So first let me offer a public apology to a certain preppy blogger whom I met a few days ago at Convention in Florida! I so had big plans to take a cute photo and give you a big hug and hello. I even made you a little sursey but forgot to give it to you. I was sick the entire week. It started out a few days before I left as a sinus infection. But my inability to breathe (damn that for being so important!) lead to only a few hours of sleep between Tuesday and Saturday. I was cranky and punchy and having hot flashes. My mind was a fog. Because the sinus situation turned into a full on cold with fever sweats and misery and coughing. Remember that knee to knee and face to face exercise we did? OMG was I ever "white knuckling" my way through that! It was all I could do to sit up-right. So when we finally had a chance to meet right after that, I really did try my very best to be upbeat and cheerful. But I know I wasn't! I am so sorry as I have been so excited to see you forever now. I saw you the last night from across the room - actually I was commenting to my girls how much I loved your blue dress and then realized it was you. But you were several tables away and well, I just never saw you again to take a photo. So while it really was awesome to meet you, I hope you don't hold my grumpiness against me. Oh and my voice...it's not normally frog-like. I'm so embarrassed! You also should have seen me wiggling my way around telling my kids how we know each other. I suck at lying so I just said we met in a funny way and later realized we were sorority sisters. And quickly changed the subject. :)

But other than feeling blah, I really did have a great time with my kiddos in Florida last week! I learned a lot and met new friends and saw old friends and got a sun burn and ate desert after every single meal. Miraculously I only gained one pound! And when I say every meal, I mean it! I ADORE the two collegians who went with me!! They are some of my favorite kids with whom I have ever worked. They had me in stitches the entire time. And apparently I should take up comedy as my new career because for whatever reason, they thought I was hilarious. I loved bonding with them outside of the school setting! When they had the chance for free time away from me, they chose to hang out with me instead. Can you believe that? I kept saying they could go off with the other college kids (read: people far cooler than their old lady advisor) but they wanted to have dinner with me. They are just fabulous! I really hope they remember how much they like me when school starts and I am back to being the big mean momma who enforces rules!

Oh and the best part about the trip? It's a tie. And proves just how vein I am. Ha! Not once, not twice, but THREE times people thought I was in college! The last time, the gal apologized profusely and I in turn told her that it was the happiest moment of my old lady life. And the other fabulous part was that several people complimented me at the end of the Convention on my week-o-Lilly-Pulitzer attire. No one ever appreciates the Lilly love in Upstate NY. If it wasn't so darn humid, I'd move back to Florida in a skinny minute.

Again, to my favorite preppy squirrel, I am so sorry I was not in a more cheerful mood! Hopefully we get a chance to see each other again next summer.

My amazing pal Stacy just sent me this fabulous bracelet from her Stella and Dot collection. OMG I am in love. Totally unexpected and unnecessary but adored all the same! I think surprise prezzies are the absolute best ever!! Actually, right now I am on my way to Florida for my sorority convention and it is adorning my wrist. Pink puffy heart with sparkles!! Until she started her Stella and Dot business, I'd never really heard of it. How that's possible is beyond me though as everyone else seems to already be in the know on the gems at great prices. Look what else I am in love with. I will be ordering a ring or two shortly- I just think they are awesome.





I love the broach on a chain look. So creative!




















This one will match my new bracelet perfectly. I love the rich colors in enameled jewelry.





If you are looking for a little gem for yourself or as a gift, do stop by my pal Stacy's site. The selections are fantastic and the prices are incredibly reasonable!

Just a few photos from Dad's garden. I am in love with the bright pink water lily! The color is fabulous. And a shot of Miss Sadie just because she's so stinkin' cute! I'm off to Tampa to attend Squirrel Camp today. So excited to be surrounded by sorority excitement for the week!! I'll miss my fur baby like crazy but she's in great hands as she gets spoiled rotten by my father. I'm sure they will be sharing sandwiches and watching TV on the sofa together before I land in Florida!

This is here more so that I am able to find it the next time I want to make banana bread. But I made this for father's day (along with Preppy Sue's strawberry scones) and just made it again tonight to take with me on a trip this week. It's just that good! Not really low fat but full of fruit and nuts so that has to count for something, right?

Note on bananas. I pop them in the freezer when they start to turn black. Then when they start falling out of the door, I know it's time to make banana bread. Don't hate, it's my method and it works. But it's great because I just pop the frozen bananas in the freezer for one minute. Snip one end off with kitchen scissors and squeeze it into the mixing bowl like I'm squeezing toothpaste. As Teressa would say, "fabulous!"


Best Banana Bread


Ingredients:

* 2 c. flour, plus more for dusting
* 3/4 c. sugar
* 3/4 tsp. baking soda
* 1/2 tsp. salt
* 1/4 c. sour cream (or plain yogurt)
* 2 large eggs
* 1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
* 1 tsp. vanilla extract
* 4 very ripe bananas
* 1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped large

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease the bottom and sides of a loaf pan (for me this makes one large loaf and one tiny loaf). Dust with flour.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.

3. In a large bowl (I use the stand mixer because I heart it!) mix the bananas, sour cream (or yogurt), eggs, butter and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated. Fold in nuts. Batter will be thick.

4. Pour batter into prepared pan(s).

5. Bake until the loaf is golden brown and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. About 55 to 70 mins.

6. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then remove to cool on wire rack. I'd say let it cool a while but I doubt that's possible. It's beyond delish!

Happy first day of summer! I know most of y'all have been enjoying summer for many months now. We've been lucky enough this year to have a spring/early summer- something very rare up in these parts. I'm loving it! My mini garden is looking more farm like every day. (so if you have good squash recipes, please send them my way as I am about to have more than I will ever know what to do with!)

Y'all are such dear friends and have been so supportive over the years. Below are a few bags I am about to add to my etsy site. I made these samples to photograph - they have never been used other than me taking these photos on my bedroom door. But I want to offer them to y'all at a special summer sale rate just for fun. I typically sell the small ribbon bags for $65 (plus $12 SH). But I have one of each of the three below that I just made for $39. Plus $12 Priority shipping. They look great with any summer outfit! Just send me an email (pinkcrocodiledesigns @ hotmail . com) and I will send along a Paypal invoice. First come, first served.


Giraffe Print Ribbon









Burberry style stripe ribbon









Summer yellow ribbon

I'm curious to know if any other preppy (or non preppy for that matter!) squirrel sisters are going to Convention this coming week? I know of at least one other but would love a mini (and on the DL because my undergrads don't know about my blog) meet up with others if you are attending. Send me an email if you are going or even if you are not but are a sister. I love to find new blog sisters.

My latest projects. The customer asked me to make outfits similar to the one below with pink and white stripe pants (far left). I wasn't sure I could do it at first but then a light bulb went off and I realized it was not all that complicated. A little time consuming (as are all "it will just take 10 minutes" projects!) but she LOVED the end results. I did too! Now I want to add ribbon ruffles to everything!






Close up photos of the pink and green outfit....











And of the purple and zebra print outfit....

Holy catfight! The Real Housewives of New York reunion show was just beyond explanation. If you're still reading this blog post it means you likely watch all THREE parts of the reunion. So I'll just give you a few of my random thoughts.


* The set was to die for! The white lacquer with fuchsia pink velvet covered furniture.... dreamy! KK's dream living room right there with that big bag of crazy sitting on all of my furniture!

* What was up with Alex's hair at the reunion? It looked like Marge Simpson. I noticed it during several of the interviews this season too. While I love that she actually brushes it now, I think she (and her hairdresser no doubt) got a bit too over-zealous with the teasing and Aquanet this season.

* Alex, other than the big hair, really grew on me this season. She is hands down my favorite (outside of Bethenny of course) now. Ramona is a close second. Never saw that coming. They both bugged me so much the first season.

* Simon still bugs me though.

* We hardly saw any kids this season. We saw Avery a few times with Ramona when related to the vow renewal but other than that, it was a fairly kid-less season. I would rather see any of the kids than most of the screaming matches.

* Luann cannot sing. I get that she thinks she can. But just because you speak in a snooty-falooty voice, does not make your "music" any better than the other Bravo-housewives-turned-singers. I loved her (at the Reunion) saying that she thought the critics (read: all of the people who have ears- so you and me!) didn't have positive reviews because she wrote a book on manners or class or whatever it was on. Um, they didn't like it because you can't sing well.

* Luann does however have a great body. Was she always that toned and I just never noticed it?

* Jill's black dress was fabulous but the nine million chunky bracelets and kelly green shoes just looked silly.

* Jill used to be one of my favorites. But wowza did her true and ugly colors shine bright this year! I feel like she only reacted when the public became so vocal about her nastiness. Alex called it....Jill is a mean girl!

* I guess that she was sincere in wanting to be better. But wanting it and actually being better are very different. Heck, I want to be thin by getting up early every day and exercising. But I rarely get out of bed early to exercise, thus I am the opposite of thin. See how that works? You can't just apologize and then expect your words to make things better. Actions baby! Actions speak louder than words. So saying you are sorry and then acting nasty and hateful moments later doesn't really leave anyone believing you, Jill.

* Jill also has delusions that she should be able to determine when people forgive her. Like a *poof* of a wand or something. And she seems to be mixing up forgiveness and friendship. You can forgive someone without being friends with them. I am pretty sure that Bethenny forgave Jill long ago but that does not mean they automatically go back to being close friends. It simply means she no longer carries around hurt and anger towards Jill.

* I know the mean girls criticized Ramona's vow renewal but I dug it. I think I loved it being an odd number of years rather than something more specific and expected.

* Naked is naked. But I cherish the arguments that some naked is less naked or however they try to spin it.

* Is that Jennifer girl a new housewife or not? I googled just that and found out that she filmed just as much as everyone else. She didn't have drama surround her though, so she sort of got left on the cutting room floor. Odd.

* Sonja has the potential to become a favorite next year. I didn't love her at first but she is a riot. As Sarah Jessica Parker said on Andy's after show, Sonja is like a little bit of helium. She's very good for the show.

* I didn't really look much into this but apparently Sonja fancies herself to be an amazing chef who uses only a toaster oven. Again, helium! How hilarious is that?!

* Oh and Sonja is from my area. I doubt she would ever over-power the Upstate pride and joy that is Rachel Ray but I think it's funny to know she grew up close to me.

* How ridiculous is Bethenny's body at the reunion?! Less than two weeks after giving birth! Damn!

* And then we have Kelly. I just don't even know what to say. I promise you that I will not watch any show that she is on ever again. I actually think Bravo TV is exploiting her. She clearly has serious issues. Mental or drug or mental and drug or ??? Kelly needs medical attention and Bravo knows it. Everyone other than Kelly knows it.

* Beyond her mental issues, I just don't like Kelly. Don't respect her. I was surprised that no one at the reunion show or on Andy's after show touched on her comment that she stops listening and "turns the volume down" and then jumps in with a comment. Not only is that incredibly rude and self-centered, but it makes zero sense. How can you possibly participate in a conversation if you chose not to listen to the...you know...conversation. She doesn't answer any questions. Ever. She lies. Or as she puts it, "changes her mind." In the same damn sentence. Whatever. Oh the PETA explanation was PRICELESS!! I'm sure that call is coming down the pipe from PETA to Kelly. WTH?

* But what bothered me the most was when Kelly continued to insist that she was bullied. Bullying is such a serious issue in America these days. And I find it offensive that she would just sort of use that flashy tag line in hopes of covering up her guilt and insanity.

* Why is Kelly so hung up on Bethenny's job title? Does it strike anyone else as ironic that while Kelly calls herself a "writer," she is the only housewife who has not written a book? Even Danielle from NJ has a book. They apparently give book deals away like candy at Bravo. Hey Bravo/book publishers everywhere....I'd love to write a book. I don't scream at "friends" and I never strut about nekkid though.

* How funny was it when Andy asked what sort of help she got after the island trip and she was like, "help for what?"! And Bethenny's faces were priceless.

* Favorite quote of the season, "It's like talking to Humpty Dumpty."


So in review.... crazy season. Won't again watch if Kelly is still part of the show in any way. She made it seem like she was signed up so this might be my goodbye. Sad, but at least I have Bethenny's new show. Which is so much better anyway as it is pretty upbeat and funny.

Now that I have a pink and green Lilly Pulitzer watch, it's Lilly time all day long! I love it! I bought Desert Tort yesterday but feel strongly that I need the other two sets ASAP! Oh sure, a silver watch would look nicer but this watch just makes me smile. So much better than an expensive and classy watch in my opinion. And two bands for $20 is such a bargain.

I am so sorry but I have tried to post the giveaway winners from last week for days now. Blogger and I have been fighting and Blogger won. I didn't even realize that my post didn't visibly post at first. So no flashy photos. Just basic info until Blogger and I learn to play nice.

The winner of the t-shirt giveaway is....

Persians and Pulitzer

The winner of the combined Stella and Dot and Pink Crocodile Designs giveaway is....

Mommy Needs Wine

Send me an email with your shipping information and your goodies will be on their way to their new homes! Congratulations to the winners and thanks for playing everyone!! I plan on doing a RHNY post after the final reunion episode on Thursday. Is anyone else still shocked that Kelly has yet to admit to her crazy?!

Oh sure, this giveaway is fun. And you still have plenty of time to enter- so please enter and read up on the great cause too.

But today, we have an extra fun giveaway. A little momma and me treat. Or adult and kid treat. Use them for yourself or as gifts or however your please.

First you will get this FABULOUS pair of earrings compliments of my gal pal Stacy's Stella and Dot business. Love, love, love them! You can get to know her personally on her blog, too. She's fabulous, you'll love her!






And you will also receive several goodies from Pink Crocodile Designs. A blue and red whale onesie and pants set- size 18 mos, a reversible smock size 12-18 mos, a green pull tag blankie, a pink and green Lilly Pulitzer baby bib, a Lilly Pulitzer patch print ice cream cozy and my newest creation, a Lilly Pulitzer can and bottle cozy. I tried to pick things that could, for the most part, be gender neutral.









To enter (you may do this in multiple comments or all in one comment- just be sure to specifically let me know each that applies to you):

* You must go to this Stella and Dot site and comment here on any item you think is fun and pretty. That is required for your first entry.

Bonus entries:

* 1 extra entry if you follow my blog.
* 1 extra entry if you go to my etsy site and comment on any item you like.
* 5 extra entries if you blog about it.
* 10 extra entries if you buy something from Stacy at Stella and Dot and mention this blog giveaway at time of purchase.

Winner will be chose on Saturday at noon so you have plenty of time to enter and shop at Stella and Dot. Good luck!!

This is a fun week at Preppy Pink Crocodile! We have not one but TWO giveaways happening this week. So we are starting this off with a prize for a cause.

Tuesday June 08, 2010 is World Ocean's Day. And Oceana is raising awareness to stop offshore oil drilling in hopes that disasters like the one happening right now in the Gulf never happen again. Their website states the following:

"Oceana, founded in 2001, is the largest international organization focused solely on ocean conservation. Our offices in North America, Central America, South America and Europe work together on a limited number of strategic, directed campaigns to achieve measurable outcomes that will help return our oceans to former levels of abundance. We believe in the importance of science in identifying problems and solutions. Our scientists work closely with our teams of economists, lawyers and advocates to achieve tangible results for the oceans."

Nautica, a leading global lifestyle brand, and Oceana, an ocean conservation organization dedicated to protecting the world's oceans, will join forces to raise awareness for "World Oceans Day" on June 8, 2010. World Oceans Day pays homage to the world's oceans and the important role the oceans play in our lives. As an official holiday, it aims to engage more people in the fight to reverse the declining health of marine ecosystems, increase awareness about the health of our world's oceans and supply people with tangible things they can do that will influence health and longevity of our marine ecosystems.

So what's the prize? One of these t-shirts. The fish is my favorite! It's a men's shirt but can of course be worn by anyone to work out or cover up by the pool and more. The shirt is made and provided by Nautica.

Simply leave a comment telling me your favorite of the two shirt choices and a winner will be chosen on Friday. You must make sure that I have a way to contact you- via blog or email- so that I can collect your information.









. The prize was provided by Nautica, but Nautica is not a sponsor, administrator, or involved in any other way with this giveaway. All opinions expressed in the post are my own and not those of Nautica.
. Entrants must be 18 or older and located in the US or Canada only.

This is a Topsy Turvy. You can buy them anywhere from hardware stores to big box stores to even grocery stores. Interesting idea that allows you to hang your plant and then grow it upside down. Great for small gardens or apartments. But UGLY. It's a green plastic bag thingy. Bleh. And it's a small bag- meaning you will need to water that sucker more than once a day.

So last year a neighbor made his own version with painter's buckets. Hung them up just like the famous version above but also planted herbs in the top portion. They did great. So I insisted my father make me some this year of course. And so far they are doing quite well. They are heavy as sin so be sure you have someone who has strong arms to help you if you have wimpy arms like me.

Its so easy. Get any sturdy plastic bucket (or I'm sure a sturdy metal bucket would work well too). So a paint bucket or kitty litter bucket or whateversonhand bucket. Cut a hole in the bottom that is large enough to shove the bottom of the plant up into. You can't do it the other way around because it will likely break off the branches and such. So cut a hole. Dad used a saw but if I were doing this single wimpy girl style, I might also try the hole punch method. You know, take a hammer and a nail and make so many connecting nail holes that it eventually makes a cut out circle. But that might take a while so find a dad or husband if you can. Or be my hero and use your own saw.

You can of course use a white bucket. But a little spray paint goes a long way. We used black to make them sort of blend in more but you could of course do any color. Or even allow your kiddos to paint on them. I mean, at the end of the day it's an upside down tomato plant in a paint bucket. Don't make this overly complicated.

You will also need to figure out how and where you will hang this. Because the rest gets down after it's hanging up. As you can see below, these are hung from a brick wall using a metal hook. To lower them (when dad first hung them I couldn't reach the herbs), he added metal chain. This can be purchased at any hardware store and is very inexpensive. Be sure that you hang them from something sturdy though. These are VERY VERY HEAVY after all is said and done!








After you hang your bucket in a very very sunny location (see the yellow leaves, I made the mistake of first hanging them in a location that didn't receive full morning sun. They've since been moved to this wall and are much happier and full of flowers.), add some good soil. Then shove the tomato plant up the bottom. Then add more soil. You might need to sort of hold the plant and move the soil around to ensure it is tucked in nicely. Add herbs or flowers on top. And sit back and wait for every neighbor to think you are brilliant! They will react as if you just invented the internet. At first you will tell people you saw it online and then eventually you will tire of that story and will just smile and say thanks.

There are several reasons to make your own instead of buying them. First, if you have access to buckets and have spare paint on hand, this project is nearly free. Even if you don't (and I bet you do- how about a cousin or friend who is having work done on their home or has six cats that you sometimes find wandering the block? Ask to take their buckets off their hands. They will be happy to get rid of them.) , it's still a cheap project. Also, it offers about three times more soil for your plants. Plants like soil. The buckets also hold heat in them quite well. Tomato plants like to be toasty warm. They also hold water in them well. I water them no more than once a day- and if its overcast sometimes I don't water them that much. You can paint them to match your decor. And last but not least, it's just plain fun to say you made your own (better) version of something.

Here are a few more photos of the small but mighty garden. Above we have several different types of squash towards the back (big leaves) and the gangly stuff in front are sweet peas. Ive never tasted a fresh pea but I have a feeling they will all be consumed standing right there in front of the brick wall. Never making it to a kitchen or pot. For friends like me who have never seen nor tasted a fresh pea, I'll keep you posted on their progress. Fascinating stuff!





Here is the compost. With a random squash of some sort growing in it. Dad kept breaking up the growth but it keeps coming back. So I convinced him to let it stay in the corner to see what it is. It's either zucchini or pumpkin that got tossed in after it died last fall (it originally came from my cousin's garden and she had zillions and gave them away to family and friends like they were going out of style.





These are my two little strawberry plants. That make me curse my sorority mascot daily. The damn squirrels ate all the berries and leaves. Two were pretty big and ready to turn. I'm ticked!








The two above photos are more views from the garden floor of the church buildings. I will have to show you photos of the interior of that church sometime. Its entire interior- not just windows but the pews and alter and baptismal font and floor and everything from soup to nuts- was designed by Lewis Comfort Tiffany. We have lots of hidden gems like that in my town actually. They claim we have more than any other city in the world. I think that's debatable, but possibly in the USA. Small but mighty, indeed!





And here is what hangs above the squash/peas photo. Homemade Topsy Turveys. Come back tomorrow for a tutorial on how to make your own. But this photo is for Susan who asked if I have basil. I have lots of herbs- most in pots. But there is a big bunch of basil here too. The other pot has rosemary- my favorite herb.

This made me smile. A man and his best pal, sitting side by side and driving down the road. Just as it should be, according to a certain four-pawed princess sitting on the club chair next to me right now.

My father is the most talented landscape designer! Just take a few peeks at his garden that I took last week. The above photo is of some of my tomatoes (7 different types total), squash (at least 5 different types), onions (both sweet yellow and scallion), and two types of eggplant (an egg shaped white and a long skinny purple- we'll see if any of these grow). I know they are in his garden but the veggies are all mine. Or ours as he planted most of them and waters them daily. So really they are mostly his. But are there because I insisted like the toddler I really am sometimes. Ha! I bet you can guess who picked out the pink chair too. I love to sit down there and admire the church next door and the fish in the pond. All of that brink section was once solid concrete. And a few years ago he dug it all up- a major undertaking. The transformation is amazing and so worth it. It's the perfect little garden in the middle of a city.