A Little Happiness in the Day Goes a Long Way...

Today has been a little bit of a rough day.  My oldest daughter busted her mouth and nose, chipped her front tooth, and knocked her two front teeth loose.  I won't tell you how she did it, because you won't believe me.  My youngest shattered a glass snowglobe which strewed very tiny pieces of glass shards all over the living room carpet, all wet and glittery and SHARP!  In the middle of all this the HVAC guy comes to give us a quote for a new heat pump system for our house.  Ugghhh!  (Oh yeah, did I tell you that our heat pump went out?  Don't worry, it's working, but it's hanging by a thread.)  Soooooo, in the middle of this very crazy day (during nap time), what do I do de-stress?  I make an owl ornament and read my new most favorite magazine in the whole wide world: Country Living British Edition!  I found this lovely and perfect magazine at our local grocery store, of all places!  I was elated when I saw it!  I've posted a few pictures of it so you can start drooling and go buy yourself one too.  No, I don't work for the sales department of Country Living Magazine, I just love it that much.  So much inspiration!  I could die!

Here's my owlie.  I think I've decided to name him Oliver.  I saw so many cute felt owls and mushrooms that other people have made on Flickr.  I got inspired to come up with one of my own.  :)

Just look at these pictures and try not to drool...  

I LOVE the heart appliqué pillow on the bench below...

 ...drooling...

Our day did not start out so bad.  I made my first gluten-free blueberry muffins this morning and they were delish!  In case I haven't said before, I have a gluten sensitivity.  Even my husband (who is completely against "weird food") liked them!  My girls gobbled them up and I was relieved to have something other than yogurt and corn chex for breakfast.  YUM!

Yes, it's as good as it looks!

Hope you are having a joyful Christmas season...  :)

Hot Chocolate and Homemade Marshmallows... YUM!

In case you have never seen what homemade marshmallows look like in hot chocolate here is a picture for you to make your mouth water!  The marshmallows slowly melt into a creamy, frothy, yummy topping.  If you have never made homemade marshmallows, stop what you are doing and go make some RIGHT NOW!  That's an order!  You won't regret it, I promise.  Here's the recipe.  These are pictures from what I did yesterday.  It is pretty gloomy and cold here so I thought a fire on a Monday afternoon with some homemade hot cocoa and homemade marshmallows sounded like the perfect pick-me-up.  These just so happen to be peppermint marshmallows too!    It's almost like breaking a rule or something.  We hardly never make fires in the afternoon (unless it's Christmas) and especially not on a Monday.  It was a liberating!  Haha!  You can tell me I'm weird.  I know I am.  It was the perfect pick-me-up, so I thought why not do it on Tuesday afternoon too?  So that's what I'm doing right now... making another fire.

I'm rambling, so I'll get on with my day and finish these glitterhouses!  Hope you can find your perfect pick-me-up for this Tuesday afternoon...  :)

Marshmallow Bliss...

So I've seen homemade marshmallows pop up every now and then on different blogs I've read over the past few years and now I've decided to try it for myself.  I've heard that homemade marshmallows are devine, but I had never had one... until today.  All I have to say is, what in the world took me so long?  I looooove homemade marshmallows.  They are so much smoother and flavorfuller (is that a word?) than the ones in the bag and I don't even like the ones in the bag unless they are turned into smores.  I cannot stop eating them, hence the reason I am promptly going to go to the gym this morning.  Never has so much sugar been so ok with me.  I'm pretty sure homemade marshmallows are guaranteed kid zingers, but I haven't tried that one out for myself yet.  I'll need more coffee for that one.  lol

Anyway, I think I'm rambling... probably because I'm in a marshmallow stupor.  I made mine peppermint flavored with pretty red swirls on top.  Mmmmmm.  Perfect for a cup of hot cocoa, don't you think?  I had planned to make them with my four-year-old, but I didn't realize how long it takes for the boiling sugar/water to reach the "soft ball" stage.  I think it was about 20 minutes, which, in the mind of a four-year-old, it might as well be forever.  She gave up on me and made a tent with our kitchen table.  If you would like to join me in my marshmallow bliss, here is the recipe I used (thanks McAuliflower!).  You should try it!

Happy holiday making!

Rachel