VALENTINE BUTTON HEART DIY

I have a little crush on white pearly buttons!  

I collect them... but have never really used them until recently. Many of my buttons were my grandmother and mother's... and I can remember some of the clothes they were on!

Here's an easy-peasy pretty VALENTINE BUTTON HEART PICTURE DIY to show off some  Valentine love...

VALENTINE'S DAY HOT CHOCOLATE BAR

Valentine's Day is quickly approaching and for me that means CHOCOLATE!

Here is a well know, proven Valentine equation..

Valentines Day + Chocolate = LOVE!

Why not celebrating Valentines Day by creating a Hot Chocolate Bar for the ones you love? 

THE SCOOP #103

I look so forward to "SCOOP" days! I find tons of inspiration, great ideas and lots and lots of projects and recipes I want to try!

This week at StoneGable I"ll be sharing the love with some fun Valentine posts. Check out the Upcoming Posts for a daily rundown!

Did you catch the post earlier today...

10 GREAT TIPS ABOUT WHITE DISHES

White dishes are the little black dress of our cupboards... they are right for every occasion!

I've had a love affair with them for years...

I've discovered so many wonderful things about white dishes... here are 10 great tips that will make you love and want to use white dishes too!

ON THE MENU MONDAY ~WEEK OF JANUARY 26, 2014

I'm writing this from my hospital room with great hopes of going home tomorrow! What a wild 72 hours it has been! Since we are talking food I won't bother you with all the details... just know that I am fine and surgery went well.

You can read more about my saga on my FACEBOOK page.

Thank goodness for stocking food in the freezer. Monday and Tuesday's dinner will be coming from my freezer stash! And Sunday's soup will  be doubled and be added to the freezer.

Don't forget to have a few meals on hand for those unexpected days!

Now, here's what's ON THE MENU...

PRAYERS AND PEACE AND SOVEREIGNTY

This week I had an unexpected surgery. Out of the blue. I was doing great and three hours later, I felt like truck had run over me and was in the hospital.

I knew something was very very wrong. My left knee had blown up like a balloon, was very sore and hot to touch. This was particularly troubling because I had just had knee cap surgery 9 weeks before and had been warned about the dangers of infection...

KITCHEN CART~ WINTER IN THE KITCHEN

Every season has it's own culinary personality in my StoneGable kitchen.  And I love each one.

Winter is warm and infused with roasting scents and onions and clementines and lots of hot chocolate and coffee!! I like to wipe the counter tops and surfaces clean and bare and let the kitchen breathe!

This year I added a kitchen cart to the end of the island and stocked it with some of my favorite white things...

SETTING UP A CHIC BAR CART

I've always wanted a bar cart. I think they are so chic! They have that James Bond, devil-may-care, joie de vivre  attitude about them. They are cool and sophisticated and can be used for anything from hot chocolate bars to martini bars...

And that's why I'm so happy they are making a huge comeback!

THE SCOOP #102

Hi Everyone!

 Welcome to...

THE SCOOP #102

 I'm your co-host YVONNE AT STONEGABLE

The bucolic farmland of Lancaster Co. has been hit hard by old man winter... we are to get 8 inches of glorious snow tomorrow! It's been  very blustery and COLD so far... making it a great time to work on indoor projects!

I'm keeping things toasty and warm and spending time working around the farmhouse! Here is what you can expect at StoneGable this week!

CREATING A WALL GALLERY THE EASY WAY

I'm creating a wall gallery on the main stairs and along the upstairs hallway at StoneGable.

I've been reading and reading and planning and fussing... and to be honest I almost didn't create the wall gallery on the stairs because it just seemed like too much work and brain power!

Then I came to my senses... there really are no rules for creating a perfect-for-me wall gallery... so I am just sorta winging it! My gallery is only partially done, but I'm enjoying it now... without all the design and style rules and certainly without the guilt of not doing it right...

Here are a few suggestions I have learned to create a wall gallery and use the "I'ts not rocket science approach"...

ON THE MENU

I think this is a hard time of year to be a blogger. Recently, I have read of a few bloggers that have posted about "taking a break", "giving up blogging" or  being "dry". I myself have taken two blogging breaks. The both did my a world of good and put into perspective this odd thing we bloggers do.

I have no intention of taking a break, or stopping my blog, let me state that strongly right now!  I'm only writing this to encourage my fellow bloggers to listen to their inner selves and do what is best for them. If taking a break is what you need... take it! Don't worry about losing an audience or someone replacing you. Life goes on... and fills in...

PRACTICING PRACTICAL WISDOM

Sometimes I think wisdom in today's world is a lost commodity. I think that fools get more attention than the wise... and folly is portrayed more than prudence!

What an upside down world!  And that is right... we live in an upside down world.

The Bible, and especially the book of Proverbs, has much to say about the fool and the wise or prudent...

WINTER IN THE DINING ROOM

This morning I picked up my camera to get a few shots of my dining room....

pared down and bared down after Christmas and basking in the golden morning light that streams through the windows.

The whole room seems to glow...

DELICIOUS DOUBLE HOT CHOCOLATE AND CHOCOLATE SPOONS

This was a fun, delicious and fabulously chocolaty post to create. I was one happy, messy, lick-the-spoon girl!

Valentines Day, for me, is a means to have chocolate! Good chocolate! Yummy chocolate! Lots and lots of chocolate!

Today I'm sharing the best Hot Chocolate you will ever make! It's so rich and creamy and loaded with cocoa goodness! And just to make it even more of a chocolate fantasy, let's make chocolate spoons...

CREATING A COZY HOME

They say a picture is worth a thousand words... and I think this picture says it all!

When I think of a cozy home... a shelter from howling winds, falling snow and dropping temperatures I think of warm and wonderful ways to chase away winter's chill.

Here at StoneGable, this is my cozy spot...

BAR CART MAKEOVER

I'm thrilled that bar carts are back in vogue. I have always loved them. There is something so chic and "James Bond" about them!

And I have the perfect corner in the dining room for one.

But have you priced bar carts lately? The can be very expensive for such a small piece! I've looked for bar carts on ebay and overstocks.com and nothing excited me. Then I found one on TARGET.COM that had potential and the price was right. It has an antique brass base, although I was not fond of the wooden shelves.

But I had an idea for the shelves... and the saga began...

THE SCOOP #101

Welcome to THE SCOOP #101

What a great week... first the Scoop is sharing the best ideas on the web... then check out CREATING A COZY HOME TOUR...25 bloggers sharing ways to create a cozy home this winter...

and this week at StoneGable I'm sharing all things winter and cozy too! So there are lots of creative and inspiring posts to see!

Let's get going with THE SCOOP #101...

ON THE MENU~JANUARY 12, 2014

Nothing tastes better to me when the weather is cold and dreary than soup. So this wintry week starts and ends with... soup! One cooked on the stove top and one in a slow cooker. But both delicious and hardy and so so filling!

 Soup is comfort food I love to cook... and eat! When the weather turns nasty in your neck of the woods I hope you will try one of these yummy soups too!

Before we get into this week's menu I want to remind you of the

CREATING A COZY HOME

going on now!

25 of your favorite bloggers with lots of ideas for making your home cozy this winter...

ONE LITTLE LIFE

   

photo credit-night sky with stars by Just2shutter

If you could summarize what you would want for your life in one sentence what would it be?

Wow! 

What a big question. Have you ever thought about condensing your life's meaning into just a few words? 

Sifting through all the day-to-day, the mundane, the internal clutter, the noise and the business of life and getting your life's goal into such focus that you can pinpoint it's meaning into one concise, easy to understand thought! 

If you could do that, you would have a central theme around which your whole live and everything you do would turn.

Can you do that? I think it's worth trying...

ANTHROPOLOGIE INSPIRED TUFTED WOOL WREATH DIY

Do you ever see something and can't get it out of your mind? Something that speaks to you and begs you to take it home?

I saw a Anthropologie  tufted wool wreath last year and it was love at first sight... but it was love with a price! A big over $100.00 price.

So, I decided to make my own "tufted" (pom-pom) wreath. The wreath is fuzzy and warm and tufted and lumpy and looks like a sheep... a perfect wreath  for wintry weather!

This wreath was sooooo easy to make and really fun. Even if you are not a crafter, this is a diy for you...

WINTER SOUP BUFFET

Last Sunday I put together a quick Soup Buffet after Church. Right before our small group arrived, I snapped a few pictures.

This table was not intended to be a blog post but I thought it would be fun to show you how I set up a easy to execute tablescape and luncheon... a real life... not edited for publication table...

STONEGABLE READER'S SURVEY...AGAIN!

Let's try this again. Something happened to Monday's post and it got all garbled up. I think it's fixed now....


THANK YOU StoneGable Readers!

Almost 1,000 people took the StoneGable Reader's Survey and gave me some great feedback!

I found out so much from all of you!  You really spoke your mind! Some good... some not so good, but constructive! And all the info will help me build a better blog.

Here's what I found out and some new plans for the New Year...

THE SCOOP #100!

Welcome to 

THE SCOOP... MILESTONE EDITION!

We are celebrating our 100TH LINKY PARTY!

Before, we begin the party I just want to remind you of some of StoneGable's upcoming posts (See above)!

And remember to read about all RESULTS of the StoneGable Reader's Survey by clicking HERE.

ON THE MENU WEEK OF JANUARY 6, 2014

Are you in a deep freeze in your neck of the woods? Here at StoneGable and around my area the weather is down right frigid! We are getting freezing rain right now and look forward to a record breaking cold spell.

When it's cold outside nothing is better than warm yummy soup! I have the freezer stocked up with several different kinds and Thursday I'm making a VERY EASY Broccoli Cheddar!

Whatever the weather where you live I hope you have soup on the menu this week!

Now here's what's on my menu...

NO- SEW SNOWFLAKE BUTTON PILLOW

What does a girl do on a very snowy, snowed in day? When the wind is howling and the temps are flirting with single didgits?

Make a snowflake pillow. And the best part... it's made out of BUTTONS!

This project was so fun. It took just over an hour from picking out all the white buttons from my button jar till I stuffed the pillow cover with an insert.

Even if it's not snowy where you are... this pillow will bring a little winter white to your decor...

CHEATER'S CHICKEN POT PIE

I love Chicken Pot Pie! It's one of the ultimate comfort foods.

But it takes a whole lot of time and effort to make the real deal!

I've developed a "cheater's" way to make this yummy dish and it's even better than the original... not bragging, just the truth!

Cheater's Chicken Pot Pie is easy enough to serve any weeknight and it's also company worthy...

ORGANIZING THE BOOKSHELVES

January feels like "organizing" to me! After taking down the Christmas decorations I am ready to sweep the house clean of clutter and get organized!

My bookshelves are a constant frustration! They can be seen from the kitchen and breakfast room and always look busy and cluttered!  There is so much going on in my other rooms, I wanted my eye to "rest" when it looked at this end of the family room!

So, I filled the bookshelves with identical chunky baskets (Pottery Barn Outlet) sporting number tags ...

LARGE NUMBER TAGS DIY

I have a very very fun project for you!

Large numbered tags!

They will  help you ORGANIZE your home, and if you are like me I sure need that!

These sturdy tags look very Pottery Barn-ish and would look great as a decorative and/or organizing detail on almost anything...