Strawberry Muffins

Strawberry Muffins did the trick!!

Well, I actually found the time and gumption to make the Strawberry muffins I had promised my lovely family. I did have to run to the store in the middle of all of it though for a lemon, even though I have a prolific lemon tree. See, my kids like to play with the lemons and make a gigantic mess in the kitchen...... well, that's another story for another day. Lets just say I had to go to get a lemon and leave it at that.

The recipe I chose is from the Phyllis Hoffman CELEBRATE magazine that's out on the stands now. I did change it up a bit. I put in an entire lemons worth of zest and i used half almond extract and half vanilla. (I just love, love, love almond extract. Seriously, I could sit and smell the jar all day) Also, the butter for the crumb topping was a bit much. Yes, you heard me right!!! I would use half of what the recipe calls for next time. There was so much butter that it pooled up under the paper liners in the pans.

They were fabulous. Yes, I said "were". My family and I ate almost an entire batch I did manage to hide (freeze) 9 muffins for next weeks breakfast but still, we ate 15 muffins in one evening. Rave reviews for sure!!!

The Strawberry Butter turned out fabulous too. Someone asked what Strawberry butter is and it's also in the magazine but I'll just tell you how to make it. Take any flavor preserves you like, soften some butter and mix it in. You can start with about 1/2 cup butter and 1/8th cup preserves and add more preserves or butter as you like it. To make mine super smooth I ended up putting it in the food processor on pulse for a few seconds. I probably hadn't let the butter soften all of the way. My oldest was eating it by the spoonful....... good thing she's a size 2.

So..... I am feeling a bit better. It's always nice to have sweets:-) But, I think that the real reason is because it feels good to make something filled with love, from scratch,(or a box, whatever works for you) for your family and to have them truly appreciate it.

Have a fabulous day. Thanks for all of the kind words.

xoxo

Cari

Daffodils and Strawberry Muffins

Daffodils and Strawberry Muffins!!

I've been struggling with the blues lately. I am not the kind of person that generally allows that kind of thing so, I have been trying to figure out a way to snap out of it. Oh yeah, sure, I could do what I used to do, I could go to Michaels and buy lots of new crafting items, that always worked. Except for the fact that I have no money right now.

Ugh!!

So, what's a girl to do?

Well, here's what I did...

I found these absolutely stunning flowers at the grocery store (of all places) 20 stems for $3.00!!!! Even I can afford an absolutely amazing bouquet of sunny yellow daffodils that lasts more than a week for just $3.00.

O.K, that covers the sense of sight, now for smell and taste....

Well, I found some lovely strawberries on sale (at the same store) for just $1.50 a basket!! So, I'm going to try making some Strawberry muffins. I meant to do it yesterday but got busy at my boys school. Boy was my family disappointed when they came home to NO muffins. I have a few recipes in mind. I know that I am going to make Strawberry butter to go along with the lovely muffins I plan on making. I'll take pictures and post whichever recipe I use if they turn out good.

Oh yeah, and I won a fabulous giveaway from SweetPeaInk!! Yeah me!! The giveaway was to spread a little joy. So, some of my swap partners might be getting little bits of my prize in our swaps. Check out her fabulous blog when you get a chance.

I think my mood is changing already. With all of this loveliness how could it not?!

Hope you all have a fabulous week.

xoxo

Cari

One Amazing Giveaway, and One Amazing Blog

" Oh, hello friend. You are loved..."

Don't you just love that?!! That's what the blog is called. I just discovered it yesterday and I must say that I loved seeing those words on my blog list. It's such a nice affirmation. Kinda silly of me huh? Well, even if you don't add this stunningly stimulating blog to your blog list you should still hop over and enter their amazing (i mean AMAZING) giveaway. Like one of my wonderful fellow bloggers, I've got the "March blues". I'm pushing through it though and should be back to post more frequently soon. Hopefully, this giveaway will brighten all of your days just a little bit.

Have a fabulous day.

xoxo

Cari

Happy Birthday!!

Happy Birthday Emma!!

Today is my youngest daughter Emma's 13th Birthday!! I can't believe how fast the time goes. I vividly remember driving extremely fast to the hospital on a really early Sunday morning. I was already in transitional labor and was terrified that she was going to pop out in the car. Well, she waited till we got to the hospital but couldn't wait for the doctor. Then, God named my dear sweetie, we hadn't picked out a name, we just couldn't decided, neither of us had any favorites.

Then, poof!!! Her name just came to me in my state of delirium. She truly is a gift. I love all of my children equally, and relish all of their difference. But, miss Emma, wow!! She's too good. We have to try and get her mad sometimes, just so we know she can get mad. She used to lay on the ground completely still and quiet when she was throwing a fit!! Yeah, a fit!! That was her way of throwing a fit!! I sometimes worry that she is too nice. But, truly, the world needs more Emma's.

So, Happy Birthday sweetie. You rock!!

OWOH Winner

Drum roll please..........................

Using the random number generator 188 entries (minus the 3 duplicates I removed) equals 185 entries. The random number generator pulled number 86 Sunny Tuesday.

Thank you to everyone who entered.

This was such a wonderful "Magic Carpet Ride"

xoxo

Cari

P.S. I put all of my valentines goods on sale for 15% off in my goods shop:

luckygirlgoods.etsy.com

and will hopefully be listing some Easter goodies today or tomorrow.

Vintage Valentines Day Party!!

Happy Valentines Day!!

Come join me and lots of other bloggers and celebrate Valentines Day by sharing some of our favorite Vintage Valentines. (click on the picture above)

Some ladies chose to feature lots of vintage valentines. I chose just this one this year.

I think it's adorable. It says "I'll give it right back" on the inside. How sweet!!

I also participated in Dolly's wonderful annual Vintage Heart Swap and today is our big reveal.

Guess what!! This year my partner was the lovely Dolly herself. Yeah!! Look at all of the goodies that she sent me. I adore the framed collage art and the salt dough hearts. Yummy!!

Here are some of the goodies I sent her.
And lastly I sent her this sweet heart. It was the inspiration for my OWOH Giveaway.

Speaking of OWOH, there is still time to enter my giveaway. Giveaway entry's close tonight at midnight Pacific time. Just scroll down to the OWOH blog post and leave me a comment with a way to get in touch with you if you win.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Valentines Day.

see you tomorrow to announce the OWOH Winner!!

xoxo

Cari

Soldered Charm Swap

Just a Quick Post Today

I recently participated in a soldered Marie Antoinette charm swap through my Marie Antoinette group. I was nervous to say the least.

When I signed up for the swap I was still feeling very empowered from the Sally Jean Alexander class I took. But, when it came time to make my charm..... nerves set in......

Well, it only took two trys and I think it turned out pretty good.

There's still time to enter my OWOH Giveaway, just leave a comment on the post below this one.

xoxo

Cari

One World One Heart Giveaway

Whew!!! I made it. I didn't think I was going to get it done but I did. Yeah!!

I am so happy to invite all of you wonderful people to enter my

One World One Heart Giveaway

This years prize is this sweet little heart shaped wall hanging.

I made it with vintage floral wallpaper, vintage lace trim, a vintage velvet flower and velvet ribbon. It says Mon Amie (my friend) in the spirit of this wonderful giveaway.

Here's a side view

This giveaway is about meeting new people and making new friends all around the world.

So, all you have to do to win is leave a comment on this post between now and Feb. 14th at midnight with a valid email address or blog address (so that I can contact you), and if you get a chance check out all of the other amazing bloggers from around the world by clicking on the button on my side bar. There are so many amazing things you could win. But, most importantly lots of new people to meet.

xoxo

cari

The Good and The Not so Good

No, this is not my husband!! But, this post is about my husband.

The good and the bad parts.

First the good:

Last Sunday night my husband took me to see the amazing Harry Connick Jr. in concert for our 21 Anniversary. It was a total surprise, especially with the economy the way it is. But, he was being romantic. How sweet!! This wasn't our first time seeing Harry. Our first time seeing Harry was B.C. (before children) or, 17 years ago. He was at the height of his fame and fabulous. The best concert I'd ever seen. Well, this last Sunday was a special day. First, the super professional Harry delayed the concert 15 minutes because of a football game. Yes, you heard me right. He said he'd never delayed a concert in his life and that he'd been performing since he was 5. It was the New Orleans Saints playing for a spot in the Super Bowl, so it's understandable. Well, lets just say it was probably the best concert I've ever seen. If you ever get the chance to see him live, GO!!!

Now the bad part....

This past weekend, my husband compared me to other women. I don't mean physically.

He said things like: "so and so's husband doesn't have to do this", or
"when I was a kid our house didn't look like this." Ugh!!!

Don't get me wrong, he's usually REALLY supportive and he's the best daddy ever but geez, those were mean things to say!

I thought about what he said and realized why his life wasn't like others.

While I love those women, they don't have any interests except housework. Which is o.k, if that's what you want to do. I'm not judging. Each to his own, I say.

TOTALLY NOT MY THING!!

I told him that he loves me because I have hobbies and interests and am outspoken.

He agreed and apologized.

Lucky for him!! LOL

Hope I didn't bore you too much. I've got lots of swap pictures coming and I'm going to be entering the OWOH (One World One Heart) Giveaway tomorrow and will post a picture of my prize. So stay tuned. :-)

xoxo

Cari