And That was January... ♥

Hello Friends! Happy February 1st  ♥

It's been cold and dreary here and never in my life have I wanted spring so badly. Last week I treated myself to some flowers.  It's helped my winter blues.  How pretty are these?!  It's amazing what a $10 bouquet from the grocery store can do!  

Yesterday we celebrated Rob's birthday.  He requested dinner at home and chocolate cake.  Easy!

It's been a tough year for me and he's been by my side supporting me every step of the way.  I was happy to celebrate HIM last night.  

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He's the best.  He does so much for John and I.  I couldn't be more grateful.  

Happy Birthday Rob!! xo 

So far we've had a little snow this winter (enough for me to have some fun) but nothing that's really stuck around.  It's been mostly rain. I'm still waiting for at least one BIG storm.  If it has to be winter, let's make it worth it.  

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It's been freezing cold though.  Thankfully we've been keeping cozy by the wood stove.  My Dad likes to make the fires.  You can feel it throughout the whole house.  It's nice.  My mom used to love a fire in the woodstove.  The smell of the fire reminds me of her. 

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And speaking of cozy I have to tell you about the loveliest brunch Rob and I went to at our friends house on Saturday.  First of all you know how much I love brunch!!  And secondly (and more importantly) it was so nice to be out with friends again, seeing them, and having conversations, laughing & telling stories.  It felt good. I'm getting there ♥

Dave & Lisa have the coziest home.  Lisa shares my love of teapots and white twinkle lights around the kitchen window.  She had the prettiest table set with her grandmother's china.  I like to think that many many wonderful times were had around these beautiful dishes. We had delicious food! Lisa served quiche, oven baked bacon, Dave's homemade coffee cake, and my friend Jan brought baked French toast which was to-die-for! 

Not pictured is a cheesecake that I made (Susan Branch recipe!) which I covered with strawberries and forgot to take a picture of : )   

I was looking through my camera roll over the past month and noticed that the majority of my picutres were of food! It makes sense since it was so cold we hardly went out.  We stayed in and ATE :)

Here's a little round up of some of my favorite things I made in January: 

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Chicken Florentine with mushrooms ♥

American Chop Suey (a childhood favorite) ♥

Another round of Chicken Soup from when we were sick! ♥

This bread which I still can't believe I made ♥

Chicken thighs with roasted carrots ♥

Banana bread - I need to make more of this! ♥

French onion pork chops ♥

Ina Garten's Roasted Chicken with lemons and onions for Rob's birthday dinner.  I made chicken stock with the leftovers this morning ♥

Rob's chocolate birthday cake! ♥

(not pictured Brigham's chocolate chip ice cream : ) 

Valentine cookies courtesy of The Pillsbury Doughboy.  

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And my most favorite of all was a meal I did NOT make.  Yesterday after work I took myself out to lunch at Panera Bread (table for one!)  and got a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup.  It was heavenly and just what I needed after a busy day. 

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And that's a wrap on January.  Life keeps moving on and I'm just trying to keep up.  

Happy February Friends! We are getting closer to spring everyday ♥