Christmas Gifts {April's "Treat of the Month"}

Wow, it's just been a blast sharing with you my "Treats of the Month" gifts for a very special friend of mine in Virginia this past year.

The last few Monday's I've shared with you what I sent her in January, February and March.

Kim, my bestie in Virginia, who is the recipient of these treats, loves coffee....loves, loves, loves coffee...

Actually, it's a wonderful past time for her and I to meet up for coffee times together. I moved from Ohio to Indiana back in 1998 and we were about 2 hours away from each other. We'd meet up half way for coffee and we cherished these times....

In May of last year, Kim had her first grandbaby...not only that, she had 2 sons get married and a third son engaged...she was propelled into empty nest season almost overnight...

and.....she moved....all the way to Virginia....to be near this dear one...

Isn't it cute how her mom held up the cookie I sent her for this picture...she's so clever!

Anyhow, back to my April treat....so, we were talking about coffee...and how much Kim loves coffee...so much that she told me once that if she doesn't have time to have a cup of coffee before work she has been known to grab a handful of coffee beans and eat them on the way to work....that's a coffee lover right there...

So, for April, like every other month, I wanted to do something special, and since we hadn't had many opportunities to get together for coffee since her move to Virginia, I had coffee on the brain to send her....

I came across this recipe, right here and knew in a minute this was her treat.

I followed the recipe exactly except I baked it in a pan and cut them into bars so they would fit in the cute little boxes I had found at Hobby Lobby.

They tasted as good as they looked....it was a buttery, soft chewy bar, with bits of chocolate and an occasional crispy crunch from the espresso beans...kind of like a coffee party in your mouth!

When I ate these bars {since I didn't send them ALL to her}, I'd think about our special times together over coffee....

Talking about life, and how we were living it, seizing the moments to be together...little did we know when we started these coffee times together how limited they'd be in our future...

Miss you dear friend!!

Until next time, enjoy those moments you have with your besties....



Christmas Gifts {March's "Treat of the Month}

The last two Monday's I've shared with you my gifts for my bestie in Virginia this year. I gave her a "Treat of the Month" from "Tracie's Sweet Boutique" aka, my kitchen.

Today, I'm sharing with you what I sent her in March:

Easter happened to be in March this year, so Easter cookies were on the menu.  I found the cute little box at Walmart and it was all the inspiration I needed. Are those carrots cute or what??

I am part of a cookie group on Facebook and one of the cookie artist that I hang out with "virtually" is Tami from Tami Rena's Cookies. Check out her facebook page right here and her blog over here. She is a great cookie artist and I am inspired often by her works of art!

You'll see more cookies in a couple of weeks that were also inspired by Tami.

Oh, since we're sharing pages here, feel free to check out my other cookie creations over on "Tracie's Sweet Boutique's" facebook page....right over here

Until then, life is happening all around you...seize it and live it fully!

Christmas Gifts {February's "Treat of the Month"}

Well, last Monday, I shared with you my Christmas gift I did for a bestie of mine this past year.
My gift to her was a "Treat of the Month" from "Tracie's Sweet Boutique" aka, my kitchen...

For February I put together this package:

Isn't that jar cutter just the cutest thing ever?? I just love it. It was actually a gift from a friend for doing some cookies for her daughter's bridal shower. Here is a picture of the same cutter used as a different cookie:

I had a blast making these for her daughter's bridal shower...
This cutter was purchased here
I've seen them offered by other vendors too, so you could google "jar cutter" for more options.

I want to make a "bug" jar for my grandson Micah...fill up this jar w/little fireflies....

Up next Monday is March's gift...

Until then, live your life as if today is all you have....oh, wait...it is....

Christmas in July: {Christmas Potpourri Jars}

It's July.

Way back many many years ago when I was teaching in the school system, I would spend my July getting ready for Christmas.

I loved my summers off as a teacher and took advantage of the extra time I had to organize my home, do fun things with my kids....and knock out my Christmas list.

I took "Christmas in July" literally and took it upon myself to organize my Christmas gift list.

One of the reasons I did this is because I loved making Christmas gifts to give away.

Another reason I did this was because we lived on a tight budget and this was one way I could give gifts to many without it costing me a fortune. I love to give gifts....family, friends, neighbors, postman, Sunday School teachers, co-workers, the gal who cut my hair, my doctor, my dentist....you get the picture.

You can imagine my excitement when I discovered Pinterest! Oh my...the glorious-ness of pinning all these awesome gift giving ideas! Pinterest is a great tool for just that. And I must say, I do actually try quite a few of the things I pin....That is where much inspiration comes from today for most of my projects.

One gift I made for a friend {or two} last year were some potpourri jars. I started out with a clean spaghetti sauce jar. The lid on this brand was actually already black and had no writing on it, so it was good to go as is. You can always spray paint the lids to cover up writing. 
I actually love to look at the different jars when I'm shopping to see what ones I can re-purpose into these.

I put the following in my jars. I don't measure or anything, just kind of fill them up w/ a mixture of:
**sliced oranges
**sliced limes
**sliced lemons
** bay leaves
**cinnamon sticks
**whole cloves {use at least 2T}

After you have placed the above things in the jars, you just fill with water.
Put the lid on and they are ready to give away as is, or you can add ribbons, labels etc...


Which is what I did:

I had found this red bowl and napkin at a local goodwill store and knew it would be perfect for this gift. I added a ribbon to match and then a sticker that had the instructions for use. {which is basically : simmer on stove}

I added a ribbon to match and then sticker that had the instructions for use: {which was basically: "simmer on stove" adding water when necessary} 

I then finished it off with cellophane wrap and a big bow in a coordinating color....ready to give....ready to enjoy!


Using re-purposed jars, goodwill finds, and not so expensive ingredients, these are great gifts that you can make a lot of for a small amount of money.




Here is another one I made. I just packaged it differently.

This one is the same recipe in a smaller jar that I nestled into an antique bowl I found. My friend collects them and this was a perfect find for her.
These jars are just perfect to tuck into things or to just give by themselves.

If you look close enough, you'll see I did another technique on the lid. I used this tutorial right here to mod podge a cupcake liner onto this lid. Can you imagine the possibilities??

So, if you, like me, take Christmas in July literally, why not make up a few of these jars to tuck into gift baskets or give as a stand alone gift this year. Recipients love to use these to bring the holiday smells into their homes.

....and making them this summer will allow you to enjoy your holidays completely this December....

Christmas Gifts {January's "Treat of the Month"}

I gave a bestie of mine a special gift for Christmas this year.

You know those fruit of the month clubs? Well, I did something like that, but not fruit...I made up a gift card that told my friend that she was going to get a "Treat of the Month" from "Tracie's Sweet Boutique"....aka, my kitchen!

Well, it's July and it's been a blast coming up with a new treat of the month...so I thought I'd share them with you through out this year....Perhaps you will want to bless a friend with a "Treat a Month" from your home this year...

So, for January, I put together this little package:

I made up some homemade hot cocoa and put them in those tall bags made for chocolate covered pretzels.
I included some chocolate dipped marshmallows. I just poked a sucker stick in a large marshmallow and then dipped one end of that in melted chocolate and then rolled them in crushed candy canes.
Kim also got some of my hand decorated snowflake sugar cookies.
I just loved making these for her...she loves snowflakes so I knew these would make her smile.

Finding the blue mug just rounded out the gift and finished it off.

Stay tuned...I'll share with you next what she got in February!

Until then, live your life on purpose today....it's all you have....

Like mother, like daughter...

Today in my newsfeed on Facebook was a link to a letter written by a gal to her mom.

I read that letter and it resonated within me in such a way I was just speechless.

I could have written that letter to my mom.

To read it was healing for me. I only wish my mom could've read it. It would have been healing for her too.

Grab a Kleenex....you can read the letter right here

My mom struggled the entire 65 years of her life with her weight. She never felt pretty, she never liked how she looked. She hated shopping for clothes.

My mom had wonderful willpower when it came to a diet. She was able to deny, deny, deny....just long enough to get to a weight she wanted to be. I remember her doing that for my wedding. She dieted for months to lose weight for my special day...

Isn't she beautiful??

 

My mom was beautiful. She was the life of the party and lit up rooms when she entered it. She had an energy that was contagious. People liked being with my mom.

 

But, she lived in a silent pain. She didn't love herself. She believed the lie that her significance, worth and beauty was based on her size. Believing that, she believed she had no significance, no worth and no beauty.

 

That is so far from truth. My mom was a wonderful mom. She loved her 5 children. She loved us a lot. Mom wasn't perfect...no mom is, but she loved us.

 

My mom died in 2001 from a resurgence of breast cancer that she had battled 10 years earlier.

I remember standing at her memorial, nodding my head in agreement to all those who would fondly tell me what mom meant to them. There was a recurring theme throughout that day....

 

....my mom was remembered for her love, her joy, her "lighting up the room" she was in.

 

Not. one. person. mentioned my mom's size.... not. one. Nor has anyone EVER in the 12 years she's been gone...

 

Now, I realize, no one in their right mind is going to talk about someone's size at their funeral...but what occurred to me that day was just what my mom was remembered for...what was right there blaring at me....her personality won....her personality was what people talked about, what people still talk about when I see her friends.

 

Fast forward to today....

 

I lived with that silent pain myself. My mom always told me I was going to be fat..."just like her"....and like my mom, I also believed to be fat meant to be worthless, ugly...horrible.

 

Mom wasn't being mean, in fact, just the opposite, my mom was trying to protect me from the pain she lived with all her life.

 

I've counted calories, denied myself, tried new fad diets....all in the attempts to reconciling how I felt with how I looked. I wanted to "feel" good about myself, and I too, believed the lie that I would "feel" good about myself when I was "thinner"...

 

 

But, I know better, now.

 

God taught me much in and through the death of my mom. I'm sad for my mom that she struggled so much with her weight. I am sad that so much of her time was spent worrying about her body size and how she could shrink it...time that would have been better spent seizing the life she had.

 

...and God showed me that much of my time, I was doing the same...

 

It was a wake up call...a wake up call for me to seize the precious moments I have. To live them fully and completely. To make the changes I wanted to make in the midst of living life to the fullest.

 

I still struggle, I still stumble and some days I just feel like giving in to the lies, believing that my worth, significance and beauty is bound up in the size of my waist....but God desires so much more than that for me, and I trust Him...and most of all, I know He loves me..

just. as. I. am...

I am His daughter and He loves me. I am His creation, and in me is His perfection.

What on earth could be more significant than that?

 

I am often told that I am "just like my mom"

 

I absolutely used to shutter when I heard that...

 

Now....I smile....

 

....and continue to "light up" the rooms I enter, bringing my mom's joy, love and laughter to those around me.

 

Thanks, mom!