Cinnamon Sugar Twists

Sometimes... 

you feel the urge to bake something sweet. 

Sometimes...

 you know full well you should NOT 

be baking something sweet. 

Sometimes.... 

you know you need to take off the pounds 

you gained over the holidays.

Sometimes... 

you just don't listen to that internal voice & 

you bake something sweet anyway.

♥♥♥

Yeah, that's exactly what happened here!

Oh these are so yummy!

Crisp & sweet & so easy to make.

Here's the recipe:

(I pulled it from a magazine, but I have no idea which one.)

Cinnamon Sugar Twists

2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed

4 tablespoon butter, melted

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

Gently roll out pastry and brush with butter.  Sprinkle with sugar & cinnamon.  Cut each sheet lengthwise into 8 strips, then twist.  Place on 2 parchment lined baking sheets and press down ends to secure.

Bake at 400° until golden, 18 to 20 minutes, switching & rotating pans halfway through.  

Makes 16.  

And if you've ignored that internal voice

up to this point,

 go ahead & enjoy!

Snow Day Tablescape

I thought I'd share a tablescape with you today.

Welcome to the Snow Day...

I started with a snowflake tablecloth from Kohls.

The snowman salad plates are from QVC.

They are by Rachael Ray

and just perfect for this time of year.

I added my everyday white Corelle dinner plates

and some white chargers.  

The chargers are from the Oneida Ltd. outlet.

(I miss that store.)

My gingham flatware is from Spiegel, many moons ago.

(Do you remember Spiegel?  I used to devour that catalog

and want to buy everything in it!)

I bought the snowman napkin rings on Ebay a few years back.

A couple of snowmen friends 

from my large collection were added as a centerpiece, 

followed by my mercury glass votive candle holders.    

And that is that...sweet & simple!

Stay warm dear friends!

Winter Scenes Around the House

Winter, which, being full of care, 

makes summer's welcome thrice more wish'd, 

more rare.

-William Shakespeare, Sonnet LVI

And just who am I to argue with Will??

 ♥♥♥

I have shared my Winter Mantel

and my Winter dining hutch with you,

so keeping in the Winter frame of mind,

 I thought I would share some 

Winter scenes from around my house....

The dining room table:

Dining room chalkboard:

Sitting room coffee table:

Living room shelves:  

I have to honestly say, 

I'm not completely sick of Winter...

yet anyway.

Once blogland erupts with sunshine filled photos 

& gardens bursting to life,  I'll have had enough of

Winter.  (All the while, knowing full well

that we'll still have quite a ways to go

before we experience the same.)

Wishing you a happy day!

Winter Dining Hutch

Hello all!

I wanted to share more of my Winter decor with you.

Here is my dining room hutch:

I kept to a neutral, Wintry palette.

I bought the burlap wrapped tree in Kohl's after Christmas.

I love that it lights up and is perfect to use for both Christmas

and then afterwards, for the remainder of the Winter. 

I'm sure you've heard me say often how much I love stars.

(Speaking of which, today I bought a sweater that has stars on it!)

Anyway, here is a close up of the star garland I used around the mirror.

I got it at Decor Steals during the holidays and

couldn't wait to put it up once my Christmas decorations came down.

Oh, I just love it!

And that's my Winter dining room hutch.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

I really do appreciate it.

Linking to:

Inspire Me Tuesday @ A Stroll Thru Life

Tuesdays at Our Home @ Our Home Away From Home

Valentine's Day Crafting (All things $1.00)

Today I am joining my girls, 

Debbie & Shannon, 

for a Valentine's Day All Things $1.00 Party.

As I looked back through my blog,

 I noticed  that for some reason I have done

more Valentine's Day crafts than for any other holiday.

Strange.

I guess I was never a big Valentine's Day

kind of girl, so I didn't have a whole lot in the way of decor.

Once I began blogging, I started adding to what little decor

I had for this holiday by way of crafting.

Anyway, my craft today is so simple, 

I'm almost embarrassed to share it!

I started with these items from the Dollar Tree:

I used some ribbon scraps that I had on hand 

along with some hot glue and that was that!

You can fill these as I did with flowers, votive candles, candy....go ahead...

let your imagination run wild.

Wouldn't one of these be cute filled with a few tea bags

and a couple of yummy chocolates

to give to a tea loving friend?

You know, just as a "little something" to let her know

you're thinking about her.  

Ok my sweets, that's my silly little craft for today.

I can't wait to see what fun & inspiring crafts

you have all come up with.

Have a wonderful day!

Linking to:

The All Things $1.00 Valentine's Day Party

@ Debbiedoos & Fox Hollow Cottage

 

Winter Mantel 2015

Hello and Happy New Year!

 (I know, I know...I'm a little late to the New Year's party, 

but better late than never, right?)

Now that all the Christmas decor has been
put away for another year,
and I've offered up a prayer of thanks and also a prayer of hope
that we all be here to celebrate again next year,
I'm always faced with the glaring reality of....

"What do I do now?"

It is still very much Winter, so I feel my decor
needs to say that it's still very much Winter.
(It's been soooo cold here...and windy...bitingly windy.)

So I put some things together
and here is my After Christmas Winter Mantel:

♥♥♥

I bought these adorable little birds at Target before Christmas.

I loved that they were dressed for Winter so I  knew

they'd be perfect to use after Christmas.

Lanterns, candles & a frosty evergreen tree

 all give me that Winter feeling I was going for.

 I made a pom pom garland and added a few

snowflakes that I purchased after Christmas

at 75% off.

There you have it!

This is such a simple mantel, yet right on target with the season.

Stay warm, my friends.

If you are lucky enough to live in a warmer climate,

please enjoy that warm sunshine for me.  

See you soon!

Linking to:

Inspire Me Tuesday @ A Stroll Thru Life