Another Fun Day

We must be in the mood for Italian food this week at my house! My friend, Heather made Cheese Stuffed Shells recently and I've been wanting to make some ever since reading about hers.


I found the recipe at Allrecipes.com. I added cooked ground beef to the cheese mixture and skipped the mushrooms.




I also made a batch of Strawberry Filled Oatmeal Bars for dessert.


This afternoon we went to a couple of resale stores. Bargain shopping runs in our family. ;0)

I thought I would share the things I found....

I've been looking for a picture for my back patio and I found this sweet picture of a girl feeding some bunnies. Price: $2.99.


These Hallmark terra cotta candles were new in the box. $2.09.


I haven't decided whether to leave these wooden birds on the patio, or bring them inside. $3.00 for the pair.


I also found a Pier One blue and white pitcher ($3.00), crystal candle holders ($1.00ea.) and ceramic coasters. ($2.00)


The coasters have pretty birdhouses on them, and they remind me of my friend, Betty. She just shared pictures of her birdhouses this past week.


My favorite find of the day was a big bag of note cards. There were over 75 cards in the bag and I got them all for $3.00!

A nice collection of Monet and Degas note cards that I'm going to save for our art study.


I love to write letters and the girls have several penpals so we will put these note cards to good use. There was a huge assortment of floral scenes.


I was especially happy to see these vintage Hollie Hobbie note cards....each one with a different scene and little saying.


The girls and Benjamin had lots of fun with Uncle Stephen today. After dinner, they went for a walk, played street hockey and played with a bug vacuum. They ended up vacuuming up crumbs in the kitchen and their own hair! :0)

Thank you for looking at my new treasures!

Monday, February 26, 2007

Hello everyone! I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the Irish proverb. I read it in a Mary Engelbreit gardening book that I borrowed from the library yesterday, and thought it was beautiful!

My brother, Stephen is on spring break this week and decided to come to Texas for a visit. The girls and Benjamin are having lots of fun with him. He has gotten lots of requests to play outside, play games, watch movies and even burp the alphabet--you know, Uncle-y things. ;0)

Stephen made dinner for us tonight. Homemade cheese pizza and his specialty which he calls "Pizza Rustica."



He puts Italian seasoning and even a little cayenne is his crust!



A hot mozzarella cheese pizza!



Here is the "Pizza Rustica." I don't have the recipe, because evidentally it's a secret! I can tell you that there are three kinds of cheese--provolone, mozzarella, plus Italian sausage and salami.




Everything is wrapped up in the crust and baked.



It was SO good!! Even the girls and Benjamin loved it so there may be a fight over the leftovers tomorrow. :0)




We have plans to visit a few resale shops and hopefully the Natural History Museum. Later in the week, my other sister and her baby (whom I haven't met yet!) are coming for a visit also.

I hope you all are doing well. Can you believe February is almost over?!

~Home Sweet Home~

To all of my blogging friends...


Picture from Art.com

May you have
warm words on a
cold evening,
a full moon on a
dark night,
and the road
downhill all
the way to
your door.
~Irish Proverb

Love,
Kelli

Baby Gifts

Thank you so much for all the comments on my Winter Blues post and also for sharing all the things you do to help make winter more cheery!

I've been working on new baby gifts this week and I finally finished the little stuffed lamb. She's been through a lot--poking, stuffing, so many ripped out stitches, but all has been forgiven. ;0)


I added a pink bow and flower around her neck.


Look at that little face!


For the other gifts, I got out my 2000 Baby issue of Martha Stewart. She shows how to draw a small pattern on onesies, washcloths, sock and bibs and embroider the pattern with french knots, very close together.


I embroidered a pink baby rattle on a onesie.


I added pink pacifier buttons to pink little slippers.


Also included will be a pair of pink pants, burp cloths, and baby mitts. I bought these things first and then found the matching embroidery floss.


Thanks for looking at my baby gifts! I hope you all have a great weekend!

Pattern can be found here.

Simple Pleasures for February

Do you have the "winter blues? I have to admit I've been thinking about spring this past week. It comes early here in Texas but I know alot of the country has 5 feet of snow on the ground! :0)

Photo from Grandma's Graphics.


I've been reading through old issues of Victoria and also Sarah Ban Breathnach's book "Simple Abundance" and came across some ideas for brightening up the long winter months.

February....
China tea, the scent of hyacinths, wood fires and bowls of violets-that is my mental picture of an agreeable February afternoon. -Constance Spry

Flowers are an easy way to cheer things up...

-Gather some pansies in a basket and let their little faces cheer you.

-Treat yourself to one perfect long-stemmed rose for your desk.

-I floated a few of my leftover Valentine carnations in a daffodil teacup....

"People from a planet without flowers would think we must be made with joy." -Iris Murdoch



-Light candles all over your home. Relax and see how different the world seems without electricity to blur the distinction between night and day.

-Add some spring colors to your kitchen table....

My friend, Clarice from Storybook Woods sent me this beautiful tablecloth for my birthday.
The robin's egg blue is perfect for spring.


Thank you, Clarice! I love it!



-Read Elizabeth Barrett Browning and then delight in "everyday's most quiet need."

-Revive the leisurely, "After Dinner Delights" customs of the past...

"At one time, guests lingered in the parlour or sitting room over "silver trays of perfectly riped cheese or hand-dipped chocolates, port in crystal decanters, steaming pots of coffee or tea." The book, "After Dinner" will inspire you to reinvent those pleasant slip-away hours.

"The mere chink of cups and sauces tunes the mind to happy repose" -George Gissing



-Wear perfume everyday.

-Add a bit of lace to a pantry shelf...

I hot glued this pretty lace to the shelves of my piesafe.



The doors are open here but when they are closed, you can still see the lace hanging down.



-Make a batch of old-fashioned chocolate fudge.

-Browse through gardening catalogs. You can buy them, but even better visit your local library and read though their back issues and some magazines that you normally wouldn't subscribe to.


I hope these ideas are helpful! Do you have something special you do to chase away the winter blues?

Panic, Stromboli and Cherry Pie

Hello everyone! My day was going just fine until I forgot my blogger password. After trying 307 possibilities I gave up! ;0) I had them email me the option of picking a new one and that's when the real trouble started. They let me pick a new password but wouldn't activate it until I pushed the "switch to the new blogger" button!! Talk about panic!! I have heard so many horror stories about making the switch. Well, my blog did get messed up but Phillip worked on it as soon as he got home and saved the day. :0)

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I tried a new recipe tonight. Mrs. Wilt shared a delicious looking Stromboli awhile back and I've been wanting to try it.
I looked for frozen bread dough at my store but they only sold the value pack (5 loaves) so I'm including the recipe for the homemade dough I made.



Stromboli

2 cups flour
2 tablespoons oil
1 tsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1 pkg. yeast
3/4 cup warm water.

Combine warm water and yeast, stir and let sit for 5-10 minutes until bubbly. In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar and salt. When yeast is ready, add oil and stir. Add mixture to the dry ingredients and blend well. Knead for 2-3 minutes. Put dough in oiled bowl, cover with a towel and let rise until double in size, about 1 hour.

Roll dough 1/4 inch thick and layer roughly 3-4 cups of meat and 2 cups of cheese. I used thinly sliced turkey sandwich meat..probably 2 cups worth and 2 cups of shredded cheese. Roll up tightly and seal the edges. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes.

I also spread a thin layer of this four cheese sauce on the dough before layering the meat and cheese and served it as a hot dipping sauce for the finished stromboli.


Everyone really liked it and Benjamin said, "Mom, I don't like your stromboli, I LOVE it!" :0)



Also on the menu was a Cherry Pie in honor of President's Day yesterday. When George Washington was a little boy of 6 years old, he accidentally cut down one of his father's cherry trees. His father was very angry but George confessed and all was forgiven.

I need to work a bit on my lattice crust. I tried to weave the strips of dough but they got too hot from the filling and kept falling apart. Grace made me stop trying so into the oven it went half latticed!


Cherry Pie

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. almond extract
2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
1 16oz. cans of pie cherries, NOT cherry pie filling (look for pitted cherries, packed in water)
Pastry for double pie crust

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In saucepan, combine sugar, flour, cinnamon and undrained cherries. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and boils (about 7 minutes). Remove from heat and stir in almond extract.

Pour mixture into a 9-inch unpacked pie shell. Dot with butter. Cover with top crust and seal edges and crimp. If a lattice crust is not used, put one or several vents in the crust. BAke at 400F for 30-35 minutes or until crust is brown.

You can also serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!



So, there you have it, panic, stromboli and cherry pie!!!

Homemaking Meme

Thank you for your comments on my Five Senses Weekend post. All the muffins are gone but they were handy for snacks and we even had them for dinner, along with some scrambled eggs. I am *trying* to make a mini stuffed lamb as part of the baby gift. I had to rip the stitches out of the head 3 times and now the legs aren't right. When I saw "Simple to make" I should have run away then! I will be sure to share photos of all the gifts and hopefully the lamb too, as soon as I'm finished.

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My friend, Mrs. Monise tagged me for this fun homemaking meme. Here are my answers as well as some pictures....


Aprons – Y/N? If Y, what does your favorite look like? Yes, I wear an apron while baking. My favorite apron is this vintage patchwork one. It's very tiny. I'm pretty sure I couldn't get it around my left leg! ;0)



Baking – Favorite thing to bake: Looking at my recipe section in the sidebar, I’d have to say desserts!

Clothesline – Y/N? Yes, but I don’t use it like I thought I would. It does make a wonderful photo prop as seen in the apron photo! :0)

Donuts – Have you ever made them? I love donuts but I’m too scared of deep frying to make them.

Every day – One homemaking thing you do every day: Sweep the kitchen floor.

Freezer – Do you have a separate deep freeze? No

Garbage Disposal – Y/N? Yes. I have a special knack for clogging them up too. Just ask Phillip!

Handbook – What is your favorite homemaking resource? Home Comforts by Cheryl Mendelson.

Ironing – Love it or hate it? Not a fan.

Junk drawer – Y/N? Where is it? In the kitchen. Isn't this a requirement in every home?!



Kitchen – Color and decorating scheme- Yellow walls, oak cupboards, lots of tea cups and teapots. You can see pictures in my sidebar.

Love – What is your favorite part of homemaking? When everything is nice and clean and I even have a plan for dinner!

Mop – Y/N? I do not own a mop. I clean the kitchen floor on my hands and knees with a cloth.

Nylons – Wash by hand or in the washing machine? Machine. It has a “wash by hand” setting though!

Oven – Do you use the window or open the oven to check? Open the oven. Bad, I know.

Pizza – What do you put on yours? Mushrooms and black olives.

Quiet – What do you do during the day when you get a quiet moment? Read or play the piano.

Recipe card box –I have one but never use it. I print my recipes out and put them in three-ring binders.

Style of house? One story, brick. 1800 square feet.

Tablecloths and napkins-I have several tablecloths and runners. I have cloth napkins but use paper ones too. My tablecloths are in a basket in the laundry room.


Under the kitchen sink – Organized or toxic wasteland? Organized.

Vacuum – How many times per week? Several times, as needed. Vacuuming might be my favorite chore.

Wash – How many loads of laundry do you do per week? Hmmm.....5-8. All the laundry (except dishcloths and towels) go into these 3 laundry bags in my bathroom. It looks like I'm washing reds next!


X’s – Do you keep a daily list of things to do that you cross off? Sometimes on paper, I always have a list in my head.

Yard – Y/N? Who does what? I do the gardening. I also love to trim the shrubs and bushes. Phillip cuts the grass.

Spring time comes early in Texas. Today, I saw some Irish moss peeking up out of the ground.


Zzz’s – What is your last homemaking task for the day before going to bed? Make sure all the doors are locked. Sometimes I check twice. :0)

Thanks for reading my homemaking meme. If you would like to play too, consider yourself tagged! Be sure to let me know, so I can come read yours!

~Five Senses Weekend~

The weekend is finally here! I got the idea for this "Five Senses" post from my friend, Sandra. I hope you enjoy it!


Hear: I am hearing the dryer today. I have a lot of laundry to catch up on. The hard part is putting it all away! I usually clean a specific room/area each day, but I didn't this week so I had a busy day of scrubbing, dusting and vacuuming.



Smell: I am smelling lavender. I took a ziplock, poured in two cups of baking soda and added several drops of lavender essential oil. I mixed it up, sprinkled it over my carpets, let it sit for awhile and then vacuumed.



See: I am seeing the wonderful heart that Anita sent me all the way from Germany! I hung it from the mini tea set shelf in my kitchen.


It is even more beautiful in person...lace, tiny pearls and pretty stitches. Thank you, Anita, I love it!



Touch: I will be touching pink flannel and tiny pink pacifier buttons this weekend, as I work on a baby gift for my brother and his wife. They just had their first baby girl this week!



Taste: I am tasting these Banana Crumb Muffins. There is a brown sugar streusel on top. I doubled the recipe and got 18 large muffins.


Banana Crumb Muffins

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 bananas, mashed
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease 10 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers.

2. In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and melted butter. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.

3. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.


Now I won't be tempted to go to the donut store for breakfast tomorrow. ;0)


I will be by to visit your blogs soon. If you are a lurker, please say hi, so I can come visit you too!

Have a great weekend!

Recipe can be found here.

Valentine Celebrations

Thank you for your Valentine wishes and hugs! We had a really nice day. Anita, Grace copied down some of her favorite love poems for me and I had a good supply of Hershey's caramel kisses! Like Flora, I'll have to go on chocolate restriction for the next few days. ;0)
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I had little gift bags waiting for the girls and Benjamin when they woke up. Nailpolish, stickers and candy for Grace and Emily and a Yo-Yo, stickers and candy for Benjamin.


I found this mini trifle dish at Target and filled it with dried roses from a previous Valentine's Day.


We had cherry turnovers for breakfast.


Here are my little Valentines.....





Red and white were the colors for our table. Grace found some Cranberry Italian Creme Soda at the store.


I made Phillip a Spaghetti and Meatball dinner. I hardly ever make them so it was a sign of true love! ;0)


We had Cheesecake Pie for dessert. I have been using this recipe for more than 10 years. It is very easy to make!


Cheesecake Pie

1 (9-inch) baked graham cracker crust
1 (8-ounce) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 (14-ounce) sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In large mixer bowl, beat cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Stir in lemon juice and vanilla. Pour into prepared pie crust. Chill 3 hours or until set.

We topped ours with a spoon of raspberry jam or a little chocolate sauce.


I hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day with the ones you love.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

I hope that your day is filled with lots of love. (And chocolate!)

~All for Love~

Thank you so much for all the comments on Benjamin's birthday! He had a really fun day. We rented "Curious George" and ordered pizza for dinner. Then he got to stay up late! February sure was a busy birthday month, the next one isn't until
May. :0)
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I have been reading my February Victoria magazines along with one of my favorite books, "All for Love" by Tasha Tudor.


It is full of beautiful pictures, poems and stories, along with some cute (and silly!) love potions and charms....

You can find out if the person you love loves you by pulling off the petals of a daisy or black-eyed Susan while you say:
He (or she) loves me,
He loves me not,
He loves me,
He loves me...etc.
The last petal will tell you the answer.


Rose leaves and forget-me-nots made into tea are also effective in making your loved one love you.


If you peel an apple so that the peel is all in one long piece, and then throw the peel over your left shoulder onto the floor, it will form the initial of the person you will marry.


When you go to a wedding, take a little piece of the wedding cake home with you and put it under your pillow, you will dream about the person you will marry. This sounds messy to me!


Four-leaved clovers always bring good luck. But if you find four of them, put one beneath each corner of your bedsheet, and you will dream of the person you will marry.


I'm pretty sure none of those potions and charms actually work so let me share with you some things that do! :0)

Love is not confined to Valentine's Day. There are many occasions all through the year to tell people that you love and appreciate them. Actually, the nicest thing of all is the unexpected or spontaneous expression of your affection by a word, a homemade gift or even a small bouquet of flowers. But still, it is pleasant to have a day set apart specifically for celebrating love.

One of my favorite parts of All for Love is when Tasha Tudor shares about her Sparrow Post.



"Valentine's Day in the Tudor home centers on the Sparrow Post. It started out as a grocery carton but has been turned into quite an elaborate establishment with cubbyholes for letters, a counter, a set of scales and many important notices pasted to the walls. There is a back office for Mr. Sparrow where he can work in peace and sort that quantities of mail. There is even miniature mail just the right size for dolls and stuffed animals.

A few years ago I borrowed Tasha's idea and made a "Cardinal Post." The girls and Benjamin have lots of fun leaving notes for each other inside.


I found the mini mailboxes at Michaels and the post office miniatures at Hobby Lobby in the doll house section.


Another great book I've been reading is Sarah Ban Breathnach's "Mrs. Sharp's Traditions." She has some sweet ideas for Valentine's Day...


The Dolls' Valentine Tea Party
Have a Valentine Tea party for all the dolls and stuffed-toy friends who keep your children in such good company throughout the year. Dolls and toys are, as you no doubt realize, very generous to those good children who take such loving care of them! You may have to assisted the dolls and animals in their valentine making without the children's knowledge! ;0)


A Wedding In the Woods
For centuries it has been an old country superstition that on St. Valentine's the birds select their mates. Why not put out a wedding supper for the birds...maybe some sunflower seeds or pinecones covered in peanut butter and birdseed.


Last but not least, if you need something delicious to eat on Valentine's Day I have to recommend Mrs. U's Chocolate Pound Cake. As if pound cake isn't yummy enough, now add some chocolate! :0)


Chocolate Pound Cake
1/2 pound of butter, softened (2 sticks)
1/2 cup of shortening
3 cups of sugar
5 whole eggs
1/4 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 cup of cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cup milk
3 cups plain flour (all purpose)

Mix dry ingredients. Stir in wet ingredients. Pour into greased and floured bundt pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Let it cool in pan for 5 minutes and then turn onto cooling rack.

I hope you have enjoyed these ideas on making February 14th extra special.

No matter how you plan on celebrating the holiday, I want to wish you a very sweet Valentine's Day tomorrow.


Be my Valentine,
My heart is yours.

Pictures from www.antiqueclipart.com and www.art.com

Happy Birthday Benjamin!!

It's time for another birthday! Benjamin turned 6 today!

I thought I would share a few baby pictures....









Fast foward six years....

What Benjamin wanted most for his birthday was to go to a hockey game with Daddy. Saturday night they went to see two local teams play. They enjoyed hotdogs, cotton candy and Dr. Pepper. You know, birthday food. ;0)


Enjoying the game...this must have been before the sugar high!



Yesterday, we had Phillip's family over to celebrate. My friend, Pea made chicken fajitas last week and I've been craving them ever since, so that is what we had!


Benjamin got some fun gifts from Nana, Papa and his Uncles and Aunt.


You can't go wrong with a Lightning McQueen toy!


Practicing with a new sword...


Benjamin wanted a Dirt Cake for his birthday.


Basically it is layers of vanilla pudding, crushed oreos and gummy worms. It was *really* good!



Silly Uncle Caleb!


What's your favorite part, Benjamin?! :0)


The plans for today are to play with new toys, go to Blockbuster and pick out a movie for tonight and just have fun being six!

Happy Birthday to my handsome boy!

Reality Saturday

I thought it was time for a bit of Saturday reality. We usually keep thing fairly neat and tidy around here but sometimes (like every few days!) things get messy. Good thing Phillip isn't here, taking pictures with his nice camera, then my house would look *really* bad. ;0)

If you were to stop by today this is what you would see....

We are messy crafters. Here is what is left of our big "making Valentines" project last night. Emily still had to make a few this morning. She walked into the room and said, "Look at this trashed place!" My thoughts exactly. ;0)



Grace is having a little tea party with her dolls.



Emily and Benjamin are off playing in a bedroom. It appears the doll bed has been turned into a desk.



Yes, my children still leave their clothes on the floor. Grrr....



There are always dishes to wash. Actually, I've been handwashing my plates and bowls since Christmas. Our dishwasher racks have erroded away in many spots and I don't want to get rust stains on my new white dishes. I have a repair kit but haven't gotten around to glueing on 140+ little tops. Did someone say procrastonator?!



And finally the livingroom. Doesn't look so warm and cozy today!!



Well, there you have it. A bit of reality at my house!

Keepsake Envelope Folders

Hello everyone! The weekend is finally here! We found out Grace had strep throat on Wednesday, so after a couple of days on antibiotics she is feeling better. We have one more birthday to celebrate this month. Benjamin turns 6 this coming Monday. We are having Phillip's family over for fajitas on Sunday. Benjamin has requested a "Dirt Cake." Chocolate pudding, crushed oreos, whipped cream and gummy worms. Who wouldn't like that?! ;0)

We don't have any major plans for the weekend. The girls and Benjamin haven't made their Valentines yet so we'll work on those. I guess I could clean up the backyard. It's covered the plastic food and dishes!

I wanted to show you these Keepsake Envelope Folders I made last week. I heard about them from Charree, at Held In His Hands. Leave it up to Martha Stewart to come up with such a neat idea! :0)




Martha says..."Over the centuries, envelopes have contained many secrets and declarations of true love, so it’s appropriate to use a group of them to store dear old letters and treasured notes—or to fill them with trinkets for your valentine."

They are very easy to make!

First, fold the flaps back on all but one of the envelopes you want to join. With the unfolded flap on the bottom, stack the envelopes, open side up. Moisten folded flaps; affix each to the envelope behind it. Punch a hole through the bottom center of all the envelopes; insert keepsakes, and fold last flap over. Thread a ribbon through the hole, and tie.

I used 4 envelopes for each folder and decorated them with flower stickers and matching velvet and satin ribbon.


I added a few stickers to the back too.


I gave one to Grace for her birthday. I put a card, a mini notepad, and stickers inside.


I think they would make sweet gifts for Valentine's Day or any special occasion!


I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I would love to hear your plans!

~Valentine Decorations~

Hello everyone! Valentine's Day is coming up so I thought I would share a few decorations around my house, and also some Victorian Valentine sayings.

The roses of the valley may wither,
The flowers of the forest decay,
But our friendship shall last forever
Though all things fade away.

The February page on my calendar is a beautiful painting of pink roses.


Grace and I went to an estate sale a few weeks ago and found this hand crocheted tablecloth. It was priced at $75.00 but we went on Sunday afternoon right before closing at got it for *much* less!


Be my Valentine,
My heart is yours.

A close-up of the pattern.


I filled this small glass basket up with pink carnations. I bought them over a week ago and they still look fresh.


May the hand of time
Never blot out these words:
"Forget me not."

I found these pink clover napkins on clearance at Target. They will be perfect for Valentine's day and well as through the spring and summer.


I put one of the napkins on the coffee table and added three small candles, that I got at the dollar store.


Remember me,
As I will thee.



I got this next idea from my friend, Susan over at A Place Called Home.
She made a beautiful Valentine Banner and I thought I would steal borrow her idea! :0)


I used cardstock, gold doily hearts and stickers. I printed the letters for "Be Mine" on printer paper and cut them out.


Thanks for looking at my Valentine decorations!

A Special Birthday

Hello everyone! Thank you so much for all the wonderful birthday wishes!!! Quite often I hear people talking about how they doubt the ability to have friends on the internet. I want to tell them about you all, my sweet friends in blogland! You really made my birthday special, so thank you again for all the birthday wishes. I appreciate every one of them.

I was so excited to find out that I won my friend Anita's Valentine Heart Giveaway. Look at what she is sending me in the mail...

Isn't it just beautiful?!! Thank you , Anita!

My mother-in-law took Grace and I birthday shopping this past weekend and I got this new birdbath/watering station. So far the birds are scared of it, but I'm sure they'll warm up to it eventually!


My parents and sister sent me this sweet Peter Rabbit Calendar and a Donna Dewberry painting book. I can't wait to get out my paint brushes. Have any of you tried her method of painting?


My sister sent me this lovely set of gardening note cards....don't they make you wish for spring?!


My favorite gifts were from the girls and Benjamin. First thing in the morning, Emily gave me an assortment of things. A silk rose, a toy top, coins, all things that were special to her, tied up in a lavender sachet bag.

Grace wrote me two stories: The Magic Horse and The Magic Acorn. Both wonderful, of course! :0) Both girls also got me some note cards (I guess I should get caught up on my letter writing!) and Benjamin gave me his favorite pen and pencil, which he wrapped up in paper that he drew wonderful pictures all over.


As you can see, I was very spoiled by my friends and family! Thank you again, for all the birthday wishes and for letting me share about my special day.

February 5, 2007

This little note on the chalkboard is what greeted me this morning. Yup, it's my birthday!



The girls informed me that I don't have to do any cleaning today. So, I think we'll do our school work, go for walk, watch a movie and then eat these cupcakes. :0)

Saturday, February 3, 2007

My friend, Kimberly sent me a special little box in the mail this week and I thought I would share a couple of pictures with you.

The first gift was a sweet teacup candle. See the little doily and buttons on the saucer?


I put it on my tea tray and my friend Revee and I enjoyed it while we had tea yesterday afternoon.


Kimberly filled the box with dried rose petals which I put an a small tray and set on top my my guest book (which I can never remember to have friends fill out!) in the entryway.


Last but not least, 3 lavender sachets. They go perfectly in my white and lavender bathroom! Thank you so much for the sweet and thoughtful gifts, Kimberly! I love everything!


Are you all busy running errands today or having a quiet day at home? I'm going to be doing a bit of both. We are having Phillip's family over for lunch tomorrow so I need to get a few groceries. I rented the movie "The Parent Trap" (the old version) so I want to squeeze that in somewhere.

Talk to you later!

A Fun Birthday

Grace says,"thank you for all the birthday wishes!" She loved reading all of your sweet messages.

The day started nice and early with a very wholesome and nutritious breakfast. Chocolate is one of the 5 food groups right?! At our house the birthday girl or boy always gets to pick whatever kind of cereal they want.



Before Phillip went to work for the day, Grace opened a few gifts. She has been wanting a new drawing/painting table for her room. She was very happy to finally get one.



A new horse "paint by number."



We met Phillip for lunch at Grace's favorite restaurant, The Macaroni Grill. The best part of the meal are their warm rosemary loaves dipped in olive oil and cracked black pepper!



After lunch, we stopped by the movie store and it started snowing. Big huge fluffy flakes!!! Grace announced it was the best birthday ever!! :0)



We had lots of fun setting up the drawing supplies on Grace's new desk. The wooden drawers were also a gift and I hung the bulletin board up as a place to hang up all her pictures.



The cake is vanilla with vanilla frosting. Pink scallopes around the edges and stars on the top for the sparkler candles.



Make a wish, Grace!



Later in the evening, we watched a movie together and opened a few more gifts. Emily got her a sweet sister book and it came with a "Best Friends" necklace.



One half for each of them.



Even Grace's doll, Molly got a present. She loves her new bathrobe and fuzzy wuzzy slippers. :0) Soon the tired birthday girl was off to bed! And so was mom!



Thank you for looking at the pictures of our special day!

~Happy Birthday Grace!~

Today is Grace's 9th birthday! I've been saying, "Where did the time go? It seems like yesterday she was a baby...She grew up so fast!" You know, all the things Mothers say! And of course, using up a little kleenex. I hope I'm not the only crybaby around here. ;0)



We didn't have a digital camera when Grace was born but I can share a couple of pictures from a few years ago....

Here she is at 3 years old, meeting Benjamin for the first time. She was so happy to have a little brother!



4 years old.



6 years old.



Here she is today...9 years old! If you ask her, she's practically an adult now! She is such a little lady. She loves horses, reading, writing stories, painting, playing outside, nature and going to yardsales. Wonder where she got that from? ;0)



We have a fun day planned. Right now we are watching Sarah, Plain and Tall. She got a new table for her room where she is going to set up all her art/drawing supplies. We will make a birthday cake together this afternoon.

I'll be back tomorrow with lots of pictures.

Happy Birthday, Grace!