I wanna be a Cowgirl....

Yep, that's me with the Cowboy Hat on.. testing and having such fun trying on all the goodies in Shepplers Western Store.  I remember this store when I lived in San Antonio and they have the most wonderful Western Wear.  

 

 When I found out Oklahoma City had this store I told my daughter Gina that I had to go there.  My oldest daughter living in Jupiter, Florida would die for something from this store and the search was on for the perfect gift to bring home for Cyndi. (I'd tell you all what I got for her but she reads my blog)
Gina and I tried on boots and the brown pair below were wonderful and would be great looking with jeans for the winter,,,, haha,,, I live in Florida where winter is still shorts and flip flops!

 We walked through isle after isle with the huge selection that would make any Cowgirl (or boys)  mouth water.

 I could not get over the workmanship put into these boots.

 Now, this was my favorite... hmmm, where would I wear them?  I know, on my horse while roping? Or out on my boat while fishing?

Or just looking really sexy.

 Amazing Roses  cut out of leather.

 I want a huge belt buckle to wear with my jeans.

"Yep, I wanna be a Cowgirl" 

Then I remembered I live in Clearwater now.

(((Sigh)))

Motivated Monday 

Mondays Market Place 

Cowgirl Up Link Party 

Sofa repairs, from it's venture across the Pacific Ocean...

 My daughters household goods and furniture made a 4 thousand mile trip in a crate, on a huge flat bed vessel across the Pacific Ocean and for some reason the packers and movers did not water proof anything! In fact they must have dropped both her crates because when they arrived in the states some two months later both crates were damaged, broken and totally wet.  She lost many pieces of her household goods.

The Sofa was soaked with both rain and sea water. The kids did have the fabric cleaned but it still looks horrible.

 The insurance company will replace all that can not be repaired but their taking so long to get the checks cut so my daughter let the furniture dry and knowing it was not smelly set it all up in the living room.  The tears needed to be fixed because it looked horrible... and mom volunteered to sew the rips the best I could.

 Although the fabric looks as good as Suede it is Micro Fiber on Leather and was not as easy as I thought to repair. The sofa will be replaced by the insurance but as I said, their taking so long to finalize their findings and my kids must keep the damaged items for them to come look at it all one more time.  (don't ask why because I don't have the answer?)

 We picked up some heavy duty sewing thread and a good needle and I tried to to sew the fabric as best I could. Every so often I had to run the needle through a dry piece of soap and that let the needle slide through a bit easier.

 As for the back of the attached pillows, that was another story. They were sewn right into the leather and it was not easy but somehow I did manage to do it but let me tell you I was not happy with the looks of it because I can see the stitching. But.....

 It's sewn and looks so much better than the tear with stuffing sticking out!  Besides, the children in this house kept putting their
feet in the stuffing and the tears kept getting bigger. 

 no, not my grandkids, they would never do that... :)

 Now to figure out how to eliminate all or most of the water stains.  Sea water might just be a chore?  If anyone has any suggestions I'd sure appreciate any and all thoughts you might have!

Thanks!

I'm linking this post up to

Inspiration Friday

Overflowing with Creativity 

Tuesdays To Do List 

From one who does not like Candy Apples, these are the best!

It makes no difference what you may call these apples, I've never been a fan of Caramel or Candy Apples until my daughter brought 3 of the most wonderful apples home from a sweet Cafe called Bouchons in Vegas.  
My teeth always hated being stuck in the gooey chewy toppings put on the treats that always comes to the stores in the fall of each year. But these delights were spectacular.  Really....... Gina brought out the cutting board and a large knife while the family gathered around the kitchen table and she cut a slice of each for all to taste. The gooey covered apples were so rich I don't think anyone could have eaten a whole one.

The candy shoppe in the Cafe gave their customers so many flavors to choose from.  The one I loved the best was covered with a creamy caramel and fresh crunchy pecans.  If only I could share the taste with you all.

If your a gourmet chocolate lover the one with the dark and white chocolate was a dream come true. But it only took two bites for me to be satisfied, it was that rich.

The family, 6 of us ate until we all said, enough!  The three gourmet covered Candy Apples were gone! For me, it's a good thing the candy shoppe is much too far from Florida or I would be there regularly because I love dark chocolate and caramel, especially covered with pecans.

I think this may be a project for the Fall, making some of these wonderful caramel apples.  I'm going to try to make fresh caramel and cover the sweet organic apples, then with the pecans.  I read somewhere if you use evaporated milk the caramel will be smooth and not get hard and chewy?  It will be fun to recreate.

If anyone knows of a good caramel recipe please leave me a comment and I'll give it a try.

I've been reading on many blogs Fall is in the air up north. Here in OKC it was still hot, 104' today. Send some of that air down here will ya!

Thanks to all.

I'm linking this yummy post up to

Wow Us Wednesday

Alphabet Thursday

Tickled Pink 

Week One and Labor Day in OKC....

One full week with the boys and this I promise you all  will be grandma's last post on the boys themselves. 
They are a handful to say the least.  It's been years since I've taken care of such active kids and this woman is just not used to 24/7 although I remember having my own years ago.. Was it this busy?  Yep!
The reason I say 24/7 is as I said in my last post, Mom and Dad went on a romantic weekend to Vegas and I'm in charge!
Each day we have done or baked something fun. Today's fair, Sugar Cookies.

 Funny how I forgot how small Lego's can be or is it my eyes?  I brought each a small kit and it took almost two hours but we got them together!

Then the screams began, "Grandma look at the big bug"!!  Have you ever seen such a moth. Must be an Oklahoma thing?  It's the largest one I've ever seen!  Thankfully it was outside the window.

 Day two, cupcakes!

 Last night Mom and Dad sent me a text with their photo from the Blue Man show. Looking happy and that makes me smile.

 I had to send a photo of my own... the boys and I thought this might make their parents laugh!
All I said with the photo was "HELP ME".  Of course their reaction was laughter.
(sorry for the blurrr, the boys took turns with the camera and this was the best they could do.)

 Although I'm kept pretty busy the boys do manage to sit still when it's reading time. Each take turns with a book of their choice.  These kids have no TV in their house and it's nice to see them busy with other things. That's when I get to work on my crocheting. I'm making it for their living room sofa and it will stay once I fly home.

 Of all the work and all the noise,, this grandma had her heart melt when 6 yr old Joell gave me this drawing.
I so love these boys and the best part, "They like me".

 This is my last night alone with these wonderful children. I still have a few weeks more here in OKC and look forward to my time with my daughter.  I've sure missed her sweet smile since she went out into the world on her own,  got married to a great guy and is raising such a wonderful family and this my friends is all a mom could ask for.

Today is Labor Day, Mom and Dad are home and all the family are outside for a BBQ.  It's literally 103' out and grandma is not used to such heat so I'm in and out of the house but mostly in the a/c.  

Hope you all spent this holiday with those you love.

 

((huggss))