Spring is here!

The arrival of spring has got me all excited about garden projects.  I've written about some of those DIY projects in my gardening blog, Subtropical Gardening.

DIY Hypertufa Plant Containers

DIY Concrete Garden Hands

Awesome Container Gardening Idea


Check out the bird cage that was turned into a plant container from the Empress of Dirt!  Click here to go to an excellent article on other ideas for unusual plantings.

The front fence is in the process of going up and will be embellished with a row of beautiful and colorful bougainvillea.  Finally . . . privacy and no trespassers!


Some other blog posts . . .

Peace, Lovc, Happiness
Dealing with a toxic relationship
Keep Your Goals on Track

Gina's Italian Kitchen
Triple Layered Strawberry Cake



We are celebrating the new season with a Spring Sale at Crows Nest Jewels.  Use coupon code SPRING17 . . .

Political happenings are keeping me glued to cable news! Hopefully the beautiful spring Florida weather will lure me away :)

Hope you are experiencing beautiful spring weather in your part of the world!

Real Hope and Change

We are well into winter and have only had one or two nights of needing the heat on.  It has been like springtime this week!  Gotta love living in Florida . . .

I'm feeling much better since the Presidential Inauguration has passed and President Trump is settling into the White House.  The political campaign and everything that followed exhausted me and gave me a ton of anxiety.  Like I needed more anxiety . . .


My new hobby of making soap has peaked my curiousity to make other beauty items.  My blog LaBelladiva is full of DIY recipes that I would like to try and I have added the following:

DIY Lip Balms

Oatmeal Masks For All Skin Types


How about some new recipes?  I have added the following recipes to my food blog, Gina's Italian Kitchen:

Everything But The Kitchen Sink Rice

Chicken Bacon Ranch Tater Tots Casserole

Some Thoughts From May 2014

ORIGINALLY POSTED MAY 2014

IN LABELLADIVA.COM

Seems like since I was hit by that nasty flu or virus, whatever you want to call it, I have not been able to pick myself back up.  I've heard from others who were hit by the virus that it was a nasty one, but to last this long?  All I want to do is sleep!

My intentions are always positive that "today will be the day I can get up and go" . . . but it is not happening!  Human nature makes us so impatient!

As usual, my food blog remains active since I'm always looking for great recipes . . . since I've been spending a lot of time resting in bed, the Food Network and the Cooking Channel have been what interests me and I am finding more great recipes than I haven't had time to post!

This week at Gina's Italian Kitchen, I have featured Oven Baked Breakfast Tacos that look delicious, easy and the variation possibilities are endless . . . also freezable! Kelsey Nixon's Baked Tomatoes Stuffed with Creamy Mac and Cheese is one of the first new meals I'm going to try since Mac and Cheese is a popular item in our kitchen! Can't wait to try out Guy Fieri's Spicy Polenta Cakes to put my stomach on fire with the jalapeno peppers :)

The Captain and I missed the Cinco de Mayo festivities, but we are gearing up for some spicy happenings in the kitchen when we are feeling better!  Lots more Tex-Mex type of recipes coming!

Something I found for the crafters who love to design their own jewelry will love the DIY Rhinestone Statement Necklace . . . I can't wait to get back into creating! 

While Peace, Love and Happiness has been sapped by not feeling well, this time has been one of self-reflection and being so grateful and blessed for where I am compared to one of the lowest points of my life when my first husband JR passed away.  It is so easy to get caught up in our day to day irritations that momentarily rob us of our joy and happiness, but it takes looking back at desperate times to appreciate these little things that usually pass quickly, making way for the next catastrophe, right?  The post "Picking Up the Pieces . . . Putting Them Away" ponders those thoughts.

April Fools Day in 2014

Originally published April 2014 

in LaBelladiva.com

It was surprising with a trickster husband skulking around the house I didn’t get zonked with an April Fool’s prank.

This week in the kitchen . . . we enjoyed a very delicious cuban style roast pork accompanied by tasty black beans and white rice. The meal is a staple in the latin community, kind of like a burger and fries. It is a meal that lasts at least a couple of days and when you’ve have enough, the pork is resurrected into another meal.

This time around it turned out to be what we call The Captain’s Pork Stew, a very delicious thick soup that is loaded with pork and various vegetables in a light tomato sauce. Learning how to use leftovers to make different meals is a trick we are perfecting in an attempt to stretch our food dollars.

Check out Gina’s Italian Kitchen for some awesome recipe discoveries I’ve made this week!

My curiosity has been peaked by felt crafts that I have been running into around the internet. Seems to be a rather inexpensive and easy craft to get involved with. Cute stuff worth looking into.

It has been one of those weeks when certain music has been ringing in my ears and I couldn’t ignore it. The result is a music post on my blog Gina’s Music Memories . . . Linda Ronstadt, The Mad Love Album. It took me back to the days of the early 80’s and new wave music. Good times and great memories! Great music too . . . check it out if you haven’t heard it or it has been a long time.

Then there is my blog about life . . . Peace, Love, Happiness. Sometimes the most bizarre thoughts cross my mind and I just have to explore them in detail. Just stuff of life that happens or feelings or emotions we go through. Sometimes happy, sometimes not too happy. I’ve been trying to cut down my smoking in an attempt to quit smoking and my thoughts go to strange places. But don’t we all do that?

By the way . . . having a really tough time kicking the habit. April 2 was my quit date and I almost made it the whole day. The Captain quit cold turkey a while back, he’s on day 50 something of being nicotine free . . . extremely proud of him!

A couple of months ago, a very large tree limb crumbled part of our large storage shed that holds all my treasures. The Captain is finally feeling better after his surgery to tackle that problem. We are going to have all types of log furniture, I kid you not! Get ready for some of those DIY projects . . .

All is well for another week in Gina’s internet world . . . hope you all have an awesome weekend!

Let's Talk Chicken

Can you ever have enough chicken recipes?

We can’t!

The Captain and I love stocking up on chicken when it is on sale at the local meat market or grocery store.  Sometimes we will cook whole chickens, shred the meat and freeze enough for one casserole in separate bags.  What a time saver, not to mention you can save so much money doing this.

Do you get bored with the same ole recipes week after week?  

Expand your choices!

Click here for chicken recipes from my food blog, Gina’s Italian Kitchen.