Thursday, February 10, 2011

NEW DISHES

My Hubby.  
That man's a shopper!


He came home from work yesterday with new dishes.  
New everyday dishes.   

  
There was really nothing wrong with the old ones.  Oh, I'd been saying for a couple years  or more I'd like new ones, but it wasn't a priority.  The old ones, I bought at WalMart years ago.  They were fine, and the price was right for everyday plates, but they were bulky, heavy stoneware.  


I just never really looked into to buying new everyday dishes because, as I said, it wasn't a priority, and the money spent on new dishes could always be used elsewhere.  
You know what I mean?

Good ole Hubby!  


While he was out shopping during his lunch break yesterday,
he stumbled upon a great deal.
At this point in the story, one might have to ask 
"why's a dude cruising the housewares section of a department store?" :o)
This line of Pfaltzgraff dishes were on sale from $40 to $15 for a 16 piece place setting for four.
It was a bargain he couldn't pass up.  
He bought three sets!  


Did I mention he's a shopper?
Good thing, because I hate shopping.  
Really, I do.

He does the majority of the Christmas shopping.  He always shopped for most of the boys' clothes as they were growing up.  Of course he shops for all his own clothes . . . heck, he even comes home with clothes for me sometimes!  Pretty much the only things I shop for are groceries and "little pretties" for the home, oh and crafty stuff for me!  


Thanks to Hubby and his frugal shopiness, now I have pretty, new everyday plates and Son No. 2 has new dishes for his apartment! 


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Wednesday, February 9, 2011

GREEK STYLE BAGEL BREAKFAST




Lightly toast a bagel.  


Top with Feta cheese and diced tomato.


Place under the broiler for a few minutes.


Drizzle with extra virgin olive and balsamic vinegar, along with a sprinkling of kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.


Mmmmmm . . . yummy!

Son No. 3 prepared this for breakfast one morning.  
It was delish!


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Monday, February 7, 2011

LOVE SHOTS

From around my home.


Yep.  


It would appear that Cupid paid a visit to our place, 
and might have overstayed his welcome! 


I know.  
Some may think too much V'day decor can be a little tacky.  
And maybe they're right. 


But I think decorating for
Valentine's Day 
is cute and kitschy. 



And because RED is my most favorite color of all, it makes me happy to see snippets of yummy red here and there around the house.   





 So, for the next week, we'll be surrounded by the symbols and the colors of
l.o.v.e



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Friday, February 4, 2011

SNAP! BACK TO REALITY


Back from Lititz.  
Little late checking.  Kinda took an unscheduled little blogging break 
~ from posting and reading.

Last weekend was fantastic. As always!  It's amazing how fast the time goes when you're hanging out with good friends.   It's sad when the weekend's over.  And, of course, I didn't take near as many photos as I should have.  Like I've mentioned before, sometimes I'm just not in the mood to fuss with the camera.

Although this weekend started out years ago as a scrapbooking retreat weekend, it's evolved into more of just a girl's weekend of getting away ~ relaxing and hanging out.  This year, four of us scrapbooked, one started a pre-fabed album for her first grandbaby that's on the way :o), and four others hung out . . . read . . . played card games . . . . just relaxed.  We arranged for a massage therapist to come in, and she spent a day and half giving us all massages.  That's almost the highlight of the weekend for me! 
That, and the food.  
Oh my!  


Because where we stay is a B&B, it's no surprise the breakfasts are amazing.  Well, all the meals they prepare for us are just delicious, but breakfast is extra special.  


Debbie and Werner ~ pronounced Verner because he is Swiss ~ the innkeepers, are wonderful.  They treat us almost like family when we're there.  Every year we're greeted with hugs and smiles.  Their hospitality is amazing.   


They make us feel like guests in their home not just patrons of their business. 


They completely transform the inn's great/common room into a place for us to scrapbook and hangout by moving furniture and setting up tables to work.  This year, Werner placed a huge chimnea on the back patio where we could take breaks from inside, and sit outside in the crisp winter air and enjoy the warm fire and scenery.  


Between the inside fireplace and the chimnea, I bet we went through 10 cords of wood over the weekend!  


Funny thing, too, is the last 2 or 3 years we've gone, it's either snowed the day we were to check in, or it snowed while we were there 
{This year, it snowed the day before and of check in, and it snowed two days while we were there!}.  


So, Debbie and Werner joke that we bring them snow when we come!  This year, we not only brought snow, but a new kitty.  


This sweet, friendly stray literally showed up the day we arrived and were unloading our bags.  We thought she was a new kitty, but Debbie said she'd never seen her before.  That kitty seemed right at home at the Inn.  Debbie jokingly said if she stays, she was going to name her "Scrappy" in our honor!


I just can't go on enough what a great weekend this is.  To have the opportunity to get away with good girlfriends and hangout together relaxing, being silly, engaging in serious girl talk or not so serious! hehe . . . it's the best.  Not having a care in the world for almost four days, and lounging around in jammies ~ and no make-up and braless! hehe ~ all weekend, 
it's a good thing ;o) !!!!

Chocolate after dinner shots.
A little strong?!
A breakfast cocktail in a gifted heart flute.
Since this weekend started out as a scrapbooking weekend, I felt it only fitting that to honor it's origins.   I put together a couple projects for the non-scrappers and scrappers.  {detailed pics of the projects are below}.  

Ann Marie, Pam, Beth and Tracy putting their mini albums together.

We all put together a min-photo album for pics of our weekend.  I pre-cut and partially assembled some of the pages and components ahead.  The girls pretty much just had to slap some adhesive on the pieces and put the pages together.  


We also created some Valentine's Day cards using Making Memories Love Struck card pad.  The "cards" were already pre-cut and scored, we just had to add some embellishments and bling.

Even though it's supposed to be a "rejuvenating" weekend, I've had a hard time getting back into the swing of things this week.  I've been dragging big time.  Maybe it's my age. Can't handle a whole weekend of partying and carrying on LOL!!!  Not only has it taken me this long to post about our great weekend, I haven't even checked in on any of my favorite blogs. Just haven't been in a computer mood.  Been jumping on quickly to check emails, pay a few bills, and that's it!

So, it's been back to reality for me this week . . . 
working, housecleaning, laundry, meals, etc.   
Almost can't believe the weekend's come and gone.  Now we have a whole 11 months to look forward to next year!


The mini album is created using page protectors for a 6x6 album.  This is a great way to create a little gift album in a hurry.  And it's cost effective in terms of using materials.  You can get 4 pages out of one piece of 12x12 cardstock!


  










The unattractive holes of the page protectors are covered with a "binding"
made from patterned paper and ribbon.


The cards were even easier and faster to put together using the pre-printed cards from the card pad below.











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