Red Stool, White Dog

Sometimes, there are no words necessary.

13 Years Times 2 Dogs

It's a big deal to be able to say I have twin dogs, Flick and Summer, on the left and right, and they are 13 healthy years old.  It's also another celebration as Foxy turned 4 as well. We got her in July and the people we got her from didn't know her birthday so we assigned it to the same day as Flick and Summer. So we celebrated 3 birthdays yesterday.

That deserves a cake. I got the recipe from this website. It's the Peanut Butter Delight Dog Birthday cake and doubled it to be able to put it in a cake pan. I baked it at the same temperature and time. It turned out perfect!

I made the Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting but  but increased it to 2 packages, or 16 oz of low fat cream cheese, 3 teaspoons of honey, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla.

The cake turned out perfect. It was baked just exactly to the time needed and was the best looking cake  that ever came out of my oven...and it was for the dogs.

 But they loved it. Look at Flick's look of delight.

 And Foxy loved it too. We had to give her a separate slice because she doesn't like to share.

Happy little dogs eating their birthday cake. Summer didn't look up once. She was so much in ecstacy.

They first tried to just eat the frosting off the cake. It was hilarious.

Then they realized the cake was awesome too. Big enough piece Flick?

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Holiday Decor - A Bit DIY, A Bit Nutcracker

Here's a taste of the craziness I call my Holiday Decor. It's part crafty and part Nutcracker to feed my obsession with Nutcrackers. Above I had some silver glittered feathers I put out in a little glass for shine!

 I have lots of wood in my family room and I used some greenery to up the Holiday spirit and threw some berries and colorful garland around it.

 I have a candleholder on my table to which I hung the Christmas Tree Paper ornaments I made

This is in my entry hall. I have more glittered feathers in a glass tube with bells in it on a candleholder. 

 Here's a quick idea. Put ornaments and a string of lights in a glass vase and you have some festive decor.

My vintage button tree has to be my favorite thing I've made ever. I took it and put it in a vintage candy dish that I spray painted with primer so it looks matte white. There are the mason jar snow globes that I made as well. 

 I inherited all of these vintage buttons so with color pins, I stuck them on a styrofoam cone. It took forever and a day but if you have nothing to do for a few days, make one.

 One of my favorite nutcrackers, the Sushi Chef. If you know me, you know why.

 Here's my kitchen cooking tree. I have wooden cooking utensils, colorful balls and hand knitted mini mittens on this tree.

 Not really a decoration, but don't you love my little bar. This vintage cart cost me $40 at a flea market and I didn't have to do a thing to it.

These are the Nutcrackers in the place of honor, above the TV. These are the characters represented in the Nutcracker: the Mouse King, Clara, Dr. Drosselmeyer. Plus my very first nutcracker on the left and Santa on the right.

The mantle with nutcrackers and stockings.

Our Christmas tree is mostly Nutcrackers with a few other treasured ornaments thrown in. Above are some glittery nutcrackers.

 Here's a close up of a knitted pair of mini mittens I made. Here's a pattern for them if you want to make them.

 More nutcrackers.

 In my kitchen, I keep the cooking/baking themed nutcrackers.

 I used a vintage hankie to put under my plate rack. It's red and green, so...in keeping with the holiday theme.

 In my kitchen, on a ledge behind our eating booth I put these little beer cork trees I made. Pretty self-explanatory. I hope you enjoyed a peek into my home.

My Other Half

Did you know that I started a food blog? It's The Unassuming Foodie. I probably didn't mention it here because I was so caught up getting it started. I will be posting about food there that I make and how food I eat at restaurants and see in recipes online inspire me to make it my own.

Here's my latest post about something yummy I saw and then recreated it to my taste. Please visit and comment, often.