~ The Best (Cooked) Quinoa Gluten Free Chocolate Cake - Cupcake Recipe - Amazing!

Quinoa Gluten-Free Chocolate Cupcake Recipe
The Best!

Really? Quinoa Gluten Free Chocolate Cake? You're thinking it sounds strange. Me too! After using Quinoa flour a few times, I really didn't like the flavor of it in baked goods. So this recipe calling for Cooked Quinoa sounded so strange that I'm surprised I tried it. Quinoa Pasta is the only kind of pasta we ever eat, and we don't miss regular pasta at all.  But using it in a cake recipe??  I almost passed it by thinking it might taste the same as the recipes using quinoa flour. If you love chocolate cake, and are looking for a gluten-free version that you can make yourself from scratch, try this!

~ Valentine's Day Mantel 2014 - The Decorated House

 The mantel is dressed very simply for Valentine's Day this year. One of my favorite art prints that we have illustrating one of my favorite stories, Beauty and the Beast, is at the center. I spent so many hours in elementary school reading fairy tales. This is one of those stories

~ Celebrating Each Day - 101 + Fabulous Valentine's Day Ideas

Valentine's Day is the perfect time to remember to Celebrate our lives, day by day, and each and every day. Breathe in .... let the Heart Breathe out. It's one of the most wonderful days of the year to celebrate those whom we love and all those who have ever truly loved us. So let's do a little Valentine's Day decorating, cooking or giving to keep the Heart open!

See Y'All Soon~

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Click on the pictures below to visit The Decorated House Shop!

~ Hearts & Ex Voto

When you take a moment to look closely, you often see things that you miss in your daily running around at full speed. It wasn't really until only a few years ago that I noticed heart shaped beach stones, even though I grew up near the ocean and spent many wonderful hours there. For Valentine's Day especially I love bringing out this shadow box that shows off the Heart Stones along with a silver Ex Voto and an Antique Skeleton Key. It's on the entry table along with some roses, the Mercury glass heart, and one of the little silver crowns and another small silver heart. Sweet Hubby and I a very simple short vacation at the beach the year we found these, when all we did was walk the beach and swim and eat. Very boring stuff for most people today, but we thought is was perfect. During those long walks I began to notice how beautiful the shades of gray were in the shells and I as I started collecting a few for color and paint inspiration, I noticed the heart shaped stones. They remind me of the beach and a very happy time.  The pretty hearts on the entry table this year, reminding me to look for the heart in all, and to see with my heart, not just the eyes and brain.

See Y'All Soon~

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Click on the pictures below to visit The Decorated House Shop!

~ Valentine's Day Decorating

Mercury Glass Hearts,
Antique Skeleton Keys
and
a Simple Beautiful Rose

There always seems to be an abundance of beautiful roses for sale about this time each year. It may be that with trying to time roses to be in  the perfect pre-full bloom stage for Valentine's Day, growers have to stagger the bloom times and lots of roses are ready for market now! On the last trip to Costco's they had beautiful roses in bundles of 2 dozen for $17.  Personally I'd rather have a nice dinner or a special gift instead of sweet hubby spending a $100 more on rose delivered on Valentine's Day. The ones from Whole Foods are about the same price for 2 dozen, and so far they are holding about the same, and are opening up better. 

See Y'All Soon~

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Click on the pictures below to visit The Decorated House Shop!

~ 101+ Ideas for Valentine's Day

  

Click Picture Above To View Lots of Valentine's Day Ideas

These are some of my favorites. I try to link to

the correct & original source so you can find directions.

It's not too early to be thinking of something special and fun you would like to make

 for Valentine's Day! Here are some links to light a spark 

to your imagination.

You'll find at least 101 ideas and maybe more!

Two more to explore:

This one has lots of DIY ideas for you to try.

More great ideas and decorating, too.

See Y'All Soon~

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Click on the pictures below to visit The Decorated House Shop!

~ Black & White for Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day will be coming very quickly. Yes, I know,  we just got the Christmas decorations put away. And on our morning walks, there were still Christmas trees out by the curb to be recycled yet. But still another holiday will be here soon and that means there are so many people 

~ Wishing You A Very, Happy New Year!

New Year's Mantel 

Black & White with 

Silver and Mercury Glass.

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 To all of you have come by to visit over the years, 

and to those who find their way here 

for the first time as well.

 I wish you

 a very Happy New Year 

filled with  Peace - Light - Love - Joy!
(last year's mantel for you to enjoy)

See Y'All Soon~

~ Merry Christmas! from Our Home to Yours

From Our Home to Yours,

Wishing you all the Joy of the Season.

Merry, Merry Christmas!

~ Christmas ~ White and Silver with Mercury Glass

 

Each year it is a joy to share our Christmas decorating  with new and old friends who stop by this blog.  The colors are much the same this year in the living room, lots of white and silver, with accents of Mercury glass,  and a little touch of black. The tree is filled with a few overprice ornaments like the Mackenzie Childs stars and a few Radkos, but much more you will find the very inexpensive ornaments like the snowflakes and the black and silver ornaments that I painted to go with the stars. Snowflakes and baby's breath bring more white and light to the beautiful green of the noble fir tree. This year's tree is topped with

~ Christmas Tree with Purple & Green

 

Has your decorating style or colors changed over the years at Christmas time?

My style is lighter and more simple in the last few years,

but I still love seeing these rich colors and gold for Christmas.

 What a pretty combination  lime green and purple is.

This was in 2005.

Now it's time for the 2013 tree, 

which needs to be decorated yet!

I'll be back soon. 

Happy Decorating!

~ See Y'All Soon ~

~ White Pumpkins - Soft & Light Fall Decorating

Happy ThanksGiving!


 White Pumpkins for Fall Decorating

The objective was to use as much of the elements of the Halloween

decor for Fall decorating as possible. So all the things associated
 with just Halloween were put away, but anything that could still
be used for Fall is still here of course.

The Mercury glass and silver are still hard at work 

showing off the white pumpkins in a

 very simple and soft arrangement.

The soft white velvet pumpkins
and painted pumpkins,
 using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint
in Old White & Pure White.

Autumn leaves and a rusty antique key along with the antique

books give a sweet nod to the season of beautiful warm colors.

A velvet pumpkin is adorned with a vintage rhinestone brooch,
and sits in a vintage silver sugar bowl
on top of antique books 
The old skeleton keys make appearance
throughout the year as well.

~ See Y'All Soon ~