9 YEARS and counting!

Today I am celebrating my

9 YEAR

BLOGIVERSARY!

It does not seem that long ago that I started blogging but time flies when you're having fun! 

3 Fun Facts: 

890 posts since February 17, 2011

Most popular post is still: Lemon~Cream Cheese Croissants

Viewing Audience-Top 5 Countries : United States, Canada, Russia, France Australia & United Kingdom

Thanks to my followers and everyone that stops by the Grand Surprise to check out what is happening. I appreciate all of your comments and emails and hope you find lots of things to try now or save on Pinterest for later. I look forward to 2020 and hope to share some new things here soon.

Happy Monday!

A hundred HEARTS would be too few....

When it comes to decorating for Valentines Day I do like to use a lot of hearts. I have never counted them all however my collection slowly grows.

The majority of my heart decorations are DIY crafts such as the felted wool candle mat, the framed graphic and the felted wool candle wrap below. Of course, some packaged heart confetti sprinkled around is fun too.

The wonderful tote bag was designed by one of my friends. She is an amazing artist and I have collected all of her adorable reusable shopping bags however, as you can see, I do not use them for shopping. 

The Queen of Hearts was a Mary Engelbreit card which I decided to frame. It is a great way to display special cards.  

Hearts can be made out of just about anything. The sweet pink one above I cut from an old quilt and then finished the edge. 

The hearts in the box were sewing project from years ago. They were originally a swag but I decided to cut them apart this year and use them as filler in my new box that the hubs made. 

Not only is it fun to decorate with hearts but it is also fun to make hearts in the kitchen. This year it will be a Heartfelt dinner for Two although it had to be postponed one day due to basketball games. That's okay, more time to prepare.

A happy Heart makes the face cheerful! Proverbs 15:13

Happy Valentines Day!!

DIY Valentine Cards

February is the perfect time to make some cute cards for Valentines Day and I must say I could not resist making a few. It has been fun and a challenge trying to work with what I have on hand. As much as I love shopping for new things I do have plenty of supplies that need to be used. 

To start my projects I decided to make a couple printable graphic templates for my cards. Once they were finished I was ready to print.

The next step was creating a template for mini envelopes for the "sending Love" card. It took many tries before I was finally satisfied with the shape and size. 

It was worth it though because I was so pleased with how it turned out. 

The Tic Tac Toe Card was fun too. There are two versions. For the first one I used some cute tape I had for the cross hatching and for the other I added the cross hatching to my printing template.

I have the best little heart punches that were just right for all the hearts that I needed.

This is the card with the custom made mini envelopes which of course have tiny messages inside.

The "bushel and a peck" card was really easy with my printable template and some little scattered hearts. 

There were still a few cards in progress when this photo was taken.

Once I'm on a roll it is hard to stop however I was anxious to share my latest obsession. Also, the kitchen is calling. We are in need of some Valentine Sweet Treats so it is time to change gears and get baking.

Happy Thursday!

SUPER BOWL PARTY - Food

As promised, I am back to share our Super Bowl Party food. Our menu was full of "super" simple food. I took advantage of my slow cooker and my dutch oven to free up some time for other things such as cleaning and decorating. Make ahead recipes helped with time management as well.     

Our snacks were pretty easy to prepare. For example, I made a big batch of popcorn. It is ready in minutes and can be served in a big bowl or individual containers like these DIY football lunch sacks. 

The time I saved making popcorn was used to make this cute Football Bread Bowl to serve homemade Guacamole. So cute and Mr. Wonderful's guacamole is the best!

Cowboy Caviar is an easy make ahead appetizer and is a family favorite. 

Our Chili Bar worked out great. I made the Spicy Turkey Chili early Sunday Morning and let it simmer all day. Then just before Half Time I set out the bowls and all the toppings so everyone could dish up their own. The Spicy Pulled Pork had also cooked all day but in the slow cooker. Once it had been shredded I put it back in the slow cooker and set it on warm so that it would be ready to go. All that was left was to set out the slider rolls, which I had pre~sliced, and the Coleslaw. 

Our Dessert was easy too. Red Jersey Jello Parfaits with Chocolate covered Peanut Footballs and...

....Chocolate Cheesecake Football Parfaits! 

There you have it. Our easy~peasy Super Bowl LIV menu.

Happy Friday!

SUPER BOWL PARTY- Decorations

The Super Bowl is such a fun sporting event to watch with family and friends. This year the kids came over to our house to watch the game which gave me an excuse to plan a party. Once I knew we were hosting I got busy last week preparing decorations and a menu for the game on Sunday.

The first thing on the to~do list were supplies. I needed a few basics so my first stop was the Dollar Store for plates, napkins and a banner, however, while I was there I also found the greatest matching "football" tablecloth. In fact, not only was it festive but the tablecloth was also the perfect size. Once it was completely unfolded I realized it was large enough to make 2 table runners plus enough leftover for a medium sized tablecloth which I used to cover one end of our kitchen island. 

For the napkins I chose red, yellow and discovered a package of "football" motif napkins which were really fun. I also bought some Tootsie Roll Pops to use to make Penalty and Challenge Flags. 

Our kitchen table was layered with a green fabric tablecloth, a black square topper and a paper runner. Apparently the roll of paper I have is actually masking paper used for painting. Not sure how it got into my supplies but it came in handy as a table runner. I used a black marker to cover it in hand written XOXO's, all sorts of arrows and of course a TOUCHDOWN at each end. Our three tiered stand came in handy for desserts and bags of popcorn in the center of the table.

The Locker Room sign was quick and easy to make and print for the bathroom door. It is mounted on a piece of chalkboard poster board. The chalkboard below is actually foam board which is a little more sturdy and worked well for the Chili Bar I set up on the kitchen buffet. I also made a little DIY Football banner to string along behind the chalkboard.  

It was a priority that all the decorating was quick to set out and also easy to clean up. Time management was key since it was a busy week and I had fun game day food to prepare as well. Tomorrow I will be back to share my Super Bowl Menu and all the easy to make Football party food.

Happy Thursday!

red & white Heartfelt Valentines Table

Valentines Day is quickly approaching which means the time had come to change up my kitchen table decorations. The white Snowflakes and Snowmen made way for red Hearts and Roses.

This special white granite coffee kettle is filled with dollar store roses, at least for now or until I come up with another idea. The pretty sequin heart in the middle was something I must have saved from another arrangement and is now being reused for the time being.  I chose a couple lace dollies from my collection to put under the coffee pot to give it an even more vintage look. 

The Be Mine wooden cookie jar lid is something I painted years ago. Since I currently do not have a cookie jar that fits the lid I used one of my red and white candy dishes instead. It works great for now. 

I am quite sure the table decorations will change, at least a little, over the next couple weeks but for now this is my red and white Heartfelt Valentines Table. 

Happy Saturday!

Dear Valentine...

February is almost here so thought my chalkboard needed an update. A little message from the heart. 

Happy Monday!