Spring Flowers.

According to the flowers Spring is here and has been for a few weeks now!  Every year I eagerly await the first sign of daffodils sprouting up from the ground, and the scent in the air the first time that the grass is mown is heavenly.  When the trees flower and begin getting leaves I think I hear the angels sing!  I love opening the windows, letting the crisp breeze blow through our apartment. 

These are my favorite.  Caleb said it just looks like a bunch of weeds.  I think it looks magical.  The pictures really don't do the thousands of violets justice.

Insta2weeks.

I forgot to post my pictures from last week... so here it is: Insta2weeks!

It has been a busy, but wonderful past two weeks!

Sometimes the simple things are the best things.

Quick and Easy Recipe: Sweet and Spicy French Toast.

Caleb has informed me that these pictures don't look all that appetizing, but I've decided to post this anyway because regardless of what he says, this French toast was amazing!

I love the combination of sweet and spicy together so when I made French toast a few Saturdays ago I decided to try something a little bit different from my regular run-of-the-mill recipe.

Sweet and Spicy French Toast

3 eggs, beaten

1 Tbsp cinnamon (I like a lot)

1/2 to 1 Tbsp. of Cayenne Pepper (depending on how spicy you want the toast)

1/4 cup of sugar

1/2 cup milk

Butter

Bread

Strawberries

Maple Syrup

1. Mix together the eggs, spices, sugar, and milk with a whisk.  Make sure that you mix the eggs, spices, and sugar extra well because it settles very quickly and the sugar will go to the bottom.

2. Melt enough butter to coat the bottom of a skillet over medium heat, dip each side of the bread in the mixture and cook in the skillet until golden brown on both sides.

3. Serve with maple syrup and sliced strawberries.  YUM!

I like to use a cast iron skillet.  I think it makes everything taste better.   :)

Caleb's mom made me this handy little skillet handle cover.  Its one of my favorite things.

Caleb likes to help.

Mmmmmm!

Sometimes the Simple Things are the Best Things!

Focus.

Focus.  I've been thinking about this word a lot lately.  Mostly because I'm a therapist and one of the techniques I have found myself using with client's lately is cognitive refocusing.  It has really made me think about my own focus and how I choose to spend my thoughts.  Do I spend the evening worrying about work and being grumpy or choosing to lock those thoughts in the filing cabinet in my brain and move on to something inspiring?  

Do you ever get in a mental jam?  That place you find yourself sometimes where it seems like nothing is going the way it should, its raining outside, and you realize that there are still four more days until the weekend?  I think we've all been there.  When this happens we have some choices to make...  Different things that we can do to pick ourselves out of that funk.

I want to choose to refocus on whats important everyday.  To do all the things that remind me how good life is!  To take some pictures of the sunshine.

Paint my nails or put on a favorite outfit.

Listen to my favorite music or read something inspiring like this.  Kelle Hampton always helps me to refocus.

Splinter on my lap.

Or bake something yummy.

St. Patty's Day is a perfect way to refocus!  I have green cookies in the oven as we speak and homemade limeade chilling in the fridge!

Sometimes the simple things are the best things!

Instaweek.

What a great week it was last week!

Happy Birthday to My Love.

Quick and Easy Recipe: Baked Eggs in Tomato Cup

I saw this recipe on a blog the other day and I thought it looked like an amazing idea.  I just knew that Caleb would love it.  I had grand plans for an amazing breakfast where we would sit down, have coffee, chat, and ponder the meaning of life (or just watch the news together...), but I totally flubbed up my perfect plan for the perfect breakfast.

Don't you hate it when things don't turn out as planned?!  

Why am I still showing this to you?  I really do think that this would have been amazing if I hadn't gotten side tracked and left it in the oven for about five minutes too long.

The recipe came from The Curvy Carrot and I have plans to try it again.  

This is what it was supposed to look like...

Source: The Curvy Carrot

And here is mine... Ha!  

Just thought you could use a laugh... :)

Spring Decor: Dollar Tree Style.

I love to decorate.  I love to decorate, but I hate spending tons of money for decorations that I only put out once a year.  Recently I have started a love affair with the Dollar Tree.  Its shameful really.  I start in the seasonal aisle and I pick up anything and everything that I think would make a cute decoration.  Then I scour the other aisle's looking for things that you wouldn't traditionally consider a decoration, but that I think could work.

Here's the beauty:  EVERYTHING is a dollar (or sometimes less!).  Here's the downfall: even things that are a dollar start to add up... Picture me at this point in the trip: I realize I have 63 items in my cart, hence defeating the purpose of going to the Dollar Tree to spend less money.   Queue my mad dash back through all of the aisle's, systematically putting everything back that I don't really need.  :)  Happens every time!  

Once you make it home the fun really begins!

And look!  I got tons of stuff and only spent $15.00!  All it takes is a little creativity and thinking outside the box and you have an awesome centerpiece for a table... or in my case, countertop.  

Some of my best finds were the moss covered stones, the chocolate bunny, and flower pot.  I usually don't buy fake flowers, but I've found that if you use them right they can actually add a nice touch.  If you think outside to box and get creative you can come up with some really great stuff!

This is my favorite spot to decorate.  We don't have a mantel or a table so this is definitely the best spot.  

Add a few Dollar Tree placemats... your Dollar Tree knick knacks and such... and there you go!  I love using my cake stand and Mason jars.  And adding a couple candlesticks always dresses things up.  I was really excited about how this turned out!

Have you done any decorating lately?  Whats your "go to" place to find decor?

Sometimes the simple things are the best things.

Instaweek.

Sometimes the Simple Things are the Best Things.

Spring Fever.

In case you haven't noticed, its been a little drab for the past couple of months.  Brown grass, brown trees, grey skies...  

But on Wednesday, the weather was amazing!  A little peak into Spring.  The sky was blue, the clouds were fluffy and white, and the buildings even looked brighter!  Aahhh... it was wonderful.  I kept sneaking outside at work just to spend a little bit of time enjoying the breeze.  The temperature got all the way up to 70 degrees!

When I went to the store that night I was drawn to all the Spring and Summer items.  I definitely have Spring Fever.  I wanted to buy it all.  I had to remind myself that I don't even have a yard, let alone patio furniture or a vegetable garden.  Unfortunate.

How awesome would these baskets with matching liners be at a cookout?!

And look at this!  I can see Caleb's eyes rolling as I type.  This is so adorable!  

Oh, how I'm ready for some good barbeque....

I think we still have a ways to go.  I'm looking out the window and as an encore to Wednesday the snow is falling in droves.  Ugh.