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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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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