And the Winner Is...

Hi Friends!  I am so excited to announce that Penny is the winner of a lovely initial pendant necklace from Designs by Tahra!

Hurray Penny!  Please email me at malehman@me.com so we can get that gorgeous necklace to you.

Thank you Tahra! I just placed an order at your lovely store.  Can't wait to see the finished product!

Hugs,

Melissa

Hello Weekend!

Vintage photos of our trip to Abaco years ago.

Welcome to the weekend friends!  I am beyond thrilled that it is Friday.  Pete has been gone on business this week and I am so, so ready to have him home.  Whenever he is out of town, anything and everything that can go wrong will go wrong.  Last night, I locked myself out of the house.  Nice!  Oh, and the brakes on the back right side of our van that were squeaking, are now screaming.  Hurry home dear!  

So, what are your plans for the weekend?  Are you ready to spring forward on Sunday?  It's always nice to lose an hour of sleep and walk around in a state of confusion as your body adjusts to the new time for about a week, isn't it?  Actually, I love that it will stay light outside later, even if it does make it more difficult to get the monkeys in bed at a decent time. Somehow, it just seems wrong to put the littlest ones in bed when it's still light outside at 8:30 PM.  I guess that's what we get for living so close to the equator.  Ah, Florida!

So, have a great weekend and all.  If you're bored and looking for something to do, there are some links below to some extra-curricular reading for you. Or you could always come over and fix the brakes on our van.  Toodles!

With spring break upon us, many people are flocking to Florida to soak up the sun and do other touristy stuff.  If you are planning on visiting the Everglades, you may want to think twice or thrice, 

The Florida Keys are lovely at this time of year, just watch out for the giant rodents (and I am not referring to Mickey).

Better yet, maybe you should just play it safe this spring break and visit the World Chess Hall of Fame in Miami, Florida.  That sounds like a happening time!

Don't forget the awesome giveaway that is going on through Monday!

Hugs, 

Melissa

Kids Are The Funniest Humans

Our oldest monkey and his cousin from way, way long ago. 

Really they are. They say and do the most hilarious stuff.

When I was studying to be a speech therapist, I used to have to record and transcribe kids' speech samples.  A lot of the time, I would have to rewind the tape to listen again because I had been laughing so hard that I missed something.  Some of those little people had a lot of funny things to say about life.

Throughout the years, the kids in our family have said some funnies.  Like the time when our oldest monkey told Pete that he had a "frope" (a sore throat).  Or the time when our six year old nephew told me that having a baby was like having laser beams shot through your eyes.  He was right! Middle monkey boy called the Green Bay Packers the "Green Crackers".  He also told us that he, "Slept like a hog" when he woke up one morning. Oh and, one of my personal favorites is a quote from our youngest monkey girl, "Love is an operation. It's a temptation thingy."  Don't ask me where she got that or what it even means.

Middle Monkey clowning around.

Lately, Little Monkey has been in rare form.  The kid cracks us up!  Last week, he told me that I look just like Steve from Blue's Clues because I have big brown eyes.  Then he asked me if he could touch my eyebrows.

Yesterday, as we were driving he seemed very worried and he asked me if the road was okay.  I was confused by his question, but I thought that he had felt a bump or something. Then he asked me if it hurts the road when cars drive on it.  Too funny!

What he said tonight still has me laughing.  We were cuddling in bed, reading some books when he got a very concerned look on his face.  He pointed at my underarm (which I have not shaved in a few days, sorry TMI) and said, "What happened to you?" He was very stressed out that I had hair under my arms.   He looked at his own underarms, then back at mine. Then after a few minutes, he got a sheepish grin on his face and asked, "Can I touch your gross hairy arms?" Boy, I sure am glad that he didn't see my legs because that may have totally freaked him out.

Hugs,

Melissa

Gorgeous Giveaway - Designs By Tahra

This contest is now closed.  Thank you for all the great comments!



I am really excited about this post for two reasons!  First, I get to introduce you to my friend Tahra West.  I've known her since the late nineties when big hair was still fashionable and Guess Jeans were not.

Tahra is a lover of all things beautiful, including her five amazing children (who she home schools!) She has a passion for making jewelry, and you can see her stunning handiwork when you visit her Etsy Shop - Designs By Tahra. Interestingly, Tahra used to be a surgical nurse and has always enjoyed working with her hands. She has been designing jewelry since 2006.

Here are some of my personal favorite pieces:

This pink chalcedony necklace is so simple and feminine.

I covet this bracelet.  Would't it look amazing with a t-shirt and capris?

These freshwater pearl earrings are delicate enough for the bride-to-be or the graduate.

I can not stop staring at this gorgeous floral cuff.  This would make a such a unique gift for Mother's Day.

The second reason that I am excited about this post, is because Tahra is generously offering one lucky reader of "This and That" one of her masterpieces, a personalized Sterling Silver Initial Pendant Necklace.  You rock Tahra!

Isn't this lovely?

For a chance to win... 

First, please visit Tahra's Etsy Shop, Designs by Tahra.  You will LOVE her designs! With Mother's Day, weddings, graduations and baby showers around the corner, I'm sure that you will be able to find a perfect gift to celebrate someone special in your life. Please make sure that you show Tahra some love by selecting "Favorite" on her Etsy store page. Thank you!

Then, please leave a comment below and let me know what your favorite piece of Designs by Tahra jewelry is.  Winners will be selected on Monday, March 11, 2013 and announced here on "This and That".  Anyone 18 years or older is welcome to enter, even our friends outside of the United States.  Good luck!

Hugs, 

Melissa 

The Mindy Project!

Comedy.  It's my love language.  Also, chocolate.  Chocolate is also my love language.  And deep dish pizza.  Pizza pie. Extra cheese, hold the onions.

I love to laugh and apparently I love to eat.  I must be Italian.  

In my opinion, truly original humor is a rarity these days.  I love to rewind the comedy clock sometimes and watch Carol Burnett, in all her zany grandeur.  Or Lucy.  Oh, Lucy!  Her comedic timing and hilarious antics are golden.  Steve Martin's life-on-life humor is second to none.  When we first met, Pete and I knew that we had a "special purpose" because we could both quote lines from The Jerk.  And Jerry Seinfeld?  Seriously, his sarcastic wit shifted the foundation of comedy at least three degrees to the right.  

So who can hold a candle today to these comedic geniuses?  There are a few in my book.  I love Steve Carell.  He makes me laugh, hard.  Tina Fey, I like to call her the "Chameleon of Comedy".  The way that she can morph into whatever character she plays is amazing.  She is always unbelievably, believable.  

And then there is Mindy Kaling.  She is a total comedic grand slam!  She knocks it out of the park with her mad comedy skills.  Her sense of humor echoes the comedic giants of yesteryear.  If Mindy Kaling's comedic style were a pie chart, she would be one-eighth Burnett,  one-fourth Lucy,  one fourth Martin, and a sliver of Seinfeld.  And yet she is fresh and uniquely her own!  

I adore her as Dr. Mindy Lahiri on The Mindy Project.  At first glance, her character may seem a little cliche and one dimensional - the hopeless romantic looking for love in the big city.  But there is so much more to Dr. L than meets the eye. Mindy totally owns this role.  Her comedic timing is precise. She spins sarcasm like a master .  Her stream of consciousness dialogue is hilarious.  The character interactions and relationships keep me laughing the whole time. This show is so funny it hurts! 

And today, The Mindy Project announced that it will have a second season.  I am looking forward to it.  First, I have to recover from the laughter hernia that I have though. 

Hugs, 

Melissa

Pictures of Puffy Pancakes

We purchased a new family camera for Christmas.  It causes me great angst. It is way too complicated.  I long for the days of Polaroid.  Point, shoot, shake, no sweat.

versus 

Sweat, shake, point, try to adjust settings, sweat, attempt to focus lens, fog up view finder thingy with my sweaty eye ball, shoot, scream "shoot" because picture is blurry! Begin again.

But I'm trying to learn, really I am.  Everything is just so stinking high tech these days.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoy technology, it's just that I feel like I have too much knowledge in my brain about how things used to be.  You know, the good old days of Commodore computers, VHS, and microwave bundt cakes.  Ah, memories.

But, I always tell our monkeys that "practice makes permanent", so I practice, perspire, make puffy pancakes and take pictures of puffy pancakes with my clammy hands.  And I tell myself that if I am going to subject you to my lackluster photos, I should at least thank you for sticking around while I eat my own "practice makes permanent" words and give you a recipe that will make your life a little easier while my life seems to be getting increasingly more difficult by the moment.  

So, here is a super simple, take it back to the old school recipe for Puffy Pancakes.  

In your blender, mix together one cup of flour, six eggs, one cup of milk, 1teaspoon of vanilla and 1 teaspoon of salt.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and melt a half of stick of butter in a pan.

Pour pancake mixture over the melted butter in the pan and put back in the oven.

Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes.  Serve immediately to maintain some semblance of puffiness.

Puffy pancakes are like the little black dress of breakfast.  You can dress them up with just about anything.  Jam, maple syrup, honey, powdered sugar, fresh fruit, etc.

I hope that you like the pancakes better than my pictures.  And if you are really lucky I might be able to find my recipe for microwave bundt cake in my Recipe Rolodex. If I do, I will give you a call on my cordless phone.  You know.  The one with the foot long antenna.

Hugs,

Melissa

Welcome Weekend! (and March!)

Wee baby, it's the weekend!  Do you have any fun and fascinating plans?  Are you traveling, staying in, or hosting guests?

We are looking forward to a slightly chilly, but mostly sunny and beautiful weekend here in O-Town. I have this urge to throw open the windows, to scrub the house from top to bottom, hang out laundry to dry, and to plant something, anything.  Could it be Spring Fever?  After all, it is March.  Wow!  Welcome March!

I LOVE these succulents!  I snapped these pics right outside of the famous Hotel California in Santa Monica this time last year.  This is my type of landscaping.  Low maintenance and perfect for someone like me who has a black thumb.  Seriously, I kill air plants!

Whatever you do, have a super awesome weekend!  Here is a little extracurricular reading to do from around the web.  Enjoy!

Have you ever considered planting a vertical wall garden?

It's strawberry season! Picking your own strawberries is the best!

These strawberry quesadillas look amazing (I might have to make mine leek less).

Looking for an alternative to the traditional spring break?

Could line drying your underwear help our planet?  Some college students think so.

Rabbits are adorable, but are they smart?

Hugs,

Melissa