29 Years Ago Today....

I said this to my boyfriend!

.....and he said "Yes!" So, we did!

And this is the day we'll celebrate our 29th anniversary! it's a good day!

Photo of the Day

Dear City of Vail-Thanks for the great accommodations. We'll be back!!

My Cinderella Piece

I love to take old things and make them new! Just give me some mod podge and some spray paint and I can keep myself entertained for hours! And I really love that there's an official term for it now...Upcycling! For once I'm....trendy.

This planter has sat on my porch for years and has gotten more annoying and less desireable. So, I made a quick trip to the craft store and stocked up on the basics. Unfortunately, I usually act a bit impulsively so I got started before I took my "before" picture. Use your imagination~

Since my paper is only 12x12-I had to center the full piece and then measure and splice the pieces on the sides. The benefits of a paisley pattern means that splicing the paper is much easier. Time to measure....

I put the contrasting color on the top trim and on the inside. Yes...you have to always finish the bottom and inside because people scrutinize closely when you're an "upcycler!"

And, as in any project-I tore a piece when I was adding the mod podge. No problemo! It's another easy fix by just splicing in a scrap of paper. Easy Peasy!

Here's the relaxing part....painting on the mod podge and adding some texture by using a coarse brush and taking the strokes in different directions.

And, here you go! It's so cute it's now graduated off of the spider-webby porch and into the living room! Voila!

Today was another day of flower making madness!! I felt inspired to make some necklaces~
and came up with a couple of great bib necklaces! So much fun! My mom found me some amazing vintage buttons. Aren't they great?

This triple rosette is so soft and lays so nicely!

Love Love this red and gold button. It just sets so beautifully on the
gray chiffon! Little bits of netting....Sweet.

Cream Puff Cake

This is my favorite-absolutely favorite dessert to make! I got the recipe, well a conglomerate of recipes, from a friend of mine that never disappoints when it's her turn to bring dessert over.

I made this for our Bible Study Friday Night and I must say, it was yummy!

Cream Puff Cake Ingredients

1 C Water
1/2 C Butter
1 C All-Purpose Flour
4 Eggs
1 (8oz) Package of Cream Cheese
4 C Milk
3 small boxes of Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix
1 (12oz) container of Whipped Topping (Kool-Whip)-Thawed

1 C semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 T butter

water

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large heavy saucepan, heat the butter and water to boiling over medium high heat. Add flour and reduce heat to low. Cook and stir until it forms a ball and pulls away from the pan.

Remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg. Spread this mixture in the bottom and up the sides of an ungreased, 9x13 inch pan and cook for 35 minutes. This doesn't have to be neat or spread evenly-and watching it bake is the fun part!

To make the chocolate frosting, (you can never have too much of this stuff!) melt 1 C chocolate chips with 2 T of butter over low heat. Then stir in 1/2 C of powdered sugar and 1 t vanilla. At this point you just play with the frosting by adding 1 T of hot water at a time until it is of pouring consistency-keep the stove on low (making sure not to burn chocolate) to help melt sugar. This step sounds like a pain but it makes this dessert so much better!

Pour about 3/4 of your chocolate over the cream puff shell, spreading it to the edges

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For the cream cheese filling: combine the softened cream cheese and pudding mix in a large bowl and beat it until it is smooth; slowly add milk. (I used Vanilla Soy but regular works great, too.). Once mixed, fold in whipped topping.

Spread the mixture over your chocolate covered cream puff shell. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now drizzle the rest of the chocolate on top and divide into 4 equal pieces-LOL-Enjoy!

Photo of the Day

Here's my little Poppy saying goodbye to Gucci. They definitely are sisters and have quite the competitive love/hate relationship! They remind me of Casey and Dannon when they were two and three. Casey and Dannon would fight over any toy that was available. As soon as I stepped in to make the "mom judgement" and declare a winner, the prized possession would be abandoned and another toy would be the subject of their affection! (I guess Poppy has a bit of Auntie Shelby in her as well, she always wins. And she wins big!)

We've had a great 2 weeks with the sisters living together. Poppy got a little better about sharing...maybe, and Gucci got a little better at holding her own in the fights.

It was watching Poppy watch, as Gucci drove away for the last time. But, capturing the moments of Poppy showing emotion for her sister, distracted me from the fact that Casey and Michael were also driving away from Grand Junction and off to their new adventure. I know, Colorado Springs is close and we're going to be there soon, it's more of the chapter of life that's closed. Little things like coffee at Starbucks over Casey's lunch breaks or making barbeque chicken for Michael Mauk on Family Night.

The next season of our lives will be a great one! It's like a brand new journal with lines that need to be filled. All of that white space just inviting us to fill it up. Intimidating. Empty journals scare me! They taunt me to fill them with something meaningful and not to waste a single page. Then I start a page, mess up, scribble it out and try again! And that's what the next season will most likely consist of...intimidating but exciting time just inviting us to fill the lines with meaningful passion. To expect to scribble out an idea periodically and rewrite that chapter. I won't worry if my handwriting is perfect or every page is a masterpiece.

Craft Day!

Here are my latest creations. I am so hooked on these flowers! I want to quit my job

and sit home and drink coffee with hazelnut creamerand make flowers all day every day.

I got these great journals at a store right outside of Aspen this weekend. I'll probably never journal in them but they're great photo props!! It was the cutest little country store and I could have spent the whole day there~Sometimes vintage books and flowers just bring a sense of peace and predictability.

An innocence that is fun to escape to for awhile. Just like my coffee & hazelnut creamer!

Comfort Food

I am the Queen of Comfort Food. Just give me something warm & cozy on a cold snowy day and I can fully escape into Taste Bud Heaven. Today was a day that called for some comfort food. A little chilly outside, a scratchy throat and an all around melacholy mood called for some....ready for it....Chicken Pot Pie... Uh huh! Crispy flaky crust (Pilsbury of course) and some chicken gravy. Perfection!

I'll share because I love this recipe-it's so easy and quick and it does the trick!

The ingredients are so simple!

1 Pound of Chicken Breasts

1 Bag of Frozen Mix

ed Vegetables

4 oz. Cream Cheese (cubed)

1/4 C Zesty Italian Dressing-Low Fat

1/2 C Chicken Broth

2 T Flour

Double Pie Crust

Cut the chicken breasts into bite sized pieces.

Then brown the chicken in the low-fat dressing,

(Yeah!! No oil!)

Add the flour and mix.

Now it's time to stir in the chicken broth

and the cubed cream cheese.

When the cream cheese is melted,

stir in the veggies until it's all warm and gooey!

Now just lay the bottom crust into your pie pan. I like to use

a glass pan because it seems to keep the crust from getting soggy. Tuck the crust into the pan and cut slits in the bottom. This will keep your crust from bubbling up. Now pour your gooey-yumminess mixture inside the crust and take a pair of your kitchen scissors and trim the crust to the edges.

Put the top crust on, flute the pie edges (flashback to 8th grade home-ec class) then make a fancy design on top to let the steam escape.

There you go! So pretty! And, after years of trying homemade pie crusts, I proudly say that Pillsbury can win the blue ribbon on it. That is not for me!

Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until your edges are nice and brown and Voila!

Yes, it definitely hit the spot! Enjoy!

Things to Think About

Today in my journaling time, the subject was raised to name three people whose lives I have improved. Not as easy as it first sounds. I know that I can't cavalierly announce that I've made impact on lives in general. Sure, I impact my girls and husband, but outside of my immediate circle, not so much. Well, after a bout of minor depression on the insignificance of my stay here on earth, I started getting some revelation on the subject. Well, I have two so far...

Years ago Ches and I worked in a homeless ministry. We hung out at the "Homeless Park" and talked to the old men and the families and the druggies. We fed them breakfast, bought endless sleeping bags, and obtained copies of birth certificates. One day we met "Jane". Jane was a very angry mom. Her husband had abandoned her and her 2 girls at the local grocery store and left town. Jane didn't want a handout, she didn't want breakfast and she didn't want to hear about Jesus. All she wanted was a job. And she would tell me that in her own special colorful language.

By a wonderful string of events, I was able to get Jane a car and a job cleaning at the church. After a few months, she finally qualified for a low-income apartment and leave the Homeless Shelter. A couple of years ago I was blessed to help Jane and her three kids move into a home that they all built through Habitat for Humanity. The four of them pulled together as a family and volunteered hundreds of hours to earn this home.

Jane still has her job at the church and her oldest son just graduated High School. I am so proud of her accomplishments and the fact that God gave me the honor to help her on her journey.
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Nancy~Nancy was diagnosed with cancer when her youngest daughter was in 3rd grade. It was a devastating blow to her and her family. We barely knew each other when she was diagnosed, our daughters were friends at school, but I was working out of my home and had quite a bit of extra time so we became close friends fast. I took Nancy to appointments, sat through chemo with her, and helped her wash her hair. We spent hours copying Bible verses and singing hymns. Well, she sang...loud and proud. Through Nancy's fight with cancer she became such a Woman of Faith. The doctor's original diagnosis gave her 6 months to live and Nancy lived 10 more years. She was able to see her youngest daughter get to college.

I helped Nancy hold out hope when she felt hopeless. I would pray with her on the phone when she couldn't pray herself. I helped her pay bills and run errands. The guilty secret is that after awhile, it exhausted me. I was worn out and would sometimes avoid her. And it breaks my heart because I was her main support system and would often complain. That breaks my heart. I remember once when we were out to coffee, she told the barista that I was her guardian angel and she would give her life for me. That's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.

The last day I saw Nancy was the day before Christmas Eve. She needed a ride to the bank to withdraw money. She wanted to send a bunch of cash to her brothers for Christmas and she knew she only had a couple more days to live. She had me pull over at a Salvation Army bell ringer and put a wad of cash into his little red bucket. And she told me that she didn't want to die, she wanted to live and knit sweaters for her grandkids. I really miss Nancy. I wish that I'd told her how special she was to me and how she enhanced my life. She gave me a purpose and a very real faith in God.
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A Fun Welcome To Etsy!

I was so excited this morning when I got the sweetest email from Anita's Designs over on Etsy. She had chosen to include this sweet, fluffy bit of girliness into a collection she's labeled as Winter Cuddles & Creamery.

What a perfect collection for these cozy winter days!! I loved knitting this sweet little hat. It's hand-knitted from soft white angora and topped with a wonderful piece of vintage ice blue lace. So so soft and pretty. You can find it here in my Etsy Shop or over on our Facebook Page. I'd love to have you come over and "like" my page and let me know what you think!