Something Sweet

 I feel like lately I am running to keep up with my posting. Playing catch up.  Case in point, this post.  Back in February Earl tapped the Maple trees in the woods and made the most delectable Maple Syrup. Enough to share a jar with each of the girls and then hoard the rest for ourselves.  Why is it that food you make or grow yourself just tastes better than what you buy? Is it my imagination? Maybe. But there is something so satisfying in making something yourself.  He got a late start so we are hoping to get even more sap next year.

 He also made this lemon curd cheese cake for Easter dessert. One might wonder just what is keeping me so busy that I can't post since Earl is clearly doing all the work around here. I wonder myself sometimes, and yet, something clearly is deterring me.  Forgive the grainy photo, I snapped this with my phone in low light. It tasted so much better than this photo looks.

 Another sweet thing? This pretty tablecloth my youngest picked up for me just because she knew I would like it.  The sweetness of that is even greater than Maple syrup or cheesecake.  It makes this mama's heart all warm and happy when my girls do things like that.  They so deserve those jars of Maple Syrup!

We had a very small guest list for Easter this year. We usually have 14 or more around this table, but times are changing. We have to share the girls with in-laws :( My eldest is far away and couldn't make it, Grandma had to run to Arizona for the death of her brother in law, and we had to share his youngest sister with her in-laws. (There are times I think in-laws should be called out-laws...but then that would bounce back on me wouldn't it? *sigh)

So, we hosted Earl's youngest sister and Uncle. It was a small party, but still very good.  It's just hard to roll with the changes sometimes. I missed my kids.  I hope you all had good times with family and friends for the holiday. 

 Are you taking the bunnies and Easter decor down now? What is going in it's place?

And the Winner is ...

Spring is making an appearance around here not only in the weather, but in the house.  I finally took the dead Christmas wreath off the front door and replaced it with this cute basket.  I found the pansies and long green thingys at JoAnne Fabrics and had the nest, ribbon and basket in my decorating stash.  The basket was browns and since brown and I don't last long, I watered down some green craft paint and gave it a swipe. I love the way it turned out, with the woody texture showing through but not the brown.  I raided my sewing stash of vintage hem binding for the ribbon.  Sometimes hoarding is a good thing!

 In other news, I'm a day late in announcing the winner of the pillow cover and it is.......

Deb at Garage Sale Gal! 

Congratulations Deb! I'm sending a note your way to get your snail mail so I can get your package in the mail this week.  Thank you to everyone else who left a comment and who have been such faithful friends through the years. I love you all :)

I'll be getting ready for Easter this week. It will be a small one, just a few family members instead of the usual 16 or so, but I'm looking forward to it anyway.  I hope your week is blessed and beautiful!

                                             Linking up with Thoughts of Home on Thursday

http://www.poofingthepillows.com/

Giveaway! A Host of Golden Daffodils

February marked 9 years of writing and sharing on this little blog. I can hardly believe it.  I am so glad to have some of those posts to look back on. I could have never predicted how dear this community and the friends I have made would become to me. So I have a little something to give away in appreciation.  I have two beautiful, brilliant and talented nieces who several years ago, gave me some of the most adorable daffodils that they had crocheted. Ever since they gave them to me, I have had this vision in my head of how I would use them.

A Spring pillow seemed just the thing.  This kind of artistry should be seen and enjoyed.  I finally got around to making that pillow and it is just as adorable as I knew it would be!  I will be drawing a name on March 21 and some lucky reader will ge this adorable 12x16 pillow cover in some very happy mail :)  Can you see the little 3 dimensional cups in the center of these daffodils? SO cute! And yes, I did save enough to make a pillow to keep myself ;)

It's easy, just leave a comment on the blog.  If you want an extra entry, come follow me and leave a comment on Instagram too. It's as easy as that!

Thank you, thank you, thank you, for the love, support, kind words, and all the fun we've shared over these past 9 years!  Here's to many more :) XXOO

Spring

It's here, the month I wait for like a man coming out of the desert waits for that first drink of cool water. March may not seem like the most beautiful month around, there is still lots of mud, some snow, the leaves aren't out yet, (at least in Michigan!) and old man winter can still stick his knobby arm out and dump some snow, but it's the month that holds the first day of Spring and I'll take it! 

All this week our temps are supposed to be in the 50's and 60's.  You have to be a northern girl to get excited about that, I know. I am a northern girl and I am excited!

I've been working on some Spring goodies for the shop and I can't wait to show you. First of all, what says Spring better than pansies? I love this new design and I know you will love it too. And yes, if there is a color combination you would like in place of the purple and yellow, I do custom colors, so contact me and I'll be glad to send you the color choices that will go best in your kitchen.

All of these items are in my etsy shop right now.

 I have also put together some mini sets of decals for your smaller appliances. I have had people use their decals for sewing machines, blenders, hand mixers, on just about anything that doesn't heat up.  I don't recommend them for toasters, waffle irons or anything hot.

I think they add a cute touch of cottage charm to your baking efforts :)

Earl has also put together some great boxes from salvaged walnut and oak. I used one of them for this little herb garden. It may be snowy outside right now but soon I'll be able to plant my herbs in the garden, in the meantime, I can have them in my window sill ready to use. I have a limited number of these so if you want one grab it! They have adorable card catalog handles that you can slip a label into. These are sized to hold 4 1/2" pots, but they would be so handy for so many things.

 You can see I've been super busy getting ready for Spring. I hope I can post a little more often as the sun shines and the days get longer, I miss my blog! What are you doing to get ready for Spring?

I just passed my 9 year anniversary of blogging! I can't let that go without a little giveaway to all my sweet friends who have stuck by me all these years.  Coming up Friday, I'll be holding a giveaway for a little something special. :)  Stay tuned!