LOVE banner

Thought we needed a little Love around our house so I whipped up this banner out of left over fabrics and book pages.
I enjoy seeing my banner on my china cabinet which I made over last year. It's one of my favorite spots in my house right now.
~Victoria~

I heart breakfast

It's that time of year again! Love and all things hearts.

I am digging this heart shaped breakfast Christina made for her kids.

Egg in a heart shaped nest of toast and the middle toasted up with butter and cinnamon sugar.

My Sweet Girl loves things special things like this too!

Do you have any fun breakfast ideas for Valentine's Day?

~Victoria~

A Favorite Christmas Cookie

Berry sage thumbprints have become a must have on the cookie platter around our house. This is my husband's favorite Christmas cookie so I especially enjoy making them. The fresh lemon zest paired with sage, tart blackberry and the slight crunch of yellow cornmeal is delicious and refreshingly different.

Berry Sage Thumbprints

2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup yellow corn meal (not self-rising mix)
1 1/2 tsp. dried sage, crushed (mine is a powder)
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 egg yolks
2 tsp. finely shredded lemon peel
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup blackberry preserves (I use b. berry jelly because I don't like the seeds)

preheat oven to 350 degrees

combine flour, cornmeal, sage and baking powder. Set aside.

Beat butter for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar and beat until combined, scraping sides occasionally. Beat in egg yolks, lemon peel, and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much flour mixture as you can with the mixer. Stir in remaining flour.

Shape dough into 3/4 inch balls. Place 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Lightly press the tip of your thumb into the center of each ball. Fill the centers with about 1/4 tsp. of the blackberry preserves. bake about 10 minutes or until the bottoms are lightly browned. Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; cool completely. Makes about 60.
From Better Homes and Garden's December 2001


Hope you enjoy. Maybe this will become a new favorite in your family too.

Turkey Handprint Shirt

Reposted from 11-2009

A few days ago I went to Made with Love and Glue and pulled up Rachel's archives from 2008. I remembered that she made 4 of her 5 kids Turkey Hand Print shirts last year (see picture below) and wanted to make my Sweet Girl one this year. (Picture courtesy of Rachel at Made with Love and Glue)

Aren't these adorable??? Love the little one below...

I followed the link she provided to One More Moore and followed the tutorial she listed. I also googled reverse applique and came across this blog and tutorial that was very easy for me to follow.

First I turned the tshirt inside out. Then I pinned the right side of the fabric scrap to the shirt

I turned the shirt right side out, traced Sweet Girl's hand on paper, cut it out and pinned it to the front of her shirt.


I sewed around the outline of her hand print.




Yes, my turkey legs are a bit small compared to the body. :)


Being very careful, cut a slit in the t-shirt...then cut out the design.
Sew a button on...


and voila (well 30 min later) you have a Turkey Handprint Shirt!



The sick girl modeling her shirt...

Have a wonderful weekend!

~Victoria~

Yes, I'm "bats"

Bats, bats, bats.
We don't normally decorate for Halloween but recently I saw this picture on Pinterest and loved the bats on the wall. We decided to cut some out and my husband had the idea of them coming out of the fireplace.

His first idea was to have me stand against the wall and have them coming out of my ears but I wouldn't stand still long enough. ;)

Just having a little fun with my family and enjoying this beautiful Fall season!

~Victoria~

Take Heart

Sorry about the earlier unfinished post...I am using a laptop and it does things all on it's own. ;)

This morning I read the blog Take Heart and read about her adoption fundraiser. What a wonderful opportunity to support this family on their road to adoption AND have a chance to win some incredible items. Seriously, you have to see these bundles! There are FIVE so be sure to look at them all!

Go on over and check it out - hurry though, today is the last day to take part!

~Victoria~

Corn Jumble

Looking for a new summer side dish to try? This family favorite is sure to hit the spot.

Corn Jumble

24 oz. frozen whole kernal corn, thawed and drained

3/4 cup diced cucumber

1/4 cup finely diced sweet or red onion

2 small tomatoes, chopped

Dressing:

1/4 cup sour cream

2 T. mayo

1 T. apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. dry mustard

14/tsp. celery seed

a grind or two of black pepper

Combine corn, cucumber, onion and tomatoes. Mix dressing ingredients together and pour over vegetables. Taste to see if the seasonings need correction. We like extra celery seed, dry mustard and often salt. Chill for several hours or overnight. 6 servings

It's like summer in a bowl. Yum!

Christina