Good Monday Morning ♥

 Good Monday morning friends! 

How was your weekend? ♥

Every Monday my friend BJ does a post on her blog where she shares her thoughts over "Monday Morning Coffee."  I was thinking of her today so I thought I would do the same.  This morning I'm drinking our favorite Maxwell House coffee with a splash of the Dunkin Donuts extra creamy, cream.  It's sweetened with sugar and tastes so good.  

I'm also burning a new candle called Enchanted Moon.  Very appropriate since I have been admiring the moon all weekend.  Did you get a chance to see it?  I snapped this photo Friday night.  Her beauty never ceases to amaze me  ♥

On Saturday I celebrated my birthday and turned 47.  It's not a very special number but I did enjoy my day.  John and I went shopping and I treated myself to some goodies at Target.  That night we had a delicious dinner.  On Sunday morning the three of us got up early and went to breakfast, something I hadn't done in ages.  I got cinnamon swirl French toast that was to die for!  

Sunday evening we celebrated with a family dinner with my parents and sister.  My Dad made the whole meal including the cake!  It was wonderful ♥

I can't say I'm sad about turning 47.  I am so touched by all the messages, texts, cards, and calls from friends and family.  

I even got these beautiful flowers from a special friend ♥

Sunday afternoon I did a little self care session and gave myself a facial and hair treatment.  I thought why not pamper my 47 year old self?!  It felt good.  I really need to do this more often.  

Starting a new trip around the sun feeling fresh! : ) 

And all of a sudden the weekend is over.  Today I'm working, still catching up from being on vacation.   I also have to food shop and plan something for dinner.  I haven't gotten that far yet this morning...lol!  

In other news John and I are watching The Office!  He's seen it many times and has been trying to get me to watch it for ages. I finally agreed and I love it! We are almost at the end of the second season.  It's so funny!  Now I understand what all the hype was about : ) 

I hope you all have a great day and start to your week!  Can you believe we are almost at the end of July?!  Let's slow things down a bit, shall we ♥

Byeeeee!!! xoox

Crafty Sunday: Homemade Candles ♥

Hello Friends! I hope you all had a nice weekend.  

Yesterday morning I took a few hours and did a craft I saw online a few weeks ago.  

Homemade candles  ♥

I did it with votives and tarts that I've had forever but haven't burned.  If you're like me you have a stash of candles that for one reason or another are collecting dust.  

You can also use candle scraps from used candles.  You know all that wax that is left at the bottom?  

Perfect for this craft.  

My stash of random candles : ) 

I don't use a tart burner that much anymore but I love the smell of some of these.  

I chose candles that have similar scents.  These are vanilla & cinnamon based.  

Melt them down in a double boiler.  I used a glass measuring cup so it would be easy to pour.  

Choose your vessel.  Mason jars, jelly jars, candy dishes, tea cups.... whatever you like ♥

I picked up a package of candle wicks on Amazon.  I think it was 100 wicks for about $6! 

You can also use items to embellish the candles.  I used some dried flower petals, dried orange slices, and cinnamon sticks.  All things I had in my craft box  : ) 

Use a clothes pin or pencil to steady the wicks as you pour the wax.  I did one color at a time, letting each one set before I poured the next layer.  

It was fun to see it all come together. 

**Also note that you can add essential oil to the melted wax for more scent, but since my candles were already scented I didn't do that.  Next time I might add a few drop just to enhance the scent a little, but I was very happy with how they came out ** 

Once they are set trim the wicks and you are done! 

I think I'll save this one for Valentines Day ♥♥

I think it will be fun to experiment with colors and scents.  And the best part is once the candle is burned up I can reuse the jar and dish.  I hope to make new candles every season using up the rest of my stash as well as scraps for the all the big jars I have burning.  

We have candles burning here everyday and it's nice to know nothing is going to waste. 

So that's how I spent my Sunday.  What were you up to?

Have a great day, friends!  I'm off to warm up with a coffee and check in with some of you online.

Talk to you soon! xoxo