Wine O'Clock

Because it's February 20 and...

1. It's 63 degrees.

2. The snow is melting.

3. It's been a long time since enjoying a glass of wine on the deck.

Cheers to today ~ 

Think Pink!

"Pink isn't just a color, it's an attitude." ~ author unknown

Meet a bathroom with some SERIOUS attitude...

Hubs and I went to Findlay to visit his parents. We had half a tank of gas when we left Dayton, which is plenty to make the 100 mile trip. The general rule is that as you travel north, the gas gets a little less expensive, so we watched the gas prices as we drove. 

Just south of Lima on I-75, Exit 120, we saw a sign for gas at $3.21. (It was $3.47 in Dayton). We pulled into the station, I went in to get a cup of coffee and to use the bathroom. 

And my eyes were bombarded with PINK! Did someone paint the bathroom with Pepto-Bismol? That is the color of this bathroom. 

The light switch is pink, the soap is pink, and even the graffiti on the bathroom door is pink.

Just makes me wonder, is the Men's room painted blue? Hubs will have to check that out next time we stop.

Shawnee Fuel Stop

1250 W. Breese Road

Lima, OH

Valentines Day ♥

It's Valentines Day...fill your hearts with love!

Four hearts for four kids ~ 

All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt.
~ Charles M. Schulz
(Esther Price Sea Salt Caramels...enough said!)

And what would Valentines Day be without a homemade
card with a cheesy message...

XOXOXO

– ♥ –

World Nutella Day 2014

World Nutella Day...it's real and today is its 8th anniversary!

Last night Dayton, OH experienced another significant weather event and this morning we woke up with 5 inches of snow on the ground. The snow had an inch of ice over the top. It was heavy...and my driveway is big. I didn't give World Nutella Day a thought, until I noticed it marked on my calendar. After spending a few hours shoveling my driveway, I was cold and tired and really didn't want to get creative with a Nutella cooking project. I could have taken the easy way out and eaten Nutella straight from the jar, but instead, chose another easy way and made a mug of Nutella hot chocolate. With each sip, liquid chocolatiness warmed my insides and relaxed my tired shoulders and aching back. 

It's been a long winter...cheers to Nutella!

February Tidbits

• February is the second month in the Gregorian calendar and gets its name from the Latin word februum, meaning "purification." The Romans held a festival of purification in mid-February at the full moon.

• February has 28 days in common years which makes it the only month of the year that can pass without a single full moon. This last happened in 1999 and will happen again in 2018.

• February starts on the same day of the week as both March and November in common years and as August in leap years. In leap years it is the only month that ends on the weekday as it began.

• Historical names for February include the Old English terms Solmonath (mud month) and Kalmonath (named for cabbage). Looking at my backyard, mud month is spot on!

• The birthstone for February is the amethyst, which is purple quartz. In the Middle Ages, amethyst was a symbol of royalty.

• The flower of the month for February is the iris. It represents faith, wisdom and hope. The alternate February flower is the violet and it represents faithfulness, modesty and virtue.

Wordless Wednesday {Winter}

Mac and Cheese...Half-Sized

Before hubs and I got married, my mom gave me Betty Crocker's Cookbook. Back in 1979, this was the new and revised edition, mentioning that the book included microwave recipes! I still use this cookbook, and especially well-used are the pages with the recipes for macaroni and cheese and chocolate chip cookies.

This is my family's favorite homemade mac and cheese recipe. One of the kids wanted to make sure I wouldn't forget this page so he or she grabbed a highlighter and circled page 117! (Ah, the small things that bring a smile...)

Back in the day I would triple this recipe because there were times when one or more of the kids existed on macaroni and cheese. And then there were times when the neighborhood gang just happened to be at the house right around dinnertime. As the kids got busy with extra curricular activities and everyone sitting down at dinner at the same time became a fond memory, once a week there would be a tray of mac and cheese in the fridge for someone to make their dinner whenever he or she got home. That's when the microwave came in handy...put a mountain of mac and cheese on the plate, throw it in the microwave and zap it for a minute or so. And then the kids began to leave for college and mac and cheese as a staple in our diet began to wane. When one would come home, I would make a huge panful to send back for the housemates.

Now it's 2014 and this Ohio winter is crushing January. On a day when comfort food was needed, thoughts drifted to my dog-eared Betty Crocker Cookbook. I looked at the recipe and it hit me. There are two people in this house. I don't need a full recipe. Wow...no more tripling the recipe. I cut it in half!

It looked so small. Empty nest slap of reality.

But it tasted the same and it brought comfort on a day when the wind chill was -25. And the lopsided circle around page 117 warmed my heart.