Here is an adorable little gift you can make that costs almost nothing!  I saw it on the cover of Starting From Seed and couldn't resist. I am going to give it to my family for a little Easter present.  These are Zinnia plants, so hopefully they will bring beautiful flowers! The recipient can crush the shell a bit and put it in the ground.  Done!
   

    Simply take a few eggs and poke a hole in the bottom. This is so water can flow out and not flood the seeds.  I used a metal barbecue skewer and tapped until a hole broke through.  
    Then hold the egg over a dish and tap with a knife along the top the basically cut the top off.  Plop the egg in your dish and rinse out the shell and set it to dry.  Eat the eggs of course. 

    Find something to put the eggs shells where they won't rock around.  FIll each egg about 3/4 of the way full of dirt.  Put three seeds in each to ensure that at least one grows.  If they all grow you may have to remove some. Water and wait! Soon you will have adorable sprouts.  
      I am hoping they will continue to grow until Easter.  I am watering them every few days and setting them outside here and there.  Mostly they are sitting on the window sill in the basement looking cute! Have fun. 

     Happy Valentine's day.  I know I really haven't been writing much and I am not sure why.  I feel a  little bit guilty that I don't have some amazing Valentine's dessert for you to cook.  Believe me, the ideas are in my head, but I haven't gotten them in the baking dish this year.   I guess one reason is that we are on a February diet.  So that really cuts into my inspiration for cooking. The cupcakes and chocolate pies dancing in my head have to wait.  I am dying to make a batch of cookies, but I guess you have to take a break from the gluttony once in a while.  
     I am not a huge Valentine's person.  I just feel like it is an excuse to buy lame stuffed animals or chocolates (of which I am not allowed to eat).  Also, being a second grade teacher, the experience is a little bit different.  I spend most of the day herding sugared up children which doesn't give me that glowing romantic feeling.  They love it and that is good.  I found these awesome mini-play doughs this year for my students and that was some great sugar free fun! However, I do appreciate the reminder to stop and realize the love that is in my life.  I am incredibly blessed.  I look forward to coming home each day.  I love spending time with my family, and I have great friends surrounding me.  So thanks guys!! This is everyone's reminder to find that person that you haven't told today how much you love them, and do it! 

    Today is the day to wrap it all up! It is time to tie the last beautiful bow the presents, go to the grocery for all the ingredients, and of course clean the house.  Tomorrow everyone will be here! The crazy part is, I am only hosting Christmas Eve! We have to pull out the big guns for the real deal (the moms). 
     The holidays for me are a blatant reminder of how blessed I am.  I can't express through a computer how thankful I am for my loving family and friends.  I don't know how I would function without you! And of course I am also thankful for the people who bother to read what I write!  I am thankful that I'm able to give gifts and have a warm house to share dinners in.  I realize that this isn't the case for everyone. 

     On that note, I have been taking joy in the littlest things this week.  Like setting the table!  I am also on winter break and haven't been teaching this week, so I have to admit that makes my energy and enjoyment level much higher!
    For dinner tomorrow we are making beef wellington.  I wrote a post about it two weeks ago if you want to take a look back. I am also attempting a green bean casserole for the first time. Lastly, I am making decadent and delicious mini chocolate lava cakes.  On top I am putting a dollop of homemade whipped cream and sprinkling crushed candy canes.  My uncle is kind a chocolate fanatic, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to make his year! I won't post this recipe until after Christmas, but if you want it before, write a comment and I will put it up. 

  I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas Eve, Christmas, Hannukah, and anything else you are celebrating! Enjoy the people you are with and what they bring to the world. 

      As I was decorating our Christmas tree yesterday (I know, very late in the game) I was feeling like I had more ornaments than our little tree could accommodate. Then I looked over, and noticed that our little table was going to be very crowded with ten people coming for dinner.  I don't know if you're noticing a trend, but our house is the perfect size for two, meaning, very small.  So I thought it would be fun to create a little chandelier out of ornaments.  It provides some decoration in the dining room without taking up valuable space.  It also gave an opportunity to showcase some of those special ornaments that you love! And it's free.

Decorating Idea:
1) Choose two to three colors to work with.  More than that and it will start to look like a hodgepodge. I used gold, silver, and white because I thought they would be subtle and go with the other decorations. 

2) Select an odd number of ornaments.  It will look more balances and natural to the eye. Try and find ones that are interesting and will reflect the light.

3) Tie the string or ribbon you are using to the ornament.  Hold it up to test the length of the string.  Then lay it on the table and tie it to the hook.  I tried to tie the ornament on while the hook was already hanging and it ended in disaster! 

4) Hang the first ornament by the hook and repeat.  I was hanging the hooks from our ceiling fan.  

5) At first I hung them in a spiral with each ornament hanging a bit shorter than the last.  Then I moved them to be a bit more random like the picture above and decided I like that better.  The good news is, they aren't attached so you can rearrange to your heart's content! Have fun! I would love to see a picture of how your ornament chandelier looked!