Happy Mothers Day!

Happiness of the Heart

I wish I'd lived there

The book club I belong to recently finished reading Anne of Green Gables. I wish I'd lived in that magical place and time.

Yes, I know it is a made up story, but Prince Edward Island is real and L.M. Montgomery's flourishing depictions left me longing to have lived there. I also would very much have loved to be friends with Anne Shirley. What a delightful character! A true friend, a firm believer (and make-believer) and fiercely loyal to her family. What a lovely thought....




Several years ago I watched the mini series featuring Megan Fallows on PBS. I loved it so much that I bought the videos (okay, maybe it was more than several years ago). I think it's time to drag them out and give them another whirl.

Anne of Green Gables...definitely stuff i heart.

Cupcakes in a jar

Cupcakes???? In a jar??? Are you serious???



I saw these little beauties yesterday while poking around here. I suppose I should order some to make sure that I truly do heart them...right?

I am, for sure, going to order some for birthday gifts for friends though. What a clever, unique gift! I'll be the best friend ever, and that's something to heart too...

A Message of Love

Yummy Baked Goods

I love a yummy baked good. Gimme chocolate croissants, maple long johns, brownies....okay, just about anything from a bakery.

Imagine my sheer joy when my love of baked goods and quilting miraculously came together with this darling website.


You can "cook" to your hearts content...no calories involved!

Busy mom's helper

Keeping track of the life a busy mom is tough.

There are lots of planners around, but I really heart this one from WeekDate. I especially heart the green one...being Irish and all.


They've got several other great covers and even one that you can hang on the wall when you really need room...like if you had six kids or something.

Redbox, I love thee

Over the course of my short (ahem) life, I have sometimes had what I thought was a good idea. Nothing, and I mean nothing, I've thought of remotely compares to the geniuses who thought up Redbox.




I wish that I'd been given the chance to invest even one dollar with those smarty pants people! I'd probably have enough money to rent movies from those other places...not that I would cause a dollar is you really need to spend to see a great movie.

"Eye" heart this Blogger

I came across this VERY creative blogger not long ago and I have to say there is so much to heart about her. One of her latest and greatest ideas involves eyelets...I mean, seriously, eyelets?! Check out the entire project here



You are gonna be shocked at what she came up with! Who would have thought....

Childhood Memories

When my kids were little, their grandma made them a fun little playhouse that covered a card table. Polyester and ball fringe never looked so cute. They spent many an hour playing under that table creating memories and enjoying childhood.

Imagine my happy heart when I came across these darling things on my favorite site etsy



Makes you want to be short again, huh?

Easter Message from the Heart

SNOW DAY!!

I heart snow days! No where to go....nothing to do. Just a warm fire, jammies all day, cookies and hot cocoa!

We haven't had one for two winters now and, frankly, that's just wrong. We are going to make the most of it! In fact, last night, in anticipation of just this very occurrence, I got three dvd's from the redbox (ooooh, that's another post) and I intend to watch them ALL...maybe more than once!

Decorating Cents

I don't watch too much tv in general, and when I do it's mostly HGTV. I heart watching all those great decorating shows and pretending that I'm actually going to do some of those great (and cheap) projects. HA! But it's all about the dreaming, right?!

My favorite one is Decorating Cents and I tend to get a little cranky if I have to miss it (in fact, I am creating this post during its commercials).

Clever stuff, cheap stuff and stuff I heart....what a great combination.

Happy O'Hearting

I think that in a former life, I must have been Irish. I don't exactly believe in former lives, but somehow I must have some green blood in me somewhere because I love Saint Patricks Day. Not to mention that my favorite color is green....that alone makes me Irish, right?!

Due to my particular hearting of this day, the Leprechauns decided to visit our home for some merry mischief last night. They left a trail behind them that elicited "ooh's and aah's" from even the teenagers. Not bad.

Message from the Heart

Orla who?

I found this neat little tutorial the other day and ran straight to Target, then on to Jo-Ann fabric. Three hours later, I had me a darling little this!




Thanks, Jill. I super-heart my tote!

Must...have....this....

Oh gravy! Can you stand how great this is? You can find it (and more) here. Yeah, where else did you expect....okay, other than possibly Etsy. But a handmade chair? C'mon people :)

My heart just might burst if I don't put this in my living room.

dead computer

so, so sad. computer is off to be fixed and I can't describe my hate affair with the desktop pc.

be back to the hearting soon....but I just can't heart this computer.

Simply "Marvel"ous

In addition to the aforementioned magazines, I am pretty addicted to bags....handbags, totebags, reusable grocery bags (c'mon, they're a dollar!) cool shopping bags. You name the type of bag and I love it...unless it's bags under my eyes. Those I don't heart so much.

My current obsession is from this neat little company Jane Marvel




This one is the "satchel" (my personal fav) and, seriously, it holds tons. But if you don't need it to hold tons, it does a great job of just looking good. What's not to heart?

fashion advice

Whew....it's been a few days since I posted last. We had a whirlwind weekend around here with lots of fun family action, but I am back in the groove and ready to heart some more stuff.

Today while cruisin' the net I came across this little beauty.


Domestic Fashionista has some great ideas and tutorials for fashioning up your home. I got a few new ideas to get my creative juices flowing again and can't wait to hit my craft/sewing room.

As you know, I heart crafting very much, so this new blog will be a great addition to my loooooong list of favs.

Got Rhinovirus?

Rhinovirus? Really, who decided on that name? I will admit, though, when you aren't feeling well, it sounds much better to say you have the "Rhinovirus" rather than just a plain ole' cold. Get's you a bit more sympathy from the fam....okay, well, maybe it just means that they'll order pizza instead of waiting for you to tell them what's for dinner.

When the Rhino comes knocking, I pull out this stuff



Seriously, I heart this stuff. It really does make my cold shorter. Don't know what's really in it, don't care.

For those of you who are really into the Rhinovirus, Zicam even has a widget you can download and get daily updates on cold and flu activity in your area. Who knew?

ladies who lunch

Ask anyone who is my friend and they'll tell you that I am a lady of leisure....you know, the kind that lounges around doing nothing but lunching (it's a verb, trust me) with friends.


Today I get to be lazy again (that is after I am done with two volunteer things over a the school) and go to lunch with a good friend.

I heart lunch...a lot.

TCB

Today I'm feeling creative and bloggy, so of course I headed over to one of my favorite websites, Today's Creative Blog.






There is a wealth of information to heart under just about every category you can imagine. It's a great shortcut to finding inspiration for getting creative....or bloggy. Whichever you heart.

craftarafting favs

I thought I'd post some of my favs from my week of craftarafting.








I heart them....or I wouldn't have made them in the first place, right?

be still my flickr-ing heart

The other day I was on one of my favorite blogs (which I shall blog about later) and I became intimately acquainted with flickr.

I've seen flickr before, but never was very enticed to go on over and check it out, but the aforementioned blogger was having a contest and flickr was involved in entering the contest and since I am all about winning free stuff, I went on over and joined that flickr thing. I'm hooked. If you want to get hooked too, just click on that cute little button over on the left and it'll take you right to my photostream.



Yep, I heart flickr

fond memories

Today during the aforementioned craftaganza, I was doing some sewing on my grandma's old sewing machine. I remember sitting in the "spinny-aroundy" chair eating the butter and sugar sandwiches (yeah, it's true) she made for me watching her sew on this very machine. Never imagined thirty-ish years later that I'd be creating on it too.



I asked my mom why she wasn't using her sewing machine? "Honestly," she said "this one works better."

They just don't make them like they used to. I heart this machine. It's loud, the needle isn't quite in the center and it has absolutely no fancy stitches. Hopefully it will get passed down to me someday.....cause it'll probably work better than mine.

craftarafting

Today marks the beginning of a week long craftaganza with my mom. I am going to spend the week in my jammies, making crafts and eating junk. Maybe I'll even post a few pictures.....of the crafts, ya know.

What's not to heart about that?

A flying heart

I am sitting in an airport as I write this post insanely happy that there is free, yes you heard me correctly, free WIFI. It just makes my heart happy. There isn't much free in life anymore.

As I was thinking about today's post, I realized that as I have traveled over the last, ahem, couple of years (I didn't fly until I was 18 and leaving for college. Scared the pants off me the first time), airports are just about my least favorite places to be. Noise, germs, crying kids (occasionally my own), outrageously expensive food....you get the idea.

One exception to all this is MCI. Nope, not the telephone company. Kansas City International Airport (yeah, International. Kinda strikes me as funny too. Where in the world could you possibly fly to from Kansas City without a stopover somewhere?) Your bags usually arrive at the carousel before you do, parking is so cheap you could tip the guy who takes the money and still not have spent two bucks and being dropped at the curb means being approximately 10 feet from your gate. And I am not exaggerating. It's simply the most insanely easy airport to navigate. Period. End of story.

I heart MCI. And it doesn't hurt that it is my "home" airport. Yep, where I grew up. Never appreciated it until I started traveling more. Absence makes the heart grow fonder? It's true.

I told you it was a sickness

Yep, another one came in the mail today. It's my first issue ever and I am dying to sit and read and let the hearting begin. Found this one at my local library and just had to have it. Mary Janes Farm magazine.




Now let me be clear. I am not in any way an organic type of gal. Grew up in the midwest, but not on a farm. Visited a farm or two. Doesn't really count, though....didn't even wear boots.

This darn magazine is just so beautiful that I might have to give organic a try. Who knows? Could be another thing I heart.

family portrait....sort of

I got a package in the mail today and when I opened it, this is what greeted me. SO adorable! Who wouldn't heart this?!




Then I unwrapped it and this is what was under all that darling packaging.


So much to heart about this family portrait!

If you want one for yourself (and, I promise, you do), head on over to Made With Love and Glue at my favorite..... yep, Etsy.

this little doggie

I've never really been what you'd call an animal person. As in, when hubby is out of town, he takes his dog to the kennel. I generally don't deal well with the "surprises" dogs tend to leave around the house. The hearting just wasn't there.

Imagine my surprise when I spied this little doggie and instantly fell in love. Don't ask me how. Don't ask me why. I can't explain it. This little ball of fur completely took me in.


He now belongs to my daughter and I'm only "babysitting" him until she leaves dorm life behind and he can move in with her. I'm just guessing, but once he moves I'd wager there will be another little doggie move in right behind him.

blogs i heart

One of the reasons that I began blogging was because of all the wonderful blogs I found out in cyberspace. I discovered so many people who had the courage to put their thoughts and ideas to "paper" that it helped me have the courage to do the same with mine. From time to time, I'll post one of my favorites.

Simplify by Camille Roskelley is one I check almost every day. If you're a quilter, you'll heart it too.

that stuff to make your blog cute

I am so excited that I found the perfect person to hire to beautify my blog! In all my cruising, I came across this little jewel.....



If you need a blog design or re-design, run, don't walk, to this site Designer Blogs by Erin. Not only does she design great stuff, her prices are out of this world reasonable!

The only sad thing is that I have to wait about 6 weeks before the hearting can really begin because she is that booked up! You know the saying about its a good sign if the repair shop is too busy to get you in right away....

Sunday Hearting

Mormon Messages on You Tube.


How great is that...

I Heart mail

Why, you say? Mail can be downright depressing. Junk, bills, overdue notices, catalogs you can't afford to buy anything from....

The thing is that because of my mild (cough, cough) magazine addiction (see yesterday's post) I very often have a magazine in the mailbox. When I say often, I mean about 18 out of 30ish days. If I could, I'd arrange it so I could get one everyday....hmmmm.

Today was one of those days! I can hardly wait to get through this post, grab the chocolate, settle into my favorite chair and get lost for an hour. The magazine du'jour?



And since my other favorites, Country Home and Cottage Living are no longer around, this is especially exciting. Now to decide which chocolate goes best with Country Living....

Hearting by the dozen

Anyone who knows me knows that I have a bit of an addiction to magazines. Okay, maybe it's a sickness.

I heart magazines. I mean, I really heart them. There have been times when I have had more than a dozen subscriptions at a time. Lately, in this yucky economy, many of them are closing up shop. It's painful. It hurts my heart(ing) every time I hear of another one.....especially when I have a subscription. And I very likely do.

One of my favorites, Hallmark Magazine, is still here and I truly hope it doesn't go anywhere. There is nothing about this magazine I don't heart......well, except that it is only bi-monthly.



The layout, the design, the articles, the everything else. It really is eye candy, but in an extraordinarily useful way. You know how you feel when you find just the right card and it says just the right thing and you feel all yummy inside? Well, that's this entire magazine! Funny, I don't even mind that they have recipes....you know, for cooking.

Sew Beautiful

You’ll be hearing a bunch about my new favorite pastime in upcoming posts, but here is a picture of some fabric I got in the mail the other day.





Seriously, I nearly cried when I saw it….sooo beautiful! It’s from the Amy Butler “Belle” collection and I cannot wait to make it into a quilt! It will be stunning.

And you get a “two-fer” deal here because I’m gonna tell you where to get amazing prices on these beautiful fabrics and you probably don't even have to guess what I am going to say...... ETSY! A website I heart lots! And some of the best prices you’ll find belong to this little shop Fabric Supplies.

I also needed a “custom listing” (more about that later) and within 30 mins of our “convo” (basically emailing back and forth through Etsy) I had it bought and paid for and about 3 hours later I had an email telling me it had shipped! Oh my goodness!! Could the hearting be any bigger?

More hearting than I thought possible

I clearly remember the days of sitting at my computer and reading a magazine while waiting for a page to open on my internet server. I really am not making that up….or exaggerating. It simply took forever to load a page and find what I was looking for. Probably really dated myself with that little tidbit of information. Many of you likely don't even know what "dial-up" means. Oiy.


What does that have to do with what I heart today? Instant gratification….no lines, no waiting. Just quick, easy hearting with a few clicks of your mouse.

Etsy.com is probably my most favorite site ever…ever…ever…ever. And I’m likely forgetting some “ever’s”. Seriously, I can’t even get on that site without buying something because “it’s too cheap not to buy” “Honey, look at all the money I saved you!”

www.etsy.com is “Your place to buy and sell all things handmade” Seriously, if they don’t have it…you don’t want it.

I can guarantee you that in the future, I’ll be posting about more shops on Etsy that I heart…..and I am not making that up.

Cooking....only not

I really dislike cooking. I’m telling you, there is nothing about the process that I heart….really.

My hubby has been out of town for nearly two weeks, so the level of cooking I have had to do is about a hundred million times more than I usually have to do (cause he is amazing and does all the cooking). And its about ten hundred million times more than I like to do.

Tonight I made something that I remember from my long ago past…when I had to cook because he didn’t work from home and the little munchkins (we had six of em) wanted to actually eat three times a day…sometimes more.

So, this couldn’t be an easier recipe, but I’m sure you already figured that out. I make rice and salad and rolls (well, I make myself go to the store and buy those) and hardly feel like I’ve cooked. Not to mention, the kids loved it. Try it sometime. I think you’ll heart this recipe as much as I do.

Chili Cranberry Chicken
Yield: 4-6 servingsPrep: 30 minutes

1/2 cup chili sauce

1/2 cup whole berry cranberry sauce

2 Tbs orange marmalade

1/8 tsp ground allspice

4-6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Combine the first four ingredients; set aside. In a large skillet, slowly brown chicken on both sides in oil. Pour chili sauce mixture over chicken, simmer uncovered for 8-10 minutes or until chicken is cooked and sauce is of desired consistency. Turn and baste occasionally.

Yummy, easy chicken!

Was there really any question?

So when it came to the question of what I would heart first, I thought of all the amazingly cool stuff I’ve found online in the last few weeks….but then it occurred to me. What do I really heart most? What gives me courage and love and joy and strength in the toughest of times? Yep, my family. They are what I truly heart most. They have seen me through some tough stuff in the last year.

And because of them…but most especially my husband…I can do this.

As I was falling asleep last night, I really did think about some fun stuff I’ve found recently and I can’t wait to share them all with you. NOW it will be tough to choose which thing to heart first, but I am pretty sure what will come next…. if only I could be that sure about life in general.

A little introduction

This being my first post and all, I thought I should probably say something significant about why I am here and blogging and all that, but it’s actually pretty simple.

2008 wasn’t such a hot year for me. I had a business that didn’t work out and I was pretty sad about it. I wasn’t feeling very grateful for much. Add that to my husbands business not doing too well and, well….I wasn’t doing so well….see where I’m going with this?

Today I was making some cookies (and trying not to eat ALL the dough) and I boy do I enjoy making cookies…I mean I really love it and all of a sudden, bam, this thought hit me. “I have been spending so much time on the computer reading other people’s blogs (such great stuff!) maybe if I blogged, I’d feel better about things. If I take the time to actually write down the stuff I love or am grateful for, I could start to heal.” Then a name occurred to me. “This is too easy” I thought. “Could it really be this easy?”

Let me just say that if you want to blog, all it takes is about 15 seconds and you'll be writing away!

So what’s next? I want to find some of that “make your blog look cute” stuff and start telling you about stuff I heart….cause I found lots of it lately and I need a daily dose to remind me that there is MUCH good in my life. Hope you’ll stop by occasionally to see what I heart.