Wordless Wednesday (a day late)

If Only . . .

Sometimes when I'm sitting in court listening to my fellow counselors and the judge, I think about this odd tv show, "Cop Rock." One day, maybe they will break out into song. I bet the bailiffs could do a fabulous number. Can you believe this was actually on Primetime? Funny stuff.

30 Gifts Under $25: No. 27

Wishbone Key Ring

I love this simple silver key Ring from Sundance. It is only $15. I think it'd be a nice teacher gift. . . something a little different.

Upgrade recently?

If you've upgraded your cell phone lately, you probably have an old one laying around. We did. We donated ours to Cell Phones For Soldiers this weekend. It's very easy. Just go to the website and print out a postage paid label. Drop it in the mail and it will be sent to a soldier. This helps all our troops keep in contact with their loved ones. Donate yours, please.

30 Gifts Under $25: No. 28

The Microplane

This is a must-have for the kitchen! I love this little tool. It is one of my most-used kitchen tools. I use it for citrus zest, cinnamon, nutmeg, you name it. If you have a cook in your family, get him or her one of these. It would be a lovely gift with a bottle of whole nutmeg for grating. You could even include a few recipes that list nutmeg as an ingredient.

30 Gifts Under $25: No. 29

Pecan & Raspberry Kringles from O&H Bakery

These things are fabulous. I first tried the O&H Kringle in law school, when a classmate brought one in for an ealry morning Mediation Class. Her mom had sent it to her. The bakery is in Wisconsin and it must be a magical place to produce such sweet delight! The Kringle is moist, flaky and delicious. Anyone on your list with a sweet tooth would surely like to receive one or two of these!

30 Gifts Under $25: No. 30

I have been inspired by some old posts of Jordan Ferney at Oh Happy Day to do a "30 Gifts Under $25" post. I'm starting now since I know a lot of friends and family have already started their shopping. So here goes ...

From Lollyphile - Lollipops in three neat flavors: maple-bacon, absinthe, and wasabi-ginger! Not your average Christmas candy! You can buy 12 for $24.

Wordless Wednesday

Living Room Do-Over

I have taken on the living room this week. We started painting on Sunday and I finished most of the work today (since it was a holiday from work.) I used Valspar in Martha Stewart Signature Colors. I really liked this paint, great coverage. I was painting ove a dark brown, and it worked really well. The walls are "bamboo mat" and the trim is "bakery box." Don't you just love that? I also bought quarts of "wading pool," "vintage map," and "boathouse blue." I plan on painting various pieces of furniture and frames and such. There are quite a few other projects to do still: 1) patchwork pillows 2) framed embroidery 3) painting to hang above the sofa 4) family trees 5) paint lamps & buy new shades. Wish me luck!

Wordless Wednesday

It's heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere.

I apologize for posting this late, but I have had massive computer problems as of late (resulting in the loss of all our drivers - yes, this means the camera too!) However, I'm back up and running and happy to report that I received my Blogging By Mail package! I received lots of treats sent to me all the way from Canada! The lovely owner of the blog "It's the Little Things" sent a fabulous box of goodness. The package contained the following items:

* pumpkin-shaped candy & cookie confection in a cookie cutter
*"Life Is Good" luggage tag
*cute little vase
*lemon-scented candles
*weekly magnetic calendar
*shiny lip gloss
*recipe cards
*flour sack dishtowels
*scrapping materials
*good-smelling shower stuff

Thank you for the delightful package. And thanks to the organizer of this swap-by-mail, Stephanie of Dispensing Happiness.

Pawlitics.

Bunny-rific Birthday.

My niece is now 2 (which is hard to believe!) I made her birthday cake again this year. Her "security blanket" is her bunny. So I decided to go with a bunny theme. I thought it turned out very well. The cake was vanilla bean with swiss meringue buttercream frosting. I made the bunny and the carrots from fondant and the fence pickets from gumpaste. The dirt is crushed Oreos. She was delighted with it, which totally made it worth the time and effort. I made carrot cake cupcakes for the adults with a little fondant carrot on top of each one. Another successful bbirthday I think!