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!!!!