We hope that you, and those you love, have the very best day of love!! Newby, Dixie and Milo definitely have!!
Thank you Miss Lily and Miss Muffin (and the whole family) for thinking about us! Newby took off with the squeaky toys and mom took off with her M&Ms. We probably won't see either of them again today.
A sweet for my sweet. :) Of course as I was having stove (which turned out to be electrical) problems, I was unable to make anything 'special' for the day of love. It turned out to be a "Hey, lets call into Pizza Hut" for dinner kinda day.
After my stove was fixed I got busy making these for my love. He was most appreciative.. well I think so.. He ate during his homework then went straight in to watch "Head Rush" on Discovery Channel. -sigh- Little boys...
Sugar Cookie Bars
*1 cup butter; room temp.
*2 cups sugar
*4 eggs
*2 tsp vanilla
*5 cups flour
*1 tsp salt
*1/2 tsp soda
Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each egg. Add vanilla & mix well. In a separate bowl combine flour, salt & soda & stir with a whisk to combine. Add to wet mixture and mix just until combined. Spread on a greased baking sheet (use a 13 x 18 pan). Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 min, until light golden brown or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely and frost.
Frosting
*1/2 cup butter; room temp
*1/2 cup shortening
*1 tsp vanilla
*pinch of salt
*4 cups powdered sugar
*5 Tbsp milk
*food coloring (if desired to decorate for the holiday)
*sprinkles (if desired)
For frosting combine butter and shortening until smooth and creamy. Add vanilla and salt. Add powdered sugar in 1-2 cup increments until combined, then add milk & mix until smooth and spreading consistency. Spread over cooled cookie, then cut into bars.
Here are a few more things from around my house for Valentine's Day!
This is my piano-scape. It is pretty simple, but I really enjoy it. The wreath is simply some felt roses on foam-board tied up with a tulle ribbon. It was time consuming making the felt roses, but it is just gorgeous.
Some candles, a bit of "Love" artwork and a pretty bird house (I don't know why I have this bird theme going this year) completes the look for the piano!
I forgot to make a post about my wonderful Goodwill find in my mirror. I had been looking for something to put above that gargantuan tv and was not successful. The problem is having busy art takes away from the pleasure of tv viewing, and I could find nothing I like short of just plain color panels.
Then I happened upon this beauty. She is the same width as my LCD tv and just needed some love. A bit of wood filler, some sanding, spray painting and new hardware and I took this $6.50 thrift store find into something GORGEOUS!
The decor for the mirror are simple "L-O-V-E" letters printed on cardstock and tied up with pretty ribbon and two 't-shirt' pom-poms. I adore the look!!
My TV, being the star of that room, always gets a wee bit of decor, but nothing to take away from tv watching. I made conversation heart topiaries for either side of the tv, and planted them in little clay pots painted red. In front of each I have little chalkboards with "Love You" and "Be Mine" painted on them by my son.
The topiaries are adorable, but you will be surprised how many of those hearts and how much hot glue it will take to create them!
I made hearts from two pink pipe cleaners twisted together to give it some heft. The add just enough pink without making me crazy!!
The little signs are cute, too, aren't they? I added some pearl seeds to the hearts he painted to make them pop just a bit more.
Oh, in the corner you can see another great Goodwill find! I got these two large wooded candlesticks for $2.50 for the pair. I ADORE them. They were already painted white, so I just antiqued them with some sanding and a light coat of acryllic paint in some of the more worn areas. :)
This is a close up of the greenery in the front of the TV. Its the same greenery I used for winter, just adding in some heart picks I found at the Dollar Tree and a pretty bow of tulle!
I think it is just lovely!
**Sorry about the drawer being open. That is where the digital converter box is... it seems to always be open!**
Finally we have my front door! I LOVE my heart. This is scrapbook paper woven and modge-podged to a foamcore board. Around the outside I have little felt roses and to make it even grander I have the outside completely circled in tulle. It makes a statement... Even the lovely mail-lady rang my bell today to tell me how pretty it was! :D
**Now that I look at the picture I see a couple areas that are not as full with tulle. Sigh! I need to shut the door and not think about it, right? Not take it down and fix it.. -sigh-**
Here is a close up of the weave. This was SO time consuming. I watched several movies while cutting and weaving these bits. Oh, I probably will not do it EVER again, but it was a nice addition to this year's pretty decoration. :)
Valentine's Day is probably one of my least favorite holidays to decorate the house around. I am just not that big of a fan of pink! But I did my very best trying to decorate a little, to get into the holiday spirit.
I didn't do a lot, but I did have some fun playing with some new crafts. This wreath is made from left over scrapbook paper, cut to fit around the wreath, and then trimmed into 1/2 inch fringe. I made a bow, roses and rose petals from left over felt. :) Nice to clean those items out of my file folders and scrap box!!
The bunny was a on clearance last year at Garden Ridge, the flowers were a gift from a baby shower trivia contest, and I purchase more candles than anyone should! I always have these things burning around the house. I love the aroma as well as the flickering light. :)
This was also a left overs craft. More of the same scrapbook paper used on the wreath above, a limb from my chinese maple tree in the front yard, some felt birds I stitched together while watching an episode of "Lie to Me", a crystal bowl I had lying around unused, and a bit of ribbon which came off of a mother's day gift from Reed (think it was a Bed and Bath pre-pack thingy). I simply crammed it all down into the bowl and voila! instant prettiness!
The print I found online from a craft blog (which I forgot to keep a link of to reference! Sorry!!!) and I simply stuck into a Dollar Store frame!
Now to my tablescape... Garden Ridge chargers, 4 red plates picked up at Goodwill, 4 pretty little heart bowls (99 cents each at Michaels), which totally makes me happy. I love the bright colors, albeit is hard to tell with the lighting on this picture. I really need to invest in a good camera and quite relying on my cell camera!! :)
My centerpiece consists of 3 pretty glass votive holders I found at Goodwill for $1.50 for the whole set, a brass bowl full of red velvety roses and white baby's breath, and my special card from Reed's 4 year old preschool Valentine's Day that says ""Thumb"body Loves you!"
Yeah, its too sweet not to include every year in my decoration!!
The whole center consists of 2 foam board heart shaped cut outs, with gold beading along the side and silk paper twisted into roses. It adds a splash of color underneath, and was too simple to make!!
I will have more pictures uploaded soon!
This weekend was crazy. I have been working on projects, cleaning, changing decorations from winter to Valentine's Day, and trying to avoid doing anything I didn't want to do! (ie ironing and cleaning bathrooms!!)
I tried a new recipe this weekend which was a huge hit!! I wish I could reference where I found it, but I only copied the ingredients onto a MS Word file and printed. Its ok, the final soup was no where near the inspiration recipe, so I do not feel horrible about referencing it!
**You will note my Valentine's table decor! I hope to take pictures today of all my pretties around the house for posting tomorrow!
Ravioli Soup
*1 pound ground beef
*1/3 cup dried bread crumbs
*1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
*2 teaspoons minced garlic (2 cloves)
*1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
*1 - 28 oz can of diced tomatoes in juice
*1 - 6 ounce can of tomato paste
*1 - 32 ounce carton beef broth
*1 cup water
*1 teaspoon sugar
*1 teaspoon dried basil
*1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
*1/2teaspoon dried oregano
*1/4 cup fresh parsley (dried is an ok substitute)
*1 - 25 ounce bag of frozen cheese ravioli
Brown ground beef and drain all grease. Add all remaining ingredients except ravioli and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for at least 30 minutes to mingle the flavors.
Cook ravioli according to package directions and add to soup right before serving. This will insure that your ravioli is cooked through and do not fall apart while you stir the cooking soup.
Sprinkle with some extra Parmesan cheese or Mozzarella cheese (as shown).
I have been working feverishly on Valentine decorations as my previous decorations for Winter, Valentine's Day, Mardi Gras and Easter have all been destroyed... don't ask, it is still pretty traumatic.
Sunday I finished this monster which will be displayed over my piano... I still have to fashion something for my front door -_- and am trying to not use hot glue as yesterday also added trauma to my life with 4 of my 10 fingers being quite well burned. What can I say, me and the glue gun are not best of friends.
The idea came from here. My heart wreath is made of 400 2.5" diameter felt circles and hot glued onto foam-core (something I seem to have lots of). I purchased 3/4 yard of felt from JoAnns for this craft. I watched Star Wars 1-6 in order while I worked on this project. Not saying it took 12+ hours, just that I had pretty good entertainment.
I will show pictures of everything when I am finished and have them displayed, which I am planning the weekend of 1/28.
I have started making things to use for my Valentine's Decorating. I have started loving Subway Art as a means to add a little color and thought into the holidays. I decided to try my hand at it for Valentines Day, and am quite pleased with the results.
I also made a Winter Print for the same frame which will hold my Subway art come February. I have the print in a black frame sitting on my piano where you would place your music while playing. As I haven't been playing lately, its perfect for decorating!
The Doxies made me do it!! :)
