Cupcake Celebration

I'm not much of a sweet eater.

It's strange that I LOVE to bake though.

Hubby on the other hand has a HUGE sweet tooth.

He has a love/hate relationship with my baking.

He loves to eat them, but hates that he can't leave them alone.

When I do crave sweets I generally gravitate towards cookies or cupcakes.

Probably because I can eat just one and be completely satisfied.

We will eat a few of the treats that I bake but the majority of

them are carted off to work to share with our co-workers.

So when the urge to bake strikes.

I BAKE.

 It's a win-win solution.

Of course, another reason to bake is a celebration.
For my birthday celebration I decided to make cupcakes.

Butter Pecan Cupcakes!

Who am I trying to kid?
I don't need a special occasion to bake.

Do you love butter pecan ice cream?

If so, you just have to make these cupcakes.

They taste just as good as the ice cream.

Our Son LOVES butter pecan ice cream.

I know what I will be making for his birthday treat.

Shhh, don't tell him.

How could I not?

There is nothing better than fresh cupcakes made from scratch.

When I have time restraints I've been known to use a

box cake mix that I doctor up to taste like it came from

a bakery, but typically I start from scratch.

These cupcakes I made from scratch.

I personally wouldn't do it any other way.

You can find the recipe for these delicious
cupcakes here: inspiredbycharm.com

One of these cupcakes was more than enough for me.

Oh YUM!

And yes, they were a huge hit at work.

That's it for this week.
Until Next Time,
Veronica

Celebrating #56

Soon I will be celebrating my 56th birthday.

My goodness where have the years gone?

I'm not afraid of getting older,

as a matter of fact, I look and definitely

feel better than I ever have in years.

Sure I have a few more laugh lines and wrinkles,

but I continually strive to look and feel my best.

How do I do that you ask?

By eating a balanced diet, exercising, getting 8 hours

of sleep (most nights) and paying special attention to my appearance.

You probably think that I spend hours on myself.

Not so.

I have been tweaking these habits for years and

have it down to a science, it just comes naturally to me now.

Don't get me wrong, I still have bad days every now

and again where I just let myself go, but those days

are few and far between, and when that does happen,

I get right back on track the next day.
I truly believe that if you look good, you feel good.
So taking care of myself is a must because I plan on
being around for a LONG time.

I'm not perfect, not by a long shot, but I am human
and slip-ups happen.

My ultimate goal for staying healthy is to

be able to enjoy life with Hubby in our retirement years

and enjoy playing and keeping up with our grandchildren.

So here's to turning 56!

Bring on the next 50 years,

but please be gentle, ha, ha.

Until Next Time,

Veronica

Whining A Little

A couple of years ago we had to

replace our refrigerator because it died.
It was kind of a good thing that it died because
I needed to have a larger refrigerator.

Trying to find a refrigerator that

would fit in the same spot was

almost next to impossible.

 The problem was our old refrigerator

was built in with cabinets on both sides and along the top.

In order for a new refrigerator to fit

we had to remove the upper cabinets.
We did save the upper cabinets in case
the next owners wanted to add them back in.

Now we had a big empty dark spot above the refrigerator.

So Hubby trimmed it out and added a shelf.

I added a jar with lights and a rooster statue and it sat

like this for 2 years before I figured out what I wanted to do with this area.

I love having a variety of wines on hand
for when the mood calls for a glass of wine
but I never had a place to store them.
That's when I decided that I wanted
a built-in wine rack above the refrigerator.

We were going to build one but for resale
value we decided to leave it as is.

So building a wine rack wasn't going to happen.
Dang It!

While walking around Target one day I happened

to spot a wine rack that was made from beautiful
Acacia wood. So I grabbed 2 of them and

placed them above the refrigerator to see how

they would look, naturally I had to style them.

I like to save my corks from the wine,
because you never know when you might need some
for a project, so I added 3 bowls along the top.

These wine racks fit perfectly and the color

of them blends so well with our cabinets.

I placed the light, which is on a timer,

behind the wine racks and it lights up this dark area at night.

The good thing about not having a built-in wine

rack is we will be able to take these with us

when we move to our next home.

I guess all of my whining ended up

turning into the perfect wine rack.

That's it for this week.

Until Next Time,

Veronica

My BIGGEST DIY Project EVER

Ever since I got my first glimpse of a button-tufted headboard

it was love at first sight.

These headboards add such a classic, sophisticated
and elegant look to any bedroom.

source:
Kelley Nan Blog

source:

Safavieh.com

source:

Overstock.com

I bet you didn't know that upholstered headboards

have been around since the 17th century.

Back then they used to be called Stuffers.

I have been on the look-out for the perfect

button-tufted headboard that would not only

appeal to me, but also be Hubby approved.

While shopping in Costco one day I turned

the corner and ran smack dab into THE PERFECT

button-tufted headboard.

Oh how I loved the look of this bed,

and it was Hubby approved!

It had the classic, sophisticated, elegant

look that I was looking for, plus the nailhead

trim appealed to Hubby.

The only problem was, I didn't need the whole bed.

I just wanted the headboard.

Sadly, you couldn't just buy the headboard.

I couldn't seem to get this bed out of my head.

The more I thought about it the more I came

to the conclusion that I could try my hand at

making one myself, of course for a lot less.

I snapped a few pictures of the bed with my cellphone

to refer back to as I was attempting to make this bed.

I DID IT!

After 3 years of dreaming about this headboard

I FINALLY got up enough nerve to build one.

But before I show you the BIG reveal let me

show you how our master bedroom used to look.

I was into the country look.

I removed our pillows to show the Amish built bed,

and the quilt I made. You can't really tell from this picture

but that carpet is blue.

I went completely 360°.

Here is my tufted headboard I built

which costs me a whopping $85.00!

Isn't it a BEAUTY!

Not too shabby for an amateur upholsterer.

I'm so proud of myself.

Hubby says it looks very professional.

What do you think?

Oh, and no more blue carpet!

I'll show you a few more pictures with the lights off and on.

It really makes quite the statement when you walk in the bedroom.

I purchased a set of new lamps and shades.

Ignore the dots on the wall. That is where our old lights

were hanging. Hubby is in the process of filling them in

and repainting that wall.

The view as you walk into the bedroom.

A view from the master closet.

I have a couple more projects that I want to make for

this room before I consider it done.

Hubby and I are really loving this look!

Can you believe that I built that!

I made it from a sheet of  1/2" plywood and 2

drapery panels that I found in Target.

Yep, made from plywood and curtains.

I've made A LOT of projects, but this

is by far my favorite.

The old bed and the shelf have since been

moved to one of the downstairs bedrooms.

I'm just so giddy with excitement.

It turned out better than I ever expected.

To celebrate a job well done, I'm going to pour myself

a glass of wine and go admire my work.

That's it for this week.

Until Next Time,

Veronica