Spring Break and A Blogging Break

Good Morning!

This week the girls have spring break so I'll be taking a mini vacation from my blog to spend some time with them.  Later in the week we will be having an extended weekend at Grandma and Grandpa's cabin which I am very excited about.

While were gone this is one of the daily moments I'll be missing that I always find so adorable.

Every morning, Shelby will sit on this red chair in the kitchen and watch my youngest daughter and my niece walk across the street to their bus stop.

She'll sit there patiently waiting until the bus arrives, just to make sure the girls get on the bus ok.

In the afternoons, Shelby will once again take her spot on the chair to wait for the bus to arrive again.

Once spotted, this peaceful scene is replaced with the loud chaos of delighted yelps, puppy paws scrambling on linoleum in a mad dash for the front door, more yelping and jumping until finally . . . finally the front door opens and her girls are home.

It's replayed daily, and I'm sure I'll miss it terribly while I'm away.

Soon enough, spring break will be over and then Shelby and I can get make on schedule.

Talk to you next week.

Robin

Cinnamon Breakfast Biscuits

Good Morning All!

Hope you had a wonderful weekend.  At our house things were busy yet restful at the same time - - the perfect weekend.

Today I'd like to share with you a well loved recipe from our home that I have been meaning to post about this whole winter. 

During the colder months of the year I love to make my girls a warm breakfast to start off the day and this is one recipe that I turn to at least once a week for something quick and easy.

Cinnamon Breakfast Biscuits

3 cups bisquick mix (or homemade version)

3/4 cup Milk

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

3/4 cup raisins (optional)

Mix together bisquick mix, milk, cinnamon and raisins until dough forms.  Either use a biscuit cutter to shape the dough or use the drop biscuit method to form dough into eight biscuits.

Bake at 450 for 15 minutes.

Allow to cool and top with a powdered sugar glaze.

Powdered Sugar Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

2 TBLS. water

Mix together well



First gather your supplies, and mix together both the Bisquick and cinnamon.  In the past I have used both store bought Bisquick mix and a homemade version.  Both work great.

 Next add the milk and mix just a little until the dough forms.

At this point you have two choices.  Either make drop biscuits - the super quick version or use a biscuit cutter - - the longer version.

Most day's I prefer the drop biscuit method since it takes less than a minute.  Simply take your mixing spoon and scoop out some dough and plop it onto your baking pan.  If I think the biscuit needs a little extra forming I'll quickly squish the dough into a ball like form and I'm done.

Today I wanted my biscuits to look pretty so I chose to use my vintage biscuit cutter to form the biscuits.  I simply dumped my bowl of dough onto the counter and used my hands to squish it all together in a clump that was about two inches thick.

I followed the same method until all my dough was formed into biscuit shapes.

After baking them for fifteen minutes at 450, I let them cool about five minutes and then drizzle a simple powdered sugar glaze over the top.

Served with some fresh fruit and a little milk or orange juice it makes a quick and very tasty breakfast.

Hope you enjoyed!

bye now,

Robin

Linked to:
Twirl and Take a Bow
The Scoop
Tweak It Tuesday
Amaze Me Monday
Be Inspired

Artist In The Making

Good Morning!

Today I'd like to share with you some of the artwork my twelve year old daughter Jasmine has been doing lately.

Her talent and creativity is so amazing. I just can't help but be so very proud of her.  

Her favorite thing to draw are cats.  

She names them all and gives each one a personality all it's own.

The walls in her room are covered in drawing and painting all her own.

I have this drawing framed and hung in my studio.

I rescued it from her throw-away pile the second I saw it.  Couldn't believe she was going to throw it away . . . apparently it didn't turn out . . .but I love it and it's become a favorite of mine.

She doesn't know I took this photo from a school project.  The main character is her signature self portrait and I love that it also includes one of her cats.

And finally, one more portrait that struck me as pretty as I was wondering around her room this morning looking for something to share with you all today.

It's just one of her doodles but I love it.

I cannot wait to see where Jasmine's art will take her.

You can be sure I'll be proud of her each step of the way.

bye now,

Robin

Glass Candle Holders

Ever so slowly I'm starting to add spring-like accessories into my current decor.  

It's baby steps here folks, it is after all only March in Minnesota and spring could very well be a long way off still.  So I'm trying to keep my excitement for spring under control until the month of April rolls around.

Even though I'm trying to keep my excitement at arms length away I couldn't resist strolling through Targets garden section the other day.  

They have a few fun items this year and lots of lanterns!  Since I'm a sucker for lanterns I couldn't resist picking up two glass hurricane lanterns - aren't they pretty.

They have them in three different sizes, I picked the medium size but now I'm think maybe I should pick up a large one too.

I love their rustic vibe and the subtle pale blue tint to the glass.  Something I didn't notice in the store but was very excited about once I got them home.

I placed simple votive candles inside since I'm not a big fan of cleaning up melted wax messes

Grouped together along with a simple faux flowering branch of blooms on the chippy coffee table I think my new lanterns are the perfect way to start transitioning my living room over to its spring decor.

They are Simple and Pretty - - Perfect for me.

How about you,  have you started freshening up any rooms in your home for spring?


Bye now,

Robin

Linked to:
Twirl and Take a Bow
The Scoop
Tweak It Tuesday
Be Inspired
Simple and Sweet Friday

Fun Finds

Good Morning!

It's Friday again!  Yippeee!

And time share some Fun Finds.

First up, delicate, hand-embroidered hankies!

I'm a complete sucker for these.  I have stacks of them already, more than I could ever use, but I can't seem to stop myself from purchasing more.  Especially when I find gorgeous ones like these.

I like to use them draped over baskets or shelves, and even as dollies sometimes.  Larger, thicker versions I use as pretty napkins for special occasions.

I've been on a roll lately finding hand-made items lately which thrilled me to no end.  I found a set of crocheted place-mats.

They have pretty flowers in the middle . . . 

And a gorgeous scalloped edge.

Also picked up a four piece set of hostess plates.  Remember these?

I can remember my mom using these all the time when I was younger for special occasions.  I always felt so special when she'd let me use one too.

I see them all the time at the thrift store and for some reason I just couldn't pass up this set.  Surprisingly, I've been using them quite a bit.  I'll put the girls after school snacks on them or like today, my mid-afternoon snack.  It makes snack time just a little more special.

Next up is a set of tin shapes and a chicken wire basket from Walmart.  I love both of these items.  

And finally another blast from the past for me, remember these Home Interior birds.  I swear every house I visited when I was little either had these birds or the butterflies.

They made me smile when I saw them in the store so of course they had to come home with me.  I think a coat of fresh paint will update them a little and they will be perfect for springtime decorating.

Have a great weekend,

bye now,

Robin

Vintage Book Turned Photo Frame

Good Morning!

I have a fun and easy project to share today.

Like many of you, I have a very large stash of vintage books. I used them all the time in my home decor but lately I've been trying to use them in unconventional ways.

This is one idea I came up with.

Fun right?

Truth be told, I was a little leery to start cutting into the cover of a book for the first time so I picked a book that had a very rough looking cover to use first.  That way if it didn't turn out I wouldn't feel so bad.

Hesitation aside, I'm loving how it turned out.

I simple used an exact-o knife and a straight edge to cut out a square from the cover of the book.

Then I took clumps of book pages (about 15 pages each) and cut out a smaller sized square.  I repeated this process three times until I had a square that overlapped the photo I wanted to use by an eighth on an inch.  Finally I used a piece of double sided tape to attach the photo to the book.

Super fast, and easy to do.

I know I'll be making so more of these soon!

Next time I'll use a vintage book with a prettier cover or perhaps add some sort of embellishment to the front of a plain cover like this.

bye now,

Robin

Linked to:
Simple and Sweet Fridays

A Hankering For . . . Spring Flowers

I may be getting ahead of myself a bit here since most of my garden is still covered in two feet of snow but I'm a hankering big time for some fresh cut spring flowers!

You can't have spring without tulips of course

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I love the white and pale pink variety the most.

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And then of course the amazing beauty and heavenly scent of Hyacinth are also just around the corner.

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And then a while further down the road it will be time to gather my all time favorite spring flower ... Lilacs

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I can barely wait!

Robin