Pants for Little Girls

The theme this week on ESN is pants and all of us scavenger hunters have had some pretty interesting takes on that theme.  We are all so diverse in our thinking, it's really fun!  And as far as pants go I think there are none cuter than pants for little girls.  Not that little boys don't have cute pants, but they are usually relegated to sports motifs, until they pass the toddler age then there isn't much else for them except for more sports stuff.   But little girls, there's all kinds of cool trimmings on the back pockets and down the legs, things depicting anything from ballerinas, barbie, alligators, you name it.  So in that vein as I was hunting for pants I found this really cute and fun pair of jeans for a little girl from Bargain Express.

Bobby Jack Jeans Denim Monkey Pants

How cute are these?  So check out Bargain Express and all the other fine merchants at Ecrater Stores Network.  Ciao for now!

Who's Wearing The Pants?

Pants.  Call them what you may; pants, trousers, cargos, capris, cropped, jeans, gauchos they all cover the legs to some degree one way or the other.  Then there's sweatsuits, business pantsuits, both containing of course, a pair of pants.  Way back when we all know who "wore the pants", but with the ever changing times, in many instances it has been and still is today, women "who wears the pants in the family" (I am one of them!).  Look at all the darlings of the 30's & 40's like Hepburn and Crawford who made wearing trousers quite fashionable. Even before that there was Clara Bow and Annie Oakley who wore "pants".   And look at Coco Chanel introducing the "Chanel Suit", having introduced women to bell bottom pants in 1954.  Therefore, it is fitting that the ESN theme this week is "pants". My store,  Le Petit Marché doesn't have any pants in the  store but I have lots of lovely accessories that would look great with all styles of pants.  I included this fun top, a pair of great heels, and some cute earrings  that would look great with some tight fitting hip hugging jeans.  Enjoy!  And come look at the other fine accessories at Le Petit Marché for all your other accessorizing needs!

  Coldwater Creek Black and Silver Tank Top

Michael Shannon Silver "Johanna" Heels

Black Sea Shell Pearl Bead Pierced Earring

Cold Beer With A Black Knight

I was having a lot of fun rummaging through my fellow scavenger hunter's stores to wrap up this week's theme of  "cool beverage" because they all had so many items to choose from!  But when I came across the Black Knight Mug at Bargain Express, I thought this is it!  She's got goblets and all kinds of glassware for any kind of cool beverage you care to drink.  For me, it's 100F here today and all I can think of is when I get home from work I'm going to kick back, have an ice cold beer and start the week-end!  Now, wouldn't you like to drink a beer with this Black Knight?  He's awesome!

Tasty Chilled Sangria for Summer

There's nothing like a nice chilled sangria for a summer party and the theme at ESN this week is "cool beverage".   Back in college we used to make huge metal tubs of the stuff for our parties and used a ladle to scoop it into our plastic cups.  There's tons of recipes on how to make it, and I don't remember exactly how we made it back then, but my tastes are a bit more sophisticated (or so I'd like to think!) these days so I don't drink from metal tubs anymore either.  I like to serve it in lovely clear pitchers so all the colorful fruit and liquor shines through brightly.  Le Petit Marche has a lovely Italian Wine Decanter for sale for your next fancy party. And I've included 2 Sangria recipes if you'd like to give it a try!  Look at the differences and the similarities of the two.

Italian Crystal Wine Decanter

 From Emeril Lagasse

 Ingredients

• 1 (750-ml) bottle red wine
• 1/4 cup brandy
• 1/4 cup orange flavored liqueur (recommended: triple sec or Grand Marnier)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 orange, thinly sliced
• 1/2 lemon, thinly sliced
• 1 unwaxed apple, cored, and cut into thin wedges
• 1 (750-ml) bottle sparkling water, chilled

Directions

Combine everything but the sparkling water in a large plastic container or glass pitchers. Cover and chill completely, 1 to 2 hours. When ready to serve, add the sparkling water. 

From Bobby Flay

Ingredients

• 2 bottles red Spanish table wine
• 1 cup brandy
• 1/2 cup triple sec
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1 cup pomegranate juice
• 1/2 cup simple syrup, or more to taste (equal parts sugar and water, heated until sugar dissolves, cooled)
• Orange slices
• Apple slices
• Blackberries
• Pomegranate seeds

Directions

Mix all ingredients together and let stand in a tightly sealed container or pitcher for at least 24 hours in the refrigerator before serving.

Splish Splash with Lavender Soap

Nothing says relaxing than a nice hot bath with lavender.  I like lavender essential oils in mine when I find the time to take an actual bath; mostly it's just shower time for this girl. I like Lavender so much that I have several dried bunches in vases around my house.  In keeping with the ESN theme of Splish Splash I was taking a bath, I found a terrific item at  CarolinaBlueLady.  A beautiful Lavender Floral Gift Set that contains a lovely bar of soap and a bottle of toilet water.  What better way to pamper yourself, or to give as a gift for the discerning woman.  Visit her store for more soaps, colognes and tons of other neat stuff.  And take a stroll through all the other great merchants at Ecrater Stores Network .

Splish Splash for Hygiene, Fun and Making Friends

Yes, an odd title but ESN's  theme this week is "Splish Splash I was Taking a Bath",  (a song made famous by Bobby Darin back in 1958, but sung by others as well through the years).  I got to thinking of all the places I'd bathed in, like rivers and creeks high in the Rocky Mountains, plush and not so plush hotels all around Europe.  This was our shower in Rouffange (pop. roughly 93), France during my fountain rebuilding days (talk about hard work!)  Twelve of us shared this, talk about French ingenuity though, it worked great!

 

Then there's the "hammams" in Morocco.  Public bath houses where women went on certain days and men went on certain days.  This was quite the experience and me, being a sort of novelty, one of the ladies treated me to a scrub, that I can only describe as more painful than childbirth, well, almost.  But I sure had smooth skin!  You can imagine in bathing conditions such as these there are no vanities with toiletries we have come to count on here. Le Petit Marche has this lovely Four Piece Ceramic Bathroom Vanity Set for offer that will fit in a wide array of bathroom decors,  so stop on by and have a look.  Splish, splash!

Oh Baby, It's Hot Outside!

Summer has come on hot and strong, we had at least 5 days of record breaking temperatures and  for those 5 days the temps were at 100 and above.  At this moment it is 93, still quite toasty!  So it's a natural fit for our ESN theme of "hot weather" this week.  In this kind of weather it's best to stay hydrated as much as possible and have plenty of ice on hand for those tasty beverages.  After work I like to sit on my balcony with a couple of wine spritzers and a bucket full of ice to keep them chilled.  Come on over to Le Petit Marche and check the ice buckets I have to offer.  They are crystal, functional, pretty and solid. The one below comes with a pair of plastic tongs. Visit the other fine merchants at ESN while you're shopping!

Crystal Glass Ice Bucket

Beat the Heat with this Cool Hat!

We've had record heat just like everyone else in this country and I nearly fainted when I got my utility bill, the a/c's been running almost non stop during the day.  I only turn it off at night because thankfully Colorado cools down at night and it's pleasant sleeping with just the windows open.  We got a huge downpour of rain yesterday which was great in helping all the fires still going on, and the week-end calls for more.  But it's still real hot in many places and in keeping with ESN's theme of "hot weather", I found this really cool sun hat at Hazel's Hodgepodge, it's light blue with red hot chili peppers on it, how fun is that?  It's got red, white and blue Texas state with the peppers, well, here,  look for yourself.  It's the perfect hat for fishing on a boat or on the bank of a lake or river as it offers great sun protection with that wide rim.  So grab this hat, your fishing pole and don't forget the cooler of beer!

Custom Embroidered Dog Breed Caps

I'm wrapping up the scavenger hunter's theme of "puppies" for the week here at Ecrater Stores Network but not a puppy is to be found at any of my cohorts stores.  But I did find this lovely collie hat at Embroidery Fashions Boutique.  She makes all kinds of custom embroidered clothing, and I bet she could make a hat, or a tee shirt with your favorite breed of dog on it.  Check her out and all the other fine merchants at ESN. 

Custom Embroidered Collie Hat