St. Patrick's Day Tiered Tray

Welcome to Thinking Out Loud Thursday! This is a time for me to share what’s on my mind and invite you to join in and do the same. Today, I’m taking a trip down memory lane and revisiting our St. Patrick’s Day Tiered Tray from the archives!

I’m really loving how the holidays are spaced out this year! Sometimes, there’s such a quick turnaround between St. Patrick’s Day and Easter that I don’t always decorate for both. But with Easter not until April 20 this year, there’s plenty of time to celebrate each one! I came across some photos of a past St. Patrick’s Day tiered tray, and I’m excited to share them with you today ~

Our window is fully decked out in all things green, adorned with plenty of shamrocks for a little extra luck! 🍀✨

Many of the pieces decorating each layer of our tiered tray came from one of my favorite spots—Hobby Lobby! Every year, I love adding a few more leprechauns to our collection. 🍀✨

The welcome sign warmly greets our guests, letting them know how happy we are to have them!

This St. Patrick’s Day tiered tray brings a festive touch to our home, filled with cheerful greens, lucky shamrocks, and a few playful leprechauns. I love how it adds a bit of holiday magic to our space, making it feel extra special. Whether you go all out with decorations or keep it simple, celebrating the season in little ways always brings joy! 🍀✨

Now it's your turn - what are you thinking out loud about today?  Link up and share!

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Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop - February 19, 2025

Welcome to the Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop!  We are so glad that you stopped by.

Here you will find inspiration from dozens of bloggers including recipes, home DIY, gardening, decor, family fun, traveling, fitness, and so much more.

A friendly reminder to our guests that as a courtesy to the hosts, we ask that you follow every host on at least one social media channel.

If you are a blogger, then be sure to link up below. You may be our next feature! 

Before we get this party started, let’s meet the hosts and check out this week’s featured favorites.

MEET THE HOSTS

1. Bev – ECLECTIC RED BARN | FB | IG | PINTEREST
2. Penny – PENNY’S PASSION | FB | IG | PINTEREST
3. Sinea – DUCKS ‘N A ROW | FB | IG | PINTEREST | X
4. Tammy – MY LIFE ABUNDANT | FB | IG | PINTEREST | X | YOUTUBE
5. Denise – THIS IS MY EVERYBODY | FB | IG | PINTEREST | X | YOUTUBE

TOP VIEWED

Embracing Silence: The Beauty of Quiet Moments

VERY POPULAR

Simple Ways to Show Yourself Some Love This February

Chorizo Biscuits And Gravy

EDITOR'S CHOICE

White Chocolate and Raspberry Latte

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Five on Friday - February 14, 2025

Happy Valentine's Day!  Isn't it great that Valentine's Day is actually falling on a Friday.  We can celebrate all weekend long!  Eric and I are going to dinner tonight with friends and then Sunday I'm hosting a small Galentine's party for our church group.  It's going to be a fun weekend!  Let's kick it off with my Five on Friday for this week ~

1.  Season 3 of The White Lotus

Sunday night I'll be glued to the TV to see the opening episode of The White Lotus, back for Season 3!  The White Lotus show has been a hit for HBO!  This season is set in Thailand and it's rumored that a star from season one will make an appearance.  There will be a total of 8 episodes in Season 3, but they are only dropping one per week.  So much for binging watching!

2.  We All Live Here by Jojo Moyes

Jojo Moyes's newest book released this week!  I love her books and am excited to dig into this one.  It's a long one - 464 pages.  Here's the summary ~

Lila Kennedy has a lot on her plate. A broken marriage, two wayward daughters, a house that is falling apart, and an elderly stepfather who seems to have quietly moved in. Her career is in freefall and her love life is . . . complicated. So when her real dad—a man she has barely seen since he ran off to Hollywood thirty-five years ago—suddenly appears on her doorstep, it feels like the final straw. But it turns out even the family you thought you could never forgive might have something to teach you: about love, and what it actually means to be family.

Available HERE

3.  Raspberry and White Chocolate Pie

We might have to swing through McDonald's drive thru this weekend to pick up a sweet treat they are offering for a limited time.  The Raspberry and White Chocolate Pie arrived this week!  It's a twist on the chain's classic apple pie.  It's a "decadent" dessert with crispy pink pastry, filled with a smooth white chocolate ganache and a raspberry compote.  Doesn't that sound so yummy!

4.  Fleeced Lined Sweatpants with Pockets

I purchased a new pair of sweatpants from Amazon and I'm been wearing them on repeat since the day they arrived!  First, they are fleece lined, so they are nice a toasty on my legs.  Second, they are so, so comfy!  They have my favorite thing - pockets.  My pair is khaki, but they come in many other colors.  I might need to get another pair before winter is over!

Available HERE

5.  My thoughts exactly...

Hope you have a wonderful Valentine's Day!  I have a long weekend since we are off work Monday for Presidents Day.  Looking forward to having an extra day to recover from the weekend!  See you next week.

Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop - February 12, 2025

 

Welcome to the Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop!  We are so glad that you stopped by.

Here you will find inspiration from dozens of bloggers including recipes, home DIY, gardening, decor, family fun, traveling, fitness, and so much more.

A friendly reminder to our guests that as a courtesy to the hosts, we ask that you follow every host on at least one social media channel.

If you are a blogger, then be sure to link up below. You may be our next feature! 

Before we get this party started, let’s meet the hosts and check out this week’s featured favorites.

MEET THE HOSTS

1. Bev – ECLECTIC RED BARN | FB | IG | PINTEREST
2. Penny – PENNY’S PASSION | FB | IG | PINTEREST
3. Sinea – DUCKS ‘N A ROW | FB | IG | PINTEREST | X
4. Tammy – MY LIFE ABUNDANT | FB | IG | PINTEREST | X | YOUTUBE
5. Denise – THIS IS MY EVERYBODY | FB | IG | PINTEREST | X | YOUTUBE

TOP VIEWED

Sweet Treats and Hot Chocolate

VERY POPULAR

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Baby Set Squared

EDITOR'S CHOICE

Feed the Birds

LET’S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!

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2025 Valentine's Tiered Tray

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, and I just managed to finish decorating our tiered tray in time for the celebration! I wanted to create a festive and charming display that captures the spirit of love and warmth. Here’s the look we’re embracing this year—hope it adds a little inspiration to your holiday décor!

This year, we introduced a new addition—the Valentine Cupcakes picture! It blends beautifully with the kitchen decor and adds the perfect festive touch.

Every layer of the tray is adorned with hearts, adding a festive touch to celebrate the day of love!

Overall, our corner window radiates love and warmth, perfectly capturing the spirit of Valentine’s Day!

Five on Friday - February 7, 2025

The flu bug caught me this week and threw a wrench in my day-to-day activities.  Thankfully, I was able to pull together my Five on Friday.  

1.  Sweet Magnolias - Season 4

Thursday was the day we Sweet Magnolia fans had been waiting for.  All 10 episodes of Season 4 dropped on Netflix and I can't wait to devour each one of them.  The lifelong best friends Maddie, Dana Sue, and Helen are back to juggle relationships, family and careers in their charming Southern hometown.  

2.  Last Twilight in Paris

Pam Jenoff's new book was released this week and honestly, any book with the word Paris in the title goes straight on my TBR list.  Here's the summary ~

A Parisian department store, a mysterious necklace and a woman’s quest to unlock a decade-old mystery are at the center of this riveting novel of love and survival, from New York Times bestselling author Pam Jenoff

London, 1953. Louise is still adjusting to her postwar role as a housewife when she discovers a necklace in a box at a secondhand shop. The box is marked with the name of a department store in Paris, and she is certain she has seen the necklace before, when she worked with the Red Cross in Nazi-occupied Europe —and that it holds the key to the mysterious death of her friend Franny during the war.

Following the trail of clues to Paris, Louise seeks help from her former boss Ian, with whom she shares a romantic history. The necklace leads them to discover the dark history of Lévitan—a once-glamorous department store that served as a Nazi prison, and Helaine, a woman who was imprisoned there, torn apart from her husband when the Germans invaded France.

Louise races to find the connection between the necklace, the department store and Franny’s death. But nothing is as it seems, and there are forces determined to keep the truth buried forever. Inspired by the true story of Lévitan, Last Twilight in Paris is both a gripping mystery and an unforgettable story about sacrifice, resistance and the power of love to transcend in even the darkest hours.

Available HERE

3.  Harry Potter Fudge Stripes

Hey Harry Potter fans - Keebler has a limited edition Butterbeer Fudge Stripes cookies.  The Butterbeer-flavored cookie is topped with Butterbeer-flavored fudge that replicates the sweet and frothy combination of cream soda and butterscotch.  

4.  Valentine's Doormat

Our new Valentine's doormat offers a warm welcome to guests. I love how it sets the festive tone the moment they step onto our porch.

Available HERE

5.  Do you feel it too...

I'm so hopeful that I'll be back to normal by Sunday for the Big Game.  Even if I'm on my deathbed, I'll be cheering on our Kansas City Chiefs!  

What I Read in January 2025

Welcome to Thinking Out Loud Thursday where I talk about something on my mind and invite you to link up and do the same.  It's the first Thursday of the month, so I'm recapping the books I read last month.  

The Cinnamon Bun Book Store

This is the second book in the Dream Harbor series.  Don't let the innocent-looking cover fool you - this series has some spice to it!  Here the summary ~

When a secret message turns up hidden in a book in the Cinnamon Bun Bookstore, Hazel can't understand it. As more secret codes appear between the pages, she decides to follow the trail of clues… she just needs someone to help her out.

Gorgeous and outgoing fisherman, Noah, is always up for an adventure. And a scavenger hunt sounds like a lot of fun. Even better that the cute bookseller he's been crushing on for months is the one who wants his help!

Hazel didn’t go looking for romance, but as the treasure hunt leads her and Noah around Dream Harbor, their undeniable chemistry might be just as hot as the fresh-out-of-the-oven cinnamon buns the bookstore sells…

Available HERE

The Christmas Tree Farm

Immediately upon finishing book 2 I the Dream Harbor series, I cracked open book 3 in the series.  It's equally as spicy and fun to read!  Here's the summary ~

Kira North hates Christmas. Which is unfortunate since she just bought a Christmas tree farm in a town that’s too cute for its own good.

Bennett Ellis is on vacation in Dream Harbor trying to take a break from both his life and his constant desire to fix things.

But somehow fate finds Ben trapped by a blanket of snow at Kira’s farm, and, despite her Grinchiest first impressions, with the glow of the fairy lights twinkling in the trees, and the promise of a warming hot chocolate, maybe, just maybe, these two lost souls will have a Christmas they’ll remember forever…

Available HERE

Dave Grohl:  The Storyteller - Tales of Life and Music

I listened to this one and loved hearing Dave Grohl walk through his life.  Beware:  Dave drops a lot of "F" bombs.  If you listen to this one, listen to the very, very end.  After the credits, he has a bonus chapter.  Here's the summary ~

Having entertained the idea for years, and even offered a few questionable opportunities ("It's a piece of cake! Just do 4 hours of interviews, find someone else to write it, put your face on the cover, and voila!") I have decided to write these stories just as I have always done, in my own hand. The j

oy that I have felt from chronicling these tales is not unlike listening back to a song that I've recorded and can't wait to share with the world, or reading a primitive journal entry from a stained notebook, or even hearing my voice bounce between the Kiss posters on my wall as a child.

This certainly doesn't mean that I'm quitting my day job, but it does give me a place to shed a little light on what it's like to be a kid from Springfield, Virginia, walking through life while living out the crazy dreams I had as young musician. From hitting the road with Scream at 18 years old, to my time in Nirvana and the Foo Fighters, jamming with Iggy Pop or playing at the Academy Awards or dancing with AC/DC and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, drumming for Tom Petty or meeting Sir Paul McCartney at Royal Albert Hall, bedtime stories with Joan Jett or a chance meeting with Little Richard, to flying halfway around the world for one epic night with my daughters…the list goes on. I look forward to focusing the lens through which I see these memories a little sharper for you with much excitement.

Available HERE

The Comfort of Crows:  A Backyard Year

This Reese book club selection was our library book club book for January.  I can't really say I loved it, but there were some interesting things in it.  Here's the summary ~

In The Comfort of Crows, Margaret Renkl presents a literary devotional: fifty-two chapters that follow the creatures and plants in her backyard over the course of a year. As we move through the seasons—from a crow spied on New Year’s Day, its resourcefulness and sense of community setting a theme for the year, to the lingering bluebirds of December, revisiting the nest box they used in spring—what develops is a portrait of joy and grief: joy in the ongoing pleasures of the natural world, and grief over winters that end too soon and songbirds that grow fewer and fewer.

Along the way, we also glimpse the changing rhythms of a human life. Grown children, unexpectedly home during the pandemic, prepare to depart once more. Birdsong and night-blooming flowers evoke generations past. The city and the country where Renkl raised her family transform a little more with each passing day. And the natural world, now in visible flux, requires every ounce of hope and commitment from the author—and from us. For, as Renkl writes, “radiant things are bursting forth in the darkest places, in the smallest nooks and deepest cracks of the hidden world.”

With fifty-two original color artworks by the author’s brother, Billy Renkl, The Comfort of Crows is a lovely and deeply moving book from a cherished observer of the natural world.

Available HERE

Be Ready When the Luck Happens:  A Memoir

Ina Garten is one of my favorites and listening to her read her memoir was a treat!  The audio even comes with a PDF with pictures and recipes!

In her long-awaited memoir, Ina Garten—aka the Barefoot Contessa, author of thirteen bestselling cookbooks, beloved Food Network personality, Instagram sensation, and cultural icon—shares her personal story with those hungry for a seat at her table.

Here, for the first time, Ina Garten presents an intimate, entertaining, and inspiring account of her remarkable journey. Ina’s gift is to make everything look easy, yet all her accomplishments have been the result of hard work, audacious choices, and exquisite attention to detail. In her unmistakable voice (no one tells a story like Ina), she brings her past and her process to life in a high-spirited and no-holds-barred memoir that chronicles decades of personal challenges, adventures (and misadventures) and unexpected career twists, all delivered with her signature combination of playfulness and purpose.

From a difficult childhood to meeting the love of her life, Jeffrey, and marrying him while still in college, from a boring bureaucratic job in Washington, D.C., to answering an ad for a specialty food store in the Hamptons, from the owner of one Barefoot Contessa shop to author of bestselling cookbooks and celebrated television host, Ina has blazed her own trail and, in the meantime, taught millions of people how to cook and entertain. Now, she invites them to come closer to experience her story in vivid detail and to share the important life lessons she learned along the way: do what you love because if you love it you’ll be really good at it, swing for the fences, and always Be Ready When the Luck Happens.

Available HERE

Now it's your turn - what are you thinking out loud about today?  Link up and share!

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Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop - February 5, 2025

 

Welcome to the Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop!  We are so glad that you stopped by.

Here you will find inspiration from dozens of bloggers including recipes, home DIY, gardening, decor, family fun, traveling, fitness, and so much more.

A friendly reminder to our guests that as a courtesy to the hosts, we ask that you follow every host on at least one social media channel.

If you are a blogger, then be sure to link up below. You may be our next feature! 

Before we get this party started, let’s meet the hosts and check out this week’s featured favorites.

MEET THE HOSTS

1. Bev – ECLECTIC RED BARN | FB | IG | PINTEREST
2. Penny – PENNY’S PASSION | FB | IG | PINTEREST
3. Sinea – DUCKS ‘N A ROW | FB | IG | PINTEREST | X
4. Tammy – MY LIFE ABUNDANT | FB | IG | PINTEREST | X | YOUTUBE
5. Denise – THIS IS MY EVERYBODY | FB | IG | PINTEREST | X | YOUTUBE

TOP VIEWED

Cozy Homemade Lunch with Cauliflower Soup and Beer Bread

VERY POPULAR

How to Create the Perfect Valentine's Charcuterie Board

Why Daily Planning is the Key to Staying Productive

EDITOR'S CHOICE

Easy Shortbread Bites

LET’S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!

Please follow all hosts on AT LEAST 1 of their social channels.

Add as many family-friendly posts as you would like to. NO Etsy shops, adult sites, or blog parties please.  Visit others. Caring is sharing. Like, comment, and pin posts.

Party entries appear in REVERSE. This way your entries 

will be seen no matter when you arrive. Please TWEET our party and invite others to join.

Let’s Party! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter