{Fresh Friday}

Hello and Happy Friday to you:)
It sure has been a week.
If you knew me.....you'd know that I am the kind of person that tries to fit way too many things into my life and also into my day:)
I am the total opposite of a procrastinator! I want to do it alllllll.....and I want to do it right now!! Especially when the temperature starts to rise and the sun starts to show it's pretty little face!
Whew....
but I am also completely happy being that way...I am an accomplisher kind of person and am most happy when I am accomplishing things! I just need about 4 more hours in my day to do everything I really want to do.

OK....
Enough about that except that I am happy that I spent all of that time last autumn planting all of those darn bulbs....
because look how cute {at least I think} the walkway to my front door looks now:)

I think the front entrance is the most important. It's the first thing visitors lay their eyes on when they come to my home and I think it's a reflection of me.
I think my front entrance says....she's cottagy...simple....happy....loves blue and is slightly beachy:)
I also like the colors of the flowers around the front entrance this spring!!
Yellow, pink and blue.....such a happy little combination.

Midwestern springs really are all about re-birth. Things pop up that you forgot you had, baby animals are all around...

see this little guy I found in my back yard:)

How cute.....who cares if he, his siblings and his mother eat every darn plant I have in my yard. I am happy just to see such cute baby animals!

It's just a really happy time.....my heart is so much happier when the weather is warmer:)

And I love how when the weather starts to warm, all I want to do is eat SALADS:)

You know by now, I don't think cooking should be complicated and I rarely use a recipe.

If you know what you like then you can just think of a million different combinations! You can tell I am on a blackened Mahi kick!

and all you need to do is buy the freshest produce that works with your budget....oh and splurge on your cheese and go cheap on your wine when necessary:) The wine was only $4 from wally world...that's Walma*t if you didn't get it.

Blackened Mahi Salad with Basil Mango Dressing

This salad was so flippin' good that it should have been illegal to eat it:) and the whole thing only took me 20 minutes to prepare. Perfect for the crazy week i've had!

For the salad.....
romaine
artichokes {from the can}
fresh green beans {steamed and then chilled}
organic feta
cucumbers

For the Mango Basil Dressing
1/2 a ripe mango
a little Chardonnay {that's what I was drinking}
basil
honey
white balsamic vinegar
Throw in the processor until it's a dressing

For the fish
mahi mahi
and the blackened seasoning I told you about here....
wrap it in foil and throw it on the grill for about 10 minutes.

Put it all together and you have this....

This was just so fresh tasting and ridiculously good...I can't even explain it...

Ok ... maybe it was just the wine that made it taste so good....haha:)

oh and I know a few of you have been asking for some crafts....trust me...I have a bazillion ideas but no time right now!!

Maybe you can just make up some of these!

I told you about them a long time ago but maybe you forgot:)

anywho wine charms and they are super simple to make....
pick out the tiny beads that you like
pick out a wine charm that you like
get some of those hoop earrings
and just add the beads to the hoop earrings!!!
Oh you might have to bend the earring just a bit to get the beads on.
but such a simple craft to do and they make GREAT hostess gifts when paired with a nice bottle of wine!!!
Have a splendid weekend!! I'll still be working on the darn laundry room but it's shaping up to be pretty darn cute:)

"The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another. The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month."
- Henry Van Dyke, Fisherman's Luck, 1899