Sunday Spill

• Last week felt long.  Even though it was long, it was a good.  It was full of opposite ends of the spectrum.  Exhausted and feeling like I could sleep for 8 hours if I just laid down on the floor at work one on one day.  And then wired and high on estrogen Thursday night after great group of girls came over and stayed till after 2am.

• The weekend has had highs and lows too.  Saturday threatened to pull me down into a funky slump, but after Grace and I got out of the house for a few hours to browse CVS and the hardware store (we’re party animals, I know) and visit great grandma Elizabeth for about an hour, I ended the day on a high note.  Andy came home from work and grilled up chicken and veggie kabobs while I finished off the brown rice garlic pilaf, then we watched a few episodes of How I Met Your Mother on Netflix and crashed at a decent hour.

• Church this morning was so good.  Like convict you down to your pinky toenail kind of good.  I’ve been thinking about the message all day long and challenging myself to let it create a change in me.  Also, since February is Black History Month we’ve had special vignettes each Sunday highlighting Black Heroes throughout the ages, specifically highlighting the underground railroad.  A few lovely black women have sung powerhouse solo hymns from that period in time and I get goosebumpy and teary-eyed each week.  It also makes me realize that I don’t know nearly enough about history.  I’m looking forward to a future of homeschooling so I can brush up.

• I saw the name Bon Iver pop up in my Facebook news feed on the night of the Grammy’s (this year’s best new artist) so I’ve checked out their songs and really dig the piano and overall sound.  In fact, I’m blogging to their music right now.  Also, it’s pronounced “Bone Ivver” not “Bon Eye-Verr”.  You’re welcome.

• Having been inspired by Love Maegan (seriously check her out…her daily outfits and DIY projects are super cute, not to mention her fun manicures!) I’ve been playing around with my nails lately.  Here’s one from Valentine’s week and then something glittery for this week:

I’d just washed my hands from making dinner so pardon the water!

• Speaking of Valentine’s Day, Andy and I had a great, low-key evening.  We enjoyed a delicious dinner of grilled grass-fed steaks, garlic baked potatoes topped with sour cream, cheddar and green onion and perfectly crisp steamed asparagus.  No, this food did not line up with my diet, but I decided to throw caution to the wind and enjoy a delectable dinner with my love.  For dessert we had my grandma’s rich, buttery frosted cookies.  It was a great night.

Frosted butter cookies from start to finish

• I’d hoped to make a batch of Pink Lady Cupcakes (inspired by another one of my favorite food blogs that I’ve mentioned before) before V-Day so we could nosh on them along with the heart and lip cookies, but I ran out of time so I made them the day after.  I really had fun making them and loved that I could take a bunch to work and share them with the ladies on Thursday night.  Here’s a sneak peak (recipe to follow):

Pink Lady Cupcake (Strawberry with Cream Cheese Frosting)

• This afternoon Grace and Andy made a fun fort under the dining room table while I took a long afternoon nap.  Then Andy headed off to work and Grace and I played, read books, did puzzles, made chili for dinner and had lots of snuggles while watching Sprout on TV.  It was a lovely Sunday afternoon and I’m looking forward to Andy getting home so I can dig into the amazing chili that is smelling up the whole house!

I hope you’ve all had a great week and a peaceful Sunday!