Dinner on a Trolley

I wonder how they got it into the restaurant??

We ate in here~:o)

This was our appetizer.....

( I had Fettuccine Alfredo~;o)

I guess we can say that I have become somewhat of a camera fanatic these days.....in a recent post I mentioned that I was in search of an upgrade. After much research and the help of a good friend (Thank you Aimee~;o) I have decided on the Nikon D40. <----- Go here if you want to learn more about this camera. Because I use my camera so much I have decided to kick it up a notch for more professional results. Yes, I think I'm ready for an SLR! (Key word here friends, "She Thinks") With that being said, I will be looking into purchasing one within the next couple of weeks. So today we decided to go to one of snugglebear's favorite restaurants. Now "The Spaghetti Warehouse" is a franchise Restaurant.....but does yours have a Trolley in it?? The one in my neck of the woods does. We went around late afternoon and to my surprise it was quite empty. I insisted upon sitting in the trolley to dine, and to snugglebear's delight, it was empty. Usually he doesn't like to sit in the trolley because he complains that it is too stuffy and crowded with people. He was in a rather cranky mood so for us to have the trolley to ourselves was a plus for both of us. He concluded that most people were out shopping this weekend, so we enjoyed a nice quiet lunch in the old wooden streetcar~;o)

This is Upper Tampa Bay Park located just outside of Oldsmar.

This is the canoe launch in the park.

These beauties were lit throughout the entire park.

Much happier after eating, he posed for a picture, unusual for him~;o)

This is all salt water!

After a delicious afternoon meal, we headed into Town and Country where snugglebear had recently learned of a nearby National State Park and Wildlife nature trail. We love these because they are free, they are great for exploring and for taking pictures~;o) We stumbled across a bonus....they were having a "Holiday in the Park" event for families, the festivities included Christmas lights throughout the park, cookies, games, and a hayride~:o) To my knowledge the Christmas Lights display will be going on till the end of December. If your in the vicinity I recommend a visit, you'll certainly be glad you did~:o)

Its time for change.....

{Southern Bliss}

Hello Family & Friends! I hope everyone had a bountiful and refreshing Thanksgiving Holiday! After much thought and consideration, I have decided to retire the blog name Studio Bijou and appoint a new name. I am happy to introduce: Southern Bliss! Same inspirational blog, great new name~;o) The new blog address is: www.southernbliss79.blogspot.com. Until next time darlings.....

Wishing you and yours a safe, fun, and relaxing Thanksgiving Day!

(Picture courtesy of: Photobucket)

add one more to the list of manias.....

Here's another peek at my latest mania! Though it is closely tied with my other new obsession for photography~;o) Another new mania you say? I promise it is the last one people, okay no wait....I take that back~;o) It happened during my recent new love for traveling. I have decided that the best souvenirs during my ventures are captured on camera~;o) (psst hey friends....translated this means she's cheap!) So now I am currently looking into upgrading my digital to a professional one. Any suggestions? Right now I am leaning towards a Nikon D50. Does anyone have one of these? What are your thoughts on it? Any SLR will also work. Your feedback is greatly appreciated. Come on all you photography gurus, I know your out there and I need your help! I'm all ears.....

Egmont Key Island in November

This past weekend we decided on a last minute venture to beautiful Egmont Key Island. I'm so glad we did! This little island is located just outside of exciting Fort Desoto! The only way to get there is by ferry, so.....by ferry we went! I love boats and I love being on the water so this was nothing new for me. However, the name of the island alone didn't sound very "catchy" to me, but I decided to give it a try anyways. To my surprise there was much to do! I had no idea you could camp on the island too! I won't bore you with every little detail, I'll just give you a quick little outline instead~;o) Egmont Key's highlights include: snorkeling, shelling, fishing, swimming, dolphin watching, hiking, nature trails, exploring Historic ruins, and a 150 year old lighthouse. Did I tease ya enough yet? If your ever on the westcoast of Central Florida, Egmont Key is certainly worth visiting~:o)

More Paper Goods~;o)

Project Southern Bliss has been such a SUPER SLOW process friends! Between work and all my other gazillion manias I still haven't had a chance to list anything in the shoppe. On top of that Sunny Florida has been gloomy and cloudy for the past few days, not that I mind one bit~;o) It is such a nice change from the hot, humid, and dry scenery lately. I will say this though, I totally understand how completely frustrating that photographing items can be on these kind of days for those of you that live in areas that are like this year round. On a happy note though, beautiful photos are still possible with the help of a homemade light box~;o) The photos posted above were taken on a gloomy day and are courtesy of my homemade lightbox! Want to make your own? (Click Here) It is definitely worth making compared to spending $35+ people. As for my lovely tags and tissue paper flowers, I am hoping to get them into the shoppe by the end of this week. Thank you for looking and keep an eye out for them!

http://www.southernbliss.etsy.com/

Election Day is almost here!

Haven't voted yet? Do it. It's your civic duty!

(Button courtesy of photobucket)

Homemade Caramel Sauce

I recently decided to start experimenting with candy and other sorts of confections. Yes another mania to add to the rest friends~;o) One of the first recipes I decided to try was for Homemade Caramel dipping Sauce. The results were mouth watering! This sauce is fantastic for dipping fruits and drizzling on top of ice-cream! Let me share the recipe with you:

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 cup butter
2. 1 1/2 cups brown sugar (we like dark brown sugar best!)
3. 3/4 cup light corn syrup
4. 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
5. 1 teaspoon vanilla
6. 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions:

1. In a 2-quart saucepan, melt butter on low heat.
2. Add brown sugar, corn syrup, and milk, stirring to combine. Increase heat to medium (or perhaps just below medium).
3. Stir constantly until mixture comes to a boil.* Use a spoon that won't melt -- the caramel gets pretty hot!
4. Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla and cinnamon.
5. Serve warm or cold with apple slices, or drizzle over ice cream.

This recipe is very easy to follow and will yield approximately 3-4 cups of Caramel Sauce. I was able to easily fill up three 8 oz. jars in one batch! These also make great food gifts, enjoy!

We Love Tarpon Springs!

This past weekend we decided to leave town for the day (well some what leave town~:o) If your ever in Central Florida and you have the time, visit Tarpon Springs! This small tourist strip is especially known for their Sponge Docks, (The BEST sponges on the planet people, I'm not kidding!) variety of Greek Restaurants, (Including Hellas yummy Greek Bakery shop) The Fudge Factory (best fudge on the planet too~;o) a small Aquarium where you can visit the sea animals, and many other personal small shops and boutiques! When I visit Tarpon Springs I always try to remember to pick up some homemade soap, all natural sponges, fudge, and seashells! There is also a sweet little Trolley that gives tours of the Tarpon Springs vicinity and talks much about the history of the town too! Here are a few pictures I took while we were there. It is definitely worth checking out! Until next time friends!

Something for Mamas & Grandmas.....

I had the pleasure of creating these lovelies for a very dear friend of mine! I had so much fun working with her to come up with the perfect heirloom keepsake design for each beautiful piece! Thank you for letting me share them with you! Wanna create your own? I would be happy to help you with this! Visit www.studiobebeboutique.com today and place your order, or contact me at mystudiobebe@yahoo.com and I will be happy to build the perfect design just for you or your special loved one! Until next time friends~:o)

A busy start...

to the Autumn Season indeed! Happy Fall Ya'll~;o) Yes I know it has been a while, no I have not been in hiding~;o) I just recently received a wonderful job offer at a new Early Childhood Facility! I have been very busy with the transition and haven't had the time to write much, I am really hoping to blog more this season though. After much consideration I have decided to take a break from school. I really need one! No I am not quitting, I will eventually continue to persue my Bachelors, I'll keep you posted~;o) I have also decided to move my handstamped jewelry formerly known as (Southern Bliss Jewelry) over to Studio Bebe Boutique, the big move will take place as soon as things in the work world calm down. Southern Bliss Jewelry will simply become "Southern Bliss" a destash store and paper goods store. Yes I have added a couple of more new manias to my expanding little studio! These new manias include: Home/Party Banners, Tissue Paper Flowers, and Gift Tags. I have included a couple of pictures to show you what I've been up to and what will eventually make it's way into my Southern Bliss Etsy shop. I am hoping to open the store late October if not sooner, we will see~:o) Until then my good friends, stay tuned!

Fall Accessories are here!

As promised, here are some pictures of my newest Fall accessories including Halloween~:o) Wanna purchase one? Go here: http://www.studiobebe.etsy.com Stay tuned for more new Fall accessories coming soon! A special Thank you goes out to my lovely models Cayla and Emma, and also to Beth for the beautiful pictures. Thank you Cayla, Emma, and Beth!

well it has just been....

a VERY busy past month! So sorry I haven't been able to write lately. Between teacher work week, lesson plans for the kids, USF orientation (yes I have decided to continue~;o) and lots of orders I just haven't had a chance to get on and blog much. Here are a couple of really fun orders I just completed, sorry but the pictures do these beauties no justice! I promise though, I have some great Fall accessories coming and I will post soon! In the mean time, you can find a couple of these fun little clippies in my etsy store! Until next time.....