And the winner is...

I put everyone's name and/or comment in a basket and asked my husband to pick a winner. The tote bag goes to...

Cynthia, please email me with your mailing address and I will send your prize to you!

♥

Thanks to all of you for your kind comments and for following my blog.
The giveaway was so much fun! I can't wait for the next one! Stay tuned...

♥ Vicki

Happy Earth Day!

A giveaway … in honor of Earth Day! I’m giving away this tote bag which was made from recycled water bottles! This versatile and fun tote bag is durable and spacious. It is made from a virtually indestructible waterproof material that you can wipe clean!

It has hearts on it … because I ♥ hearts and tote bags! My family calls me *The Tote Bag Queen*! I hoard tote bags … I must have roughly a kazillion or so! I have so many tote bags that I use tote bags to store my tote bags! And I do use them (most of the time) ... I keep several in my car. They are an eco-friendly alternative to those dreadful, disposable plastic bags.

Did you know that Target will give you 5¢ back for each reusable bag you bring in every time you shop?

How to win:

♥ Follow my blog (1 chance)
If you already follow my blog, you're automatically entered! Thank you!!

♥ Leave a comment on this post by Midnight (EST)
on April 24, 2010 (1 chance)

I will draw a winner on April 25th!

Happy Earth Day!

♥ Vicki

Happy Birthday in Heaven

I lost my Dad on Christmas Day a couple of years ago.
He would’ve been 73 today.
Born and raised on a farm in Ohio, my Dad was a
career military officer and my hero.
I miss his smile…
his humor…
his hugs…
his love.

Happy Birthday, Dad. I hope they serve angel food cake in Heaven today.

♥ Vicki

All That!

Found this wonderful, beat up, old ALL detergent bucket at a yard sale this weekend! I saw my husband roll his eyes when I picked it up ... but he knew better than to say a word!

What must my neighbors think? I can just hear them now,
"Those poor people can't even afford a decent flower pot!"

I think my vintage, beat-up bucket is much more charming than a traditional flower pot. It has character!

♥ Vicki

Hello, Cupcake!

Bunco + cupcakes = FUN!

Tonight's Bunco night! Woo-hoo!!

I'm bringing dessert ... cupcakes! I purchased the cupcakes at a local bakery and added the dice picks for fun!

The bakery is new ... and doing a phenomenal business based purely on word-of-mouth and social networking (she already has over 1500 Facebook fans!). The name of the bakery is Frosted Pink. She bakes different cupcake flavors each day ... and they are all yummy! In fact, she sold out, again, this afternoon. Way to go, Frosted Pink ... and welcome to the neighborhood!

Happy Weekend!
♥ Vicki

Fabulous...

...and fun!!

I received the most incredible delivery today from my friend, Sue!

(You know it is going to be incredible when it's packed

in a styrofoam container with dry ice!!)

Sue has to be one of the most talented...thoughtful...sweetest...kindest

(I could go on and on and on...)

women in the world!

She is aware of my penchant for leopard print ...

and she also knows that I will be "celebrating" a milestone birthday

(we won't go there ... yet) next month.

So ...

sweet Sue sent me this ...

A leopard cheesecake!!

Is that not the most fabulously decadent dessert you've ever seen?!

I don't know whether to eat it or wear it! I may do both!!

It's absolutely over-the-top ...

out-of-this-world ...

perfect!

I have leopard shoes, slippers, sweaters, coasters, readers, hats, scarves, gloves, a throw, a broom, and even tissues!! You already know about the jammies and I'm not mentioning the unmentionables!!

(Okay, okay ... maybe I need a support group! Or perhaps I should live in a zoo!)

But never in my life have I experienced a leopard cheesecake with a chocolate graham cracker crust and fudge icing!!

Talk about celebrating a birthday in style!

This baby is going in the freezer until next month ... when I will need to console myself with chocolate!!

Sue,
Thank you...

from the bottom of my ♥ ...

for making me feel so special!

x.o.

♥ Vicki

Spinach Salad with Strawberries Recipe

One of my favorite spinach salads!

Fresh Spinach Salad with Strawberries
Recipe from Get-Togethers with Gooseberry Patch Cookbook.

1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. olive oil
1/4 c. vinegar
2 T. sesame seed
1 T. poppy seed
1 T. dried, minced onion 1/4 t. paprika
1/4 t. Worcestershire sauce
10-oz. pkg. spinach, rinsed and torn into bite-size pieces
1 qt. strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/4 c. blanched, slivered almonds

Whisk together sugar, oil, vinegar, sesame seed, poppy seed, onion, paprika and Worcestershire sauce in a medium bowl. Cover and chill for one hour. Combine spinach, strawberries and almonds in a large bowl; pour dressing over salad and toss. Refrigerate 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Serves 4.

Enjoy!
♥ Vicki

Give-away

"Measure Twice, Cut Once!" Isn't this tape measure fun?! Olde Tyme Marketplace is giving it away to one lucky winner! Skip over to her blog and sign up for a chance to win! She's drawing on April 11th.

♥ Vicki

An-tea-quing

I'm happy to report that I survived the dreaded T*#%@! Signed, sealed, delivered ... done deal. :::whew:::

To celebrate, I decided to go shopping at a local antique mall. I found a few treasures, including this pretty tea cup. I know, I know...I told you I don't drink tea! But this little tea cup spoke to me. "Ohayo Gozaimasu," it said. "You're coming home with me," I replied. You see, this little tea cup was made in Nippon ... and I'm a sucker for old Japanese things (probably because I lived in that country for so many years). It reminds me of springtime in Japan ... and the lovely cherry blossoms ("sakura")!

I hope you're enjoying a beautiful spring day! Happy Weekend!!

♥ Vicki

One of those days...

Tried emptying the paper shredder and missed the mark! Oh, well ... I needed to vacuum anyway.

I'm blaming the incident on "T" Day
(we never utter the "Tax" word in my house)
...which is only one week away!
:::shudder:::

At this time of year, we blame everything on "T" Day! "T" Day wouldn't be that big of a deal, if I wasn't such a consummate
procrastinator! Yes, I'm admitting it!!
If you look up the word, procrastinate, in the dictionary,
you'll find my name in the definition.

pro·cras·ti·nate
Pronunciation: \prə-ˈkras-tə-ˌnāt, prō-\
Function: verb
: to put off intentionally the doing of something that should be done; Vicki

Oh, the shame!
My mission today is to finish my T*#%@!! I'll finish them after I drink a cup of tea. Did someone say the "T" word?!! I don't even drink tea ... I'm off to Starbucks!

I'll work on T*#%@ later!

♥ Vicki

Happy Easter!

Chocolate bunny hugs and jelly bean kisses,

♥ Vicki

Let them eat cake!

We celebrated Nick's birthday last night! He loved the cake!!

The "popcorn" is actually miniature marshmallows. It looked so realistic!

We combined Nick's love of movies and guitars to create his birthday theme this year. Popcorn boxes were stuffed with white paper shred and boxes of theater candy. His gifts were wrapped with guitar-themed paper.

I made "Nick" bars when he graduated from high school. A 21st birthday is reason enough to make them again! (They are actually Snickers candy bars! I just covered the letters I didn't want to show ... and, voila, instant "Nick" bars!)

Have a sweet day!

♥ Vicki

Cake by Amy's Cakery. Thanks, Amy...you rock!