Bucatini

I am making Bucatini for dinner tonight and thought you might like the recipe. Our favorite restaurant on the lake serves this and it is a fortune. It can be made at home for so much less and it is absolutely delicious!

This makes ONE serving.

4 oz pasta

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 ozs bacon

2 large pinches black pepper

1 oz prosciutto

1 serving spoon of peas

1 large spoon sliced fresh mushrooms

1 1/2 oz grated parmesan and Romano cheese

Cook pasta 9 to 11 minutes in salted water according to package directions. Five minutes before pasta is cooked, begin preparing sauce. Saute bacon with olive oil in skillet until it begins to crisp. Add black pepper. Allow to stand for one minute. Add prosciutto, stir over heat for one minute. Add mushrooms and continue sauteeing and stirring for one minute. Add peas. Cook for 2 minutes, allowing peas to absorb flavors of the dish. Add cooked, drained pasta and toss gently. Add cheeses and toss again gently. Serve immediately.

You have to move quickly to cook this and be sure and serve right away...this is very important.

Enjoy!

~ Barb ~

Pink Saturday

Hello and welcome to Pink Saturday hosted by Beverly at How Sweet the Sound. Be sure to check her blog for a list of all the participants. Thanks Beverly! http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/

Pink Dinnerware

These are the pink dishes left to me by my mother-in-law. She was even more of a pink girl than I am! I have a full service for eight and several serving pieces.

I don't use them often because I hesitate to place them in the dishwasher but do enjoy them on occasion.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Have a wonderful Pink Saturday everyone!

~ Barb ~

Project Friday

Welcome to the fifth week of Project Friday hosted by Rosemarie at Sugarplum Cottage. Please check her blog for all information. Thanks Rosemarie! http://sugarplumcottage.blogspot.com/

Decorative Faux Cakes

You will need two styrofoam discs 8 X 2 inches.

Easter grass in your choice of colors

Hot glue gun and glue

Popsicle sticks

Decorative elements for the top.

Start by gluing the two discs together

Apply a dot or two of glue to the discs and apply a bit of grass

Push the grass into the glue with the popsicle sticks and not your hands!

Finish sides first and then the top of discs

Use scissors to shape the cake in the desired look.

Top with faux elements of your choice and place on a pretty dish.

**This craft looks (and is) simple but does require some practice.

Hope you like this. I really enjoy the look of these faux cakes in my home.

~ Barb~

Taking the Time

I hope you are taking the time to enjoy some of the little things in your life today. What a beautiful day!

~ Barb ~

Home Goods Addict!

I admit it...I am a Home Goods store addict. I love that store! It makes me feel good just to walk through the front door!
I found this perky little geranium arrangement today...one of my very favorite flowers.


I got this little boy several years ago. Do you have a store that you just love? I can't resist Home Goods and I am not a huge shopper...but isn't it fun?

~ Barb ~

Bathroom Redo and an Award

Good morning, dear friends! How's that for a title? We are redoing our bathroom and since Ron and I do everything ourselves, it is a sloooowwww process. I am happy with the results but feeling just a tad bogged down. Yikes! How can redoing one bathroom disrupt an entire house so much? I ask myself that question about fifty times a day. Ha!

We did lay all the ceramic tile this weekend and it is lovely; I am excited and determined to hang in there. The finished results will be worth it...oh, keep telling me this. Yes!

Karen at Heartfelt Living gave me this sweet award. Please check out her lovely blog. Thank you Karen for your kind thoughtfulness. I have previously listed ten people so I won't do this again. If you don't have this award and want it, please take it....let's spread the love.

Have a lovely and wonderful day!

~ Barb ~

Pink Saturday

Hello and welcome to Pink Saturday which is hosted by Beverly at How Sweet the Sound. Please visit her blog for a complete listing of participants. http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/

My Pink Sitting Room

This little room is right off our master bedroom and is completely mine to do with as I please. Of course, it is pink...all over the place! I actually am teased quite often by friends but I notice they always want to join me in my little pink room.

I love to read and this bookcase is built in from floor to ceiling and wall to wall. It is pink, of course.


This dressing table belonged to Ron's mother. It was built in 1940 and weighs a ton...I can't even move it! I dragged it all the way back from Missouri....knowing it would look great in my little pink room.

Hope you enjoyed your tour...yes, I have a wonderful husband to put up with all this. Ha.

~ Barb ~

Project Friday

This is the fourth week for Project Friday hosted by Rosemarie at SugarplumCottage. Please visit her blog for a complete listing of participants and their projects. Thanks Rosemarie for hosting this. http://sugarplumcottage.blogspot.com/

Decorating the Bedroom Fireplace Mantel for Spring

Ladies, I chose a simple project for this week as we are remodeling our master bath and I am maxed out but I hope you enjoy seeing the fireplace mantel. I enjoyed changing it out for the spring season. It really gave me a lift in spirit!

~ Barb ~

Spring Musings

Here are some random spring pictures from around the house. I am so enjoying thinking about spring this year. I love bunnies! They are all over the place in Bella Vista.

How about a piece of lemon cake? It is so refreshing and calorie free! Ha.

Lemons on the mantel in the kitchen.....they just spell spring to me.


A wonderful book to take to the porch and daydream with! Hope your spring is extra special this year.

~ Barb ~

Craft Store Junkie

My name is Barb and I am a craft store junkie! If I had to choose my favorite store in the world...even more than home stores...it would be craft stores. When I am the least bit stressed, I head for paper crafts and do scrapbooking. Brenda Walton is my all time favorite. I absolutely adore her things; they are so beautiful.

Ahhh, standing before an entire rack of scrapbooking papers....life is good!

Here it is....home away from home. Ha! How about you....do you love to scrapbook and visit craft stores? Which ones are your favorites?

~ Barb ~

Pink Saturday

Hello and welcome to my part of Pink Saturday hosted by Beverly at How Sweet the Sound. Be sure to visit her blog for a complete listing of participants. http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/

Pink Milkglass

I started collecting pink milkglass after seeing a piece in a friend's home in 1990. I fell in love immediately with the shell pink color...so light and delicate. I collected pieces for about ten years. In the last five years, it has become difficult to find and very pricey...which takes much of the fun out of collecting. (The piece above is a gondola bowl.)

This is a divided plate/platter.


These are called thumbprint goblets.



This is a tiny portion of my collection. I have it in several rooms since the color lends itself so well into my home decor.

Hope you enjoyed seeing this and thanks for stopping by.

~ Barb ~

Project Friday

This is the third week for Project Friday hosted by Rosemarie at Sugarplum Cottage. Be sure to check her blog out for a list of participants and projects.

http://sugarplumcottage.blogspot.com/

Birdcage Centerpiece

I needed a centerpiece for a spring buffet sideboard (that will be visible on three sides only) and didn't have the time to shop for one. I decided to use what I already have.

I have this blue birdcage done in a powdery finish that is perfect for spring. I wired on a yellow flowered garland in a random manner on the top and bottom of the birdcage.




Then, I added a ceramic rabbit to the inside of the birdcage. You could also add bows to the top or ribbons flowing down the sides. I tend to like things much more simple than I used to.

Anyway, it fits the bill and I am pleased with it. Hope you like it too.

~ Barb ~

Comfort Food for a Tired Man

My husband has been working really hard lately and I decided to surprise him with his favorite comfort food dinner....roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, soft rolls and iced tea!
When I make the roast in the Crock Pot, it just falls apart!

Potatoes bubbling away on the stove top.

All the good stuff for the inside of the potatoes....yum!

I use red-skinned potatoes and leave some of the peeling on.

That big old chunk of bacon is the way he likes it!! Goodness.

How about some gravy?

I was running late and starving and forgot to take pictures of the finished product. Duhhhhhhhh! But take my word, it was delicious!!!!

~ Barb ~