Made With Love....Simple Ideas for Valentine's Day Gifts and Decorating

When my girls were younger,

we had barely put Christmas decorations away

before we started decorating for Valentine's Day.  

Hearts were everywhere, and we were already thinking of

what Valentines to make and what would be on our 

Pink and Red Menu for Valentine's Day.

The past few years we've kinda let it go.

Life just got more busy, you know?

Until a few days ago, when my 12 year old niece Macy

wrote to show us pictures of how she had decorated her room.

I think she did an AMAZING job!

She finished by asking how we were decorating this year.

Ummmmm..........well,  I wasn't sure if we were.

UNTIL that email from her.

Until I was inspired by a young girl's festive spirit.

So I went online and I walked around the house,

 looking for ideas.

I found a few things I had made and tweaked them a bit

to make them work for Valentine's Day, either as a

decoration or as a small gift.

See what you think........

1.  Candy hearts look adorable in a Mason Jar pedestal.  At least I think so.......
but then, I love these candies so I would think they look great in ANYTHING!
And these are really easy to make, using a mason jar, candlestick and E6000 glue.

2.  Painted Mason Jars and Milk Bottles hold anything you can think of,

and would be a beautiful way to hold flowers, candy or special messages.

3.  Bejeweled Mini Mason Jars.......Strips of lace or burlap glued around a jar, embellished with a jewel and/or flower.  These look cute gathered on a table top and make

AWESOME gift containers!  No wrapping necessary:)

4.  Heart Garland.......dollar store craft!  

5.  Heart Pencil Toppers........Again, the wire and pencils were bought at the dollar store.

Simply twist a piece of the wire into a heart shape and wrap on the pencil tops.

 

These heart toppers are also fabulous on a longer stick and used as bubble blowers!  

Thank you Macy!

Without the inspiration from you, we might've been lazy and let this Holiday slip by:)

A few other decorations I found were these:

A heart wreath.......paper hearts glued on a wreath or any round form.

 Pom Pom Monsters!

How cute are these?  Pretty dang cute if you ask me:)

Heart Rag Wreath!  Super cute and EASY!

Yarn wrapped letters or hearts.  This is such a simple project that

will be a real eye catcher!

Well, why NOT a heart tree?  

You could write little messages on them or leave as is.........

cute either way!

  Remember the heart garland I mentioned above?

You could tie them on branches outside.  Awesome!

Alrighty then, I think that's about it.

Check back soon.......I have other ideas to pass on but didn't want

 to bombard anyone:)

XOXO

Suzanne

WANTED: My Birthday Girl. . . . . .

 my baby girl has a birthday today.

a special birthday.

today she is sweet sixteen!

let me tell you a bit about her.

she's a God-fearin

country music lovin,

cowboy boot wearing

football watchin

sweet tea drinkin

southern girl.

she has down home values 

and old fashioned morals in a modern world.

her faith is solid and strong.

(she's actually been called a "female Tim Tebow" by people she just met:)

she's fun

she's brave

she's thoughtful

she's generous

she's a cutie

she's adventurous

she's friendly

she's smart.

she's my girl.

she's 16.

and i love her!

happy birthday baby girl!!!

xoxoxo

mama

AND a birthday cake to match those boots,
made by a sister, with love:)

Lucky Charms and more from a controlling mama bear. . . .

yes, i admit it.

i can be just a wee bit controlling sometimes.
like every good mama bear,
sometimes a bit of meddling/controlling is what's needed:)

but in a good way, of course.

so what have i done now?

well, as i mentioned before, my daughter will most likely be

moving to Chicago in the next year.

and like any good mama,

i'm checking out neighborhoods, safety, weather. . . . .

and churches!

it helps that there is a good Bible college in the city,

with church recommendations.

it helps a LOT!!!!!

2 of the recommendations sound very promising. . . . .

everything i would love for her to have in a church.

but one in particular jumped out at me right away.

Willow Creek Community Church Chicago.

yesterday i received an email re: today's sermon topic, "Simplify"

here are the questions they will be asking. . . . .

Question. What's the most important thing in your life? 

Follow-up question. What would the people who know you say?

 and here is a bit of the rest of the message from Pastor John. . . . . 
"Sadly, I find in my own life that these answers can sometimes be different. I really wish they were the same. I wish that the thing I most longed to have preeminence in my life was obvious to everyone else, but that's not always true. I may be alone in that, but I doubt it. 
 So if the answer was the same, and the most important thing in your life was obvious to you and others, what would that look like? If your answer is your family, how would others know that to be true? If your answer is God, what attributes would be present to show it?
 This Sunday we will be teaching about how we simplify one key area of our lives, while also showing how important God is to us."

i love simple, biblical messages that give you something practical to take into your week.
i can't wait for us to try Willow Creek Church!
sometimes, being a meddling mama is a good thing:)

don't forget that another episode of The Bible is airing tonight!

today on CBS Sunday,
they interviewed Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, 
the creators/producers of the series.

GREAT interview if you can catch it again somewhere.
but when asked if the idea for the mini series was hers,

Roma Downey said "not mine.  God placed the idea in my heart".  

well said!
When asked why they made it,
Mark said he believed that even if someone doesn't go to church
or isn't particularly religious,
everyone should hear the stories of the Bible.
i like that too!

*********************************** and no, i haven't forgotten that today is St. Patrick's Day.
to those of you who are Irish. . . .Happy St. Patrick's Day!
we don't do anything to celebrate it, although when my girls were younger,
we might color our food green and stuff like that.
but some things even i can't resist.
like a good excuse to have a nice big bowl of
Lucky Charms.

aaaahhh. . . . . i love me some marshmallows in my cereal!!:)

the Grand Ol' Opry sent this photo out today with the message

"Hope you're wearing your John Deere green!"

(you might need to like country to get that:)

Happy Sunday!
xoxo
Suzanne

When Good things Happen to Good People. . . . .

and by "good" people,

i am referring to my daughter, Taylor.

for as long as i can remember, she has twirled her way through life.

(okay, run into a few walls, knocked over a Christmas tree here and there:)

but piroutte every chance she got.

she sacrificed a lot of typical teenage moments

(which, in today's world, probably contributed to her NOT getting messed up:)

all so she could pursue her dream.

every summer she auditions for a summer intensive at a ballet school.

but this year, it was a bit different.

she auditioned for a summer program,

hoping to get noticed throughout the summer

and asked to stay to continue training next school year.

that is the hope.

however,

when she auditioned for the summer program at 

the Joffrey Ballet Academy of Dance Chicago,  they did more than accept her

for the summer.

they gave her a spot in the Joffrey Trainee program for the Fall, also.

exciting days for this ballerina, I can tell you.

exciting and scary, at least for her mama:)

so, as she finishes up her high school courses and 

has rehearsals for Swan Lake with her studio,

she has a lot to look forward to, and a lot to think about.

i would appreciate any and all prayers for my little girl as she

steps out into the professional world,

and for her family who is very happy and extremely proud and supportive,

but who will miss her terribly.

                                    

go after the dream you have worked so hard for.

 and always know that if you should ever choose another path,

we'll always be here for you;)

we love you Taylorina!!!!!

xoxoxoxo

Mummy:)

"OH HECK" . . . . . .Hocus Pocus Buns, Babies, Fat Belly Puppies and MORE!

before i start, i kinda think i may have done a post like this before.

but my head is a bit foggy with the flu, so if i have,

please forgive me.

but i got to thinking,

i may not feel like writing any major post,

but i can always share a few favorite "pins"

from Pinterest with you.

these are from a board i have named

OH HECK.

i chose this name because they are pics or ideas for things that

are very cool/beautiful/unique.

things that make you simply say

OH HECK.

here we go. . . . .

Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake.

mmm-hmmmm

if this doesn't make you say oh heck, i don't know what does!

the recipe was too long for me today, so if you go to the King Arthur's Flour site,

you can see it all unfold.  YUM!!!

so Sweet. . . . .

Four-year-old Paige Bennethum really, really didn't want her daddy to go to Iraq. So much so, that when Army Reservist Staff Sgt. Brett Bennethum lined up in formation at his deployment this July, she couldn't let go. No one had the heart to pull her away. (www.nbcphiladelph...)

simply stunning!

another special story,

about a man and his best friend. . . . .

seriously, i think i might pass out if i went to a wedding reception and saw these 

mismatched, ruffled, bejeweled chairs.

OR, a little boy walking down the aisle carrying THIS sign. . . . .

this is just too stinkin cute and precious and beautiful!

and if my girls were little,

this message would be on their wall pronto.

and cause we love cute babies,

here is an oh heck picture of a baby:)

one more yummy treat for you (and me:)

HOCUS POCUS BUNS

Marshmallows dipped in melted butter, then cinnamon sugar, wrapped in crescent rolls and baked. They're called Hocus Pocus buns because the marshmallows disappear! YUM!

now, what kind of post would this be without an adorable pup?

especially one with a fat belly!!  

lastly, a thought for your day. . . . .

so. . . . .did anything make you go "oh heck"?

hope so!

what would life be like if you never saw something that made you smile, drool or just plain

be at a loss for words:)

xoxoxoxoxoxxo

Suzanne