Layers of Love

Just wanted to say a BIG "THANK YOU" for all the anniversary wishes and nice comments (compliments) we received!!! I showed hubby the anniversary post when he woke me up yesterday morning before he left for work and he LOVED it! He said it brought tears to his eyes!! It shows the most meaningful gifts don't cost a dime...just some time!

While he was at work, I went to the mall to find a new outfit for him & I to wear to our anniversary dinner. Well, I got him 2 shirts that go together, but I didn't find anything for me . That's ok...I have plenty in my closet.

When he got home from work we went to a Japanese SteakHouse called, "Osaka" that we have never been to. It was FANTASTIC! It's the kind where they throw knives in the air and cook in front of you on a hibachi. It was fun! The food portions were HUGE, but I managed to eat almost all of it! I was so full when we left! We planned to go for dessert somewhere else afterwards, but neither of us had any room left for dessert, so we came home to watch a romantic movie, called "Always". We started watching it and realized we had already seen it. Oh well, we continued watching anyway...till we both kept dozing off...so we turned it off and called it a night at 9:30pm and just went to bed. Can ya tell we are not party animals??!!

The fire was much bigger, but by the time I got the camera to work it was this size.

He's making us fried rice...yum!
A nice lady took this of us on our way out of the restaurant for our anniversary scrapbook.



So........... since we missed dessert last night (in more ways than one...haha!) I decided that I was going to make a dessert I found called, "Layers of Love Chocolate Brownies". Doesn't this dessert sound fitting for a 21st anniversary?! Think about all the layers (years) of our love...AWE!!


Oh My Goodness..doesn't this look AMAZING?!!!


Layers Of Love Chocolate Brownies
Prep Time: 10 mins
Serving Size: 16 brownies
Cook Time: 30 mins

Cooling Time: 15 mins cooling
INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Baking Cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cut in pieces
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 large eggs, divided
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans
3/4 cup NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Premier White Morsels
1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping
3/4 cup NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels


DIRECTIONS:
PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Grease 8-inch-square baking pan.
COMBINE flour, cocoa and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add 2 eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla extract; mix well. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Reserve 3/4 cup batter. Spread remaining batter into prepared baking pan. Sprinkle nuts and white morsels over batter. Drizzle caramel topping over top. Beat remaining egg and reserved batter in same large bowl until light in color. Stir in semi-sweet morsels. Spread evenly over caramel topping.
BAKE for 30 to 35 minutes or until center is set. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into squares.




Have a fabulous weekend! I'm off to clean the house and bake the layers of love brownies...Yummy!!




Darlene

It's Our 21st Anniversary!!

21 years ago today....I married my best friend!

We were married at a small church in Santa Clarita Valley, California at a 5pm ceremony. Boy, we were so young! I was just a couple days away from being 21 and hubby was 23 (3 weeks away from being 24). I feel we have grown up together. We only dated 2 months before we were engaged and married 1 1/2 months later. We had a couple people tell us that our marriage wouldn't last, but those naysayers are divorced now and we are still going STRONG!!

Of course, we have had our trials in marriage as everyone does and we had to learn that love was not a "feeling", but that love is a choice! We choose everyday to love each other. We are a team through the good and the bad. He has my best interest at heart and I have his! I love him more today than ever and I think he would say the same about me.

So today, I dedicate this song and photo montage to my best friend, my lover, my business partner, father of our children....my husband (AKA Hubby)

I Love You Forever!!!!!

This was taken on a cruise in 2001

Taken when we were out to dinner with some friends This was on vacation in Destin, Fl 2006
On vacation 2007
Our 20th anniversary (2008)

Taken this past christmas at a restaurant
Vacation last summer 2008 Panama City Beach, Fl

San Diego, Calif 2004
At our home around 2002/2003

Thanks for loving me and being such a great husband and family man!!

Happy 21st Hun! Love ya!

Darlene

Tablescape Thursday

Susan from Between Naps On The Porch is the wonderful host of Tablescape Thursday. If you haven't checked out the fabulous tablescapes...hurry over there! There are some very talented people creating such beautiful tables.

Here is my tablescape I put together the other evening. It's funny, hubby came home from work and asked what I was doing. I told him I was playing Tablescape Thursday. He said, "oh so your decorating again?" In which I answered, "Of course!" LOL

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This was fun and in doing this tablescape I realized that I need to find some tan linen cloth napkins...so Pier One here I come!!

Thanks for taking the time to stop by!!

Darlene

23 Minutes In Hell

This is so powerful that I had to share it with you! I wondered if this was the type of thing I wanted to share on my blog...then I felt an overwhelming confidence (boldness) to share this. I pray that many people out here in blogland will be bold as well and share this on their own blogs!


http://www.rogershermansociety.org/wiese.htm

God Bless You!
Darlene

Mineral Makeup...FREE SAMPLES

I have used the famous mineral makeup known as Bare Minerals and really liked it, but let's face it...it's expensive! My daughter wanted to start wearing a little makeup so I started researching other mineral makeups that were less expensive. In my search I have discovered a great company called, "Everyday Minerals". They have a huge following of fans and quite a extensive selection of mineral makeup! I am so impressed with the makeup and the company!

Their mineral makeup line does not contain unnecessary ingredients like talc or bismuth oxychloride. You just need to check them out for yourself! They offer free samples..all you pay is $3 s/h! What a deal! The samples come packed in little sample jars and they are filled to the rim with product. They offer the samples so that you can find your perfect color before paying for a large size. Oh, and there prices are about 1/3 of Bare Minerals. Hurry...go check them out if you haven't already and order your FREE SAMPLES!!

Have Fun!

Darlene

Neutral Doesn't Have To Be Boring!

Lately I have been really attracted to neutral rooms, which is a big change for someone that LOVES color! I NEVER thought I would ever consider having white walls again...but like the saying goes..."Never Say Never"!

In this economy neutral makes great sense! Choose neutral colors for all your expensive pieces like sofas & flooring and bring in hits of color as your accent in art, flowers, vases, pillows, drapes, rugs.

That way when you get tired of your room or space you can just change the color of the accessories and get a whole new look for your room!

To Create a Neutral Room
Add Texture. If you are keeping a monochromatic color scheme, whether it’s beige, white, green or blue, you need to create visual interest in the room. And texture is a great way to do that. By adding nubby pillows and a soft mohair throw on the sofa, woven wood blinds on the windows, and a sisal rug on the floor, you have added various textures to the room and created not only tactile but visual interest. The textures stand out against the neutral backdrop.

Keep your large furniture pieces solid. A large flowered, multi-colored sofa does not lend itself to a neutral color scheme unless the pattern is tone-on-tone (various shades of the same hue). The fabric on the furniture can have lots of texture, however, and even a small pattern. But the sofa needs to read as one color when you stand back. Keeping the large pieces in a solid color allows for maximum versatility. You won’t get tired of them either.

Use colorful artwork as your focal point. Instead of using color in your furnishings, let colorful art attract all the attention. Just like an art gallery has white walls to highlight the color in the artwork, a neutral background is ideal for featuring an art collection in your living room.
Add color with your accessories. It’s fun to use a neutral color scheme and add color with pots, baskets, art, vases, flowers, candles, and collectibles. Then you can change the color with the seasons or when you get tired of it. You can change the accessories as new colors come into fashion. Much cheaper than redoing the room every few years.

I won't be able to redo my whole house in Neutrals, but I will be doing my bedroom in neutrals and my accent color will be aqua...it will be a very calming pallette.

So, do you think we will all go back to neutral color interiors & white walls??>

Busy Designing...Again

I am busy, busy, busy trying to design 7 custom rugs for a client in Arizona and getting ready to teach a class tomorrow on "How to Sell on Ebay" ...all the while sniffling and coughing. I fought hard to not catch the cold going around my family but looks like I've finally succomb to it...darn! Please pray that I have a voice tomorrow...my voice is essential to teach a class!! As soon as I get this design project complete, I'll post again, but for now take a look at these fabulous custom rugs!





Oh and Rhoda from Southern Hospitality who was the winner of our custom rug giveaway just received her rug yesterday! She said she will be posting pics soon. UPDATE 2/21/09: Rhoda just posted the photos of her new entry rug that we made for her....here is 1 of the pics...
She chose a 4' round black rug with a zebra print "M" inlay to go in her entry. Stop by Rhoda's blog to see the rest of the photos!
This was the first time we did an animal print initial inlay. I think it turned out nice so we will start offering our monogram rugs with leopard & zebra as well as all our other solid colors. If you would like one of your own...contact us.


Darlene