More Gray with Leaves on my Fingernails

Almost all of my clothes are black, most of the rest of my clothes are grey, and I have a few red and/or white pieces just to brighten things up.  So I wanted to do a manicure that would be representative of my wardrobe.

I painted my thumb and pinky with OPI Dark Side Of The Mood and then using the brush in the bottle, painted a stripe of OPI Embrace The Gray down the middle.  I did the same thing with my middle and ring fingernails using OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls for the base and OPI Cement The Deal for the stripe.  And then for a bright accent, I painted my pointer nail with OPI Red Fingers and Mistletoes.  Then I used Image Plate Pueen55 to stamp leaves on the grey nails.  I used My Boyfriend Scales Walls over the darker nails, and Dark Side Of The Mood over the lighter nails.  I really like how this turned out.

OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls, OPI Cement The Deal, OPI Embrace The Gray,
OPI Dark Side Of The Mood, OPI Red Fingers and Mistletoes, Image Plate Pueen55

Saving my Manicure with Gold French Tips

I’ve been so busy lately, I barely have time to sleep!  I did get a little time to polish all of my nails with OPI I Carol About You.  I love this bright purple polish, It’s so pretty, and it has a faint little bit of sparkles in the sun.  But, after a few days, my tips were worn and chipped, and I didn’t have any time at all to fix them.  So in about 5 minutes I painted my chipped tips with Maybelline Bold Gold.  I love the purple and gold together.

OPI I Carol About You, Gold – Maybelline Bold Gold

Natural – or NOT – with Glitter on my Fingernails

For some unknown reason, I wanted a more “natural” look on my fingernails, so I painted all of them with OPI Bubble Bath.  I really love this color, it’s a beautiful translucent pink that’s almost the same color as my skin.  But, of course, once I had them all painted, my nails looked really plain and boring to me – big surprise there – lol!  So I put some Nail Pattern Boldness Ignition (remix) on the tips, and it was much better!  Al said that they looked like cupcakes with sprinkles – thanks a lot Al, now I want cupcakes!

OPI Bubble Bath, Nail Pattern Boldness Ignition (remix)

Day Trip to Filoli, Part 3 – The Pulgas Water Temple

Filoli closes at 3:30 and our dinner reservations were at 5:00, so with the extra time, we went just a couple of miles down the road to the Pulgas Water Temple.

This was constructed in 1938 to celebrate the arrival of Hetch Hetchy water to San Francisco.  The water actually arrived on October 28, 1934.  The Hetch Hetchy Dam Project in Yosemite National Park was started in 1913 after the 1906 earthquake tragically demonstrated the inadequacy of the city’s water system.

Because the dam and reservoir were to be built in a National Park, the Sierra Club was formed to protest this.  Many people still believe that the dam should be removed, the reservoir drained, and the Hetch Hetchy valley returned to its natural state.  However, it is acknowledged  it might be decades or even centuries before the valley could be returned to natural conditions, and re-opened to tourism and recreation.

Meanwhile, San Francisco and Bay Area residents have some of the best drinking water in the country, and the water temple is a great place to relax on a nice afternoon.

Day Trip to Filoli, Part 2 – The Gardens, Chapter 2

The tour took us all over the gardens.  We started with the sunken garden which has a reflecting pool which is home to a protected species of frog.  We could see the tadpoles swimming in the water.

Sunken Garden

This is the Walled Garden, which was divided into four huge parts.

Walled Garden

This is the High Place where William Bourn liked to sit and where he could see all of his property, all the way to Crystal Springs Lake.  The columns were ballast from his ships.

The High Place

This is the view from The High Place, through over 200 Irish Yews grown from cuttings from Muckross House in Ireland.  The other side of the garden is 1/3 mile away.

Yew Allee

The pool was added in 1946 by the Roths.  It’s painted white and is unheated.

Swimming Pool

By this time we had been walking for over 3 hours, and it felt like we had walked for miles.  It was also closing time, so we had to end our tour of Filoli and leave.

Day Trip to Filoli, Part 2 – The Gardens, Chapter 1

After we toured the mansion, we went into the gardens.  There were wonderful spring bulbs blooming everywhere.  I love these white daffodils with pink centers.

White Daffodils with Pink Centers

And this extremely fragrant arrangement.

Pink Tulips, White Hyacinths, and Purple Grape Hyacinths

Gorgeous tulips in pots between the trees.

Red Tulips with White Edges and Yellow Centers

More tulips with white baby’s breath.

Orange Tulips with Yellow Edges and White Baby’s Breath

Beautiful pink flowering tree in a field of daffodils.

Field of Daffodils

Potted orange tree and other citrus trees out by the pool.

Orange Tree

And this isn’t all . . .

Chicken in Easy Mole Sauce

I occasionally get mole sauce in Mexican restaurants, when I’m feeling adventurous, and sometimes it’s good, and sometimes it’s not.  Sometimes it’s the same item in the same restaurant that’s good one time and not so much the next.  So when I saw this recipe in the newspaper I decided to try it.  This is the first time that I’ve made mole sauce at home, and it turned out fabulous!  It has a great flavor, and a really nice kick to it.  Al and I both loved it a lot, and he asked me to make it again, real soon.

Chicken in Easy Mole Sauce with Beans and Rice

1 large onion, finely chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 or 3  chipotles in adobo, to taste, chopped
zest from 1 orange
juice from 1 orange, or 1/2 cup
1 (14 1/2 oz) can chicken broth
1 (14 1/2 oz) can chopped tomatoes
1/4 C peanut powder
2 T chili powder
1 T cumin
2 t coriander
1 t cinnamon
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1 lb chicken breast, cut into strips
2 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 T lime juice
1 bunch cilantro, chopped

Lightly coat the bottom of a large pot with non-stick cooking spray, add onion and garlic and cook until onions are translucent, and the edges start to brown. Add remaining ingredients except chocolate, lime juice, and cilantro, stir to mix, and cook over low heat for an hour. Turn off heat, add chocolate, lime juice, and cilantro, stir gently until chocolate is melted and mixed in. Serve with rice and pinto beans.

Day Trip to Filoli, Part 1 – The Mansion

When we went to the Empire Mine State Park last spring, we were told that the owner of the mine also had a permanent residence in the bay area that you could also tour.  It’s located in Woodside, CA, which is the next town over from were Al grew up, and so we went to see it.  The owner, William Bowers Bourn II named it Filoli after the first letters in his motto:  Fight for a just cause, Love your fellow man, Live a good life.

Walking to the Front of the Mansion

He chose a site of 654 acres south of San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake.  The house was built between 1915 and 1917 and the Bourns lived there from 1917 to 1936 when both Mr. and Mrs. Bourn died.

Huge stove from a Sailing Ship

In 1937 the estate was sold to Mr. and Mrs. William P. Roth, owners of the Matson Navigation Company.  They kept the original design as much as possible, but added many nautical items such as the large stove in the kitchen taken from a sailing ship.

Dining Room

The carpet in the dining room was once owned by Queen Victoria, and the painting of a dead rabbit over the fireplace was painted in 1703 by Jan Weenix and is the most valuable painting in the mansion.  The screen on the left hides the entrance to the kitchen.

Drawing Room

This is the drawing-room where the ladies went for tea after dinner while the gentlemen smoked cigars and drank brandy.  Al really liked the blue pillows on the sofas.

Reception Room

This is the reception room where guests first gathered when they came to visit.  The Chinese statues were once on a temple, are made of wood, and are the God of the Sun and the Goddess of the Moon.

Library

This is my favorite room, I love to read and I love that all the walls were full of books.

Ballroom

Finally, the Ballroom!  They had the huge paintings along the sides painted in pastels to match the color scheme of the room.  The ceiling is 22 1/2 feet high, to help keep the dancers cool in the days before air conditioning.

Almost Argyle in Yellow and Black on my Fingernails

I wanted to wear my yellow and black argyle sweater when we went on our road trip last week.  I love the colors of this sweater and I wanted to do a mani to go with it.  I looked through all of my stamping plates for an argyle pattern, but this was the best that I could find, and I decided that it was close enough.  So I painted my pointer fingernail with Revlon Black Lingerie and the rest of my nails with Nicole by OPI Hit The Lights.  Then, on my accent nails I put a couple of stripes with It’s So Easy Stripe Rite in White, and then I stamped them with  Konad Black and Image Plate Bundle Monster BM-322.  I love how this turned out and I really like the way yellow and black look together.

Thumb and Pinky – Nicole by OPI Hit The Lights, Pointer – Revlon Black Lingerie, Accent Nails – OPI Hit The Lights,
topped with It’s So Easy Stripe Rite White, stamped with Konad Black and Image Plate Bundle Monster BM-322

I Made Another Jewelry Set

When Al and I went to Jo-Ann I picked out 5 strands of speciality beads, 2 mostly red and 3 mostly black.  Since I used one of the black ones for my first try at jewelry making, I thought that this time I would use one of the red ones.  This strand was just 9 large red beads and 20 small round black beads.  I tried out several different arrangements and decided that with the addition of some more of my generic red, black, and silver beads I would have enough to make a necklace, a tw0-strand bracelet, and earrings.

My New Jewelry Set

I think that I’m getting better at this, but not very quickly.  This set took me more than two hours to make.  I had to rearrange the necklace several times before I liked the way it hung on my neck.  But I’m really happy with the way that it turned out, I’ve worn it half a dozen times so far, and it’s perfect with my black and red wardrobe.

Necklace, Bracelet, and Earrings