Whatever

 Chapel of the Transfiguration, Teton National Park

And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

Colossians 3:17

Love Never Fails Valentine Box

I found this vintage wooden recipe box at the thrift store awhile ago.  And it languished about before until I could decide what to do with it ;) 

I had planned to use it to display some seasonal  decor and finally decided on a Valentine theme.   I left the lid open and put everything in the area where recipe cards would have gone. 

The hearts are sewn from cotton fabric.  After turning right side out and stuffing with poly fill, I hand stitched a smaller heart to the front and then embellished with bits of lace, old buttons, rusty safety pins and rolled felt roses. 

The love bird is my favorite!  I drew him like a hundred times before I got the pattern right.  He’s holding a chocolate brown crochet heart in his beak that has a vintage key pinned to it. 

The tag is tea stained and stamped with “Love Never Fails” from 1Corinthians 13:8.  I put another crochet heart on it and then pinned it to one of the bigger hearts. 

Tucked them all into the box along with some greenery and berries, then tied a strip of red fabric around the box. . .  Now I can’t wait to start decorating for Valentine’s Day!

The prize

Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win!

1 Corinthians 9:24 (NLT)

A month of snowmen

Seems like time is slipping by as quickly as it did in December.  Before January slips completely away and I decorate for Valentine’s Day, I wanted to be sure to share my Winter Decorating with you.

Our wintry weather is only beginning in January and I like to devote the month to snow and snowmen. 

I left the Christmas garland over my red hutch.  I like the twinkle of the white lights at night. Then added some snowflakes, snowmen and icicles: 

The rag snowman garland hangs from the peg shelf.  

Red homespun stars and a snowman sit in a paper mache light box in this little nook.  Again - love happy white lights in the winter evenings :) 

All the glassware in this centerpiece is from either a thrift store or the Dollar Tree and glued together with E6000.  
 

I made the snowballs by smearing joint compound onto styrofoam balls.  When they dry, paint them white and sprinkle with glitter while the paint is still damp. 

And finally – just in case you don’t know what snowflakes are made of :)  

How do you decorate for winter?

Linking:

Cheater Phillies

Simple and easy… what could be better :)
Cheese And Roast Beef Sandwiches

1 tablespoon butter 
1 cup thinly sliced onions
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 (10 oz) can French onion soup, undiluted, or 1 can beef broth 1 lb thinly sliced roast beef
4-6 hoagie or sub rolls, split
4-6 slices provolone or Swiss cheese

• In skillet, melt butter; add onions and mushrooms.  Cook until tender.
• Add soup; bring to a boil. 
• Gently stir in roast beef and allow to heat through; remove from heat.
• Divide beef and onions among 4-6 rolls.
• Top each with a slice of cheese.
• Place under broiler until cheese melts.
• Serve remaining broth for dipping.

If you’re in a hurry or have onion/mushroom haters, they may be omitted without affecting the yumminess.  Simply skip the first step in the recipe. 

We always use beef broth instead of onion soup and find this makes at least 6 sandwiches for us.

Linking to: 

Oh my soul

Psalm 103

Of David.

¹ Praise the LORD, my soul;
   all my inmost being, praise his holy name.                
² Praise the LORD, my soul,
   and forget not all his benefits—
³ who forgives all your sins
   and heals all your diseases,
⁴ who redeems your life from the pit
   and crowns you with love and compassion,
⁵ who satisfies your desires with good things
   so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

A good mail day

Looking through a few seed catalogs helps me like January just a teensy tiny bit more:     

They offer hope that one day. 
One.Day. 
The temperature will indeed rise above 30. 
Before July.  (Please.Please.Please.)
Amen.