Is It Monday Again? Cheery-O!

Good Monday morning to you!!

Swanky swigs are the name, cheeriness is their game!

I have these cheery little juice glasses in my kitchen windowsill to greet me each morning.  They shine their brightest on a sunny day, but even on a dull one like I was greeted with this morning, they still make me smile!


When I was a kid, we didn't have juice glasses, but grandpa did.  They always intrigued me, because I liked small things like I think most kids do.  


These little dears called out to me at a tiny little antique shop in a little cottage in Alabama one day, because they are primary colors and they look right at home in my red gingham kitchen!  


Hope your Monday is bright and that you have something to greet you each day that is cheery-o!

Cool Ice Cube Trick

How to get a sunny-side-up egg or a hard-cooked one 

without trying to turn it.

Just cook the egg to white, and then to set the yolk, 

throw in an ice cube.

Then...

Throw on a lid.

Cook until it's to your liking.

The steam from the ice cube does your work for you!


(**Do not use this method in a cast iron pan, it may crack!  Water will do the same trick.**)

Today my preference was halfway between...

It's ready to go!


Eggs!  Nature's most perfect food!


In the words of Doctor Seuss...


Would you like them
here or there?


Would you like them
anywhere?

How do you like YOUR eggs?

Wearing Fun...

Sometimes, a new wardrobe isn't in the books. 

(In the checkbook, that is.)

But...it can be updated by adding some fun new bits of this and that to what you already have.

A gorgeous beaded cuff bracelet, works with many colors and my favorite--blue jeans!

Saturday morning, my son had an hour and a half basketball clinic somewhere too far from home to drive back...so I found my nearest Kohl's...do you have a Kohl's, too?  I hope so, because every girl needs Kohl's!


Well, I had to go in, after all, they sent me a 30% off coupon!  


Well, I headed straight to the accessories department, and spent a whole hour browsing.  What fun it was.  A lot of their cute stuff was on sale, plus I used the 30% coupon and wowie kazowie!  Can you say BARGAINS!?

I have a couple versions of this shirt, worn for at least four years, and I still love them, of course, gingham is always tops in my book!  The contrast and trim on the cuffs and collar are lovely to me, as well as the velvet ribbon and red thread buttonholes!

I brought home some versatile pieces to work with some spring clothes I already had.


I'm no fashion plate, but I know fun when I see it!

Added some new sunglasses...

Bangle bracelets?  I don't like 'em, but a cuff bracelet or two....fun!

A little bit of retail therapy doesn't hurt a country girl every now and then!  


(Neither does perusing "pinterest" to see what other girls put together that I can imitate for outfits ... here's my board called "Fashion I Can Actually Wear!"...)


'Tis MONDAY again...have a great one!

Decadent & Delicious!

I bet you all have had and enjoyed the hash brown casserole from Cracker Barrel, right?

And you love it!  

Well...you can make it at home!  

It's a great side dish for company or Sunday dinner.

And...when you make this, you cannot be worried about calories,  oh no,

just taste!!

These are delicious and beautiful once they come out of the oven all browned up and crispy on top.

Enjoy!

Heavenly Potatoes

1 onion, finely chopped 

(could substitute onion powder for the taste.)

2 T. butter 

24 oz. package shredded hash browns, thawed

2 C. sharp cheddar cheese, grated

10 3/4 oz. can cream of chicken soup

2 c. sour cream

(Or if you're like me and get caught without sour cream, you use ranch flavor chip dip in its place. GOOD!)

Salt & Pepper, to taste

Saute onion in butter until tender, combine with remaining ingredients.  Pour into 2 quart casserole dish sprayed with PAM, and bake at 350 degrees for one hour.  Serves 8-10

(This would also be great made into individual casseroles for each place setting.)

Enjoy~and I'm serious about the chip dip, it tasted great!

We are heading back to Ann Arbor today for a follow-up visit on Lem's surgery.  

He's doing AWESOME.

Little Bitty...Bits of Beauty

I don't recall where I found this tiny little bitty blue bottle...one my favorite colors of blue there is.


It may have come from under one of the old barns we've torn down on this place, I don't know--I've had it seems like forever!  


But what I do know is that it's the perfect size for tiny spring blooms:  violets, grape hyacinths, and of course, Lilly of the Valley...


And the nice thing about it is that it fits on my narrow windowsill--just a couple inches tall.

Sometimes when I look at my spring blossoms, I get so giddy, I want to bring bitty bits of beauty inside with me for a little while, to wonder at.  

Do they affect you that way, too?

And this little scene really makes me smile each time I glance up at it, in my kitchen window.


Happy Monday, friends!

Baby Blues & Some News

I found a cute little blue gingham number in Audrey's closet...and so we had a little session with that dress, too.  I bought this at a thrift store last fall.  I have a belief;  and that is that gingham belongs in a baby's closet, and it's too bad that you have to go to a thrift store to find it...babies should look like babies!  

Buttons, bows, and little girl toes are a treat and so I'm sharing another special one with you...

And...in other news, my husband had his pituitary tumor removed on Wednesday.  We got home from Alabama visiting the grand babies on Monday night and Tuesday we had to be at University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor for the pre-op testing.  Wednesday morning we were there early for the surgery which lasted about three hours, and then recovery and a few days in the hospital.  

Now we are home and there will be several weeks here of recuperation and restrictions ... and a few more trips to Ann Arbor for follow-up procedures.  The good news is the tumor was removed successfully and they told him it was a large one.  We are so thankful for that, the good doctors and the Lord's care.  We are very thankful for the good optometrist that found this during a routine check-up when he had trouble with his peripheral vision test.  The doctors were amazed that no symptoms had displayed themselves to Lem and that he wasn't sick with it in other ways.  They kept remarking how healthy he was otherwise.  (I say it's livin' right and good country-livin'!)

Walking the hallways of that huge hospital makes one realize how fortunate we are when we have our health.   

A Pink Easter Nod To Peter Rabbit...

Ninnie spent some time with Audrey and the camera a couple days ago.  Inspired by the rabbit and wheelbarrow embroidered on the collar of her little pink gingham frock, I went with the theme and did some Easter pictures for mommy.  


I use props when little ones need photos, I'm not a pro and I have to have some help. So off her little bookshelf came some of her adorable little Beatrix Potter books, and she was a happy camper.


And so was I.


Her little rolls of fat that look like they were formed by rubber bands, dimples where knuckles will soon be...all of this pink perfection must be preserved for the memory and I thought it only appropriate to share some of the goodness with you.

Enjoy, and Audrey and I want to wish you a 

VERY HAPPY, BLESSED EASTER!