Commitment to loveliness

My friend Emily posts this challenge on her blog every now and again and this week (though a day late) I decided to join in, I find if I write something down it'll have a much better chance of getting done than if it sits in my fuddled brain.

It's time for another Commitment to Loveliness! This is a fun way to increase femininity and beauty in our lives each week without even trying! All you have to do is choose five things that you would like to work on or do during the week that will increase the loveliness in your life!

So here goes:

1. Deep clean one bedroom and sort through the closets, dresser and bookcase.

2. Get in one good trail run

3. Go around and fill up all the bird feeders

4. List at least 2 new items in the shop

5. Finish up the orders that I have.

Once you have chosen five simple things, post them on your blog and let us know in the comments section. If you do not have a blog, but have a commitment to share, please post them in the comments section.

My kind of foreplay

As I rolled over to go to sleep last night, Marc said "I promise you, by the end of next weekend you'll have a newly decorated kitchen.".... Yeah Baby ;-)

Just when I thought I had it all figured out

We've lived in this house now for 2 1/2 years, during that time the only decorating that has occured has been Reagan's bedroom, the stairway and the entrance way. I'm not one of these people that goes into a house with a plan and starts to decorate immediately, I like to take my time until I have it all figured out and go with something that I love, all I knew about the decor in this house was that one day the whole house would have to be redone, this house does not represent our family at all, wheat sheaves tied up with bows and little straw hats are not my idea of a fun kitchen.
Gradually in my minds eye it is all coming together and up until today I thought I had my kitchen all figured out.
This fun and colorful Alexander Henry fabric for my window treatments and cabinet skirt

Using co ordianted fabrics for my kitchen towels, and oven mitts, painting the walls in this happy fresh Granny Smith apple green

and pulling it altogether by painting my cabinets pure white and turning 2 of the doors into memo boards.
a trip to Macy's today has now left me second guessing all of that, that darn Martha Stewart has an awesome kitchen collection in aqua blue and red and I have fallen in love


Now I'm second guessing my wall and cabinet colors. Maybe not as bright a green on the walls and maybe painting the cabinets in robins egg blue ?
All I'm sure of at this point in time is that I'm staying w/ the fabric, I need a bright and fun kitchen and I'm cursing Martha for coming along and sending me into a state of confusion.

Mr Webster, if you're reading

After the conversation I just had with my 5 y/o I think you need to make some revisions to your dictionary.

Me: "Come on Reagan we need to sit down and do your homework" (this week she has to find pictures of things beginning with the letter Q and paste them into her letter book.)

Reagan: "OK, tell me if you find a picture of a cucumber"

Me: No, Cucumber starts with C, it just sounds like it should start with Q

Reagan: Then why don't they just call it a C cumber, wouldn't that make more sense ?

Can't really argue with that logic can you ?

I'm my Daddy's girl afterall

Growing up my brother would always tease me telling me that I was adopted, people would look at me and ask who I took after in my family, there were never any answers for my red hair and green eyes. My Mother was blonde haired and blue eyed, my Dad was black haired and brown eyed, people on both sides of the family could never remember a red head,the jokes were made about me being the milkman's or the postman's and sometimes I'll have to admit, I wondered myself. My maternal grandfather used to tell me all the time how I resembled my Mum when she was a little girl, I don't see a resemblence in our childhood pictures but I do find myself looking more and more like my Mum as I get older. I remember my evil grandmother (that's for another post) telling me I was a love child, that my Mum had had a boyfriend who jilted her when she got pregnant with me and my Dad raised me as his own, I always knew my Mum had had a serious boyfriend before she met my Dad and so of course that always stayed in the back of my mind. On more than one occassion my parents would ease my troubled mind telling me how my Grandmother was just being hateful and to pay no heed to what she was saying.
Several years ago whilst slathering hand lotion on my dry hands I noted that my thumbs and thumb nails were the very same shape as my Dad's and that was it, my ah ha moment, all the doubts melted just like that, now just for good measure
I'm finding black hairs popping up all over my head, HELLO !!! It beats grey hair any day of the week but to brush my hair and find a long black strand is just weird , my husband didn't believe me until today when I was able to show him 3 of them. Maybe I have found the fountain of youth and am having reverse aging, my real age according to facebook is 23, gotta love that, almost 20 years younger than my biological age. As strange as it may sound I kind of like having this link to my Dad, I now have his thumbs and a few of his hair strands ;-)I really am a Daddy's girl in every sense of the word now, just too bad he's no longer alive that I could share this weird phenomenon with him.

Extended Sale

Spring Fever Sale extended until midnight, Sunday March 22nd

Spring Fever Sale

To celebrate the first day of Spring I am going to be adding new items to the store tonight and as of midnight for a full 24 hrs everything will be marked down 30% - 50%
You'll find clothespin bags for those of you chomping at the bit to start hanging your laundry outside again.
Cute tissue cozies to carry your tissues around in and to have at the ready for when those spring allergies start all over again.
Make up brush cozies that roll up small enough to tuck into your overnight bags ready for Spring Break.
Crayon cozies to keep the kids occupied on the ensuing car trips.
The list goes on
So come on over, check it out and enjoy a little shopping therapy to blow away the winter cobwebs.

The most amazing chocolate cake EVER

I'm not a huge cake fan, when people go crazy about certain cakes I will generally try it and then wonder what all the fuss was about, but I've now found 'that' cake, OMG, it's AWESOME and too good not to share.
Don't let the name 'Chocolate Stout Cake' put you off, you really can't taste the stout, it just gives the cake a richer flavor.
I have informed my family that from hereon out this will be my Birthday cake, Victoria has also claimed the same.
I baked it in a bundt pan so's it would look prettier w/ the glaze drizzled over it, I'd have posted a picture of the whole thing, but Reagan had already swiped her finger through the glaze before I could even get my camera out, yes, it's that good.

CHOCOLATE STOUT CAKE


1 cup stout (such as Guinness)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream

For the Ganache

6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
6 tablespoons heavy cream
3/4 teaspoon instant coffee granules

Cake prep:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter or spray a bundt pan well; make sure you get in all of the nooks and crannies.Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Transfer cake to rack; cool completely in the pan, then turn cake out onto rack for drizzling ganache.

Ganache:
Melt the chocolate chips, heavy cream, and coffee in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally. Drizzle over the top of cooled cake.

Before serving I chilled it in the refrigerator to 'set' the Ganache a little and it was awesome.

ENJOY !!

My new computer buddy

Nim is a baby bearded dragon and I have a pretty soft spot for him. I've never been a lover of reptiles before and was less than impressed when Victoria bought this little guy home with her, but I have to admit I've grown kind of fond of him and find myself taking him out of his tank just because. He seems to like the keyboard and he appears to be a fan of my blog. What a great guy.

Serenity

Never has a prayer meant so much and never have I repeated a prayer over and over so many times as I have this prayer. I think I need to make myself a pillow, a picture.. just something, with this prayer on it as a daily reminder.


God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

--Reinhold Niebuhr

Shooting Stars

Reagan: Can we stay up to watch the rocket launch ?

Me: Sure, we might be able to see it.

Reagan: I wish we could see shooting stars ?

Me: We can, just not at this time of year.

Reagan: Why ? They don't work yet ?

Ne'er Cast a Clout

till May be out. That's what my Grandad always said. Boy is it hard to think about that saying and try not to get all giddy and excited by the warmer temps we've been blessed with these last few days. Can you tell I'm more than a little ready for Spring ?

Between the clocks going forward yesterday giving us longer lighter evenings and the sun shiney days we've been blessed with the last 3 days I can already feel that Winter cloak being lifted.

Today I sat outside and enjoyed a cup of tea (in my new favorite mug) and read a book while waiting for Reagan to be dropped off from school.


I got to use my clothes line again


And we ate dinner outside. Wheeee :-)

Sand and Snow

We've enjoyed both a trip to the beach and a trip to the sledding hills in a matter of days. How fickle is this weather in Maryland ? I'm not complaining though, we've had a lot of fun this week playing in the extremes of the season.

You know it's been a long week when.....

You dissolve into tears because you just won tickets to attend a function being held for a little girl fighting Neuroblastoma.
I was wanting to go to this function so badly and then our renter ran out on us in MN w/ no notice, leaving us owing thousands of dollars in unpaid rent and house damages. Spending the extra dollars to support something like this, no matter how strongly we felt about the cause just couldn't happen and then tonight a contest was ran on a local news blog spot and yours truly won a pair of tickets.
I'm still sniffling, I really need this release.

From the mouths of babes

Marc: Where could that CD be ?

Reagan and me in unison: What CD ?

Marc: Dicks Picks

Me: No idea

Reagan: Did you look up in Victoria's room ?

Me: Why would it be up there ?

Reagan: Because it's a messy pit full of nothing

My Silver Lining

Today after a particularly heated argument with Victoria (Have I mentioned we've been around each other 24/7 give or take a few hours here and there,since Dec 22nd ?)
I started thinking that I have another 15 years ahead of me in which I'll have a teenager in my home ... Lord have mercy !! That will make 19 years of having teen hormones ravaging through my home and nerves. But then I found my silver lining, it could be worse, I could be my friend Trish by the time her youngest is out of the house she will have spent 23 years with a teenager. Ay yi yi.

Snow Day

We had a wonderful snow day today to be followed with more of the same tomorrow. Here in MD we don't get to see too much of the white stuff, so when we get more than an inch it's time for celebration and the whole town closes down for it and tomorrow we get to do it all over again. You won't hear any complaints coming from the kids or me. It'll be a chance to do more sledding, which Reagan got to do today for the first time that she can remember, she had a blast, first off she was timid and wanted to go down with me but before long she was asking to go down the hill backwards *EEK*
By the time we got home Ben and Reagan were pooped and both napped, so I joined in, it was a good day ;-)