Wonderful Weekend Away ~

We had a wonderful weekend away at my daughter and her

familys home and it is a wonder I didn't gain 20 lbs.

My daughter and granddaughter made cupcakes

for my upcoming birthday and they were the

most delicious I have ever had ~

Seriously I could have eaten every last cupcake all by

myself and left everyone else without any. lol.

Homemade chocolate cupcakes with raspberry

cream filling, raspberry frosting,

fresh red raspberries and chocolate

curls on top...delish!!

Yesterday we ate at Panera Bread for lunch.

I ordered their tomato, mozzarella and basil

sandwich on ciabatta {comes with chips},

lemonade and this amazing pastry called

cobblestone ~

{cinnamon raisin bread dough mixed with chunks

of apples and spices topped with streusel

and white icing}

I will say I only ate about 1/4 of this pastry.

First of all it was huge and

second, I thought I should be nice and

share it...:)

Then to top it off , while we were there my son-in-law

made this amazing

tomato basil bread for a bake sale and we

also got to eat a couple pieces.

It is delicious! He made up his recipe. If I tried that

it would be a disaster!

Then last night for dinner, SIL also made

chicken alfredo...

it was the best I have ever had...I think

we will keep him in the family ~

{he made the noodles and the alfredo

sauce from scratch and hubby grilled the chicken}

Along with that we had bruschetta and

a green salad. So so yummy!

I don't intend to turn this into a

food blog, but just had to share.

Mandi... if you are reading this...

please send me another cupcake.

lol

Blessings~

God's Timing

Isn't it amazing how perfect God's timing is? Even when it comes to the different seasons of the year.

Just when we don't think we can stand one more day

of winter...here comes spring.

Then again comes summer, fall and winter and we

start all over again. I have thought many times that

God planned each season to be just the right length.

{remind me of that when I can't stand one more day of snow}

It also reminds me of the Bible verse

Ecclesiastes 3:1

"To everything there is a season,

and a time to every purpose under heaven.

A time to be born, and a time to die.

a time to plant and a time to reap.

a time to kill and a time to heal

a time to break down and a time to build up

a time to weep and a time to laugh

a time to mourn and a time to dance.

a time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones.

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing.

a time to get and a time to lose.

a time to keep and a time to cast away.

a time to rend and a time to sew.

a time to keep silence and a time to speak

{still learning that one}

a time to love and a time to hate.

a time of war and a time of peace."

I challenge you to think about God's perfect timing today

as you go about your day.

We have no clue how many times our lives were spared because we were "running late" and missed being in an accident or because we "ran back in the house" to get that item we forgot or when we had to "sit in traffic and wait impatiently"... {speaking to myself here} and on and on. God loves us.

He wants what is best for each of us.

and His timing in everything is always

Perfect.

Praying you have a wonderful day ~

A couple garage sale finds

Every year {when I remember. lol} I go to a fair

foundation garage sale that is only about 9 miles

from our house and this past Saturday was

the big day.

I fell in love with this glass beaded purse.

{the back is fully beaded too , but in a different pattern}

I passed it up the first time around.

{it was in a ziploc bag and marked $8.00}

The inside is immaculate and has a Ivey's tag.

The elderly lady selling

it told me she just brought it back from Florida.

I ended up paying $6.00 for it ~

I also love these salt and peppers with their silver

crown tops. Actually, I found these at an

antique store and paid $4.00 for them.

{I do have the pair, but only one made it into the picture}

I also got other goodies at the garage sale that include

a vintage necklace with bling{$3.00},

adorable postcards {50 cents}, and

a white tablecloth edged in lace {$2},

but didn't get photos taken of them yet.

Have you found any goodies lately? Praying you have a wonderful Thursday~ Blessings~

Muffins for WW Anyone?

Anyone want a recipe for some

mouthwatering , yummy muffins?

I suppose I could do that for you. lol

I am off to eat another one...

okay, okay I will share the recipe.

Maple Pumpkin Muffins

2 cups all purpose flour 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar, divided 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 eggs 1 cup canned pumpkin 3/4 cup evaporated milk 1/4 cup vegetable oil 3 tablespoons maple syrup, divided { I used pancake syrup because it is what I had on hand} 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts {i used pecans} 1 package {3 ounces} cream cheese, softened

Topping: 1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts 2 teaspoons brown sugar

In a large bowl, combine the flour, 3/4 cup brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Whisk the eggs, pumpkin, milk, oil and 1 tablespoon syrup: stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in pecans.

In a small mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, remaining brown sugar and syrup until smooth. Gently stir into batter unti mixture appears swirled. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups about three- fourths full. Combine topping ingredients; sprinkle over batter. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Yield - 1 dozen

NOTE: I just realized I never put the baking powder in mine! And I was just marveling at how pretty they looked with nice rounded muffin tops. Usually mine don't look this nice. Hmm...makes a girl wonder.

I don't think to take pictures as I was making them, but always take pictures afterwards. One of these days I might remember to do that for you.

I hope you enjoy them. I got the recipe from my mother and this was my first time making them. I had absolutely no trouble downing two of them... one right after the other! ~

Please visit Kathleen at Faded Charm for more WW posts.

Blessings~

Umbrella love ~

I love pretty umbrellas...do you?

this one was a Valentine gift

from hubby...

well kinda.

it was in the window of a store and

it was calling my name~

I thought to myself...

"this would make a great valentines day gift"

so...I purchased it and took it home.

When I showed it to hubby he said,

*happy valentines day*

{works for me...lol} ~

love this vintage black and white checked one that I own.

this one in black is a stunner too.

do you love umbrellas as much as I do? I am hoping for umbrella weather soon!

Just in case you are interested

I listed two of my pink rose bottles in my Etsy shop.

{the other three on my post are sold}

Blessings~