Home Tour

When Marci & Mike first moved to Houston they lived in some apartments closer to the city. When we visited they took us to these amazing neighborhoods in the River Oaks area to see the beautiful homes and landscaping. At Christmas time we always go on drives and look at lights. This is one of our favorite spots.

Every Spring The River Oaks Garden Club hosts a home and garden tour.

River Oaks Garden Club Azalea Trails I've always thought that would be so fun. Last Friday I finally got to go. I went with 3 girlfriends, Heather, Amy and my mom and of course, Taylor Jane. It was everything I dreamed it would be~ We were only supposed to take pictures of the gardens but we had snapped a few before we knew the rule.

We fell in LOVE with this arrangement.

This house was beautiful! Don't you love that lemon topiary!

This backyard was charming.

Cute Potting Shed

We saw lots of topiaries and trained vines. We loved this fence! Interesting door and light fixture.
" Honey, I'm Home.""I'm out here ... dear."

Oh, sorry, I think I was day dreaming again♥.


The gardens were beautiful!

Today I'm Making a Chocolate Cake

It is my Adorable Mom's Birthday! Mom her Jr. Year

Carolyn "Kelley" Hansen, Partridge

We're having our family celebration tomorrow after church.

So today, I'm making her request...

a Chocolate Birthday Cake.

This is the recipe she wants.

Dinner will be "Hansen Tacos"...I can't wait!

The recipe is HERE.

My mom was the only girl in the middle of two boys ... as was I ♥.Mom with Her Brothers and Mother

I admire her and look up to her as a mother

but we're also the best of friends and she's the sister I never had.

Mom and I in her Kitchen

She is quite the powerhouse! She was born in Preston, Idaho. Her family moved to Rosemead California when she was a child (I think she was about 9). She has always lived life to the fullest! Growing up she was a tomboy. She kept right up with her brother and his friends. She loved to ride horses and even rode one into to town when she was a tiny girl, only 4 years old! Her mom made sure that never happened again...but I bet it wasn't easy.

My mom is strong and determined. She always accomplished anything she set her mind to. In High School she was on the dance team and starred in many theatrical productions. She was a Cougarette at BYU and loved everything about school.

Her dad LOVED baseball and she went to every game with him when she was a little girl. To this day she is a baseball fanatic. Acutually she loves sports in general. For a Mother-in-Law, she's a dream come true! She and Mark are great buddies and huge BYU Football Fans.

Mom & Her Baby Girl

I've never met anyone more organized. My mom loves to read. She goes to the library every week and devours books faster than I can open a page. She's very creative and loves interior design. Every house we had growing up was beautiful. Her style is impeccable. She loves all things BLUE. She has friends all over the world and has helped and influenced more people than I can count on my fingers and toes.

Happy Birthday Wishes to my Beautiful Mom!

Thank You Thursday

Tonight at church we had a Relief Society Birthday Celebration.

The theme was

“What I Learned From My Grandmother”
An evening honoring the strong women that have influenced us.

We had a dinner where everyone contributed from favorite recipes handed down from their grandmothers and tables set up with family heirloom displays. Speakers shared humorous and inspiring stories of their own grandmothers. My friend, Cynthia and I did all the table centerpieces and used items from our grandmothers and some of our friend's heirlooms too. It was so fun to work with the delicate items. I kept thinking if only they could talk! I got some pictures as we were setting up. This is one of my favorite tables.

For the past few weeks in preparation of this I have thought so much about my grandma,

Flora Hansen (my mom's mother).

Flora Hansen

She had so many talents. I can't even imagine what that must have been like! She was an amazing pianist and taught piano lessons in her home for years. My mom has the comic books that grandma kept out on her side table for students to read while waiting for their lessons.

Items set out on the dining room table to take for display.

Grandma was a beautiful seamstress. My mom was the only girl and grandma loved to sew for her. During my mom's teen years she could just pick out a prom dress from a magazine and grandma would design it and sew one up for her. I've seen the pictures and they were all so beautiful, as was the girl wearing them!

My Grandma LOVED to work in the garden. I stayed with her for a few weeks once and I can remember waking up very early on a particular morning( which was unusual for me). I couldn't find her anywhere in the house and was starting to panic when I looked out the back window and saw her working in the flower garden. She was patiently pinching back the blossoms on her pansies. She showed me what she was doing and explained to me that it would help the flowers spread out and not grow long and lanky. I always "pinch back" now and I always think of grandma and that morning, when I do so. (Her little gardening shovel is pictured above. I keep it displayed in my laundry room)

She adored being a woman. She loved lace, perfume, handbags and shoes! She ALWAYS had her fingernails painted this pretty rose color. I can still picture her small hands always creating or preserving something.

Flora's Manicure Set

Flora in Photo and her Powder Case to the right,also shown here are her feather and sequined hats

Her motto was"Use it up, where it out, make it do, or do without." Now a days that is fresh in my mind! I am so thankful I knew my grandmother as a child and through my early years of motherhood. I cherish my memories of her and the lessons she taught me.

THIS for THAT

It is pretty silly but I play this little game with myself. You see, today I really need to get my cleaning done. But I really don't want to clean. I really want to sew.

I'm soooo excited! My adorable, sweet, generous, friend, Cynthia, is letting me use her mom's serger while she's in Guatemala.

It is amazing! I've always wanted one, but I had no idea the time they save and I LOVE the finished look of the seams!

So, I made this deal with myself.

If you do THISthen you'll get to do THAT

Oops, blogging isn't in the deal! Well I'm going back to my cleaning so I can do more of THAT.

Save Those Sweaters!

Aren't you excited for Spring! Well, as you go through your closet and your kid's closets, don't get rid of old or out grown sweaters. Oh the things you can do with them!

Woolen Mittens

Pouches

Pillow Covers
Stuffed Animals

Christmas StockingsSweater Bags

Felted Flowers & Cupcakes photo courtesy of Craftzine Sweater Pillow by gonzomama knits

Notting Hill

Recycled Sweater Fun - Ways to reuse your old sweaters!

Kids Pants

The Crafty Crow

Fun In The Making

Posie Gets Cozy

Every Tuesday
Pineapple Hill Blog

Everything is amazing....Nobody is happy!

source unknown

Slow down already...Enjoy the simple things in life. This is something I say to myself on a regular basis. I think I'm getting better at it, but it's a constant struggle. I know I'm much happier and feel more peace in my heart when I do.

I love this video clip that pretty much sums the whole thing up, I'm certain you'll agree!

Now instead of..."Slow down already...Enjoy the simple things in life."
my new note to self will be ... "You're in a chair! In the sky!"

Jungle Animals

We are so excited for Marci and Mike's new little pumpkin to get here in May! They're adding a little BOY to the mix. His name will be Preston (Preston Michael Freeman) ... love that name. Marci majored in International Development and studied abroad in Uganda. Ever since ... I think she's wanted to bring the jungles of Africa to their home and what a perfect theme for a baby boy's room!
She has these adorable wooden chairs that she brought back from her trip. One is a gorilla and one is an elephant if I remember correctly. Scott and Hope used to love to sit in them to look at books. Hope was Ella's age at the time. I just hate how fast time flies!

Anyway I've been keeping my eyes open for all things with jungle animals. Target just had the cutest things in their Dollar Spot that Marci spotted. Fun little dresser knobs, hooks, etc.

.... and look at this cute template from whom else but Martha!

Here are the ANIMAL TEMPLATES.

Click HERE for examples and how-tos.

Preston's room will be so cute with all the help from Meema (amazing artist), Aunt LeeLee (moving to Dallas in May... YIPEE) and Grammie (creative designer)

............getting ready for babies ............. is so fun..............!

Deep Dark Mocha Torte

Looking for the ultimate chocolate cake?

Well here you go....

Indulge in a multilayered chocolate cake with homemade ganache

and it is soooo easy to make!

Spoil your family and friends this weekend.

They'll love you for it♥.Courtesy of Betty Crocker

Torte
1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® chocolate fudge cake mix
Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on cake mix box
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup rum or water
1 1/4 teaspoons instant espresso coffee granules
Filling
2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 to 3 teaspoons milk
Ganache
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
6 tablespoons butter (do not use margarine)
1/3 cup whipping cream

1. Heat oven to 350°F (325ºF for dark or nonstick pans). Grease bottoms only of two 8- or 9-inch round cake pans with shortening (do not use cooking spray); lightly flour. Make and cool cakes as directed on box for 8- or 9-inch round pans.

2. Meanwhile, in 1-quart saucepan, stir granulated sugar, rum and coffee granules until coffee is dissolved. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally; remove from heat. Cool completely.

3. In medium bowl, beat all filling ingredients on low speed just until blended, adding enough milk for spreading consistency; set aside.

4. In 1-quart saucepan, heat all ganache ingredients over low heat, stirring frequently, until chips are melted and mixture is smooth. Refrigerate about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened.

5. Cut each cake layer horizontally to make 2 layers. (To cut, mark side of cake with toothpicks and cut with long, thin knife.) Brush about 1 tablespoon of the rum mixture over cut side of each layer; let stand 1 minute to soak into cake. Fill each layer with about 2/3 cup filling. Spread ganache over side and top of torte. Store loosely covered in refrigerator.
High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Follow High Altitude cake mix directions on box for 8- or 9-inch pans.

Thank You Thursday

Meet Rachel Esplin

I just did and I love this girl!

Of course, I already knew that great things come from Blackfoot Idaho.

That's where Mr. Mark was born and raised.

On September 23, 2008, five Harvard undergraduates were interviewed by journalist for the Washington Post, Sally Quinn, about their religious convictions. Students represented Islam, Mormonism, Judaism, Presbyterianism and Buddhism.

The Harvard Chaplains hosted this Interfaith Event where Rachel Esplin, a 20-year old Harvard junior, spoke on a panel of faith about her Mormon beliefs, upbringing, and faith in Jesus Christ and the restoration of the gospel.

The panel discussion was titled “Engaging Religious Difference: Personal Quests for Purpose” and was part of day long series of events on “Faith Live on the Harvard Campus:

Personal Quest, Public Conversation, and Global Citizenship.”

Rachel Esplin, an undergraduate studying East Asian Studies, was asked to explain her background growing up in a small town in Idaho, and how coming to Harvard has impacted her religious views and convictions.

I'm sure you'll agree, she did an amazing job sharing her beliefs to others in universal terms with beautiful conviction.

Some of the questions posed to Rachel were:

• What does religious diversity mean?
• What does it mean to be in a secular environment?
• What does it mean to come face to face with what I don’t know and what I have to learn?

She did a beautiful job answering those questions and eloquently expressed that coming to Harvard has actually strengthen her faith by working through those issues. As she has had the opportunity to learn about other faiths, her own faith has been strengthened.

Day of Faith: Personal Quests for a Purpose - 3. Rachel Esplin from Harvard Hillel on Vimeo.;"

Day of Faith: Personal Quests for a Purpose

Rachel Esplin from Harvard Hillel on Vimeo.
Rachel is President of the Harvad Latter Day-Saint Student Association

I love that we can share religious beliefs and learn from each other. Here in Houston we have an Inter-Faith Group called The Amazing Faiths Project.

The Amazing Faiths Project is a movement that brings together people to learn about the beliefs and faith traditions of others through exploration and dialogue; to foster an atmosphere of mutual respect and understanding; and to stand as a witness for tolerance and justice.

Our Church is hosting the next gathering May 7th.

"The things we hope in sustain us during our daily walk. They uphold us through trials, temptations, and sorrow. Everyone has experienced discouragement and difficulty. Indeed, there are times when the darkness may seem unbearable. It is in these times that the divine principles of the restored gospel we hope in can uphold us and carry us until, once again, we walk in the light."

--Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "The Infinite Power of Hope", Ensign, Nov 2008, 21–24