Five years ago...

Five years ago today life changed.

Five years ago today my daughter lived.

Five years ago today my was daughter diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.

For us, today is a day to celebrate and be grateful for our second change. We don’t celebrate with balloons and firecrackers. A simple bouquet of purple flowers and a big hug will mark the day that changed all of us forever in so many ways.

I still struggle with God’s plan with all this. Certainly there must be a purpose? I will never know for sure. But somehow I feel that His plan or at least part of His plan was for me to help educate about Type 1 diabetes, even in a small way. So if you’ve been a follower of this blog for a long time you know this is where I post the symptoms of Type 1 Diabetes. If you’re a new follower, be assured that I will be posting this again on our next anniversary. Please read them over. I hope you never have to use the knowledge. But you'll have the information in case God chooses this path for someone you love.



Type 1 Diabetes is an autoimmune disease. Left untreated, this is a very serious, life threatening disease. Most people are admitted to the hospital at diagnosis with Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA) which can lead to coma and then death. So please never brush off these symptoms. A person does not have to have all of them.

Symptoms of Type 1 Diabetes:

Increased thirst and frequent urination
Extreme hunger
Weight loss
Fatigue
Blurred vision
Sweet smelling breath

This time next year my daughter will be in the midst of a new life, away from home being a normal college student. She will always have T1 Diabetes and all its challenges, but she will have a fabulous life. Truly a reason to celebrate!

National Hot Tea Month

Tapestry Rose by Paragon

January is National Hot Tea Month. What better time to enjoy a steaming cup of tea, but in the cold dark days of winter!

Whether your tea choice is traditional, herbal, or green, drinking it from a gorgeous teacup feels like pure luxury!

While you’re enjoying your tea, take time to remember the famous words of Eleanor Roosevelt, “A woman is like a tea bag. You never know how strong she is until she gets into hot water.” How true!

These beautiful teacups can be found in the Tea Time category of The Pink Rose Cottage.

Aynsley

Royal Albert Flower of the Month Series ~ October Cosmos

 

Queen Anne China

A New Year....A New Blog!

I seldom make New Year’s resolutions, but this year, I’ve decided the new year will bring a few small changes to The Pink Rose Cottage. My first change, as you can see, is the design of this blog! With the help of Melissa Bolton, of DesignHerBrands, the blog is much more organized, easier to read, and has a touch of cosmetic improvements.

The links to the left will lead you to The Pink Rose Cottage and all the places associated with it.

 * The first link is to The Pink Rose Cottage shop’s home page. The very first category in the list “Browse All” takes you to all the items currently available. They are organized by the most recently listed items, so one click gives you a quick peek at what’s new!

 * The Newsletter link will take you to a subscription form for The Pink Rose Cottage emails and notifications. You’ll receive information on the ever popular Monday Markdowns, newly listed items, and more.

 * The Monday Markdown link is a quick click to sales exclusively held on Monday.

 * The RSS button will allow you to sign-up for email notifications of new posts to this blog. Please make sure to check your email for notification confirmation.

 * And of course there are Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest buttons as well.  (I’m new to Pinterest, so please bear with me as I learn the ins and outs of it. It seems wonderfully addictive!)

Please consider signing up for both The Pink Rose Cottage Newsletter and the blog’s new post notifications. You won’t want to miss what I have in store for you in 2012!  Here’s one little hint: A new Teacup Tuesday’s Giveaway will be back this spring!

Please visit The Pink Rose Cottage and The Pink Rose Cottage blog often!

Love, happiness, and health to you in 2012

~Holly

Starting 2012 with a BANG!

 The first Monday Markdowns of 2012 is HUGE!
Over 70 items reduced!
A sale not to be missed.
So hurry, it's today only!

Frozen German Chocolate Pie

I seldom make recipes from magazine anymore. I usually find them too complicated or the ingredients something I don't keep on hand or care to stock. But when I came across this Frozen German Chocolate Pie in Christmas Cottage magazine it sounded so yummy and easy that I had to try it.




Overall it was easy to make! The best part is its frozen, so making ahead is an added bonus for me in the busy holiday season. In fact, we were so stuffed after Christmas dinner we didn't serve it until last night.




It was very YUMMY! But it was also very, very rich. When I make this again I will change a few things. First, I will use half the coconut the recipe calls for. While I like coconut, I don't love it. For me, two cups of coconut is way too much.

Secondly, I will make two pies out of this one recipe, only using the coconut/pecan filling as topping. If the recipe is followed, the pie is very large and again, very rich. A smaller piece is much better after a heavy meal. Actually, after any size meal!

If you freeze it longer then the four hours the recipe suggests, leave it on the counter longer. It was easy to cut after 45 minutes.

I like that this can be made ahead and stored until needed.


 Here's the recipe! If you make it, let me know how you like it!


FROZEN GERMAN CHOCOLATE PIE

½ (14.1 ounce) package refrigerated pie dough
½ cup butter or margarine
2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese softened
2 (4 ounce) dark chocolate bars, melted
1 (8 ounce) container of frozen extra-creamy whipped topping, thawed
½ cup caramel ice cream topping

Preheat oven to 450o. Bake crust in a 9 inch deep dish pie plate for 10 minutes. Cool completely.

In a large skillet, melt butter. Stir in coconut and pecans. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from heat.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk and chocolate. Fold in whipped topping.

Spoon half of the cream cheese mixture into prepared crust. Top with ¼ cup caramel topping and half of the coconut mixtures. Repeat layers with remaining ingredients. Cover with plastic wrap, and freeze for at least 4 hours or until firm.

Let frozen pie stand at room temperature for 5 minutes before slicing.

A Very Merry Christmas To You!

Christmas Tree Blessing

Holy Creator of Trees,
Bless with your abundant grace
This our Christmas tree as a symbol of joy.
May its evergreen branches be a sign
Of your never-fading promises
May its colorful lights and ornaments call us
To decorate with love our home and our world
May the gifts that surround this tree
Be symbols of the gifts we have received
From the tree of Christ’s cross
Holy Christmas tree within our home,
May joy and peace come and nest
In your branches and in our hearts
Amen.
- Author Unknown

Merry Christmas!
~Holly

Merry Christmas?

"Christmas morning she'll be happier with a Hoover".

Really??

So what do you think of this 1960 ad? If you received a vacuum cleaner for Christmas would you be thrilled or thrilled to pick it up and hit your hubby over the head? I don't know. I have a Dyson I love, so if I needed to replace it maybe I'd be happy. But a vacuum is not jewelry!

One year my husband bought me (at my request) a Rowenta iron and an extra wide ironing board. My dad was mortified!! "How could he buy her an iron for her birthday??" No matter how many times I explained it to him that I was using it for my hobby and that I really wanted it, he was appalled! I found it all kind of funny as my dad is really stuck in the 50's in his ideas of what a woman should be in this world. (Although he's softened quite a bit now that he has 4 successful college aged granddaughters.)

I was thrilled with my gift. I still have the ironing board but the Rowenta crapped out just a month or so after the warranty expired. I guess if my husband would have bought me jewelry I'd most likely still have it. But I still think it was a great gift!