Manicure Monday! :)

Happy Monday! :) Did you have a good weekend?

So, Kenn and I don't make a big fuss out of Valentine's. Seriously. My roses? Already dying - which he's not too happy about, because of how expensive they are. He bought them the night before Valentine's. Anyone see the connection? :D

ANYWAY. For church on Sunday, I wanted to do something fun. So I did a light pink gradient - the darkest pink is down by my cuticles, fading to light pink at the tips. Then, I put fun little heart rhinestones - which I got from Amazon.com with the gift certificate my sister and BIL gave me for Christmas :) - on them. Having a little extra bling is a lot of fun. :D

OK, I'm outta here. :) Have a wonderful day! Be BLESSED!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

This is what I made for Kenn for Valentine's Day! :)

You know that English toffee I posted earlier this year? Well, Kenn really likes it. So I decided to use the new silicone mold I got for Christmas to make it extra-special for him; I put almonds on top of some, and just left the almond bark coating on top plain on the other half.

I used these little mini loaf liners to stack them in, four to a cup. Then, I stacked THOSE into a gusseted cello bag and used a piece of retired Stampin' Up! ribbon to tie it together. :)

I made him a card, too; you can go to Lori's Stamping Spot to see it!

I hope you've had a good day. I really don't like Valentine's Day - I never have - but we celebrate any chance we get. :D Kenn had to work tonight, so I worked on food for tomorrow's jewelry party! If you are in the area, it's at 2 at my house - and if you want to place an order, LMK before then so I don't close out my party. I'd love to get two more outside orders!!! :) Anyway. I have lots of things now to photo for you tomorrow; hopefully I'll be able to post a little more on-time. We're still having equipment problems. :/

Have a wonderful weekend!!!!! Be BLESSED!

Lemon Icebox Cake

It's FRIDAY! Have you had a great week? I sure hope so! Congratulations to everyone who has a jar of Biscoff Spread coming your way! :)

I promised today would be a share and review of the cake I made for our Valentine's Day celebration; here it is! It's a Lemon Icebox Cake from Cookie Baker Lynn.

It was tasty. It was NOT worth the trouble it took to make!!!!! How do I score this? I'm giving it a personal NO, THANK YOU - but that's because it is a FUSSY frosting/lemon mousse. SERIOUSLY.

I made the angel food cake in two 8" square pans; I had a tube pan, but didn't use it once in the three years I had it, so I got rid of it. The cake was very good; angel food cakes are a bit fussy, but one usually goes into scratch-baking it knowing that fact.

The lemon mousse/frosting? THAT was kind of crazy. First, you make very sour lemon curd. Then you whip cream, add gelatin, and add it to the curd to make lemon cream. And FINALLY you add meringue to the whole thing, split the cake into 4 layers, and stack.

If you decide to make this, it's GOOD. It's a big cake, light and fluffy and lemony and a treat. But go into the process knowing it will take you a good two days to make sure everything is ready to go. And it's NOT cheap; between the cake and the mousse, it took about 16 eggs. For ONE ingredient in ONE recipe.

I'm glad I tried it. I'm glad I made it for my dad - he despises chocolate, so we can't serve any when we do a special event together. But I'm not saving the recipe.

OK, I'm outta here!! :) Let me know what you think of this one. I'd love to hear if you're planning on making it! Take pictures, and tell me your story! :)

Have a WONDERFUL weekend! It's another busy one for us - we're out of here SOON! BE BLESSED!

Almost time for the giveaway! :D

Not too long now until the Biscoff Giveaway ends! Have YOU entered? Go do it - on that post! Just click the link! Hurry! :D

I decided to share what our Valentine's Day table looked like today. My mom pulled it together - isn't it beautiful? We ate out on the sun porch; Kenn had to go shoot a basketball game, so we ate early. The flowers are ones Mom uses for Fourth of July centerpieces; the chargers were some we used for Christmas, as were the battery-operated candles.

It's a small table, but it was quite lovely!!! What do you think??

Friday, I'll share the cake I made for our dessert - that's the part I was in charge of. :) And if you've left a message on the Biscoff Giveaway, PLEASE either email me or leave another message with your address! :D

Have a WONDERFUL day! Be BLESSED!

Oreo Truffles

 Happy Wednesday! I hope you're having a great week, and have something a little fun planned for tomorrow.

IF you don't, I wanted to share this easy recipe with you! This one's from Just a Pinch, but it's floating around in a LOT of places. :)

Now, you'll notice that the recipe calls for coating these in melted chocolate chips. Personally, that's just too much deep chocolate for me to handle. So I coated some of them in leftover white coating from Christmas, and some I rolled completely in Valentine's sprinkles I picked up last year. My favorites, though, were the ones I simply rolled in confectioner's sugar!

I also used some Oreos that I'd never had before, called Ice Cream Berry Burst. They have pink centers, and I was hoping some of that pink might show up in the centers. Obviously, it didn't. :D But it gave them an interesting flavor. My mom said they had a "nice, mild" flavor; Kenn said they were "very sweet". :D I found them yummy! LOL! And since they were so easy, they're

 Stay tuned for a special post (hopefully tomorrow!) for a GIVEAWAY!

OK, I'm outta here. Have a WONDERFUL day! Be BLESSED!

English Toffee

Good Wednesday morning! I hope you're enjoying your week! Tomorrow ENDS January - can you believe it? Wasn't last week Christmas? :D

Today's recipe is one that I usually only make at Christmas, but I highly recommend it - it's inexpensive to make, relatively, and if your love likes toffee, this one is sure to please. And gain you points - I always split this into two batches. You can hide one in the freezer, if you want.... :D Kenn LOVES this toffee!

The base recipe is from Christmas-cookies.com. Here's how I change it!

The main toffee, I do NOTHING to - I will tell you to stir forever and watch that thermometer! It goes from good to burnt in no time at all!!!!

I use a Silpat (actually, a knock-off) to pour my candy onto; I also, as I mentioned, split the batch into two ROUNDS. It's easy, and I think it's easier to handle that way.

After it cools for about 5 minutes, I pour about 1/2 cup of semisweet (or MILK!) chocolate chips on top of each round, and let them sit for about 3 minutes until they're easy to spread. I spread them around, and just let the candy sit for a few hours until it's completely cooled. Then, if I'm going to be serving it soon, I break one of the rounds apart.

If I'm not, then they stack - with waxed paper in between! - in a gallon plastic bag in the fridge until I want them. :) If you want to freeze them and don't want the chocolate to whiten (like mine in the picture!), you can do the chocolate as in the recipe whenever you want, or melt the chips in the microwave.

Easy! Inexpensive! Loved by millions! :D What else could you ask for?!? :D

OK, I'm outta here. Have a WONDERFUL day! Be BLESSED!