Love the Simple Things ♥

Hello Lovely Friends and happy last day of March! ♥

I ran to the grocery store this morning to pick up a few things for our big dinner on Sunday and I couldn't resist these darling pink carnations.  Some people see carnations just as a filler flower.  Not me.  They are my favorite.  And at $5 a bunch I am the happiest I've been all week with these pretty blooms scattered around the house. : ) 

 

Who couldn't smile at this?  I can't wait for Rob to get home.  He will humor me and not be as excited as I am,  but he will appreciate it.  Work days are long and hard and it's nice to have a cozy and cheery place to hang your hat at night.  We are blessed. ♥

It's the simplest things that make me the most happy.  It truly is.  

 Tomorrow I'll start prepping for Sunday.  I'm making a banana cream pie (John's request!) and coconut macaroons.  I haven't had either of those things in a very long time, so I'm excited.  I plan to put on some vintage music and my prettiest apron and spend a good couple of hours in the kitchen.  My happy place.  I'll share pictures and recipes with you next week! 

My aunt is coming down to join us and my parents for dinner.  I'll be with Rob's family on Easter Sunday so this is our "holiday" supper.  My parents are joining my sister on that day.  Everyone makes the effort to see each other and that's all that really matters.  Personally, I like to stretch out holidays as much as possible so it's all good with me. 

 It's hard to believe Easter is a week from Sunday! The Cadbury chocolate eggs are in the house! I've opened the bag.  It's happening : ) 

 

Before I sign off for today I want to share with you two things I discovered this week:

1. Greek yogurt with slivered almonds and dark chocolate makes a delicious snack! 

(seriously omg, this was really good!)

And 2.  Have you ever tried this? 

If not, you must.  That's all I say.  

I'm having a cup now and it's DIVINE!!!! 

Not to be dramatic (me...never!) but it's moments like this that make me grateful to be a coffee drinker! 

Have a great weekend, my friends! Stay cozy and enjoy the simple things ♥

xoxoxo

A Touch of Spring! ♥

Hello Friends! Happy Monday! ♥

It's hard to believe its the last week of the month! Where did March go?  For me, March is usually the LONGEST month. The gateway between saying goodbye to winter and the hello to Spring.  I slowly and reluctantly crawl through it.  This March I've been so busy and preoccupied with doctor's appointments and taxes and all that adult stuff that nobody likes....all of a sudden I put my head up and March is almost over.  Easter is in two weeks!  

Wow, that came fast! ♥

This weekend it was time to bring out some decorations and add a touch of Spring to the house.  I put away my St. Patrick's Day stuff  and the one final snowman I had laying around (just in case of a last minute snow storm...it never happened :) and out came the bunnies!  It's always refreshing to see the pretty pastel colors.  

I have yet to buy jelly beans or Cadbury Eggs.  I'm weakening though.  It's happening soon :) 

Decorating for the seasons is something that brings me so much joy.  I love switching things around and adding touches of each season or holiday.  

I normally don't do doilies or runners on my tables anymore, but in the spring I love to use this crocheted one. It says Spring to me! 

It's also a lovely background for the flowers and bunnies ♥

This little Easter village has been around since before John was born.  It's my favorite Spring decoration.  Probably because it reminds me of Christmas! 

♥

Spring = rebirth 

Easter eggs...with a touch of fall peeking out from behind the glass : ) 

I love chickens.  Have I ever mentioned that?  

The plant corner is doing well! I'll be adding to it soon. 

I want to get some tulips but even though I have been tempted I didn't want to buy them too soon.  I was afraid they wouldn't make it to Easter.  We'll see what the grocery store floral department has for me this week! 

This weekend on Palm Sunday we are having our Easter dinner with my family.  My parents are cooking the roast and I'll prepare the veggies and dessert.  John has requested a banana cream pie. I'm happy to oblige! I'm also making coconut macaroons.  Leave it to me to focus on the dessert first! : ) 

Well friends, I just made myself an iced coffee and it's time for me to get this Monday started.  Last night I made a checklist on my phone of tasks to get done today. It's helping me be very productive this morning!  I'm off to check off some more boxes.

Have a wonderful Monday! ♥

Byeeeee!!! xoxoxo 

Tea Time in Spring! ♥

Hello Friends! It's officially Spring! ♥

And as luck would have it, it's a beautiful day today.  Tuesdays are my one day a week I have to go into the office.  The other days I am still happily working remotely.  Today I dressed in jeans, a blue shirt with white flowers on it, my new burgundy colored cardigan and sneakers.  Comfy and springy.  I stopped for a coffee at Dunkin Donuts on my way into the office.  I got my go-to order...a hot French vanilla with cream & sugar. For half a second I thought about getting an iced coffee, but decided against it.  I didn't wear a jacket today (it's 57 degrees!) but I'm not quite ready for iced coffee yet : ) 

I had The Supremes on my CD player (yes, I still have one!) and my window cracked a bit to let the fresh air in. Motown always wakes me up, especially on work days.  On my drive in I was thinking about how the seasons affect my mood.  Spring has a definitive feeling, doesn't it?  For me it's all about excitement.  Excitement for things to come.  People wake up in Spring and come out of hibernation.  At least I do.  In the winter I want to hunker down and stay buried under a blanket. It takes me a while to let go of that, but it's finally happening. These days I am anxious to buy plants and watch them grow.  I want to go to Starbucks and get an over priced pink frothy drink and sip it through a straw while I window shop. I want to make a coconut cream pie and eat it for dessert while it's still light out! This weekend I'll decorate for Easter and all little bunnies will appear.  I'm not looking forward to spring cleaning but I'm sure I'll do some anyway.  And I'll be happy about it when it's over.  I have some shelves that I don't think I've touched since last April.  The dust is REAL, but that's for another post.  Today I'm only talking about happy things! 

Work was good and then I picked John up from school. Off came my cute outfit and back into my PJs am I!  I'm on the couch having a cup of tea and thinking about what's for dinner tonight. It's late afternoon and rays of  sunshine are still coming through the windows. I have a lemon candle burning on the coffee table and I'm in my zone once again : )  

Even though I'm a certified homebody I do like to get out of the house once in a while.  And once the weather starts to warm up I get an itch to go exploring. Recently I visited an English tea room with my friend Julie, for an afternoon tea.  It was a lovely experience and I thought today would be a perfect day to share some pictures with you.  Isn't it fun when you discover cool places right in your own backyard (or in my case, 30 minutes from home: ). 

I hope these photos of pretty china cups and dainty finger sandwiches get you in a springtime mood! 

They did for me.

Shelly's Tea Room in Plymouth ,MA.  

You were delightful! ♥

 

I loved it so much I'm going to take my mother here for a Mother's Day tea. 

 I was so happy to discover they are handicap accessible, which so many places aren't these days. 

♥

Wishing you all a lovely day and a happy Spring season! Where can I visit next? 

xoxox

PS - I brought a leftover scone home and it was just as delicious the next day, eaten on my couch. 

Sheer bliss : ) 

Happy St. Patrick's Day! ♥

Hello Friends! ♥

Happy St. Patrick's Day! 

It's Friday night as I write this.  We just finished dinner and I wanted to pop in and wish you all a happy Friday!  This has been the longest week for me.  I've had the worst time adjusting to daylight savings. It usually doesn't bother me but for some reason (probably my age : ) it's taken its toll.  I even overslept on Wednesday and made John late for school!!!  This has NEVER happened.  He missed math class and was quite happy about it I might add! 

Well, I finally made through and I'm very much looking to the weekend and staring fresh on Monday. 

Because I was so out of sorts this week I had nothing planned for tonight.  We usually make a corned beef and cabbage dinner but I wasn't feeling it this year.  I saw on my friend BJ's blog this morning that she was making Irish Stew.  I thought that sounded delicious and even better - she was making it in my favorite kitchen appliance....a crock pot!  You know, the thing that does all the work for you!  I texted her and within minutes I had the recipe. (I love my friends!!)

Off  I went to the store to grab some stew meat and beef broth.  I had everything else!  

I decided to stop and get a shamrock shake on the way!  

A St. Patrick's Day tradition : ) 

I came home, seared the meat, chopped some veggies, and into the pot it all went.  

.

5 hours later here we are.  So yummy!!!!! 

I had already made Irish bread earlier in the week.  There was just enough left for the three of us tonight to round out the meal.  

The most delicious St. Patrick's Day meal! And nice way to end the week.  

Not bad for a last minute decision! ♥

I hear the sun is coming out this weekend and spring is on it's way! Oh and in case you are wondering about that BIG snowstorm I mentioned on Monday.  We got nothing. Just rain.  

 I hope you are all having a happy St. Patrick's day however you are celebrating tonight!  

Have a wonderful weekend and I'll meet you back here on Monday! 

Cheers! xoxo 

(now I'm off to bed to get my hour of sleep back : ) 

♥

Monday chit-chat...♥ (with that strawberry salad dressing I promised you!)

Hello Friends! ♥

Another Monday is here and it's the start of a new week.  How was your weekend? Mine went by so fast!  Yesterday is literally a blur to me, but that could be because I'm still sleepy due to the time change.  It's a bear, isn't it?  And not just that, for some reason I thought it was good idea to stay up until midnight and watch the Oscars last night!  For that, I have no regrets. Well, nothing a little caffeine can't fix! : )  Although I wish Austin Butler won for Elvis, I enjoyed the show very much! 

♥

Hot coffee and Irish bread is what's for breakfast today.  I make my friend Eileen's recipe every year.  I'm telling you, it's the best.  You must try it! It's the sour cream that makes it so good! 

IRISH BREAD 

1 cup raisins

3 cups flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 tablespoons caraway seeds

1 1/2 sticks butter, melted

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup sour cream

2 eggs

  

  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 

Grease a 10 inch round baking pan. 

 

Soak raisins in a small bowl of boiled water and put aside for about 5 minutes.  Mix flour, baking powder, and salt together. Mix in the caraway seeds.  Drain raisins and add to the flour mixture. 

  

In a separate bowl mix the melted butter, sugar, sour cream, and eggs.  Blend alternately with flour mixture until everything is combined into a smooth, creamy batter. 

  

Pour batter into pan and sprinkle the top generously with sugar.

 

Bake for one hour.  Cool in pan for 10 minutes then turn onto rack to cool.

 Enjoy! 

I made this one on Saturday and it's just about gone! : ) 

♥

It's gotten cold here again and we are expecting snow tomorrow. They are predicting up to 6 inches in my area.  I'm not mad at that because we've had hardly any this winter.  This could be the grand finale of winter, as it's supposed to be 50 degrees on Friday!  Nothing makes sense anymore..

It's no wonder I need coffee all the time! LOL 

♥

Oh! Remember last week I mentioned making a strawberry salad dressing with these yummy strawberries? 

Well, I did it.  And it was good!! 

Could this give me the incentive to eat more salads?

 

Definitely! : ) 

It was sweet and fresh and I'm sure I'll be making it again this spring and summer.  It was delicious! 

I wish I had had some oranges or avocados to add to this salad. I think it would have made it even better. 

Here's the recipe if you are interested:

2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced

1/3 cup orange juice

1/4 cup red onion

1 1/12 tablespoons honey

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon poppy seeds (*I left these out because I didn't have any:) 

Blend all ingredients in the blender until smooth.  Stir in poppy seeds at the end, if you are using them! 

♥

Well, that's all the chit-chat I have today.  I must get back to work.  It's almost time to pick John up at school and before I know it, it will be dinner time.  I have some meat thawing for a beef stir fry that I'll serve with rolls and the rest of the strawberry salad.  My plan for this evening is curling up with my book and waiting for the snow.   

Have a great day everyone! 

 Stay cozy! xoxoxo

Ordinary Friday ♥

Hello Friends! Happy Friday! ♥

The week has gotten away from me and now here we are.  I was just sitting in my cozy spot here trying to get motivated to start the day.  It's super bright today which is nice because the sun is shining in through the windows and is lifting my mood - as if I needed help on a FRIDAY! 

  Can you believe this weekend is daylight savings?  We'll lose an hour of sleep (after a few days of adjusting:) but it will be worth it. 

 I can feel the shift coming. Can you? 

 

I gave myself a refill (with whip cream - a TGIF treat : )   

Today is an ordinary Friday.  

My favorite kind ♥

I'm waiting for this Christmas cactus to bloom.  I have no idea when : ) 

New candle for Spring I picked up yesterday. 

 I love lemons! ♥

A puzzle I've been wanting to do since Christmas.  Soon! I just have to figure out a spot to do it in because I'm sure it will take more than one sitting! LOL 

Ready for St. Patrick's day! 

One week from today! 

My kitchen is small but I try to make it as cozy as possible

♥

I'm going to make a strawberry salad dressing out of these.  I'll let you know how it turns out! 

It sure does! : ) 

This little plant stand was once a CD tower.  Remember those???  

Seeing all the green is so pleasing.  I like it better than CD's.  

My ordinary Friday will consist of working, more coffee consumption, a breakfast dinner (don't knock it till you try it : ) and a family movie night.  John's pick! He's trying to see all the best picture nominees before the Oscars on Sunday.  I think he only has 3 left! 

I would like to make an Irish bread today as well, so we can snack on it this weekend! 

♥

Thanks for popping by and visiting me on an ordinary Friday.  

Have a wonderful and cozy weekend! ♥

xoxo