Almost Spring

Hello!  Last week felt like Spring with highs in the seventies.  Daffodils are blooming, and my potted tulips are starting to sprout, but we are back to Winter today.  That's okay with me, as I'm not ready to say goodbye to winter quite yet.

I recently purchased The Simple Bites Kitchen cookbook, and I am loving it.  I've tried several recipes so far, and some more than once, and they've all been great.  I made the corn chowder for dinner tonight, and it was excellent.  We all loved it!  If you are looking for some new, mostly healthy recipes, I would highly recommend this cookbook.

It's the first day of March today, and it definitely came in like a lion with lots of rain and wind.  My daughter will celebrate her ninth birthday later this month, and I can hardly believe she is turning nine.  Where does the time go?  She is such a sweet girl and we have so much fun together.  We are looking forward to celebrating her birthday in a few weeks with a family party and a class party at school.  

I finally got around to framing one of my favorite pieces of Charlotte's artwork from kindergarten.  It's very special, and we love it!

Well, I'm off to make a cup of hot tea and get cozy while I watch a cooking show on PBS this evening.  Cooking shows not only inspire me to try new foods, but I also find them very relaxing to watch.

Hello February

Hello Friends!  It's February and Valentine's Day is next week which is exciting, especially if you have an eight year old little girl in your house!  She's already made sweet valentine cards for her classmates.  She was such a big girl this year and wanted to do it all herself!  I'm planning to make a yummy dinner for the three of us on Valentine's Day along with a chocolate cake.  Yum!!

Oh, we recently bought a new dining table from IKEA and I love it!  I also picked up a few orchids while we were there and they were on sale for $1.49.  I should've bought more.  I need to make another trip there soon for a hutch, so hopefully they are still available. 

I finally decided on a new tea kettle.  I went with the 1.25-Qt. Le Creuset in cream and it is the perfect size for us.  I love the cream color, it's a classic.  I have a Le Creuset Dutch oven and sauicer pot in red, which I love and use almost every day, but my next piece will be in cream.

Hope you have a great week!  I'll pop back in soon!

Snow Day

We enjoyed another cozy, snow day this past week, our second one this winter.  I love to watch the snow fall.  We are having a true winter this year and that makes me very happy!  So, basically I cooked and baked the whole day.  I made a big batch of homemade chicken noodle soup and a yummy chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting topped with fun sprinkles per Charlotte's request!

Also, I found an adorable new lamp at Target last week and I found the perfect spot for it.

  We are headed to Crate and Barrel tomorrow to pick up a few new things - dish towels, a new pot for a house plant, a white serving platter and maybe some other fun things.  And to Paper Source, so Charlotte can choose some cute Valentine cards for her classmates.  I'm excited!  Hope you are having a great weekend, too!

Happy New Year!!

Hello!  And Happy New Year!!  Just dusting off my blog a bit - it's been almost Two years since I last posted.  Wow, I suppose life just got really busy and then there is Instagram, so I seem to be posting mostly there these days.  But I miss blogging and hope to pop back in more often this year.

We had a wonderful Christmas with our families and a very Happy New Year!  Oh, and I made some yummy dutch oven bread this past week which has been perfect toasted and topped with butter.  Also, making lots of soups and chili and spaghetti with homemade meatballs, as the weather has been very cold and blustery for the past few weeks.  We've also written thank you notes for gifts and bought a new lovely calendar for the kitchen.  It's winter and I love it!  Hopefully, we will get another snow before it's over.  My eight year old has her fingers crossed!

Happiness is...

Spending time with my precious family!
Date day brunch with my sweet husband!
Picking flowers with my daughter on our evening walk!

Lately

Hello!  I am so far behind that I don't know where to begin, so for now I will just update you on the last few weeks.  

The weather has been pretty amazing lately, a bit warm for October, but still very nice.  We took a day trip to Blowing Rock last week, and the weather was perfect, and the leaves were gorgeous!  I believe this is my very favorite time of year.

  I've also enjoyed getting my groove back on in the kitchen.  I made pumpkin muffins last week and minestrone soup.  Ina's chicken pot pie is on the menu for tomorrow with homemade biscuits... Yum!  And I'm planning to make smitten kitchen's spiced applesauce cake this week.  

Charlotte had the day off from school yesterday, and my husband and I took her to the zoo in Columbia - she had a great time!

Lately

Hello!  I'm still here.  Just super busy with life and my six year old.  We've celebrated Charlotte's sixth birthday and Easter since I last posted.  Here are a few photos from the last several weeks.

I'm waiting for the weather to dry up and warm up so I can start gardening again.  I'm itching to get my hands in the dirt!  Be back soon!