Hippity Hoppity…Easter's On Its Way!

Did Easter sneak up on anyone else this year?  I barely got my decorations out in time to share before the holiday!  Today for Thinking Out Loud Thursday I'm sharing a tour around the house of our Easter decor.  Let's start in the family room ~

The mantle is something I love to decorate with different themes.  For Easter this year, I pulled out some spring flowers and added a bunny.

If you look close, you'll see the apothecary jar is filled with Easter eggs.

The flowers just scream spring!  After Easter, I might lose the bunny and eggs and leave everything else out for a while.

There's a bunny resting in the tray on our coffee table ~

In our guest bathroom, we have a frame on the sink.  I always try to make sure the picture inside reflects the theme of the season.

Our three-tier stand sits in the kitchen window and is a wonderful focal point for the room.  I've had so much fun decorating this area!  Here's what it looks like right now ~

What are you thinking out loud about today?  Link up and share.  I'd love to hear from you!

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Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop - March 31, 2021

 

Welcome to the Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop!  We appreciate you stopping by each week and participating in the blog hop.  Before we start our main event, let's take a look at our features from last week's party.  

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Brownie Rice Krispie Surprise

Hello Spring

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Blueberry-Almond Bars

DIY Raised Garden Bed

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Nanny's Old-Fashioned Chocolate Pie

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Weekending - March 26, 2021

Happy Monday!  This is a short week for me because we get Good Friday off, which makes me very excited!  It will be a busy work week trying to fit five days of work into four, but having a nice long three-day weekend will more than make up for it.

My Sips by box arrived late last week and it was a true winner!  I've sampled all the selections and it would be hard for me to pick a favorite because I loved them all.  You've heard me say it before but it's worth saying again - if you like tea, the Sips by boxes are a fabulous way to sample different varieties.  It's a great little gift I give myself every month.

I've got a new motto and a sticker to help me remember it.  I keep it on my desk at work and whenever I glance over and catch a glimpse of it, I smile every time.  

Saturday I lugged the Easter decorations up from the basement and did a little decorating.  I'll be sharing more on the 3-tier stand and mantle later this week, but here's a preview ~

Saturday afternoon I met with a bridal couple to go over the design of the wedding invitations.  I sat out a few snacks and loved the way these fruit kabobs turned out.  We will definitely be making these more often!  I bought the little picks from Amazon and am already dreaming of more ways to use them.

Our son and daughter-in-law came over for dinner on Saturday night, but it got cut short by the weather.  We resorted to the basement when the tornado sirens went off and they headed home between storm cells.  

Sunday was a down day.  I caught up on backlogged episodes of our favorite TV shows and cleaned out some drawers.  The big excitement for the day was booking our summer vacation.  We will be headed to Disney World for our 20th wedding anniversary!  I know some of you might be cringing because Disney's not your thing, but we absolutely love it.  Disney is where we went on our honeymoon so we thought it was appropriate to revisit on our anniversary.  The best part is our son and daughter-in-law will be there for a few days with us!  

And that's a wrap on the weekend!  Hope you have a great one and look forward to seeing you back here soon.

Five on Friday - March 26, 2021

It's Friday!  Before we head into the weekend, here's my five for this week ~

1.  Free Krispy Kreme Doughnut

Have you gotten a COVID vaccine yet?  If so, take your record card to any participating Krispy Kreme for a free doughnut.  Not just a single free doughnut, but starting Monday you can get a free doughnut every single day for the rest of the year!  Talk about a sweet deal!  Literally, a sweet deal.

2.  Francesco

Holy Week begins on Sunday and discovery+ is celebrating by streaming Francesco, a new documentary on Pope Francis.  The film features interviews with the Pope himself, plus his nephew Jose Ignacio Bergoglio, His Holiness Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, and Juan Carlos Cruz who is a victim and activist for survivors of sexual abuse.  We had an opportunity to see the Pope when we were in Italy a few years ago and I can't wait to see this show!

3.  Sunflower Sisters by Martha Hall Kelly

Martha Hall Kelly's new book, Sunflower Sisters, releases on Tuesday and I can't wait to get my hands on it!  She introduced us to Caroline Ferriday in Lilac Girls.  Sunflower Sisters is the story of Ferriday's ancestor Georgeanna Woolsey, a Union nurse during the Civil War.  Here's the summary from Amazon:

Georgeanna “Georgey” Woolsey isn’t meant for the world of lavish parties and the demure attitudes of women of her stature. So when war ignites the nation, Georgey follows her passion for nursing during a time when doctors considered women on the battlefront a bother. In proving them wrong, she and her sister Eliza venture from New York to Washington, DC, to Gettysburg and witness the unparalleled horrors of slavery as they become involved in the war effort.

In the South, Jemma is enslaved on the Peeler Plantation in Maryland, where she lives with her mother and father. Her sister, Patience, is enslaved on the plantation next door, and both live in fear of LeBaron, an abusive overseer who tracks their every move. When Jemma is sold by the cruel plantation mistress Anne-May at the same time the Union army comes through, she sees a chance to finally escape - but only by abandoning the family she loves.

Anne-May is left behind to run Peeler Plantation when her husband joins the Union army and her cherished brother enlists with the Confederates. In charge of the household, she uses the opportunity to follow her own ambitions and is drawn into a secret Southern network of spies, finally exposing herself to the fate she deserves.

Inspired by true accounts, Sunflower Sisters provides a vivid, detailed look at the Civil War experience, from the barbaric and inhumane plantations, to a war-torn New York City, to the horrors of the battlefield. It’s a sweeping story of women caught in a country on the brink of collapse, in a society grappling with nationalism and unthinkable racial cruelty, a story still so relevant today.

4.  Bailey's Colada

Summer is on its' way and Bailey's is here for us with their new colada flavor!  Their limited-edition favor is a combination of creamy coconut and sweet, juicy pineapple.  This would be perfect to pour over vanilla ice cream for a refreshing boozy dessert.  Yum!  And the bottle is so pretty!  It will dress up any cocktail bar.  

5.  So true...

We are looking forward to some awesome weather this weekend.  Hoping to spend some time outside enjoying it.  I also have a wedding meeting with an adorable couple that I'm helping.  It is such a relief that we'll be able to celebrate their wedding on schedule this year.  Enjoy your weekend and I'll see you back here next week!

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Simply Sweet Home

Friday Favorites Linky Party - March 26, 2021

 

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Let's Make Waffles

One of my new favorite breakfast items is waffles and I'm sharing the best recipe with you today!  This comes straight from the kitchen of my friend Linda's mom.  The truth is I've asked Linda for the recipe a million times and she's always gracious enough to stop what she's doing and send it to me.  So I thought it was about time I blog about it so I'll know where to find it the next time we are making waffles!  

Here's What You Need

2-1/2 cups flour

4 teaspoons baking power

3/4 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 tablespoon sugar

2 eggs

2-1/4 cups milk

3/4 cup oil

Here's What You Do

Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another.  Then combine the two together and whisk.

Pour the batter into a heated waffle iron that has been sprayed with cooking spray.  For my iron, it takes about 3/4 cup of batter.  

My waffle iron in relatively new.  Eric got it for me for Valentine's Day and it's perfect!  I love the light on the top that indicates when it's ready for the batter.  When you pour the batter in, you flip it over until the ready light on that side lights up.  Flip it back and you have a perfectly cooked waffle waiting for you inside.  

As you can see from the picture, we like to dress our waffle up with fresh strawberries, chocolate sauce, whipped cream, sprinkles and top it all off with a cherry.  Dessert anyone?

When we start entertaining house guests again, you better believe these waffles will be on the menu.  I can't wait to set up a waffle bar with all our favorite toppings!  Rather you fix these for a fancy breakfast for many or just a casual weekend breakfast for two, you are going to love these waffles!  Enjoy!

Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop - March 24, 2021

 

Welcome to the Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop!  We appreciate you stopping by each week and participating in the blog hop.  Before we start our main event, let's take a look at our features from last week's party.  

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100-Year-Old Modern Vintage Home Tour

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Colorful Easter Tablescape

Healthy Weekly Meal Plan

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Herb Garden with Personalized Tin

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Save

DUCKS ‘N A ROW [Sinea] – FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST | TWITTER

ECLECTIC RED BARN [Beverly] – FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST | TWITTER

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STILETTOS and SHIPLAP [Tara] – INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST

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THE SHORT ORDER COOK [Angela] – FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST | TWITTER

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Five on Friday - March 19, 2021

Happy Friday!  Hope you all had a great St. Patrick's Day.  I took a few days off work to get some spring cleaning and organizing done.  Glad to take a break and share my five for today ~

1.  Spring Begins

Saturday marks the first day of Spring!  We've made it through the winter!  There's something about Spring that just makes me a happier person.  The weather is getting warmer, the days are longer and flowers are starting to come to life.  Celebrate by getting outside and enjoying the beauty of nature.

2.  EAT better, FEEL better

One of my favorite chefs, Giada de Laurentiis, had a new cookbook hit the stands on Tuesday and I can't wait to get my hands on it.  Here's the summary from Amazon ~

Get an inside look at Giada's approach to healthy, balanced living. In her newest book, Giada walks you through how to select food that can actually make you feel better and curate a personalized wellness routine to support a healthy mind and body. Find out how reconfiguring her diet to control inflammation can turn your life around and how to use complementary wellness tactics like intermittent fasting, meditation, and other self-care routines to optimize your well-being.

Giada devotes an entire chapter to her 3-day reboot (that she follows several times a year) and offers more than two dozen dairy-free, sugar-free, and gluten-free recipes to accompany the plan as well as a 21-day menu outline that makes cooking for good easy to implement at home. Eat Better, Feel Better features more than 100 new recipes like Quinoa Pancakes; Sheet Pan Parmesan Shrimp and Veggies; Roasted Cauliflower and Baby Kale Salad; Grilled Strip Steak with Scallion Salsa Verde; and Chocolate and Orange Brown Rice Treats along with plenty of Italian-influenced recipes fans will look forward to, from Fusilli with Chicken and Broccoli Rabe to Easy Chicken Piccata and Pan-Roasted Pork Chops with Cherry and Red Wine Sauce.

Eat Better, Feel Better is the perfect jumpstart to wellness. Your path to feeling better begins now.

3.  Food Club

The movie Food Club is releasing today and it looks so good!  I'm hoping to be able to stream it on Apple.  Here's the synopsis from Rotten Tomatoes ~

Marie recently found herself abandoned on Christmas Eve by her husband and has been falling apart ever since. Berling has been the eternal "bacherlorette" who outwardly denies her age and lives the sweet life, all seems perfect until we find out about her complicated relationship with her daughter. Vanja is still living in the past and has never been able to move on from her late husband. The three life long girlfriends decides to travel to Italy together to attend a cooking course in Puglia and here they each find the opportunity to redefine themselves and acknowledge that the most important thing in life is their friendship and that it's never too late to live a more fulfilling life.

4.  Easter Egg Decorating Kit

Want to try a new way of decorating your Easter eggs this year?  Check out this egg spinner!  It's easy to use - you just put in the batteries, put an egg on the rollers and turn it on.  No more cups of dye that spill everywhere and turn your fingers colors!  What a fun activity to do with the kiddos.

5.  So true...

Have a great weekend!  I'm pumped about being productive and getting things done around the house.  If the weather cooperates, we are also going to take a field trip to Pere Marquette State Park for a little hiking.  See you next week!

Linking up with:

Erika at Little Bit of Everything

Simply Sweet Home