easter - a little late

Sorry I'm late in posting my Easter pictures. This bronchitis was really kicking my butt - on the verge of pneumonia! Now that I'm feeling better, I am in the mood for blogging once again.

Easter dinner was at my Aunt Suzie and Uncle Jim's house. Suzie always sets such a lovely table.

Uncle Jim is THE grill master - even grilling our Easter dinner turkey...

Three lovely ladies in my life...Aunt Suzie; Mom; and niece, Hannah...

My scraggly but handsome son, Tim and Hannah...

Enjoying their dessert (cheesecake, lemon chiffon cake, & Kentucky Derby pie - all homemade) are my Aunt Andie; cousin, Dina (Andie's daughter); and Mom...

Lastly, here comes these two suspicious-looking men: Uncle Jim and hubby, Brian. Or, maybe they think I'M up to something. Nah...

playing around with living room decor again

I've been home sick with bronchitis all week, and there's only so much reading or web surfing I can do. And I don't watch much TV. It's hard for me to sit still, even when I'm sick. I'm a doer.

So, I played with some decor in the living room.

Here's the shot of the area I changed...

 I had some pretty bird notecards that were worthy of framing...

There's three floating shelves above the fireplace instead of a mantle.

For the bird notecard in the middle, I actually used three frames that I glued together.

A close-up...

Another shelf...

The third shelf...

Dug out my birdcages and a birdcage-like cloche for the spring....

This birdcage-like cloche was found at Salvation Army a couple of years ago. It was a rusty brown color and I spray painted it white.

And I found this birdcage at the antique mall by my house. Books in a birdcage? Sure, why not!

bad pussycat!

 Lesson learned: do not try to make a pretty floor display involving plants when you have a rambunctious kitten.

Here's Monkey surveying the damage in the background.

Who, me??

what i woke up to this morning

BLECH.

good day to bake muffins

When the day looks like this...gray skies, cold, and rain mixed with snow, especially in mid-April...



And you just got out of your warm, comfy bed...



 And even the pussy cats are still sleeping...

Then, it's a great morning to make Pina Colada muffins!

PINA COLADA MUFFINS
1-1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. unsalted butter, softened
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg
1 c. sour cream
1 tsp. rum extract
1 c. crushed pineapple, well drained
1/2 c. flaked coconut


Preheat oven to 375. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda & salt; set aside. Cream together butter, sugar, egg, sour cream & rum extract. Add flour mixture & stir just until flour disappears. Fold in pineapple & coconut. Spoon into-paper-lined muffin tin. Sprinkle with additional coconut & sugar if desired. Bake for 20-25 min. Makes 12.

recharging our batteries

Everyone needs a change of scenery every so often, and my hubby and I are no exception.
 He actually had the weekend off work, which is a rarity.

We spent the night in Cedarburg, Wisconsin, a historic town just north of Milwaukee.

We stayed at a historically restored inn built in 1853, filled with period antiques...

The next morning dawned gray and cool...

But it didn't stop us from visiting quaint shops hosted in beautiful, Victorian houses...

We ended our day with a coffee stop at Fiddleheads Coffee Cafe.

 Sipped our drinks, read the paper,
 checked email, rested our feet...

And acted silly. ;-)