Ryan Gosling step aside, my man can do 'Hey Girl' just as well!

Bliss Ranch is having a 'Hey Girl' Valentine Party

You all have seen the Ryan Gosling 'Hey Girl' pictures on Pinterest, right?  Very funny stuff.  Ryan has a way of making us feel better about all the time we spend crafting, DIY-ing and blogging.  He reassures us that we haven't been neglecting our duties, or if we have he still loves us.  Yes, it's all very tongue in cheek.  If you haven't seen them there are a multitude when you Google Ryan Gosling just click the link to see more images

I just couldn't let this chance pass me by, so I quickly threw together my own version of some 'Hey Girl' posters...

Using Scott as my model, of course!

AND...

Scott and I don't usually go over the top to celebrate Valentines Day.  We try to have a nice dinner.  (If I'm lucky it's out somewhere so I don't have to cook it.)  But I've prepared some really special Valentines meals at home over the years.  

Maybe he gives me something chocolatey. 

Maybe I give him a special treat too ;)

I'm not very fond of the greeting card business and how much money the cards cost ~ so we skip those.  

We've gotten creative in the past.  One year I woke up and Scott had created a scavenger hunt throughout the house.  I spent a good time finding clues until I finally came to the hidden surprise...it was so sweet. 

Some years the day has blown by without either of us barely noticing it.  And that's okay too.  We try to show our love every day in the way that we treat each other.  I think that's so much more important than going all out on this commercial holiday.

 What do you do for Valentine's Day?

Do you think it's important?

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Expressing My Love Through Chocolate

This one goes way back...right back to the 80's actually.

I remember going to Tupperware parties with my mom.  It seemed there was a Tupperware party at least once a month back when I was young.  Maybe that's how people socialized back then.  ;)

When I was somewhere around Jr. High School, maybe 7th grade, we got these Tupperware funnels at one of those parties.  The "Tupperware Lady" taught us a trick that night.  My big sister, Loma, and I, made these for our closest Jr. High School friends as Valentines gifts back then.

This one has some tin foil poked into the end of the funnel...you'll see why!

After Christmas this last year, I was left with a ginormous surplus of mini marshmallows.  I must have got a bunch on sale with the intentions of making more Moose Munch.  That stuff is just unbelievably yummy...if you haven't tried it you should!  Okay, back to the mini marshmallows...

So many marshmallows...what would I do with them???  There's always Rice Krispies Treats.  That will use up some, but I wanted to do something different.  That's when my mind wandered waaaay back to about 1983...

We used to take these funnels and use them as molds for fudge: 

I sprayed the inside with non-stick cooking spray first.   Once the fudge was in I propped it in a small glass to sit in the fridge and cool.

( This picture makes me realize how badly I want to change my countertops. 
!Aye aye aye! )


Sorry, back to the subject at hand.  I drifted... 

Once the fudge was cooled completely, I carefully dumped it out of the funnel "mold" and placed it flat side down on a square of tin foil. 



Mine came out nice and easy, but if you have any trouble you could dip the funnel in warm water for a second, or wrap a warm towel around the outside to loosen it up a bit. 

See how nice it turned out!  Don't you just want a bite?

Now it was time to add a personal touch.  In Microsoft Word, I typed "Sherry's Kisses" over and over again in a similar shade as the blue that HERSHEY'S KISSES is typed in.   I kept this one really simple for sharing purposes, but you could type out an entire love message on your strip of paper ~ if you wanted.  Or a "Thank You For Your Friendship" message.  Whatever works.  Maybe a teacher Valentine.  I know I would love a big kiss like this!

  All that's left to do is wrap it up and give your kiss to somebody special.

 I gave mine to the most adorable, hard-working, chocolate-loving, kiss-aholic I know!   I've got more treats in store for him on Valentines Day...but I'm not sharing those with you!

We are so glad you've stopped by and we hope you've enjoyed your time here.  We would really, really, really LOVE IT if you wanted to follow along with us.  You can follow by clicking Google Friend Connect on the sidebar or typing in your email address.  You can even friend Pondered Primed Perfected on Facebook and Pinterest. 

We love making new friends!!!

XOXO,
Sherry

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Pretty Little Pie Shelf

BEFORE

I bought this "bad boy" at a community-wide yard sale last summer.  I call it a pie shelf.  I really don't know if it is considered a pie shelf?  I think it was made to look like one.  It's not a vintage piece, though. 

It was ten dollars.  I talked them down.  ;) 

The fact that it takes up mostly vertical space is a big plus in my book.  'Cause it gets a little crowded around here at times. 



Some pale green paint...it went on right over the blue. 

AFTER

Distressing with an electric palm sander gave it this effect: 

I yanked off the vinyl "tiles" that screamed "COUNTRY".

See what I mean?

Some real ceramic tiles went in to replace them.  The tiles were a roadside freebie.  Nice Score.

Then some OXO stickers, for a little bit of hugging and kissing.  These will come off after Valentines Day and be replaced with something more permanent.  I think.  I know you probably didn't hear a word I wrote...you are too busy looking at that quadruple chocolate loaf cake (recipe by Nigella Lawson).  It is to-die-for delicious!  You can find the recipe here.  I think I may be a chocolate addict.

The knobs went back on...only until I can find the perfect replacements.  We're on a spending freeze.

A few of my favorite accessories have been added:

Pale green mixing bowl ~ LOVE!  Thrifted
Ceramic Cake Stand.  From Santa 2010
Chocolate Cake Plate (What can I say?)

Our new "honey" pot in white ceramics.  Thrifted
White Heart Cutout Bowl.  Thrifted

Check out that fancy bottle.  That's a lucky find.  I made a couple of them into lamps.  You can see them here.

I'm very happy with how it turned out.  I don't know what I'll end up replacing the OXO with.  And new knobs will look nice, too.  I just needed to do something a little more fun than purging and organizing for awhile.  Although getting that done will be nice too!

Hugs to you!

Sherry

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Pieces of my Heart

I've always admired people who decorate their home for all of the seasons and holidays.  (How do they manage to find the time, the energy, the inspiration, and the storage space for all of those extra decorations?)


I only dream of being that organized and motivated. There's definitely not a shortage of ideas floating around in my head (and the magazines, catalogs, Pinterest and Blog-land).  It's just that...well...I'm busy.  I have more pressing things to deal with.  Like:

• Making dinner.  "What's for dinner???  and lunch, and breakfast, and snack, snack, snack?"...
• Going to the grocery store to get dog food for my pooch, Sadie (hopefully before she strains a muscle in her throat from whining so forcefully)?
• Washing, drying, folding and if we are lucky, putting away umpteen loads of laundry.
• Keeping the house somewhat clean and organized.  I say somewhat because I am no miracle worker.  I just am not really fond of clutter and (prepare yourselves for a dirty word) ~ dirt.
• Planning activities for the week to keep the toddlers and preschoolers engaged, challenged and content. 
• Planning activities for the week to keep my husband engaged, challenged and content.
• Chauffeuring my little athlete to all of his sporting events, activities and play dates...to keep him engaged, challenged and content!
• Paying the bills.  Yuck.  :(
• Working on a myriad of DIY & Decorating projects (to keep myself engaged, challenged and content).  :)  Yay!
• Making time to spend with friends and extended family because I miss them all so much.

So, theme decorating isn't high on my list of things To Do.  Not to mention, I wouldn't have the slightest idea where to store all of the out of season decorations?  Would we rent a storage unit???

Honestly, I feel lucky when we get the Christmas crates down from the attic space.  And, then I feel lucky again when we manage to box it all back up and get it up that ladder and into it's 11-months-out-of-the-year home, nestled among the rafters, insulation and cobwebs.  I refuse to go up there.  My life would be so different without Scott in it.  I'm so lucky.  He is amazing.  Don't get me wrong...I am very capable and independent.  We just have this unspoken agreement (like many couples I'm sure) that certain tasks are mine and certain tasks are his.  Mine fall into the shopping, cooking, cleaning type categories and his fall into the ladder climbing,  light bulb changing, fence fixing type categories.  Go figure.   It's like Happy Days around here.

But this little blog is edging both of us outside of our comfort zones.  It's challenging us to push ourselves further than we normally would in our everyday dealings.  And here is how I know...

This morning when I took the old photos down from the cork board and started adding the new ones I was struck with inspiration.  (Don't get all excited, I can't take credit for this idea...I've seen this done in some form, somewhere ~ in one of my magazines, catalogs, Pinterest, or while blog surfing.)  But that's not the point.  We have some creative genius...stick around long enough and you'll see, I'm almost promising!  I'm guessing that 99.97 percent of what we do is some form of imitation...greatest form of a compliment and all...yada, yada...

THE POINT IS that I took the time and intentionally added a theme as I pinned all of the new school pictures, snapshots and Christmas card photos to the cork board...placing them with love and care in the shape of a heart.  :) 

If you don't see yourself in this photo collage, maybe it's time for you to give us a new photo of yourself???

1.

So many of the people we love...it makes my heart do flip flops :)

This board is right next to the front door in our entryway...you can see the entry shelving we've recently finished.

Well, Scott finished his part, but I still have a cushion cover to sew, and maybe some paint touch up here and there...

But that reminds me...I never really showed you the crazy awesome thing about these entry shelves...the bottom doors open up like a bin and we place our shoes in there when we come in.  Then we close them up out of sight!

I'm not fond of a big pile of shoes right inside the front door so this was the perfect solution.  This is Scott and Alex's side.

And this is Vanessa's and my side.  Those are my new Sperry loafers.  I got a gift certificate for Christmas and picked these puppies up at The Rack.  They remind me of Junior High School and "boat shoes".  If any of you remember those days! Hahaha


May your heart and home be filled with love!

Sherry

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