Pottery Barn inspirations to help my mood...and...some magazine finds...love the colors and the brightness...very cheerful!

How was Valentine's?

Simple breakfast, cheese omelet, with heart shaped tomato slice, bacon, and an orange roll...

flowers from my hubby...tulips and daisies (some of my favorites)

valentine tablescape

chocolate bar to my hubby with a special wrapper I made from scrapbooking :)

table centerpiece...red and white with some candlelight and some love birds...awww...

What to do on a snow day!

Things to do:  Make a pot of soup (Hamburger Vegetable Stew).  Half way finished in above picture...when

finished serve hot with cornbread. 

Gather snow for snow ice cream....

combine vanilla, sugar and milk to fresh fallen snow till creamy...

enjoy a big helping!

Admire the beauty of the snow...

 A winter wonderland, about 7 inches fell...Wow!

snow day

Snowy days....it's beautiful when the snow is falling.  I do enjoy it, especially when I can be at home with a cup of hot chocolate and watch it from the shelter of my warm home.  But I do worry about those who might be stuck in this and not able to find comfort.  It can then be brutal which is so sad.  Hope you are lucky enough to enjoy it from a comfortable setting, if you have snowy days in your neck of the woods.

christmas pup

My sweet talking younger son has been wanting a lab for years now, and my answer has always been "no!".  We already have a shi tzu and I just didn't want the responsibilities that come with raising another pup.  But as you can see in the above photos, I caved the minute he brought home this adorable pup "Bella" and he proceeded to give me a sob story that she was unwanted and had to find a home immediately...and well, I couldn't say no any longer.  She has been a joy, (and a pain some of the time...chewing up stuff and a few training problems) but mostly a lot of fun!  She's growing fast as you can tell...just 6 weeks since we took her in and she has tripled in size!!!

taco soup

We had a very cold and snowy weekend and I decided to make Taco Chili or Taco Soup whichever you prefer to call it.  My family is not a fan of soups, so I call it chili...(boys!).  Anyway, it was so good I had a second helping and decided it would be worth sharing with my blog friends.  Here's the recipe:

1 1/2 to 2 pounds ground chuck
1 tsp black pepper
1 pkg ranch dressing mix
1 pkg taco mix
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin seed
1 to 2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 onion, chopped
1 can corn, undrained
1 can chili beans, undrained
1 can kidney beans, undrained
1 can fireroasted mexican style diced tomatos, undrained
1 can rotel, undrained
1 can green chilies, chopped
1 can tomato soup

Brown meat in skillet on medium high heat, cooking slowly.  Add onions, and seasonings and cook till onions are cooked tender, but not transparent.  Transfer mixture to crockpot, and add all can good ingredients and stir, adjust temp to low cooking and allow to cook until mixture bubbles....then it's ready!  Layer a few frito corn chips to the bottom of your bowl, add soup and top with shredded cheese.  YUM, YUM!!!  Enjoy :)

older son's room makeover

After my son moved out I took over his room to make it a multi purpose room for relaxing and working out...well.......that was the plan, and then he moved back home, so the remake is on hold, but I did get this far, painted bahama yellow walls and bead board and trim in white....I love the room so far and look forward to finishing it someday in the future.  I'll be thinking and working on more ideas to make it perfectly beachy, cozy and tranquil!

creative card making

Spent some time creating a variety of thank you and thinking of you cards....I love paper....it makes it hard to give away when they turn out so pretty.  But I don't have many left from this project, most have been mailed out or given away as gifts.  I love being creative, this is very therapeutic!

tablesettings from the past holidays

These are just a few tablescapes from this past years holidays and events in my home.  Fun Times!

cookies at christmas with girls

Had a very fun day with these girls.  :) They made cookies to hand out to members at church or to anyone they wanted to share them with, plus they got to taste test....yummy!  They made bags with scrapbooking materials and we had hot chocolate and listened to christmas music.  I think I had just as much fun and it was a beautiful memory in the making! We did this the first Sunday of December, I'm a little late in posting.  :(