The Language Of Love...

Now, not everyone thinks the colors of Valentine's Day
are red & pink...
What?!
I know!!
The entire world has gone mad! ;}
But in IS possible to be "Valentine-y" in a more subdued manner
and as you can see...it ain't half bad!!
{I was trying to think of words that rhyme with "Valentine-y" and
all I could come up with was whiny, tiny & hiney!
Whiny I can do...even in my sleep! But the tiny hiney...
sheesh, not even with a titanium Spanx! And now, I just
want a cookie!}

For more MOSAIC MONDAY pop over to Mary's Little Red House!

The Poof Is Out There...

Hi! I love you!
Sorry, not you, I mean seriously, we hardly know each other!
I'm not that kind of girl! ;}
Whooooooooooooooooo doggies! I am LOVING this
"specimen sampler"{come on...there HAS got to be a better name...
"specimen" & "Valentine-y love"...do not exactly go hand-in-hand...
ACK!
It sure is A-dorable though!!

So, Miss Cassie @ PAPER ISSUES invited me to join in her
Valentines Linky Party and when I hopped over there to check it
out I have to say that I was in Valentine-y heaven! What cuteness!
And I don't know about you but I am SERIOUSLY lacking in
inspiration lately...but seeing all all creations...
the PINK & POOFY PRETTINESS...put those
"visions of sugarplums" right back into my head!
Inspiration is always out there...you just have to put
down the remote long enough to look for it...gosh,
that's beautiful...I think I'll embroider it on pillow!





And this banner!
WHO among you does not LOVE a darling banner?
{and WHO among you has enough places to hang all the
darling banners you love? I know. Me too. ;}




Puuuuuuuuuuuuurdy!
I want to gobble it up!
{I won't. I promise! But I'm certain a slather of Ranch dressing
can make anything taste yummy! ;}




Too darn cute and edible! {which saves me from actually trying
out that "Ranch" theory! ;}





Banner-holics-anonymous...heeeeeeeeeeeelp!




Ok, this is vertical instead of horizontal, so it's not s banner, right?
More like "wall ornamentation"? {work with me here, people!}





I would wear these!
Come on, look at all those colors! They'd "go with" any
out fit...kinda like Garanimals...it would make dressing
so much easier!




This is FABULOUS!!!
Make you own bird cage!!!
It's too much!




Oh man!
Darling!
{But I have to confess...I'm not quite sure that my attraction to this is
entirely "artistic"...it may be because I haven't had breakfast and those
dotted clothespins remind me of a Baskin-Robbins container!;}




And this is just precious!
Small houses...doll houses...any little houses
get me giddier than Taco Tuesday @ Jack In The Box!
{I know...they are an "acquired" taste...American cheese
on a taco is really just sick{yet multi-cultural}...
in a yum-fabulous way! ;}

Truly, though...
I was really inspired by all these and MANY more creations!
So, if you are experiencing an inspirational drought too...that
no amount of sour gummy bears has cured...hop
on over to CASSIE'S and get re-charged!

Dream A Little Dream...

So, unless you have been living under a rock...
you know who Maria from DREAMY WHITES is...

She specializes in decor that is, well "dreamy" and "white"...
and obviously spends all her free time cornering the market on
FABULOUS chandeliers! Seriously! This is picture...while truly
"dreamy" is just plain mean! A "two chandy" shot...when I
have none??? Just makes me need a box of tissues...and a cookie!



And LOOK at those windows! Floor to ceiling...I am in love!!! They are
almost better than a bowl full of World Class Chocolate for 31 Flavors!
{and yet another wicked "chandy shot"!}




When I first discovered her blog, she was doing this to her daughters' room!
I suddenly wanted to be her daughter...or just live in THAT room...neither of
which is practical or even reasonable...but even crazy girls can dream, right? ;}
Those "poofs"!!!! They are killing me!




And I keep coming back to see shots like this...
Dreamy...and white...was a blog ever more appropriately named?
{Unless of course it had been called "Chandy Lust"...that would
have worked too! ;}





Well, Maria has opened her own shop now... DREAMY WHITES ON LINE
And although you can't buy her windows or her chandeliers or those
"poofs"...you can by all sorts of fun and French things that will make
your heart go pitter patter! Like this little lunch pail...how cute is this?
{So, Anne of Green Gables!!}






And even if you don't buy anything {naughty} just pop in to see all
the pictures...seriously...I have no idea what is for sale in this one
and I don't really care...I just want to LOOK at it...and DREAM!



PS.
can someone explain why I am getting so many "hits" from
TATTOO DESIGN VAULT this week....really...what am I missing?
YIKES! ;}

The Cath Kidston That Ain't...

Hi!
I'm cheap...really cheap.
But the stupid kinda cheap.




The kind that buys a big mixing bowl just because it looks
like a CATH KIDSTON design and is muuuuuuuuuuch cheaper than the real thing!
Did I need a mixing bowl?
Uh...no! {And just you shush up!}
But it has POLKA DOTS, for corn sake!
Who among you can resist the "dot", I ask???!!!!
And if you can then you are a better man than me
and since I am not a man at all...that's sayin' a lot! ;}




I love CATH ...I really do!
Even though she is all the colors I'm not supposed to like!
{See! This is how all that gang stuff starts...as innocently as all this!}




Anyway, my friend Katie and her big yap had to tell me that there were
these adorable dishes at TJ MAXX and so we had to go check them out
and then I had to buy some...because they were so, well...cheap!





But come on!
Are they not "Valentine-y" too??!!
Just look at that red!
Can't you just picture a scone on that plate?
Devonshire cream!
YUM!
{I do spin a good yarn to justify them even to myself, eh?;}




Since I was in the Devonshire mood...
I popped this little cutie into the cart too!
What???!
$3.99! Isn't that what something from Starbuck's costs?
And I don't do Starbuck's, so basically, it was free!
Am I right?!!
{God save the queen!}



And just look!
A PINK flower!
All is right with the world!


{SIDEBAR}

This is Rose Sprig! {really truly live Cath Kidston}
Couldn't you just eat it up??!!
It's floor tile!
I know!
Shut up!




"SWOON!" quoth ELYSE !
My sister Kae is going to put this in her bathroom!
Will keep you updated...
She is not quite as cheap as me!

Marie Osmond, Get Out Of My Head!

I like to do this with my crepe paper...
it looks dreamy and dessert-like and I am a big fan of all
things dessert-like! And my scale will confirm this{the
big lyin' snitch!}.
Anyway, I do love crepe paper...not as much as cheese cake,
but it's totally right up there! {sorry, it's just the hormones
talking and they keep saying "FEEEEEEEED MEEEEEE!"
WOW! I should be fine by tomorrow though..."she says with
hopeful expectation, while not truly believing the lie even as
she speaks it"... ;}

OK...so, I have all this crepe paper...and I always buy more
every time I go the the 99¢ Store because they have it in
every color of the rainbow and you get 2 rolls for 99¢!!!
{Yes, yes, I know that I can get a better deal from Oriental
Trading Co. or places like that where you get a roll the
length of a nautical mile for $5, but I just don't have a
warehouse to keep it in!{..."she says wistfully, instantly
imagining a warehouse full of crepe paper which then
turns into pizzas...she sniffs at the air like a wolf for
the mere hint of mozzarella."}



So, I have had this idea rattling around in my head for like ever,
{after watching Jami's {of Freckled Laundry fame} ROSETTE TUTORIAL }
but as fate would have it, my Muse is even lazier than me and has
been working on her own book The Lazy Muse's Guide To Ripping Off You Master!
So, since we're not on speaking terms right now, I
decided to take the bull by the horns and go it alone...museless...
and hungry!




Now Jami made it look easy as pie{did someone say "PIE??!!"}
and yet the thought of all the cutting of fabric and threading
of needles...and scissors...ACK! If I am going to work that hard
the end result better smell like a hot apple pie and fries from
McDonalds!





So, I decided to go with crepe paper that is all nicely rolled and
and neatly sized...why can't I just make rosettes from crepe paper?
{even as she punctuated the last sentence her mind was already in
a happy place where everyone wore big red shoes and McNuggets
were never far out of reach....}




I industriously folded, spindled and mutilated...twisted, twisted and did
I mention...twisted...{little FYI here...if you have any hint of carpelly
tunnelness...this IS NOT the project for you...cross my heart...and if I'm
lying may I never have another Famous Star as long as I live...no lie
is worth that risk!




And when I was all done, I had turned varying shades of pink crepe
paper{they look like sherbet ice cream, don't they??!!} and a paper
plate into...
{Noooo...not BBQ'd ribs. Sorry to get you all excited! Uh, ok, maybe
just myself excited...}




A crepe paper rosette wreath.
I love it for its very Mary Engelbreity-ness {and that fact
that these colors are tantalizingly similar to those of
Starburst candies!}

Now, if you will excuse me, there is an chocolate donut calling
my name! {"come here you fat little thing...you know you
want me".... ;}

Valentines Linky Party @ PAPER ISSUES






Show & Tell @ My Romantic Home







PS.
The reference to Marie Osmond in the post title was in no way
intended to imply that Marie, or any other Osmond, endorsed
this post, McDonalds, Carl's Jr. or Starburst candies...or
crepe paper even...it's just that I was singing Paper Roses the
whole time I was making it!

Addendum:
Crepe paper roses are too easy an idea to NEVER have been
made by another before me. Therefore I do NOT wish to
give the impression the I invented them, so please do not
write scathing posts about me in which you inform me
that you have a shank with my name on it waiting for
me behind the In n' Out at high noon tomorrow...ok.
I apologize in advance. Thank you

Someone's In The Kitchen With Jane Austen...

This is REALLY sad!
Poor thing! He's befuddled...much like the first time
cavemen saw fire, "Wwwwwwwwhat is thissssss?"
His food bowl has been in front of that cupboard
his entire life...and he had no idea it actually opened!
{smelling salts were administered! ;}
Geez, I was just looking for a bowl...the right sized
bowl...I knew it was somewhere...bought it from
Etsy...pink Pyrex...hmmmmm....



{time elapsed: 1 hour}



How SILLY of me to forget that it was down by the garage door
and that it was filled with all the character figurines from "Rudolf
The Red-Nosed Reindeer" {and some seriously snarling dust
bunnies}! I'd love to explain...but I honestly cannot
remember the sequence of events that lead to this! And that's
probably best for all concerned!



Moving on...

I needed a bowl so that I could make this YUMMALICIOUS
frosting recipe that my niece had given me! See! I have my
priorities in order! She assured me that it was so de-lish
it could tempt anyone! It would even taste good on cardboard!
And that is was easy enough for any moron to make...
now that is riiiiight up my alley!




So, I began with a CLEAN bowl...
and there was Jane!
I know that they say she spent her life in solitude
scribbling away at her little table {ok, for those of you
who aren't actually Jane Austen freaks...that is what
they say...would I lie to you??! ;}
All I know, is when I get the camera out...she turns
into the Paris Hilton!
I.AM.TELLING.YOU!




1 block of cream cheese...Jane says "not the Philly cream cheese!"
She said it with venom too! I think someone is still holding a
teensy weensy grudge against the colonies...wow! If I could just
get her to loosen her corset and try a Philly cheese steak sandwich,
I know all would be forgiven!




One box of powdered sugar...luckily, she had no idea what C & H meant...
so, I avoided another corset fueled scene!





She mumbled something about "checking it for freshness"...
and if you believe that...I have some swamp land in Florida
you might be interested in!




One teaspoon of vanilla...
not the fancy schmancy stuff...I like McCormick...
we go back a LONG way together! It gives me the warm fuzzies!
Like Glabber Girl, Morton's, Arm & Hammer...geez, I'm OLD!
Yes, I said 1 teaspoon...but I have no idea where my
teaspoon is...and I'm a whiz with "1/2 + 1/2 =..."
{but after that, I'm lost...and don't ask me anything
metric...my eyes will just glaze over...much like yours
are right now! ;}




SERIOUSLY!




She acts like she just escaped from a cloistered convent!
{as she raucously hummed The Hallelujah Chorus!}




After wrestling the straw out of the bottle and out of her hand...
all ingredients were ready...





...to be beaten to a heavenly, billowy, snowy glob of fattening delightfullness!





It must have been hormones!





2 kinds of food...my beast is being finicky...he still wants one kind...
but needs the other...I am having trouble convincing him!






Well...since it came with such a ringing endorsement...
I thought it might coax him into trying his new food....
uh, no sale!





Can a cupcake have too much frosting?
{Jane says no!}





These are only 100 calories for 3...so, what could a little
dollop of frosting hurt, eh?





Well, covering these with ranch isn't getting me anywhere!
{these food issues just might explain why I have pants...of
several different sizes...my dieting skills are somewhat lacking...
and Jenny Craig no longer returns my calls! ;}





Ok, the cardboard thing...pure myth...trust me!




I decided to cut to the chase and get all those other hindrances
out of my way!





We have a WINNER!!!





Jane was so busy wiping sugar from her face she forget to jot down
the recipe...
1 block cream cheese
1 box powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Beat.
Grab spoon.
Enjoy!
{add a few TUMS later}



I don't care care if she's an immortal novelist...
if she wants that beater...she'll have to pry if from
my cold, dead hand!







Pink Saturday @ HOW SWEET THE SOUND

Show & Tell @ MY ROMANTIC HOME

Foodie Friday with GOLLUM