Global Warming????

The gorgeous spring weather got me hyped for sunny days. Until this dreadful cold snap hit, that is.... Whatever happened to global warming???? In an effort to escape the same old sweaters and boots that I am SO ready to retire to the back of the closet, I decided to go out and look for a cute pair of summer sandals. What do ya think? I found these by Chinese Laundry at Ross marked down to.... are you ready..... ten bucks. Can you believe it? If that wasn't a great enough find, there was a new shipment of tall mugs like the ones I bought there a while back. So $7.00 and two mugs later, I now have a complete set of coffee mugs. I LOVE A BARGAIN, can you tell? The baby shower went off without a hitch last weekend. Here I am (second from the right) with my niece Amy and the other hostesses. Amy looks positively radiant, doesn't she?

Here's another shot of Amy with a cute posh pig baby bank. Gee, I miss having a baby around. My twin grands are almost five now......

One more week until spring vacation!!!!!!!! Can't wait!!!!!!

Golly Gee, A Blog Award!

My friend Lori over at My Heart With Pleasure Fills has bestowed on me the Beautiful Blogger Award! Thanks, Lori, for the honor! Lori hasn't been blogging long but she's got a really good thing going..... I don't know how she finds time between a full time job and a part time floral design business but somehow she does. I'm now assigned the task of selecting 15 of my favorite blogs to keep the chain going. So...... here goes! The very first blog I discovered was Cindy's My Romantic Home. Cindy does absolutely AMAZING things on a tight budget, with a budget being something I am QUITE familiar with.

And then there's Susan over at Between Naps on the Porch who hosts weekly tablescape parties which I have lots of fun participating in. Susan has a back porch TO DIE FOR, I kid you not. I've always loved to decorate for the holidays but Susan has really inspired me to take it to a new level, I'll tell ya.

I can't forget Lamp Tramp over at Self Confessed Lamp Tramp who lost almost the entire contents of her southern household to a hurricane and does AMAZING things with oyster shells.

And whenever I want to remember the sweet slobbery kisses of my wee little ones and get a monogramming "fix", I take a peek at Kelly's Corner and her beautiful daughter Harper.

One of my newer blog favorites is Annicole over at Our Suburban Cottage. If you're looking for a unique sort of humor, check her out. A recent post asked for advice about a noisy bed. LOL

Laura over at White Spray Paint loves vintage things like chafing dishes and tarnished silver. She keeps me watching the estate sale ads.

And owing that I'm the grandmother to gorgeous twin girls, I love reading about the antics of the twins over at Twice as Nice. These two sisters are the bestest of friends and I would be hard pressed to tell them apart.

And Kristen at The Self Family has a beautiful family and a deep love of photography. She recently set up her own photography site. Her blog pics are always breathtaking!

I have a backdoor blogger friend Susie at Bienvenue. I followed Susie's blog for the longest time having NO IDEA that she lives virtually in my own backyard until my sweet daughter happened to glance over my shoulder and recognize Susie's exceedingly handsome son Jessie.

And how could I leave out Rhoda over at Southern Hospitality? Rhoda is a true professional who isn't too proud to buy secondhand. I love checking out her neat and cheap finds!

Equally creative is Tam at The Gypsy's Corner. Tam recently redid a chair for her guestroom that I would DIE FOR! I love her blog!

And Judy at Gracious Southern Living likes to make little road trips that she shares all of the details about. Judy, I've driven by The Myrtles Plantation many, many times but the next time I definitely am STOPPING IN!

Nina's Nest is Linda's little baby and she's been writing about holding an estate sale for her dear mother-in-law's household possessions. She's one lover of dishes, I'll tell ya.

And I can't leave off Laura at Decor to Adore and her tales of the Fashionista and sweet boy. Laura's blog was another one of the first few blogs I got hooked on.

And last but ABSOLUTELY NOT LAST is Joy's blog aptly named Joys of Home. Joy loves to browse in thrift stores and is the queen of cheap treasures. Her blog always inspires me to look for my goodies in unusual places.

So, ladies, there you have it. All of the reasons that blogging threatens to CONSUME my life! I think I need a 12-step program! I can't get enough!

Signs of Spring

Last Mother's Day my sweet daughter-in-law and son gave me a beautiful Phalaenopsis plant in full bloom. Not knowing one thing about this type of plant, I put it in my kitchen windowsill and hoped the sun exposure would be right. Not only did it work, the plant thrived and the blooms lasted for what seemed like forever. I nursed that plant all winter and low and behold, it's returning to its full glory. Here is the first bloom just beginning to open a few days ago....Now if you doubleclicked on that picture, pleeeeaase don't tell me that I need to wash my windows cause I know that already. LOL And this is what I came home to on Wednesday.....

And on Thursday, the second bloom opened.... It's quite the contrast to the dead and brown landscape outside, isn't it?

And this morning I awoke to signs of bloom #3 just beginning to open. It's beginning to look a lot like spring, isn't it? There is a robin warbling on my back patio as I type. The sun is out and I'm gonna finish mulching my flower beds this afternoon. C'mon on spring, I'm ready for ya!

Time to Celebrate!!!!!

He did it! Worked 40+ hours per week while attending school four nights a week for 22 months. It was a long haul and he was perpetually exhausted, but not only did he do it, he earned the gold medal for having the highest grade point average in his class! I'm so proud of that boy. Isn't he a cutie?

Here he is with his girlfriend, Amanda.

And his proud mama and grandmother.

How About a Little Paint and Party?

There is a new business in town.... It's called Paint and Party. My teachers' sorority held our meeting there last week. With the Saints Super Bowl win last Sunday, it was only fitting that we chose a fleur de lis design. That's me on the back row, fifth from the left. It's amazing how a little wine gets the creativity flowing, you know? It was a welcome reprieve from the week's stresses and strains. I learned on Wednesday that my mortgage refinance will be delayed (once again). I've been hanging on, nickeling and diming it for six months now and the thought of at least two more months of the same is really really discouraging. There always seems to be more month than money. LOL

Enough whining. Hope everyone enjoys their long holiday weekend!

Great Things Come in Small Packages

There's not a thing better for a dreary rainy winter day than a good craft project! My sweet niece Amy is expecting a baby girl in May and I'll be helping host a shower at my house in a few weeks. I LOVE welcoming little ones, can I tell ya? Amy is my brother's only child and he and my sis-in-law are tickled pink with the news. My mother was here last week and she and I made a diaper cake to use as a centerpiece for the refreshment table. My sweet mother is 88 years old and has a lot of time on her hands so I put her to work. We drank a little wine and rolled diapers and had a ball.... I wanted to use good quality diapers so they wouldn't go to waste. Here's a picture before the decorations went on. The base layer was formed by rubberbanding three rings of rolled diapers around a tall bottle of baby oil. The second layer was more of the same, except just two rings worth. And the top layer is one ring wrapped around the cap of the bottle. I used ribbon that coordinated with the paper goods to tie everything together....

I picked up some soft stuffed toys at the mall, decided to change out some of the ribbon, and added some pink flowers from Michael's....

Isn't this about the sweetest cake you ever saw???? Looks like the sheep on top got into the wine, huh? Need to straighten him out before he topples over....

The pink and blue curly hair bows came from Gymboree. Hope the lil one has hair! I was a bald baby as were my siblings. But when my babies were born, they had full heads of straight black hair. That was a surprise, can I tell you? More news of the shower to come, so stay posted....

Valentine's Day Breakfast

How better to start a special day than with a homecooked breakfast? People who know me know I am DEFINITELY NOT a morning person but hey, special occasions deserve special sacrifices. LOL

Doubleclick on the pics to see the detail. On the menu is French Toast stuffed with cream cheese and bananas, coffee, and mimosas.

Are you getting hungry yet? Aren't my Valentine's Day dishes just adorable? I got them for a song at TJ Maxx just after Christmas... I paired them with the black glass chargers I picked up at Hobby Lobby last summer for $1.59 each, yes you heard me right...

Don't you LOVE my Fleur de Lis magnetic memo board? It was a Christmas gift from my dear friend and office mate Darlene. She got it at The Royal Standard. I got several wonderful gifts from others from that store and I definitely plan to make a trip there soon.....

Here's the recipe for the French toast:

4 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup light brown sugar

3 ripe bananas, peeled and sliced

4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1 large loaf French bread, cut into 8 slices

4 large eggs

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 cups whole milk

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Nonstick cooking spray

Confectioner's sugar

Syrup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in a heavy skillet. Add brown sugar and a pinch of cinnamon. Stir with a wooden spoon until sugar melts. Add bananas and toss together. Cook until bananas are soft. Cool. Add cream cheese and mash with wooden spoon. Cut a 2-inch long slit in one side of each bread slice, creating a pocket that leaves 3 sides of the bread intact. Divide banana mixture equally among the pockets. In large bowl, add eggs, heavy cream, milk, and cinnamon and whisk well. Pour mixture into a 13 x 9 inch casserole dish. Put the bread into the mixture and let soak for three minutes, turning occasionally. Remove the bread and let excess drain off. Spray wire rack with nonstick spray and put rack on a baking sheet. Place bread on the rack and transfer to the oven. Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Garnish with confectioner's sugar and syrup.

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!