Thursday, March 25, 2010

Easter Decorations

All the bunnies are out and ready for Easter!

This bunny sits under a cloche jar



So does this little chick with her nest and eggs


Thank you to Kerri at http://bellatreasures.blogspot.com
I copied her great idea to roll up sheet music
and I used it in place of easter grass on the mantle



Can you find all the bunnies in the picture?







Chocolate bunnies are everywhere















From one chick to another.....Happy Easter!!!!!!

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Lemon Chicken with Croutons


I wish you could have seen the look on my husband's face when I put his dinner on a platter and proceeded to have a photo shoot with it. Lucky for me though he is very supportive of my new blog and didn't really mind that his dinner was getting cold so that I could share the pictures and recipe with you. This is one of our favorite dinners and I hope you give it a try one night. I promise you won't be disappointed....it is so good. The recipe comes from the one and only Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten and you can never go wrong with one of her recipes!


Lemon Chicken with Croutons


1 (4-5 pound) roasting chicken

1 large yellow onion, sliced

Good olive oil

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 lemons, quartered

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

6 cups (3/4-inch) bread cubes (1 baguette or round boule)


Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Take the giblets out of the chicken and wash it inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pinfeathers. Toss the onion with a little olive oil in a small roasting pan. Place the chicken on top and sprinkle the inside of the cavity with salt and pepper. Place the lemons inside the chicken. Pat the outside of the chicken dry with paper towels, brush it with the melted butter, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken.

Roast for 1- 1/4 to 1- 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between the leg and the thigh. Cover with foil and allow to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. (the onions may burn, but the flavor is good.)

Meanwhile, heat a large saute pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil until very hot. Lower the heat to medium-low and saute the bread cubes, tossing frequently, until nicely browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add more olive oil, as needed and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Place the croutons on a serving platter. Slice the chicken and place it, plus all the pan juices, over the croutons. Sprinkle with salt and serve warm.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

St. Patrick's Day Pin

Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day!
One of my favorite days of the year
As I was aimlessly wondering around Michael's craft store yesterday I came across these floral embellishments in the scrapbooking section. So I bought them thinking I could do something with them for St. Patrick's Day.
I put a bunch of them together secured them with a brad, hot glued a pin to the back and there you have it. Something cute to give out to those who forget to wear their green. I also made two that said "I am so LUCKY to have a teacher like you" for my children to give to their teachers.



I also hot glued 3 of the flowers to a headband for my daughter.
"May your troubles be less and blessings be more.
And nothing but happiness come through your door"


Sunday, March 14, 2010

I must have one!!!

I do believe that I must have one of these mason jar chandeliers.
While looking on one of my very favorite blogs http://dreamywhites.blogspot.com/ and I do mean one of my favorites! She and I must be related some how or at the very least we are meant to be good friends because anyone who loves decorating with white as much as I do must be a very cool chick. The other day my soon to be friend at http://dreamywhites.blogspot.com/ posted pictures from a store near her that she likes to visit
http://www.maisonreve.com/ and in their store they carry these really awesome mason jar chandeliers. And I am completely in love with them! They would be so beautiful above a table outside by my little house. Maybe the Easter Bunny will leave one in my Easter basket this year. (Hint..Hint if you are reading this my darling husband)

Look at all the scrumptious items in this store.....makes my heart beat faster!

The chandeliers used for a wedding reception. So lovely

Another picture from http://www.maisonreve.com/

Friday, March 12, 2010

Recycled Corn Crates

So much for Thrift Store Friday! The rain started last evening and it hasn't stopped yet.
My plans for today have to be postponed.....sigh!
Instead I thought that I would share with you my favorite part of our garage.....MY CORNER!

These are the corn crates I recycled into storage bins

Yes I have a milk glass, ironstone, silver, glass jar, white dishes, etc, etc, etc addiction


Sorry the picture quality isn't the best




Nothing makes me happier than an organized area.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Tea Party Tuesday

I declare Tuesdays Tea Party Day. We've made it through Monday, so why not have a little party. So I thought I would share with you some places I would love to sit down and have a nice cup of tea and read a book or magazine.



Maybe I should hang netting like this in the little house...doesn't it make you just want to go sit there and look up. I so hear La Vie En Rose playing in the background and can you smell the flowers


PERFECTION!!!





Love the back of these chairs




All of the above pictures are from the beautiful blog spot http://www.hviturlakkris.blogspot.com/

Which I found by way of another absolutely breathtakingly beautiful blog spot
http://frenchlarkspur.blogspot.com/


Reward yourself and take a moment to check them both out



What do little girls dream of?

"The biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the life of your dreams"
~Oprah Winfrey
Flickr.com (dreaming of wonderland)


Flickr.com (LowryLou)


http://www.flickr.com/photos/rebecca-lily/sets/72157618848098255/show/with/3928584221/
Beautiful pictures.....take time to go look through them


Flickr.com


Last night my daughter and I were lucky enough to attend a Taylor Swift concert. And the coolest thing happened, she came out into the crowds and sang a song right next to the box we sat in. She was so close to us we could have touched her and then Taylor very graciously signed the kids tour books. She put on a wonderful show!
The reason I am telling you this is because as I sat there and watched my daughter through out the show I saw something in her eyes that blew me away. It was the look of a little girl with dreams and inspirations, a look of I can be anything I want to be. And as I watched I wondered so many things ~ What does she want to be? What does she dream of? Does she know just how special she is? And as adults how did we lose that magic and spirit in ourselves? Is it possible to find that again?
My hope for my children is that they find their happiness in whatever they do. And as for me I do think it's possible to find that magic again in ourselves, that childlike innocence of I can accomplish anything I set my mind to. Taylor may have put dreams and stars in my daughters eyes last night, but my daughter put them in mine!
"You know that place between sleep and awake, the place where you can still remember dreaming? That's where I'll always love you. That's where I'll be waiting"
~Tinkerbell







Saturday, March 6, 2010

Does the early bird get the worm?





They say the early bird gets the worm. Which was what I kept telling myself this morning when I reluctantly got out of bed to attend our local community garage sale. And I am very glad I did. Now what am I going to do with them???? Well the milk glass already has a beautiful home that it will go to. But the big find, the one I practically fainted when she told me I could have it for $10 is the gorgeous and extremely heavy frame. What am I going to do with that, well stay tuned! But back to the question I believe the answer is YES the early bird does get the frame, I mean worm.





Thursday, March 4, 2010

My Other Home


What do you do when you need a new room to decorate? Why build another house of course! LOL! Now because my husband has a very even temperament (most of the time) he did not send me to the loony bin when I said to him one day.....do you think you could take all those old windows out back and make me a little house? Instead he very sweetly replied "why sure" (now those of you who know him know it was more sarcastic than anything) but build it he did. And he did an awesome job! So to start off my blogging adventures I am going to show you all my little house out back.



Everything i used to decorate it with I already had, minus the slipcover and pillows, which I made. I must have been channeling a seamstress because I can barely sew a button on straight. But the sewing gods aligned that day!






This is the house the day after completion!




My little table for tea parties. Or wine and cheese depending on the time of day and or my mood.