Our staycation in Scotland?

Well, it felt like Scotland anyway! We recently took a (close to home) staycation and visited Birmingham. We enjoyed...


our Scottish castle (the Marriott)...


that came with a bagpiper...



lots of pool time...



and a trip to one of our favorites -The Cheesecake Factory.

Outrageous Oxymoron

My DD spotted this the other day... we had to laugh! Is this not an outrageous oxymoron?

Easy as Pie

I never really understood the term easy as pie, as my pies are never easy! Now my mom and my sisters...well their pies seem easy. They can roll that dough out with perfection and have a delicious dessert in no time at all...but I didn't get the pie gene by any stretch of the imagination! So I thought I would share this easier than pie recipe with those of you who also lack the pie gene.

2 packages chunky chocolate chip cookies (not soft) 27 total cookies - I use the brown pkg. (it's either Keebler or Chips Ahoy)
Appx. 1 cup milk
1 lg. cool whip (thawed)
Chocolate bar

Dunk 9 cookies in milk (about 6 seconds each). Place in bottom of 8x8 Pyrex dish. Add layer of cool whip to cover cookies. Repeat process and layer 3 times. Garnish with shaved chocolate or crumbled candy bar of choice. Refrigerate overnight. Serves 6-9.

Not bad for 10 minutes work. :)

The most lavish gift

What is the most lavish gift you have ever received from someone?
I received a very lavish gift from my DH for Christmas a couple of years ago...no, it was not a girl's best friend (which we all know is diamonds), however, that doesn't mean that I don't want diamonds or think that they are not lavish, dear sweet hubby. But instead, on this particular Holiday, I received man's best friend. That's right...the most lavish gift I've ever gotten - and this is why!
My husband likes dogs...even had a very special one growing up named Troubles! But, in all of the years that we'd been married, my husband had always said, and I quote, "we will NEVER have a dog living in our house"! NO NO NEVER NEVER huh-uh uh! And for 18 long years that was so! But life's circumstances have a way of changing minds...and after an event that changed the course of our very lives, my mantra became "life is too short". That little phrase paid off in a big way when one Christmas Eve my hubby slipped upstairs with a gift. Could it be pearls? diamonds? pots and pans? No...it was obviously something that made noise. Although I never heard a sound, my daughter, who has super-sonic hearing (yes, she's an only child) began to go nuts! As my husband threatened her within an inch of her life, I was more perplexed than ever as to what all the commotion was about. You see, I knew FOR A FACT that my DH would never bring another living breathing animal into our house - my daughter already had a cat! And I knew FOR A FACT that my DH would NEVER in a million years let us have a dog! So you can imagine my astonishment when my husband presented me with an adorable, precious puppy! I was surprised, shocked, stunned, amazed...I am thankful, grateful and forever blessed!
It isn't that Dach Holiday (that's what we named him) is such an extravagant gift - it's that my sweet, dear, wonderful, loving hubby put my desire to have a dog WAAAAAAAAAAY above his "til death do we part"NEVER gonna have a house dog desire! :)

WIP

Several weeks ago my DH and I began this Work In Progress. We were driving through a new neighborhood when I spotted this armoire for sale. Not knowing where I wanted to use it, I passed that $50 bargain up...but a week later visions of that pine armoire were still dancing in my head... and not wanting to pass up such a great deal, I asked my husband if he would return with his handy dandy pickup truck and load 'er up. Lucky for me, the piece was still there. The painting began...and this is what she looks like today! A couple more coats ought to complete the process and then, she'll take up residence in our bedroom.

Kari and Kijsa are celebrating a "Fabulous Flag-Flying Fourth"!...so I decided to make my contribution to their fun Fourth party! Be sure and check out all the other fun and creative ways that people are showing their patriotism this Independence Day!

Embellished

I adore all things embellished...so yesterday, while in the creative mode, I picked up my ribbon and supplies and forgot about cleaning...here's a sampling:

create or clean? hmmm!

o.k. - do you ever have one of those days when there is a lot of work around the house that needs to be done like laundry and ironing and cleaning? but for some reason, your brain just keeps focusing on ideas and projects and things that take you to a place that you shouldn't go (while you have chores to do anyway). a place where you can't write your ideas down fast enough and if you don't write them down, they are gone...because you are already on to the next light bulb? well, today was one of those days. when the day was done, nothing else was...not the laundry...not the ironing...and especially not the cleaning! :)