Hi Honeys

It's that time again . . . we just updated the HOME PAGE on our web site. Lots of new excitement . . . due to popular demand (oh yes, we listen to you) we added new sections, including books and antiques in our WEB STORE. We change our web store often; sell out of things, and add new things all the time, do not want to be boring for the girlfriends!

All that mankind has done, thought or been: it is in magic presentation, in the pages of looks. Thomas Carlyle

Of course more news than I can stuff into an email that anyone would want to read . . . so I'll try to keep it short -- more info on the Home Page.

Birthday Party

Having a Birthday Party for ME at our store on April 12th from 2 to 5 and really hope some of you are so tired of winter that you just get OUT of there, road trip, best friend, and come here where the hills are green and the Pacific Ocean is blue, blue, blue, Spring has sprung and all the birds are singing, and spend the day with ME.

Birthday Party

At the same time, we'll be celebrating the debut of my new "Tea Party" fabric with RJR FABRICS . . . we'll have it at our store on my birthday, it will be in your local quilt shops in May, so if you come, you can be first on your block for preview. I'll sign books too, hope to see you -- for directions and links to hotels, click on HEART OF THE HOME STORE. If you're coming, we would love to know so there are enough cupcakes for everyone, so let us know if you can join our "Birthday Tea Party," RSVP, if you can.

Tea Party

Our first time ever of having Jammies for Spring is coming soon, by the end of March, the new Jam's will be in and available on-line only. You know how quickly they go, so please check back . . . we might manage to fit in another Email Newsletter to let you know, but maybe we won't, we are BUSY . . . so check back at WWW.SUSANBRANCH.COM.

Letter and World

You know I get lots of wonderful mail from YOU, got a letter the other day from GREECE, from a new reader named Bessie Yiannou who lives in Thessaloniki, Greece . . . want to say HELLO BESSIE! Do we not Love email? I can push a button and say hello to someone in Greece! Is it not the greatest thing!? The world connects. Girlfriends unite! Our mutual quest for inspiration, originality, artistic expression, charm, beauty, family love, zinging heart strings, nature loves, and cute stuff continues!

Flowers

This Saturday I'm planting my garden, first thing in, the sweet peas . . . they grow so well here, and last until August. Although I won't really be here because I'm leaving for Martha's Vineyard at the end of April . . . as usual, my favorite thing, going by train, taking books and electric teapot, slowly winding 'cross country in my room with a view. Going back east to feel Spring come to the desperate people, getting inspiration from my daily walk to the sea for my new book all about everything you told me to write about. So does that make me crazy for planting sweet peas when I'm going away? Good question, but my picket-fence garden would not be happy if it had no sweet peas, so I have to do it.

To dig & delve in nice clean dirt can do a mortal little hurt. John Kendrick Bangs

I'm almost embarrassed to give you this next recipe, because it's so good, so bad, so easy, and so made out of all kinds of mixes. But it's so spring and you will love it. It came to me from Shelley Balzer in Bakersfield, CA and she's just right when she says, "YUM!" Do we not love easy quick delicious recipes???? So Happy Spring!

Spoon and Bowl

1 angel food cake mix - dry
1 15 1/2 oz. can crushed pineapple, undrained
1 carton of Cool-Whip (and Shelley reaches out here for some sort of redemption by using Cool Whip Free, and it's true, this does make it relatively low calorie! I, on the other hand, taking every opportunity to be as fattening as I possibly can, used whipped cream -- this is up to you.) Decorations include pastel colored jelly beans.

Jelly Beans

Jreheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the cake mix with undrained pineapple. Spread it in an ungreased 13 X 9 cake pan. Bake for 30 min. until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. When cool, frost with cool whip or whipped cream. I served this to Joe, under the tree in our back yard, and he loved it. To me, that's like the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval! So thanks go out from all of us to you Shelley!

Thank You!

To make up for the cake, go to RECIPES on my web site . . . It's all Salads!

Cute new WALLPAPER, free from us to you, for your computer screen, so easy to do, even I can do it . . . you can even try it first before you decide if you really want it.

OK girls . . . that's it for today. Hope you are all well and happy, that God shines his light right onto you in the form of boundless optimism and unbearable lightness of heart. We are the world, we are the children . . .

Some bunny loves you

PS You can still COMMENT to us at anytime, both from this link, and there's also a link at the bottom of our Home Page. Also Kellee is telling me to tell you, that you must send this Newsletter to 10 of your best friends by the end of the day or . . . no! I told her, we cannot fear monger, we are not like that; so she now says she is positively guaranteeing good luck for this selfless action. When you see Kellee's photo on the Home Page, you will believe that she just might have this power. We want more US to connect . . . Love you, k-by.

Girl Waiving