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Concerning Happily Ever Afters
As much as I LOVE a good happily ever after story I had some thought concerning them tonight. I don’t believe in happily ever afters. There. I said it! Don’t get me wrong, I definitely think there are happy moments and days. But, I don’t believe there is such a thing as happily ever afters, and it ends there. Let me explain. Life is full of so many ups and downs. Life is full of trials and hard times. There is no escaping that. No life is perfect and even lives that seem perfect often have their own trials that go unseen to others. So, does this mean that I…
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The warmest winter boots!
Now, I grew up in Portland, Oregon and I was a stranger to snow for most of my life. After living in western Idaho for our first years of marriage, we moved to Utah and then Alaska. Needles to say, I learned some things really quick about the snow, haha. Finding warm boots was not one of them! Cute boots that say they are warm, sure! Lots of those were found. But not actually warm boots. Sheesh, it should be easier in this world full of technology. I discovered the warmest, most versatile boots I have ever worn by accident. One summer in Alaska, I realized I needed to finally…
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That one time we remodeled our kitchen
Ok, guys. Buckle up for this ride (there’s brick backsplash!). Mr. Darcy and I bought a house a few years ago and it was a fixer-upper. I saw amazing potential and it did not disappoint. I saw an early 2000’s style and I knew it would transform beautifully into a modern industial look beautifully. Here is what we started with: I won’t go into much detail about how I painted the cabinets. It was a very long and hard project to do by myself with five little kids (one was a tiny baby at the time) but my mom was staying with us when I did it, so that was…
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Neighbor Gifts-Once Again!
This year I got the most amazing tasting chocolate for all my baking. I am super excited about it! I have to find a way to store it really well because chocolate takes on other flavors and smells from things around it. I haven’t figured out the best way for me to do that yet but I am working on some ideas. In the meantime, I have made some amazing tasting things so far! My neighbor gifts turned out amazing! PS, you can make neighbor gifts anytime of the year :). It’s so fun to get and give treats! This chocolate also makes the most amazing brownies ever! Happy baking…
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Easy peasy shredded roast beef with Gravy
This is a super simple entree that you can whip up quickly. You can add some rolls and warm up some frozen veggies and you’ve got a quick dinner on the table! I peeked some sweet potatoes, boiled them for twenty minutes and mashed them up too because I wanted a little something extra. Sides are endless! I love my instant pot for when I forget to put something in the crockpot and I know I won’t have time or feel up to making dinner at nighttime. Basically for me, it’s like an in between making something that night and putting something in the crockpot pot. To cook the roast,…
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How I Like Start Every Day
My morning breakfast has changed so changed so much over the years. But honestly, when you are a teenager, you can eat cereal and toast and hot chocolate, pretty much anything. And it’s almost the same in your twenties! But for me, by the time I hit 30 my body was NOT happy doing that sort of thing. It probably was even earlier when I should have been paying more attention to the fuel my poor body was consuming which is why my body had had enough. I have finally found something that my body is thanking me for and that actually makes me happy every morning. The first thing…
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Be careful sharing photos online – they usually have GPS coordinates in them
When I was building and testing the Darcy Girl site, I discovered something surprising (and a little scary). The photos we uploaded had GPS coordinates in them that shows exactly where we were when the photo was taken. The feature is called Geotagging and it is widely implemented by camera apps. This is often a great feature because it allows photo viewing applications to display the location. Many times I have looked at a photo and wondered exactly where it was taken. With the GPS coordinates, I can know precisely! As long as I (or trusted family and friends) am the one looking at the photo, the location is a…
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One of My Favorite Holiday Traditions
The night before any big holiday, I pull out all the baking supplies because it’s CINNAMON ROLL TIME! My absolute favorite cinnamon roll recipe is here: Cinnamon Rolls. It might seem like a lot of work, and it kinda is, but trust me. IT’S WORTH IT! You need to plan time ahead to make this recipe. This is a picture from the night before. You need to give yourself several hours the night before, but don’t worry, it’s not a lot of work for hours. Just rising, resting, turning that takes time. The next morning, you will need to leave yourself time as well. With letting the dough come to…
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5 {bonnet} Movies to Watch if you Love Jane Austen
1. Doctor Thorne. Let’s just say Julian Fellowes was sent straight from Heaven! I absolutely love this program. The first time I watched it, I had a newborn baby and now I think I’ve bonded with the show or something, haha. It’s such a beautiful, happy show for me that it’s definitely one of my top favorites! 2. North and South. The first time I watched this I was not a fan. Many years went by and I watched it again and wondered what I had been thinking. I love this show and if you don’t swoon over Richard Armitage’s smoldering looks in this one, I don’t know who you…
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Add beauty to your space for FREE!
No matter the season, there is beauty all around. One Saturday morning, we were feeling cooped up and a little restless. It’s been a hard year to find things to do. We love hiking in general and decided to go on a hike. There was snow all over the ground and we had a really happy time hiking a path near a river. The kids would walk a little ahead of us and build tiny snowmen to surprise us. It was really fun time and we all had smiles on our face. You would think with snow covering the ground, there would be not much else to look out outiside.…