Mirror, Mirror on the Wall...

A few years ago a friend hooked me on ZAP cloths and I love them for my mirrors and glass. You simply wet, wring and wipe your surface without the use of any chemicals. No streaks or spots remain and I am highly satisfied! I use them all of the time.

I am also hooked on (and equally satisfied with) e-cloths since they remove 99% of all bacteria without the use of chemicals. In the past, I shared a post about this product (click here). I recently bought the glass polishing cloth from that line. I use this new cloth on the heals of the ZAP for an extra sparkly look. The ZAP does a perfect job on its own; however, the new e-cloth adds a truly polished depth of finish. Since it's tough to photograph mirrors, you'll have to take my word!

I have a cousin who uses a dry microfiber cloth to finish her mirrored and glass surfaces, which I think would achieve a similar effect. Do you have any shiny surface cleaning tricks up your sleeve?

Mirror, mirror on the wall...who has the shiniest of them all?😎

Tuesday's Tablescape

When I found that my orchid blossoms had begun opening yesterday morning, I knew I would be able to build a tablescape around them today. 

Each time my plant goes through a blooming cycle, I marvel at the beauty of the throated flowers!

A gift from the school's Parent-Teacher-Organization when I retired, the plant is very special to me.

I decided to use my maternal grandparents' china today.

After an especially busy day, it's a late tablescape and I think that means a tardy dinner, too! 

Have a wonderful evening.

Spring Lantern "Home"

As I have little pockets of time, I have been decorating for the change of season. It's feeling more like springtime and just this weekend, we noticed lengthier daylight hours. It's such a pleasure! I took a couple of minutes Saturday to switch my "antique" lantern.

As you can observe, the morning light prevented a good picture  on the landing, so I temporarily moved the lantern to a different spot just for photography purposes.

Let's open the door to take a closer peek...

at the little bird who is nesting beneath the fern fronds.

It's a safe spot for her to raise her babies! 😉

Faux moss stones (from the dollar store a few years ago) are nestled next to the potted fern and under the little bird and her nest. A string of battery-operated fairy lights runs beneath it all. 

Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young...

                                                                         Psalm 84:3

A "New" (Old) Picture

I always enjoy switching-up my seasonal décor from year to year.  I use the same pieces, but in different settings/groupings and it's fun to add a "new" element to the mix. For a long time, I had planned to do something with these three little Easter cards.

They're mine from childhood Sunday school days...so I think their age qualifies them as vintage! 😉 It occurred to me that they would look good framed together, so last night I dug out what I needed and went to work. I used scrapbooking paper for the background and placed the three little crosses on top.

I'm considering using this in the dining room this year. With Easter being so early, I think I can go ahead and display this soon. I enjoy using special things like this "new" (old) picture.

Have a pleasant weekend!

Poppy Seed Bread

This is a good recipe which a friend shared with me years ago. Although I don't routinely bake sweet breads, they are good offerings for morning gatherings, bake sales and for sharing with others. I recently made a recipe of this bread so that I could use a loaf of it to accompany a meal I took to someone. I froze the other two loaves for when they are needed. 

Poppy Seed Bread

3 cups flour

2 1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

 2 1/2 T poppy seeds

1 1/2 tsp. butter extract

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 tsp. almond extract

3 eggs

1 1/3 cup oil

1 1/2 cup milk

Mix all ingredients and pour into three junior loaves. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes.

Combine following ingredients and pour over bread when it comes out of the oven.

Glaze

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. butter extract

1/2 tsp. almond extract

1/4 cup orange juice

For a printable version of this recipe, click here.

What is your favorite kind of sweet bread?

We Interrupt...

We interrupt this cold, overcast winter day for a little touch of (very) early spring. I am over winter décor and even though it's not really time to switch decorations, I am going to gradually begin doing so. I had just enough time to create this vignette in the solarium as a start to the process.

It seems suitable with the pussy willow branches and bluebird print. I've used the dried stems for years and the framed art was a birthday gift from my in-laws decades ago.

I agree that the nest is a bit premature, but I needed it for the grouping. 😉 I am enjoying my wooden slab, which you may recall seeing in the past. It's from a downed tree in my parents' backyard and their neighbor sliced it for us. 

Since our area was dealing with ice this morning, I vote that we all interrupt the day to...

think springtime thoughts!! 

Tuesday's Tablescape

It's National Love Your Pet Day, so I decided to set my table accordingly.

Whether your pet has fur or fins or scaly skin, you probably consider him/her to be part of your family. I know we joke that our home is owned by our dogs and they just allow us to live here, too! In honor of all pets, I found some free printables online. I clipped out the images and attached them to the backside of clear salad plates.

My salt and pepper shakers were a Christmas gift and seemed appropriate for today's table. They look like they're ready for the paw-ty! 

Why not take this opportunity to give the special animals in your life a little extra love? It might also be a good time to support your local pet rescues and shelters to help those little darlings who don't yet have forever homes.

May you and your pets have a blessed day!

🐶🐱🐟🐦🐢🐹🐰🐍

Aloe There!

Aloe! How was your weekend? I found something during mine which I want to share with you. About this time two years ago, I discovered faux succulents at Dollar Tree. Like most good finds there, though, they disappear quickly! The miniatures come in six varieties, including aloe vera 😉, as shown below. 

I copied this picture from the actual Dollar Tree site.

I've  blogged about these plants twice in the past when I used them in little projects. Since I happened to find a shipment of this seasonal merchandise at my local store Saturday, I wanted to share the information with you. If you want to pick-up any, you will need to make your way to your store sooner than later. In addition to the potted succulents, they have picks and also these potted cacti. 

I passed on these since I felt they were less realistic looking.

Using three, I put together a little planter.

The potted succulents pull out of their base very easily so that they can be used in your own project.

I'm a 'succa' for these artificial plants and wanted to let you know about their availability in case you are, too!

Have a wonderful day!

Happy Hearts Day!

We could 'heart'-ly wait to wish you a Happy Valentine's Day!

Tuesday's Tablescape

I decided to do a simple Valentine's Day table with my "bargain" china. You can click here to read a little more about these beauties which I enjoy since they're simple and versatile. I find the combination of red and silver to be striking, so that's what I used for today's table.

Due to the glare, the pattern is not clear. You can see a close-up below.

The napkins are silver.

A few candles and faux red rose round out the centerpiece.

Have a blessed evening, everyone!

Sunflower Pie

I'm sharing this week's recipe today just in case it's something you may want to prepare as a Valentine's Day dessert. Have you ever eaten sunflower pie? We never even heard of it until we were watching State Plate. We view very little television, but this is on our (short) list of shows. If you're not familiar with it, you may want to check out the 30 minute program on Inspiration channel. It runs on Friday nights, but we record it to see at our convenience. Host Taylor Hicks visits a different state each time and creates a meal made of foods indigenous to that region. Additionally, he visits with locals as he teaches about those dishes. On Friday, he took us to North Dakota which happens to be the number one growing spot for sunflowers. Those flowers provide the main ingredient for this sweet treat, which is actually a pecan pie with smaller nuts. I came across a recipe online through Midwest Living magazine's site and I did tweak it just a bit. 

Sunflower Pie

3 eggs

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup dark corn syrup

3 T butter, melted

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup roasted, salted sunflower kernels

pie crust (I pricked mine and baked it for just a few minutes in a 350 degree oven before using)

*Beat together eggs, sugar, corn syrup, butter and vanilla in a medium bowl. 

*Spread sunflower seeds in the bottom of pie crust.

*Pour mixture over top and allow pie to sit for a few minutes before baking. You will see the sunflower seeds come to the surface.

*Bake in a 350 degree oven for 50-60 minutes. Center should be set, but will still jiggle.

*Cool and then store in refrigerator.

For a printable copy of this recipe, click here.

We really like this! A very close cousin to the pecan pie, it definitely has a nutty flavor to complement the sweet filling.

May your day be as sweet as pie and as bright as sunflowers! 🌻🌻🌻

Don't Burn Your Candle on Both Ends!

As you can tell from my "candle drawer", I rely on the flameless variety more often than the real thing. I prefer them since they're safer. I have tealights and votives in white, silver, gold and red (not shown) and I pull them out whenever they're needed.

Here is just one example of current use.

If you also use flameless candles, you know they eventually peter-out. What do you do when that happens? Pitch them? Did you know that you can simply replace the batteries and continue using them? During the holiday season, I had this conversation with some friends at a gathering and some of them were not aware of that. I recently replaced a battery in one of mine, so I decided to share in a post.

You can purchase the replacement batteries at the store or online. Even dollar stores carry them. Look for CR2032    3v. I keep them on hand in my candle drawer.

Some tealight candles unscrew into two pieces and the battery slides out (as shown below on the left), while others simply have a battery compartment (as shown in the right). Regardless, it's a very quick and uncomplicated process! Best of all, it eliminates the unnecessary disposal of these plastic candles.

Have a great weekend, but don't burn your candle on both ends! 🕯

Cinnamon Hearts

Rather than an actual recipe this week, I have a food idea to share. I can't take credit because I saw it online quite a bit ago and made a mental note to try it in February. Since I took a meal to someone a few days ago, I assembled some cinnamon hearts for their dessert. Maybe you'd like to try these cute and easy-peasy sweet treats next week for Valentine's Day. All you need is a tube of cinnamon rolls.

Carefully, unwind each roll and leave the end (formerly the center of the roll as it was when you removed it from the tube) coiled. Coil the opposite end to match in size. Form into a heart shape and gently pinch the "point". You have the ability to make them long and narrow or short and fuller (both are shown above). Five fit in an 8-inch round pan with points to the center. I used a glass pie pan for mine. Bake according to package directions. Cool and use the glaze included with the rolls. I sprinkled some red sugar on mine while the frosting was still moist. 

I placed two in a plastic bakery container to carry-in with a meal.

Aren't they clever?

Little House on the Prairie

Growing up, I was smitten with the Little House on the Prairie books. I loved imagining what life was like for the Ingalls family living as pioneers on the prairie. I think when the television series of the same title debuted in the early 70s, it really popularized Laura Ingalls Wilder. I've remained interested in Little House and through the years have accumulated a few additional, newer titles about Laura and her family to add to my series books (from childhood).

I wrote a post a few years ago about a line of Little House on the Prairie fabric, which was newly on the market at the time. You can click here to revisit that story and there is an included link to take you to the fabric site, if you're interested. It was around the time of that quilt show I attended that I subscribed to an electronic  Little House on the Prairie newsletter and was interested to read in the latest edition that today is Laura Ingalls Wilder's birthday. 🎈🎂🎉 She was born on February 7, 1867 and became a famous author. Interestingly, it was not until she was 65 that she began writing her books after her daughter, Rose, urged her to do so. The books were penned from her home here in MO in the 1930s and 40s. Her historic house and museum are located in Mansfield, MO and are open, seasonally, for visitors to tour. We were able to go many years ago and found it  thoroughly interesting! 

Did anyone else enjoy reading Little House books and, if so, who else has the urge to reread them now?! 😊

Tuesday's Tablescape

It's a whimsical Valentine's Day (or as we heard in first grade, "Balentime's Day) table!

How do you like "Cupid Bear"?

He's been around for ages. His red heart contained a floral arrangement sent to me before we were married. Randy had him delivered to school on February 13th and so I left Cupid Bear on my desk since the class Balentime's Day party was to be the following afternoon. Well, a surprise snowstorm dumped enough white stuff overnight that school was cancelled and, consequently, Cupid Bear spent the holiday alone!

For today's table, I inserted a Mary Engelbreit napkin in the heart and displayed a companion teacup (a student gift)...

Doesn't Mary Engelbreit make the sweetest cups?

and a faux piece of chocolate dessert!

Simple yellow and red plates go with the cheery Mary Engelbreit napkins.

It's a cloudy winter day with some snow expected later, so how would you like to join me for a cup of Balentime's Day tea and some dessert?!