Fab Feb Fun Highlights

Recent Thrifty Finds:

It was a pretty good week for thrifting.  I saw this beauty on the the shelves and just about ran to it and hugged it.  Isn't it the Cutest cookie jar?  I have a very small collection of cookie jars because I'm very discerning about the ones I choose.  It has too be over the top cute and I have to Love it.  This one would go perfect with my cupcake cookie jar, the one that has a tiny matching strawberry on top.  

Then I recalled it was my daughter, Sarah's, birthday coming up and she has red accessories in her kitchen and thought, wouldn't it make a super gift? 

A small sacrifice that would hopefully bring a small joy. 

My Gift Giving Rule Is - If I LOVE it and want it then it would make a great gift.    

Besides, I had found so many darling things lately.

Look at all that good stuff!  So many good used books, even one I snatched off the shelf purely because it had a pink cover.

It is rare to find any vintage Nancy Drew books at thrift store anymore so I was surprised and pleased when I spotted this one and even more thrilled when I discovered it was a volume I didn't own, yet.  Great cover, too!   I arranged my fun thrifty finds on my kitchen Cosco cart and thought looked cute with that vintage toy truck.  One a recent trip up to Mt. Airy, NC I discovered that adorable pink vintage ice cream box.  The graphics are pretty terrific AND it's pink ~ what a score!

What I've been baking:    

I decided to do some baking for another yummy little surprise bday prezzie.  These are baked chocolate mini donuts dipped in chocolate ganache frosting and coconut or sprinkles.  They were super easy and tasted pretty good.  I Love the way they look.  I thought they'd be a fun surprise, so I left them on the kitchen counter in my daughter's house for her to find when she got in from work.  That's not weird at all, right?  I have a key to use when I need to feed her kitties and I rarely ever use it for anything else.

Here's what the donuts look like after baking in the mini donut pan.  This is just before I make the ganache which couldn't be easier.  Just 1 c. of chocolate chips microwaved for 1 min. then use a 1/4 c. cream, warmed in the microwave for 20 seconds and poured over the chips, whisking until it becomes smooth.  There's a divine chocolatey aroma to enjoy while whisking.

Let me know if you want the recipe and I will email it to you.

Currently Listening To:

                                                          Can't get enough of this song.  
Obsessed With:

I recently discovered this show on PBS that has been airing for awhile called, Finding Your Roots.  Have you seen it?  It's fascinating!  Well, I mean, practically all the shows on PBS I find fascinating, but this one showcases well-known, interesting people and researches their family tree.  
Sounds kinda boring & dusty?  
But it's super thrilling and very well done.  The people are always deeply moved when they discover things about the people that gave them life.  My favorite part is the surprise at the end of the show when the host, Henry Lois Gates, Jr., tells them what their DNA test results disclosed about their genetic makeup and shows on a pie chart graph where in the world their blood reveals their ancestors are from,  Riveting stuff!

What I've been watching:  

Network TV has been good these past few weeks.  There's something interesting to watch almost every evening.  I made this collage of all my preferred shows that I look forward to watching.  I'll be so sad when there's no more Downton Abbey.  

What I've been eating:

 Almost every morning, lately, I make a cup of oatmeal for breakfast. After I enjoy my cup of coffee and subsequent cup of hot milk tea, I use that same mug again to make the oatmeal in.  

It's been really cold here in NC.  Too cold for my usual Greek yogurt.  So on a whim I decided to give oatmeal a try.

I measure a 1/4 c. of Old Fashioned Oats {not quick oats} + 1/2 c. of milk into my big mug and nuke it for minute, stir, then for 1 minute more.  But keep a close watch on it!  Towards the end it tends to bubble up and if you are not watching it will bubble right over.  

Next I plop in some fresh blueberries and generous sprinkling of cinnamon.  

Doesn't a generous sprinkling of cinnamon make just about everything better?  I have a little ritual when I take the cap off that Lovely stuff.  I take a deep sniff of the cinnamon, really breathe in the aroma of that spicy goodness.  

Then I add a splash more milk to cool it a bit and 1 tsp of Chia seeds.  One day I forgot to add any sweetener and found that I really didn't miss it.

I haven't been a fan of oatmeal for breakfast.  It's usually a gloopy, gluey mess.  

But this isn't.  It's just enough to fill me up with something warm.

Tea I've Been Drinking:

One chilly afternoon, when Em was in class, I popped into Starbucks and ordered 

a London Fog. 

It's an Earl Grey tea latte with vanilla syrup.  It was Sensational!  The vanilla is a perfect accompaniment to the fragrant Bergamot flavor reminiscent of the summer and the Bee Balm flowers I grow in my garden.  I want another right now!  

Even better was the fact that I had gotten an email promotion from Starbucks encouraging me to order a tea the next time I was in, so I could earn 3 extra Bonus Stars.  I like getting those incentives to earn extra stars.  As a Goldcard member, that would put me a quarter of the way to earning another free drink reward...until April when the new program, announced this week, goes into effect.

Later on, as I sipped my scrumptious beverage, while browsing my favorite thrift shops, I had the good fortune to find that cute mystery for .50 cents.  I enjoy the BBC/PBS series, Grantchester, so I scooped it right up.  It was a good day.

I hear Grantchester will air new episodes on Masterpiece, after the Downton Abbey series finale.  So that will be something to look forward to after that sad fact.

It's been frightfully cold.  Despite the chill and the fact that we are both Single Ladies, Emily and I decided we still deserved a bit of Valentine fun doing stuff we Love.  Thifting!

Flowers and candy are nice but pretty books are useful and last forever!

I found all of these classic gems at the Goodwill near the fairground.  Emily found a bunch of nice fashion pieces, a skirt, blouse, trousers, belt and a jacket.  What a productive trip!

This has got to be one of the weirdest things I've ever seen for sale at the goodwill, a CPR dummy.  And there wasn't just the one there were like 5-6 suitcases heaped in a pile, so of course I had to take a peek.  Definitely made me giggle!

The Perfect Date always includes something delicious. 

Isn't that a sweetheart of a cheeseburger?
Hamburger Heaven 

 PS ...I'm in Love with this photo!

Later, we found all these beautiful teas at Fresh Market.  I adore Jasmine tea!  Almost as much as I adore Paris Tea or Earl Grey or ginger.

I LOVE Tea!

What I See When I Walk:

There's this interesting building I walk by in my neighborhood that sits at the end of a street of houses.  I surmise it used to be a fire house.  I'm pretty sure it's apartments now.  Isn't it cool looking?  

I wonder what used to be above the garage door?

Window shopping at Godiva.  I need one of each!

Really, How cute is that?

Here's What I Like

Lately I've been obsessed with ice cream cones.  Aren't they the cutest?

I  know it's the middle of winter and not really ice cream cone season.  Maybe I'm dreaming about the warmth of summer and missing the hot sunshine drenched ice cream cone eating days of.  I don't know, does anybody even eat ice cream, let alone ice cream cones in January?

If I had one of these adorable things it would satisfy 2 obsessions of mine, ice cream cones and cookie jar collecting.  I haven't made much headway with my cookie jar collecting lately having not added to my collection since 2012.  I do have some real cuties though.  I've been thinking about blogging about the many things I like to collect in a series of posts.  I wonder if other folks collect things they are obsessed with?

I think it all started when I was searching the internet for a cute phone case for my new Galaxy S5 {which I LOVE so much, btw}.  I couldn't decide on the pretty pink or the mint green.  

Which color should I get?

Or is this one even more adorable?

I ended up getting a pretty light lavender colored phone case that was half off when I ordered my 2015 planner from Kikki - K.  I'll post about my planner obsession soon.

For more images of ice cream cones visit my collection of Ice Cream Cone images on 

my Pinterest board - I Scream for Ice Cream.  Some day I'm going to find a posh shop that will serve green tea or Earl Grey or Lavender Rose flavored Ice cream.

Speaking of Earl Grey... isn't this the cutest tea tin?  

It just makes me happy!  

 I saw this image on my Instagram.  I'm a sucker for fancy tea in pretty tins.  Even once all the lovely fragrant tea is used up you still have a pretty tin left that you might use to store your collection of movie ticket stubs, buttons or whatnot.  And I do like Earl Grey tea, it's one my favorites.  I like Jasmine tea, too, but my all time favorite tea was called Summer Tea.  It was a British brand, I think, a black tea that had rosebuds and flower petals in it, some orange and lemon peel.  It had a wonderful aroma and tasted like sunshine in a garden.  

How cute is this?

Isn't this tiny baby Bonsai adorable?  

Looking at this makes me feel happy!

When I look at this I feel full of hope and an excitement for the future.  A future where I might, perhaps, be able to grow a Bonsai and keep it alive for many years.

What makes you happy?

My Mother's Day

The fun started Saturday evening

We traveled Downtown to see the artsy movie, Grand Budapest Hotel at the a/perture. My friend, Christi, drove so as a passenger I could check out the happening scene all down 4th street. There were lots of people out, loads of cool restaurants with crowds dining al fresco. I saw that Mediterranean Cafe that I want to try which is across from Camino Bakery, both of which I follow on Instagram now. 
Are you as obsessed with Instagram as I am?
The movie was packed, silly, funny, British & beautiful!

On Sunday we went to church at St. Leo's again.

It's a beautiful Cathedral with wonderful Gothic architectural details, glorious stained glass windows and statuary, even lovely flowers and a sheep statue decorating the altar.  I feel incredibly pious and closer to God in those surroundings.

Afterwards, I picked lunch at Hong Kong King All YOU Can Eat Chinese Buffet.  We all like it and I hoped it wouldn't be too crowded.  None of the chain restaurants take reservations and I knew we'd be starving!  
No mom wants anything to do with cooking on mothers day, am I right ladies?  
We scarfed down heaps of fried shrimp, beef & broccoli, General Tsao's chicken, crab rangoons, egg rolls and a bunch of honeydew melon chunks.  

After eating all we could, 

we came home for a rest.

I snuggled on the couch for a bit with The Fab Four, aka my pets, reading and digesting.  I kinda felt like I'd surely never would be hungry again!

Later my oldest daughter, Sarah & her husband, Steve came over to visit.  We chatted about things catching up on our plans and recent activities.  We decided to order pizza and enjoyed watching AFV, America's Funniest Videos together, just like old times.

I think this picture of Sarah walking through my garden 

during the golden hour is rather magical.

We took some photos for her blog, lostvestige 

Here's a photo of my Mother's Day Treats:

How Cute is that?

These are all my favorite things.   

I absolutely adore Tea!

I first saw this new tea on Pinterest and pinned it to my board named "Try This!"  http://www.pinterest.com/gardengal3360/
My daughter, clever girl, must have noticed and decided to surprise me, thank you sweetie!!!
I couldn't wait to sniff this tea and brew it up.  The scent is redolent of panettone, the delicious Italian Christmas bread!  Lots of vanilla and a smidge of citrus. It's Divine!

If you'd like to try this tea, too, here's the info:

• World Market exclusive

Our The Republic of Tea Downton Abbey Estate Blend Tea Tin is a must-have when inviting Lady Grantham over for gossip. Classic Earl Grey black tea is blended with bergamot, orange oil and exotic vanilla for a lingering finish, it's sure to add a little more intrigue to any event. Enjoy this robust tea with or without milk. Delicious served hot or as an iced tea.

I thought the description was delightful!


But the best part of all was just hanging out with my favorite people, just talking, spending time together, eating food & laughing. 


One of my fondest most memorable Mother's Day was when Sarah was a toddler. 
Could it have been 1993?  
I hosted a brunch at our home in Ferndale, Michigan inviting my mom, younger sister & brother. I remember we had mimosas to drink with my Favorite Martini & Rossi Asti Spumante with fresh squeezed orange juice.  
It was just so Lovely to sit outside on the deck, enjoy the spring day and relax with my loved ones. It feels so nice to do something sweet for someone you Love, doesn't it?
Just a perfect day.  
That was the year my hubby surprised me with an antique doll nestled in tissue paper & wrapped up in a vintage box.  It was really cool and thoughtful.  I think I had already ordered some jewelry for me!  Let's see, the first year was the huge cz earrings, next was the tennis bracelet... hmm 

Anyway, I hope your Mother's Day was memorable.  What did you do to make it special?
Lovely chatting with you...
Have a cute day ♥
xo,
Michelle

Highlights of my week

I've been obsessed with these adorable, white lace edge, metal plant pots from Ikea.  

I bought a bunch of them!  

At Christmas time I filled them with pretty pink or red poinsettias and tied them with red organza ribbon for festive decorations around the house and to give as gifts to friends, as well as teacher gifts.  

When your done with the plant you can fill the pot with pens & pencils, make up brushes & whatnot 

or get a new Springtime plant to fill it.  

Doesn't this pretty hyacinth look lovely and the aroma is divine!  

The Ikea planters come in all kinds of different sizes and recently they came out with a darling light pink pot and I've embedded a link so you can check them out. 

Now really, How cute is that?

Even if spring hasn't quite made it to your neck of the woods yet you can always get a little spring fever by adding a cute flowering plant to your window sill or desk.

I couldn't resist buying these charming posies.

They were only a few dollars each.  The African Violet will be blooming for months!  And even if I do manage to over water it or kill it another way, flowers that last for months for a couple of bucks is so worth it, ya know?  I'll definitely transplant the hyacinth outside into my flower garden.   

Currently...

I've been watching:
Cabin in the Woods, Super 8 & Divergent

All are ridiculously scary/thriller movies that must be accompanied by 

copious amounts of popcorn, soda and Twizzlers!!!!

I've been lamenting:

The shooting of the character,Will Gardner on The Good Wife.  

Were you as shocked as I was? 

I did not see that one coming!  All I could think of was,

"O Captain! My Captain!"

I've been reading:

I recently discovered Kate Atkinson's mysteries by reading a review in Entertainment Weekly or the Costco monthly magazine.  Her stories are based in the UK and seem to follow a few of the same characters, which I like.  I'm enjoying the stories but I must say that the writing, at times, is pretty incredible and just blows me away.  Here's an excerpt from "When Will There be Good News?" by Kate Atkinson.

The only important thing is love

When everything else has gone, love still remains. 

Often, after one of her moments of sadness, Dr. Hunter would give her head a little shake, as if she were trying to get rid of something from it, and smile and say, "And yet we are not downhearted, are we, Reggie?" 

And Reggie would say, "No, indeed we are not, Dr. H."

Is that just beautiful?  It really spoke to me.  And there are a bunch of books in the series to read!
Now, where's my cup of tea?
No better way to relax than a cup of tea and a good book!

Have a good week, readers ♥
Xo,
Michelle