wave here). Altho, the rest of the world is welcome to enjoy these great businesses too! (Oh, I love IKEA, don't me wrong, they are top notch too, but not my most admired since I never even thought about selling homegoods....(did I say "homegoods???love that store too)
better close while I am coherent
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cathy
love your feedback friends!