ma vie trouvée

Yummy salad with pumpkin and feta cheese

 

salad with pumpkin & feta cheese & mustard dressing

 

I had the best salad in Bali last week.  I liked it so much I came home and recreated it for dinner.  It was so good.  Here is what I did:

 

* Cut pumpkin in thin strips and cook for about 15 minutes in a little butter.  Cook until caramelized.  Set aside.

* Boil green beans until done, run cool water over them to stop the cooking process.

* Mix oil and vinegar with a tablespoon or so of grainy mustard.

* Cut chicken in slices and cook in a pan with a little oil and salt and pepper.

Layer all ingredients on mixed lettuce greens and add feta cheese - drizzle dressing on top. 

The one I had in the restaurant also had small cubes of potatoes in the mix, but I think I actually liked it better without.

 

ENJOY!

 

texture tuesday: light - Ha long Bay, Vietnam

 

Ha Long Bay: Vietnam

 

 

Kim's challenge this week was to create an image prompted by the word "light".  I love the way the light shimmers across the water in this photo.  I took it on our recent visit to the stunning Halong Bay in Vietnam.  It will be fun to see how others interpret this word.

This was a simple one for me, I used one texture, Coolgrunge by Kim.

But you know me......I can never use just one texture.  So here is the other version.  I added two of my own textures. 

I think the red texture is really cool because it is a shot of the inside of the boat in the photo.  Here is the original:

 

 

To see more images of the stunning Halong Bay - stop by my travel blog for a peek.  Also stop by Kim's site to see what other photographers are creating.

 

the $20 stamp

 

While shopping in Hanoi, Vietnam last week I found this young boy carving stamps out of wood.  I really wanted an elephant stamp so I show him my elephant wallpaper sample.  We agree on a design and I tell him the size (4x4).  He quotes me $32 – I say this is high and I will pay $20 – he reduces the size to 2 1/2 by 2 1/2.  He tells me to come back tomorrow.

 

 

 

That evening I tell the hubby about my purchase – with a shocked look on his face, he asks $20?  Not that he cared that I spent $20 – he is just surprised that anything in Hanoi would cost $20!

 

 

 

So the boy tugged at my heart.....the average income in Hanoi is $1000 per year.  Do I love the stamp?  Not really.  It is a little too cartoonish and it is very hard to get a good image from it.  But I know he worked hours carving it and it is a sweet little memory of Hanoi  :  )

 

 

TT: free and easy - vietnamese woman

Vietnam - Yen Duc Village

 

 

 

We just returned from a fabulous trip to Vietnam.  I was able to capture so many wonderful photos.  This was one of my favorites.  She had just eaten a nut that made her mouth and teeth brown and she was trying to hide it while she was laughing - precious! 

I used Kim's textures cinnamon and chase and one of my own created from a texture I photographed in Vietnam.  Here is the original photo:

 

 

 

Bangkok: What I bought

 

shop shop shop

Bangkok is a shoppers heaven.  It is cheap and there are a million stores.  I bought lots of presents - but can't post them or they will not be surprises  :  )

Earrings and necklaces  I bought for myself.  I paid $8 each.

 

 

 

 

 

Lace, buttons and more!  Oh look at that lovely hand-made paper in the background - two large sheets @ 40 cents each.  All the lace (yards of each) and buttons shown further down were $6.

 

 

 fun mix of everything

 

 

Aren't these pretty?  They will be perfect for cards. 

 

 

 

 smaller peach flowers

 

 

buttons

 

 

This looks like it is old.  I paid $3 for the whole roll.  It was quite the challenge telling the man I wanted to buy the entire thing as he did not speak a word of English.  But I have become an expert in hand language.

 

 

 

 

Pretty decorative tape. 

 

  

 

 

The pink molds were very interesting.  I bought them in an artificial flower supply shop.  They are used to mold the petals to make the flowers.  I thought they would be fun to try resin in.

 

 

Can't wait to give them a try. 

 

 

 

 

 

And this is the silk they sold to make the flowers.  It feels like nylon.  Not sure what I will do with it, but it looked like a fun material to work with.

 

 

Love love love the Japanese paper and characters. 

 

 

  

 

Each page has a little message - this one says

"don't forget the moment!"

 

 

 

I thought this brand had really beautiful graphics.

 

 

Again - there is a little note on each page. 

 

Did I need any of this?  Of course not - but I tell myself - I may never visit Bangkok again so buy now!  Plus the prices are so cheap it is hard to pass up.

 

Texture Tuesday: two textures

 

Bangkok, Thailand

 

 

 

I started with this photo

 

 

 

and decided to just use this small piece of it

 

 

next I added textures

kim's "and then some" & "scripted"

plus one my own from Bangkok

 

 

 

last, I added this photo

it was a very backward process for me

normally I would have started with this one

 

 

 

Stop by and see what everyone else is doing with texture tuesday!

Bangkok: Chinatown - buttons and beads and ribbons and more!

Buttons and Beads

 

 

 

We found a new area in Chinatown that has rows and rows of little shops filled with craft goodies.  And when I say filled....I really mean FILLED!

 

We were limited on time, so I was only able to scratch the surface.  Guess where I will be going on our next trip to Bangkok?  Check out this store all the shelves in the counter are filled with buttons.

 

 

Yes ladies - those walls are lined with bags of beads!

 

And this store.....all beads.

 

 

 

 

 

 Ribbons

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And More!

Thread - every color under the sun.

 

 

Zippers

 

 

Cute girls working in the booths.  They love to have their photos taken.

 

 

 

 

What did I buy?  Check back in a few days to see!

 

beyond layers: times 3 in bangkok

 

This week our Beyond Layers assignment was to take one photo and play with it three different ways.

How boring is this photo?

 

 

REALLY boring - but I loved the shape of the top of this old swing in Bangkok.  So I added this texture I took in Bangkok, along with several of Kim's wonderful textures:

 

 

I played around in PSE and here are the results -

version one

 

 

version two

 

version three

 

 

I have to admit - I really like this image and was thinking about having version two printed to hang it in my dining room.  What do you think?  Which version do you like?

TT: me at the beach in New Zealand

 

This week's theme over at Texture Tuesday was "free and easy plus one of Kim's textures".  I thought this photo from our recent trip to New Zealand would be fun to work with.  The hubby actually took it.....but I did all the altering.  Does this still count?  

If you want to read about our two week adventure in New Zealand click here to visit our travel blog.

For this image I used Kim's textures: now, kk2, scripted edges, aurora, little things, faved w/border, and one of my own textures.  I should win an award for using so many of Kim's textures on one image!

I wanted to share the original as it is so different from the final image.   

 

 

Stop by and see what everyone else created with Kim's fabulous textures.

 

nature's beads - new zealand

I have never seen sea life like this before.  I thought they looked exactly like beads.  I could not find any information on them so if anyone knows about this - please share with all of us!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the keeper of the beads - who was sleeping on the job!

 

To read all about or two-week adventure in New Zealand - visit our travel blog here:  Donald and Cathy's World adventures.