…as you may know, we are moving in a week. it is a very exciting and stressful time right now and i keep wondering what it will be like living in a new house that isn’t quite our home yet.  most of all, i find myself feeling sad looking at all the things that i will miss when we leave our current home.  for some strange reason i am having the most difficult time letting go of the flowers and landscaping that we put in our yard.  every plant or bush seems to have a significant meaning to me.  either they were a birthday gift from my husband or a mothers day present from my kids.  these things have my emotions attached to them and i feel like a piece of me will be left behind.   i wanted to share these pictures of the magnolia tree in the front of our home because this will be the one of the things I will miss the most.  this tree has been kind of a horticultural mystery to us.  we purchased it about 4 years ago when we decided to update the landscaping in the front of our home.  this tree bloomed beautifully the first year we planted it.  the following spring we anxiously awaited to witness the beautiful blooms again, but nothing happened….or the year after that….or the year after that… or last year!  we fed it, watered it and gave it everything it needed so we were stumped.  well, it decided to bloom this year finally after 3 years of very modest growth.  maybe it is saying goodbye to us.

… i still enjoy weekends even though i am usually working.  i think it’s because my husband isn’t working.  i just enjoy having him around… though he is normally so busy he barely gets to spend any time at home!  maybe just knowing that he isn’t obligated to go to work is very comforting to me.  what plans do you have for the weekend?  i will be working on my secret hush hush 2011 desk calendar… it’s coming together so nicely i can’t wait to share it with all of you!

{photo from brown cardigan}

…these images from stuido choo’s occasion portfolio make me feel giddy! I am so ready for warm weather and fresh flowers.

i love this photo from katie baum’s sycamore series.  her photography is so dreamy…so dreamy that i think i am going to sketch a mock up of this photo for the cover of my 2011 desk calendar…..stay tuned

… i have been so gloriously cheerful the past couple of days with this warm spring weather.  i can already see grass sprouting up all around my house.  this photo totally epitomizes spring and it’s great green glory.  what are you doing this weekend?  i think i will be working on some stationery and try to fit in some packing for the move into the new house!

…here is a family favorite dessert recipe that my kids and husband begged me to make for valentines day.  it’s called “oreo madness” after the tgi friday dessert.  i don’t think they offer this dessert there anymore which is a total shame!

step 1: grease a 9 x 11 cake pan.

step 2:  put 1 and 1/2 packages of oreo cookies and pulse in a food processor until the cookies are fully crumbled.

step 3:  melt 1 and 1/2 sticks of butter and add it to the crumb mixture and mix until well absorbed.

step 4:  put half the crumb mixture in a 9 x 11 cake pan and press down to form a bottom crust.

step 5: take 2 gallons of slightly softened ice cream and scoop it onto the oreo crust.

step 6:  smooth out ice cream layer with a spatula.

step 7:  add the rest of the crumb mixture to the top layer of ice cream.

step 8:  even out and spread out the top layer to fully cover the ice cream.

step 9:  cover and return to freezer for 1 hour.

step 10:  cut and serve with drizzled caramel and chocolate sauce.

…so this is about how much snow we got…a  dusting.  the schools closed in anticipation of 8 to 10 inches and the snow never stuck to the roads. i’m so glad i canceled all my driving around that I needed to do.  well at least the kids had fun right?

image by alibubba.

….i am loving these items from sundance.

…beautiful coats from little houses.

…made into garden markers! found via apartment therapy and available for purchase from monkeys always look.