Tulips, Daffodils, and Spring Decorating

 Don't ya just LOVE SPRING? I love all the tulips and daffodils sprouting up around here. No these aren't mine. I have like a few dozen. These are from Thanksgiving Point Gardens Tulip Festival going on right now in Lehi, Utah. It's so beautiful to go walk around there and get inspiration!

 I just cross my fingers the deer don't see my tulips  very soon, or they will be gone gone gone in a swift munch. At least they don't like the daffodils though. I have a few of those that might survive deer. :D

So with spring comes a renewing of the old decorations. I am changing the decor in my entry room. It is blue and mauve leftover from the 80s. They called and wanted their wallpaper back. So I'm happy to oblige. We are GOING GREEN! It will be kind of lime  greens and yellows and muted corals. 

I'm so excited I found  this wall mirror that will be perfect on the new painted walls in the entry room for $15 bucks. Can I get a hallelujah?!! What a steal! It will look nice after I paint the walls a pale lime.  I have an old ball and claw table I'm painting the base lime too. It will look nice here in the bay window. 

I LOVE LOVE LOVE these garden ceramic drums. They are nice to put a drink on if you have guests sitting on your ottomans or accent chairs. I've got one of these in blue in my great room and another one I love in white up at my cabin in the master bedroom. Now I'm going to put the green one in the entry room. It is my inspiration color  for the new decor. 

I loved these little mirrored eggs I found too. I think I'll keep them out year round with the new lime green and yellow decor. I just need a prettier basket than this old green one leftover from St. Patrick's day! U-G-L-Y! Gotta get to Hobby Lobby! 

I got this candle and this cute seahorse to add to the great room. I love the colors. They are all beachy turquoise blue. 

And I couldn't resist this table runner. I love the new beachy colors and designs they have come out with lately. It reminds me of where I grew up! I lived on Redondo Beach most of my teenage life. Miss that salty sea air and the R and R of beachside lounging around with friends. Yup I really do miss that. sigh.....

This little seahorse and runner will  match my great room colors. Here is a little peak of what I've been doing on my off time from teaching school. I usually redo something during Spring Break. 

Here it is! After months of working on my greatroom, we are almost done! I got new couches and chairs and pretty curtains after we painted and had new floors put down. It is just about done. I loved how the wall paint color turned out. That was actually the hardest part of all the decisions......paint colors. I rely on the hubs a lot. He has the final say because I always go too dark. 

John put new ceiling fans in awhile back and they match the floor nice. I love how it is turning out. I got the cute chair from Pier 1. The lamp and knick knacks and pillows are from T. J. Max. I love that store. And I love that guy. He is a good decorating assistant....snicker.....(slave is more like it). I hope he doesn't read this.....

The after Easter sale was great at T.J. Max. I got a ton of stuff there. Here's something my grandkids will love.  I got some cupcake decs for CH CH CHEAP! 

These sugar sprinkles are regularly like $7.00 and I got the sprinkle container with 4 types of sprinkles for $1.40!!. And who doesn't love Jelly Belly candies for a buck? Well I do. Yum. I'm going to go eat some right now. I hope there will be leftovers for the grandkids when they come over!!  :-O

Valentines Decorating

Valentines Day Decorations in the Front Entry....
Just a few more days till Valentines Day! I've got the house all ready for the festivities! 

Valentines Decor on an end table in the living room.....

I really love all of  the cute conversation hearts and red chocolates boxes and cupids that make up the holiday of love.  I've got a lot of cute stuff stashed away in my February decorating bins.

Coffee Table decor for Valentines Day 

I used to always buy my kids a valentine of some sort as they were growing up. Somtimes it was just a baggie full of chocolate kisses. Sometimes it was a little toy or something. But the last few years I've mostly spoiled the grandbabies.

Cute Kitchen Table decorations....so cheery! 

I love to change the pictures and decor of my gallery wall to match the holiday. I change the black iron cones to different flowers and greenery as well as adding seasonal doo dads to them like sugared valentine hearts and red berries. And I love getting out my seasonal placemats and runners for my kitchen table.

My little grandbaby just turned one this week. She looks like a little pink and perfect sweetheart doesn't she? And she's lovin that cookie I bet. 

I like the kitchen to look cheery with a few new hearts and flowers! It helps my attitude when I have to go out into a frozen world every day. I keep this LOVE lamp lighted all month. It's a fun night light when I wake up in the night with insomnia or just coming home from work. 

Kitchen counter Valentines Hearts.....hugs and kisses! 

I found this cute cookie sheet at Hobby Lobby. They already have EASTER decorations out! EEK!

The valentines cookie sheet will be a fun activity for my students at school and for my monthly family dinner at my house with all my kids. My girls will love decorating some sweet sugar cookie designs.  I'll have to be on the lookout for some really cute valentine candy.

This time of year our family also likes to make a pilgrimage down to Heber to go to the Crater there at the Homestead Resort. HERE is some info on it. It's one thing we did very soon after moving here to Utah. We went snowmobiling and then afterward bought tickets to swim in this natural hot spring where a crater top is built over it. It is so fun to go there, get into your bathing suit and run, freezing as fast as you can from the dressing rooms to get into the nice warm water.

Gotta have some silver and red chocolate kisses for the candy dishes. I just buy the clearance Christmas kisses and take out the green ones. Guess what I do with them? mmm......yup. those puppies are long gone!

This is great little pillow for a Hot Potato Game....for a kid's Valentines Party. And it's a cute door hanger too! 

I can't believe how much Valentines Day Decorating stuff I've accumulated.....

Living Room Valentines Table decor.....

 I worked at Kohls while getting my Master's Degree in Education....so I got great discounts
on lots of their fun decorations at holidays..... It's hard not to go overboard though....:D

So anyway, here's inside my front door......

My dining room picture wall....each season I change the black metal cone contents.....and
hang some new ribbons or a swag of some sort on the wrought iron bar.....

Great Room entry......I love this jingle bell heart.....

Hanging from the dining room chandelier...lots of hearts here....

Kitchen table....I love placemats and runners.....and I change out the candle colors each season....

This little plate rack in my kitchen I've got Holiday plates for every season now....
Well....except for 4th of July...Maybe I can find some red, white and blue ones....hehe....

Valentines Picture Wall of my family and grandkids....

Outside on the front door I hung a heart ornament on a beaded wreath....I'm so crafty...hehe....

Front entry table....I love this light up LOVE lamp....it stays on all season long.....

My 3 sons and my darling first granddaughter....some of my fav peeps.....

My grandkids love all of my candy dishes...only thing is....these conversation
hearts are like a year old....I buy them after the season...they are for looks only! I actually think they might break your teeth if you chomped down on one of em......

I love this little cupid lamp.....Got it at Kohls after Valentines Sale.  

Love the little glass heart box I found. NOW I've got Valentines Decorations all up now! Ye Haw! 

Downtown Abbey Viewing Party

Let's have some Downtown Abbey Party Fun

I decided to make some "tea cakes" and have a dinner "viewing party" for the return of Downtown Abbey Season 4 tonight. Surprisingly, the hubs is not that excited....(sounds of snickering). He's more of a football fan.

Mini Donut Maker was fun to try out! 

I got this new Mini Donut Maker for Christmas so I thought I'd put it to good use. Too bad I gave away my English chocolate bisquits  at a White Elephant gift party on New Year's Eve! That would have been a great addition!

I think the more colors and flavors of icing you have the prettier your plates of treats will be on these donuts....

I made some chocolate icing and then used a tub of lemon icing and frosted and used lots of different sprinkles. Super fun! Kids would LOVE doing mini donuts and they are really easy using the little donut maker. It's like making mini waffles. 

Little donut treats for the Downtown Abbey Premiere Party. Lemon and chocolate iced "tea cakes".

Buffet table decorations.....too bad I don't have a maid and a butler.  (whaaaa.....why don't we have maids and butlers anymore huh?) 

Butterscotch Rice Crispie Treats! I just dumped butterscotch chips on top...real imaginative here.....lol.....but they are really good! 

I cut these up and added them to the dessert plates full of donut "tea cakes". 

Cranberry Cilantro Cheese dip with chips and crackers.....This is good anytime.... My recipe is HERE at Weekday Chef.

Raspberry Spinach Salad with candied pecans.....

Cream of Broccoli Soup.....Yummy.....Check out my recipe HERE at my foodie blog.

My old English Bone China Tea Set I bought when I was 18.... and Silver place card holders....fun to get them out for a centerpiece....

I have lots of decorative tea pots I put here and there....

These didn't  really "taste" like a donut, more like a cupcake with the icing. 

I had fun decorating them with all of my sugars and sprinkles! 

 Now you are gonna want to have something to do during the commercials. How about a fun BINGO GAME? Your prizes could be little English things like Macaroon cookies, Herb Teas, Chocolates, "tea towels" for the kitchen and maybe some little English Lavender soaps in cute shapes.

Anyhoo check these Downtown Abbey Bingo Cards out HERE on Paste Magazine.I think there are 4 cards total but you could make multiple copies.

Sparkling Cider for those that like a little "bubbly"

Now you've got to have some bubbly too. I happen to like this flavor of Sparkling Cider! Cheers!


Some really cute Tea Party and Food Printables for the party are HERE at a Night Owl.

It's fun to get a group of Downtown Abbey Addicts together for yummy food and to watch the Premiere on T.V. together. So keep calm and Abbey On!