Things that warm my heart

When it's cold outside, I can always go to my Happy Place and think about warm, sandy beaches in the Philippines.


Here are more photos of Old Smokey, Alfie's latest toy. He's totally crazy over it, and whenever he watches it chugging along, he always has a warm, goofy grin on his face.


Old Smokey is a steamroller powered by a real working steam engine -- see that little porthole beside the red steering wheel? It's filled with water, which is heated up to produce steam. The steam powers the pistons that make the wheels go. As you can imagine, the whole thing gets quite warm, so it's strictly a look-don't-touch toy for the kids. Except for the kid named Alfie, of course.


Finally, here's a photo of the cinnamon raisin oatmeal bread that I made earlier this month. Breathe in that warm, oatmeal-y goodness and let the cinnamony smell remind you that Quaker Oats' Start With Substance program is ending on Feb. 25. You have just a few days left to visit Quaker's Facebook page and enter a Quaker products UPC barcode so that Quaker will donate a bowl of oatmeal to a hungry child!

For more warm things, click here.