Free weekend - no painting!

Hello! I know it's been a bit since I put anything noteworthy out here but I was holding off until I had things wrapped up with the bathroom project. I now have photos of various stages of the project if you want to see.
I agonized over what to put on the walls to break up all the white and finally decided on a fern stamp set that I've had tucked away for a while. Sadly enough I think I originally bought it with this in mind... oh well. We're happy with how it turned out and the guys are pleased that it isn't too girly. Guess I can't blame them there.
I still have the ceiling in the downstairs bath to paint but that won't take all that long and I have a few vacation days coming up in August so I'll probably do it then.
Josh has a one day job coming up on the 8th of August to draw sketches of people at our optometrist's office. He's looking forward to it I think and has been practicing on various subjects. He steers clear of doing family though so count yourself lucky if he does one of you! Anyway we've been picking up art supplies here and there to get ready for this. I think I will probably go and spend the day with him so he has a helper in case a line develops. How cool would that be?

I just finished a box of about 80 cards for our dentist's office. They had called a few weeks ago asking if I would be willing to make an assortment for them (they're paying me of course) and I finally eked out enough time to get them done. I raided my box at work too just so I could do a little refresh there as well so my next project is to get that box refilled! Good thing I love stamping!

Other than that, we're pretty tame around here. Today was a beautiful sunny day so I've spent the better part of the afternoon enjoying it on the deck. Tomorrow it's back to the salt mines...

I'm going to leave off with a recipe for a salad that I've been whipping together quite a bit this summer. I think I finally have the kinks worked out (no cheese - Josh doesn't like it) but it's one of those that's open to interpretation. Anyway, I thought I would share it in case you're interested.
Have a great week!

Toni

Strawberry Chicken Salad
Serves 4

1 bag Romaine lettuce*
12 ripe strawberries, sliced
1/4 cup each: dried cranberries and pecans**
4 chicken breasts, cut into strips and cooked. Allow time for cooling slightly and divide into 4 servings.
Honey Lime dressing (recipe below)

Divide the lettuce into 4 bowls and top with sliced strawberries (3 per salad). Add cranberries, pecans and chicken. Serve with honey lime dressing.
*any sort of nut will work. I've used those nut, cranberry and raisin mixes from Target (Market Pantry)cashews or even peanuts. You just need something for a little crunch.

Honey Lime Dressing:
3/4 cup light vegetable oil
1/4 cup lime juice
1/3 cup honey
1/8 tsp ginger

Dressing lasts for a couple of weeks in the refrigerator.