A nice way to spend the afternoon.  It’s really a nice time of year to go biking because it’s kind of just the right temperature.  The air is a little crisp and the leaves on the trees are just starting to come out, so it’s pretty scenery.

A nice spot to stop for a break……

On those bike tours that they have, they stop at places like the above and have beautiful lunches out on the terrace complete with a glass of wine.  I’d love to grill some salmon and asparagus at home and have something outside like the above after going for a nice bike ride.

Looks like fun to me…..

Biking on country roads is just beautiful.

It’s fun to find a bike route or make up your own fun place to bike.

 

 

I like the above photo.  Cute little newborn Holstein calf and the Spring leaves just coming out on the trees and the covered bridge.  So Vermont.

Daffodils are just so beautiful.  Something about them just shouts Spring.

I like the above waterfall at Otter Creek in Middlebury.  Just so beautiful.

I think that one of my favorite places in Vermont is the Lake Champlain Islands area.  It’s just awesome.

I like the Spring blossoms on trees.  So pretty.

I like Vermont Cheddar soup with crackers from the Vermont Country Store in Rockingham.  The cheese that they cut from a huge Cabot Vermont Cheddar Cheese wheel is just about the best cheese ever.

On my Pinterest today, I saw a recipe for scallops pan seared with garlic and wine.  I pinned the recipe on my fish board on my Pinterest.  Sounds like a recipe to try. Yum.

Then Salad Nicoise.  Almost better then a trip to France.  I pinned that recipe on my Salads board.

And that’s my thoughts for today……..

 

I like organizers.  They are fun to get creative with and actually it’s fun with to-do lists and to check them off as you do your daily tasks.  I’ve seen lots of ideas and expensive accessories that some people have.  Myself, I am on a budget but still can splurge on a nice basic set of a notebook and filler.  Then I can buy a few on sale stuff at Michaels Craft store and Walmart for little sticky notes and very frugal accessories.

I always wished that I had good penmanship, but I just don’t.  Some people really get into colored pens and really neat writing.  I just have fun with it and accept my limits to what I have time for and what I want to do.

There are so many ideas on staying organized.  I want everything I see as usual, but have to limit myself to what is within my limits.  But I have fun with it.

A books to read list is a fun idea that I saw.

Then I like Nantucket Island and ACK is the code for airplanes when they land at the airport on Nantucket.  So I like the above emblem that the C is a map of the island.  A lot of people have similar stickers like that on their cars if they go to Nantucket much.

So I have that in my organizer because it makes me smile.

Then I like anything French and I have the above photo at the beginning of my organizer.  I made up my own photo holders by cutting out the separate 4X6 holders in a 81/2 by 11 plastic photo page that had the holes in the side to go into the ringed notebook.  Works really slick.

Then I make my own bookmarks from photos that I like by just taking them to Staples and have them embossed in plastic.  Makes my organizer my own and everything that I like.

I can’t write fancy, but I can copy fancy writing and insert that in pages.  And again, I like French stuff.

I find inspirations to copy that are fun.

More Nantucket.  It always makes me smile and the day to go better to see Brandt Point on Nantucket Island.  There is a Jetty Beach right near that lighthouse and one summer I had the best tan ever as I had a job that I didn’t have to be to work until 10:00 am in a gift shop.  I used to get an hours sun every morning and it was just the best summer I can remember.That beach was just around the corner from Stilldock where I was lucky enough to have a beautiful, beautiful apartment that was steps away from where I worked.

So many cute ideas to make the organizer work.

So easy to get a format of the above and make copies and then use a paper hole punch to fit it into the organizer.

You can plan meals color code stuff.

All kinds of formats that can be copied.

On youtube I found a video on how to do fancy writing in an organizer.  It was fun to try, but not much hope in my handwriting.

I have inspirations that I put in the organizer each week.

And that’s my thoughts for today……

 

 

 

 

Berry Trifle is easy to make and looks impressive.  I pinned the recipe to my Desserts board on my Pinterest.  I like the raspberries and lemon pudding that are in it.  It also has blueberries and chopped up pound cake.

A quick and easy recipe to make is Penne with tomato sauce.  I pinned a recipe on my Italian recipes board on pinterest for adding a little zest to it.

Then I get Barefoot Contessa news feed on my facebook and she asked what people made for the weekend.  One person said she made Grilled Halibut with a lemon butter dill sauce over a bed of wild rice with chives and lemon zest, served with sauteed garlic green beans. I looked up recipes for all those recipes and pinned them on my Pinterest.  Sounds really good to me.

I like the above Fitz & Floyd “Ricamo” canisters.  So cute and colorful.

I like blue and white together and the above table setting is just so pretty. ❤

I like the above photo called sunset over Tuscany.  I think that it would look good poster size.

I really have always liked the above land in New Hampshire just over the river from Vermont.  It’s been for sale for a long time and it’s 5 acres.  They want way too much for it with all that it would take to put a house on it.  It doesn’t include a well or septic.  But in real estate location is everything.  A house put there, in my opinion, would only grow in value.  Oh well.

I saw the above coffee mug and it can be personalized.  So cute and a keepsake.

And that’s my thoughts for today.

 

The above setting is what I would like to own.  I like the view, the pond and the space it has for a garden

I like a dream garden area like the above.  The manicured hedges making little compartments for flowers, the arches for climbing roses, the garden path with a circle of flowers around an urn fountain.

On one of my favorite fashion blogs I saw what they call Kuhfs that attach to a 3 inch cuff on your jeans.  So cute but they cost over $30.00.  They had all kinds of patterns.

I can’t even imagine having the above view.  I love it.

I like Hollyhocks.  They are so old fashioned and pretty.

Sunflowers are also one of my favorite flowers.  There are a lot of varieties of sunflowers, but the above one is one of my very favorites.

One of my favorite facebook friends has a border collie called “Masie Grace”.  So cute how he took a photo of the young border collie herding baby lambs for practice.

On QVC last night they had a ring that is called a love ring.  One of the meanings it could be is how a little baby wraps it’s hand around your finger.  They said that it would be a beautiful mothers day gift.  It would always remind you of your child.  So precious.

Charlotte is over 100 miles from where I live, but I’ve seen views like that of Mt Ascutney which is near here.  My best friend when I was a kid had a view of Mt Ascutney from their living room window that reminds me of this photo.

And that is my thoughts for today…..

 

 

 

I like Martha Stewart’s Seal Harbor kitchen that you can buy at the Home Depot.  The only thing I would add to it is a dish washer and a double wall oven.

I also like the above window seat idea.  So cozy and comfy looking.

I like the style of the above fireplace and the mirror over the fireplace.

I think that the above kitchen might be one of my very favorite ideas.  I love the double oven, the color of the island and the corner sink with lots of windows.  Also the counter top stove with the shelf above it design.

I like needlepoint pillows and soft throws.  The Nantucket pillow is just beautiful.

I like the little tin man that my brother made out of tin cans for their garden.  So cute.

I like the above setting……..

I like how the above shaped cutting board looks in a kitchen.

I like the above table.

I like the above tray.

I would love a sewing room with french doors that had a view of a beautiful landscaped garden.

I like a fence with sunflowers all along the fence.

And that’s a few of the things I love……

I like the above photo of Monet’s Garden.  So beautiful.  What a neat idea with the white tulips planted under what looks like a cherry blossom tree.  Then the splash of color with orange Black Eyed Susans mixed in with some purple hyacinths and some kind of yellow flower.  Maybe daffodils.

Then the 800 varieties of Tulips from the Netherlands.  Beautiful how they are in clusters of colors around a waterway with accents of green grass.

I like scallops and saw a tip on how to ask for “dry scallops” when you buy the scallops.  The dry scallops don’t have chemical additives and are an ivory pinkish color.

I like to go on bike rides and like the above idea for a bike ride picnic.  I like that wicker basket that fits right on the front of a bike.  It looks like a couple of sandwiches, apples and maybe some kind of brownies or chocolate chip cookies in the goodies bag.  In the mason jar, I might put Sangrias with ice.

The above is a photo of the elementary school that I went to.  That side of the building was not a main entrance.  I can remember school photos taken on those steps of classes of about 30 kids each year with each grade teacher.  In front of that side was a steep bank with steps in the middle.  Then a field where the boys played baseball.  To the right end of the building was a playground and to the left was a main entrance, a flag pole and 3 huge pine trees to the side.  They tore the building down years ago.  Such fond memories there and now it’s just all gone.

What a pretty garden idea.  In Manchester, VT they have Robert Todd Lincoln’s house called Hildene.  In the back of the house, there are gardens something like the above only even more beautiful.  Fun to have a tour of the house and the grounds in the summer.

Another honor system farm stand…….

The Green Mountains of Vermont……..

I love Vermont.

 

It’s raining and about 36 degrees right now here in Vermont.  Looking forward to the May flowers.

Rainy day willow trees in the Spring…….

I like Shrimp Scampi when it is sauteed in butter, garlic, white wine and lemon.  Then to put it over zucchini noodles that are made using the spiralizer, is just a must try recipe.  They sauteed the zucchini noodles in the pan where they made the sauteed the shrimp to give the noodles lots of flavor.  I saw the recipe on the Today show this morning and went in on their web page and pinned the recipe to my veggie recipe board on Pinterest.

The Pioneer Woman is giving away three aprons with the oven mitts to match to a couple or so of her web site viewers.  I entered the give away and she has a giveaway or 2 every week.  Kind of fun to have a chance to win cute stuff.

I like dangly earrings and I like Lapis and turquoise.  The above earrings are on sale at Zulily.  They are from Barse and marked down from $90.00 to $34.99.  Nice deal in my opinion.  I really like the Zulily website and I like the Loft website as well.

I saw the above idea to have on one side of your sewing and craft room.  I love the style of it.

To have the above craft table would be neat to have for both sewing and crafts and I saw at the Walmart yesterday that they have those little cube storages that would make the table really easy to make.

My cousin is in the Bella Voce Women’s Chorus of Vermont.  It is such a very fun group.  Last year they traveled to Austria and several countries.  They have a Christmas concert every year and one year they had a Spring tea.  My cousin majored in music in college and she was a music teacher at one time.  The above concert would be fun to go to.

I saw a neat recipe the other day that looked refreshing for summer.  They called it a wine slushy and all they did was to put some red wine in an ice cube tray and then when it was frozen, they put it in the blender and just pulsed it until it was like a slushy.  But I know with my blender that you have to put some kind of liquid in the bottom if you want to blend ice.

I’d like to try the above Strawberry/Rhubarb cobbler.  It’s a Barefoot Contessa recipe and I pinned on my desserts board on my Pinterest.

There is a dinner cruise boat that goes out on Lake Sunapee in NH.  We have had fun going out on that boat a couple of times and they have a buffet style dinner.  It’s like one big party.  It starts around 6:00 PM or so and on the way back to the harbor where the cruise starts, it seems like all the houses around the lake that you can see have every one of their lights on in their house including lantern like porch lights like the above photo.  The above house is on Lake Sunapee and it’s an open beam Yankee Barn home.  I just love the style of it and it’s right on the lake.

So I was looking at my weather app on my cell phone and it says 37 degrees and light rain but it feels like 32 degrees.  Looking forward to better weather. ❤

And that’s my thoughts for today……..

 

 

This morning it’s in the 30’s here and the sun was late to come out.  I guess that it’s going to be in the 50’s today.  I was looking through some Pinterest boards that I have and I like to look at photos of Provence and Paris, France.  Especially in the Spring photos.  I think that it would be fun to have breakfast with fresh croissants.

People that are in Paris can get fresh croissants every morning.  They are very time consuming to make and expensive to buy in the only place I know of around here that makes them from scratch fresh.

I think that it would be fun to have a French ham and cheese Croque Monsieur.  Oui oui, how delightful.  It’s easy to make one just like the one above to have right at home.  I made one before from a recipe from Ina Garten’s Paris cook book and it was so filling that I could only eat about 1/4 of it.

Just imagine what it would be like to have an apartment in Paris and a balcony like the one above and enjoy coffee with that view.

I saw a blogger one time that lived part time in Paris and part time in California and actually had that view to work from in her home apartment.  I can not hardly even imagine it in my wildest dreams.

I guess the only word for that kind of life would be delightful.

Fresh flowers from a Paris flower shop……..

Enjoy the treat of macarons made in Paris.  OMG.

Shop at a real Paris Farmers Market for all they have to offer……

I am going to get the above book as it sounds interesting to me.  I can’t even imagine a stroll through Paris.

Then a side trip to Provence…..

Seeing the lavender and sunflower fields……….

The beautiful villages……..

The gift shops and real French made soaps and sachets made from French lavender…….

I love a lavender wreath that is heart shape……..I gave my Mom one like that one time.  She loved it.

French baguettes for sale everywhere………

I love how they have shutters on their windows and flower gardens…..

Tables outside and I like their french style doors to little patios…….

It’s just a style that I am attracted to……

Something about it just is beautiful….

Gruyere cheese is like $10.00 for a very thin portion in my local super market.  I’ve never seen a huge round Gruyere cheese setting like the above.  Awesome.

J’Adore France……

After enjoying a morning of thinking of what it would be like to visit France, I had to make myself a French style omelette.  I had coffee in my Paris coffee mug and I used a Paris plate for the omelette.  And that was my thoughts for today……..

 

 

When I was driving through town yesterday, they had daffodils and red tulips in a little enclosed by single bricks garden in front of one of the local Banks.  Such a pretty combination.

Something that I think is awesome is the above Kelly Way Gardens that the Woodstock Inn has.  They grow all fresh vegetables and flowers for their Inn.  So beautiful.

I saw the above recipe for Parisian Potage.  It sounds like a potato and leek soup with Gruyere cheese sprinkling on top and a little parsley.  It’s a Jacques Pepin recipe and just so French, that I might think it would be fun to make.

I like the color and style of the above pocketbook.  It looks like the extremely expensive designer purse, but it’s affordable.

One of my favorite fashion bloggers featured the above dress from the Loft.  She said that it was $25.00 on sale and she wore it to church.  But you could dress it down with a dungaree jacket.  I looked the dress up on line at the Loft and it was originally $156.00 for the dress, so it is quite a deal.  I couldn’t get the price down to $25.00, but I got it down to $54.00 with the deals I could find on it.  The fashion bloggers are better at dealing and finding the discounts then I am.  But I think the dress is a classic and nice to have.

I needed a book case for my home office.  I wanted one that was solid wood and sturdy but I couldn’t spend a lot of money on it.  So I found the above book case at a yard sale for only $10.00.  I love it.  It’s just right and it’s solid wood and very sturdy.  One of the best finds ever.  The girl was moving to California and it was a moving sale.  She was just about giving stuff away because she didn’t want to have to move the stuff.

I like the Long Horn Steakhouse and yesterday I got 3 recipes in my E-mail from the Long Horn Steakhouse.  Their Bourbon Marinated Salmon, Parmesan Baked Chicken and their Grilled Rib Eye.  So their Steak, Salmon and Chicken recipes.  I pinned them on my copycat recipe board on my Pinterest.  Nice to have and the Long Horn Steak house is quite a distance from where we live so we don’t go there often enough.

Then I got some really neat ideas from watching Kelsey’s Essentials on the Cooking Channel last week.  The episode was called “Spice and Easy”.  She made up her own spice combinations for a seafood and fish blend, a Cinn-a-spice creme bru lee and oven roasted potatoes with a spice blend.

Kelsey made a pan seared halibut with the spice blend and a homemade tartar sauce that she gave the recipe for.  I pinned that recipe on my fish board on Pinterest.

The potatoes were fingerling potatoes cut in half and she roasted them with this really neat spice blend that she put in a spice grinder.  Then she sprinkled parsley on top.  I pinned that recipe to my veggie board on Pinterest.

The Creme brulee looked really good with her cinnamon spice blend and I pinned that recipe on my dessert board or my French recipes board on my Pinterest.

And then an interesting cook show was a couple that went to Maine and had lobster rolls that had only melted butter poured over it.  They gave that recipe plus they rented a house boat and made lobster rissoto.  I put those 2 recipes on my fish board on my Pinterest.

I would love to visit Maine this summer and have some lobster.  Also their fried clams.  Yum!

Then something kind of interesting that came into my facebook was the above wedding dress cake.  It weighs 160 lbs and is 5 feet tall.  Amazing how they made that.  The cake was for the Cake International Exhibition at Alexandra Palace in London last weekend.

I like how the early morning dew looks in that field in the morning .  You can just tell that  grass is dew covered in the morning before the sun comes up.

And that’s my thoughts for today……