I Almost Named This "Adult Presents", But A Quick Google Search Shows The Error In My Thinking - So "Enjoy My Vintage Necklace" Should Be Safer

 This is the view off my back porch - pretty neat,  The house is quite far away, and I'm lucky they are so lavish in their decorating.   

Anyone who knows my son Zach knows that one of his hobbies is Origami, so when I saw this fabric, I had to get it for Pajamas for him.  Actually just the bottoms, since like almost every man I know, he wears a T-Shirt to sleep in.  I love it when I find a good print for my sons, but it's a little harder to find things for Nick.  He wore his Basketball Print ones inside-out, since the print was too bright, but how could I resist a Basketball Print for a Basketball player?  Pretty sure I'll just get him new baking sheets for Christmas and skip making him a pair.  He uses those Air-Bake ones (hollow inside) to cook turkey bacon so perfectly that you don't taste the difference.  And his are getting a little old.    My Point, and I do have one  is that adults are pretty hard to find good presents for.  And I am just so excited to come up with some!

Isn't this the best old necklace - notice the missing rhinestone? 

Hard to see where the flaw is when I wear it, so I put my hair up to make it more noticeable.  Still no reason to throw this in the trash bin, which is where it was headed when I rescued it.  Bet this is almost 50 years old.  Pre-Internet days, I thought I was part of a tiny group of people who enjoyed old costume jewelry - now I know better.  Unfortunately, so does everyone else, so these old treasures that people would give to me don't show up as often. 

John Brought Back Fresh Tim Tams And The Stroopwafels Have Arrived - Which To Attack First?

 While it was really hard to have John in Australia for a whole month, finding these Tim Tam Biscuits (Carolyn was so correct that these are not cookies!) on the table almost made up for it.  And those once a year treats, the best cookies ever, the Stroopwafels made by the Dutch Brothers Bakery in Montana that one of John's customers send him for Christmas arrived this afternoon.  I've purchased cookies that look the same from Aldi's and everyone raves about them, but that's because they haven't tried the Dutch Brothers.  And I'm not sharing!

Where I Am Hiding The Mini Panettone - Special Seed Topping For Bread Baking With Lynne - Halloween 2014

 Found this interesting material in the Los Angeles Garment District sitting on the sidewalk outside this little hole in the wall place.  The shopkeeper wanted $8 per yard and I wanted to buy it to wear once a year on Halloween.  (And maybe, just maybe at San Diego Comic-Con if I feel really bold, which I never have in the past.)  The price was just a suggestion he told me, a clear invitation to bargain.  I told him that the most I would pay for a Halloween costume was $24 and that it would take at least 4 yards to make a decent cape.  Now, not everyone who knows me knows that I am a terrible bargainer - I am just not good at it.  And so my sister, Lynne had to step in and tell the guy that I was not bargaining, and that if he wanted to sell me 4 yards at $6 per yard, I would take it.  Five cents more per yard and I wouldn't - which would have made me sad because it is the most perfect Orange Sequin Spider Web fabric that I have ever seen.  It's going to be fabulous over a long black gown!

 I have always loved the first Panettone of the season, and now that it's just John and me at home, the tradition has become buying one and the making myself sick by finishing it that day.  But Amanda alerted me to these Mini Panettone, so I rushed out and bought myself one.  And realized that they were the perfect size to put in with the other goodies I bake for my family at Christmas.  I know, now they won't be a surprise, but three weeks from now when I try to remember where I put them, I can check back here and see that they are in the cupboard over the refrigerator.  (While I may write like a tall woman, access to the top of the refrigerator involves standing on a chair, so I'm not likely to come across these by accident.) 

One of the things I am making for my family for Christmas is specially for the bread bakers.  The smell of this mixture of seeds is delicious.  Lynne and I went to this place called Honeyville (I think) and got Seasame (which we toasted), Golden Flax, Sunflower, Poppy, and Caraway seeds.  We picked up the Anise seeds at the Superior Mexican Grocer.  Not just tasty - fun to play with too.  Isn't this bread beautiful?     

Amanda Has A New Car But I've Been Too Sick To Write About It Yet

 What did everyone do on Black Friday?  We all ran over to the Chevy Dealer and Amanda and Mike bought this nifty new Chevy Cruze.  So cute!  (And it feels better to have her in a trustworthy car,)

 Is anything cooler than having a Pi Pan to make Pi shaped Pie?

 So, I've had a cold, which I would normally have enjoyed.  Not that being ill is so great, but convalescence is a perfect excuse to indulge,  All that time I would have spent at Water Aerobics can be used for reading, watching old TV shows, building my little models, drinking mint tea, eating Vegemite on buttered toast (newly discovered) - just lazy self-indulgence stuff.  But this time I was just too sick to do any of this.     

This is the Nanoblocks version of the Sydney Opera House that I couldn't resist.