quick breakfast........

I'm trying to 'clean' up my act in regards to some foods that I eat. One of my biggest downfalls is butter! I will admit that I am a butter addict. Yikes! It's bad. Yesterday I went out and bought fruits and veggies and this morning my breakfast was simple and clean. Just an apple sliced and a bowl of balkan style vanilla yogurt. The vanilla part is my treat to myself because I love the flavor. I maybe should have had a bit more to eat but it filled me up and along with my cup of green tea it was 'all good'.

It was very tasty :)

organizing my life........ "a good thing"

I love to have things organized although that doesn't mean that it transcends my entire life. Some of it I'm really organized with and other areas not so much. I love looking at tidy places in my home and recently I decided to finish up one of my kitchen cupboards. I have had some of the large and small size jars for quite a while but needed to focus on finishing the entire cupboard. My baking ingredients always end up with bits of so much stuff so it was a good time to deal with the clutter and clear out old things. I can certainly see what I have much better now than before and when I open the doors it all just makes me smile to see it so beautifully arranged. I still have a few things to deal with but it's well on it's way to being a 'good thing'.

Here's a pic of my great space!

a wellness project.....

I work in a job where there is much stress and low morale amongst my co-workers. It's tough to go into work every day and see and feel all of this around me and it's hard not to fall into the same rut. I decided long ago that I had to go to work and do what I could to help others get through their day with a smile. Part of what I started to do during this holiday season was to take some homemade cookies in once a week. They were a big hit with everyone and became lovingly known as the 'wellness' and 'positivity' cookies! So this is my third week to take some cookies in and I'm sure they will get gobbled up not unlike the last two batches did. This afternoon I made the same batch that I helped my daughter make yesterday for her cookie exchange. I figure this is a small thing that I can do to help. Here's a pic of this week's cookies!

Mini Kisses wrapped in chocolate chip cookie dough :)



a new find.....

Well, I've just ventuered into the land of Pinterest. Oh my.....I am so an idea person and this site is like a little bit of heaven. I am the type of person who can totally go shopping and never buy a thing and yet come home with all kind of ideas for possibilities in the future. It could be ideas for my home, or for sewing or craft projects or my garden or who knows what, but I just love the 'idea' of finding ideas! So this new find in Pinterest is going to be a lovely thing because I can sit here at home and get endless ideas at my fingertips! Yay!!

tidied up.........

For a long, long time I have been looking for new flatware. I can admit that I am somewhat picky although I guess that can also just be the desire to really like what I am going to buy. Why would I settle for anything less than that? So just earlier this week I was out with my daughter's fiancee and while he was picking something up in the automotive dept of the store we were in I was wandering in the kitchen section and lo and behold there they were! I finally found a set that I really liked and they were 40% off! Well, that's even better! So homeward bound I went with my new purchase and set out to make the exchange with my mismatched set (not really a set when they don't match). Of course I needed to buy a new cutlery tray so that was my next challenge. I stood in a department store in front of the selections and was worried for a bit that nothing was going to work and then I spotted the perfect one! Bamboo and expandable! Perfect! Then back home to put it all together. Now my drawer is tidy and the new flatware is beautiful!

And here is the before and after.............

.

early morning.......

Part of my homelife includes time that I can spend early in the morning and have a quiet cup of tea and sit by the fire maybe journaling or reading my current book. It's this quiet time that 'sets' my day and allows me to move through it the best way I know. Sometimes it allows the creative juices to flow and takes me to places in my mind that lets me bring forth that creativity during the day.

I hope you can find some quiet time in your day and just take a few moments for yourself. Good morning all..........and have the best day you can.

a cookie favorite............

These are one of my all time favorites fancy cookies! I just love the combination of  the cookie along with the caramel, the pecan and the chocolate drizzle. It's just so perfect and tasty! The first time I made them was with my daughter for a cookie exchange she had at her work. Now I make them for myself and just this week took a batch to work for my co-workers to enjoy also. 

first bake the 'thumbprint'

then add the caramel and the pecan.....

and then top it all off with chocolate drizzle :)