Anthropologie "knock offs" & Chair Skirts

Recent Decorating Projects~

Fun Finds

Lucky Green~

Decorating for Spring

 

Thrift Store Finds~decorating ideas~ and a great Recipe

Fabulous Finds

Decorating with vintage linens~

$4.00 Valentine & Spring Pillowcases

A Fresh Start & Tips

"unstuck"

~Merry Christmas 2014

Merry Christmas to all of my blogging friends and faithful followers.  Thanks for sticking with me all these years!

*One of our family's traditions is to make White Peppermint Hot chocolate on Christmas Eve.  Enjoy the recipe!

White Peppermint Hot Chocolate

4 Cups 1% low-fat milk

7 hard peppermint candies, crushed

½ cup white chocolate chips

½ tsp peppermint extract

4 hard peppermint candies

1 Tbsp light-colored corn syrup

6 Tbsp frozen fat-free whipped topping

1.    Cook milk in a heavy saucepan over medium heat until warm (do not boil!)

2.    Add crushed peppermint candies, stirring until candies dissolve.

3.    Add white chocolate, stirring with a whisk until chocolate melts. Cook until tiny bubbles form around the edge of the pan (do not boil), stirring constantly with a whisk.

4.    Remove from heat, stir in peppermint extract.

5.    Coarsely crush 2 peppermint candies; set aside.

6.    Finely crush remaining 2 peppermint candies.

7.    Coat rims of  3-6 mugs with corn syrup.

8.    Place finely crushed peppermint candies into a saucer; dip rim of each mug into candies to coat.

9.    Pour 2/3 cup of hot chocolate into each mug; top each serving with 1 Tbsp whipped topping. Sprinkle 2 coarsely crushed candies evenly over topping.

2014 Holiday Decorating~Home Tour

Decorating Ideas & The Jingle Bell Shop

Christmas gift idea

I know we haven't even had Thanksgiving yet, but I'm starting to get excited to decorate for Christmas.  My neighbor has her tree up, and I am officially in the mood for all the sights, sounds, and smells of Christmas.  I promise I will wait until after Thanksgiving to do anything about it though! :)

Since I'm thinking ahead about gifts, I thought I would share something that I did last year that went over really well.  Before you think it requires a lot of kneading and rising, think again.  These beautiful loaves of bread are Rhodes frozen pre made loaves!  So, all that is required is sticking them in a bread pan to raise, and then baking.  I tied each bag with a ribbon and attached a card with the scripture reference to Jesus being the bread of life...

"And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life.  He that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst."  John 6:35

I also included a link to some of my favorite Bible videos.  Who doesn't love a loaf of freshly baked bread?  ;)  And, if you are really in a hurry, you can use my rapid rise method using a heating pad!

Thanksgiving Centerpiece Ideas~

Santa's PJ's~quick craft & gift

Dollar Store Gift

*update*  Here is the link to the image!

Rosemary, Lemon and Gruyere Artisan Bread~

Ok,  I'm back to give a shout out again for Janet's Crusty Bread! (simplysogood.com)  This time I tried the Rosemary Lemon with Gruyere cheese.  (I used medium Gruyere instead of mild or sharp). Also, I read her recipe again and realized I had been using the wrong yeast.  It must be instant yeast, not regular.  The loaves were good before, but now they are amazing!

If you haven't tried this recipe yet, I highly recommend it.  It is super easy!  I just wish you were here to taste it and share it with me.  I'm not sure my kids will appreciate it. ;)

Pretty little things

Do you have one favorite area of your house that you just love?  I do.  One is a little corner in my piano room, and lately, the other is my kitchen window.  I feel like I have photographed this area so much recently, but I keep finding new little treasures to upcycle for "display". 

I was at the dollar spot at Target recently, and found a chalkboard marker.  I put it in my cart, and then put it back on the shelf.  Then I put it back in my cart again.  Over and over I did this.  I know it was only a dollar, but I didn't want it to be an impulse buy!  I finally kept it because I was so curious to see if it worked.  Now, I'm guessing that most everyone has been using one of these to make all of their beautiful chalkboard art these days.  But, like I have said before, I am very slow to jump on the band wagon, and somewhat old fashioned.  I always have been.  I think we were the last to get an answering machine, high speed internet, and *gasp* I don't even have a smart phone!  In fact, I picked up a GPS at a yard sale, and we have used it, but I find that I don't even like relying on that very much.

 I bought the chalkboard marker and couldn't wait to try it out.  I used a little chalkboard from a yard sale to print the words "Give Thanks" inside a laurel wreath.  I can't tell you how fun it was to use!  The packaging claims you can even erase it like real chalk, but I haven't tried that yet.  It was so smooth....like writing with a paint pen.

The next thing I displayed in my window might look familiar to some of you.  Long ago, I found a way to make beautiful "faux" stained glass windows.  It remains one of my most pinned posts.  You can see it here.  Well, I could never find the perfect place for it, and over time, it got a little bumped and bruised because i wasn't very careful with it.  I couldn't part with it, so I cut the plexi glass down, and stuck it in a "new" (yard sale) frame.  Then I just set it in the windowsill.  I love the light that streams through it,

And, I love it when my brain finds ways to re use old things!  Creativity is a wonderful thing!