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Palescapes

January 18, 2012 by Shanna Hatfield

I was flipping through a magazine the other day and saw this lovely photo.

The soft, pale hues spoke to me. The whispered of loveliness and a certain aura of elegance.

Turning the pages in another magazine, I found an entire spread about Palescapes and I was hooked.

So I quickly started digging through my cupboards and storage closets to see what I could find.

I found much.

Like these plates. The one on the far left is from a Mikasa set Captain Cavedweller bought for me. The one next to it and the one on the far right are both from Willow House (formerly Entertaining at Home), the direct selling company I was proud to be a part of for several years. The dish with the delicate little flowers is part of a set my grandpa bought for my grandma way, way back when.

This plate was a gift several years ago from my niece, Miss Molly, when she was still in school. I love the beautiful lace etching on the clear glass.

These five pieces were  given to us (I say us, but I really mean me because Captain Cavedweller really isn’t all that excited about my dish collections) right after Christmas by two people who are very near and dear to our hearts.

A beautiful mug, part of the Mikasa set, from CC.

Creamy, snowball shaped candles nestled well in a clear glass bowl. I love the fluted edges on this serving piece and I use it for decor purposes as much as I do for serving food.

I love, love, love this bowl Captain Cavedweller gave me for Valentine’s Day last year. See the little dangly hearts? CC makes me feel all dangly when he gives me presents like this.

A cupboard full of pale, pretty pieces.

It makes me smile.

She Who Likes Dishes Way More Than She Should

Posted in Captain Cavedweller, Dishes and Serving Pieces, Entertaining at Home, Entertaining Ideas, Home and Garden, Home Decor | Tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Snow Party Themes

January 17, 2012 by Shanna Hatfield

We woke up to a fresh layer of snow yesterday morning.

It is approximately the second time this winter we’ve had snow. By late afternoon, it was mostly melted off.  I secretly did a little dance of joy because I hate driving in the snow. If I could sit home, curled up by the fire and watch the winter wonderland from inside the house, it would be awesome.

Slipping and sliding my way into work gives it a whole different and much unappreciated meaning.

While I was carefully driving to work yesterday, I was thinking about winter party themes. You could have a lot of fun with the whole snow theme in general, but here are a few ideas.

• Snowflakes – use them in everything from your invitation to your decorations. You could even use them as stencils to decorate brownies with powdered sugar.

• Snowball – use shaved ice as “snow” for some fun beverages. Make mounds of “snow” out of cotton batting for decorations and have “snowballs” made from styrofoam balls. Serve foods that go with the snowball theme (like meatballs in a white sauce, round bread rolls and vanilla ice cream rolled in coconut for dessert).

• Mittens- have a mitten contest, passing out prizes for the ugliest, prettiest, strangest, etc. Play games making people wear their mittens to play (like trying to unwrap and eat a piece of candy, etc.)

• Winter Elegance – go all white or cream. Use white on white decorations, white table coverings, white dishes. Encourage guests to dress in white. (I really think this could be a beautiful party).

• Outdoor fun – have a sledding, ice skating, or skiing party. If you have a place for a bonfire outside, great. If not, bring the fun indoors with treats like S’mores and roasted hotdogs.

There are a few ideas to get you going.

She Who Should Really Plan a Snow Party

Posted in Entertaining at Home, Entertaining Ideas, Party Theme | Tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Open, open

January 16, 2012 by Shanna Hatfield

Apparently, the garage door need only be open for 4.78 seconds for The Heinous Cat to sneak inside unnoticed.

He is up to his dark and underhanded tricks again.

Last Saturday, I was bustling around getting some thing done outside that sorely needed attention and was in and out of the garage as well as our storage shed.

After going back in the house and  finding 38 more things that needed done all at once, I finally ran back out to the garage for something and there sat The Heinous Cat on top of a new bag of cat food, claws sunk in like he was going to rip that bag to shreds if someone didn’t get it open for him soon.

Once I got past the surprise of finding him in the garage and on top of the bag of food, it registered that he was sitting there lecturing me.

“Hey, You, come open this thing for me. What’s it take to get some food around this place anyway? I should turn you in for neglect. Are you listening to me? Let’s move it. Hungry cat. Come on. Open, open.”

I point out that there is a bowl of food waiting for him out back as well as cat food in a dish right there in the garage.

“It’s a little stale. I want the fresh stuff. Could you hurry it up?”

Yeah, those are the types of conversations the cat has with me. He also throws in lines like, “That big guy you let stay in the house with you. Yeah, he forget to feed me this morning. What’s up with that, anyway?”

The cat lies. A lot.

Captain Cavedweller feeds the obnoxious cat before he feeds himself breakfast. It’s part of their routine. Cat gets fed then human.

The Heinous Cat – he thinks he suffers so.

Anyone want a cat with a bad attitude and no courage?

She Who Has Learned to Tolerate the Cat

Posted in Captain Cavedweller, Musings, Pets | Tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Brownie Bonanza

January 13, 2012 by Shanna Hatfield

I had big plans.

Big, wonderful plans to share photos and a brownie recipe with you for something so deliciously clever, it would just knock your socks off.

Halfway through the project, my camera battery died right along with the cleverness. It was a sad, sad death.

So, since I have no photos or clever projects to share with you today, I thought I’d post links to some wickedly delightful brownie recipes.

Enjoy!

From one of my favorite blogger’s on the planet – Salted Caramel Brownies from The Pioneer Woman.

Mint Brownies from Taste of Home. There is a restaurant here in town that makes these. I stay far away from said restaurant because I am unable to restrain myself from ordering one if I go there.

Fudgey King Arthur Flour Brownies from Two Peas & Their Pod. If you haven’t yet discovered their blog, you should really check it out.

Ooey Gooey Peanut Butter Fudge Brownies from My Name is Snickerdoodle – another of my favorite bloggers.

 

Turtle Brownies from The Curvy Carrot.

I promise to get my camera battery, my cleverness and my act together in time for a fun post next week!

Happy Friday, everyone!

She Who Really Wants a Brownie Now

Posted in Cookies, Desserts, Referrals | Tagged , , | 2 Comments »

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