Spring Vignette

Since Easter was so early this year, we have a little transitional decorating period. It's not yet time for summer things and I won't put out the patriotic items until May, so I am keeping out all of my "springy" decorations for now. Easter bunnies and eggs are boxed-up until next year, but we still have "generic" bunnies and birds and faux spring flowers. The real flowering trees and bulbs in the yard are exploding in beauty, so I cut a bouquet of magnolias, forsythia, crabs, hyacinths and daffodils for the island vignette and put it in an old canning jar.

The base plate is a cake set which was a wedding gift to us (30 years ago this May!). The delicate spring flowers on it seemed in keeping with the real ones.

When I was out cutting this morning, I noticed that the bleeding heart is just beginning to bloom. Aren't the perfect little hearts adorable? Please excuse my thumb!

It's a good thing I cut early this morning when it was clear. The rains just moved in again. We're getting plenty of spring showers the past few days! I hope you're staying dry where you are!

Refreshing Bars

This recipe is from a friend at church. Out of all of the bars I have made over the years, these are the best (in my opinion!). The recipe goes together quickly and is a good thing to carry-in somewhere or to use for a dessert when you're providing a meal to someone. I like them because they are refreshing and not too sweet.

Lime Bars

2 1/2 cups flour, divided

1/2 cup powdered sugar

3/4 cup cold butter

4 eggs

1/3 cup fresh lime juice (**you can substitute lemon juice and make lemon bars)

1/2 tsp. baking powder

In a mixing bowl, combine 1 cup flour and powdered sugar. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Pat into a greased 9 by 13 pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes, or until lightly brown.

In another bowl, mix eggs, sugar and lime (or lemon) juice until frothy. Combine the baking powder and remaining 1/2 cup flour and gradually whisk into the egg mixture. Pour over the hot, baked crust. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Dust with additional powdered sugar when ready to serve.

**I halved the recipe  and prepared it in an 8 inch pan with successful results.

As first graders say, the dessert is "easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy"!

Enjoy!

Tuesday's Tablescape

Our church recently had a trivia night to fund our mission efforts. Today's tablescape shows how I set the table that we hosted.

Our church supports 34 mission teams located around the world, so I decided to use an international theme to represent the many countries in which they live and spread the Word.

I was vey excited to find these paper plates and napkins at

Party City!

I also bought the matching flag picks and attached them to some branches (which I had lightly spray painted silver). A cobalt glass vase and some little blue curling ribbons finished the centerpiece.

I selected a Bible verse to go with my theme, calligraphied it

and threw some metallic confetti on the table. Simple!

Everyone brought along finger foods, so we had a nice assortment of chips, scatter mix, cheese, sausage and crackers and fresh veggies with dip. My contributions were these blueberry muffins (with flag picks) and cold bottled water.

There were nearly 30 tables in all. We had a very nice time with friends and were happy to help support this worthy cause.

Enjoy your day!

New Look for an Old Lamp

I needed to add a lamp to the corner of our bedroom. We have an old family chair and the vintage-looking farm basket already in place, but a lamp was necessary. I had one in mind, but it needed some attention so it's been a project-in-progress. Finally, we have the right combination of some spare time and ideal spray painting weather, so I tackled it.

This is a lamp I have had since college. It works well, I like the style and it is perfect for the space in which it's needed. However, I wanted to do something with the finish.

I'm not saying it's too shiny, but it actually caught my reflection in its finish!

I decided to go for a hammered finish by using this product.

Although you can't truly appreciate the difference in appearance by means of a picture, it definitely has an entirely new look. I'm not 100% certain that it's exactly what I had envisioned, but I am going to live with it for a week, or so, to see if it works or if I want to try tweaking it.

I hope your day is going well!

Easter Blessings

Wishing you

            peace,

                 joy and

                      love

                          on Easter and always!

Bunnies and Carrots

I have a couple of foods to share. They're not so much recipes as they are ideas for your Easter dinner. How about some bunny rolls?

Begin with a tube of breadsticks. Unroll a stick, cut off the tip and then fold it in half.

Twist it again and roll the snipped piece into a small ball. It's the tail and goes down at the fold. At this point, gently pinch the ends of the ears to form a rounded appearance.

You can sprinkle them with herbs before sliding them into the oven and following the baking instructions on the tube. Rather than putting together my own herb mixture, I used Trader Joe's

"21 Seasoning Salute" on mine.

Rabbits have a fondness toward carrots, of course, so here's a way to assemble some for your table.

Clean strawberries and allow them to drip dry on a towel.

Slightly melt some orange frosting in the microwave. It cannot be at all runny. If it is, allow it to sit for a few minutes. Pillsbury makes this bright color, but you could always create your own with red and yellow food coloring in white icing. Melted white chocolate (tinted orange) or candy coat are other options, but I had the frosting in my pantry. Bathe the strawberry with spoonsful of the coating while holding up the green leaves in your hand. I will say that you need to experiment with a berry to get started, but you'll soon find the right frosting consistency. You can't do very many at a time, so I recommend microwaving just a small bowl of the icing at a time. Store the "carrots" in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!

Easter Gloves

Remember when women used to wear gloves as a fashion statement? Tucked-in with my vintage hankies and linens, I still have my two pair of childhood Easter gloves from the mid to late 60s. I must have worn them as a preschooler and maybe through kindergarten because I am pretty certain that we have a professional portrait of me as a four-year old sporting my little white gloves! I know that by the time I was in first grade they were no longer worn, so that must have been right about the time that they lost popularity. Although we didn't wear gloves to church on a weekly basis, we did when we got especially dressed-up for Easter. I, personally, loved flouncy Easter dresses, curls in my long hair and my white gloves! This year I set those little gloves on our antique Bible table.

By the way, the table is not a family piece. Randy bought it for me at a local antique store when we built this house. The Bible, however, is a family piece from his side of the family.

 Of the two pair, I always liked the lacey ones better!

You can't make it out too well, but the original packaging has a Penneys tag on it bearing the one dollar price!

It's interesting to think how trends and styles have changed so much over the years. Nearly 50 years ago we wore gloves to dress for special occasions and now people hardly even wear them for warmth in the winter!

How did you dress-up? Did you wear gloves and hats? If so, did you enjoy doing so?

Tuesday's Tablescape

It's a lovely spring day here and seemed the perfect time to set an Easter table.

My china's delicate little flowers seem fitting for spring. Would you believe that I collected this set while I was in college? The dishes were featured at the local grocery store and were available piece-by-piece, with grocery purchases. I fell in love with the pattern, so my mother purchased them each week when she did our family's shopping. I have complete service and all of the hostess pieces. I think this proves that I have always had this addiction to tableware!!

I have had the bunny napkin rings for many years.

I've had these two little candles since I was four years old (and that was a long time ago!). They were in my Easter basket along with

the candies and the chocolate bunny. I decorate with them each year!

Can you believe that Easter is this weekend?

Dollar Store Find!

Faux succulents are hot right now. You have probably noticed that craft stores are using them in wreaths and containers. I like them, but they are expensive. I happened to wonder if the dollar stores had them and was thrilled to find that Dollar Tree carries various potted and stemmed types! All of them are a dollar a piece! That was perfect for what I had in mind.

Last summer I bought some star containers for a dime each. I painted one of them and shared it on a post shortly after buying them. I always thought it would look good filled with succulents, so I tried it.

The container is notched on the back for hanging, so this could go on a door or wall. It's also fine "propped-up" somewhere.

What are you up to today? Happy Monday!

Before and After Floor

We're redoing the hall bath and the first step was the flooring. This is what it looked like at 6:45 this morning when the tile guys arrived.

This is what it looks like with the new flooring.

I think the guys did a great job with the installation and I am very pleased with the tile.

Now I need to begin the process of removing the border, repainting the walls, hanging the new shower curtain and putting out my new towels (which I received for Christmas in anticipation of this project). In addition to the bathroom project, we are beginning to prepare for the new carpet installation and that will require moving everything, so I won't be able to tackle this project as quickly as I'd like. Still, it's a start.

Have a great weekend!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Even though they're Boston terriers and not Irish setters,

they still recognize today's holiday!

I-rish you blessings on St. Patrick's Day!

Signs of Spring

I'm sure most of us are enjoying little signs of spring. Each day brings more green sprouts, flowering trees and blooming bulbs. Our saucer magnolia just began to open today and looks pretty, but it will become a show-stopper when it's in its full glory!

Remember the Lenten rose I shared several weeks ago? Now it's in full bloom and it will still be going strong for Easter.

Forsythia bushes look like liquid sunshine to me!

Here is something a little unusual. This is the birch tree I recently shared when it shed some bark, which I used for a vase.

It partially overhangs the glass roof of our solarium and yesterday I kept noticing a dripping sound on it. I was in and out of the house all day, but I noticed it each time I was home. Elementary teachers are quite accustomed to repetitive noises, but this consistent drip, drip, drip was even getting on my nerves by the end of the day! I knew it couldn't be rain and there wasn't any indication of sap, so what was it? It's a phenomenon called "positive root pressure" and is the tree's response to warm weather. The root system pulls-up water from the soil and sends it into the branches to help buds break. Since the tree has no leaves to absorb that liquid, it comes through the lenticels (pores in the bark). It's noticeable when a tree has been pruned in the winter and we had ours all done in January, which explains why we're seeing it now. This morning when the sun came out, I could see large drops of water on the end of each and every branch! Although it looks and feels like pure water, what I read indicated that there is diluted sap in it. The process in no way hurts the tree and it will stop within a few weeks. Isn't that interesting? When I stood beneath it to take this picture, it felt like it was sprinkling on me! Have you ever heard of this?

In addition to all of these sights of spring, my ears let me know that the new season truly is just around the corner. It's the sign I most enjoy because it's magical when you hear it for the first time of the season. I heard the peeper frogs!!

    What's your favorite sign of spring?

Tuesday's Tablescape

Our table is ready for St. Patrick's Day!

I just "bunched up" some green mesh ribbon for the centerpiece and added a few foam shamrocks.

My rainbow teapot serves as the focal point. It was a gift from my aunt back in the 80s when everything in the decorating world was rainbows!

It looks like the little leprechaun found some gold at the end of the 'bow!

I found a stack of these salad plates at a yard sale last summer. There were 10 of them and they still had their original price tags. Colored glass always calls my name and I knew they'd work well for Christmas and St. Patrick's Day, so they came home with me!

Old Time Pottery had these green glasses on sale for 88 cents/each and they proved to be a pretty good match.

Now we're ready for our corned beef and cabbage in a few days!

I send you love and happiness, I hope you know,

And may your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow!

Happy National Pi Day

Did you know that today is Pi Day?! In honor, I am sharing a recipe for pie! Maybe you'll want to make this on Thursday for your St. Patrick's Day meal.  It's very simple and is refreshing and perfectly suited for diabetics.

Lime Pie

1  3 ounce box sugar-free lime jello

1/4 cup boiling water

2  lime yogurts (light)

1  8 ounce frozen whipped topping--thawed

1  9 inch prepared graham cracker crust

Dissolve jello in boiling water. Cool. With whisk, stir

in yogurt. Fold in topping and pour into crust.

Refrigerate at least two hours prior to serving.

**You can use cherry jello and cherry yogurt for Valentine's Day or lemon jello and lemon yogurt for Easter, etc. Like pi, options for this pie are endless!! 

An Easter Basket

Many years ago, my in-laws gave us a couple of childhood Easter baskets which had belonged to Randy and his sisters. I usually fill one with faux eggs, but decided to do something new this year. After rummaging through my stash of floral stems, I stuck some spring bulbs  in a block of florist foam and top-dressed it with a bed of Spanish moss.

I added my cute little bunny and his egg house.

Look at the style and shape of this basket.

I love using family pieces, which all have a story. While it's been a long time since this basket has held Easter treats for

Randy, I think it's nice that it is still enjoyed today! 

What family pieces are special to you?

Have a wonderful weekend!