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Buon Appetito

James & I love to support our local businesses.
Ya know, the mom & pop stores, shops, & restaurants ... the non-chain places.
We seek those out & give them our business if at all possible.

We were super happy to see an Italian market go in a while back & I have to say,
stopping in is one of our favorite treats!
It's chock full of freshly made food, pasta dishes, breads, & desserts, along with a great selection
of imported meats, cheeses, olives, oils, pastas, etc.
We like to try different things each time we visit.

Here are some of the yummy treats I bought on Wednesday.

This salad is very tasty ... & pretty!
Aren't the colors so vibrant & pretty?!
We like to eat it by itself or I sometimes will add a tablespoon of it to the top of my tossed salad.

Now, if you know my hubs at all, you know he loves him some meat & cheese!
I was in by myself this time around, so I enjoyed picking out some meats I knew he'd like.
I bought the hot sopressa & the hot capicola.

This is the capicola.
Both of the meats were sliced paper thin & layered between paper.
I love it when things are done right.

Did I save the best for last?
Quite possibly so.
You be the judge.

These had little chocolate chips throughout & they were amazing!

There were 2 kinds of lemon cake on Wednesday, so I bought one slice of each.
This one is the Italian Lemon Cream Cake.
It was light &  had a strong lemon flavor, which was right up my alley!
The shavings of white chocolate on top were the perfect finishing touch.

Here's the other one ... an Italian Lemon Cake.
We love lemon, so I wanted to try them both.
This one was a heavier cake with not as much lemon flavor, but delicious nonetheless.
The cream in the center was very thick & perfect.

I divided the 2 slices of cake & the 4 cannolis between the 6 of us {Carissa was here}
& we all got to sample a few bites of each.
The best of both worlds ... trying yummy fattening sweets, but just a bite or two instead of the whole thing!
You don't feel so guilty that way ;)

So, if you are ever in our neck of the woods, stop in at R Italian Market.
You won't be disappointed.

Who doesn't love a good party?!
You can find me here linking up with these great blogs.
Monday     The Girl Creative     C.R.A.F.T     The Modest Mom
Tuesday     A Delightsome Life   A Bowl Full of Lemons    Titus Tuesday      A Stroll Through Life
Wednesday   Raising Homemakers        Savvy Southern Style         Adorned From Above
                  The Dedicated House   The Thrifty Home     A Wise Woman Builds Her Home
Thursday    Between Naps on the Porch   Serving Joyfully     Lamberts Lately
Friday      Rooted in Thyme  The Thrifty Groove   Farm Blog Hop    French Country Cottage
Sunday    Nifty Thrifty Things    Suburbsmama    Sew Many Ways

A Vintage Blue Housewarming Gift

I wanted to share this gorgeous vintage porcelain enamel pan with you since I bought it last summer,
but it got lost in the shuffle somewhere along the way.
Story of my blogging life.

However, I instantly thought of this blue lovely when I saw a link-up party called "Anything Blue Friday." 
{Be sure & stop in at The Dedicated House to look around!}

Isn't she PURTY ... just about perfect in my book.

And you know, as soon as I laid eyes on her, I knew she belonged to my sweet friend, Jenny.
{She's the one that gave me the Granola Munch recipe that I recently shared ...
be sure to check it out if you haven't yet.}
So I scooped it up & put it in my cart.

And you know where I bought this from?
The flea market.
Have you ever bought a gift for a friend at the flea market or the junk store?
My friend Jenny loves shopping at the thrift stores just like I do & she loves old things.
Yep, it just had her name on it.

I thought it had loads of character ... worn edges here & there.
It's worn clear through the white in one spot.

Here it is on my old vintage chair ...
These two have a lot in common.

I decided to send this to Jenny as a housewarming gift for the new house they had just purchased.
Thus began the hunt for what to put inside that would weather being shipped to Missouri.

I knew these red & white kitchen towels would make a striking combo & they did!

Jenny has a soft spot for drinking coffee, so adding the mug was an easy decision.

 
I tucked in a note & off it went to MO.

I LOVE giving gifts to people.
It just makes my heart happy & this one was especially fun.

I have pics of us together, but nothing recent -- so I thought I'd share this one of sweet Jenny & her daughter, Brooklyn.  Isn't this shot so fun?!

We visited the Stephens family in February & smiled when I saw how Jenny used this pan.
She has it in her bathroom, sitting on the top shelf of a little chippy roller cart.
It's filled with rolled washcloths.

Now, just for fun, since this post was inspired by BLUE,  here are some fun & interesting stuff about BLUE:

~ I personally like blue cause it's the color of the sky & the ocean ... I don't commonly
decorate with blue, but I do wear it {royal blue actually looks pretty nice on me}.

~ Blue is the overwhelming the “favorite color,” & is seen as trustworthy & dependable

~ President Martin VanBuren is credited with introducing blue into the decorating scheme
of the White House in 1837 and since then, there has been a “blue room” there.

~  Blue is the favored color choice for toothbrushes.  Ha.

~  Mosquitoes are attracted to the color blue twice as much as to any other color.  I'll remember this one!

~ Many common phrases include the word blue:

• out of the blue: unexpected
• True blue: to be loyal or faithful
• Once in a blue moon: an event that occurs infrequently
• Blue ribbon: first place; to describe something as being of the highest quality
• Blue blood: an aristocrat
• Blueprint: a detailed design of an object or idea
• Blue plate special: a special priced meal at a restaurant
• Feeling blue: to feel sad or unhappy

So, hope your skies are blue, but not your spirit!
Thanks for visiting Call Her Blessed & come back anytime.

Who doesn't love a good party?!
You can find me here linking up with these great blogs.
Monday     The Girl Creative     C.R.A.F.T     The Modest Mom
Tuesday     A Delightsome Life   A Bowl Full of Lemons    Titus Tuesday      A Stroll Through Life
Wednesday   Raising Homemakers        Savvy Southern Style         Adorned From Above
                  The Dedicated House   The Thrifty Home     A Wise Woman Builds Her Home
Thursday    Between Naps on the Porch   Serving Joyfully     Lamberts Lately
Friday      Rooted in Thyme  The Thrifty Groove   Farm Blog Hop    French Country Cottage
Sunday    Nifty Thrifty Things    Suburbsmama    Sew Many Ways

For us, By us.

Phone Pic Friday

Haven't made a phone pic Friday post, well, since a very long time!

I don't know about you, but I'm grateful for the camera on my phone.
I'm not an iphone user {I have a Windows phone & it's several years old - I keep my phones for forever},
& while the camera on my phone isn't nearly as good as the one on my hubby's iphone,
I still use the fire out of it.
I take pics of all sorts of this & that.
Here's the proof.

...life according to my phone pics 

Now, I tend to take a lot of pics of clothes.

This particular pic totally sums up what I'm drawn to when I shop for clothes!!
I didn't even notice this monochromatic scheme til the sales lady hung these in the fitting room.
It made me giggle & I had to grab out my phone to snap a pic.
This is what I gravitate toward every.single.time.
Yes, I love color & wear color, but I love love black & white.
{I bought the houndstooth peplum shirt in the front - clearanced to $5.99!}

Generally, when I take pics of clothes, it's to send to friends & family --
it's usually pics of cute skirts that I think my girly friends would like.

 These were from Target ... and again, notice the color scheme that I'm drawn to?!

And as not to variate from all things black & white ... ha ... here are 2 of my boys all ready for church.
They are twins & quite regularly they come out of their rooms dressed very similarly.
Aren't they handsome as can be?!
{These are our newly engaged sons!}

Oh & one more of clothes ... aren't these little Easter dresses darling?!
Took this for a few of the 'girl' mommas at church.

And here's Riley ... he brings lots of color into our life!
Here he is sporting his Hilton Head attire, Christmas gifts from his cousin, Tiffiny.

Occasionally, Coops joins Riley at the table for school =)

Here's Riley newest activity!
He used some Christmas money to buy a new ukulele!
He's learned a few songs & seems to be picking it up quickly.

In February, we took a road trip to visit our friends, the Stephens, in Springfield, MO.
Here's the arch as we were passing through St. Louis.

On Valentine's Day, our friends took us to the most romantic little restaurant I've ever been to!
It was an authentic Italian place with loads of character & delicious food.
We were with great company & had a fun evening out.

After a looong, cold winter, we finally got a snippet or two of warmth.
I packed us up a picnic supper & off to the park we went.
Here's Garrett, wearing his US Capitol shirt, having just gotten back from CPAC in Washington, DC.

I was so happy to see these little sweeties popping up!
They are the first flowers to peak through the earth each spring & because I'm so giddy with delight,
I have to snap a pic every year.

This sunset made for a gorgeous evening sky.
God makes beautiful things.

And when the morning comes, God is already there!
I loved this sign.

Here's another good one.

All 3 of these were taken on our January trip to Tennessee.

Course, there's always pictures of food on my phone!
My guys love it when I make this dessert ... it's Apple Skillet Pie.
I'll have to share the recipe sometime.

And the same with flowers.
I am a blessed wife & momma ... one boy or another is always bringing me home fresh flowers.
These were from Gunnar.

And sometimes, there's even a selfie.
I like to send a pic to James every now & then.
For some reason, I don't think I look like myself in this one ... not sure who/what I look like though ;)

And here's one last pic that I wanted to throw it in, even though it's from clear back in December.
It's an adorable pic of a package I received in the mail from my dear friend, Jenny, in Missouri.
We share a profound love for Peanuts ... & she always finds a way to include 'Charlie Brown'
in the mix someway or another.
I just love this all ... it makes me happy, indeed.

Well, I've had tons of fun looking through & reliving good memories.
Hope this brought a bit of whimsy into your day too.

Have a great weekend.

Who doesn't love a good party?!
You can find me here linking up with these great blogs.

Monday     The Girl Creative     C.R.A.F.T     The Modest Mom
Tuesday     A Delightsome Life   A Bowl Full of Lemons    Titus Tuesday      A Stroll Through Life
Wednesday   Raising Homemakers        Savvy Southern Style         Adorned From Above
                  The Dedicated House   The Thrifty Home     A Wise Woman Builds Her Home
Thursday    Between Naps on the Porch   Serving Joyfully     Lamberts Lately
Friday      Rooted in Thyme  The Thrifty Groove   Farm Blog Hop    French Country Cottage
Sunday    Nifty Thrifty Things    Suburbsmama    Sew Many Ways

Flowers & Yogurt

I have the sweetest husband.
I really do.

Today, he brought me home prizeys.
He said he was thinking, 'How can I make my baby smile today?'
And he answered that question with flowers & yogurt!

And as if this beautiful bouquet isn't enough, he brought me my first hanging basket of the season!

And now to the funnest & CUTEST part of the gifts:  the yogurt!

He's heard me carrying on about how much I am loving this certain coconut yogurt.
So being the sweetie he is, he thought he bring me some home!
Only thing is ... the one I'm raving about lately is the Liberte brand.
{It is to die for, people, just sayin'.}

I would've never told him, but he asked if he got the right one.
It's totally ok though ... these will be delicious too ... cause they were bought with love!
;)


How incredibly cute is all this?!
I tell ya, I felt pretty loved today.