And the Oscar Goes To...

My friend June (do you know June? If not, you should cause she is RAD!) said that she would love to see my picks for the Oscars. Well, that got me to thinking. What if I could pick the Oscars? Of course there wouldn't be any current movies cause, honestly, I haven't seen a lot of current movies. I will however, keep it fairly current and fresh and not too obscure. Anyhoo....If I could pick the Oscars, it would go to the following


Best Actor:
I did say that I would keep it current and since that means not picking William Powell, my pick for best actor is Jeff Bridges. There is only one reason-The Big Lebowski. Still not convinced? This man can play everything from the Dude to Rooster Cogburn. I'll forgive him for Tron 2 strictly because of True Grit.


Best Supporting Actor:
The Pamcar (they are MY picks, so they get Pamcars) goes to Sam Elliott. Reason why? See Big Lebowski, oh and Road House, can't forget that one! This man could read the phone book to me and I would melt like butter. 

Best Actress:
I can honestly say that there is not a current actress that I would consider as the best. So, no Pamcar for you.

Best Supporting Actress:
See above

Best Director:
I would have to say that The Coen brothers get my top vote. See Jeff Bridges...are you catching a theme here?

Best Soundtrack:
Every day for a solid year I listened to the soundtrack for O Brother Where Art Thou. T-bone Burnett is a genius with music as a producer and a musician. Once again, another Coen brothers movie.

Best Movie:
And the last Pamcar goes to....The Big Lebowski, or maybe O' Brother Where Art Thou?...dang Roadhouse is a great one too. You can't go wrong with True Grit either. Oh, they all are winners, a Pamcar for all of them!

So there you go, a little insight into my madness, or at least what the movies and actors that drive me crazy!

Feel Good Friday

Well, look at you...made it through another week. Aren't you the bright one? Since you did such a good job by making it to Friday, I've got a few little treats for you.

How can you not love this pillow by Fiber Artsy...get it, love..Hey! That's a good one. Anyway, this pillow is amazing and Fiber Artsy is so awesome. I'm pretty sure I would have gone blind trying to stitch this up. 

 I have been obsessed with Just Something I Made. So many projects and not enough time. Cathe has just about any project for any level of skill.

It's a little Pam doll! Momiji makes cute little dolls that you write little messages and put them in the doll. They come in a variety of styles. They are just too adorable and I see a new collection in my future.

And because it's been some time since I've posted cute puppy pictures, here ya go. I can not stand the cuteness! Thanks Barry for posting such a cute picture of Bella

Alright my little pets, there ya go. A few things to brighten your Friday afternoon. I am off this weekend to finish up some stitching projects, enjoy family time and maybe even catch up on my sleep.

Always be a first-rate version of yourself,
instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.
-Judy Garland

You Could Be A Winner!

It's true! I've finally reached 200 readers and my gift to you is a contest! Now, this just isn't any crappy contest-there will be TWO winners! You heard me right-TWO WINNERS! Let's see...what could you win? Well, you could win a .......

Scandinavian Stitches. This is a super cute book and it could be yours. Yep, it's true!

For even more Scandinavian love, the second person will will Scandinavian Needlecraft.

Now here's the details on how to win. Simply leave a comment about how you stumbled upon my blog. Did you find me via a friend's suggestion? From another blog? Are you related to me and I made you follow? Just let me know how you found out about me. Winners will be announced next Wednesday March 9th. Only one entry per person.


Thanks for helping me make it to two hundred-let's see if I can double that in the coming years.

xoxoxo

Tie One On Tuesday

 Image courtsey of Picnic by Ellie

It's the first of March which means that Mother Nature better step on it cause spring is just around the corner. My daffodils are already peaking their little heads up and the birds are getting a little frisky. I'm sure there are a few beverages I can dig up for you that will make you feel a little frisky too. WINK!

Remember those little birds that I was telling you about? Well this little bird packs a punch.

Yellow Bird
juice of half a lime
1 1/4 oz of orange juice
1 ounce light rum
1 ounce dark rum
1/4 oz Galliano
Squeeze the lime juice into a cocktail shaker with ice
Add the remaining ingredients
Shake well and strain into a Collins glass with crushed ice
Garnish with a cherry

I'm not sure why we think of mint when we think of March-maybe it's a green thing or maybe it's because we want fresh breath when we are smooching our honeys.

Mint Fizz
3/4 tsp sugar
3 fresh mint sprigs
1 oz fresh lime juice
Ice
2 oz vodka
Champagne
Berries for garnish
Combine the sugar, mint, and lime juice. Muddle with a spoon.
Add ice to a drink shaker along with vodka.
Shake vigorously and strain into a flute.
Top the glass with champagne; garnish with a few fresh berries and a sprig of mint.

I really think that you need to have a huge party to celebrate the beginning of spring. You know, invite the birds, the bees, that cutie from across the hall.

Spiced Spring Punch
1 oz Spiced Rum
1 part Lillet Rouge
3/4 part fresh pink grapefruit juice
1/2 part Licor 43
1 part soda water
strawberries and fresh sage leaves to garnish
Combine ingredients in a large punch bowl over a large block of ice. Add garnish and allow for self service


Yummy! Three drinks for three different parties.Pull back those curtains, open the doors and let spring arrive! I refuse to let the chill and rain in the Pacific Northwest get me down-it's spring, no matter what the thermometer says! 

One Vicious Vixen

A few weeks ago,  we said good-bye to one vicious vixen, the reason behind Faster Kittykill! Blog! Blog!, Tura Santana. She was buxom, black hair and ferocious.  She could kick anyone's butt and look amazing doing it. Sure, her movies were not Oscar winners, hell, they weren't even "B" movies, but she had something...she had attitude that women wanted and men drooled over.

I loved that her past was shady, she was slightly loony but still very sweet. She was smart, owning all the rights to her image and refused to allow anyone to take advantage of her. Before her death she was working on a documentary of her life. Even at age 72 she meant business.

I have featured her fine movies here before but they definitely deserve another shout out.You can find these outstanding  blips of cinema history at your local video store or on Netflix. Be warned-they are not for the faint of heart. Her bosoms alone can cause a coronary. Check out Faster Pussycat, Kill! Kill!, Astrozombies or The Doll Squad, all wonderful  tastes of her take no prisoners attitude. 

I like to think that she is up in heaven showing the big man upstairs some karate moves. Wherever she is, I know that she is kicking ass and taking names, cause she wouldn't have it any other way. Good-bye my little buxom vixen-you will be missed.

Salivating Saturday

Banana bread is the easiest quick bread in the world to make and what better way to make use of those old bananas that no one wants to eat. I like banana bread but chocolate banana bread-watch out, cause I will fight you for the last crumbs. The chocolate is not overpowering and with a little bit of butter-SO GOOD!

Chocolate Banana Bread
 Ingredients

1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips (dark or milk, your choice)
2 large eggs lightly beaten
1/2 cup melted butter, slightly cooled
3 ripe or overripe bananas well mashed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place oven rack to middle position. Butter and flour (or spray with a non stick vegetable/flour spray) the bottom and sides of a large loaf pan.


In a large bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda an salt.


In a medium-sized bowl combine the mashed bananas, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla. 


Fold in wet ingredients into dry ingredients. The batter will be very thick and slightly chunky. Now fold in nuts and chips.


Bake until bread has risen and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 to 65 minutes

Feel Good Friday!

Howdy pardners! It's Friday  and guess what? I have a deep secret to share with you. I'm a little embarrassed, but I figure I'm among friends, so what the heck. I have secretly always wanted to be a cowgirl. As I look out my window and watch the traffic, I yearn for a wide open space to do my cowgirl thing.

 

Isn't she the cutest? I'm pretty sure that I look this cute when I am out on the range-and by range, I mean my backyard. My friend Becky stitched this up for me when we first met. She's good people and does some awesome stitching! 

 No one captured the wild west and rodeos like Erwin E. Smith. His photos show real cowboy and cowgirl life and the colorful pageantry of wild west shows. 

Even though I can't live out my fantasy of roping and riding (at least right now), I watch American Cowgirl and get my quick fix

I'm pretty sure I need this shirt to be a real cowgirl.

I definitely need these boots

And maybe this horse...I need to start off slow, I don't want to get bucked off.

Oh my little wranglers! One day I will live out my dream of having a little piece of land. Do a little farming, a little riding, a little gazing of OMP in his wranglers...oops, probably should kept that one to myself. Until then, I will just have to keep looking up at the stars and wishing. Yeehaw!