Is Spring Really in the Air?

Although spring does not officially arrive for a few more weeks, I am weary of winter and ready to prepare for the new season! Our Monday was sunny and mild. The snow is all erased, the days are lengthening and the birds are singing---so it seemed the perfect time to prepare the front porch. 

I don't know about you, but I am looking forward to the beautiful springtime flowers! 

Is spring really in the air or is it just a tease?

National Chocolate Covered Peanut Day!

When I recently read that National Chocolate Covered Peanut Day would fall today, I thought it might be appropriate to rerun a recipe that originally appeared on the blog a few years ago after my hair stylist shared it with me. Many people make these chocolate covered peanut clusters and personalize them. I have not had occasion to make them for a very long time, but they are tasty!

Crockpot Chocolates

1 jar (16 ounces) unsalted peanuts

1 jar (16 ounces) salted peanuts

white almond bark (12 ounces)

chocolate almond bark (12 ounces)

1 (4 oz.) bar of German chocolate

1 bag milk chocolate chips

Layer ingredients, as listed, in your crockpot. Cook on low for 3 hours. Turn off and allow it to sit for 30 minutes without lifting lid until time has passed. Stir everything very well. Spoon out on wax paper spread on cookie sheets, making small clusters. Allow to completely cool.

*Since crockpot thermostats vary, look through your lid periodically to make sure the ingredients aren't burning around the edges. Avoid lifting the lid, though. I never have had an issue.

*The directions on my recipe state that it makes around 100 candies. I made a half-batch and that was plenty when I took them to gatherings.

*You can also tweak your ingredients to your liking. My friend, for example, used a blend of peanuts, chopped cashews, chopped walnuts, chopped pecans and sliced almonds in addition to raisins for a tasty result! She also substituted dark chocolate for the German.

*Surplus candies may be frozen for future use.

Have a happy Friday and a blessed weekend! 

"Twos-day" Tablescape

Happy Twos-day to you on this fine twenty-second day of the second month in the year of '22.  Forward or backward, 2-22-22 is a great palindrome! 😉 In honor of this unique date, I have set a table for two using Noah's Ark as the centerpiece.

As you know, there were two of each animal on Noah's Ark.

Noah looks a little tuckered-out after caring for all of them!

Do you see the two ears on the far right, upper corner? Someone decided to photobomb as I took this picture!

Then her sister said that she also wanted to be included in two-day's post!

I hope you had a good 2-22-22!

Happy Valentine's Day!

We wish you a happy and blessed day!

💗💗

Cinnamon Hearts

I have a little heart idea that you could make for Valentine's Day. It is quick and simple and you just need a tube of cinnamon rolls. 

Carefully unwind each cinnamon roll, leaving just the very end coil intact. Twirl the opposite (now straightened) end to match the original side so that you have coils on each end. Form into a heart shape and gently pinch the "point". To show the scale, five of the eight will fit in an 8-inch round pan with the points to the center. You can bake all of them on a cookie sheet together, of course. Use the frosting that comes in the tube to embellish the cinnamon hearts after they come out of the oven. When I made these a few years ago, I also sprinkled a bit of red sugar over the frosting to make them more festive.

What could be better than warm cinnamon hearts on a chilly morning? 💗

Tuesday Tablescape

After our recent snowstorm, this penguin tablescape seems appropriate...even if the snow is quickly melting with our high of 60 degrees this afternoon! 

A friend made me the centerpiece placemat several years ago. I love the whimsical penguins she created on her sophisticated sewing machine!

The penguin salt and pepper shakers were a gift from a student many years ago and I still love using them each winter. Faux snow-covered branches can grace our table until early March when we all will be dreaming of spring!

I hope you have a cool evening! 🐧

The TALE Behind a Sweet Treasure

I think family pieces are such treasures! They represent sweet memories and have a story to tell...or in this case, a tale to tell.

This vanity valet belonged to my dad. Designed to store a man's personal belongings for easy access, notice the large opening suitable for holding a billfold and maybe a comb. The small cup is perfect for pocket change and a ring can slide over the dachshund's long tail. Now classified as vintage, it's from the early 60s and was a gift to my dad. It was always in use on our bathroom vanity in our Indianapolis home when my sister and I were very small. In fact, I remember that he would pick us up and allow us to sit on the long countertop to chat as we watched him shave before leaving for work in the morning. 

My mother and I were recently discussing the possibility of repurposing this treasure. She asked my sister if she would be interested in taking it to her own home because she loves all things dog related and I offered to convert one of the openings to a planter for her. During our recent snowstorm, my mother and I spent a little time putting together the project (she spent the snow days with us). The larger opening is just the right size for three faux succulents and then we top-dressed it with Spanish moss.

My sister is excited about getting this sweet treasure with its special  tale behind it! 

A Change of Scenery

Raise your hand if you are shoveling out from a three-day snowstorm. It's been a while since we have had such substantial winter weather in our region and we are left with a beautiful change of scenery. Within just a few hours of freezing rain turning to snow, our southern magnolia was already dusted. I find the white and glossy hunter green combination to be very striking.

The first few days of this weather event were dreary and gray, leaving these views out the windows. We have icicles hanging down at the top of the solarium windows and...

snow piling up at the bottom of one of the kitchen windows.

After the gray days, the bright sun was such a welcome sight this morning!

Trees, completely encased in ice, sparkled in the sunshine. Unfortunately, the picture doesn't do justice to the sight.

After my husband gently removed this 30 inch bumpy icicle from the corner of the solarium, he poked it in a snow drift. Doesn't it look like a buried narwhal?! 

Despite the  inviting look, the temperatures remained cold.

Notice the neighbor's path lights shining through the snow at the end of the day. The three-day snowstorm is over now and soon it will all melt away, but until then we will enjoy our change of scenery.

Valentine Vignettes

Today's snow day was the perfect time to put out a few Valentine vignettes!

Our little antique marble-top chest (a family piece) in the kitchen has a simple grouping including a little piece I stitched last year, a Valentine box and a "Sweetest Heart" Mary Engelbreit teacup filled with red paper shreds. I pulled out a white antique doily (which also happens to be a family heirloom) to tie together the trio.

I also wanted to add a touch of "hearts" to the great room and so I used our antique Bible table for another vignette. It was a birthday gift from my husband nearly twenty years ago and was something we had spotted in a little shop one day.

I've had this beautiful Victorian book for years and enjoy displaying it this time of year.

The Valentine cutout is precious to me as my dad made it years ago. Isn't it sweet?

Do you have any special Valentine pieces 

which are dear to your heart?