Title sounds cozy, doesn't it? Guess it would be if we were at the beginning of
winter and we were delighted with the newness of a fresh snowfall and the wonder
of being cuddled up on the sofa with a good book. But that gets old really quick.
This is what it looked like out my front door this morning. And that was after Brian
had already shoveled at 4:30 a.m. before going to work. Yes, he's an early riser.
He starts work at 7 a.m., has a longish commute, and works out before he starts
his shift. But we were both wide awake at 3:30 this morning anyway. Happens a
lot. Wonder what's up with that? I could blame my insomnia on hormones. Maybe
Brian's going through manopause?!
Snow mountains. Just keep piling it on.
I realized I never showed you all my completed Ikea bookcases in the downstairs
family room. I love them - and so glad we chose the white ones.
I know that by having a basement I'm blessed to have room for all my books.
This isn't even all of them. I have more on the sofa table and upstairs in a couple
more small bookcases. I have books in every room except for the bathrooms!
No, that won't be next.
With all this snow, today's a perfect baking and cooking day. I'm making this recipe
for Cinnamon Swirl Banana bread and tonight's dinner will be Loaded Baked Potato Soup.
I don't have any heavy cream like the recipe calls for, so I'll substitute half and half.
Hope it turns out OK by doing that.
Oh - and I'm feeling perfectly fine now. Why I had a sore throat and headache
and felt so tired for just two days, who knows. I took a natural supplement called
Allibiotic (NOW Foods - has oregano oil, elderberry extract, and olive leaf extract
in it - I swear by this stuff!) and upped my citrus intake. I've been putting fresh
lemon in my water and tea and have been eating several clementines or a
grapefruit every day. I'd like to think all of this is what helped me not to become
truly sick. Anyway, happy Wednesday and stay warm!
Linking up to Cozy Little House - Tweak it Tuesday
Hi Melanie, Just a quick little hello. Vickie sent me your sweet comment from her blog and I had to stop by. I've already printed off the banana bread recipe (a staple in our house) and I really enjoyed your pops of Valentine colour. Hope Zippo has some zip back. No zip here... I've not been doing much blogging at all. I'll blame it on our record snowfalls and cold. About -30C before the wind (-22F) again this morning and I'm ready for spring. Thanks again, Tracy
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, Tracy! I hope you'll be back to blogging soon.
DeleteOh, Melanie - I feel your PAIN with the snow situation. I'm just about to post about the same thing! I absolutely LOVE your bookcases! We did the same thing in our house, a wall of bookcases. I got mine off of Craigslist, but they're white, just like yours. I love how your whole room looks!
ReplyDeleteYes, the windows ARE expensive, but I can stand in front of our 3 bedroom windows and just feel the cold air rushing in. And the house was built in the early 80's, so they are double pane, but the air comes in all around the sides of the windows. We're looking at Anderson windows. I'm sure I'll post about them when we get them installed!
Stay warm!!!!
Donna
Glad you like my bookcases. I'm not surprised to hear about your windows. You'll love the new ones, I'm sure. They make a big difference!
DeleteOh my goodness. This snow has got to go. We are up to our eyeballs in the white stuff. I am dreaming of spring. Love your bookcases. I should go get some, my books are everywhere. It is a good day for soup and banana bread. I am going to have to try the loaded baked potato soup. Sounds yummy ~
ReplyDeleteThe bookcases really do help with keeping all the books organized - go for it! The potato soup was delicious.
DeleteYour supper sounds delicious and it should be fine with half and half.
ReplyDeleteGlad you are feeling better.
We have a few inches of snow and it is really cold, but not anything like Chicago. This will be a year for the record books I think.
You're right, Rhonda - the soup was just fine with the half and half.
DeleteWow, that's a lot of snow. It's snowing again here today. I don't think we'll get a lot, but it's nice to watch it falling. Your bookcases look terrific! You have so many books. I'd love to browse in your "library"! The soup sounds so good. I am sure it will be fine with half-and-half. Probably a little healthier too. :)
ReplyDeleteYou can come and browse in my little library anytime! I don't know how healthy that soup was with the half and half and all that cheese, but it sure was good! A little bit went a long way.
DeleteWow, that isn't just a lot of snow, that is indeed a mountain of snow - several mountains in fact!! I guess that if you deal with it all the time you just get on with it, but over here that amount of snow would cause (and when we get it does cause!) major chaos. I hope that you are staying warm and safe, even if a little bored and fed up. We have the same bookcases by the way, except we have half doors that are solid instead of the glass ones as we have more junk to hide than you do! xx
ReplyDeleteYou're right, Amy - we're used to all this snow. Just another aggravating winter day! Interesting that you have the same bookcases. I know which ones you're talking bout with the half doors.
DeleteWhat a wonderful reading spot you've got in your basement! I love the white bookcases from IKEA.
ReplyDeleteThe soup looks delish! I always substitute half and half for heavy cream in my soups and I can't tell the difference. Enjoy!
Glad you like the bookcases, Vickie. You are right about the soup - it turned out fine and definitely couldn't tell the difference with using half and half.
DeleteLove your white bookcases, Melanie! They're both pretty and practical and very neat, I might add! Also, I love the paint colour on the walls, so warm and cheery. Glad you are feeling better and I'm sure this delicious soup will further help. You did the right thing by boosting your vitamin C intake, especially with fresh produce! The 3:30 am thing is, what I call, 'mid-life morning hours'!;-D. If we lived near each other, we could take walks together and grab a coffee afterward!
ReplyDeletePoppy
Glad you like the bookcases...there's so many books, there's no choice but to be neat with them! I had to stack the bookcases full (obviously). When I first picked that paint color for the walls (deep pumpkin), our contractor was dubious. But I'm so glad I went with it - I love it! I don't know if I'd want to go out for a walk at 3:30 a.m., lol.
Delete“A home without books is a body without soul." ~ Marcus Cicero
ReplyDeleteI love all your bookcases.
In our former home we had plenty of room for walls of books, but we just don't have the space now.
That's always been one of my favorite quotes. :-)
DeleteYou have a charming reading spot!
ReplyDeleteI love it :-)
Blessings :-)
Thank you so much, Kath.
DeleteAwesome bookcases! I too have tons of books, especially for homeschool. I am completely sick of winter too. Can't wait for spring! Thank you for sharing at What We Accomplished Wednesdays. Have a lovely week! ~Deborah
ReplyDeleteGreat Blog, Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete