Lessons about living-What I’ve Learned.

This off-topic post is something that’s been germinating in my brain for a while now. Most of us have our own set of internal rules that we count on to live happier, more productive lives. They can be big rules, like “don’t sleep with a married man” or smaller rules, like “add some oil to your boiling water to prevent the pasta from sticking.” Whatever level of importance they come under, here are some of my own personal rules–things life has taught me that never let me down when I follow them. Some of them come from my Daddy, who had a huge cache of wise life lessons that he was kind enough to teach me. I never forgot them, nor will I ever forget him. So Daddy, this blog post’s for you.

1. Your marriage is a third entity in the household, almost like a third person with a pulse. This person must be cared for at all times, and they come first in all things–before you or your husband. If you treat your marriage like a living, breathing essence, you will have a very happy marriage. I promise. This third entity is what makes saying “we” so much more natural than saying “I.”

2. Never take sides when a couple–married or not–is fighting. I guarantee you that at some point you will lose both of them forever.

3. Do not pay heed to what people say. Instead, look at what they *do*. You’ll learn a lot more and be fooled a lot less. Words are easy, actions are not.

4. Ladies, if a man is truly interested in you, he will knock down the telephone–hell, he’ll knock down concrete walls—to get to you. Stop making excuses or rationalizing bad or disinterested behavior. See rule number 3.

5. There is no such thing as a “victimless” crime. There are always victims—some are just harder to see.

6. Believing in something bigger than yourself and your own intellect–whether it’s God, Buddah, Jehovah, or a higher self , is essential to stay grounded and sane. You are not the center of the universe. Remember that.

7. If you want something to remain a secret, tell no-one. This may seem like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how many people violate this simple rule and get burned.

8. Women of a certain age should not continue to have jet-black hair.

9. If you make a promise to someone, keep it. You’ll sleep better and will be believed the next time you give your word. Your word is precious, treat it that way.

10. Do not select art because it matches your paint swatches or couch. Choose it because it makes your heart sing every time you look at it.

11. You will never regret using fresh garlic instead of garlic powder in any given recipe.

12. Anybody who doesn’t like cats doesn’t know cats.

13. Money does not buy happiness. But you can rent it.

14. To clean pet urine from your carpet, soak it up with a gazillion paper towels, pressing down hard, until most of it comes up in the paper. At some point, the paper will stop turning yellow. Then clean it with a mixture of white vinegar, soap and water. The smell will be gone.

15. Say “I love you” early and often. You will never regret having said it, but you most assuredly will regret having not.

16. Anybody who says “what?” can hear.

17. Purple is not just a color. It’s a way of life.

18.  I see nothing virtuous in rising early. Some people do their best work in the wee small hours.

19. A true friend will support you in your major life choices even if he/she strongly disagrees with them. When it’s more important to be “right” than to be a friend, the friendship is no more.

20. Living in the past or future is a false life. Living in present time is the only path to true joy.

-to be continued

Dance the night away with Color Bakery’s swaying tulips

New floral (tulip) art from Color Bakery, hot off the presses! Two complementary art pieces meant with home decor in mind. The pieces are called “First of May” and “First of May II”. They are available for custom printing on ALL our products. Have questions? Want to discuss a custom tile project with us? Give us a call at 802.287.9098 every day from 11am-7pm.

The best chicken Marsala recipe.

My husband adores chicken Marsala, but I haven’t made it for him in a long time, regretfully. Besides the fact that I don’t cook very often because I am exhausted from running a business, my chicken Marsala never quite turns out the way it should. Instead of restaurant-quality Marsala (Pamela’s restaurant on Nostrand Avenue and Avenue T in Brooklyn, circa 1970′s, made the best Marsala in the universe), I ended up with sauce that never quite thickened and chicken that never quiet glazed. Not tonight. Tonight, my friends, I made a chicken Marsala that would have made big Pamela proud.

Here is my best ever chicken Marsala recipe. I can’t give you exact amounts, but you really won’t need them.

Make sure your chicken breasts are small and about 1/4 thick. I take breasts, cut them in half depth wise, then cut them in half lengthwise. Then I pound them down flat.

Mix flour with pepper, seasoned salt, garlic powder and oregano. That will be what you dredge your chicken in.

Get some half and half (not milk) and soak your chicken in that for a little bit, then dredge it in the flour mixture.

Melt olive oil and butter (be generous) in a frying pan.

Fry the flour-covered chicken on medium-high heat  until brown. Turn the chicken pieces over. Lower the flame to low. Add a ton of mushrooms. (Purists will add fresh mushrooms…I used canned and it came out just fine, thankyouverrymuch.)  Then add a generous helping of Marsala wine. I also added about a fourth of a cup of red wine.  Mix around slightly, then cover well. Cook for about twenty minutes or until done.

If you find the sauce didn’t thicken enough, add a tablespoon of flour to the frying pan, then mix around and recover.

The chicken is heavenly. It has a perfect glaze and the sauce is nice and thick and you can *really* taste the Marsala–but it’s not overpowering. I really don’t think you can add too much. You can serve with Parmesan cheese if you like, and of course, pasta.

Natural Impressions Artwork; magnolias and cattails and warm earth tones

Color Bakery’s newest piece, “Natural Impressions”, features white magnolias, leaves and foliage silhouettes against a palate of warm oranges, yellows, olives, grays, vermilions and cerises. This is the newest addition to our wildly popular Organica Gallery.

As with all Color Bakery artwork, this piece is available for custom printing on all our products. When it comes to tiles and tile murals, the beauty of this style of art (called a “Nine Patch” in the biz) is that it lends itself to any layout–whether it’s square or rectangular, the image never needs to be cropped…it can just be arranged to size.

Want this art on a poster, framed print or canvas? Click here.

Beautiful Vanilla Blossom and Sarsparilla art for kitchen backsplashes

When it comes to tile art for the kitchen, it’s pretty common to see coffee cups or traditional vegetable or fruit art. Goodness knows, so many people love grapes for backsplashes, so of course Color Bakery has many lovely fruit and vegetable art pieces for kitchen backsplashes or accent tiles. This time, though, I wanted to do something a tad different, by celebrating the Vanilla Plant and the Sarsparilla Plant. Now this is kinda funny coming from a strictly chocolate girl…vanilla is not a favorite flavor of mine unless there are swirls of fudge running through it. But you can’t deny the beauty of the Vanilla Blossom, and this Vanilla and Sarsparilla Series is sure to beautify any kitchen.

This art series is, like always, available for custom printing on all our products–not just custom art tile. To visit our online store, click here. Just type the name of the image you want on your chosen product by typing it in the blank field provided.

Vintage French Custom Tile Wall Mirror, Fleurs de Paris

Isn’t this mirror scrumptious? If you love anything vintage and anything French, “Fleurs de Paris”, Color Bakery’s exclusive hand-crafted tile mirror, will look perfect in your home and give you joy every time you look at it. A panoply of French style art on handmade tiles, art includes the Eiffel Tower, vintage grapes and pear, distressed checkerboard motif and an array of French vintage florals. This mirror has a wrought iron frame and is available in either glass or ceramic tiles. To look at a large size version of the photo, click on it. Not as expensive as you’d think! Only $199.00 for ceramic tiles. To purchase, please click here.

Tile Art designed by Mindy Sommers.

Indian Summer, new floral home decor art from Color Bakery.

The transition of the seasons, from Spring to Summer to Fall, is delicately conveyed in this new art series, “Indian Summer.”  Two white magnolias are the focus of these pieces, which look simply lovely in a complementary grouping. “Indian Summer” is available on all our products, from tiles to tile murals to clocks and keepsake boxes.  These pieces are the newest additions to our Organica Gallery.

To order Indian Summer, go to our ecommerce store and type “Indian Summer” in the blank field when adding to your cart.

More colors of autumn, dancing leaves from Color Bakery

All images are available on all Color Bakery products. Just enter the name of the image in the blank field.

Buy a fine art print or canvas of “Painted Seasons,  Autumn” by clicking here.

Buy a fine art print or canvas of “Painted Seasons, Spring” by clicking here.

Painted Poppies, Poppies, Poppies

Beautiful poppies in many hues, dancing on your walls….

These complementary pieces will look fabulous as twins on your wall, as complementary accent tiles, as floor tiles or wall murals…or as art gifts like jewelry or keepsake boxes. You may order these pieces on any of our products.

Buy the above image as a fine art or canvas print at Zazzle.