Delightful Duda Day!

Did you notice my cute new blog header?  I adore the angel girl holding the bunny (called "Bunny Bliss")!  I have been following Di's blog for awhile now and thought "Bunny Bliss" was perfect!  I want to thank Di Duda for allowing me use her beautiful artwork for my header.  I really appreciate it. Di is a such a nice person, as well as great artist and blogger!  You must check out more of her artwork at her Etsy store!  Umm my birthday is in JULY!  Hint hint!  I plan on buying some prints myself.  The hard part is choosing which one(s)!  They all are so cute! She recently made some Alice in Wonderland prints.  I really like the pretty Queen of Hearts!

Délicieux Caramels

I have a sweet family! Yesterday I spent the afternoon lunching and shopping with my aunt Gloria & my mother Linda.   Aunt Gloria said she had a gift from France to give to me as a thank you for taking her photos awhile back ago.
I was so excited to get something from France!   Here it is below:

So very nice of her to pass this along to mua!  The carmels are actually salted and delicious.  I laughed when I used Google translate and saw that "au beurre sale" means "dirty butter"!

I sure hope they didn't use dirty butter in the caramels!  Funny!

Thanks Gloria for the thoughtful and Frenchy gift.  You're a wonderful auntie! 

Another beautiful blog

Hello!  I stopped in to check out this lovely blog Treasured Heirlooms and I just love the frilly pinks and girly fabulous treats she posts!  I must check out her magazine spread in "Cottage Style". 
I'm still new to the blogging world but one thing I know is that I love the community and friendships that start from connecting with other kindred spirits.  I hope to be part of some swaps soon.  I just need to figure out how to jump in on that bandwagon.  Inspiration ensues and continues to soak into my thoughts... can't stop thinking about all kinds of pretty things I could be making.

I'm a blessed "chick"

Hello!  Just stopping in to tell you how happy I was to receive a pkg in the mail from my sweet friend Tam!  She sent me those PB postcards I was admiring so much! A nice Easter suprise. Thanks so much Tam - I'm one blessed chick to have a wonderful friend like you. 

Spring Inspiration

Hello!  Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend!  I'm enjoying a relaxing Sunday and the lovely sunshine pouring into my windows this afternoon.
We had a bit of snow on Friday but thankfully it didn't stick around too long.  Everyone in my city is hoping this is the last of it!
There are so many creative bloggers sharing all of their beautiful Spring decorations and crafts that I decided to organize my craft supplies and make some things this week.  I've also perused the local antique stores and found adorable vintage images and postcards to use in future projects.
I missed the recent Alice in Wonderland swap at Karla's Cottage but it inspired me to make this gift for my friend's little girl who recently saw the film.  I thought it would be cute hanging in her room.

Did you notice the cute little bunny figurine?  I picked it up at our local  antique mall.  The ceramic teacup is part of a set that I painted a long time ago.  I have a thing for polkadots.   Just ask any of my family! I really liked a white Fenton hobnail ruffled vase I saw at the same antique mall but I lost track of the aisle!  Mental note:  bring paper next time & write down that aisle number!

When I went on an outing to Lincoln with my mom a couple weeks ago I found this darling vintage book (above).  I love the images and will probably end up taking out the pages and scanning them since they are falling out anyway.  There is no copywright date on the book but here's the inscription

1909 ... Wow!

One last thing - isn't this little chickie so cute?  I bought a pack of them from Hobby Lobby.   I also bought some mini plastic eggs from Walgreens that will be perfect to put them inside.  I don't recommend giving them to small children.  They are pretty fragile!  I learned that the hard way!

Have a wonderful week!  Thanks for all your sweet comments everyone.  I'm really enjoying blogging!

Happy St Patrick's Day!

I don't have a speck of Irish in my lineage but wanted to wish some of my Irish friends a blessed St Pat's Day!  Maybe I'll listen to a little U2 tomorrow to celebrate! 

Cute stuff at Pottery Barn

This morning I drug myself (and my mama) out of bed to attend a  Pottery Barn table and mantle decorating demo.   I have never been to one of their demos and have always wanted to go.  So I sprang forward (get it? Oh I'm so witty aren't I?) out of my bed & darted to PB this AM.   I wanted to bring my camera really bad but didn't want to be dorky.  That's one thing I'm struggling with as a photographer & blogger... being bold enough to waltz in with a camera.  I know blogging can be good advertisement for stores.  I don't know... maybe some of my blogger friends can tell me how they got over that hurdle. 
Anyway, I really enjoyed seeing all the ceramic bunnies, cabbage roses, patina covered pots, natural baskets and embroidered napkins.   I especially wanted the Easter postcards but when I tried getting them at the store a couple weeks ago I was told they were sold out and not getting any more.  Oh well - I'm having fun finding vintage Easter cards and embellishing those.
Here's a little taste of what's out there @ PB!  Loving Spring stuff! How I left without buying anything took incredible willpower but as I told my mom I think I had ADHD at the moment & was overloaded with too many options and pressure to use that 10% off coupon they gave us.  One day only, of course.  You know I'm totally thinking of going back and getting something before the day is up!

(all photos from Potterybarn.com)

Have A Nice Day

I love Fridays!  Hope you're having a wonderful one! 

Sometimes you get a hankerin

Over the weekend I've been doing some cooking.  I'd much rather cook for others but I definitely needed to push myself to finally get this recipe done!  Ever go to the grocery store & keep forgetting one of the ingredients & next thing you know you're not in the mood or the fresh ingredients wilt or get spoiled too soon? I definitely didn't want that to happen this time!  This picture below is the coconut chicken chili.  I got the recipe from a blog called The Noble Pig.  I liked it but even though it called for cayenne pepper I felt it needed more spice of some sort.   Maybe red pepper flakes to kick it up a notch.  Try it & decide for yourself! 

Every once in awhile I get a "hankerin" for some Southern food!  Biscuits & sausage gravy is something that I rarely allow myself to have but decided that it would be an easy & delicious breakfast for a lazy Saturday morning.  Should I be ashamed to admit that I used refrigerated biscuits & canned sausage gravy?  No shame here - it's all good! 

Unique Plate Display

Isn't this the most unique and cool way to display plates on a wall?  This is from Tina's blog and she graciously gave details on how she put this together.  The entire display is for sale just name  your price!  Stop by and tell her I sent you! 

Winter Survival 101

OK my title sounds a little dramatic!  Got your attention didn't it? Hehe!
Here's a few of my favorite things that have helped me survive this winter a little better:

My mom found this lotion & it really works miracles on dry winter skin!

These nifty things stretch over your shoes & give you traction in the snow & ice.  They really work and I highly recommend them!  No more falling on black ice!   Check out their website http://www.yaktrax.com/ProductsWalker.aspx or buy them off of QVC like we did.

I love this lip balm.  It's soft on your lips & keeps them super moist.  http://www.nivea.com/products/show/223

                                           

I have sensitive skin & this shower gel by Aveeno is gentle & smells so good!  It's getting harder to find but I recently found some at Target

I don't know how I lived without a down comforter for so long!  I never want to get out of bed when I'm all snuggled underneath it!  It has definitely kept me warm!

And last but not least the wonderful duvet cover I have over the down comforter.  I got this at Crate and Barrel last summer.  It's incredibly soft!