JJ clapping

Just because he is so cute, too cute not to share......

Old fashioned Tea towels

back in the fall,  Manuela posted about ways to make and decorate tea towels.  She had them hung on her stove and I thought they looked so cute.   I remembered I had embroidered some and I found them in my sewing room and got them out. All the embroidery was done but I thought they needed a little something more,  so those towels sat longer in the sewing room......

Until this week,  I wrote in my homekeeping notebook on my things I wanted to
sew quilt squares together
iron
put rick rack on towels
start Valentine dresses for granddaughters.

well,  I did sew rick rack on those 4 towels last night. 
And then I was reading blogs and saw on Lil Red Hen is going to do hope chest things for her 2014 project.  She posted some beautiful red work tea towels.  I am looking forward to seeing what she makes in 2014.  In 2013, she made an apron every month.

 

So,  for now I have a pretty towel hanging on my oven.  Until one of the toddling grands walks by and pulls it off :)

New chicken recipe - Pinterest #2 for 2014

I cooked a new to us recipe from Pinterest tonight,  Grilled Chicken Tenders, Without the Grill.

It's a simple recipe- just chicken with 1 cup of Italian dressing and a little honey and lime juice. 
As the first blogger describes, it really looks like a mess when it starts cooking but as it cooks, the liquid cooks off and the flavor goes in the chicken. 
My chicken did not get as dark as the first blogger's photos but we liked it a lot and will cook it again. 

Cricut Challenge #1 for 2014

One of my goals for 2014 is to do at least one Cricut challenge each month.  Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog hosts a challenge every week but realistically, I probably can't do it every week.

I had fun with this weeks which was to use a sentiment on a project. I dressed up my homekeeping notebook and used a new cartridge called The Country Life. 

The paper is from Anna Griffin, a multisheet package bought years ago. 

 I think the little pennants with cut outs are so sweet. 

Thank you FCCB for hosting the challenges.  I've had my Cricut machine for several years but have used it very little.  I am hoping 2014 will be the year that I Cricut more and maybe move from beginner to intermediate. 

 

All of the cuts were made with The Country Life cartridge except for the framed to-do list, I used From My Kitchen for it. 

 

linking up with Inspire Me Monday at Create With Joy

a temporary fix that is almost 5 years old and still looking good

http://ahomewithasmile.blogspot.com/2009/08/monday-to-do-list-quick-fix.html

Almost 5 years ago, I was cleaning the hall bathroom and noticed the white shower curtain bar was not too white anymore. It was chipped and had rust spots it.  I wanted to get a new one but chose to just refresh that old one with some spray paint until I could go shopping, 

Surprisingly, that quick paint job is still holding up and matches my new toile shower curtain just fine. 

In the bottom picture, the curtain has been ironed and the black ties added to each ring.

My advice - if you get a new shower curtain, iron it before you attach it to the shower liner with 12 rings and ribbon ties, just saying! 

I take most all my photos with an iPad and the lighting makes the colors look different. The curtain is black and cream toile, the wall paint is pale yellow.