I'm not sure why this recipe is titled St. Louis Spinach Salad, but I'm guessing it originated in St. Louis. I've been to St. Louis many times and it's a great city. My friend JJ shared this recipe with me and it's one of her families favorites. I recently brought it to a potluck lunch for our high school band . I wasn't sure how it would go … [Read more...]
Pottery Barn Love
The Pottery Barn catalog makes me smile and puts my creative juices and the itch to redecorate in motion. This is much to the dismay of my husband. Pottery Barn is my number one go to source for decorating inspiration. I love their furniture, decor items, bedding, pillows, dining collections and rugs. I think that pretty much covers … [Read more...]
Exciting News
For years I cut recipes out of Taste of Home magazine and looked forward to some of their special publications like the Halloween issue. I'm excited to announce I have joined the Taste Ad Network anchored and promoted by Taste of Home media and Reader's Digest. The Taste of Home website features Blogs We Love and I'm … [Read more...]
A Lantern for all Seasons
My mother-in-law celebrated her 80th birthday this summer which I shared in a post here. She and my father-in-law love to sit on their deck in the evenings which overlooks woods. I found this lantern in the clearance section at Red Cedar Gardens. It was a little rusty when I purchased it, but I knew it had potential. A new coat of … [Read more...]
The Sandwich Dilemma
Back to school time equates to packing school lunches for a lot of moms. Fortunately my kids are in high school and like to buy their lunch now. There was a time though where I packed my daughter's lunch almost every single day except on bosco stick days. When I was in grade school my mother made a salami sandwich for me practically every day of … [Read more...]
Dog Love
Sometimes pictures can tell a much better story than words. My dog Fritz makes me smile. I've written about him here, here and here. He's pretty popular. I know there are a lot of dog owners who would say their dog makes them smile too. Several readers commented last week that their dog/dogs were on their smile list. I had the opportunity to … [Read more...]
Simple Joys
Summer is officially over for my kids. School started this week and I can't recall a cooler August than the one we are currently experiencing. It's starting to feel like Fall, but I'm not getting my hopes up just yet. I thought I'd reflect upon some of the simple joys of summer. We enjoy spending time with our friends at their lake house. The … [Read more...]
The Thief of Joy
I often have to remind myself of the quote, "Comparison is the thief of Joy" by Theodore Roosevelt. It seems like I've writen about the perils of comparing oneself to others in past posts, but it's a lesson I often have to relearn. I guess it's like anything else. You have to practice not playing the comparison game until it becomes ingrained in … [Read more...]
Feta Dip
My friend Anne made this delicious feta dip for us over the weekend. It's an easy summer appetizer and a great way to use up fresh tomatoes from your garden or the farmer's market. I love tomatoes this time of year. Anne served this dip with a baguette, but you can also serve it with pita crackers if you prefer. It tastes great with both and as … [Read more...]
The Smile List
My friend Stacey at Likes to Smile writes a weekly column called the smile list where she shares things she's loving. My smile column usually consists of stories that make me laugh or smile when I think about them. I like to share anything from an inspirational story to a funny you tube video. I usually write my smile post on Mondays … [Read more...]