Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day today. Valentine's day is probably my favorite holiday. I enjoy letting my friends and family know how much I care about them. I like that it fell on a Monday this year as we celebrated with our friends and family all weekend!

Here is what the studio looked like a few days ago as I was working on some last minute cards. It's controlled chaos.

These are the pink champagne cupcakes I made yesterday. It was a new recipe for me and I was pleased at how moist and delicious they were! Leave a comment if you want the recipe or just search at bettycrocker.com for "pink champagne cupcakes."

And here are a few Valentine's I made last week. I fell in love with the robot paper as soon as I saw it!

Teambluegrass Holiday Luncheon & Swap

Our Bluegrass Etsy team met last month before the holidays for our 2nd Annual Holiday Luncheon and Swap Meet. We had a wonderful lunch at Brendan's in Louisville. Thanks to Joey and Kelly Graves for making the reservations for us again this year.

We had a great turnout and enjoyed the afternoon shopping for hand crafted gifts made in Kentucky. We met new team members and saw familiar faces too. Thanks to all that braved the rain to join us.

If you missed it this year, you'll want to be sure to join us next time!

Be sure to mark your calendars for our first ever team retreat in Berea, KY on May 14 & 15. Leave a comment if you would like us to send you information about the event.
 

A Fall Favorite in Our House

A few weeks ago on a Friday night, my husband commented that Belgian waffles sounded really good for breakfast the next morning. At the same time we pointed at each other and exclaimed "pumpkin waffles!" About 30 minutes later we were on our way to Williams-Sonoma in the mall for a canister of the spiced pumpkin waffle mix.

How did we find out about this? My mom bought us this item last year and we loved the spicy pumpkin taste and the candied pecans in the mix. It is so delicious!

We timed it just right as the employee at Williams- Sonoma had not seen it yet and said they must have just received the shipment. Thank goodness they had it!

While the canister is a bit pricey at $15, it is well worth it for special fall mornings! And you can use the same mix to make pancakes.

Let me know if you try it! I think you'll like it!

Last Glimpse of Summer

Here are some photos that I took when we went to Cleveland in August. They remind me of the last glimpse of summer.



Sailboat race on Lake Erie.





Lots of interesting architecture in downtown Cleveland. This is a former department store that was based in Cleveland.

Dragon boat race at the Flats.

It's been a very long hot summer in Louisville. Our central air went out last week when we broke records with temps as high as 100. I have to admit that I am ready for fall!

What Brings YOU Joy?

I love to hear Lucinda Williams singing "you took my joooooooy, I want it back!" So what brings you joy? What makes you happy?

Here are some things that come to my mind:

MUSIC - Music can totally change my mood. If I am not having a good day, there are certain songs that will pick me back up! One of my favorite pick me up songs right now is by Bell X1 and the song is The Great Defector. I also love to listen to Dave Matthews Band Live at Piedmont Park. We have the concert recorded and watch it almost every weekend!

MY HUSBAND - My husband brings me lots of joy and happiness and I am not sure what I would do without him. We love the same things and also have time apart with our friends. A perfect balance. He is a wonderful man!

ART - I have a great appreciation for art and craft. I can't think of a better gift than something handcrafted. Especially from the state of Ky! My favorite place to shop for handcrafted items is Etsy.


Here is a great example of joy on Etsy. Cloudy with a Chance of Balloons by jewelkrug on etsy. $19.99 by Julie Kruger

PETS - Animals bring us so much joy and unconditional love!


Today I was away from the house for 8 hours (normal work day) and as soon as I pull into the driveway, I see my two kitties at the front window waiting for me. Do they sit there and wait for hours? Do they know the sound of my car?

Our older cat Tucker loves to sleep on my pillow at night. There is something about the purr of a cat in your ear that absolutely will melt the coldest heart!


ICE CREAM - How can ice cream NOT make you happy? I prefer the real stuff versus soft serve but really wouldn't turn any of it down. I would have to admit that the Baskin Robbins turtle pie has brought me lots of joy in the past! And probably a few pounds too.

CHOCOLATE - I don't really discriminate against any form of chocolate. It's all good and it certainly brings me lots of joy. A nice box of Godiva or See's Candies is one of life's greatest pleasures!


FRIENDS & FAMILY - How could we get through rough days without the love of our family and our best friends? One of the benefits of growing older is all the friends you accumulate along the way.

I feel very blessed! Sometimes it is good to slow down and think about your blessings in life. So what brings you joy? Blog about it!


“This post is part of SOYJOY‘s What brings you joy contest. Learn more here.”

A Few Creatures in My Back Yard

Mr. Frog hanging out in the pond, trying to stay cool.


I was watering my herbs last night when I found this beautiful little guy on my dill. On some of the photos you can see the drops of water on him. I hope he is the type of caterpillar that becomes a butterfly. He is beautiful!



Friendly grasshopper. I never realized their eyes were so interesting close up.

Summertime Creations

The challenge this month from Artbeads was to create something with a summertime theme using glass beads, charms or pendants. My first thought was to do a charm bracelet with some shell or boating themed charms. However, I wanted to do a little something different.

I fell in love with the simplicity of the sand dollar sterling silver pendant. Artbeads has a great selection of pendants to choose from. Normally that is where I start with an idea for a necklace, with the pendant, because it is the focal point in the design. I liked the shades of green and blue in the glass pearls and added some Swarovski crystal for a little sparkle.


My favorite colors right now are orange, red and yellow. I like vibrant colors during the summer. In browsing the selection of glass beads it was hard to narrow it down! I selected a strand of big bright flower beads as they were not something I would ordinarily pick and I thought they might be fun to try. I combined them with some lemon yellow swirled beads I had in my inventory and thought they made a good combination. This is a fun piece to wear on a hot summer day!


My final piece uses one of my very favorite design elements - furnace glass beads. I just love these! I picked the bright citrus package with random beads, some solid and some striped. I really wanted the solid orange bead to stand out so I put in some big bold silver beads. The pinstripes on the other beads remind me of candy. I really like this bracelet!


As always, I really enjoy these challenges as they allow me to think outside my normal style and have have a lot of fun with it!

Disclosure: The sand dollar pendant and glass beads were kindly provided free of charge by Artbeads.com as part of their blogging program. The author of this blog has not received any payment from above-mentioned company. The post represents the personal opinion of the blog author.