Love is in the Air!

Love is in the air.  Snowflakes are in the forecast.

Painting the Town (okay, the house) Red

My January '13 decorating has been changing almost daily.  No joke.  For me, this is what January looks like:

• putting away Christmas decor
• incorporating Christmas gifts into the decor
• (for me) keeping out snowmen/snowflakes
• then, getting sick of "all things SNOW"
• Valentines Day approaching
• enjoying the color red

OY!  But, sometimes, the best "new decor" ends up being your Christmas gifts!

One of my favorite Christmas gifts was IS this "bottle drying rack" from World Market.  When I first saw it, I was so taken with it.  I told my hubby I really wanted it -- but I wasn't sure of size/location for our kitchen -- so I wanted to get it with the caveat that if it didn't work out, I could change my mind.  Guess what?  I LOVE IT!  It sits back in the corner of our counter space, and ends up being a fabulous piece of ever-changing artwork.  And a bonus?  A little more elbow-room for the other things in the cupboard!

This is a picture taken shortly after Christmas when we were still rockin' the Christmas mugs (and candy canes) -- but you get the idea.  [Also, that ivy is dead-and-in-the-trash -- but whatEVER.]

One of the things I love about Christmas decor is the color RED.  So, I love it when some of the reds get left out longer than the rest! -- a subtle "hat's off" to Valentines Day without going over the top.

Take this cookie jar with the red handle...  Several years ago, my hubby brought home two of these that he got... well, I don't even remember where...  It used to be filled with cookies when our kids were little -- but now... well, let's just say we try not to have cookies on-hand so often.  I love the challenge (instead) of finding pretty little collections to put inside the jar!

The second jar is packed away (I think -- or did it get broken?)  Anyway - for now, this jar is filled with these pretty cupcake liners.  I got them for cheap, cheap, cheap.  All of the pretty patterns are like eye-candy!  Sometimes I find the liners at Michael's in the dollar section, or in a clearance cart at the grocery store.  I've added some cookie and donut cutters to the mix, too.

Another Christmas gift was the sweet turquoise ceramic "berry box" from Jill.  It sits near my recipe box, and collects recipe cards that need to be refiled.

By the way, my cookie jar has a little secret... 

Check out the MARCHING BAND PEANUTS from Tom's.

I know -- some days I love them, and other days... well, they just have to face the wall!!

The cute bowl (below) and it's matching cup (at top) were also among my Christmas gifts.  They are so cheerful, and are in constant use.  I made tea for my daughter the other day using the cup, and she thought she was the QUEEN, I tell you!  (She knows it's my favorite cup!)

So that's my January kitchen decor in a (PEA)nutshell.  (A little "Tom's" humor.)

I find that (with the advent of Pinterest) my decor is ever-changing.  I've gotten braver about crafts, furniture placement, what kind of items can be used for decor -- or even how straight I have to hang my plates.

So, how about you?  What are you knee-deep in this January?  Still rockin' the snowmen?  Do you have a color for January?  A theme?  An idea?  Or does everything just go back to pre-Christmas mode?

WAIT.  Is your tree still up?

Just checking -- because, I totally know that some of you just switch out your Christmas ornaments for Valentine ornaments.  I KNOW.  I've seen all the cute Valentine trees... ON PINTEREST.

The Difference Between Men and Women

I did a post like this once called The Difference Between Boys and Girls.  And I kind of cracked myself up because I knew exACTly what I was referring to -- but obviously the reader didn't (really) until they read my ramblings.

This post is like that too.

~~~~~~~~~

The other day, my sweet hubby called from work to chat for a minute, and then asked, "What does the driveway look like?"  I knew what he was getting at, because it's a standard line.  With the blowing snow and freezing temperatures, he was wondering if our driveway was a mess.  Since he doesn't get home until it's dark and the temperatures have dropped, he sometimes asks us to clean up the driveway while the sun is shining.

Nevertheless, the question gets me every time because... unless the driveway sinks beneath the weight of my van or something... I am not looking at it.  Do you women know where I'm coming from?  The driveway is just not something that I think to "check" on a daily basis.  I can only see the end of it from my living room window if I crane my neck -- so I'm not really locked in on what my driveway looks like during the course of a day.

Why am I like this, I wonder to myself.  It could be that I grew up on a hill.  Well, I mean... our driveway was a hill. We pretty much had to keep it shoveled and clear.  It was purely self-preservation.  I mean, who wants to slip and slide down a snowy driveway into four lanes of traffic, I ask you.  (Or land on your bottom at the curb while retrieving the mail?  That would be bad.)

So, when we moved to this house, with a flat, concrete driveway, I pretty much put shoveling out of my mind completely.  I mean -- no fear of rolling out into a barely-two-lane, dead-end street, right?  So long as I can roll on in and roll on out, I'm good to go.

I'm pretty sure that most women don't have the genetic coding that causes them think about what condition their driveway is in -- except perhaps my mom, who still lives at the hilly driveway house.

But my hubby... being a man... thinks about these things.  I think he likes the challenge of keeping the driveway down to the bare pavement all winter.  (And, of course, that is safer for everyone.)

Me?  I could just roll over it a few times with my van tires, and it'd be all nice and flat.  Of course, I might have to shovel a ramp DOWN into my garage by the end of the season -- yeah, that must be it.  My hubby doesn't want me to have to do that!

Ohhhhhhh.....Kayyyyyyyyy, so I'll go out and check the driveway, Babe.  I know the "make hay while the sun shines" rule applies to shoveling snow and ice, too.

Have Your Cake, and Eat it TOO!

This past weekend was our double birthday bash.  Our niece's party on Saturday.  Our daughter's on Sunday.  We are partied out.

My daughter insisted on making her own cake -- chocolate and chocolate as we like to say in our family.  I made some additional chocolate and chocolate cupcakes so that we'd have a little extra.

When the party was over... there were still extras.  Lucky for our son, who arrived home from work after the partying was over.  Of course, he wanted a piece of cake, and [for whatever reason] I served him a piece in a bowl.  As I handed it to him, I had a flashback to my childhood.

Leftover chocolate and chocolate cake, served in a bowl, with milk.  The cake soaks up the milk, and each saturated bite is SO GOOD.  Of course, the idea probably started with a stale piece of cake, but seriously... you don't need to wait for the cake to get stale to try this!

Aaaah, simple childhood memories.

Try it.  You'll like it.

A Thing of Beauty is a Joy Forever!

Between my tween and college years, I attended a LOT of bridal showers at our church.  As I got older, and was more appreciative of the beautiful gifts, I noticed the trend of one gifter.  A lady, who eventually became a dear friend, gave beautiful glass dishes and bowls.  They were really special pieces that would hold a place of honor in your home.

As the gifts were passed around the room for viewing, I secretly wished that when(ever) it was "my turn," she would gift me in the same manor.  I'm not sure if that sounds extremely selfish -- or extremely appreciative of the potential gift.  I guess that, as a young adult, I longed to have such pretty things -- and a place to call my own.

Imagine my delight when, at my bridal shower, that same friend gifted me with this beautiful pink, cut-glass bowl. It sort of took my breath away, it delighted me so.  The bowl has been here and there and everywhere around our house.  At times, it's been tucked away, on a decorating hiatus, if you will.  Through the years, various things have filled it.  Always it's beauty amazes me.

My friend passed away last month, which of course makes this bowl even more precious to me.  It's been tucked away for a little while now, and yesterday, I pulled it off the shelf where I had stored it, and placed it back on the table where I can see it every day... a memento of friendship.