Spring is in the air....

It's a foggy Saturday morning. I woke up to find a few eggs laying around the house....and a quick appearance of the Easter Bunny! Spring is right around the corner guys!

Quincy and Mocha could have sworn they saw a little white rabbit running around....

And don't fret.....Valentine's Day is still here. :)

We must live throught the dreary winter

If we would value the spring;

And the woods must be cold and silent

Before the robins sing.

The flowers must be buried in darkness

Before they can bud and bloom,

And the sweetest, warmest sunshine

Comes after the storm and gloom.

Happy Weekend!

Visit with Sis and Niece...and Stella's Night Out!

I've really put this off for too long! My sister is posting a few pictures on her site too..but they're different ones. :) Here are a few pictures of visit with sis and niece. The highlight, high tea at Myrtles Tea House.

Me and sis at tea....look at how much paler I am than her. Man, I need some sun!

Isn't my sis beautiful?
Isn't this plate beautiful? It's just as yummy as it is beautiful!



Yummy desserts. The scone is my favorite!

Paris found a best friend....look at that sweet smile...

We had such a great time laying around my place, cozying up by the fire, catching up. We had dinner with Jim and his girls Friday night. Dumb me forgot to take pictures of that evening as well. We also went to an antique show that was in town and I ran into a fellow blogger if you can believe it! I recognized her from her blog (her blog is Queen of Tart and Barnhouse)!

STELLA'S NIGHT OUT!

Now for Stella's night out. First of all, I want you all to know I slaved over making her toile dress. She wanted to look special for the evening. :)

She was the first to read the menu at our table....

She decided on onion rings....

And some iced tea....

My girlfriend, Susan offered her a sip of wine for her big night out. She got a tad tipsy after one sip. Lol! So, we decided to put her back on iced tea.

All in all it was a wonderful evening. My friends asked so many questions! Does Stella like this, does Stella like that? Where has Stella been already? I brought her passport to show them and they got just as excited about Stella's travels! They'll be watching too!

Until tomorrow....sweet candy heart dreams. :)

Blonde Moment...

Today at work I had to have maintenance come up to look at the light above my desk. You know the kind that has the long bulbs in it? It would NOT turn on. It was very frustrating. I tried everything.....twisted the bulb, jiggled the switch. Maintenance came up and did the same. Then he went on to tell me it was a "structural" issue. Oh well, he said he would put an order in to have another engineer come up and fix it.

Later that day....I needed to plug in my electric stapler. I reached behind my desk on the side of the wall and plugged it in. The light above my desk amazingly went on! IT WASN'T PLUGGED IN. Well I'm not the only blonde. Even an engineer couldn't figure it out.

Stella sat patiently as I prepared this short post. :) She found a good book to read. She's excited because tomorrow night we're going out to dinner with friends and she gets to come along!

Saturday Stella will be going to her new host! It's a secret... ;)

Good Things

A fruitful basket....

A sweet little tree looking for it's Valentine's Day decoration

A sweet love story waiting to be read....

A double chocolate cupcake on break at work...

Devoured in 60 seconds behind closed doors....

"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then quit. There's no use being a da** fool about it."

W.C. Fields

P.S. I was not a fool about that cupcake today. I SUCCEEDED!

A Valentine's Day Facelift and Stella Gets Into a Little Trouble...Or Some Fun?

It was a short night tonight. Jim and I spent a nice evening together, dinner and a movie. When I came home the cats were ignoring me for feeding them late and I found Stella in my closet! She's also excited about Valentine's Day. I kept finding her around hearts!

And last but not least, the Stella fashion show (she got into my closet)....

Until tomorrow dream of sweet tarts and candy hearts!

Happy Birthday Kareltje! Another Award!

Happy Birthday to you...happy birthday to you....meow meow meow meow meow meow meow, meow meow meow meow meow meow!

Today is Mocha and Quincy's good friend Kareltje's birthday (Monday)! Please visit Anya and Kareltje today to wish them a happy birthday! Mocha and Quincy would like to present this gift of a beautiful can of tuna. :)

Quincy didn't understand the meaning of sharing and almost ate the can of tuna himself until I took it away from him. I was not met with a nice face.

Mocha just didn't have a thing to wear and she whined like a little girl. Mom...I haven't a thing to wear! I will not go without looking my best...I'll just collapse here on the bed and act helpless.

Also! Tracey over at At Home On the Ridge and Lisa Michelle over at Memoirs of a Wedding Planner both awarded me this sweet award at the same time! This is the Lemonade Award. What this award is about..Bloggers who show great attitude and gratitude.What you have to do...Upon receiving The Lemonade Award, you also pass it on to other bloggers who you think show great attitude and gratitude. Thank you both so much. I'm so overwhelmed with all these awards! You guys are so sweet! Lisa Michelle has an awesome site on planning your big wedding day. She should know, she's a wedding planner! Every time I think of her I think of that movie The Wedding Planner with Jennifer Lopez. I loved that movie! Also, Tracey, my sweetest, dearest blogging friend has a sweet site as well. She is so genuine and full of love herself. She seems to know what life is all about. :) She's always spreading love around. It's just who she is! Thank you guys so much! I'm going to keep this award open for all those who "follow" my blog. You guys bring a smile to my face when I see who is actually following this crazy blog! :)

Happy Monday! No Monday blues....make it the start of a great week! Pics of visit with sis and niece are coming, promise! Also, I have something special to show all of you and it's about my paranormal group! Stay tuned.

Chocolate Shortbread Hearts

I'm so excited because today I'm having my meeting with my paranormal group (I know you guys have read this on my profile). Sounds kinda geeky, I know but our group is so much fun. We actually investigate purported haunted places here in the Northwest. Anyhooooo...we haven't met since November because of the holidays so I'm excited to see everyone! We usually bring something to eat to share with the group so today I decided to make these gorgeous babies! Stella also wanted to watch. Can you see her?

Chocolate Shortbread Hearts

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon instant coffee crystals

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup butter

Combine flour, brown sugar, cocoa, instant coffee and cinnamon in a bowl and mix to combine. With a pastry blender cut butter into dry mixture until it resembles fine crumbs. Knead dough with hands until it forms a smooth ball. Roll dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/4-inch thick. Use heart-shaped cookie cutters to cut dough. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, 1 inch apart. Re-roll dough as necessary. Bake in preheated 325 degree F oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until edges are set.

Chocolate Frosting:1/2 cup semisweet chocolate pieces1 teaspoon shortening
Combine chocolate and shortening in saucepan and stir over low heat until melted. Dip each cookie in chocolate and place on wax-paper lined cookie sheet. Let stand until chocolate sets.

Happy Baking!

And the winner is....the giveaway I won...and STELLA HAS ARRIVED!

The winner of my 100th post giveaway is sweet, creative Ashley over at Domestic Fashionista!! You owe it to Quincy, Ashley. I had him do the picking. :) I didn't know how to do the random generator thingie so I took the time and actually folded each entry (sometimes double entries) and put them in my beautiful white bowl. Then I set it down, knowing Quincy always has to get into something new and he actually pawed, and picked and pawed again and finally up his head came and he (and I mean literally) had a piece of paper in his mouth. He almost took off with it but I caught him! All that picking and pawing took a lot out of him as you can see in the last picture.

Also! I received my giveaway from Marilyn over at Summer Gypsy! This was just the sweetest thing I have seen. I will treasure it always since she made it especially for me. :) It's a little ring of cards with sweet vintage pictures of dogs and little poems. She placed it in this adorable tin that she adorned with paw prints and a sweet picture of a dog. I really do love special gifts like this, when someone puts their heart into making something. It means so much more to me than buying something at a store (which doesn't say much for me since my recent giveaway are all store bought!). :) Marilyn is very talented and I encourage you to swing over to her blog and checkout her wonderful creative goodies! Thank you, Marilyn!!!

Now....drum roll please....STELLA HAS ARRIVED!! I came home a little late from work this evening and went to the mailbox. I heard a rumbling....and some mumbling coming from the box. Kinda sounded like Mr. Bill from Saturday Night Live. Lol! I opened the box and there inside was a big package from Heather over at Forever Family! I knew what it was almost immediately. :) It was Stella! She had just come from a wonderful visit with Heather and her wonderful family. I was so honored when Heather asked me to be her host next. I opened the package and out she popped with her beautiful hair and dress and carrying her trusty passport! Mocha was a little cautious saying hi but Quincy loved her and rubbed his head against her for a friendly hello. He probably was excited he possibly had a friend to play with since Mocha doesn't play with him a lot of the time. We shall see about that. ;)

Stella started her journey from England! Isn't that exciting? She crossed the oceans just to visit all of us. She has two moms, Lindsay-ann over at The Cross Stitch House and Lorrie at The View from My Door . The both have wonderful blogs and you can follow Stella and her whereabouts on either one of their sites! Isn't this exciting? It's like following Santa around before Christmas! I'm sure Stella misses both Lorrie and Lindsay-ann but she sure is having a great time traveling around the U.S.! Thank you, Lindsay-ann and Lorrie for creating such a fun adventure for Stella!

Stella says hello to Mocha....

Stella gets a warm welcome from Quincy!

Stella cleaned up a bit and washed her hair before going to sleep....

Wolfie, the husky I won from my niece's giveaway at Puppy Cove is keeping Stella company and will watch over her...as will Quincy. :) Bed time for Stella. :)

Quincy keeps a close eye on Stella and meows her to sleep. :)

Twas was the night before Friday, when all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even Stella (okay so I never said I was a poet). ;)