Valentine's Mantel

I put together a quick Valentine's display on our mantel.  I gathered all my vases, bowls, candle holders, etc around my house that were either red, pink or white and arranged them on my mantel.  I also included the bottles I spray painted last year for Valentine's day.  Everything I used I already had around my house, so this was a free project.  Gotta love the things you can do that don't cost anything!

Chris and I built our mantel, aka a floating shelf, check out what it looked like before here.

Does anyone else decorate for Valentine's day or have special plans for the day?  Since having kids, Chris and I usually make a nice dinner at home after the kiddos are in bed.  Chris always gets me Belgium Chocolate Truffles from Costco and usually flowers.  Very traditional, but what girl doesn't love chocolates and flowers?

Reminder:  Tomorrow, February 1st, is National Wear Red Day to raise awareness of the issue of heart disease in woman.  Wear Red and show your support!

XOXO

Happy Champagne Thursday!

Cheers!

Parker's Artwork Photo Book

One of my New Years Resolutions was to be more organized, which has probably been on the list a few times before.  Anyways, if any of you are like me and have kids in daycare or school you have probably accumulated quite a few pieces of artwork.  I always try to display them for a little while when they come home, but then they end up in a box.  I have a hard time getting rid of things, especially things Parker has made.  A couple weeks ago I received a free coupon code from Shutterfly for a free photo book, so I decided it would be a good time to compile all of Parker's artwork into a small, 20 page, 8x8 photo book.  The coupon code was only good for about a week, so it forced me to get this project done fairly quickly.  And it wasn't completely free, I still had to pay $10 or so for shipping, so I'm sure they are still making some money.

I took out Parker's box of artwork and took about 175 pictures of all of it, then uploaded it to Shutterfly and created a nice book of all his masterpieces.  Then I threw almost all of the artwork away.  Sorry P!  I did save a few favorites like the mother's and father's day projects Parker made for Chris and I.  I also took pictures of a few cards Parker received from teachers and included those in the book.  It will be fun to look at later down the road.

Parker was excited to look at his new photo book.  I try to make him a photo book every year of all the things we are done and he really enjoys looking through them.  I'm just hoping he doesn't ask where all his artwork went... but, it won't take long before we have another box full and I'll have to make another book.

What does everyone else do with their kid's artwork?  Anything creative?

Happy Champagne Thursday!

Cheers!

Champagne Punch

For Christmas Eve my mom and I made this yummy Champagne Punch.  We found the recipe in the December/January 2013 issue of Taste of Home Magazine.  It's easy, pretty and tastes great!


Line a 4 1/2 cup Ring Mold with Assorted Fruit
Add in
2 1/2 cups Pineapple Juice
1 1/2 cups Ginger Ale
Freeze until Solid
Unmold into a Punch Bowl

Stir in 
- Two 750 ml Bottles of Champagne
- One Chilled 375-ml Bottle of Sweet White Wine (half a regular size bottle)
- One 12 oz can Thawed Frozen Lemonade Concentrate

Makes 16 servings (3/4 cup each)
Anita Geoghagan - Woodstock, Georgia

We didn't have a ring mold, so we used a circular, freezer safe bowl and it worked great.  I recommend adding the pineapple juice and ginger ale first, then adding the fruit, so you can make it somewhat pretty.  We used orange slices and raspberries for our fruit.

Perfect for your next party!

Happy Champagne Thursday!

Cheers!

Re-purposed Candle Jar

If you are like me you may have candles that are almost gone or that are empty sitting around your house.  Don't throw them out.  Re-purpose them!  I love the candles and jars from Bath and Body Works.  The jars the candles come in are classic and simple and can be easily re-purposed for many different things.

How to remove candle wax from a glass jar and re-purpose
1.  After you have burned all you can from the candle, put the jar in the freezer for a couple hours or longer
2.  Remove from freezer and the wax should easily come out.  I used a butter knife around the edges and was able to get the wax out in a few pieces, in about 30 seconds.  I pried the wicks off the bottom with the butter knife too.
3.  Remove the labels.  The labels from Bath and Body Works candles peel off very easily and I was able to get the big sticker on the bottom off with a little hot water.  Just a little tip, don't put the cold jar into hot water, it could break from the extreme temperature change.  I was able to remove all the labels within a few minutes.
4.  Wash your jar.  I always hand wash mine and put it through the dishwasher.
5.  Fill with almost anything.  The only thing I wouldn't recommend putting in there is food, just because of what was in there before.  I filled mine with bath salts, q-tips, gauze pads and hair ties, bobby pins, etc.

I think the jars look pretty good on my bathroom shelf, don't you?

Happy Champagne Thursday!

Cheers!

Cheers to Year Six

Chris and I are celebrating six years of marriage today! 

Here's a fun little poem I wrote for him!

What a year

It was sure full of cheer

I am grateful for you

and all that you do

I've never been more happy

I don't want to make this too sappy

Our favorite game is Catan

You are my number one man

We enjoy our Champagne

That one we like, starts with Domaine

This year we made a lot of toasts

I even took a picture of a ghost

You make life so much fun

We sure enjoy our time in the sun

You do all that it takes

We had an awesome time at a few different lakes

Thank you for all your support

Next week we have a date, in court

I love you more and more

and I'm so happy you do not snore

Hope this next year brings us good health

And it wouldn't hurt to have a little more wealth

Husband and wife

Best friends for life

Save your best for your spouse, no one deserves it more!

Cheers to Year Six!

2013 Goals

My 2013 Goals

Things I Want to Work On & Accomplish

1. Continue weekly posts on Thursdays, here on Champagne Thursdays - This was a goal of mine from last year and I'm happy to say that I posted something every Thursday of 2012.
2. Grow and promote my Rodan + Fields business - https://yates.myrandf.com & https://yates.myrandf.biz
3. Cook more often, eat out less
4. Get Organized - 
1. Clean out closets, drawers, etc.
2. Have a Garage Sale
3. Use stuff up
4. Get rid of stuff we don't need anymore - Yesterday, I brought an old car battery to the recycling center, that had been sitting in our garage for over a year and got $8 for it.
5. Go on more dates with my husband
6. Start and finish projects I've been wanting to work on
7. Spend time with my family and friends
8. Go someplace I've never been before

Did any of you set New Year's resolutions or goals for yourself?  Care to share them with us?

Happy Champagne Thursdays!

Happy New Year!

Cheers to a wonderful 2013!