Mama's Got A New Pair of Shoes

Oh Zappos!  You know me so well.  They know I love Rieker's shoes.  They know I'm sucker for Mary Janes. And they know I love red shoes.

Yup, I get emails from them and got one on Friday.  Like a fool, I opened it so see what they thought I might like. Oh be still my heart!  Riekers, Mary Janes, in red.  I ran to my closet, checked my other two pairs (grey and black) for size, ran back, entered it and clicked add to cart.  They kindly said they'd overnight ship them in one business day for free, which did me little good since it was Friday, but this morning, when I returned from exercising, there was the box on the porch.  Happy sigh!

And now, without further ado, here they are!!  

And a side view:

I'm reminded of a birthday card from Bruder Bear and Karen a few years ago that went, "Happy new shoes to you, happy new shoes to you!"  It's not my birthday, but I can't stop smiling.  Happy new shoes to me!  ♥

A Quilty Finish

My niece, Jennifer, had her second little boy in November, and my faithful readers will recall that I shared the fabrics for a quilt for him in this post.  I had the top done before Christmas but decided to wait to quilt it until after the holidays.

I finished it two weeks ago and actually got it in the mail last Wednesday.  Hopefully Jennifer has received it and will enjoy using it as little James grows.  

Here are a couple of pictures:

It's a happy quilt for a sweet baby.  We'll meet him in May at his Aunt Kirsten's wedding and we can hardly wait!  ♥

A Little Kitchen Upgrade

Whenever Ann and Eric spend some days with us, Eric, bless his heart, always asks if there are any projects he can help with.  Dan has helped them with some projects over the years, notably the addition of a new set of stairs to their basement and the rehab of said basement before Daniel was born.  Eric thinks he "owes" us some help, which is of course hogwash, because Dan was happy to help.  But nevertheless, we appreciate that he offers.  

So the day after Christmas when Eric made his usual offer, I came up with a little project that had recently come to me.  While I dearly love our house, the kitchen arrangement is a little strange because our house has a big angle in it and it affects the kitchen the most.  A less than stellar result is that the area most used is a small corner between the stove and the refrigerator.  Note the word small. I'd been thinking that if a plug-in was added at the end of the peninsula that houses the sink, it would help when more than one cook is working in the kitchen.  (Ann and I had run into each other more than once preparing Christmas dinner and breakfast.) Or even when I am alone and need more space.

After pulling all the drawers and emptying the area under the sink, it was determined that putting in a plug-in would be "a piece of cake."  Yay!!  Grandson Keaton was pressed into service (he was wiring in outlets at the age of eight) and the project began.  

Here are Eric and Keaton wiring under the sink:

Dan cut the hole and installed the box for the outlet:

Keaton installing the outlet:

Sure is great to have such handy guys and all the necessary tools!  ♥

Happy New Year!

Ah yes, happy new year!  Amazing how time keeps moving on, isn't it?

We had a lovely Christmas with family.  First up was the arrival of Ann, Eric, Cameron, Keaton and Daniel at noon on Christmas Eve.  We had our big dinner that night, attended a communion service at church, and came home for dessert and then to watch Home Alone. (No matter how many times I've watched that movie, I still can't stop laughing at it.  And yes, I loved the Three Stooges as a child.)

Christmas morning was spent opening presents while our breakfast casserole and Ann's amazing cinnamon rolls baked. (I should have taken a picture of those rolls. Cinnabon, you have been trumped!) 

We enjoyed a day of relaxing while we played with our presents, visited, and ate leftovers for lunch and dinner. A rousing game of Mexican Train ended the evening and it was a perfect Christmas day.

Friday morning I made aebelskivers and they, along with reheated cinnamon rolls, made for a yummy breakfast. Sadly, however, I destroyed my favorite green platter. I have two aebelskiver pans and didn't realize I'd turned on the wrong burner for one of them and then set the platter on it to await the first batches.  I was getting ready to fill the second pan when I heard a loud crackling explosion and jumped back from the stove only to realize my beloved platter had shattered into pieces large and small.  I was barefoot, but fortunately Dan and Ann came to the rescue with slippers and the broom. A little cleanup and all was well.  I am grateful to have found an identical platter at Replacements Ltd and it should arrive the end of the week.

I didn't take many pictures, but here's one of two of my favorite peeps.   (Hard to believe our littlest man will turn four in a week.)

Ann and Eric went home Friday night, but we all piled into our Explorer the next morning and drove down to my parents' house to give them their gifts and visit with Bruder Bear and family.  More good Christmas memories to cherish.  ♥