Valentine's Day Chandelier!

Mary's Hot Fudge

Valentine's Day will be here before you know it so I thought I would share one of our favorite sweet treats that I think will be perfect for a sweetheart. Hot Fudge!

See don't you wish you had a spoon? It is soooo good.

They had these jars at our dollar store so I bought a few and we will tie on a bow and give these to our teachers for Valentine's Day.

When I was growing up one of our favorite neighbor ladies use to make this for a neighbor gift every year. So it is called Mary's Hot Fudge. Really it is so easy and really only takes about 20 minutes to make.
1 cup butter
1 package semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 cans of evaporated milk
4 C powdered sugar
2 t vanilla
In a heavy sauce pan melt butter. Add chips. Add milk and sugar. Cook over med high heat. When it boils turn it down a little. Cook for 8 minutes stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add vanilla.
That is it! Enjoy!

It is going to be Valentine's Day before you know it. I love to decorate for Valentine's Day, I think it is because it is so nice to have a pretty holiday in the middle of winter and no one really expects you to do it. So whatever you come up with seems great. I had a bunch of things I have accumulated for Valentine's Day but after all the recent moves I can't find it. It included some paintings the kids had done. I really missed them so last weekend I had them do new ones. I really recommend Valentine's Day as a subject because everyone can create something great resembling a heart. The trick is to only get out red, pink and white and then even if they get swirled together it still looks good.

I do admit to helping Josh maintain his heart shape. But isn't it great?

Brittany made a Love fairy

And a love bug, which is fun because I call her that all the time.

Matthew made an awesome heart too.

I love Kid-art!

The New Bedroom

It is finished! The bedroom by Hobby Lobby. Really, love their fabrics.

I tend to get carried away, I am sure a new little quilt to put at the foot of the bed wasn't really necessary but it really does pull it all together and it was fun to do. We want to cover everything in that cute brown print with the tiny pink flowers. Brittany even wants a skirt made from it! Really, I am very happy with the end result. I want to hang out in there more now!

The Marshmellow Creme Frosting

My nice husband made me dinner last night. He is big on presentation. It was so pretty I had to take its picture. Then I ate every last morsel.

Frosting break-through. I saw this recipe in a magazine and thought it sounded yummy. It was. I am not sure whether it was the large ratio of butter or the marshmallow creme but I have to make sure it is in my recipe archives here on the blog because everyone now wants it on their birthday cake. It was sooooo good!

2 sticks of butter softened

1 jar of Marshmallow Fluff

3/4 C powdered sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Beat butter until light and fluffy. Beat in marshmallow cream then sugar and vanilla.

Husband is Away

You can always tell when William is on a business trip. I get inexplicably productive. I think it is because I feel like the need to make dinner and clean house has been lifted while he is gone. That and I start working away on projects as soon as the kids go to bed and stay up late working on them. So here is the beginning of what I have accomplished this week. I decided to make this chair I found at a thrift store in California a new seat. I love it. It makes me feel like I have my own little piece of Anthropology in my house.

I love to read Nie, and have wanted to try making silhouettes of my kids like she does for a long time. Here they are, my three little chickens as I call them. It was hard to take a photo without glare but you get the idea.

Here is the whole thing together. My little computer nook. Next my bedroom!

Cute Little Booties

I seem to have my crafting mojo back. I decided to try Heather Bailey's cute pattern that Abby raved about. Considering I started these the night before the shower for an expected baby named Max I am really pleased with the result. Now I want to try the girl version!

A Cake

I made a cake for my kids last week. Just because. My mom had brought a cake to Sunday dinner and my kids freaked. Apparently I NEVER make cake. I didn't realize there was this huge void in their lives where cake should have been. So while they were at school I made one. And I have to say it really was a fun treat for all of us. I just might do it again sometime soon. Just because they are great kids.

The Only Redeeming Feature of Fog

Utah has been socked in an inversion for more days than I care to count. I am starting to feel claustrophobic, someone return our blue sky! But the only good thing that comes from these foggy-smoggy mornings are the pretty patterns that are on everything. I took these the other morning, trying to find the bright spot in the smog.

Pretty as the crystals are I am so excited that rain and snow are in the forecast next week. Clean our air!

Winter Nesting

Remember when this used to be a somewhat crafty blog? I don't know what has happened to me since Christmas but I just can' t muster ideas for the old blog like I was. I am still working on things, course none of them are really finished, maybe that is the problem. Anyone remember the family sampler I started in the summer? I think I will call it my mental health sampler because it has never had a real destination. I just keep working on it, and it makes me happy. It may end up in the kids bathroom, I think it is almost done. It is full of little scenes that describe our family, a girl reading, cars, planes, fishing, our house and grass. And just plan cuteness, guess that is for me.

I have been trying to finish pulling the family room together now that the entertainment center had been repaired after all of its moves. My mom helped me get it and those pictures in the right place.

Our Bedroom. The latest project. This is what we have now, and have had for quite awhile now. That quilt has been through a lot of moves in the last few years. We are sort of tired of it.

One of the new options. I like this quilt I found, it is a dark chocolate. I want green to go with it.

Another option, I think I like the first one better though.

Funny how winter makes me want to nest. Clean house, change it. I guess it helps with the cabin fever. Are you nesting too? What projects are you working on?

Its A Table!

Remember my post a few days ago? With the mystery legs and top? Well they have grown up and moved inside.

We are now able to feed 8 people at once, should we so desire! This is big for us since we all had to eat in unison at our old table it was getting so tight. It was a very old table we got from my Grandma when we got married. I have painted it more times than I can count. The new one is beautiful cherry and I am terrified the kids might mare its beauty by doing something only a kid could think of. So as soon as it took up residence in the kitchen I hurried to make a table cloth and placemats to try and protect it.

This is the table in its new outfit. I love this fabric from Hobby Lobby.

I just made these from scrapbook paper and had them laminated, I need to be able to wipe them off.

I can't believe I just wrote such a long post about a table but I suppose it could be considered a new member of the family. Thanks William for the fabulous new table!

The New Mud Room

This is our new mud room. One of the great things about the Christmas holiday is that William's plant closes down for the week between Christmas and New Years. So he worked on lots of projects for me. He had this great, slightly unusual idea for a mud room for us. I love the green.
The unusual part is that it is in our garage! See he built that wall to separate his shop from the rest of the garage. Funny that the only wall with a striking color on it in my house is actually in the garage.

One of My Favorite Christmas Presents

I received these wrapped up in a box from William. Can you guess what they are going to be when they grow up?

Here is another clue. I will show you when it is all done. I am VERY excited!

Goodbye 2009

I have noticed other bloggers bid farewell to the old year in pictures. Well, my kids are back in school today, the Christmas decorations are put away and the washing machine is doing its best to catch up. So I have a minute to bid farewell to the old year, if only for my own benefit. I think I may do this every year. It was fun to look through the files of pictures from this last year and see all of the fun we have had, things we have done and places we have gone. Here are a few of my favorites; fishing in the mountains, spelling bees, class reunions, soccer in the cold, our wonderful new house with its fabulous yard, vacation with the Butlers at Bear Lake, Nutcracker, sledding, another great Halloween, vintage looking pictures with cousins, and a new family picture that was almost fun to take. I hope that 2010 is just as great as 2009 was!