Lilly of the Valley

Lilly of the Valley are one of my favorite flowers....the are the official flower of the month of May and are sometimes referred to as May bells. My birthday is in May, so it works out perfect :) Grace Kelly carried a beautiful bouquet of them when she married in Monaco years ago.

I have transplanted my plants from my mom's house up in Buffalo before she sold it and moved to her home in Florida full time. They spread quickly and every spring I'm always asking people if they'd like to stop by and take some.

They don't last long....just a week or so, but they're soooooooooo fragrant!

I snipped a bunch to take inside and put in a pretty little cut glass vase. They make my whole kitchen cheery. I hope you all have been having a lovely spring.

Ya Gotta Love Coconut Cake

Soooooooooooo GOOD!! I was organizing my pantry a few weeks ago and came across THREE bags of coconut???! So like any good girl, I went on Pinterest to find a recipe to make with it. I found this oh-so-yummy one...an instant favorite over here.

The recipe needs Coconut Milk (Found in the Hispanic section) and Coconut Cream (Found in the mixed drink section).

Ok. So here we go......... Ingredients: 1 box Betty Crocker white cake mix (The girl who invented this said a box mix worked much better than making it from scratch) 1 1/4 cup coconut milk 1 can cream of coconut 8 oz. container of Cool Whip (This was NOT enough for the Treatgirl, and I used a BIG container) 1 cup flaked coconut (Also, not enough for the Treatgirl...I used a lot more :) Directions: 1. Prepare cake mix according to the directions on the box, substituting coconut milk for the water in the mix. Bake in a 9x13" pan. 2. While the cake is still warm, poke holes all over the cake. 3. Warm cream of coconut for 1 1/2 minutes on HIGH in the microwave and pour over the cake. Chill. 4. Frost with container of thawed Cool Whip. Sprinkle with flaked coconut. Keep refrigerated. *********OK. Once again, I REALLY, REALLY DO NOT LIKE this new BLOGGER AT ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't figure out why I type my directions out all lined up to the left....and they keep turning out all in a paragraph like that?????? aaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrggggggggghhhhhh!!! ************** Oh, and I'm linking up to Jennifer Juniper's Tutorial Tuesday Linky party...Check it out......ALWAYS tons of great stuff!

Favorite Friday

Hi! Another week flew by......and every day I used my new Magic Bullet!! MY MOST favorite thing this week. I've been wanting one forever and this past weekend someone surprised me with one. It's even more fabulous than I thought. I've been using it to make my protein smoothies everyday....but it can do soooo much more! It comes with several cups, lids, gadgets and a recipe book. I can get rid of my blender, because it makes wonderful frozen drinks...and my little food processor because I can use it to chop onions and garlic too. It should be called the Miracle Magic Bullet. Do any of you have one????? Do you love it too??? Can you share any little tips or tricks? Let me know and have a terrific weekend.

Wheh! My First Afghan is Done!!

I've been working non-stop on this pretty afghan since the beginning of February. I actually started it last summer and worked on it for just a little bit before life got in the way. I got started on it again to finish it in time for a birthday present for my mom. She is a knitter too....and I've found over the years knitters tend to knit for everyone else except themselves. So I thought she would love having someone knit something for her :) I knit the large afghan....and it's really big.....I think I may knit one for me someday...but the smaller size would be plenty big enough.

I found the pattern online...and for the life of me I can't remember where????? But it's really easy....the pattern goes fast and it's not hard to remember.

All you need is 40 oz. 4 ply worsted weight yarn for a large afghan. Here are the directions: For a large afghan cast on 210 sts, for a small one cast on 144 sts. Pattern is a multiple of 11 sts. + 1. Row 1: K1, *yo, k3, k2tog, k2tog, k3, yo, k1. Repeat from * to end. Row 2: Purl Row 3: Knit Repeat rows 1-3 until desired length. I'm linking up to Hope Studios Tutorial Linky Party....Go on over and check it out.
******Okay. I am writing this post and blogger is all new and different and I don't think I like it :( When I typed the directions out for the afghan they are listed with a space in between each row....and are easy to follow. When I previewed it they are now like that and I can't figure out why???? Sorry :( Anyone else having trouble??? Do you like it??????*********

Favorite Friday

Once again, it is really just the little things in life that make the Treatgirl really happy. And this week I'm going to share with you one of my new favorite things...Suavitel fabric softener. I'm in looooooove with it. A friend of mine has been using it for long time and I've been meaning to ask her what she used and kept forgetting....every time I went to the store I would stand and sniff a bunch of them and just couldn't find it. FINALLY over spring break I ran into her and remembered to ask. You just can't believe how happy I was went I got into bed last week after washing and pressing my sheets. It was heaven....I actually woke up a few times during the night smelling them. Please don't think I've gone off the deep end.....but it has been such a pleasure doing laundry recently because everything smells so wonderful!

My Baby is Cutting the Lawn

I can't believe it. I really can't. And it was so unexpected...no warning. I just happened to look out the window and saw it. Chip was giving him a little lesson...



...and he just took off. Just like that. Something about cutting the lawn makes boys seem soooooo much older than they really are. He's only 8. He should just sloooooooow things right down and stay little.



He's ready, but I'm not.



He's my baby.

Favorite Friday

Happy Friday!! It's a beautiful sunny day here and I am in total "Bruce Mode" ....I'm on my way out the door to Buffalo, N.Y. for Bruce's concert tonight. I am soooooooooooo excited!!!!!!!!!! It's the Wrecking Ball tour....an awesome album!! My sister is flying in from New York to go with me. It's her first time seeing The Boss. My dad was so gracious to treat me to the tickets for my birthday. As of now, he's not scheduled to stop in Pittsburgh...but I'm crossing my fingers he does...then I can see him again on this tour :)