The Internets Made Me Do It

I have seen this DIY hack circling social media for awhile now, and, recently decided to give it a whirl. It involves candles and napkins, two things that are relatively easy to get one's hands on.

For my candles, I chose the least expensive variety available, which ended up being a three-pack from the Hellmouth. I originally wanted white, but settled for pink.

For my napkins, I chose an Easter design and planned to also use them for Easter dinner, since the actual project only requires a couple of napkins and the packages are quite large.

The project involves peeling the layers of the napkins down to the very top layer, which is where the design is printed, wrapping it onto the candle in the design of your choice, wrapping the candle with wax paper (wax side down), and then applying heat with a blow dryer, until the wax from the wax paper melts and attaches the napkin to the candle.

It was even easier than the instructions imply. I ended up with a bespoke trio for my Easter decor and I am quite pleased with myself.

 

What's Up Wednesday, February 2024 Edition

 

Happy almost Leap Day! And, if you are a Leap Year baby; happy-it-only-happens-once-every-four-years- birthday! I'm sure you don't feel slighted, at all! 

Even with an extra day, February has gone by way too fast. This brings us to yet another What's Up Wednesday, courtesy of Sheaffer and Shay; be sure to tip them on your way out!

                                           What I'm Eating

It seems like I eat out a lot. Since the nest emptied out and I'm no longer cooking for a family of four; it just seems like the right thing to do. Anyhoodle, this month's restaurant offerings include a Caprese salad that was delicious...

...chicken enchiladas suizas that were amazing...

...a turkey sandwich from the local deli...

 ...and a bacon breakfast burrito, smothered in green chili.

When I did make something at home, it was a grilled ham and cheese that I made in the air fryer. Will I ever make a grilled sandwich any other way, now? No. No, I will not.

What I'm Reminiscing About

I'm not really reminiscing about anything, currently.

What I'm Loving

I tried a DIY candle project that I have seen floating around on social media for a couple of years and I nailed it. I'll do a post on it at some point. Probably. Maybe.

I tried a new shade of OPI on my toes; it is definitely a spring color, which gets me in the mood for warmer weather, tulips, and Easter baskets.

Polly Want A Lacquer?

What I've Been Up To

I've been practicing a lot of self care, including massages, reflexology, and facials. It's been money well spent.

I also went ahead and decorated my house for Easter. It seems early, but so is Easter this year, and, if I'm going to go to all the trouble of unwrapping my vast collection of ceramic bunnies, I'm going to enjoy them for as long as I can.

Queen B flew home last weekend to celebrate both her birthday and the birthday of her God Daughter. We spent a lot of quality time together, including getting pedicures (more self-care).

She was excited to spend time with the rest of the family, too.

What I'm Working On

The 10 year old son of one of my staff members was just diagnosed with leukemia, so the rest of the staff and I have been working on managing her duties while she is away with him, receiving care. We are also working on a fundraiser that we are hoping will help to alleviate some of the financial burden that comes along with that care.

What I'm Dreading

Boomer Dog was recently diagnosed with an tumor that is almost always malignant. We have a consultation with a vet in Neighboring City later today to find out what our next steps are. The dread is a rock in the pit of my stomach.

What I'm Excited About

I have a fun event coming up a week from Friday; it will present an opportunity for my whole family to get dressed up, which doesn't happen very frequently. I'm excited!

What I'm Watching

My Mom, sisters, daughter, niece, and pretty much everyone I know back home are watching the new season of Farmer Wants a Wife along with me. Why? Because Farmer Brandon is a friend of my niece. She graduated from High School with him. I know his sister, step-mom and step-sister, but have never met him. I'm still pulling for him to find his perfect match (on a reality television series, as if). It's also really nice to see footage of my hometown area, and the show is doing a amazing job of showcasing its natural beauty. I may be a wee bit homesick, actually.

Farmer Brandon

I'm also watching the newest season of Love is Blind, because, who doesn't want to watch a shitshow?

What I'm Listening To

I recently purchased a new Fleetwood Mac album from an antique store in Hooterville. Mom and I were there looking for milk glass vases for the Man-Cub's wedding when we happened upon the record selection. I made it out with just the one album, but Mom may have to pawn a kidney to pay for the giant stack of records she carted out of the place.

What I'm Reading

I'm working on The Nightingale, by Kristin Hannah. It's a great story and I am enjoying it so far.

What I'm Wearing

I have nothing of interest to report on. You know, like usual.

What I'm Doing This Weekend

I may be headed to Neighboring City to purchase a dress for the event I mentioned earlier. Or, tending to the Boomer Dog if things go badly. Guess which one I would vastly prefer?

What I'm Looking Forward to Next Month

I am looking forward to longer days! While I'm not a fan of the time change, I do appreciate having extra daylight hours after work.

Favorite Amazon Find This Month

I purchased this comforter set for Hugh and my bedroom and I love it. It's incredibly soft, light, but warm, and it looks great on our bed.

We Ate a Lot of Cake This Weekend

This weekend we celebrated birthdays for both Queen B and her God Daughter.

Queen B flew into town on Thursday and Mom picked her up at the airport since both Hugh and I were working. They went to visit Oscar and Emily, as well as Hugh's sister, who was in town assisting with Oscar's care (he had back surgery the week prior and is doing really well). 

I picked her up at Mom's house when I got off work and we went home to settle in for the next few days.

Friday morning, we started the day with breakfast at the Mexican restaurant in Petticoat Junction; Queen B loves smothered breakfast burritos, and she can't find them in Texas.

After breakfast, we went into Hooterville for pedicures and some shopping.

Then we spent the rest of the day lounging around the house, until Queen B left for Neighboring City with friends.

Saturday morning, we were up bright and early to travel to a ski town a couple of hours away, where we joined Queen B's bestie for her daughter's Toy Story themed birthday party. She turns three today!

  

The cake that her mom bought for the party was adorable. It wasn't as tasty as everyone hoped, but cake is cake, and it would have to be pretty bad for me to turn it down; it was not that bad. A tad dense, perhaps, but not that bad.

Later that night, we met with twenty of Queen B's other friends at a bar in Pixler. We enjoyed dinner, dancing, and watching the Man-Cub and Daughter-in-Love play pool (Shanti is a shark; who knew?).

 

Sunday evening, Mom, Oscar, and Emily joined the four of us for more cake. This time, it was an ice cream cake that Hugh picked up. We only had twelve candles, so we made Queen B blow them out twice, which was close enough to 28 for us.

As an aside, how is my baby 28? Inconceivable!

And, that was our weekend. It was the most social I have been in a while and I think I needed that; I tend to hibernate this time of year, which isn't always the healthiest thing for me. Luckily, the days are getting longer, so I hope I venture out more.

A Day in the Life, Faux Spring Edition

Sooooo, it appears that the groundhog may have been accurate in his prediction of an early spring. I mean, I'm not 100% convinced, but, I am slightly optimistic. That being said; a blizzard will probably blow into town any second now.

Anyhoodle, in light of the fact that the temperatures have been in the 50's and that I have witnessed spring flower bulbs starting to push their way up through the earth; I made the decision to spend Saturday decorating the house for Easter.

As I unwrapped my multitude of ceramic bunnies, it occurred to me that I could start a black market business for the sale of single-use plastic bags and I would make a fortune (our idiot governor banned them. Ask him how well that went for California). Also, can they truly be considered single use, when I have been wrapping these bunnies in them for years? Discuss.

Anyhoodle, while I was crafting bunny tableaus throughout my home, I was burning my favorite candle. It's a scent I created at the DIY candle store in Neighboring City several years ago and I burn it sparingly, because I'm not sure I could recreate it.

Once the house was worthy of a visit from the Easter Bunny, I ran into Hooterville to pick up Mom for an impromptu afternoon of antiquing. I am still on the hunt for milk glass vases for the wedding, but I also enjoy a good treasure hunt. Here are a few items I loved, but ultimately left on the shelves.

This vintage lozenge tin...

...these adorable cows...

...and these German spice containers. This one was haaaaard to walk away from, but I don't have anywhere to display them and they deserve to be the center of attention.

You know who didn't walk away from making a large purchase? This lady, right here.

She found a large stack of vintage records that she could not leave behind. I may, or may not, have encouraged this purchase, but, in our defense, the sale on the house in Mayberry is set to close on the 27th, and she deserves a little treat after the stress of dealing with all that.

We finished the day with an early dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant.

And I went home, where I took a quick inventory of the milk glass that I have managed to procure so far.

Then, I hit the (new!) sheets.

As an aside; is there anything better than climbing into a freshly made bed?

And, that's what my early spring day looked like.