Flowers, Thrifting and Paula Deen

I thought I'd show you my own roses for Floral Friday.

They're sitting in 6 milk glass thrift store vases I bought last week.  I need a seventh.

They are sitting on my new Paula Deen table that arrived on Tuesday!

I bought different chairs intentionally. The delivery guy didn't get that.

It's going to be perfect for Graduation weekend in TWO WEEKS!

Stash Confessions

I occasionally get sucked in by a beautiful skein of yarn.  Somehow they tend to be handspun and/or variegated. I usually give in and buy only one skein.  Then the dilemma begins.  What in the world do I make with just one skein? They are often very small skeins with very big price tags.  Above is my newest purchase.  It is from a local spinner that has her own animals.  Thank goodness for Ravelry. It certainly helps with the decision making.

This is Zanziba by Colinette Yarns. See what I mean?  Luscious and variegated, thick and thin, GORGEOUS! What to do, what to do?

A few weeks ago, I showed you the beginnings of a new knitting project from one lowly skein.  I decided to make Teva Durham's Leaf Cravat.  

You can find the pattern at Interweave Press. The cravat is finally finished.  It sat for several days without being touched.  I think it turned out pretty darn cute.  I'll let you know next Winter if it was good for keeping me warm.  On to the next project.

We have a Winner!

Congratulations to Leanne Shawler!  Winner of the cute Owl apron!  Thank you all so much for participating. It was so wonderful to meet all of you and I really appreciate my new followers.  I'll do my best to make coming back here to visit enjoyable and interesting. Hugs to you all!

Floral Fridays

{bhg}

I hope you have a beautiful Spring weekend!  I'm off to practice on more cupcakes today.  I'm going to attempt to make Texas Sheet Cake cupcakes.  Doesn't that sound delicious?  I'll let you know how it goes.  Later Saturday I should be drawing the name for the Owl Apron giveaway.  You have till tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. to enter.  Just leave a comment here.  

Five Minute Craft Project

I went to the thrift store yesterday with two projects in mind.  I thought I'd show you the first one today. I found two of these pretty dessert plates.  Its seriously difficult to find pretty plates in our area for some reason.  Nobody has pretty dishes, or maybe they do now, but they get rid of UGLY ones.  So, I scored for $3 a piece.

I bought two glass candle sticks.  I wanted different sizes.  These were $2.35 a piece. 

Next you need your smelly, strong E-6000 glue.

You can actually trace a circle with a pencil around the candle stick onto the bottom of the plate.

Follow the directions on the glue and let them sit for 2 to 3 days to cure.

Didn't these turn out adorable?  Cute little door prizes for our big Birthday Party we're throwing next week. I don't think any of the attendees read my blog, except for KS. And she's helping me plan.  

* Don't forget to leave a comment to participate in my give away.  You can find it here.

* I'm also participating in Cindy's Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home.  Check out all the other great ideas here.

Raspberry Angel Food Cupcakes

Once upon a time, I lived in Illinois and bought the most delicious angel food cake for my husband's birthday. It had raspberries floating around in it and was frosted with buttercream, not the typical glaze. It was marvelous and unforgettable. I'm trying to come up with some amazing cupcakes for a BIG birthday party coming up.  Not mine, even though that is next week. We're ignoring that one.  

 
So, I did a little experimenting today.
The Mission: to see if I can make Angel Food cupcakes with Raspberries.
The Plan:  Cut up fresh raspberries and stir into Angel Food batter.
The Dilemmas: Will they rise?  Will the berries sink?  Paper or no paper?
The Topping: Buttercream frosting, which recipe?

Answer:  Yes, they rise, not a lot though. But they are impossible to get out without squishing them.  Papers are essential, but still not perfect.

See how distorted they got when removed from the pan?

Without papers, little bits of raspberries stuck to the bottom.  Quite tasty though.

Still a problem, the raspberries sink to the bottom. These are upside down. Without papers, they absolutely do not work. I may try to coat the raspberries with a little flour first, I've heard that might help.

I used Martha Stewart's Basic Buttercream frosting which changed these low-fat cupcakes to delectable, delicious and oh-so-gone cupcakes. My Bible Study ladies helped me do the taste testing.  They disappeared.  The cupcakes not the ladies.  You can find Martha's recipe here.  

* DON'T FORGET ABOUT MY GIVE AWAY!  YOU HAVE UNTIL SATURDAY, 4/24/10.  JUST LEAVE A COMMENT HERE.

Whooooo's Got A Give Away?

So, finally after blogging for over a year and a half, I'm having a Give Away.  Amazing, I know.  What on earth took me so long?  I guess, I was always trying to find just the right thing.  

Well, if you've been here for at least a month or two you would've seen this cute owl apron that I made for a friend. Well, what do you know? I've made a second one just for you! I'm going to keep this open  through Saturday, April 24th. Just leave me a comment, that's all you have to do.  In the mean time, please tell your friends.  Thanks! * I'm participating in Cindy's Show and Tell Friday.  Check out the other ideas here.

Roses Are Red?

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

I had no self control.

They were just all so beautiful.

You just had to see them too.

This one will be prettier tomorrow.

I can't bear to pick them.  Yet.

Floral Fridays

My roses are just about ready to POP!  I can't wait.  What can't you wait for? I hope you have an anticipation filled weekend.  Happy Friday!

{country home} RIP

Mantles and Muffins

I decided my mantle needed some reworking since it still seriously resembled Christmas.  I really like all my candle sticks, so I didn't really want to change them out.  I decided to just add and subtract a little bit here and there and think it looks much more seasonal now.  I love my G. Harvey picture, but may try to come up with something different for the Spring and Summer months.  I have an idea. . . 

I visited Country Roads last weekend. I bought the cute little pewter sugar and creamer on the mantle and the little blue bird salt and pepper shakers below.

I think they look cute with my wedding china that is 30 years old.  

I had my knitting group over this morning.  We meet weekly in a local coffee shop.  It thought it would be nice to host them this week.  So I made some extra special goodies.  Our family's all time favorite muffins are Chocolate Chip Muffins.  

It's the topping that makes the difference; brown sugar, cocoa, flour, butter and chocolate chips.  Yessiree!

Mixed with a little fresh fruit and fresh squeezed orange juice.  Fantastic!  I'm having it for breakfast AND lunch today.  Shhh, don't tell.  It will be our secret.

* I'm linking to Cindy at Romantic Home for her Show and Tell Friday.  Check out the other great posts.  

Good Word and Good Food

Every Monday night we have a neighborhood ladies Bible Study on our street. It's either at Sheryl's house or mine. We've been going for about 4 years now and it is truly a blessing. I love learning from other women and watching new Christians absorb the truth of the Bible. It's challenging and rewarding. We are studying Beth Moore's study "To Live Is Christ", The Life and Ministry of Paul.  You can find out more about Beth Moore's Bible Studies here.

Where women gather there is always good food and tonight was no exception. Several brought goodies. Teri brought a cake from a recipe found in her Grandmother's Bible. How great is that? They've been bugging me for awhile to make them a pizza. Because, as you know, I make pizza every Friday night. So, tonight was the night. I made my normal crust, but put a new-to-me topping on it. I adapted a Margherita Pizza recipe from Weight Watchers and made it not so low fat, I'm afraid.  

The recipe called for:

2 pints of grape tomatoes, cut in half

2 garlic cloves, sliced

1 large red onion, cut in half lengthwise, then sliced crosswise.(i didn't  use a whole onion maybe 3/4)

Roast this mixture on a cookie sheet sprayed with Pam for 35 minutes at 375*. I added mozzarella on top of my dough (this is not the WW part) and topped it with the tomato mixture. Add shavings of Parmesan cheese. Cook at 425* for 12 minutes. After removing it from the oven, top it with thin slices of basil and more shavings of Parmesan.  

As Rachael Ray would say, "YUMMO".  It was fantastic.  

Floral Fridays

{country living}

Have a sunny, flowery, lazy, lovely weekend!

Beach Cottage Getaway

{cottage living}

So, we have a BIG anniversary coming up in May.  BIG.  Thirty years big.  We were thinking about finding a place to stay on the coast.  Which isn't too far away, really. Just to get away.  

{cottage living}

Don't these cottage rooms look inviting?  Wish I knew where to find something comparable.

{cottage living}

What a lovely diversion.  Very cozy.  I'm going to keep on searching.  I'll let you know.