Friday, February 25, 2011

The things we value


If you have been following our blog, you will know that for my daughter, Valerie's, 30th birthday, I provided her with 30 gifts that went along with 30 letters to her that I personally wrote about things I have learned over the many years I have lived. These are the things I want her to remember and to pass down to her children and her children's children. It was quite an experience getting this together. There were so many thoughts that I had that I wanted to share so I had to condense them to the really important ones. Perhaps I will ask Valerie to list them for you so you can read down the titles of them to see my thoughts. As I was writing these letters, I really came to think about what it was that I valued. We go along in our lives living every day and not always reflecting on what it is that we value most. So this was a great exercise for me, as well as a marvelous gift for my daughter. I would love to encourage all of you to start a little journal and start writing down your thoughts about life and what YOU value. You may eventually want to share this with your children as a timeless rememberance of who you are and were. You can compile it into a book or even illustrate some of your ideas. For me, I included a gift that represented each thing I valued. One of the most interesting parts of all of this I would like to share with all of you.

On Valentine's Day, I decided to give Valerie a letter about Love. Along with this letter came a small gift, a heartfelt gift. This gift was a small gold locket with a small diamond in the center given to me by my parents when I graduated 8th grade. It is now "vintage" as I guess I am becoming... slowly, I hope. I was really excited to give her this gift but the little voice inside of me kept saying "will she like it? will she think it is just a piece of junk? " As doubts poured through my mind Valerie came over to visit that same day. Unbelievably, she announced upon her arrival "Did you see the February Martha Stewart magazine?" I had it but did not have time to read it yet so she grabbed it an opened the page to an article on "Vintage Lockets." You cannot imagine my shock given that she had no idea of what the gift was that I was preparing to give her. She excitedly showed me the beautiful lockets on each page and announced that she was going to be searching for these lockets because she liked them so much. I was ecstatic, to say the least! I totally agreed with her that we should try to find one and it would be fun looking for it. Inside, I was laughing and praising God that He had revealed to me that when I do something out of love there is no reason to doubt my actions. When love is our motivation there is little that can go wrong. So I waited for the "big day" to offer my gift of love to her along with my letters. She was so surprised and we both had a great laugh and shared a lot of love that day.

The other day I stopped over her house and there she was, wearing the little locket I gave her. At that moment, I realized that the love my parents gave to me was being passed down to the next generation.

P.S.
If you are interested in seeing the Martha Stewart article on vintage lockets, see below:
http://www.marthastewart.com/article/love-tokens-pretty-vintage-lockets

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Blog Hop #3

Welcome to Mingle With Us Thursday Blog Hop

Join in on the fun by following the hostesses in the first three spots and link up your blog's main page. Then, have some fun reading new blogs and and making new blog friends.  Remember to show some love and follow new blogs.  We always follow back!!
 
Each Friday (for the upcoming three Fridays--Feb. 11, Feb. 18 and Feb. 25), we will choose a random blogger who participated in our blog hop and that lucky winner will receive a GIVEAWAY provided by us.

This week will be our last giveaway.  The winner of the giveaway will be able to choose from one of the following pendants.

Grab our button if you want to share our blog hop with others.  There will be a new list every Thursday, so be sure to come back every week.


We hope you have fun and thanks for joining us!

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Thursday Blog Hop #2

Welcome to Mingle With Us Thursday Blog Hop

Join in on the fun by following the hostesses in the first three spots and link up your blog's main page. Then, have some fun reading new blogs and and making new blog friends.  Remember to show some love and follow new blogs.  We always follow back!!
 
Each Friday (for the upcoming three Fridays--Feb. 11, Feb. 18 and Feb. 25), we will choose a random blogger who participated in our blog hop and that lucky winner will receive a GIVEAWAY provided by us.

This weeks giveaway is a four pack of stamps:


Grab our button if you want to share our blog hop with others.  There will be a new list every Thursday, so be sure to come back every week.



We hope you have fun and thanks for joining us!



On Wed, Feb 16, 2011 at 12

Sunday, February 13, 2011

I LoVE YoU BeCaUse...

For a super special Valentine, you may want to grab hold of this sweet little idea. I found a bunch of fun Valentine colored paper and cut them into the shape of hearts. I wrote "I Love You Because" on the front of each and then on the back put the reasons why.

Use tape to adhere these little hearts all over the house and the one you love will be in for a surprise as they wander around doing their daily activities.

(Or, you may put them into a jar and pull one at a time.)

Happy Valentine's Day!

BE INSPIRED!

Friday, February 11, 2011

"Hearty" Soup for your Man!

Valentine's Day is just around the corner and this "Hearty" Soup will keep him coming back for more! This recipe was adapted from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food Magazine and is a definite keeper!

Ingredients:

•3 links of sweet italian sausage
•1 medium yellow onion--diced
•2 stalks of celery with the leaves--sliced thin
•1 can of reduced sodium chicken stock
•1 can of reduced sodium beef stock
•1 can of lentil soup (we used Progresso)
•a bunch of fresh kale torn into bite size pieces with spine removed
•a bunch of fresh spinach
•2 teaspoons of olive oil
•salt and pepper
•2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

Directions:

Heat olive oil in large pot. Remove sausage links from casing and brown in pot while breaking into small pieces with a spatula. Once browned, add onions and celery and cook until softened (approximately 5 minutes). Add lentil soup, beef and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and let simmer for 10 minutes. Then add kale and spinach and cook until wilted. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Finally, add red wine vinegar and mix in.

Serve and Enjoy!

BE INSPIRED!

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Welcome to Mingle With Us Thursday Blog Hop


Join in on the fun by following the hostesses in the first three spots and link up your blog's main page. Then, have some fun reading new blogs and and making new blog friends.  Remember to show some love andfollow new blogs.  We always follow back!!
Each Friday (for the upcoming three Fridays--Feb. 11, Feb. 18 and Feb. 25), we will choose a random blogger who participated in our blog hop and that lucky winner will receive a GIVEAWAY provided by us. To claim your giveaway, please check out our blogs on Friday to see if your name was chosen, follow up with an e-mail with your address and we will send out your free gift. 

This weeks giveaway is this blue and pink scarf:

Grab our button if you want to share our blog hop with others.  There will be a new list every Thursday, so be sure to come back every week.



We hope you have fun and thanks for joining us!

Sunday, February 6, 2011

A Sweet Idea


If you are feeling artsy and crafty and want to make a Sweet Treat for your Valentine this year, this idea is super easy and way cute! This sweet indulgence is simply a Hershey bar wrapped in fancy paper and embellished with silver ribbon and puffy, glittered heart stickers. 


I picked up most of the materials at A.C. Moore and bought the Hershey bars and silver ribbon
at Walmart!


Find an assortment of paper that reminds you of Valentine's Day, cut a length long enough to wrap around your candy bar and apply a small piece of Scotch tape to hold it together. 
Voila! There you have it...almost done! Now cut another piece of paper that contrasts but matches the one you already have wrapped around your bar. Tape and then apply ribbon and stickers. 


Here are a bunch of my finished products! Hope you enjoy!


BE INSPIRED!

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Shortbread Heart Cookies



Today I made a most delicious February treat--Shortbread Heart Cookies! All-in-all, they took me a bit under two hours to complete. I found the recipe for the cookie at Martha Stewart, however, I made my own icing (just a basic confectioner's sugar icing). The dough for this shortbread is super-duper easy! 







Ingredients:
  • 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 pound unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 
  • ALL OF THE ABOVE FOR THE COOKIE DOUGH. FOR THE ICING, I USED A SIMPLE CONFECTIONER'S SUGAR ICING RECIPE FROM MY HEAD. CONFECTIONER'S SUGAR, BUTTER, MILK AND WATER TO A CONSISTENCY OF YOUR LIKING.
 Directions:
    1. Combine flour and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. Place butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; beat until just combined. Do not whip. Add vanilla; mix. Add flour mixture; mix on low until dough starts to come together. Transfer to a floured board; knead into a ball. Wrap in plastic; chill 30 minutes.
    2. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough on a floured surface to 1/4 inch thick. Cut out heart shapes using a 3-inch heart cookie cutter. Place hearts on an ungreased baking sheet, and bake until lightly browned, 20 to 25 minutes. (I only baked mine for 16 minutes) 
    3. Transfer to wire racks to cool.
    Read more at Marthastewart.com: Shortbread Hearts - Martha Stewart Recipes



      BE INSPIRED!

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