ReSoLuTiOnS

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I’m not making any. None. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Zero. I’m the twit who makes them and keeps them. Not gonna do it this year. And grinning ear to ear about it!

Best of 2014

Here is a great list of books for children from a fellow WordPress blogger, Juliana Lee. Don’t get me started in how important I think reading and a love of books is, especially from an early age. My grandson (15 months old) and I have independent reading time and together reading time every day. Every day. Enjoy!

Juliana Lee

This has been an awesome year for picture books!

I have been having a blast reading and writing about picture books this year. I’ve been blown away by the talented authors and illustrators published in the last twelve months. Like so many other sites, I wanted to create my own Top 10 list, but honestly there are so many superb picture books, I can’t limit my 2014 favorites to only 10 so I’ve chosen 25 instead. And even that was difficult!

Let me say right up front that there are many books on other ‘best books’ lists that I have not read, but these are my picks based on the ones I have read and featured on my blog this year. You can go back and look at what I thought about each one individually by following the title link back to my recommendations.

I seriously couldn’t put these in…

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Good MORNING

Winter Crafting… Teen STYLE… Hannah’s Hot Chocolate

It’s officially winter! You wouldn’t know it with our smattering of warm days throughout the holiday season here in Kentucky.

Today was a beautiful sunny day. Clear skies of a beautiful shade of blue. Sunshine and crisp wind. Beautiful. Chilly.

It’s feeling a bit more like we are heading into winter now that a cold snap has arrived. A reminder that we’ll need to bundle up in coats and fun Pom Pom hats, and craft on the projects we save for the colder months.

I have two grown sons, one a college student and one a firefighter. They grew up around my whole family creating and designing and crafting for our family boutique. Growing up, they were great artistic assistants and shop keepers and crafters, and we have fond memories that we share of that time.

Fast forward… now I also have three beautiful bonus daughters. Two are my husband’s daughters and one will soon be our daughter-in-law. Our early family memories are not entwined, as we are recently blended, but just as special as we begin new traditions and build a foundation for our own family memories.

One thing we all share is a love of creating and crafting. And Pinterest! I’m so glad that crafting is cool and that there are a world of projects on Pinterest and craft sites to suit every design style. I’ll feature each of our special girls throughout the year as they complete craft projects.

Today is Hannah’s day. Our “baby chick”, who will all too soon graduate and leave for college. I would say we are entering into “empty nest” but we are overjoyed and blessed to have our precious grandson live in our hometown. Thank goodness!

Anyhoo… It’s Hannah Noel’s feature day. She loves to do craft projects and has tried several mediums over the last couple of years. We made fabric flip flops together, and she has been busy with fun teen projects like a tie dye 4th of July tee and a decorated wooden H. I’m sure her future dorm room will be full of artistic DIY decorations. Love that!

Hannah was so sweet to craft hot chocolate treats for family and friends for Christmas gifts. Who wouldn’t be thrilled to receive a Hot Chocolate Gift Jar to enjoy as winter rolls in.

Hannah chose lime green chevron stripe fabric and a cheery red yarn ribbon for this featured jar. If you would like to make these for a winter birthday or for Valentine’s day, simply choose fabric and ribbon to match the occasion.

Hannah’s Hot Chocolate Project: Gather up canning jars with lids and bands, desired fabric and matching ribbon, and your fabric scissors.

Gather up a tub of your favorite hot chocolate powdered mix, mini marshmallows and your favorite add-ins such as chocolate chips, peppermint bits or red hots.

The instructions are as follows. Using the jar band as a guide, cut a circle of fabric a couple of inches larger, so that it will hang down lower than the band when sealed. Cut ribbon, yarn or baker’s twine in a length to tie a bow or knot around the jar band. Set aside.

Using the serving guide on the hot chocolate mix, add two full to overflowing servings to the jar. Layer the add-ins and the mini marshmallows to fill the jar. Put the lid on, the fabric circle on and then screw on the jar band. Tie your ribbon and an oh-so-cute sweet treat is finished!

You can also make a tag to hang from the ribbon. Maybe an instruction tag or name tag or celebration tag for Happy Birthday or Happy Valentine’s Day. Be creative!

Hannah has also knitted a fun and glittery Pom Pom Hat this winter. Super for the cold days on the way. She has been knitting with her Boye loom for a while now and for this featured hat, she picked out Caron Simply Soft Party yarn in the color Black Sparkle.

I love to see teens and young adults creating and crafting! It’s a great hobby and the projects our family chose as Christmas gifts were just precious.

It lights the whole SKY

Hafiz

The Maestro of Pancake FLIPPERY

Oh Oona. You could be mine, dear.

A chip off this old sweetheart: brunette pigtails, a bit of a ragamuffin, passionate, bright, funny, foodie…

I love Master Chef and Master Chef Junior. Yep, I’m a Chef Ramsay fan.

I’m catching up on the current season of Master Chef Junior and Oona throws this gem out during the pancake challenge: I’m not the maestro of pancake flippery!

Love it, Oona. You may not be the maestro of pancake flippery, but you are a real winner at being a great kid!

Patience is a VIRTUE

I just hit delete on a whole big blog post. And it feels delish. I have the giggles of it.

It all needed to come up and out but really just belongs in a journal. Penning it came in a rush of joy. And victory. And relief. And love. And the realization of that, and the specifics of it all, belong in a journal.

Here’s the thing. The learning curve on life lessons and the refining of character is worth pursuing. I have such a long way to go, but I’m celebrating today.

Patience is a virtue. A virtue. When it’s your lesson to learn and you claim a milestone in it, the rush of triumph should be celebrated.

So I’m celebrating.

Frosted Cranberry Pecan Bark

Frosted Cranberry Pecan Bark

So yummy! An original recipe straight from the Sweetheart kitchen.

Inspiration is everywhere. Especially in my pantry that I keep full of different gourmet baking bits.

I was hosting a winter bridal shower themed in red and white. I wanted to add in something different to my kitchen that was quickly filling with peppermint sweets. Inspiration.. dried cranberries. They are a beautiful shade of rustic red. Now what? A few creative thoughts later and waa-laa!

Frosted Cranberry Pecan Bark!

Prep is a snap. Simply line a baking sheet (with edges) with wax paper and you are ready to go! Here is the recipe:

Frosted Cranberry Pecan Bark
Almond bark, melted
Small pkg. dried cranberries
Pecan pieces
Clear sparkling sugar crystals

Melt almond bark, or your favorite white chocolate, to package directions. Working quickly, save out 1/4 to 1/2 cup, pour the rest onto prepped baking pan. Spread to desired thickness. Sprinkle on cranberries and pecans. Drizzle with the extra almond bark that you have set aside. This will help hold the cranberries and pecans in. Sprinkle liberally with the sugar crystals, for a snowy frosted look.

That’s it! Let sit until set. Break apart or cut into squares using a sharp knife.

It makes a beautiful presentation for your dessert buffet or gifts for the neighbors.

Enjoy!

Sweetheart Water Challenge

Ok Sweethearts! Here we go into the new year!

In just a couple of short weeks we will be ringing in the new year. You know what that means… a bunch of “better health” resolutions… or none… but you’ll still see “get healthy” commercials flood the airways.

The new year is a great time to make a fresh start. No doubt about that. It’s just a rude awakening to your belly and body if you quit bad habits cold turkey or start a strict health regimen without prepping for it.

One of the best things you can do for your body and skin is hydrate. Nothing fancy required. Just good old fashioned water.

How much water to drink depends on your weight. I’ve been comparing notes from different resources and most suggest drinking one half your weight in ounces. Basically, if you weigh 150 pounds, drink 75 ounces of water per day. Not Gatorade, not power drinks, not tea, not juice. Water. H2O. Plain old water.

The benefits of drinking water are plentiful: clearer skin, reduction of inflammation, kidney and liver flush, and more. Great incentives!

So. If you’re like me, this is a challenge. I am absolutely addicted to diet soda. Not hopelessly addicted, because I have high hopes I can quit. But addicted, yes.

My resolution for 2015 is simple. No more diet soda. I think it’s unrealistic to quit cold turkey on January 1. So I’m prepping for it.

Failing to prepare is preparing to fail. ~Benjamin Franklin

You cannot prepare for everything that comes your way. You can, however, prepare for what you are planning.

I’m preparing for my resolutions. Now. I will be drinking less diet soda and more water during next couple of weeks. This will be a time of transition so that I can avoid the withdrawal pitfall of the dreaded headache.

Here’s the challenge. Drink one half your body weight in ounces of water. Get your best friend to do it with you.

Do it your way. Cold turkey, all in, more water each day. Make a water chart or get a pitcher to fill up with the appropriate amount of water to drink each day, or just wing it. Whatever suits your style.

Good luck!

Hi!

Darling vintage postcard from the 60’s. Thanks, desertvintagegirl on blogspot.