Eating Well

This was a quick addition to the kitchen paint job. Letters are from Hobby Lobby and were $1.99 each. Two coats of black paint, and some old family silverware attached with strong bond adhesive. Done.

It's been a year since I was back on the vegetarian route...and vegan since May. Now to cut out the sugar ....and get back to running more on my treadmill. It's still colder than I'd like here in IL, and I miss my daily runs by the river.

So, this is a little reminder to me to do some healthy eating and sit down with some silverware. :)

Any good recipes or snack ideas??

Happy Valentine's Day

Best Roll-Out Cookie Dough Recipe Ever!

I found this recipe when Carl was 2 and was into Winnie the Pooh. I bought some cookie cutters, and this was on the back of the package. No need to refrigerate the dough, it's super easy and fast.

Preheat oven to 400.

Cream together: 1 cup softened butter, 1 c. sugar

Beat in: 1 egg and 1 t. Vanilla

Add 2 t. baking powder and 3 c. flour

Blend, and roll out as desired. Bake for 6-7 minutes. I top with white fluffy frosting. YUM.
These are full-proof cinnamon rolls. I tried to make into hearts for today. They looked a lot better after being baked and frosted...but they were gone too fast to take a pic!

www.recpes.bhg.com/recipes/recipedetail.jsp?recipeld=R056603
This is from Family Fun online. Linnea carefully wrapped out fun-size kit-kat bars, and assembled with the Hershey's Hugs as earbuds. They were easy to make with a square and circle punch. The kids loved them!

More Inspiration

I could get lost in blogland on this site. There are amazingly crafty people in blogland repurposing little treasures in their homes. This is a neat weekly challenge.

Haiti By Hand

One of the most inspiring artists I know is Rebecca Sower. I've followed her from her early days at Creating Keepsakes, to her wonderful book Scrapbooking Life's Little Treasures. Her soulful style is what has inspired the way I decorate, and how I journal on a page with photos. Her style is continually evolving, and you can find her often in the pages of Somerset Studio or any of their publications. She was in Haiti this Winter and returned just before the earthquake hit. Her work has inspired many artists to participate in a auction to raise money for Haiti. There is also an etsy shop. Please take a look! The variety and talent is amazing, and all of the money goes to Haiti. My Izzy was inspired to paint 2 acrylic boards, and her work sold yesterday. She painted water coming from the sky, and a water tower. The water was in rainbow colors "because the people need the water and it makes them happy!"

DIY Friday

This is a neat link to some really amazing repurposed items. I added a link to my "new" kitchen curtain.

Dreaming in White 2

More details......

I love the textures viewed in this mirror. The architectural piece is suspended over the mirror using ribbon attached to the back. Across the room is the other mirror, purchased at Menards and whitewashed with paint. Chandelier and floorlamp from Ikea, curtains Pottery Barn. Wedding veil is attached to an antique headpiece and hanging from the ceiling.

Dreaming in White

White outside, and white in our bedroom....

This is a section of my baby crib that hangs over our bed. It was Cousin Lenor's, then Dad's, then Aunt Barb's, then me, then my brother David and sister Katie. I think it was in the attic for many years...until we bought this home from my parents in 2000. Dad put it in the garage sale...gasp....and I saved this piece. The netting above it is my wedding veil.

The old nightstand wasn't working, so I decided to drag this in while Winterizing the yard...perfect!

Draped my garter from my wedding day over the floor lamp...

More pics to come tomorrow....