French Dressing and Shopping!

Hello folks! 

In case you were wondering, yes, I AM still alive. :) I've eased up on blogging recently because:

1. I haven't been feeling well, which resulted in a loss of appetite, meaning cooking new things hasn't been happening
2. My computer died and I just got around to dropping it off to be fixed TODAY
3. I've been super busy with a million projects

Anyway, I have been out and about. I bought some Polish hand painted dishes, a teal and white polka dot casserole dish and spoon rest, and a chili pepper which doesn't have a purpose in life yet. Oh, and a colorful plate to hold snacks (only $2.00!). I also saw a dress on sale for over half off and I couldn't pass that up either. So, as you can see, I've been well enough to shop. By the way, did I tell you that I have an addiction to "junk" stores? Big Lots, TJ Maxx, even Dollar General.... love them (and you can find some great brands at some of them).

Polish plates

Polka dots!

Pepper without a purpose

$2.00 bargain

The dress

I'm also about to start reading "The Portrait of a Lady" by Henry James, and I am uber excited.

What else have I been doing....

• Dreaming of the ocean
• Watching Fringe, Supernatural and the Mentalist
• Watching my plants grow (will post pics, promise!)
• Laughing hysterically as my toddler gasps every time she sees ANYTHING in the store, too adorable. She learned this from mommy, of course. :)
• Working, working, napping, snacking
• Listening to Broken Bells and ancient country tunes

Yep, that pretty much sums up my life at the moment.

I did try one new thing though. I made French dressing after seeing the recipe on another blog. The dressing was yummy, but unfortunately I don't know how yummy it could be. I ran out of salad dressing oil (grape seed or almond usually) and ended with using extra virgin olive oil, which I do not care for in dressings at all. As expected, it over powered the ingredients. But still, it was quick, easy and the flavor was there. Just add everything to taste. Next time I will add less ketchup, but you might prefer more.

French Dressing
Original Recipe: Frugal Homemaking

• 2/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1/2 cup ketchup (great store brands, organic and without high fructose corn syrup)

1. Whisk together and serve.

PS
I bought this book for my toddler the other day and we LOVE it. I cannot recommend it enough.