a weekend of celebrating

What a fun {long} weekend of celebrating our little girl's seventh birthday! She had a day out at the movies with the family, friends over for a craft party, and then finished it off with a family dinner party last evening.  And in between those celebrations, we threw in a bit of school, crocheting, painting, and cleaning. It was a busy few days, and I will admit to a sigh of relief last night while washing dishes after the last of the guests left.

I did make this lemon cake. Oh boy, is this cake so far from healthy. Over a pound and a half of butter between the cake, the curd, and the frosting! The cake portion actually tastes like a pound cake. I got mixed reviews from it. Those that liked lemon, gave it a big thumbs up. Those that weren't crazy for lemon desserts, could have done without it. But I suppose that's because this cake was very lemony - lemon cake, lemon curd, lemon frosting.

Lily received some spectacular gifts for her birthday. We got her a few matching outfits for her and her doll. I also made her an infinity scarf {she was so excited!} A friend of mine parted with one of her old sewing machines, and we claimed it and gave it to Lily as a gift. She was super excited to get her very own sewing machine. Then my mom gave her a "real" sewing basket filled with all kinds of sewing notions. This girl is all set now!

She received many other wonderful gifts - a LeapPad from her other set of grandparents, wooden beads, alphabet beads, walkie-talkies {so her and her cousin can talk back and forth}, a game, a book, and some other things. She made out.

Today's to-do list includes laundry, some clean-up/organizing, school lessons, and whatever else comes our way. So I best get started. Have a blessed day!

The Versatility of White Dishes

I LOVE white dishes. White dishes are great to have on hand because they are so versatile and, of course, completely neutral. And I think that they're classy looking, too.

I host Christmas dinner every year for both my family and Brad's family. The first year I hosted, I went to WalMart and purchased two boxes of simple white dishes. I have never owned a complete set of china; I never even registered for china when Brad and I got married because I didn't really see the need for it.

There have been times when I've wished that I did have a nice set of china that I could eventually pass down to Lily, but for the most part I find china impractical, especially how most people use it. Which is usually never.

These white stoneware dishes, on the other hand, see much use in our family. They are used more often than just at Christmas. And it's nice to have plates that match the collections of fabric napkins I've accumulated over the years. No worrying about pattern clashing when you have white dishes.

I think I paid between $20 - $30 per box for the dishes back when I purchased them. That's so economical! And now I pick white pieces up from thrift shops, secondhand stores, and yard sales. I also occasionally buy new pieces, especially from stores like Ross which always carries such nice dishes.







Another really nice thing about white is that I can also use other patterned or colored bowls or platters along with them. I do have a lot of different colored/patterned serving dishes/bowls/platters (like books, I do have a tendency to collect entertaining pieces like bowls and platters; one of my guilty pleasures)so it's nice to be able to throw something colored in with the white every now and then.







This is a white, pedestal bowl, turned upside down with a colored stoneware bowl on top.







You can also use these pedestal bowls and make a makeshift cake stand like I did with these white plates...




I keep my most-used white dishes (as well as quite a few transparent glass dishes/mugs) in my pantry closet right in my dining area so that they're in close reach. I used to keep them all in Rubbermaid boxes in the basement, but I found that I only used them once a year because it was such a pain to lug the bins up from the basement. I still do have one bin in the basement that has the white dishes that I don't use very often, as I don't need them taking up valuable pantry real estate!

So maybe you'd like to have a nicer set of dishes, dedicated for special meals, holidays or entertaining. It's okay to pick up a set of white dishes from a discount store; in fact, in my opinion it's better than china! And you never know when you'll find a set at the thrift store. And even if it's not a complete set, it's a white set, and you can mix-and-match as you hunt and find more. That's another great thing about white dishes, even if the pattern is different, it's not noticeable because it's white. And I actually find a mixed and matched set charming!

Have a blessed day!

Giveaway Winner & A Cozy Day

We were up before it was light. I was so excited to find out who was going to be blessed with "A Life That Says Welcome."

I got my little yellowware bowl and filled it with all of the names ~ 44 to be exact.

Here's my helper making sure the names are all mixed up.

Pick a name, Lily!

Drum roll, please...

And the winner is...

Cris - I sent you an email to the email address that you left in your comment. Congratulations!

Moving on...

This past Saturday was rainy and cool. Perfect day for baking bread. So that's what we did.

We got started before the sun had completely risen. I like to start bread first thing in the morning since it is a long process.

(That little bouquet of wildflowers was picked by Lily. She loves to pick flowers for me to put on the kitchen windowsill.)

Then I lit my pumpkin spice candle. There's just something so warm and cozy about a yummy-smelling candle this time of year.

Here's my little helper after donning her apron. She loves to wear aprons! I think it's just so cute. I feel so blessed to be able to share these opportunities with her.

Here she is hard at work, kneading the bread...

And here's the finished product. Boy, were these rolls yummy. I found the recipe for them at Farming on Faith.

We also made a huge pot of chicken and rice soup while the bread was rising. Lily helped with that too. She used her Pampered Chef knife

I can't remember the exact name of this knife. Maybe safety cutter? I have two, one for each of my kids. There's no way they can cut themselves with it, but it still manages to cut food. This is another one of those products that I love because it allows for my kids to participate in food preparation without me having to worry about their safety.

And I was able to put to use some of the inspiration I've gleamed from "A Life That Says Welcome" on Saturday as well. Some of our youth were painting at the parsonage getting it ready for our new pastor and his family. The parsonage is just down the street from our house, so I invited them all up at the last minute for BBQ pork sandwiches on the homemade rolls.

I had exactly one hour from the time I invited them until when they were to arrive. And I had to be on schedule because they were all going to the "silver ring thing" conference at 6pm. My first reaction was to panic. But I gained my composure and focused on what I had learned in the book, and I pulled it off - BBQ pork on homemade rolls, ranch-flavored fried potatoes, and garden corn which I had frozen at the end of summer. I also had the huge pot of soup to serve as well.

And you know what? We had a good time. And they were so appreciative because they were planning on just grabbing bags of potato chips to eat on the way to the conference.

And I don't share this story to give myself a pat on the back. Rather, I share it because of something that I learned in the book. So many times, we hesitate to show hospitality because we're worried that our house isn't clean enough, the food isn't good or gourmet enough, or it's just not the right time.

But really what matters most, is that our guests feel the love of Christ while they're at our homes. That's what really makes them feel at home. Showing how much we care for them by opening up our homes and ourselves to serve them.