Signs of Spring

I've been working in my backyard this morning and can't believe it is just February and everything is blooming!  My husband even cut the grass.  We have had gorgeous weather the last few days.with a little bit of rain.  More rain is expected the rest of the week.  

We thought we might as well get a head start on the yard work.

I have had this Jasmine vine for 3 years and it never bloomed. It's huge!!   I had grabbed my shears and was about to cut it back and I noticed it has little buds all over it.  Here is one little flower opened up.  It smells so good!  Glad I noticed the buds before I cut!

Pretty pink blooms on shrubs.

Forsythia blooming ... it will soon be a mass of yellow if we don't have another frost. 

/And the Bradford pear trees are about to be in full bloom! 

An azalea is blooming in February!  This has been the mildest winter for us here in the South.  I just hope Summer is not too hot this year!

Now I've got to clean the kitchen after making spaghetti and meatballs.  It was the first time in a long time that I have made meatballs.  I usually just brown the beef and make my sauce.  It was so good!  Now that my backyard is tidied up and my tummy is full I think I will head to the sewing room and sew!

Thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

Donna

Bringing Out the Bunnies

I am bringing out the bunnies for Spring!  I have never had a bunny as a pet ...not sure I want one :)

I have dust bunnies around my house ...don't want those either :)  

I will just stick to the ceramic and resin ones!

This cutie sits in the sunny bay window of the dining room.

I adore the furry little creatures and their big ears.

Here's Peter Rabbit looking up at my tulips.  Looks like he is eyeing them to eat!

Maybe his carrots will distract him from eating my tulips.

I actually like bunnies as much as I do roosters.  

We are having a beautiful windy Spring day here.  I think I will go out and see if I have a real bunny in the pasture!

Thanks for visiting!

Hugs,

Donna

Tiny Town ...

I have been working on the quilt blocks for Tiny Town.  I posted about it here and here a few weeks ago. 

I have so many little pieces of fabric all over my sewing room waiting to be cut out. It reminds me of my childhood cutting out paper dolls :)

I love the colors in these blocks. They are so Spring-like and make me happy!

Another quilt block in progess.

I really need to begin stitching around all the pieces.  I try to have all the blocks ready to applique so I can save time on changing threads for each piece.  I like to stitch all the blues at one time and each of the reds together, etc.   

I purchased the fabric for my Sweet Tea quilt last week.  It will be April before the quilter can get it quilted.  I am really trying to finish some projects this year.  I have another quilt I will share later this week that I completed.

Thanks for visiting!

Hugs,

Donna

Hummingbird Bundt Cake

Since I am a southern girl I was raised on southern cooking.  I began cooking when I was ten years old.  I have always loved to bake ... especially sweets!

When I saw this cake in the February issue of Southern Living magazine I knew I had to make it.

I made it last week and it is delicious!  It would be good without the glaze if you want to cut calories.

Hummingbird Bundt Cake

Cake Batter

• 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
• 3 cups all-purpose flour 
• 2 cups sugar 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten 
• 1 3/4 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 4 large)
• 1 (8-oz.) can crushed pineapple (do not drain)
• 3/4 cup canola oil 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Glaze
• 4 ounces cream cheese, cubed and softened 
• 2 cups sifted powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 to 2 Tbsp. milk 
• 
  
• 1. Prepare Cake Batter: Preheat oven to 350°. Bake pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan 8 to 10 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through.
• 2. Stir together flour and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl; stir in eggs and next 4 ingredients, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Sprinkle 1 cup toasted pecans into a greased and floured 14-cup Bundt pan. Spoon batter over pecans.
• 3. Bake at 350° for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack, and cool completely (about 2 hours).
• 4. Prepare Glaze: Process cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, and 1 Tbsp. milk in a food processor until well blended. Add remaining 1 Tbsp. milk, 1 tsp. at a time, processing until smooth. Immediately pour glaze over cooled cake, and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup toasted pecans.
• 
  
• It's yummy!
• Thanks for visiting.
• Hugs,
• Donna

Sweets for Valentine's Day

My husband and I had nothing planned for Valentine's Day.  To us it's just another day ... sad but true for us!  However we had some errands to run this morning and I saw where a lady I know had set up shop for a couple of days to sell her sweet treats.  I knew she baked goods for showers. weddings, etc.  My hubby and I both have a sweet tooth so of course my car immediately turned towards the shop :)

Here's what came home with us!  Cookies and notice the little lady bug.  The lady bug is a truffle and so cute.  It's on a green chocolate leaf.  Oops ... I forgot the chocolate covered strawberries in this pic! 

I had to have these lips!

Love the reds for Valentine's Day ...

And of course you must have a heart for Valentine's even if it's stitched on a vintage hand towel!

Have a wonderful day!

Hugs,

Donna

Pink and Love ... Perfect for February

I am still here!  I can't seem to get anything done these days.  I am so easily distracted ... maybe it's because I am a year older :)  I start one thing and then go to another room and begin another project.  I did some reorganizing of our master bedroom closet.  I can now get from one end to the other without tripping over something!

I am still working on decorating my piano room.  I decorated it for Christmas and now I am deciding on the everyday decor.  This is just a little bit of pink that I am using to decorate this room.  I love the pink candle and topper covered in buttons.   It is me to a tee!!  It sits on top of a pink heart shaped plate.  I bought it years ago from Yankee Candle.  I just don't burn it much!  I elevated it by covering a book with vintage doiles.  My little teacup with my mom's glasses and all kinds of vintage jewelry sits in front.  This is just a tiny bit of this room to let you know I am working on it.  I never really "finish" a room.  There is always something I have to redo!

 Jennifer came home on Monday and we celebrated my birthday a couple of days late.  She brought home yummy cupcakes and these adorable cookies!  Is this not the cutest cookie!  She bought them from Edgar's in Birmingham.  I so wish I could decorate cookies like this!  Did I tell you they were yummy :) 

My sweet baby girl is so thoughtful!  She handed me two birthday cards and said I got two this year.  I am thinking to myself she couldn't decide on which one to give me so she bought two.  I opened the first one and it was from her.  When I went to open the second card it had an angel on it and it was from Amber.  Jennifer saw the card and immediately thought of Amber ...it had purple on it too :) I love my girls ... here on earth and in Heaven :)

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderful weekend!

Hugs,

Donna

I am joining Pink Saturday at How Sweet the Sound.

Valentine Heart Wreath and a New Look

I don't do much decorating for Valentine's Day.  I have a few things I bring out of storage every year to use around the house.  I needed something bright and cheery in the kitchen.  It has been so dreary, gloomy and rainy here.    So I decided to make a wreath.

  I wanted a heart shaped wreath but didn't have one so I gave my husband a pattern and he cut the heart from  heavy cardboard.  I then covered the heart shape with torn pieces of fabric about 1 - 2" wide and wrapped it until the cardboard was covered.    I didn't even use any glue.  Next I had red fabric and red ribbon.  I tore the fabric into the size strips I wanted and tied them all around the cardboard.  I did the same thing with the ribbons just tying them all around.  It was easy peasy!!  A quick fun project and only cost a few dollars.  I had most things in my stash.  I only bought a couple rolls of ribbon.  Very inexpensive!

Do you my new blog look?  Misha of  From My Front Porch in the Mountains designed it for me.  I love it!  She really captured "me" so much in her design.  If you are looking for a new "blog look" you should go visit Misha. You will love her blog about living with her critters and horses in East Tennessee!  She hopefully will be a guest blogger for me soon!

Well that's all for today.  Jennifer is coming home today to celebrate my birthday with me.  It was Saturday but she had to work.  Today we will go to lunch somewhere and she wants to shop a little.

Thanks for visiting!
Hugs,
Donna

I am linking to Linda at Coastal Charm for her weekly NTT party.

Sweet Tea Quilt Top Finished!!

I have worked on this quilt called Sweet Tea forever!  I finally finished putting on the borders yesterday.  I am so glad to have this quilt top finished.

This is not a great pic but it's the best I could do with the lighting.   There are teacups around the border.  The fabric for the ribbon border is actually a dark burgundy ....it shows up darker in the pic.   I will have to add the "tea bags" after it is quilted and a few buttons here and there.  I posted about this quilt top here. 

I am so glad it is stitched together. There's paper piecing, machine applique and piecing in this quilt.  It feels good to have a large project completed!  Now I have to find the perfect backing for it.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Thanks for visiting,

Hugs,
Donna