the ten dollar smile

9 / 3 / 13

What can you really get for $10 these days..? A fancy coffee drink and (maybe) a muffin? A couple gallons of gas? Unfortunately, we live in a world where things of value, things that matter, are gonna set you back a bit. It’s just the way things are these days, and we have to accept that. Or do we…?

Met some friends, two other couples, the other morning for breakfast at a little local area called “Park Place”, here in Kansas City. Following an early morning thunderstorm, the sun had returned and the skies were a glorious blue, so we all sat outside and chatted over coffee for a couple of hours. Afterwards, the hubbie and I decided that we needed to stretch our legs after sitting for so long, so we strolled the outdoor shops, hitting a couple of “end of season sidewalk sales”. By the time we hit late afternoon, we both admitted that our stomachs were grumbling a bit, and all of the little sidewalk cafes had started “Happy Hour”. Perfect timing for a glass of wine, some olives and a little hummus. So you might be thinking that this is the end of the story, but it’s not. You see, I haven’t told you everything...

What I didn’t mention yet, was the time between strolling the shops and Happy Hour… As it was, we popped out of one of the stores, and were immediately greeted with the sounds of a sidewalk musician – a lone guitarist with a voice a lot like “The Fray”. So we did what we knew we had to do. We pulled up a spot near the music and the fountains and settled into one of the brightly painted adirondack chairs for a little R&R in the glorious Sunday sunshine. As we all know, shopping can be absolutely EXHAUSTING for men!! (If you squint real hard on the pic above, you will see the guitarist on the far right of the pic, through the water droplets; and the hubbie is sitting next to my green chair, in a blue shirt, shades on, eyes closed…) The guy played his heart out, while folks strolled by and smiled, children ran in and out of the fountains, oblivious to anything but their own innocent joy, nearby sidewalk diners clapped politely…

Now I don’t know this young man’s story. At all. Was he paid by the merchants? Does he do this on the side, or is music his sole source of income; his passion? Did he know that we enjoyed the fact that he was there… that day… playing those songs… making our day a little brighter…? As I was up snapping this pic, he announced that it was his last song, and he thanked everyone who was there and wished them happiness for the rest of their day. My hubbie smiled at me and stood up, walking over to the young man. He had no “tip bucket” of any kind, so the hubbie merely thanked him for the gift of his music, and handed him a small token of gratitude. His eyes lit up with a sincere appreciation was so genuine it made my heart ache. A smile that was so worth every last penny… Be the reason.

live happy, cathy

little moments in time

8 / 31 / 13

Some days are precisely planned out; to the last minute and in exact detail. You make lists and plans, you prioritize and alter, you tweak and re-do. And then there are the moments in time that just happen…

We woke up this morning and the hubbie suggested that we go out to breakfast. I like that. So we did. “Urban Table”. He knows I love it cause it’s all Frenchy, Shabby Chic décor… LOVE! And they serve yummies like mini waffles with dark chocolate lavender syrup…?! What…??? I know – Right? We lingered long over coffee, in a wonderful, lazy, Saturday morning kinda way. And then we started driving, rather aimlessly, around town. Now those of you who know me well realize that I have a tendency to get a bit, well, antsy… after being in a car for any length of time. And by “any length of time“, I basically mean anything more than, say… 30 minutes? Yes. I’m serious. But today was different. It was a beautiful morning, the sun was out and we were in “Little Red”; the hubbies 1988 convertible. Almost by accident, really, we ended up in Old Overland Park, and realized that it was Saturday… Yay! The Farmer’s Market!! So we walked and shopped and perused the market. Fresh fruit and veggies, gorgeous flowers, homemade blackberry jam (Yes; thank you! My fav!), farm fresh eggs, buttercream cupcakes (luckily too full from breakfast!), fire roasted corn-on-the-cob, apple pie and peaches, hand-crafted soaps, local wild mushrooms… even bought wine from a local winery!!

Yep; No planning. No lists. Just a morning filled with little special moments, tiny snipits of time… “Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.” Dr. Seuss

Live happy, friends…

lazy days & BBQ’s

8 / 28 / 13

So here we are nearing the end of another summer… Wow. Where, oh where, did the time go…??? This was originally posted just in time for Memorial Day, the unofficial start of the summer season. With Labor Day weekend right around the corner, I figured it was worth sharing one more time!! Enjoy…

killer kale pasta

8 / 27 / 13

Do you ever do this? You look at what you have in the refrigerator, the freezer, the pantry… and you try to come up with a plan? For dinner? WITHOUT having to go to the grocery store? Ya… See; that’s the hard part. Can you really do it without leaving the house…? Well; this is kind of a game with me. And I play it often. Mainly because I hate going to the grocery store. Unless it’s Trader Joes. I LOVE me some Trader Joes! We will expand on that in a future post… 😉

So today I had leftover “beer can chicken” that the hubbie did on the grill Sunday. And a massive bag of kale (We LOVE kale around here!!) And an onion. So I “googled” to see what I could come up with. Guy Fieri came through with a plan!! I subbed in a jar of roasted red peppers from the pantry (easy peasy!) which saved me the time of the entire 1st step!! I also subbed in a sweet yellow onion, that I needed to use up, for the shallots. Sautéed that in the beginning, until translucent, and added the garlic. Everything else pretty much went according to the recipe, EXCEPT I did NOT end up using the chicken stock. At all. And we stirred in a bit of goat cheese instead of the parmesan. It definitely had a “kick”, thanks to my neighbor, Deb, who saved me when I ran out of red pepper flakes! But was honestly quite delish! We enjoyed it with a bottle of Merlot (per Guy’s suggestion!)

So; there we go. Dinner. Lemme know what’s cookin’ at your house today…????

live happy, Cathy

Killer Kale Pasta (by Guy Fieri)

Ingredients

2 red bell peppers
Olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium shallots, diced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes, plus extra for finishing
1/2 cup white wine
One 28-ounce can plus one 14-ounce can diced fire roasted tomatoes, such as Glen Muir
2 large bunches kale (about 3 pounds)
4 cups coarsely shredded roasted chicken meat
1 cup chicken stock
1 pound rigatoni
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup grated Parmesan

Directions

Rub the red bell peppers all over with olive oil and place directly over a direct flame to char on all sides, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove from the flame and place into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to steam for about 10 minutes. Once cool to the touch, remove the steamed peppers from the bowl and pull off the charred skin, stem and seeds. Cut into slices and set aside until ready to use.

Set a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add a drizzle of olive oil and saute the garlic with the shallots. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until the garlic is fragrant and the shallots are translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the red pepper flakes, and then add the white wine. Cook until most of the wine has evaporated. Add the cans of tomatoes and the roasted red peppers. Mix well and bring to a steady boil. Reduce the heat so it is simmering.

Meanwhile, prepare the kale by removing stems and discarding. Tear the leaves up into bite-size pieces. Fold into the tomato sauce along with the chicken. Toss to combine and cover with a lid. Cook for about 5 minutes, and if you notice that the vegetables are “dry,” add 1 cup chicken stock. Simmer until the kale is tender, all the flavors have come together and the sauce is thick, 15 to 20 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Cook the rigatoni pasta al dente in a large pot of salted boiling water according to the package directions, 8 to10 minutes. Drain the pasta and add directly to the Dutch oven with the finished sauce. Toss to coat everything and cook over low heat (this allows the last cooking of the pasta to be done in the sauce), 2 to 3 minutes. Add a little of the starchy pasta water if needed.

Serve the pasta in large bowls and top with spoonfuls of grated Parmesan and extra red chili flakes. Goes great with a chianti or merlot!

business? ethics

8 / 23 / 13

Yesterday my daughter’s boyfriend approached me with a request. Could he interview me on the topic of “business ethics”. Hmmm… On the first night of class, his teacher made the statement that there is really no such thing as “business ethics”. Nice. Couldn’t agree more.

So he did our little interview, and I, shockingly, rambled on and on and on… (SO good at that!). But our conversation stayed in my little brain long after “the interview” had ended, thoughts rolling around up there like little tiny frozen peas. So here’s how I feel about it. (I sensed that you were dying to know) I feel that ethics are ethics. Period. You can’t have a different set of values, morals and ethics – one for your personal life, and one reserved solely for business. Nope. Doesn’t work that way.

I have been in the retail world basically my entire life. I started selling Avon door-to-door (And I mean that literally!) with my best friend, Laura, when we were 14. Our moms had to drive us (Ha!) to the “required meetings”, where we rubbed shoulders with all of the “old ladies”. (Yep. Those “old ladies” were probably well into their 30’s… at least!! HA!!) Time marches on, and along the way I did everything imaginable with regard to retail; ultimately starting my own retail business, “Creations“, over eleven years ago. Being an entrepreneur means having to get out there on your own and make it work. I was a “one (wo)man band” – the CEO as well as the gal who makes the coffee. And sometimes the coffee got burned. There are lots (and lots) of people out there who really don’t care about anyone but themselves. Fact. However…. there are so many more who DO!!! I really do believe that. You just have to search them out and make them part of your circle. When I say “circle”, I don’t mean in some “exclusive, you gotta meet all of these expectations, uppity, nose-in-the-air” kinda stuff. Just the opposite, actually. I care about the people that I call friends, and I want THEM to succeed, as well. If we all work together in that circle, promoting each other, sharing info, contacts, suggestions, positive energy… we will ALL grow in ways that we cannot ALONE! On the contrary, those who are out to (negatively) compete, with gossip and backstabbing… well; I would just have to ask them if they believe in karma?? I sure do. If we are good and kind to others, the world will give all of that back… and more. Believe it. (Insert music to Kumbaya, and let’s all hold hands.)

So there it is. That, my friends, is how I feel about (business) ethics. Any other questions…?

live happy

a summer sabbatical

8 / 22 / 13

A summer sabbatical. From social media. Interesting. So what does that really mean, and why do it?

Well… by definition, it just means that I took the complete summer off from participating in any form of social media. At all.

Ya, right.

I do have to say, however, that I really did try. There were a few “cheats” along the way; but for the most part I honestly tried to steer clear of the constant temptations and did my very best to avoid this love/hate relationship that I seem to have with my computer. Hmmm. Think I just stumbled across the perfect segway into the real “meat and potatoes” of this post… “Why do it?”.

A couple reasons, really. First of all to test myself. Can I possibly survive without social media? Will the world – or, perhaps more specifically, MY world, cease to exist without the constant stimulation of my daily dose of social media buzz? As it turns out, one can exist, and dare I say, thrive, WITHOUT social media. Who knew. That being said, however… What about my readers? My fellow bloggers? My Pinterest peeps? My Facebook friends… and likes… and followers…? Will THEY be able to survive the summer without my insight, my perspective, my wisdom, my knowledge, my non-stop chatter…. ???

In a word – yes.

So, there it is, friends. The summer sabbatical is complete; and I am back. I (quite sincerely) look forward to our time together going forward. There is just so much we have to learn from each other. And yes; I missed you.

live happy – Cathy

time marches on…

7 / 15 / 13

Lauren & Kyle highchairs

OK – So I’m still supposed to be on my “summer sabbatical” from all social media. But I’m kinda sad today… and I just needed to tell someone. So I’ll make it quick. Then it doesn’t really count…?

After a restless night’s sleep, I awakened with this gnawing, empty feeling way down in my gut that only a mom would know. It was that helpless feeling of time marching on; whether you agreed to be part of the band… or not. You see, my babies turned 23 today. Without me. Yep – The very first time that they have been away from us on their birthday. Now before you start telling me all of that logical, “after all, they are ADULTS now“, baloney, let me just say right up front that I get all that. I, honestly, could not be more proud of the adult children that we have raised. We feel that we have been mightily blessed and thank God for them each and every day. xo

But moms ~~want~~ need to feel needed sometimes… Ok, maybe all the time? I dunno. It varies. My sister and I were talking on the phone last night about this very thing. We complain about having to drive them all around town when they are little… here, there and everywhere. Some days are endless. Then they go off and get their driver’s license. That’s great news, right? Sure it is. Until that moment when you wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat realizing that they don’t need you to drive them anywhere… anymore. Time marches on. Your job there is done.

You see, the heart is not the brain. These two body parts operate quite independently of one another. There is logic, and then there is love. In my logical brain, I am so happy for them today. They are with each other, and they are with good friends. Everything is exactly the way it should be; and this is good. Time marches on.

But deep in my soul, they will always be my babies… and today, selfishly, my heart aches like crazy.

live happy ~ Cathy

on this day…

6 / 16 / 13

My post from one year ago… Still rings true today xo

remembering memorial day

5 / 26 / 13

“No one has greater love than the one who gives his life for his friends.” John 15:13

Memorial Day is about remembering those brave and selfless men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice. Their life. For us.

So this weekend, we bow our heads, say a prayer and whisper towards heaven… Thank you. Thank you.

In honor of – I strongly encourage you to check out both of these videos. They bring me to tears each time that I watch them…

“thank you” and “Proud to be An American”. Enough said.

lazy days & BBQ’s

5 / 20 / 13

I’m taking part in a blog series to help you plan and throw the best BBQ this summer. Follow the below links for the all the tips, tricks, and recipes!

Step 1: Planning {Dawn of Joyful Scribblings}

Step 2: Decor / Tablescapes {Cathy of Creations by Cathy}

Step 3: Appetizers {Chelsea of Whatcha Makin’ Now?}

Step 4: Main Dishes and Sides {Nicole of Daily Dish Recipes}

Step 5: Desserts!!! {Katie of What Katie’s Baking}

Step 6: What to wear {Ginny of My New Favorite Outfit}

Now to my section….
So it’s almost party time, and we are ready to set the table and set the mood. I love, love, love a theme! It just seems to make everything so much more fun and festive for you and your guests! Whatever your theme, I’m a big believer in carrying it through from beginning to end.

Let’s start with the front porch, or wherever your guests will first enter your gathering. This is not something that should break the bank! In fact, most of your “shopping” can probably be done right there at home! Let’s start with fresh flowers. If you are a gardener, flowers from the backyard are perfect. Otherwise, a big bunch from Costco should cover it. Touches of fresh flowers here and there, including a little sprinkling in the guest bathroom… Always a nice touch. For this little gathering, why not sub in a stack of bandanas next to the bathroom sink in place of your guest towels?

When it comes to setting your table and arranging your food, start by “thinking out of the box”. We always hear decorators telling us to bring a touch of the outdoors; in. Same goes for bringing the inside…out! Here I mixed my everyday plates with fun “outdoor” utensils and bandanas for the napkins. Slip a slim glass vase inside a cowboy boot, and you’re ready to display your fresh flowers. One thing that I like to do is take a few specific items and integrate them throughout for a sense of continuity. Since this was a BBQ themed party I selected bandanas, cowboy boots and pigs! (Even down to the cute little silver piglet S&P shakers!) I must admit that I’m a little partial to cute little “pig stuff”…Ha! Tying a bandana around your wine or water bottles keeps them from becoming slippery with condensation. Plus it just looks so darn cute!

Don’t drop the ball when it comes to your appetizer and/or beverage set up! Keep that theme going! My theory is that you don’t have to make everything difficult, or “homemade’, when it comes to the food – as long as you make the décor something fun! And “out of the box” certainly works here, too. A cowboy hat to hold the chips, a margarita glass for the salsa and some cute (inexpensive) cocktail napkins for the “margarita bar”! Easy peasy!

One final note, and then I think we’re ready to start the BBQ! Always pay attention to those small details throughout the planning process. Little things like selecting your playlist ahead of time can really enhance the tone of the party. I am a detail person, so for me it’s really all about the little stuff. (Yep. “Can’t see the forest for the trees“, kinda gal) I may run out of time to take a shower, but you had better believe that I had time to put the mayo, BBQ sauce, mustard and relish in cute little decorative serving jars… Ha! I know. It’s not right; is it? Oh well. I’ll just meet them at the door with a margarita and a big smile. Tonight I’m a cowgirl and I’m ready for a party!