Tomato Pie

Okay, this recipe should really be made only with tomatoes from the tomato stand by the side of the road. You know, the one you pass because you can buy tomatoes at the grocery store. DO NOT PASS THE TOMATO STAND! Because, I am sorry to Ralphs, Vons, Albertsons, Gelson's and even Trader Joes - your tomatoes do not compare! But, unfortunately for me, I have to wait until June for my stand to open up again. So I do make this recipe with tomatoes from "the other stores" during this time of the year. First off, you need about 6 - 8 tomatoes and you slice them thinly and put them on paper towels to get all the liquid out of them. Put the paper towels on top of as well as below the tomatoes and change them a couple of times to get all the liquid out. You will need frozen puff pastry, fresh (if you can get it at the stand, do) basil (you can use dried but fresh is better), powdered garlic, salt, white pepper, shredded jack cheese, grated parmesan cheese (the kind that is finely grated - you can get it at Trader Joes or you can use the Kraft kind) and olive oil. I am not giving you amounts because it is one of those things you have to do by looking at it. DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED - you cannot fail at this recipe! Okay, so get a 10 inch pie plate (I know you have one, even if you never use it!) and spray it with cooking spray. Roll out the puff pastry as the package directs and put it in the pie plate, trimming the edges and making holes in the bottom so the crust doesn't shrink. Layer the tomatoes two layers thick, then sprinkle with a SMALL amount of salt, TONS of garlic, EVEN MORE basil and a little white pepper. Then repeat until the pie plate is full. In a bowl, mix about 8 ounces shredded jack cheese, and about the same amount of grated parmesan. Moisten it with olive oil until it sticks together in your hand when you close your fist. My original recipe called for mayonaise (and you can use it if you want to) but I changed it for a more heart healthy recipe (aren't you impressed?) Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until the top bubbles and the bottom is brown. You can also use a frozen pie crust if you prefer but there is something so buttery and good about puff pastry! Enjoy!

Disaster at Sea

Jon is really into fishing now. In fact, we took a trip to the Bass Pro Shop in Rancho Cucamonga (yes there really is a place named Rancho Cucamonga). Jon calls it Disneyland for rednecks. And it is, no lie. There are stuffed dead moose (mooses? moosi? meese? whatever the plural is), a river runs through it (wait, wasn't that a movie with Brad Pitt??), and there is a waterfall (seriously?). The place is totally awe inspiring. And it has every camping/fishing/hunting/outdoors item you would never know you need. And more important - fudge! Anyways, I bought him a new fishing rod for his birthday and he wanted to try it out at my dad's house in Laguna Beach. My dad (who used to fish alot) told him to go at high tide (mistake #1). Jon decided to wear shorts and not bring a jacket (mistake #2). Don't worry, it gets worse. They went to Fisherman's Cove which has a rock ledge on one side which, when hit by the waves makes this huge wall of water (can you see where this is going?). Anyway, poor Jon was fishing by himself (he is 14, and taller than my 19 year old) while I took my dad back to the house (the high tide was hard on his back because of the wave action) and I was just coming back down the steps when the tsunami hit him and swept away his new tackle box, shoes, chair, phone (yes he brought it - mistake #3), bucket, etc. Not to worry, we got back everything but one shoe. I think I saw it floating on the water off the island of Catalina :). Jon was drenched and we tried resusitating the phone (which was new at Christmas) but it was declared dead on arrival. The Titanic has nothing on the Arroyo family! Oh, and just to top things off, Jon has a cold now.

Picture Taking

As anyone who has viewed our Etsy Store can attest, Karen and I are not the best photographers. In fact, some might say that our abilities in photography suck, big time! It is not from lack of effort on our part. We earnestly try each and every time to take a fabulous picture only to find that the item is not clearly displayed, the colors are awful, the lighting is terrible and the background overpowers the item. I really think it is an age thing. People who were born after 1975 and upwards seem to have been born with this built-in tech-savvy ability that us oldie-olsters lack. It really is not fair. But, we are not going to let our inability get us down! We are going to continue to try and take sophisticated pictures that rival anything in Martha Stewart's magazine. But, in the meantime, those of you who do look at our shop, please use that imagination of yours to embellish each item displayed in our shop and know that it is way prettier in person than that little square photo displays!

The Whimsical Art World of Renie Britenbucher

I was checking around in the original paintings aisle of etsy as I am apt to do on a lovely morning like todays and I happened to run across the Whimsical Art World of Renie Britenbucher. I am now in heaven. I love her paintings! They make me happy looking at them. She uses bright, vibrant colors in her Tuscan landscapes, which are my personal favorite. Never been there but she makes me want to go! Her prints and original paintings are a very reasonable price and make having a statement painting affordable. Her shop is located at http://www.etsy.com/shop/reniebritenbucher. Check it out!

30 Day Challenge

I am a procrastinator. In fact, I am supposed to be on day 4 of the 30 day challenge and I have only listened to day 1 and part of day 2. Actually, I haven't heard the video on procrastination yet - I've been putting it off! But, in my defense (whine, whine), it is very hard to sit in front of my computer and listen to Ed Dale talk (or whoever the day's dude is) when I would rather be creating something! Plus, most of it is directed at people who don't know what they want to do and need to find a niche for themselves. Since we already have one, this does not really apply. Also, alot of stuff about search engine optimization and all these extra add-ons you need to have to do that and I really feel that they don't apply to us. We are on google analytics, facebook, twitter and I will join delicious (nag, nag, nag). It seems like so much WORK just to get the information about who is looking at your site and it doesn't seem to help you get any more people TO look, so I don't see the point. Sorry Ed! But I will keep listening, just on the off chance I hear something that will help us. I do think their idea of keeping a notebook to write ideas in with you all the time is a good one. In fact, I located an old notebook and I plan to carry it around with me! (OK, all you cynics, I know you are thinking "We'll see how long that lasts!") I get no respect! I'll let you know when I have caught up on my challenges!

Shoes to Die For

Okay, I have always been a little vain about my feet because they are small. I wear a size 5 (and believe me, that is the only thing that is small on my body besides another area above the waist that should not be small) but today I wish I had size 8 feet. These shoes are the reason. They are chartreuse green and if that is not reason enough to think they are awesome there is the circuit board pattern all over them. And I am not remotely nerd-like (at least not with regards to my computer expertise!) Crafttastrophe makes hand painted, one of a kind shoes and they are spectacular! I have to say that up until a few years ago, I did not feel the pull of fabulous shoes. Probably because no one makes them in my size! But I have since seen the light and now there is nothing more rewarding for me than finding a great pair of shoes in my size. I have even been known to buy a pair in a 5.5 if I like them enough! If you prefer your shoes to be easy on your legs, Crafttastrophe has some one of a kind flats and sneakers too. Check them out at
http://www.etsy.com/shop/Crafttastrophe.

New Item!

We are branching out from our bags and Karen's beautiful art creations. We have started making tiered skirts for little girls! And, if the cards are in our favor, we will make them for ladies also! We also are making retro style aprons which we will be adding soon. We realize that we need to diversify in order to satisfy our audience and, hopefully, garner us some new followers! Hopefully, you will all like our new items!