Giveaway at The Painted Hive!

Have you visited The Painted Hive?

Kristine at The Painted Hive has such a wonderful blog!

She is full of great decor ideas and has a gorgeous home!

She is having her very first giveaway right now to

thank all of her followers.  How sweet is that?!?!

Just click here to enter!

This is the item that she is giving away...Lovely!

Photo courtesy of The Painted Hive

So go on and enter the giveaway before it ends!

Good luck! :)

My mother - the comedian

I just had to share this with you all...

My mother is quite funny.  Great sense of humor...

This is what she e-mailed me in response to my

Jadeite & Milkglass post:

Subject: Pink Depression Dishes

"I love collecting pink depression dishes. My daughter once made a comment when I came home from antiquing “Well, that’s what we needed… more pink dishes!” I think now she is of an age that she appreciates my love of collecting and knows that one day they will grace her china cabinet (that will be handed down from her grandmother!). Antique dishes, furniture, rugs, pictures (and on and on) always have a history to them. Part of the fascination is not knowing what that history is and imagining what it could be…

Love, Your Mom"

Have a wonderful Memorial Day everyone!

Beautiful Words for You

I saw this quote and it instantly made me feel better...

"Nothing makes a woman more beautiful

than the belief that she is beautiful."

- Sophia Loren

This is something I struggle with day to day like many other women.

Do any of you struggle to see yourselves as beautiful?

I think sometimes we get so wrapped up in what others see as

beautiful that we forget what really makes us beautiful.

I have to say, I am so incredibly blessed to have an amazing

man in my life who is my boyfriend and my best friend 

that tells me how beautiful I am everyday.

Me & my Mr.

His famous words are,

"I wish you could see how beautiful you are."

And I am finally getting to the point where I don't care if my butt

is a little big or the fact that I'm not a size 2 or even a size 4 -

I am beautiful!

Me and my Pawpaw

I hope these words resonate with you and help you to

see just how beautiful each and every one of you ladies are :)

Glamorous Greenhouses

As you all know I live in an apartment - not a house.

This is the first apartment I've ever lived in and I do love this

community, but I have found that I am definitely a house person!

That being said, I can't wait to have a home and have my own

green house.  Especially if I can make it look like any of these...

photo courtesy of Country Living

photo courtesy of Country Living

photo courtesy of Country Living

photo courtesy of Country Living

I'm thinking I could grow just about anything in these greenhouses!

Whether they are furnished or just have greenery,

they are elegant, simple and completely stunning!

Do any of you have greenhouses?  Are yours decorated?

Jadeite & Milkglass

My grandmother has been collecting jadeite since...

Well, since before I was even a glimmer in my parent's eyes!

And she is a very smart woman!

The soft green hue just draws me to it like a moth to a flame...

photo courtesy of Country Living

photo courtesy of Country Living

photo courtesy of Country Living

And recently I have really fallen head over heels

for milkglass.  I love its silky smooth look!

photo courtesy of Country Living

photo courtesy of Country Living

Do any of you collect jadeite or milkglass?

If you do I'd love to see pictures! Just e-mail me!

I think I'll soon be starting my own collection :)

Retro Inspired Fans

I am really loving that retro inspired fans are making a comeback!

photo courtesy of Country Living

I just love their sleek, yet rustic look.

And I can't wait to find an antique one to call my own...

photo courtesy of Restoration Hardware

photo courtesy of Country Living

It adds a little something even when tucked in a corner...

photo courtesy of Country Living

I'm even liking this retro ceiling fan...

(we live in the South...we have to have a ceiling fan!)

photo courtesy of Restoration Hardware

A retro fan is something that is definitely on my

"look for" list when I'm out antiquing...and it will stay

on my list until I can find just the right one! :)

I hope everyone has a wonderful start to their week!

Recipe: Blackberry Cobbler!

I don't know about you, but I am all for cobblers, pies and tarts.

Let them eat cake? Uh no.  Let them eat cobbler!

I have made it perfectly clear that I will have pie

at my wedding reception.  Mr. EO can have his cake,

BUT I WILL HAVE MY PIE!

Ok, ok...I'm getting carried away!

Back to the recipe :)

My mom has been making this recipe for years and 

I cannot get enough of it.  I'm not a huge sweets person

but I could probably eat the entire cobbler if left unattended...

So here's is what you'll need:

1 stick of butter

1 cup flour

2 cups frozen blackberries

1 cup sugar

3 tsp. baking powder

1 cup milk

Dash of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in your baking dish

(make sure your baking dish is microwaveable).

Next, you'll want to make a batter of the sugar,
flour, milk, baking powder and dash of salt.

Pour the batter over the melted butter in the baking dish.

DO NOT STIR!

Top it with the frozen blackberries.

DO NOT STIR!

Bake at 350 degrees F for one (1) hour.

My oven is a little fast so I only

baked mine for about 45 minutes.

Mmmm...

Doesn't my Le Creuset baking dish look fabulous?!?!

Fresh out of the oven I got myself a small bowl-ful

of cobbler and a tall glass of milk!

So yummy!!  I hope you'll try it and let me know if you do!

Blackberry cobbler is my favorite, but you can use
all different types of fruit for this recipe!

What is your favorite pie/cobbler?

Recipe: Spinach & Ricotta Stuffed Shells!

I get daily e-mails from Real Simple.

Organizing tips, beauty tricks, decor ideas and

RECIPES!

The recipe for spinach & ricotta stuffed shells was
sent to me this week as an easy weeknight dinner
that could be made in no time flat.

And that's exactly what it was!  So easy and quick and tasty!

Ingredients:

• 20 jumbo pasta shells (about half a 12-ounce box)
• 1 24-ounce jar marinara sauce
• 2 15-ounce containers ricotta
• 2 cups baby spinach, chopped
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan (2 ounces)
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1/2 cup grated mozzarella (4 ounces)

Set an oven rack to the highest position and heat oven
to 400° F. Cook the pasta according to the package
directions; drain and run under cold water until cool.

Spread the marinara sauce in the bottom of a

large broiler proof baking dish.

In a bowl, combine the ricotta, spinach, Parmesan,
½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Spoon the
mixture into the shells and place them on top of the sauce.

Sprinkle with the mozzarella and bake until the
shells are heated through, 10 to 12 minutes.

Increase heat to broil.
Broil the shells until the cheese begins to brown,
2 to 5 minutes.

And enjoy the cheesy goodness!
Seriously, so easy and fast!

And tastes delicious!

Ohh!  I got my Le Creuset bakeware in the mail and was so

excited I had to bake something immediately...

But I'll save that for tomorrow ;)

Favorite Things: Ikea

Ever since my mom picked up this cute metal table at Ikea

I've been drooling over several Ikea items!

So, I put a list together of a few of my favorite items

I would love to have in my home one day:

The Ektorp Chair

The Ektrop Sofa

The Ektorp Chaise

The Hastveda Rattan Armchair

The Leirvik Bed Frame

The Floro Bed Frame

These are just a few of the many items at Ikea that are on my wish

list. Although, there is nothing I like more than a good old antique :)

What are your favorite Ikea items?

DIY Cake Plates!

This is a simple project that takes just a matter of minutes!

I always find sweet little dessert plates at stores like

TJ Maxx, Marshall's and World Market.

And even at thrift stores and yard sales.

I found these plates at Marshall's a few months ago...

They were too cute to pass up!

So, I started thinking about what I could do with them.

And I remembered seeing these expensive cake plates

at a local store that I love to wonder through.

To make these cake plates you only need 3 items:

Dessert plate of your choice

Small candle stick holder

Clear gel adhesive

(I used Scotch brand Maximum Strength Adhesive)

Take your candle stick holder and apply a fair amount of

clear gel adhesive to the top of the candle stick holder.

Put your plate on a flat surface with the top facing down.

Like so...

Then center your candle stick holder on the bottom
of the plate and apply a little bit of pressure.

Let it sit like this overnight to be sure
the adhesive has dried completely.

Then flip it over and admire your work!

Easy as pie!  And it can hold a pie, too!