A peek in our home in The Sweetest Month

celebrate the good in life.
the innocent stuff.
the wholesome.
the warm fuzzies of forever love.

Happy Valentine's 2011.

Breakfast for two! Whole wheat pancakes with homemade blueberry buttermilk syrup provides just enough sweetness to start the day.


For the syrup I quickly combined butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, buttermilk, and vanilla and cooked on the stovetop. You can add cooked blueberries to it as well!



It's all about taking 10 seconds to add details to the little things. Fruit is beautiful! Serving fruit in a pretty dish instead of just opening the plastic lid is a super fast way to make something super special.

Some for him, some for her.

Xs and Os dusted on with powdered sugar.

Mmm

Just little hints of the month of hearts around the house....

I'm still really into lavender colors to celebrate Valentine's Day!

Calendar love...

Our family chalkboard.
Remember passing this message?

The playful heart my Mom crocheted...

Festive food, a little bit of decor, and of course some projects with the boys!


...because a little bird told me that they won't stay this way forever. So I'm breathing in every single excited laugh, every tiny little jump as they create something new, and every wide smile as each new holiday approaches.

Cameron's woven heart pocket

Love is an overused word and that's a good thing! Squeeze the loves in your life. Use Valentine's Day to add some sweetness to this winter month.

More Valentine Fun:

3 Sweet February Treats

Love Lessons and a lunch of Hearts

What things do YOU lightly love?

This post is linked to: LambAround, DIY Showoff, DIY Living, Seasonal Sundays, It's so Very Cheri, Strut Your Stuff at Saturday Mornings, Making the World Cuter, Motivate Me Mondays, Market Yourself Mondays, Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy, Tuesdays at the Table, Topsy Turvy Tuesday, Tuesdays Unwrapped, Get Your Craft On, We're Organized Wednesday, Outdoor Wednesday, Works for Me Wednesday, Show and Tell, Whatever Goes Wednesday, Transformation Thursday, Tablescape Thursday, Show off Your Stuff, Strut Your Stuff, Friday Favorites, Show and Share Day, Foodie Friday, I'm Lovin It, Funky Junk Interiors, Fabulous Friday Finds, Tickled Pink*, Be Different Act Normal, Weekend Wrap Up

Pretty Please and Thank You!

A little vote for me, a little virtual hug for you. My Insanity is having a party contest (and yes, by the way, she does have an INSANE amount of amazing ideas on her site!!).

The 2 judges that narrowed it down to the top 15 are some of my favorite inspirational Party Girls: Chris, of Celebrations at Home and Kim of TomKat Studio! I dearly loved these girls even before they picked my Boy's Campout Party as a finalist... ;) They are full of incredible inspiration every single day. Their ideas are smart, current, unique, and breathtaking.

Remember this campout party I did for Dakotah last summer? It's the party of mine that is a finalist.

This is exciting stuff in my little world.

You know it.

The rest of the party contest fate is up to YOU. The winners will be determined by votes. So, here's my BIG Q {with a cherry on top}.


Will you click this link to My Insanity and vote for my Boy's Campout party? The voting poll is on the right sidebar of My Insanity's website.

Thank you EVER SO MUCH.

A big X and an O,

Mashed Potato Martini Bar: Mashtinis!

bunco night. girls night. game night. family night. book club night.
any night.


A mashed potato bar is a super fun idea for a dinner gathering! I hosted our monthly bunco night at my home sweet home this week. It's a break from the normal daily tasks for 12 girls to enjoy some easy fun. I wanted to serve soup and potatoes because it would be seasonally appropriate for this January winter month. And then my dear friend told me about an aMAZing idea...

a Mashed Potato Martini Bar...Mashtinis.
The meal was served buffet style with a martini glass in place of a plate.

And everything was plastic, because we like it that way...



A Mashed Potato Bar allows for virtually NO cooking! It's just a lot of cutting, dicing, and opening cans. {wink} However, I did get a little carried away and served 26 toppings because I was too excited (as usual) and couldn't narrow down my topping choices...

Our Mashed Potato Bar Toppings:

gravy
bacon
cheddar cheese
sour cream
butter
cubed ham
chili
popcorn chicken
steamed broccoli
mushrooms
shredded carrots
tomatoes
sweet peas
green onions
homemade cheese sauce
olives
sun dried tomatoes
basil pesto sauce
feta cheese
artichoke hearts
parmesan cheese
salsa
orange peppers
corn
tortilla strips
pepper jack cheese


I divided the toppings into stations by type:
Classic Loaded and Meat Area

Mexican Area

Mediterranean and Italian Area

Healthy and Veggie Area

And because I was loving this so much, I pretended I was a restaurant and I made a few creations to give the guests ideas on their mashtinis.

This is the Classic Loaded Meat Mashtini: popcorn chicken, diced ham, bacon, butter, cheddar cheese, sour cream, chives


The Garden Veggie with Cheese Sauce Mashtini: steamed broccoli, mushrooms, carrots, sweet peas, tomatoes, onions, cheese sauce

The Spanish Style Mashtini: salsa, orange peppers, corn, pepperjack cheese, sour cream, tortilla strips
And the Mediterranean/Italian Mix Mashtini: olives, sun dried tomatoes, feta cheese, artichoke hearts, basil pesto



For those guests on January diets, I prepared this to-die-for, virtually calorie free soup that is a genius creation from my Uncle Rick. He is a natural in the kitchen and knows what to mix and how much. I wish he lived closer so I could sample his cooking more. I was fortunate to taste his soup and also was able to snag his recipe for it. :) It's an Italian Turkey Meatball with Veggies Soup, with a broth base. It has brussel sprouts, parsnips, cabbage, and more.

If I ever do a diet, this is what I will be making...


Izzes! My second favorite consumable liquid after coke.


For dessert I was happy to find these itty bitty martini glasses at Pier 1. They are just adorable. I made fresh fruit parfaitinis. I like these nerdy names by the way.

These were made with cubed angel food cake and chocolate angel food cake, fresh whipped heavy cream, a mini scoop of vanilla ice cream, and berries in sugar sauce. Again, this is a no cooking for the non homemaker girls out there...



To make the table bunco festive, I used colored dishes and napkins and lots of dice to decorate.


Even the candle holders look like giant martini glasses!



I also used our prize money as table decor and baby dice in the bottom of the candle holders. The giant dice are bookends from Pottery Barn.


And a couple of our cute bunco girls...

Girl talk, carbs, pretty things, cash, yummy treats...bunco nights are good nights.

What are your top shelf ideas for menus when you're hostessing?

This post is linked to: It's a Blog Party, LambAround, DIY Showoff, DIY Living, Seasonal Sundays, It's so Very Cheri, Strut Your Stuff at Saturday Mornings, Making the World Cuter, Motivate Me Mondays, Market Yourself Mondays, Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy, Tuesdays at the Table, Topsy Turvy Tuesday, Tuesdays Unwrapped, Get Your Craft On, We're Organized Wednesday, Outdoor Wednesday, Works for Me Wednesday, Show and Tell, Whatever Goes Wednesday, Transformation Thursday, Tablescape Thursday, Show off Your Stuff, Strut Your Stuff, Friday Favorites, Show and Share Day, Foodie Friday, I'm Lovin It, Funky Junk Interiors, Fabulous Friday Finds, Tickled Pink*, Be Different Act Normal, Weekend Wrap Up

The (Possibly) Slightly Offensive Marriage List

It's so easy to think of ourselves.
What will make us happy.
What feels good at the moment.
What we're feeling and why.
We spend so much (pathetic) time thinking about ourselves.
What a small, lonely world it is when we blind our vision from anything but our own SELF.

Soooo, stop that selfish stuff. {wink}

A marriage is a union with no room for selfishness in it.



For awhile, my husband and I have been riding in bliss, wrapped up in a total sappy, romantic, nauseating, "it's all a rose garden" stage. BUT...in the past we have had extremely trying times. During that time I put together a list
that proved to be invaluable.

I made this to share with anyone who has their heart tied to another in a forever covenant but whose life partner is driving them crazy. (A lot of this can be reversed to for the guy readers) It really works and will make you and your lover stick together better than a tongue on an icy cold pole on a winter's day.

The Rules of Loving Your Lover
Unconditionally

unedited,
holding nothing back,
possibly slightly offensive

- It's not all about you, so get over yourself and move onto bigger and more fulfilling things in this great wide world...a good start is unconditionally loving your husband.

- No, you really DON'T deserve better. "You deserve it" it chanted so liberally and it is one of my greatest pet peeves. We are all equal people. We all fail. We all have weaknesses. Why would you deserve better? What makes you more special than anyone else? We don't "deserve" anything. We are all blessed to get all the life treasures we receive. Gratitude wins.

- No, you're not better than him. Step off your self-made pedestal. If he royally messes up, still support him. There is no better person on the earth that is able to encourage and respectfully lift him back up than you, his spouse. He is your teammate. Lots of marriage lessons can be learned by watching sports. In games, the team functions as a unit, those teams on a self centered quest fail. And I'm sure you would appreciate the same unified treatment from him when you mess up.

- Brush it off. Resentment will destroy your heart. It will make a beautiful girl ugly. Don't white knuckle the hurts he has caused you. Not only does it steal your beauty but it paralyzes him from moving forward in life. Let it go and let him go. And you'll be amazed at what he can be when you remove the mean labels you've assigned him.

- Laugh life into your union. Don't take each other too seriously. Be excited that you have a forever teammate to enjoy every single life moment with!

- Have sex with him. All the time. And when you're proud of yourself for the quantity and high frequency....realize that you're just establishing a baseline and...have more. Don't be lazy. Don't be tired (that's an excuse you actually make yourself believe). And if you truly are tired, eliminate something else from your schedule so he can get the best of you. Allow yourself to love every second of it. We think it's important to feel loved, to eat daily meals, to shower....he thinks it's important to have sex. Respect that and embrace that about him. Let him be your man and be sure to always be HIS girl!

- Respect, Respect, Respect him. And it's not your right to judge whether or not he has earned respect. Respect him unconditionally just as we want to be loved unconditionally. He is YOUR man, your hero. Get excited over his skills, abilities, and strengths! And recognize the fact that as the man you respect, he will love and protect you. (yes, it's okay to need protection...you can still be a strong woman...I promise) {wink} Respect his advice, his decisions, and wisdom.

A little note for my lover:
Christopher, I love you like crazy.
You're my favorite person in this great big world.
I LOVE having a forever teammate.
It's the biggest treasure in my life.
Oh...and when I am a brat, you can remind me of this blog post.
It will probably make me more mad, but it's worth a shot...

The sunglasses make us cool. Summer 2010

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

And a SWEETER STYLE to add to my list above:

She brings him good, not harm all the days of her life. Proverbs 31:12

"She delights him with her company and conversation,

sustains him with her strength,

emboldens him with her praise,

bolsters him with her cheerfulness,

comforts him with her love,

and heartens him with her courage."

Did you catch that super important part?
It's worth repeating:


"She brings him GOOD not harm
ALL the days of her life."

I have other marriage posts: Love Birds and Pudding and Let Your Husband be a Dad

This post is linked to: Stories A2Z Winter Mantels, DIY Showoff, DIY Living, Seasonal Sundays, It's so Very Cheri, Strut Your Stuff at Saturday Mornings, Making the World Cuter, Motivate Me Mondays, Market Yourself Mondays, It's So Very Creative, Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy, Tuesdays at the Table, Topsy Turvy Tuesday, Tuesdays Unwrapped, Get Your Craft On, We're Organized Wednesday, Outdoor Wednesday, Works for Me Wednesday, Show and Tell, Whatever Goes Wednesday, Transformation Thursday, Tablescape Thursday, Show off Your Stuff, Strut Your Stuff, Friday Favorites, Show and Share Day, Foodie Friday, I'm Lovin It, Funky Junk Interiors, Fabulous Friday Finds, Tickled Pink*, Be Different Act Normal, Weekend Wrap Up