Happy Valentines Day

May your love be full and never forced.

My little Nancy Drew

I took these photos at school yesterday after the Valentine party. I just love them. She just looks so bookish and that is always a good thing.

Valentines stuff

I have been quite the busy beaver of late with all the Valentines madness. I came to realize a few things - 1). I may have overstretched myself and 2). I live in a place where imagination and creativity is not in abundance. In fact, it appears I live in a creative desert. Not much fun for me. Oh well. I had so much fun looking around blogland and seeing all the creativity oozing from so many talented people so i have decided to simply take up residence here!

Both my children had parties at school and I enjoyed putting together little valentine gifts for their classmates. The photos above are from my daughters party. I made cupcakes and cookies and a fun time was had by all.

Oh Domino

So you decided to give one final twist of the knife huh? Knowing I have yet to reconcile myself with your demise, you send me your final issue today and boy did you make it sting! I have not even opened the magazine itself yet but I saw the cover and that was enough for me. You placed a woman I have adored since my teen years. The woman I always wanted to be when I grew up. The woman who made me want to be French and have that effortless chic that all Frenchwoman seem to have. Oh Ines, I have missed you. In all my travels and trans-Atlantic moves, you have always been my number one go to style icon! And now here you are, giving a final farewell to a magazine that is beloved to so many. Merci beaucoup!

Martha again

I stopped at Macy's last night and was confronted with all kinds of lovely new Springtime Martha products. Lot's of butterflies and happy colors. I purchased a few packages of the beautiful cupcake boxes and cupcake liners but it was this plate that made me swoon. Like I need another cake stand!! It says it is a limited edition 2009 cake plate and has Marthas signature on the underside. I don't know about all that, I just know it was screaming BUY ME. It was also on sale for $20 so good thing all around!

Self Frosting Nutella Cupcakes

What is not to love in that title? I thought I would give this recipe a try. I was at Costco yesterday and they sell vats of nutella in two vat packs! So I need something other than nutella crepes to play with! Enter this recipe from the Baking Bites Blog It was a very simple recipe that came together in no time at all. Everyone who tried them, loved them. A make again recipe for sure. Please to enjoy.

Snippet & Ink

I have a new favorite board to add to my collection. The board Kathryn added today made me just happy. Oh those peonies, oh those gable boxes, oh those, well, everything! Love it. It is on my top 3 list.

Image from Snippet and Ink

Barnes & Noble update

Yeah,it sucked! Stupid Kitsap county and it's insular community! Grrrr. On a related note, can someone tell me why Sandra Lee gets a magazine when all my faves are folding? Anyone? Anyone?

Barnes and Noble

I have a real love hate relationship with my local Barnes and Noble. I guess the demographic where I live dictates the complete lack of any foreign language magazines. I will find an occasional French magazine but they are few and far between. They do have some old British magazines occasionally, but the majority of the shelves are stocked with crosspoint or needlepoint or whatever it is called. Not really my bag! No matter what past experience has told me, I do still get excited when I go into the store. Will today be the day they have something worthwhile? Perhaps a Donna Hay magazine? I think I will take myself there right now and see what happens.

POSH Chicago

I could spend hours trawling around on this site, and a trip to Chicago would most definitely include a trip here. I try to stay away from the silverware section as it could be awful for my wallet! A few things I like on this cyber trip -


A French ABC book


Cafe au Lait bowls


Cherries Apron

I could spend hours trawling around on this site, and a trip to Chicago would most definitely include a trip here. A few things I like on this cyber trip - I try to stay away from the silverware as it would be a BAD thing for the wallet.

All items available at POSH Chicago

Misty Morning Walk

It was a cold and misty morning this week when I took my dog Maddux for a walk around the lake. Made for some cool photo ops!

Daffodils

My favorite flowers are daffodils and peonies. The peony is a favorite because it is big and beautiful and can add drama or romance or simple grace to a room but the daffodil is a simple flower. It is the flower of my homeland and to see a sea of yellow flowers blowing gently in the wind, always makes me happy. The yellow cannot help but cheer you up. Today I was at my local favorite store and there was a bucket of daffodils just waiting for me to purchase them. Perhaps Spring is not that far away after all.

Mini Boden wish list

Some items I spied for Alexandra! I love Boden because their clothes last and last. I am also ready to put some lighter clothes on my little girl.






All Items available here

My Nigella Chicken

This has become a staple in our house - Nigella Lawsons Buttermilk roast Chicken. My son loves it and often requests it. I love that I throw all the ingredients in a bag the night before and time and buttermilk does the rest. Dinner then involves me throwing the chicken in the oven for 40 minutes and making a salad or potatoes or both!

Recipe available here

A classic Martha Valentine

I made these last year and will be melting crayons again here pretty soon. A very simple craft but one that has much impact. My daughter loves to see them hanging in the window and I love to see my daughter happy. So voila

Image and details here