Days of Chalk and Chocolate - All Post

Shabby Apple Dress Giveaway!

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I was so tickled when I was contacted by Shabby Apple! I adore their women's and children's dresses and I am so pleased to be able to offer one of my favorites to a lucky winner! One of my readers will win this beautiful navy and white striped Tiber dress!
Isn't it gorgeous??  It would be the perfect spring/summer dress to wear to parties, church events, work, etc. I love the boat neck top too. It's so flattering!
If you aren't familiar with Shabby Apple you must visit their website. They offer vintage inspired clothing and accessories for women and girls.
To enter to win the navy and white Tiber dress  you must

 "Like" Shabby Apple on Facebook and then leave me a comment saying you did so (mandatory)

and you can also do one or all of the following, leaving a separate comment for each:


1. Become a GFC and/or Linky follower of Days of Chalk and Chocolate and leave a comment telling me you did so (1 entry)
2. Visit Shabby Apple and tell me which item you would love to wear to a party or event (1 entry)
3. "Like" Days of Chalk and Chocolate on Facebook and leave a comment saying you did so (1 entry)
4. Follow Days of Chalk and Chocolate on Twitter and/or Pinterest and leave a comment saying you did so (1 entry)

This giveaway is open to U.S. shipping addresses only and the winning dress cannot be exchanged.

I will announce the winner on February 22. The winner will be selected by Random.org.
Good luck!
Cheers!
Jenny

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Guest Blogger: Mrs. Fox's Sweets

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I love the idea of guest blogging on other blogs and I adore when bloggers I follow and admire can share their ideas on my blog. It's such a great way to pat each other on the back!  So I invited Christina to come over today to share some of her amazing baked goods. If you haven't checked out her blog I hope you will. She is a meticulous artist and her creations are magazine worthy! 

Hi everyone! I am Christina from Mrs. Fox's Sweets!
 I am so excited that Jenny invited me over to share with you my favorite thing...SWEETS!

I am a busy mom of 3 children from ages 4 to 17, a wife to a very supportive husband, and I can't forget the heartbeat and my feet...my little dog named Rex! I truly believe if you have a bad day, a sweet will make it better! My favorite part of baking is the decorating and making it pretty!
Today I am sharing some of the most popular Valentine's sweets:

Hearts on Sticks Cookies
Named this because that is exactly what they are!


Hearts and Kisses Cookies
A chocolate cookie decorated with royal icing!


Rose Cake Pops
Cherry Flavored! 


Valentine's Brownies
  Brownies with royal icing roses


Black & Red Heart Cupcakes and Love Letters & Hearts Cookies
These were Twilight/Valentine's inspired sweets!


Valentine's Dipped Pretzels
  Super easy to make! Perfect sweet and salty combo!

 
This is just a sampling of the Valentine's Sweets that I have made this year. For more Valentine's ideas or sweet ideas for any occasion stop by and visit me! Every Wednesday, I host Mrs. Fox's Sweet Party where you can share your sweets. As a special Valentine's treat, I have teamed up with Happy Hour Projects for Share the Love, a Valentine link up party for all of your Valentine projects, sweets and crafts! Sunday, February 12th, I have a giveaway starting, so be sure and stop by for that too!
 
Thanks again Jenny for inviting me over!
Happy Valentine's everyone and have a SWEET week!

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Latest & Greatest Friday Link Party #18

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Are you ready for the weekend??  We are going to a special reading of Pinkalicious performed by a theater group at our local library. Not a huge fan of the book but Molly will enjoy it!  We are meeting some neighbor friends so it will be a nice little event.

So without any more delay, welcome to this week's link party!!



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Latest and Greatest #17 Features

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I'm on a Pinterest binge right now but I had some great features to share from last week's party!

Here are the top viewed links this week!


One Screw Gallery Wall Tutorial

This is an amazing way to hang a gallery wall!


Bedroom Reveal

I love every single thing in this room!



DIY Scarf Storage

I so need this. You do too, don't you.



Valentine's Day Wreath

I love that it's festive but you can really leave it up
all spring too. So sweet!

And one of my personal faves


Valentine's Day Bunting

I like the sheet music as the background. So cute!

Thanks to everyone who linked up this week!  Come by for tomorrow's party!

Cheers!
Jenny

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Valentine's Day Tablescape

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Are you thinking about a Valentine's Day tablescape yet? 

So we are having a lean Valentine's Day this year. I'm ok with that. The problem?  I adore Valentine's Day. Growing up, my father would bring us each a little heart shaped box of chocolates. My father wore suits every day with a dress coat over and he would reach into his various pockets and pull out the boxes. I felt so special when he would hand us those chocolates and loved that it was all mine. I didn't have to share that little box with my sisters.  Score!  As we got older my mother celebrated with a present on our dinner plates. And they weren't small either. She gave me my favorite light blue velour pullover for Valentine's Day!  This was huge because my parents didn't have lots of extra money for presents and it always felt so luxurious. Of course, there was that one time, my freshmen year in college, that I anxiously awaited my care package. Everyone's parents had sent them boxes of goodies or candy baskets. I figured mine would be so big I'd need help carrying it back to the dorm.  I was puzzled when she gave me a card with no present. And, not only that but she stuck $2 in it and told me to buy myself a soda.  Dear reader, I'd like to tell you how maturely I handled the situation. How I realized that I was 18 years old and didn't need my mommy to send me presents. But alas, I can't say that. I called her and cried.

 I've matured a bit since and I'm happy to have a simple Valentine's Day.  I still want it to be festive though so I dug around in our yet-to-be-unpacked boxes and pulled out some of my wedding china, my wedding crystal, and some dollar store roses. I started playing around with our table to make it a bit fancier than our usual settings.  I won't go as far as to call it a "tablescape" in the Sandra Lee sense in that I didn't do much more than roses and place mats. But I do like the sparkle of the silver accents against the red flowers and napkins. 

Oh and I got the chargers at Bed Bath and Beyond for $0.49 each. And I could only dig up the salad and accent plates from our china so I used our every day for the main plate.






















Cheers!
Jenny


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Forcing Forsythia

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When will spring ever come???  I'm not a lover of winter. I don't relish winter sports. I don't enjoy winter food like stews and soups, and I detest feeling cold.  Most of all, I get tired of the colorless and dreary appearance of winter. I do not find bare trees beautiful or brown grass inspiring. I long for the colors of spring.

In our old home, we had giant forsythia bushes that lined our back fence. The best thing about them was that they were early bloomers so, along with the little crocus out and about, they were my lifeline to spring. It was almost as if they would say to me, "It's coming!  Be patient!"  But I'm not one to be patient so every year about this time I would force a few branches inside.  In a few days I would have a clutch of yellow blossoms that would give me a sneak peak (and a bit of relief!) of what was yet to come.  Forcing forsythia is easy and I wish I had some at this house to force.






Check your bushes for small buds. That's the time to force, when they have buds but haven't opened. Cut as many branches as you wish to force. Smash the ends just slightly, trim any branches that would be below the water line (or they will rot) and put the branches in lukewarm water.  Easy!


My pretty granite. sigh. How I miss you.












source: ehow

Since I don't have forsythia at this house I have daffodils I'm forcing. Some animal dug them up and they were a little frozen. Perfect since now that I have them inside they think it's spring and now I have daffodils popping through in my kitchen. Can't. wait.

Cheers!
Jenny


Jenny


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Spring Fever

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I'm having a bit of spring fever, me thinks. All I want to do is think about bulbs blooming, birds chirping, and putting the winter coat away.  I have several started projects but have no desire to finish anything. I put my healthy eating journal next to the coffee pot and promptly forgot all about it.  My laundry is piled to the ceiling, Molly's room is a disaster, Jim wore the same jeans more times than I can admit to you all, and yet all I want to do is play play play!  And so I am.  Do you do that?  Do you allow yourself to goof off?  In college, goofing off was a way of life for me. Oh I got my work done and graduated with honors, blah, blah. But many a day were spent on the quad lawn watching TKE and Theta Chi walk by.

So this week I'm allowing myself to be that goof off again!  I'm baking cookies with Molly, razzing Ellie's belly a bit more, and enjoying leaving work behind. It will still be there when I come back from my little escape!

Those who live around me, enjoy the 50 degree whether today. You can find me at the park or in the backyard watching the daffodils poke through the ground. Join me!

Cheers!
Jenny

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