Gifts for the New Year

I wanted to start out the first White Wednesday post of the New year by sharing some goodies that I won a month or two ago in blog giveaways. I won this dreamcatcher from Ozma of Odds. I hung it beside my bed on the closet curtain rod. {Yes I have curtains instead of doors on my closet} When we moved into this house in 1982 it had no doors and still has none. That is progress huh? lol. Hubby wants to move our bedroom upstairs and gut this room and start over, but I just don't know if I have it in me to start this project. Sounds like a lot of work to me.  :)

Don't you think it goes well with my DREAM glitter banner that hangs on a large mirror over our bed?

Rosemary added many little details to this beauty.  Much prettier than any dream catcher that I have ever seen.

Feathers, lace, ribbon, wire, beads...wonderful.

I have shown this lavender sachet before, but just had to include it because I still love it!

D.R.E.A.M.E.R.

Thank you so much Rosemary!! You do beautiful work and I am blessed to own a few pieces.

I also won this cute white stepstool from Circle Creek Home. They make three different styles and this is the one I chose. Are you surprised that I wanted it in WHITE? :)

I still have not removed the tags that were tied on it when it arrived. My granddaughter Annika used the stool a few days ago so she could get up to the sink in the bathroom to wash her hands.  It is going to be very useful. Thank you Circle Creek Home!

Joining up with Kathleen today for the first White Wednesday of the New Year!! Can't wait to see what this year has in store. I just listened to the author of One Thousand Gifts on our christian radio station...I want to work on a gratitude journal this year...how about you? What plans do you have?

{curtains are actually Simply Shabby Chic shower curtains from Target in gray and white...love them! Sorry the photos aren't brighter. The lighting here is not good at all in the winter. I should have lightened them up for you}

Happy New Year...2012!

via pinterest


Wishing all my bloggy friends a wonderful New Year...2012!



A New Year blessing:
I hope the kindness you've given to others returns many times to you.


Tick Tock

I’m writing this in a state of shock,
Watching the clock—tick tock, tick tock,
Advancing, approaching, relentlessly,
A brand new year; Oh, can it be?

The calendar says the same thing, too;
Time races, vanishes for me; Boo hoo!
No, wait! If time flies, I’m having fun!
A year of fun! It’s gone! It’s done!


I now embrace the blur of time,
Because it simply means that I’m
Too busy with pleasure, joy, delight
To mourn the passing days’ swift flight.


So I’m wishing you fast, happy days,
Pleasuring you in myriad ways,
Filled with happiness and cheer,
Oh Happy, Happy Bright New Year!
-By Joanna Fuchs

xoxo,
Sandi

Yummy treats and year end random shots

Have you ever had these pretzel bites? Oh my goodness...they are SO addicting!! My body has inhaled more sweets in the last week than it has for several months. I must get back to being good when this weekend is over!
In case you are interested here is the recipe:

Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites


1 cup creamy peanut butter

2 tablespoon softened butter

2/3 cup powdered sugar

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Pretzels

Chocolate candy coating {I used white chocolate}

Beat peanut butter and butter together until smooth. Beat in sugars and vanilla extract until moldable.

Use a small melon baller to scoop portions of mixture, sandwich between 2 pretzels. Place on cookie sheet & freeze for

half an hour. Dip in chocolate, let set, and enjoy! Store extras in refrigerator.

{I also had a tad of the melted chocolate left so I drizzled it over them at the end}

{I made this french toast for Christmas morning breakfast...Delicous!}

Blueberry Stuffed French Toast

1 loaf french bread, unsliced

1 {8 ounce} package cream cheese, cubed

1-2 cups fresh blueberries

8 eggs

2 and 1/2 cups milk, light cream, or half and half {I used 2% milk}

6 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon vanilla

Cut french bread loaf into cubes. (you should have about 12 cups of bread cubes)

Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Place 1/2 the cubes in the baking dish. Top with cream cheese cubes and blueberries. Then top with remaining bread cubes.

In large mixing bowl, using a wire whisk , mix together eggs, milk, melted butter, cinnamon and vanilla until well combined. Pour evenly over bread cubes . Using a spatula, lightly press down to moisten.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2-24 hours. {I did it overnight}
Preheat oven to 325 degrees and remove plastic wrap from baking dish.  Bake for 35-40 minutes until center is set and edges are slightly golden. Let stand about 10 minutes before serving. Serve with maple syrup. {this is sooooo good} Enjoy!

I purchased this bird piece for my mother for Christmas and wanted to show it to you. It is such a pretty piece all covered in sparkles! My mom is crazy about birds and she loved it!

The top of my antique buffet in the dining room.

I added the words to this old door the day we were out of power for 13 hours. I was bored and had wanted to do this for a long time, so I finally did. One slight problem...the word ALWAYS is very sticky.  The black letters are just fine, but not the *Always*. What to do? Glitter?? Any ideas? Maybe that is why it was on clearance? hee hee

I also found out that it is not good to put adhesive letters on this kind of board with grooves in it. It was very tedious to get the letters to stick.You can also see the spots above the words, "rejoice in the Lord" where the masking tape took off some of the paint. Definitely not perfect, but live and learn I say! :)

This is how I packaged up some of my goodies to send in the mail this year. Took this angel graphic from The Graphics Fairy and lightened it up a lot and used it for an address label. I think they look much better than a computer printed label. One drawback...I actually had to take them to the post office to mail , but that is okay.


Lots of random photos, but wanted to share it anyways. Do you have big plans for the weekend? We will spend some time with our youngest son and maybe buy a new computer stand and put it together...and REST! lol
Happy New Year ...2012!!


Blessings~
Sandi





Jeanne d' Arc gift and pretty packages

I can't believe that White Wednesday is here again already. Christmas is over for another year and we can all relax a bit I hope.  I didn't get any photos taken specifically for this post so I thought I would share a few that I took a few days ago.
Remember my handstamped giftwrap post....these are some packages all wrapped and ready for gift giving. Love how it turned out and how it looks. I will do this again.



{Not really happy with the composition of this photo at all, but I can't retake it because all of these packages have flew out of my house and into other homes}



Santa obviously thought that I had been a VERY good girl this past year because he brought me a genuine Jeanne d' Arc Living travel bag. I was sooooooo excited!!! {hee hee} Actually I found in online and it was on sale or clearance and it was the very last one so Santa came to the rescue! :)

Isn't it a beauty?

Love the document print on it!!

It looks right at home hanging on my ladder for now. I do hope that you had a wonderful Christmas and that it wasn't too stressful on any of you because I know it can be. We had a fun time at my parents last night and now the festivities are all over , but we had a delightful time.

I wrapped my dads gift in brown kraft paper and stamped "you've been naughty" all over it and added a bag of  *coal* and a *naughty hat*. He just laughed and laughed when he saw it. I will have to do a blog post on that one of these days. He is such a good sport!! Story behind that is that I called my mom on Saturday to let her know that we picked up a coffee maker for dad and as soon as I told her she said, "He is listening"...and then I heard my dad just howling laughing!! Little stinker!! He "claims" that he said hello, but this gal never heard one thing. tee hee...love that man so much and I am so thankful for him!!

Praying you all have a wonderful New Year ahead...2012!!

A holiday lunch

Are all your gifts unwrapped and all the piles of wrapping paper put in the trash or burn pile by now?  We have one more Christmas with my parents this week and  * poof * another Christmas will be history.  Seems like they fly by so fast anymore.  I must have been a really good girl this year though because I received some lovely goodies, but I will share more about those another day.


Last Thursday I took the time to have my bff over for lunch and I am so glad that I did. We used to get together a lot to craft, eat or shop {maybe even all three at once}, but it seems that we just don't find as much time these days for US.  This particular day we had a wonderful time talking, laughing , eating and solving the worlds problems. LOL

White chocolate snack mix that I make every year at Christmastime.

Apparantly I took this photo before I put the water in the glasses. oops!
I  used some fake pine garland that I had cut into smaller pieces and attached to the bottom of the goblets. No time to run out and get real greenery.

Script placemats topped with lace placemats

I even added several little paper stars that I had made a few weeks ago

The best turkey salad sandwiches that you will ever have. 
{source Pettisville Meats}

A few different kinds of cookies are always nice to have on hand and they were a yummy treat.

Rosemary Olive Oil potato chips...sooooo good!

Good ole H20 with lemon and lime slices. Too late I realized that I should have had a cranberry or two to add to the glasses, but I didn't have any on hand. It would have been a nice pop of color.

 I actually used paper napkins this time around. {hee hee} I will say looking at the photos now they do look a bit colorless, but there was also a bowl of pasta salad that had red tomatoes and green peppers in it so we did have a little color.  It was a fun day and it went by way too fast , but I hope we can do it again soon!

Wishing you all a wonderful week ahead as we prepare to ring in the New Year!
*2012*