i splurged. 

and, happy i did. 

normally i hate buying sheets and towels.  no really, i really hate it. i hate buying curtain's too.  and, don't even try to talk about drapes with me... i'm liable to bang my head on the nearest wall.

so with that said, my blogger friend, i confess with a sigh and a roll of my eyes,  the mister and i were long, long, long overdue for a new set of queens. 

army green egyptian cotton sheets.

 that is what i purchased.

i'm not sure of the thread count. 

but, they were inexpensive.  i washed them, tumbled them dry with an outdoor fresh fabric softener and........ they came out of the dryer with barely a wrinkle. 

they are delightful, indeed.

smile, wink, nod.

TAKE A MINUTE AND READ THIS!

After reading it, You will never look at a deck of cards in the same way again
It was quiet that day, the guns and the mortars, and land mines for some reason hadn't been heard.
The young soldier knew it was Sunday, the holiest day of the week.
As he was sitting there, he got out an old deck of cards and laid them out across his bunk.
Just then an army sergeant came in and said, 'Why aren't you with the rest of the platoon?'
The soldier replied, 'I thought I would stay behind and spend some time with the Lord.
The sergeant said, 'Looks to me like you're going to play cards.'
The soldier said, 'No, sir. You see, since we are not allowed to have Bibles or other spiritual books in this country.
I've decided to talk to the Lord by studying this deck of cards.
The sergeant asked in disbelief, 'How will you do that?'

'You see the Ace, Sergeant? It reminds me that there is only one God.

The Two represents the two parts of the Bible, Old and New Testaments

The Three represents the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost.

The Four stands for the Four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John ...


The Five is for the five virgins there were ten but only five of them were glorified.

The Six is for the six days it took God to create the Heavens and Earth.

The Seven is for the day God rested after making His Creation.

The Eight is for the family of Noah and his wife, their three sons and their wives -- the eight people God spared from the flood that destroyed the Earth....

The Nine is for the lepers that Jesus cleansed of leprosy He cleansed ten, but nine never thanked Him.

The Ten represents the Ten Commandments that God handed down to Moses on tablets made of stone.

The Jack is a reminder of Satan, one of God's first angels, but he got kicked out of heaven for his sly and wicked ways and is now the joker of eternal hell.

The Queen stands for Mary.

The King stands for Jesus, for he is the King of all kings.

When I count the dots on all the cards, I come up with 365 total, one for every day of the year.

There are a total of 52 cards in a deck; each is a week - 52 weeks in a year.

The four suits represent the four seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter.

Each suit has thirteen cards -- there are exactly thirteen weeks in a quarter.

So when I want to talk to God and thank Him, I just pull out this old deck of cards and they remind me of all that I have to be thankful for.'
The sergeant just stood there. After a minute, with tears in his eyes and pain in his heart, he said, 'Soldier, can I borrow that deck of cards?'



Please let this be a reminder and take time to pray for all of our soldiers who are being sent away, putting their lives on the line fighting



Prayer for the Military.



Please keep the wheel rolling. It will only take a few seconds of your time, but it'll be worth it to read on...



Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands.



Protect them.



Bless them and their families.
I ask this in the name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior.
Amen
When you receive this, please stop for a moment and say a prayer for our servicemen and women all around the world.

Of all the gifts you could give a Soldier, prayer is the very best one.
IN GOD I TRUST

when i see dreamy cottages like this... i can't help imagining what the lady of the house is doing inside?

is she snuggled up with a good book?

baking molassas cookies?

bubble bathing in lavender soap?

or

knitting by the fireplace?

how about you? 

what do you think the lady of the house is doing?

smile, wink, nod.

last night, i planted myself on the living room floor, laptop on a make-shift desk a.k.a. an upside down laundry basket and listed a handful of vintage pieces on ebay. 

fingers crossed... they'll sell and be on their way to some spunky vintage collector.

although i admit... if the coat doesn't sell... it's my baby!  my sweet, sweet baby!

i bet your dying to know, what's up for bid?

yeah, i thought so.

click here and take a little peek!

smile, wink, nod!

just because the christmas decor is packed away for another year... doesn't mean that a girl can't have fun spicing up her deck in january.  and so i did.

i made homemade ice candles.  yes i did.

i just used a couple of rubbermaid plastic food storage containers, filled with water, tinged the water with pink food coloring and stuck a candle in the center... and froze them.

then, of course the best part,  once it was dark outside and the ice containers were frozen... i popped them loose and lit them up! 

sure did make the evening cozy!

smile, wink, nod.

want
to
giggle?
click here

and
 you'll
 be
on
your
way
 to
 my
 homemade
youtube
video.

pinch me.  tell me i'm not dreaming. 

okay so it's true, i found this small greenhouse, made from distressed metal and glass at the salvation army.

are you sitting down?

because, i paid $6.99 for it.

it just needs cleaned up a little and then i'll plant different lettuces and basil inside.  i am thrilled to be gardening in the wintertime.  outside of growing windowsill sprouts, i'm limited to what grows fresh around here.  this should satisfy my green thumb...

one of my favorite vintage gifts i received for christmas... was this wild-looking vase.  i'm picturing lilacs and bleeding hearts cascading out of it.  or white-wild roses with sprigs of rosemary befriending each other. 

for now however, i'm just enjoying moving it from room to room and seeing where it looks the best.

truth is, it looks good everywhere.

smile, wink, nod.

january first and look what my man dug up.

that's right... half a bushel basket of sweetish-luscious, sunny carrots from our garden!  and wait... there's more.  lot's more.  in fact, there's another half bushel basket ready to be plucked up and processed.  seriously friends... this is a major-big-deal.  january in michigan provides very, very little fresh anything. nor cheerful colors of any kind.  wink.

tomorrow, will find me befriending my food processor and stashing bags of carrots in the freezer.

i'm thinking this is a really good sign, that 2012 is going to serve us well.

smile, wink, nod!

p.s.  happy new year jamie!  i appreciate your faithfulness!

a few posts back, i shared my latest read, the poisonwood bible.  i haven't finished it.  not even close.  truth is, there are just way too many good books, that intrigue me.  too many titles and excerpts and inviting covers. and, although i wish i was the type of person who can juggle reading several books at one time, i'm just not that talented! 

i'm sliding this dream cottage into this post, because i knew you'd love it and you'll agree... it would be a heavenly reading cottage!  imagine how cozy it would be with a the doors pulled shut, a really good book and a warm-summer rain hitting the rooftop.

for now, my soft couch and polar fleece blanket is my reading sanctuary.  not bad at all.  and i'm 3/4 of the way through this thrift shop treasure (i recently found), "a vintage affair."  it's light and a little fluffy... the pages take me inside of a vintage resale shop in london and to the romantic vineyards in france. it's sprinkled with history and mystery.   

love the book.

love my couch.

love my polar fleece blanket.

fresh strawberries in december in michigan is a delicacy.

while shopping at vince and joe's...a gourmet grocery store, which is a good drive south of us, i found these sweeties!

i sliced the tops off and served the berries with strawberry yogurt dip, on christmas eve. 

getting ready to discard the stems and tops of the berries, i suddenly realized how festive and colorful they'd be if i put them in an ice wreath!

this is how it turned out! 

it made me smile, each time i walked by our window.

i guess this is what you could call an upcycled food wreath!

smile, wink, nod.

on tuesday, i met my friend rhonda at starbucks, for a little christmas season fun! maybe it doesn't sound like that big of deal to you... (wink), BUT, starbuck's isn't a place either of us frequent.  because, well.... we're too cheap  frugal.  and quite honestly, we'd both rather use our $3. on a gallon of gas then coffee.

ahhh, but 'tis the season for celebrating with those you love, so we both parted ways with our $3.00 and splurged on peppermint hot chocolate and pumpkin latte (something or other).

and.... we enjoyed a cozy game of scrabble!  besides about 100 other mutual interests... this is, for sure one of our favorite things to do together.

i've never won a game with her.  probably because she makes me play with the board upside down like this. 

i did score 42 points, on one play.. (note: starbucks cup sleeve). 

after the game,

we left with warm hearts,

 filled with the spirit of Christmas and promises to meet again, very soon!

smile, wink, nod!

as tradition goes..... i made this fantastically simple, scrumptiously delishable, gluten-free carmel popcorn recipe. 

tipping my hat to my cousin lori, for this well-loved, sweet snack!

feel free to copy, paste and print the recipe below!

cousin lori's carmel popcorn

2 cups of light brown sugar

2 sticks of butter or margarine

1/2 c. light corn syrup

bring to boil and boil for 5 minutes

remove from heat and add a pinch of salt and cream of tarter and 1/2 t. soda

pour over 8 quarts of lightly salted popcorn (approx. one roaster pan full).  mix well.   bake for an hour at 200*.  dump out on wax paper and break apart.

store in airtight container.

like you, this christmas season is keeping me busy as a bee!

i am way behind in everything. 

shopping.

wrapping.

baking.

the little things.

this season found me busy working at a few different places.  places which i've enjoyed working at immensely.  and, i'm indeed, thankful to have many job opportunities.  especially in michigan's rocky economy. 

i have two days off before i work again... in other words, the next couple of days i'll be flying around (like a bumble bee), getting things organized for the big weekend.

how about you?

are you all set for santa?

smile, wink, nod.

over the weekend,

i made my very own youtube video.

want a little giggle?

i thought so...

click here and i'll see you there!

dear santa,

forget the flame less candles, i asked for in the previous post.  this is really all i need. 

a volkswagon camping tent.

imagine how much fun it would be to decorate and find camping accessories.  retro, of course. 

i believe this is only available in england.

which is a bit far for me to pick up.  but if it was available in the u.s.a.  i seriously think i would invest in it.

$480. 

yellow, blue or red.

and it would work wonderful for the out-of-town shows i go to in the summertime.

so what-da-ya say, santa?

swing by london and haul one back on your sleigh.

smile, wink, nod.

dear santa,

all i'd really like this year is about 100 of these scented, flameless candles. have you seen any, around the north pole?

 i bought two of them at our local goodwill store... brand new still in the original manufacturer's wrapping.  vanilla scented, for $4. each.  the store had a shelf full, but being the frugal skeptic i am, and added to the fact that "you just never know if what you buy at thrift stores actually work," i tossed just two in my cart.  could i kick myself, with my cowboy boots, now that i discovered how awesomely-terrific these are?  you betcha, santa.  and get this... mine even have a subtle vanilla scent, lingering out of the fake flame.  smells just like sugar cookies baking in my kitchen.  cozy.

i do prefer real candles, don't misunderstand.  but, my better-half has insane allergies and he breaks out in a hysterical fever, knowing the flame is leaving black marks on our really clean walls, ceilings and cupboards.  yes, even soy candles leave a film.  problem solved: flameless candles.

thanks santa.

p.s.  any color will do.

smile, wink, nod.

it's been awhile since i've plugged into a book, that made me nose-dive into the pages.  this book has done that.  i just love books that require a better understanding of different cultures, history and thought-provoking issues.  this book is taking me into uncharted territories of the congo/zaire and political turmoil in africa.

another book that is captivating me is, the autobiography of chuck yeager.  it's actually my son's, but i'm reading it as well, so i can pop quiz him on comprehension.  wink.
it is just a really good book.... about his active role in ww2 and being on the run from germany and italy.  on a bike, no less. 

so, what are you reading?
smile, wink, nod.

okay, first things first.

this wasn't my big, brilliant, gem of an idea.  

 i found it somewhere in the all-too-consuming land of pintrest.

 i had to use a really scrumptious gluten-free recipe, but if you're not GF, just use your regular recipe.....

are you ready for this?

when the dough is ready to pour in the pans.... chop up pieces of REESES PEANUT BUTTER CUPS and gently mix in the batter. 

the taste of banana, chocolate and peanut butter... served warm is insane.  especially, for the celiac patient, who cannot eat just anything they want.  wink.

you could probably do the exact same thing with muffins.

happy monday, friends!

frugal potato's

let's make the most of potato's!

we had a good little crop this past fall.  one thing i enjoy making, freezing and having on hand for busy days is....

you guessed it, twice-baked potatoes. 

for some odd reason, i over stuff the potato and always have tons of the scooped out skins left. 

i know.... such an issue to have... smile, wink.

so, it occurred to me (light bulb moment).... why? just why oh why, don't i make potato skins and freeze them with the leftover skins, instead of tossing the waste out?

and i did.  i stuffed them full of cheese and chopped scallions and crumbled bacon.  and i baked a small plate, just to make sure they were.... well, good.

and they were good.  they were great. 

they never made it to the freezer.

smile, wink, nod.

has it really been 35 years since this hot pink, floral scented, wide balled, roll-on deodorant sat on my bedroom dresser? not surprising, but, i forgot about this cheerful, little gem. how about you? 
does this bring back memories for you?
betcha it will, if you were a child in the 70's.
smile, wink, nod.