Dreams and Decor

WHERE BLOGGERS CREATE 2011 PARTY! WELCOME TO MY STUDIO!

2011-07-14T19:40:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my Dreams and Decor Studio! I'm so excited to have you visit and I'm so thrilled to be participating again this year in the Where Bloggers Create 2011 Party hosted by the sweet and talented Karen Valentine of My Desert Cottage! Come on in, look around, and make yourself comfortable. Let's start the tour, shall we?.........The pink fainting couch above is one of my favorite pieces of furniture. You can read here how we happened upon it, with it's sweet sentimental meaning to us.

We'll start the tour by going upstairs to my studio. I have a collection of wall crosses, most of which were given to me by friends and family.

Come on in! We'll go counter-clockwise around the room.

I actually never would have thought about making my own space for projects if it hadn't been for seeing the creative spaces of all of you wonderful bloggers! I'm so thankful you shared them with us! We had just been using this room as a "catch all" for extra furniture, etc. and now it serves a purpose and I feel so blessed to have a space where I can work on projects, but most of all it helps so much to have all my supplies (trim, ribbon, buttons, scrapbook paper, crepe paper, ephemera, paint, markers, etc.) together in one area!

I've made several changes since last year's tour. I love to rearrange and repurpose things. I actually just purchased "Audrey" last month at Ross. She was a "steal" for this size of canvas! I've had the old wooden sconces for what seems like forever; they were purchased at the Canton Trade Days and I had never used them together till now (I've only used one here or there by itself in the past).

I moved my chalkboard from the breakfast nook in the kitchen to the studio, when we got a mirror for that wall in the kitchen. It was made from an old, empty frame I bought and painted white.

The pillows rest on a hope chest Big D gave me when we got engaged. The filigree Texas Star is from Paul Michael's in Canton. It was such a bargain I couldn't pass it up but hadn't actually known where I would put it at the time. Atop the lawyer's bookcase is one of my birdcages. I LOVE birdcages. LOL! The dress form canvas was previously in the master bathroom, but I moved it in here a while back.

The black and white sign and the Paris pillow just arrived yesterday from Lori at Katie's Rose Cottage. Perfect timing! I ordered them to use elsewhere but they were just what I needed to finish off the studio! Thank you, Lori, for the lightning-fast delivery! I love them!

The burgundy pillow and the green pillow were pulled in from the guest room. I got the burgundy and white toile fabric to cover the seat cushion from Check It Out Fabrics in Waxahachie, Texas. I LOVE toile!

I've had this beaded window valance for a while and finally put it up in here.

I got the glass cloche from Laurie Anna's in Canton. The egg jewelry container was a birthday gift. The peacock was purchased as part of a pair at an after-Christmas clearance sale for a very small Christmas tree I plan to decorate with peacock feathers and small blue & green ornaments next Christmas.

I LOVE using old sheet music in projects.

I LOVE birds and nests.......

...and old alarm clocks!

A teapot I inherited from my grandmother Sophie (Meemaw), which my Dad brought back from Japan for her from when he was stationed there in the service years ago.

Did I mention I love birds! The white and silver ones are from Laurie Anna's. The wooden-looking ones in the cloche, which are actually resin, are from Paul Michaels.

The wire postcard holder is from Paul Michaels. The shelf above the sewing machine is from a booth in the Arbors in Canton a few years ago, which was on clearance and was actually a planter, but I turned it upside down to use as a shelf to hold some of my vintage cameras. The rest are on the shelves in the den.

Here's the ribbon rack Big D had made for me. I think he got tired of spools of ribbon everywhere around the house! LOL!

The studio is about 10' x 10' plus this extra little area here by the door. We'll head back downstairs......

I really hope you enjoyed the tour. Please drop in on the other participants and see their creative spaces at Where Creative Bloggers Create 2011 Party. Have fun! Come back soon! And may all your dreams be sweet!

STUDIO SNEAK PEAK

2011-07-10T00:21:00.000-05:00

I'm excited to be participating in Where Bloggers Create 2011 Blog Party.

A few weeks ago when I found this oversized mod "Audrey" canvas, part of which is shown in the first picture above (it's really big!), to hang above our antique fainting couch in my studio (You can read the story about how we acquired one of my favorite pieces of furniture here and what a coincidence it was), I happened to think about how blessed I am to be able to use this space in our home for creating. (It's so wonderful to be able to leave supplies and materials out while working on a project!) That led me to think about how fun the blog party was last year, getting to view so many spaces full of creativity and imagination. It was sooooo inspiring! And I started wondering when it would be time for the next one. Well, that same day, I pulled up the talented Karen Valentine's blog, My Desert Cottage, and read her post where she was announcing the 3rd Annual Where Bloggers Create Blog Party to be held on 7/15/11. I was thrilled! I've done some rearranging and made some changes since last time, so I can't wait to share my studio but most of all to get a peak into everyone else's creative spaces!

May all your dreams be sweet! Patti

PERSONALIZED LUGGAGE TAGS

2011-07-05T21:38:00.000-05:00

One of my coworkers' birthday is coming up and our office will be taking her out to eat to celebrate. I found the coolest gift tags on Etsy to include with the gift we got her (she loves to travel). Look at the yellow/white quatrefoil design and the "mod" print teamed up with it!! I think my coworker will love these!

I was doing a search on Etsy for "quatrefoil" and found Anne Smith's shop, monkey doodles by munkeekid - custom invitations and paper adornments! I love paper products and she has some awesome designs of customized notecards, gift tags, party invitations and my favorite ---the luggage tags, which you can get in any of her designs! Don't those make a cute "little something extra" to add to a gift!

I love the way Anne mixes various prints together, and the fact that she has quatrefoil and chevron designs, too! Check out her uber-cute monkey gift tags HERE. She's had customers order her designs to use for basket labels for their pantries, too. What a clever idea!

I plan on ordering some notecards next, but I'm having trouble deciding which ones to get----I love them all! Thanks, Anne, for the quick service on these tags!

Have fun checking out her shop! ----Patti -------

By the way, I've blocked out my coworkers name, address and phone number on the tags in the photos, but Anne will customize them for you.....

RED, WHITE & BLUE BREAKFAST!

2011-07-04T12:19:00.000-05:00

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!!

I feel so blessed to be living in freedom and am remembering the brave men and women serving our country in the military who protect our freedom!

We started out our day with our favorite breakfast cereal, Kashi's Cinnamon Harvest, along with a generous sprinkling of fresh blueberries and strawberries----a red, white and blue breakfast to start off the Fourth of July with the right colors! (I probably should let you think I had that all planned, but it actually was a surprise---I really wasn't thinking about it being those colors when I put together breakfast this morning! Ha! Isn't it great when things just happen to come out special like that!) Check out the heart-shaped strawberry slice in the spoon. That bowl was for my sweetie, Big D! I told him I made that strawberry just for him! Hee! Hee!

I received this cute patriotic 3-D card in the mail a few days ago from my good friend, Sabrina! It decorates a shelf in the master bath. Love it! Thanks, Sabrina!

This really tall (14"!) bright blue mercury glass vase was FREE (yes, FREE!) last year from Paul Michael's in Canton, TX, right down the road from LaurieAnnas (another of my favorite must-stop shops when in Canton!) I had signed up on their mailing list and they sent me a postcard for my birthday saying there was a birthday gift waiting for me, and when I picked it up, this was this awesome vase! (You know I LOVE anything mercury glass!!!) I was a little bummed that I didn't have a room that the bright royal blue color would fit in, but then I immediately thought about saving it for patriotic decorating! I LOVE it!

Due to hot dogs being such a healthy treat (ha! ha!), I usually only fix them once a year---for the Fourth! I also baked an apple pie this weekend, so yesterday we had apple pie and hot dogs! Yum! Our all-American feast!
HOPE EVERYONE HAS A SAFE & FUN FOURTH! GOD BLESS AMERICA!

DON'T MISS THE SUPERMOON THIS WEEKEND!

2011-03-18T22:41:00.000-05:00

Hope you get to look outside at the Supermoon this weekend! Apparrently, the moon is closer to the earth tomorrow than it has been in 18 years, causing it to look larger! I went outside & looked at it tonight and to me it didn't look any larger, but it was super-bright!---like a lamp that someone plugged in!---brighter than I've ever seen it! And it had a glow or aura surrounding it! My Mom is the one who phoned me to tell me about it early in the evening and that's when I went outside to see it (Thanks, Mom!). Later, when I was already ready for bed, they had the story about it on the evening news and then I wished I had taken photos of it to post because it looked so cool, but I didn't feel like getting dressed again to go outside.....but....Big D (that's my amazing husband!) immediately offered to run outside & take them (Thanks, Hon!).

So, I really hope you get to see it tomorrow night! It was amazing, even tonight! In the meantime, please enjoy these photos, courtesy of Big D!

Sweet dreams! Patti

P.S.: Click on any of the photos to enlarge. I started experimenting with enlarging my photos tonight (see first photo), but I think now I have to enlarge the width of the post or something, because now that first photo has the moon off to the side, but I guess that isn't really a bad thing after all. Anyway, I'll have to go to some of my favorite blogs, which have tutorials about how to improve your blog and read up on the how-to's!

TOTALLY UNEXPECTED!

2011-01-25T19:24:00.000-06:00

I had to share this amazing bouquet with you! I helped a friend with something, and she surprised me with this huge vase of gorgeous roses and other beautiful flowers, which she brought by the office! So totally unexpected! And the scent is absoutely heavenly! (I wish you could smell them!) Thanks again, Tiffany! You are so sweet!

Blue & White Christmas!

2010-12-19T22:50:00.001-06:00

It's become a family tradition - we go on the Christmas Tour of Homes in Waxahachie, TX during the holiday season! The decorating is always incredible, and this year was no exception! This tree, decorated in blue and white china, graced the front porch of one of the homes this year. It was just a small taste of the fabulousness inside!

CHRISTMAS BIRDCAGES!

2010-12-18T23:27:00.000-06:00

My Mom and I had so much fun decorating last night for an extended family Christmas party today! Decorated birdcages were the main centerpieces. More photos to come.....

SHOPPING AT NORTHPARK MALL

2010-12-17T07:19:00.000-06:00

Northpark Mall in Dallas is one of my favorite places to go shopping, especially during the holidays! The flowers were gorgeous! Hope you're enjoying your Christmas shopping and taking time to smell the roses.....well, or to at least admire the poinsettias!

REASON FOR THE SEASON!

2010-12-16T08:08:00.000-06:00

I was over at Mom & Dad's house admiring their new nativity (I've never seen one like it!) and wanted to share it with you! The reason for the season!!! I love the things that remind us of what Christmas is all about.

EMBELLISHED SNOWMEN CARDS!

2010-12-15T07:45:00.000-06:00

Mom has been working on embellishing these cute 3-dimensional snowmen cards we found at Ross. She's adding twigs, ribbon, buttons, etc., and we're going to set these down the tables at our extended family Christmas party coming up soon! Snow cute!!!

VINTAGE GOODNESS FROM LAURIE ANNAS

2010-12-14T07:16:00.000-06:00

Mom got this darling silver bird and vintage-looking letter "M" wall hook from Laurie Anna's Vintage Home in Canton recently. I love the way they look in this vintage white pottery.

GIFT-WRAPPING

2010-12-02T01:07:00.000-06:00

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Wrapping gifts for the office Christmas party coming up this week!!! Our first party of the season!

WINTER WONDERLAND!

2010-12-01T22:50:00.000-06:00

I guess get my love of Christmas decorating from my parents! Dad has already decorated the backyard with tons of lights! He and Mom can look out their big bay window in their kitchen, while sitting at the kitchen table, at their own "winter wonderland"!

THE SMART DENTIST IN THE SMART CAR!

2010-10-07T08:42:00.000-05:00

I had posted here about my boss (a dentist) getting a Smart Car this past Spring. It's sooooo tiny and cute that we decided to incorporate it into our office's latest ad shown here!

You can't help but notice Dr. T. when he's driving around town in this teeny, tiny car! The photo doesn't really do it justice-----it's an eye-popping bright, bright metallic orange!

Did you know the Smart Car is made by Mercedes? It is! My coworkers and me were really concerned for his safety at first but then found out the Smart Car has a steel safety shell that tested really well in test crashes.

This car is so little and cute that it literally makes me smile every time I see it! What do you think? Would you ever consider getting one?

PUCKER UP!---INTENSE LEMON CAKE!

2010-09-19T13:36:00.000-05:00

I asked Big D what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday, and he requested lemon....so lemon he got. I took an easy lemon cake recipe and tweaked it a bit. If you get a craving for something lemony, this cake should do the trick. It has a really intense lemon flavor from using 3 lemon ingredients. And it's super easy....

EASY INTENSE LEMON CAKE

1 (3-oz) pkg lemon flavored Jello
1 cup boiling water
1 box lemon cake mix (I used Duncan Hines)
3 eggs
¾ cup vegetable oil
1 TBSP lemon juice

GLAZE:

2 cups powdered sugar
3 TBSP lemon juice

DECORATING: 1 lemon, washed and sliced

Dissolve jello in water. Cool. Then combine cake mix, eggs, vegetable oil, lemon juice, and gelatin. Beat until smooth. Pour into greased 9 x 13” baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees 30 – 35 minutes.

Combine glaze ingredients. Pour over cake, while cake is still warm.

After cake cools, place lemon slices on top for decoration.

Optional: Add 1/2 tsp. lemon zest to cake batter and 1/2 tsp. lemon zest to glaze.

TRACY & JOSEF

2010-09-18T22:31:00.001-05:00

I went to a really sweet wedding shower recently for the daughter of some very dear friends of ours.

Congratulations, Tracy & Josef!

May you share a lifetime of happiness together!

Love, Patti

VINTAGE FARMHOUSE CHIC TO THE MAX!

2010-08-28T20:25:00.000-05:00

Mom and I made a spur-of-the-moment trip to Canton for the Fall Preview Show at LaurieAnna's Vintage Home which was also the opening of her new 6,000 or so square foot shop next door to her previous shop. Can you say amazing! Could anything be more fantastic than her other shop? I didn't think so but when you magnify all that vintage home goodness by a zillion times, the answer has to be "YES!!!"!

There was so much decorating love everywhere you looked that it was almost hard to take it all in! We came away with some real treasures and tons of decorating ideas! In fact, in talking to each other the next day, we found out that neither one of us got much sleep that night because we kept thinking of all the great stuff we saw-----lots of unique vintage-looking lighting and gorgeous chandeliers, galvanized metal, tissue-papered walls done by hand, white pumpkins with curly vines, mini gourds strung together, alphabet hooks, paper flowers, beautiful jewelry, handmade wreaths, little turkeys, burlap ribbon, burlap pillows, large santos statues, black & white cafe signs with the coolest sayings---I could go on and on----just click here to check out all the shop photos on her blog! I think my very favorite thing was the white china display on the wall. I love pretty dishes. I've bought the square white plates from her in the past (and have gotten so much enjoyment from them), and on this trip I bought one of the little white china dishes that was made up of 3 flower "bowls" attached together all in a row, that was hanging up in that display. It's too cute! I'll have to do a post later and show you the goodies that came home with us.

Here's the extremely talented Tina of the fabulous Cherry Hill Cottage.
Be sure to check out her beautiful photos of LauriaAnnas Fall Preview!

She is always so sweet and helpful. I'm a HUGE fan of her blog!

We got to meet jewelry designer,Michele Busch of Plano, whom we had just read about in the Dallas Morning News, and see her beautiful handmade jewelry in person. Click here to see her photos of her trunk show at LaurieAnnas. She was so sweet.

And to top off our visit, it's such a pleasure to see Zeek, LaurieAnna's sweet shoppe dog! He is such a darling! And thankfully he is feeling much better (for those of you who keep up with him through LaurieAnna's blog).

We had lunch and then came back again to make sure we didn't miss anything. It was so much fun and we left with our brains totally swirling with decorating ideas!

LaurieAnna's shop and (her booth in the Arbors on the TradeDay grounds) are open Thurs. through Sun. during First Monday TradeDays. The next TradeDays start Sept. 2nd.

ANOTHER UNBELIEVABLE MILESTONE!

2010-07-23T12:20:00.001-05:00

I can't believe it---another milestone birthday to someone who does not look their age at all!----my beautiful sister-in-law & friend, Gena, is turning 50! You would never guess! We had celebrated early, so we could surprise her! So, here's to you, Gena!!! Hope your birthday is as special as you!!!

CO-WORKER'S BIRTHDAY--THE BIG 5-0

2010-07-17T15:00:00.000-05:00

Looking at my co-worker, Angelle, you would never guess she recently turned 50, would you? We had a walker waiting for her at the restaurant--- something we figured she might now need in her "old age" (ha! ha!)---as well as lots of other gag gifts.

We all went out to Brown Street Cafe/Kolache Depot for lunch to celebrate!

Above - friend of ours at the next table. (Actually, we ran into several friends there that day! ---It was fun!)

I can't name all of the gag gifts in this post, as I have a family member (you know who you are) who reads my blog, who may be "honored" with more of the same on their 50th, which is coming up soon! (Get ready, G!...and next year 3 more milestone 50th birthdays in Big D's family and my family--- P, A, and D! Am I missing anyone? You know we'll get you!)

We had so much fun humiliating, I mean "teasing" Angelle on her milestone birthday! She was a very good sport! Happy Birthday, Angelle!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RANAE!

2010-07-12T22:34:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday to my beautiful friend, Ranae, who is celebrating a birthday today! Our office took her out to eat at a Mexican restaurant, Don Jose's, where she had to replace her birthday tiara with their sombrero! We celebrated by giving her several funny gifts & a gift card to one of her favorite shops! So full of energy, you would never guess her age--- OK, so maybe the necklace might give you a hint! But, it is very hard to believe!

She is such a sweet person! Best wishes for a Happy Birthday, Ranae!

PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!

2010-07-04T22:11:00.000-05:00

America the Beautiful! Land of the Free! I'm so thankful to be an American with all the freedoms we have! God bless America, and God bless the men and women serving our country.

Happy Fourth! Patti

FASHIONISTA GOOSE!

2010-07-03T06:43:00.000-05:00

I drive past this house a lot and think it is so cute with its green paint and red & white trim! And I like the way it sits at an angle on its corner lot!

But what's really cute is that concrete yard goose with its own little flowerbed built in a circle around it (see last photo above).

Not long ago, it was sporting swim goggles and a colorful plastic floatie around its middle---ready for summer! Now it wears a stylish matching pink scarf and apron!

Have a great July 4th weekend! Patti

MORE BROMELIADS!

2010-07-02T06:04:00.000-05:00

Remember when I posted about Bromeliads at Northpark here? Well, the next time I went over to Mom & Dad's, look what kind of plant they had in their entry........you guessed it!---a Bromeliad!

BLACK & WHITE AND LIME GREEN

2010-07-01T21:04:00.003-05:00

Thought I'd share with you Mom & Dad's guest room. I love the colors: black and white with touches of lime green!

Thank goodness tomorrow's Friday! Have a good one! Patti

COUNTRY WEDDING

2010-06-28T21:44:00.000-05:00

We went to an outdoor wedding out in the country earlier this month, at a local photographer's property. I had to share these photos I took with you.

Had to get a photo of Big D!

A simple but oh so sweet wedding!

I was told the weed-eating alone takes 8 hours, after mowing!

We enjoyed walking around looking at the beautiful property!

The photographer's log cabin, where he and his wife live on the property:

The little storage shed:

FLOWERS FOR YOUR WEEKEND

2010-06-25T15:53:00.000-05:00

I snapped these photos outside a local bank. I love container gardening! Look how many varieties of flowers and plants are in this one pot!

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

Patti

MY STUDIO ---- WHERE I CREATE

2010-06-19T21:15:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my little creative studio! Do you love sneaking a peek into our fellow bloggers' studios and getting inspired by their creative ideas? I do! The creative and talented Karen Valentine of My Desert Cottage is hosting the Where Blogers Create II blog party. Just click here to visit her blog, where she lists all the party guests. You can click on each one to visit their studio. This year, she has over 450 participants! Thank you so much, Karen, for all your hard work!

I started turning this little spare room upstairs into my studio last summer. Here's my wire dress form, which stands atop 3 hat boxes stuffed with ribbons, trims, and other embellishments. You may have read the post about our fainting couch here, which came from the historic Excelsior Hotel in Jefferson, Texas, where Big D and I enjoyed many vacations hunting for that special antique!

In front of the window is the ribbon rack, Big D made for me (see the original post here). Right now, it sits on top of the hope chest he gave me after we were engaged. He had his uncle, who does carpentry, custom make it for me. I keep all my fabrics in it. It's topped with a toile-covered cushion and once I find a different place for the ribbon rack, it'll be a great place to sit.

Bowl of trim sits on top of basket full of more trim!

A sewing machine, even though I'm not much of a seamstress. I have a better relationship with my hot glue gun! But it definitely does come in quite handy sometimes!

Some collectibles on a ceiling tin shelf above the sewing machine.

3-tiered birdie-topped dessert tray holds what else but more trims and ribbons.

Top of bookcase holds a vintage suitcase, green tray, tins, and statue of a girl reading a book. My friend, Tamera, painted the girl in the Czech costume for me.

Long wall mirror on the little entry wall when you walk into the room.

I love trays! These two with painted birds I found in Canton, TX at the First Monday Trade Days.

At the top of the stairs, before you turn into the studio room is my antique washstand, which is really special to me because it's the first piece of antique furniture I ever bought. I got it when I was a senior in high school at a wonderful shop in Ennis, TX called Sara's Trunk, which unfortunately, is no longer in business. (I guess I've just always loved decorating and I used to love to go in there during my lunch hour ---I went to school in the morning & worked in the afternoon----just to browse and look at all the pretty antiques and home decor accessories.) It has green tile for the backsplash and a marble top.

Here's a closeup of a silver tray with seashells, which I set out during the summer.

And that concludes the tour of my little creative space. I loved sharing it with you and hope you enjoyed it! I'm still working on my studio and have many ideas for it, such as a huge vintage chippy gold frame (currently hiding in a closet) that I plan on hanging above the fainting couch with a corkboard in it to use as my Inspiration Board!

I hope you'll visit all the other blog party participants!

GREEN & FUSCHIA---ONE OF MY FAV COLOR COMBOS!

2010-06-02T18:15:00.000-05:00

I belive these are Bromeliads, but maybe some of you who know more about plants can tell me for sure (I will have to ask my cousin, Nola of the Alamo-North blog, who's studying to be a Master Gardener). No matter what they are...aren't they amazing!
I snapped these photos last month at Northpark Mall in Dallas, TX. It's been forever since we had been there. I think it's probably my favorite of any malls or shopping centers. It's always decorated with gorgeous plants and has that beautiful dancing fountain. And I would even be satisfied just window shopping all those great displays! All the stores are so cool! (There's even a Betsey Johnson there now!) If I lived close, I would do my walking there!

By the way, I looked up Bromeliads in Wikipedia and learned that pineapples are Bromeliads! (And I always thought they were a fruit, hee! hee!) Weird!

Have a good evening, and have sweet dreams....Patti

REMEMBERING THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES

2010-06-01T19:24:00.000-05:00

Taking time yesterday (Memorial Day) to remember those who gave their lives in service to our country!

VICTORIA MAGAZINE / HUMMINGBIRDS!

2010-05-27T21:54:00.000-05:00

May/June 2010 Issue of Victoria Magazine! Have you seen it?

Page 80 has the prettiest wallpaper featuring birds. I love the one on the top right with the blue background. It's called Hummingbirds and is from Cole & Son. Their resources guide says it's available to the trade at LeeJofa.com. I did a little research on the Internet and found out it used to be available at Anthropologie, but looked like it was in a different shade of color, and the name of it was Vanuatu Twilight, instead of Hummingbirds . I think this would be so pretty in our master bathroom. Wallpaper seems to be making a comeback. It had gone out of style for a while. It seems that most people either love or hate wallpaper. I happen to love it! Do you love it, hate it, or feel something in between?

Oh, by the way, I got the trio of little silver birds in Canton, and have loved playing around with them. They've been landing just about everywhere in our home!

I had taken a break from Blogland for a few weeks due to limited time, but am so glad to be back and look forward to catching up on all your blogs, which I've missed reading!

I was over at Mom & Dad's this evening and they just got the sweetest new cherub to top their fountain! I will have to go back with my camera this weekend and snap a photo for the blog for you to see.....

Have a great evening, and sweet dreams! Patti

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!

2010-05-09T17:05:00.001-05:00

A Happy Mothers Day to all the mothers out there! Hope you have an awesome day!

I am blessed to have the most wonderful Mom and Mother-in-law and wish them a very Happy Mothers Day and want to say how thankful I am for them and how much I appreciate them! I love you both!

Above are our pots of red, fuschia and pink periwinkles (double-click photo to enlarge) in our courtyard with our concrete garden angel, which we've had for a few years. I guess we really should name her.

What do you think would be a good name for our garden angel?

Happy Mothers Day! Patti

WHAT'S BLOOMING NOW?

2010-04-27T21:19:00.000-05:00

I love seeing what's new in Mom & Dad's landscaping! One thing I'm sure of....it's going to be beautiful! I had to share with you a few of their pots of flowers for Spring!

They put a lot of creative energy into their yard!

Their entire yard is amazing, but the backyard and patio landscaping especially always "wows" me!

HAPPY EASTER!

2010-04-04T06:16:00.000-05:00

Pink tulips and purple irises to wish you a Happy Easter!

Have a blessed day! Patti

A SPLASH OF PINK FOR SPRING!

2010-03-29T21:58:00.000-05:00

Saw these tulips across from the post office Saturday and they made me smile! Hope they make you smile, too!

Have a good week! Patti

GOT RIBBON?

2010-03-26T09:05:00.000-05:00

When I came home from work Tuesday, the hubby had made this ribbon rack for me! And I didn't even ask for it---it was all his idea! What a sweetie! I felt like it was Christmas! What a great feeling to have all my ribbon in one place! (Well, actually, I may have one more stash of ribbon in my dining room closet!)

ISN'T THIS JUST THE CUTEST THING!

2010-03-25T22:01:00.000-05:00

When I got to work Monday, I just couldn't help but smile when I saw this in the parking lot. Is this not the cutest thing ever! A bright orange Smart Car! My boss's new car! This photo doesn't do this little car justice----it's so bright....and so little....it just makes me smile everytime I see it!

Have a sweet evening! Patti

BYE, BYE PANSIES!

2010-03-22T21:38:00.000-05:00

Update Friday, 03/26/10: I am linking to Cindy at My Romantic Home's Show & Tell Friday. View her post about her awesome cherub pitcher and the links (at the bottom of her post) to her readers' lovely Show & Tell posts here. (I've found so many beautiful blogs through Cindy's Show & Tell Friday.)

Also, Nola, you're right---this is a great way to repurpose any damaged china. I do that a lot! Just put the chipped side of your china down into the dirt, where it won't show! I also forgot to mention that you can still find individual saucers at pretty reasonable prices (better than plates) at antique stores, and they work great for this! Patti

I love putting vintage plates and saucers in my pots of flowers. (I got inspired to do that a few years ago, when I saw some of the shops in Waxahachie, TX doing that in pots around the town square. They even put teacups in there! So sweet!) The square one, with the "lacy" edges, is not vintage, however. I scored it for only $2.99 at Ross a couple of weeks ago!!!

As much as I love Spring, I hate saying goodbye to my cold-weather plants: my Pansies and Kale. Although with the weather we're having in Texas (snow this past Sunday, the second day of Spring!), they might be hanging around a while longer!!!

Have a sweet day! Patti

LOVIN' THE PURPLE AND PINK!

2010-03-21T21:33:00.000-05:00

While it was snowing outside today here in Texas on this, the second day of Spring (yes, SNOW--don't you love it!!!), we were enjoying the sweet perfume and purple beauty of these Hyacinths inside the house. I wish so much that you could smell them! Their awesome scent has filled the entire kitchen and I am "wowed" everytime I enter the room! These were a sweet gift, as was the beautiful Cyclamen plant in the last photo! (I've never had the luxury of having either of these plants before. I'm so enjoying them! I love the little bunny & Easter decorations in the Hyacinths, too!)

Hope your weekend has been sweet! Patti

HAPPY SPRING!

2010-03-20T23:18:00.000-05:00

I love wreaths & I was so happy to find a new Spring wreath for the courtyard gate..... Happy First Day of Spring! Hope you're having a great weekend! Patti

PURPLE AND YELLOW!

2010-03-18T11:43:00.001-05:00

My Ornamental Kale started blooming last week. The yellow blooms give a whole new look to it!
Unfortunately, this also signals the end, since it's a cold weather plant & it won't tolerate the upcoming Texas heat! But, it sure makes a big splash of color before it goes!

IRISH BLESSING

2010-03-17T16:55:00.000-05:00

MAY YOUR HOME ALWAYS BE TOO SMALL TO FIT ALL YOUR FRIENDS......Old Irish Blessing

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Patti

15-MINUTE VINTAGE FORK PROJECT

2010-02-25T07:10:00.000-06:00

I had wanted to make something special for my hair stylist, Stephenie's recent birthday, and I had seen a great vintage fork craft on Mrs. Jenk's blog: A Little Birdie Told Me at her posts here and here. (If you haven't visited her blog yet, please check it out. She's sooooo creative!!!) The fork holds a recipe card, photo, or actually any card. Well, my hairdresser loves vintage like I do, so I thought it would make a great gift for her!

It's super easy to make (check out Mrs. Jenk's directions on her blog)....except for the bending of the fork. I first tried heating the fork in a low degree oven. But it turned out with a bit of an uneven bend, so that was a good excuse to keep that one for myself (hee! hee!). I used a background of Eiffel Tower scrapbook paper)! See below: So, the next day, I bought another frame and tried again. This time, at the suggestion of my creative hubby, I put the fork in a vise and then bent it. That was much easier, and I highly recommend that method. I put a few different pieces of scrapbook paper in her frame, so that Stephenie could change them out whenever she wanted. Here's what the finished gift looked like, with each of the different papers:

My favorite is the last one with the "words".

Another helpful tip I discovered AFTER I made the first one. Put a blank sheet of paper into the frame (or use the paper which came with the frame) and measure & mark the two spots in the center where you will want to glue down the fork. That way, when you start gluing, you don't worry about getting the fork centered after you already have glue on it, etc. By the way, I used E6000 glue, which worked great. Just let it dry overnight after you're done.

I found all the cute "foodie" scrapbook papers, as well as the Eiffel Tower paper at my favorite scrapbook store, The Crafty Scrapper, in Waxhachie, Texas. I don't even do scrapbooking, but I love buying papers, ribbons, brads, etc. in there for other projects. Here's another photo of the one I kept, this time shown with a card setting on the fork.

Dream big! Patti

HERE IT COMES AGAIN!

2010-02-24T07:17:00.000-06:00

I am just so loving this snow!!! The snow was back again yesterday here in North Texas! It was sooooo beautiful!!!! We got 1 to 2 inches! It started snowing when I got to work that morning and didn't stop all day! I wanted to take photos on my lunch break, but the snow was coming down so hard that I was afraid I would get my camera wet.

I told my husband that when I got home from work, if there was still a lot of snow on the ground, I either wanted to build a mini snowman in our yard or drive to nearby Waxahachie and take photos of the beautiful Victorian houses covered in snow---if I could get there before the sun went down! (I couldn't do that last week when we got all that snow because the roads were too treacherous!)

Well, unfortunately, there wasn't much snow left when I got home from the office; even though it snowed all day, because it was in the 30's, much of the snow that had built up during the day had already melted. So much for the idea of going around taking photos.

But the darling husband had built a little snowman for me on the hood of his truck!!! How sweet was that! He knows how much I love snowpeople!

Stay warm!!! Patti

WHAT A VIEW!

2010-02-23T07:16:00.000-06:00

My youngest brother just moved into a new apartment on Lake Carolyn in Las Colinas---Irving, Texas. It's just right down the street from his old apartment, but this one is larger & newer--it's really beautiful. They just finished building it. It has that loft feel to it with exposed pipes and painted concrete floors (kind of a bronze color done with a beautiful paint technique using various shades). But I was most impressed with this gorgeous view, which I just had to share with you --this is right outside his balcony!

If you double-click the first photo to enlarge it, if you look right above the middle bush, you can see a duck! It was such a beautiful day, it was fun to watch the many tenants & their dogs out for a walk along the water.

Congratulations on your new apartment, K!

Have a great day! Patti

SWEETS

2010-02-22T20:52:00.000-06:00

Just in time, I happened to think to snap photos of the roses my sweetheart gave me last week for Valentine's Day! They arrived last Thurs., the day we had the record-making snowfall here in North Texas. Our office ordered in Chinese food and the roses arrived while we were all together eating lunch. My darling husband also gave me the pearl and cross necklace that I really wanted when we were shopping at Harvey's in Corsicana, Texas the other day, but wasn't going to buy for myself, so he got it for me! So sweet! Thanks, Honey!

I made Peanut Butter Blossoms for him with dark chocolate Hershey's Kisses (his favorite), gave him a gift certificate to eBay (he loves shopping on eBay!) and a heart-shaped coupon for a dinner out to a restaurant of his choice (which he hasn't redeemed yet). We were so tired by Sunday night that we didn't feel like going out (that's a first for us!).

So delicious with a cup of hot Chai tea----especially on a snowy day!

By the way, they're saying we may get 4 to 5 inches of snow later tonight! Can you imagine! However, after the 12.5 inches of snow last week, I'd believe anything!

Sweet dreams, Patti

VALENTINE WISHES!

2010-02-15T13:36:00.001-06:00

Hope everyone had a Happy Valentine's Day yesterday and that you're having a good Monday! Patti

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

2010-02-14T22:54:00.000-06:00

I was inspired by Jen at Tatertots and Jello's post here to make the wreath below for Valentines Day by glueing 100 red/white Valentine paper cupcake liners to a ribbon-covered 8" foam wreath. Jen is one of the most creative bloggers out there, so I was so excited to have found her blog a few months ago. She has the most amazing projects!!! Hope all of you had a very special Valentines Day! Patti

SNOW MUCH FUN!!!

2010-02-13T21:11:00.001-06:00

We had snow much fun driving around town yesterday looking at the snowstorm of the century! The historic homes were especially breathtaking....like the one below! We don't see snow very often here in North Texas! And especially not this heavy of a snowstorm! The snowstorm Thursday broke 3 records: The heaviest snowfall for the date, the heaviest single-day snowfall, and the heaviest snowfall in a 24-hour period! The Dallas/Fort Worth airport had an official reading of 12.5 inches!!! I was at the office Thursday during the snowfall (we ordered lunch in!) and then watched it from the comfort of my home that evening, as it just continued to come down non-stop! It was treacherous going home Thursday after work (in fact, I almost couldn't get out of the office parking lot---my wheels kept spinning!). On the way home, everyone was driving about 20 miles per hour. When I finally made it home, I had to get Don to pull my car into our garage because our driveway was iced over. I was unable to go to work Friday morning due to the ice, but made it in that afternoon; then after work, I had the most fun taking these photos. By then, some of the snow had melted, but it was still so beautiful! Below is Mom & Dad's house.

The trees covered with snow were so beautiful; however, it was so sad that so many live oaks around town had so many broken limbs. My heart goes out to those homeowners.

Below is the side of our house:

Front of our house:

Driving by some more historic homes around town:

A closer-up of Mom & Dad's:

The lovely house down the street known to us as "the castle house".

The view from our side yard to across the street from us:

This historic home was for sale last year, so it now has new owners (I've always loved this house!):

I posted various snowmen and her highness--the snow queen's , photos in yesterday's post; however, I saw this guy today sporting a yellow hoodie with colorful mittens and scarf and hope you bear with me as I post yet another snowman photo:

Texas Snow Pictures around Blogland:

I'm having so much fun viewing my fellow Texan bloggers' snow photos: Valarie at Glimpse of My World posted gorgeous snow photos here and photos of her beautiful blue McKinney, TX snow-covered cottage here! Check out my cousin, Nola, of Alamo-North's beautiful snow-covered tree and her darling doxie, Chili, out in the snow here! Laurie Anna, who has one of my favorite shops in Canton, Texas, posted amazing snow photos here! (Notice her sunny yellow home peeking out of the snow in her first photo!) Tina of Cherry Hill Cottage posted a stunning snow photo here! Dixie of Frenchlique, TX blog fame posted sweet photos of her grandchildren building a fort and the cutest snow person here! You have to see the funniest redneck snowmen posted here by Mindy at Primitiques 'n Poetry in Poetry, Texas and her beautiful birds in the snow photos here. I'm sure there are tons more Texas snow photos out there, but this is as far as I've gotten tonight.......

Stay warm, Patti

SNOWQUEEN & OTHER SNOW PEOPLE IN NORTH TEXAS!

2010-02-12T20:08:00.001-06:00

Can you believe this snow we got here in North Texas!!! It's so amazing! We drove around town and took in all the beauty and snowy goodness! Here's our favorites out of the photos we took! The lovely snow queen holding court on Ennis Avenue in front of the historic Raphael House in Ennis, Texas.

She was my favorite "snow person" we saw today!

Here's the gorgeous Raphael House. I got to see the inside on a house tour two or three years ago.

Second place in my favorite snow sculptures would have to go to the snow family below!

Look closely at the snowman photo below. I can't believe I didn't even see the cute little white kitten peeking out from behind the snowman when I took this photo!

This one must be a Dallas Cowboys fan, judging by his cap:

In Texas, you have to have a cowboy snowman:

A conehead:

A lifesaver for a mouth:

Looking down....

Hope everyone had a Happy Friday! And that you're warm and cozy and snuggled under the blankets, just relaxing at your home and enjoying the winter wonderland! Sweet dreams, Patti

GIANT CHALKBOARD!

2010-01-10T22:05:00.000-06:00

I'm so excited! The sweet husband made me a chalkboard for my kitchen! And not just any chalkboard but a 4-feet wide chalkboard! He used an old gold frame that we were no longer using, sprayed it white, cut a board to fit, sprayed it with chalkboard paint....and voila!....my new chalkboard! Thanks, sweetheart! I can say whatever I want to say with this baby...and not run out of space!

Hope everyone had a great weekend! Have a happy week!

Patti

TIS THE SEASON FOR SOUP!

2010-01-07T21:50:00.000-06:00

Nothing beats a bowl or mug of warm soup on an icy-cold day here in Texas! (Yes, icy-cold in north-central Texas!----We're not used to this!)

My sweet sister-in-law, Annice, gave us some Southern Heat Tortilla Soup Fixins! (She gets it from a booth at her local Junior League holiday markets.) Thanks, Annice! The label says www.lonestarheat.com in Arlington, Texas.

You add your own chicken, some frozen corn, and I also threw in some rinsed, canned black beans........Mmmm...delicous! Counting calories, so skipped adding the crushed tortilla chips (OK, so pretend you didn't see the buttered cornbread photo below!)

Add some spicy cornbread (just used a mix plus eggs, evaporated fat-free milk, some salsa, and a little Tabasco!) for a super quick & easy meal!---the kind of meals I like!

The "butter" above was actually "Smart Balance" spread----just so you know.....

And to top it off: sliced jalapenos to accompany the soup & cornbread ----to kick it up a notch! (We always buy the extra-large jar! And we go through Tabasco sauce like crazy! What can I say?---this is Texas and we like it HOT!)

Here's lookin at you, kid!

What's your favorite soup in winter weather?

Stay warm, Patti

WINTER WONDERLAND

2010-01-02T13:51:00.000-06:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Mom and Dad's house was like a Winter Wonderland for Christmas! They love to decorate! (Guess that's where I get the decorating bug!) From Mom's extensive vintage Santa collection to Dad's beautiful Christmas lighted display (complete with moving reindeer) visible from the octagonal window area in the eating nook, it was magical! Everywhere you turned, there was something special to view! Wanted to share some photos with you:

Make a Smilebox slideshow

NOTE: It will take a few minutes to load after you hit "Play"....

HOPE YOU'RE HAVING A GREAT WEEKEND! HAPPY NEW YEAR! Patti

VINTAGE BLUE

2009-12-28T22:18:00.000-06:00

Vintage blue bottles from Waxahachie, Texas Christmas Home Tour during last weekend of the tours. The homes were fabulous!

Photo taken by The Man. (click to enlarge photo)

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

Wishing you a safe and awesome
New Year!

Patti

...OR YOU'LL GET UNDERWEAR FOR CHRISTMAS!

2009-12-22T22:03:00.000-06:00

The title made you look, right? I got it from the adorable chalkboard shown below in one of the beautifully decorated homes on the Waxahachie, Texas Christmas homes tour. As mentioned in a previous post, the tours go on for 3 weekends. I enjoyed one weekend's tours but the next weekend I was sick and couldn't go, so Big D was sweet enough to take photos for me to see. I wanted to share them with you! Double-click the photos to enlarge. Enjoy!

Sweet chalkboard! Black & white tree!

I love this silver wreath on the red door!

Collection of wall crosses...

Winter wonderland pillow in black and white bedroom. Cheetah-fabric covered settee at foot of bed!

Rustic birdhouse grouping.

SANTA!

Wishing everyone a very blessed and Merry Christmas! A big thank you to my sweet husband, to both our families, our friends and relatives for being such a blessing in our lives! We are truly blessed and grateful! And a special thanks to all my blog friends out there for your friendships and for sharing your lives with me this year via your amazing blogs! Patti

A FUSCHIA & LIME CHRISTMAS!

2009-12-14T08:29:00.000-06:00

I just love creating....so I had to make something for Christmas! Here's the makings of a wreath for our kitchen! I love fuschia, lime, and silver! Got some lime green wired ribbon for the bow! Will post the finish wreath once it's completed!

Have a great week! Patti

PEACOCK ROOM ON CHRISTMAS HOME TOUR

2009-12-13T13:41:00.000-06:00

As promised in my last post, here are some photos from the Waxahachie, Texas Christmas home tours last weekend! The home I'm featuring today had an amazing peacock-themed dining room!

When you first enter this home, you step into a formal den, which has the beautiful stained glass window, which actually came out of a church in Dallas, Texas. Next, you step into the peacock dining room, with its blue walls and beautiful chandelier. The tree in the corner was decorated with peacocks and there was a stunning peacock centerpiece on the table. Here's the sideboard, which held a beautiful glass beverage dispenser etched with "PARIS". The mirror had a gorgeous garland swag over it.
Close-up of the swag over the mirror.....
The peacock centerpiece.... The beautiful peacock Christmas tree.... The gorgeous blue china at each place setting on the table.... More Waxahachie home tour pictures to come!

If you missed how we decorated the office this year for Christmas, please click here.

Since I'm not finished decorating my own home yet, I'm linking this home tour post to the following Christmas decorating blog parties: (be sure to check them out!)

Southern Hospitality: Home for the Holidays
Nesting Place: Christmas Tour of Homes - 12/14/09
Thrifty Decor Chick: O Christmas Tree -12/14/09

Funky Junk Interiors: Christmas Trees Unite
The Inspired Room: Holiday Linky Fridays
Hooked on Houses: Hooked on Holiday Houses Tour

Hope everyone's having a great weekend! Patti

IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS!

2009-12-08T14:03:00.000-06:00

This whimsical little fella was seen in a library on the annual Waxahachie, Texas Christmas Tour of Homes last weekend! For a decorating addict like myself, these home tours are sooooo much fun! My Mom and me go every year and get a ton of Christmas decorating ideas and tour some AMAZING homes! (The tours take place 3 weekends, starting the Saturday after Thanksgiving with a different set of homes on the tour each weekend.)

Well, I'm blogging on my lunch break, so I've got to head back to the office......Hope you're all having a great week! Catch me later for more photos from the tour........

GIVING THANKS, FOOD & FOOTBALL!

2009-11-26T07:00:00.000-06:00

Mr. Turkey hiding in my geraniums! (metal yard stake from Pack-n-Mail, Ennis, TX)

Looking forward to watching the Dallas Cowboys play today (on TV----wish I were going to the game!). Go Cowboys! Are you a football fan? Will you be watching the game???

Wishing you a fun, safe & Happy Thanksgiving! Patti

A few favorite quotes:

"We can learn so much by observing the way our pets rejoice in life's simplest moments. For a dog, every morning is Christmas morning. Every walk is the best walk, every meal is the best meal. Take time every day to celebrate the many gifts that are hidden in the ordinary events of your life." - Cesar Millan, The Dog Whisperer

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. Psalm 136:1

Speaking of football games-------"Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Half-times take twelve minutes. This is not coincidence." - Erma Bombeck

SEEING RED!....AND WHITE....AND SILVER.....

2009-11-25T20:30:00.000-06:00

Glitter Star!

Red, white and silver: the colors of our office's tree this year....

Sunlight streaming through the office window...

Cranberry/orange scented candle!

Decorating the dental office, where I work, for Christmas today!

PLAID & POLKA DOT PUMPKINS!

2009-11-24T22:24:00.000-06:00

LOVE these metal pumpkin stakes I found at Briar Patch II in Waxahachie, TX!

Thanksgiving's almost here! Hope you have a wonderful holiday! Patti

ALMOST THANKSGIVING!

2009-11-23T21:31:00.001-06:00

Some photos of Mom & Dad's beautiful Fall decorations.

I really hate to say goodbye to the Fall decorations at the end of the week. But getting out the Christmas decorations makes up for it! I LOVE going through all the boxes, pulling out ornaments I've forgotten about, enjoying the memories associated with them, and deciding which decorations to use this year! I've been going through a few of them little by little recently and will share photos soon! I don't have the Christmas tree out yet---that may have to wait until after Thanksgiving. I can't wait till the radio stations start playing Christmas music! (Do you ever listen to your Christmas CD's during the year like I sometimes do?) KLTY, my favorite station here in Texas in the D/FW metroplex played Christmas music all weekend a couple of weekends ago (a Christmas music preview) and it was wonderful! It definitely got me in the Christmas spirit!

Have a great evening! Patti

FOXY!

2009-11-22T21:46:00.000-06:00

If dogs could talk, I'm just sure that's what Foxy was asking!

Meeet Foxy, the C-U-T-E Pomeranian who stopped by our family's early Thanksgiving celebration yesterday (see post below)! She's my parents' neighbors' pet. They give her treats and lots of attention when she stops by! So, of course she stops by often when she's out! (I wonder if she makes the rounds of all the neighbors?)

Hope everyone had a great weekend and that you have a

safe and Happy

Thanksgiving this week!

Sweet Dreams! Patti

EARLY THANKSGIVING & FAMILY FOOD TRADITIONS

2009-11-21T22:45:00.000-06:00

~~~During this season of Thanksgiving, I'm so thankful to the Lord for all the blessings this year----health, family, friends, a wonderful job when sadly so many are out of work....the list goes on....

~~~We had an early Thanksgiving today at Mom & Dad's while my sister was in town. Dad fixed a turkey on his new rotiserrie out on the grill (it was so tender and you could taste that awesome smoked flavor!) and Mom fixed her famous dressing (YUM!). We had all our traditional sides, such as brother Dwayne's Green Bean Casserole with a Kick (every year it gets hotter...per our request! We LOVE it! The special ingredient is Tabasco!), as well as a new butternut squash recipe that Mom tried out from The Dallas Morning News . (It was a winner!) With cumin, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper, it was different and delicious.....and also packed some heat! (In case you couldn't tell by now, my family loves SPICY!) Dad also did something different this year (besides the rotiserrie turkey)---he fixed ribs! Yum! Of course, they were tender & juicy!!! And you know our desert table was overflowing with goodies (Gena, don't forget---I want that "Pumpkin Pie" Cake recipe...please!!! It was outstanding! It was a cake that tasted just like pumpkin pie! Like a delicious pumpkin pie!) It was a very special Thanksgiving and made more so by having my sister there, as she doesn't get to fly in every year (we missed H, though!); while here she made her ultimate homemade Apple Pie (totally from scratch!)---deliciousness in every bite! Besides immediate family, we also had some other very special guests (and the goodies they brought were also so yummy!). -----And lest we forget: Foxy, my parents' neighbor's Pomeranian stopped by.....Can you say C-U-T-E?

~~~I think maybe a lot of people are having an early Thanksgiving. When I was at the grocery store yesterday picking up a few last minute ingredients for my casseroles, I had to also get a bag of sugar and there were only 3 bags left of the medium size! There was a huge empty space on the shelf! Also, the grocery stores were extra crowded all week and especially yesterday!

~~~Whether you celebrate early, on Thursday, or the weekend after, hope you have a very Happy Thanksgiving! Patti

BLACK AND WHITE QUILT !

2009-11-04T08:10:00.000-06:00

(double-click to enlarge photo)

Had to share with you this black and white quilt displayed in the Creative Arts Building at this year's Texas State Fair! It's done by Sandra S. Davis. Isn't it awesome! I love the embroidered baskets! The quilts are hanging way up at the tops of the walls, so this photo was snapped from floor level and at an angle. It's so much fun walking around the room looking at all these! I'm sure they hang them way up there, so people don't touch or damage them. (The card in my digital camera started going bad, so my brother snapped this for me with his iphone. Thanks, Keith!)

SPICY!!!!

2009-09-27T15:32:00.000-05:00

Everyone's been telling my Mom and me that they can't believe we had never been to Spice in downtown Waco, Texas.

Well, this past Mother's Day weekend, we went. (Yes, that was back in May---I'm just now getting my photos posted from that trip!)

We had a great "girls day out". My pictures don't do Spice justice! It was an amazing store! They have the bottom floor in the Shops of River Square Center and the top floor is full of lots of awesome shops of different entrepreneurs/vendors.

We had a great time and highly recommend a shopping trip there!

LOVE this iron bed and all the beds there!

Love, love, love this settee!!

They had gorgeous art for your walls!

Loved the artwork below by Chariklia Zarris.

OK, I LOVED everything at SPICE!

Please stop by my cousin, Nola's, blog Alamo-North to wish her a Happy Birthday, as it's her birthday today, September 27!!!

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

WAXAHACHIE WINDOW SHOPPING!

2009-09-22T21:06:00.000-05:00

(please double-click photos to enlarge)

On this official first day of Fall: Happy Fall, ya'll! We had wonderful cool Fall weather here in North Texas---I'm thinking it was probably in the 70's! It was awesome! (I heard on the news that Boulder, Colorado had snow today!)

I love antique shopping in Waxahachie, Texas. I was there a couple of weekends ago running some errands. I didn't get to the shops downtown before they closed but that didn't mean I couldn't do a little window shopping! That might have been a good thing because I can spend hours inside The Gingerbread Anique Mall on S. College Street! And the ladies working there are so sweet and helpful. Above is their window, which was decorated for Fall.

Common Threads Quilting had a beautiful Autumn Leaves Quilt (kit available at their website) shown above in their window. As you can probably tell, it was already starting to get dark outside when I took this photo, but fortunately, they had lights in their window. I was so glad because I really wanted to share this window with you. If you double-click the photo, you'll be able to see these beautiful quilts!

It seems rare to find an actual quilt shop nowadays! I don't quilt, but my grandmothers did and I absolutely love quilts. This store is so fun to visit just to admire all the quilts on display, filling every wall of the shop! And the yards and yards of fabrics---gorgeous!
Above is another window at Common Threads Quilting, this one complete with adorable bunnies (can you see the 2 large bunnies in the left front of the window?....Why bunnies for Fall? I'm not quite "getting" that!....Well, you know how long it takes to make a quilt; maybe they're already starting on Spring quilts!

Hope everyone had a great first day of Fall!!!

FURNITURE FOR FAINTING

2009-09-18T22:03:00.000-05:00

Marie at Emma calls me Mama is having an heirloom party today, which I found out about when I read Brenda's post today at Cozy Little House. My contribution is our Eastlake fainting couch, which Big D and I bought during our first years of marriage, so even though it hasn't been passed down, it's been in our family for several years. It made the move from our first home to the home we're in now.

We bought it from an ad in the Dallas Morning News from a home in Dallas. We didn't find out till we got there that it came from the historic Excelsior Hotel in Jefferson, Texas. Jefferson is near and dear to our hearts. Not only was it love at first sight between us and our fainting couch, but when we heard it was from the Excelsior, we had to have it!

We used to go to Jefferson every chance we got. We stayed at the Excelsior and also at different Bed and Breakfasts there. We absolutely loved learning about the history of the town, touring the historic homes, browsing through all the antique shops and the year-round Christmas shop, meeting all the friendly people, and enjoying the beautiful sites!

We finally decided to explore other Texas towns when we had a free weekend, so we haven't been to Jefferson in a very long time and should really go back and see what's new.

FIESTA PINWHEELS! SPICY!

2009-09-13T14:01:00.001-05:00

I got the basic recipe for Party Pinwheels and tweaked it a bit to make a batch to take to a party recently. I was so excited with the result, that I wanted to share it with you! I like this better than most I’ve tried, because these pinwheels have some spice (from the Hidden Valley Fiesta Ranch dip mix) and some crunch (from the bell peppers and celery)!

I was glad that everyone loved them!

The entire recipe is listed at the end of this post.

What's a girl to do when she finds such beautiful red, green and yellow peppers at the market? Why, make party pinwheels, of course!

Using electric mixer, mix cream cheese with 1/2 of a package of Fiesta Ranch dip mix until smooth...

Spread cream cheese mixture on each tortilla...

Chopping up the veggies!

Red bell pepper...

Black olives (bought presliced, actually more like minced--- no need to chop!)

Celery...

Sprinkle green onions, red, green and yellow bell peppers, celery, black olives, and cheese over the cream cheese mixture.

Roll up the tortillas, then wrap them tightly in plastic wrap. Chill 2 hours or overnight. Cut off ends of the rolls, and slice the chilled rolls into 1 inch slices.
I would like to also try these with spinach (green) tortillas and sun-dried tomato (red) tortillas for some extra flavor and color. Wouldn’t a platter of red and green pinwheels look gorgeous during the Christmas season!

FIESTA PINWHEELS

INGREDIENTS

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• ½ package Hidden Valley Fiesta Ranch dip mix
• 2 green onions, minced
• 4 (12 inch) flour tortillas
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced
• ½ cup green bell pepper, diced
• ½ cup yellow bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 cup diced celery
• 1 (2 ounce) can sliced black olives
• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar or other cheese

DIRECTIONS
1. Using an electric mixer, combine cream cheese and dip mix. Mix until smooth. Spread this mixture on each tortilla. Sprinkle green onions, red, green and yellow bell peppers, celery, black olives, and cheese over the cream cheese mixture. Roll up the tortillas, then wrap them tightly in plastic wrap.
2. Chill 2 hours or overnight. Cut off ends of the rolls, and slice the chilled rolls into 1 inch slices.
3. Put on a pretty platter & ENJOY!

I have found these are best made the night before the party, all the way to rolling and wrapping them up. Then, before the party, you won't be rushing trying to make these (otherwise, allow plenty of time for all the chopping)---just take them out of the fridge and slice them and arrange on a nice platter.

When you try these out, please let me know what you think!

MORE COTTAGE DRIVE-BY'S

2009-07-23T23:14:00.000-05:00

When I have the time I love driving around looking at homes. Here are some more photos while we were in Dallas. Big D took these while I did the driving. This first one is a cute shop, which was nearby. I thought the exterior was so charming with those striped canopies.

OK, so this one isn't really a "cottage" but isn't it fabulous!

Hope you enjoyed the "tour"! Patti

THE CHILLY JILLY

2009-07-22T23:30:00.000-05:00

The Chilly Jilly: a lightweight microfiber wrap that folds up so small, you can fit it into your purse or even your evening bag. No more freezing in the air-conditioned office, theater, or restaurant....

All photos used with permission from Chilly Jilly Wraps.

This is one of those fabulous things that I wished I would have invented! I'm always getting cold in theaters and doctor's offices! And anytime I see a new idea like this, I'm always thinking "Why didn't I think of that?" Do you do that, too?

I recently read about entrepeneur Jill Boehler's creation, the Chilly Jilly Wrap, in More Magazine (the magazine for 40+). Click here for the article, She Became a QVC Star in Two Years.

Jill was a speech pathologist. She was at a restaurant one night and was freezing in the air-conditioning. When her husband pulled out a pair of compact reading glasses to read the menu, she wished she could have just pulled a compact wrap out of her purse to keep her warm. And that idea was the beginning of the Chilly Jilly Wrap! However, the hard part was still ahead - researching to find a wrinkle-free fabric that would be soft, provide the right amount of warmth, and could be folded up to fit in a purse. She was finally inspired by the stretchy, shiny microfiber fabric of athletic biker's shorts! Then, when she got on the show, The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch, sales really took off. The next big "break" was when she appeared on QVC and she's now been on there nine times! Of course, all her success came with a lot of hard work, determination, and not giving up!

I just think this is such a super idea and had to share it with you!

Check out her website, ChillyJilly.com; there's a listing of stores by state that carry her product.

Now, why can't I think of something like this!!!

COTTAGE DRIVE-BY'S

2009-07-18T01:22:00.000-05:00

Gorgeous knock-out roses!

When in Dallas recently, we took a scenic route back through the SMU area filled with all those cute cottage homes! We had so much fun just driving around on a sunny afternoon admiring these sweet homes! We had to share the fun with you with these photos that Big D snapped while I drove.

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND! Patti

6 THINGS!

2009-07-14T09:08:00.000-05:00

I'm playing along with the tag posted earlier (actually back in June) on my cousin Nola's blog, Alamo-North. (If you haven't visited her blog yet, you must---her flowers and plants are a treat for the eyes!) Here are the directions: List 6 uninteresting things that make you happy, then pass the tag along to 6 other bloggers who will link back to you.They blog their 6 items, tag 6 others and so it goes. Be sure to visit their blogs to inform them they have been tagged, if they would like to participate. As far as tagging others, I'm like Nola--- I'm just throwing it out there for anyone who would like to have fun participating in this---feel free to jump in & post your 6 things!

6 uninteresting things that make me happy...

1) Waking up to a new day full of possibilites!

2) Rummaging through the bookstore in person (Hastings or Barnes & Noble) or via the internet--Amazon.com!

3) Browsing through my favorite scrapbooking store, The Crafty Scrapper, even though I don't scrapbook! (I love to use scrapbook paper for banners & other projects & they have all kinds of other awesome art supplies & classes!)

4)Browsing through a plant nursery - I love to look at the plants...and the pots & accessories!

5) Sitting down at the local Sherwin-Williams and browsing through the latest wallpaper books. I get so inspired.

6) Trying out a new recipe, when I'm not rushed, when I can really enjoy it!

And who can stop with just six.......

7) Going to a good movie at the theater (in the ice-cold air-conditioning!) or just curling up at home watching a good movie (or reading a good book) with a bag of popcorn & a large iced tea! ...especially when it's 105 degrees here in Texas!!!-----although today, it's only in the 90's---we had a cold front move in!!!

Nola had been tagged by Queenmother Mammaw , and this was the first I knew about her blog--if you haven't been by there, be sure to visit her blog (I'm so glad to have discovered it through Nola) about her beautiful family, flowers & artwork!

CHARMING CHARLIE

2009-07-13T09:04:00.000-05:00

Have you heard of CHARMING CHARLIE? If you love bling & you live in Texas or Georgia, you've got to plan on a trip to one near you!

Everyone kept telling me about the one they just opened in Uptown Village in Cedar Hill, Texas, but I haven't had a chance to go till now. One friend had a gorgeous purse she got there with a large cross on it studded with crystals! I admired the large hoop earrings on another friend. They were encrusted with crystals! And the prices were really good!!!

Just a hint----Allow yourselves at least two hours of shopping time because you will not get out of there before then! They have an enormous amount of costume jewelry, but they also have purses, scarves, sunglasses, shoes, and even some clothing items. What's so different about this store is that it's arranged by color, making it really easy to find jewelry to match a particular outfit!

I also picked up a cute decorating idea: they displayed their rings in cocktail glasses! They were so cute! So, I did the same on my vanity at home: I put all my costume rings, including the white daisy/crystal ring I just bought at Charming Charlie's, in the glass as shown:

PS: I got the glass, which is actually nice & heavy, at Dollar Tree!

AUSTIN, TX DESIGNER - FLEUR DE LIS PENDANTS

2009-06-22T14:01:00.000-05:00

Update:Added another couple of photos of the chandelier-crystal pendant so you could see the leopard-print back. Hope you stop by her booth when in Canton.

I had to share with you two pendants I purchased from Amy Dahlke at her booth in Canton, TX a couple of months ago (She's in Trade Ctr. 3, booth #69-70, for those of you who go to First Monday). These are going to be a birthday gift tomorrow for one of my coworkers from all of us at the office, and before I wrapped them up tonight, I wanted to take photos and show you.

They both have crystals on them and are just fabulous! I’m sorry but the photo just doesn’t do them justice! The hooks on the top of the pendants are great because you just hook them over any beaded necklace that you already have! Here's her beautiful business card . Her website is: www.meimeidesigns.com On her home page, just click whichever jewelry you're interested in, and it will come up with her prices.

Official Start of Summer/Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T18:13:00.001-05:00

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to my WONDERFUL Dad, and to all the great Dads out there! Hope you're having a fantastic day!

It's a scorching 95 degrees here in our part of TEXAS---how appropriate for the first day of Summer!!! We're just trying to stay cool indoors in the air-conditioning and are enjoying our tall glasses of iced tea!

HAPPY 80TH, AUNT D!!!

2009-06-10T21:09:00.000-05:00

A big Happy Birthday to our beautiful Aunt D, who has a very special birthday coming up----she turns 80 tomorrow! Amazing and unbelievable, because you would never guess her age! In fact, I think I will ask to see her birth certificate next time I visit, because I really don't believe it. But, you know what they say-----age is just a number-----and you're only as old as you feel------and 80 is the new 60!!! Aunt D, we hope you have a lovely day tomorrow, celebrate this special birthday, keep having fun, and best wishes for a wonderful year ahead! We love you!

MORE BLUEBONNETS!

2009-05-01T23:15:00.000-05:00

More bluebonnet photos from the Bluebonnet Trails in Ennis, Texas last weekend! My mother-in-law came down from Lubbock for the Trails and we had the best time! The weather cooperated and the flowers were breathtaking! We also saw lots of pink buttercups as shown below!

BLUEBONNET TRAILS IN TEXAS!

2009-04-30T23:34:00.000-05:00

I took the photo for my new header and these photos at the Bluebonnet Trails in Ennis, TX last weekend (click to enlarge). Talk about a photographer's paradise! The drive out in the country was relaxing and the bluebonnets were breathtaking! More photos to come.....

HAPPY EASTER!!!

2009-04-11T21:11:00.000-05:00

Happy Easter, everyone! Hope you all have a blessed Easter filled with faith, family, friends, food and fun!

Above is close-up of the beautiful mosaic turquoise and pink wall cross I found in Canton a few years ago from a very talented lady in the Arbors, who makes all kinds of beautiful mosaic items. I bought one for a friend's house warming, and as I collect wall crosses, I couldn't help but get one for myself as well!

SPRING IS IN THE AIR....

2009-03-04T18:30:00.000-06:00

White ceramic birds: $7.00 each this past weekend in Canton- Total $14.00

Green clover "confetti" for bottom of cloche (Card & Pty Factory): $.99/pkg. - Total $.99

Yellow tulips: $1.00/plant - closeout Walmart garden ctr. last wk. - Total $6.00

Glass cloche: $24.00 on clearance last year 1/2 off in Canton - Total $24.00

Anticipating Spring: -----PRICELESS!

SUNDAYS AT TIFFANYS

2009-02-25T21:13:00.001-06:00

This is what I'm reading right now... Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet, whom I found out is a children's book author. It's the sweetest love story! The cover art is beautiful and it's in Tiffany blue, of course! The cover says it all ---"What if your imaginary friend from childhood was your one true love?" Who would think of that for a story? Quite different from any book I've ever read. Really sweet! It starts out with a little girl who needs an imaginary friend because her Mom, a broadway producer, is too busy to pay much attention to her. Every Sunday afternoon, they go to the St. Regis Hotel for desert, where the Mom sits at one table with a friend and the little girl sits at her own table with her imaginary friend, and then they always stop at Tiffany's to look at the jewelry. I don't want to say anything else in case you decide to read it.

I thought James Patterson only wrote suspense-type and detective series books. I learned something new!

The Color Blue

2009-02-23T22:28:00.000-06:00

I love old bottles. I don't remember where I found this cobalt blue one---I've had it for years. It's only 1-1/2 inches tall!!! Such a cutie!!!

Check out French Garden House for LOTS of blue eye candy!

And click here for even more blue:

SPRING CHANDELIER & MORE...

2009-02-22T19:04:00.000-06:00

I'm back.......I took a bit of a break from blogging but really missed everyone and am having a blast catching up reading everyone's blogs!

When I read Tina at Cherry Hill Cottage's 2/9/09 post about wrapping a smilax vine around her chandelier, it reminded me that last year I had bought a vine with silk little yellow flowers when I was at Canton, to do the very same thing. I had seen one of the vendors in the Arbors there do it to one of their chandeliers at their booth. I'm tired of this cold weather (it froze last night, and that's here in Texas!!!) and ready for Spring, so pulled out that vine and wrapped it around my dining room chandy....

BEFORE:

Ooops!---I didn't realize one of the bulbs was out when I took this photo. Actually, it ended up only being loose. It came back on when I tightened it up.

AFTER:

Definitely adds a touch of Spring!

Want to be an artist - "Jackson Pollock"-style? Go to this website...... It's fun!!!

http://www.jacksonpollock.org/

Here's a couple of pieces I did for Valentine's Day.....

I want to give a shout-out to Brenda in Tyler---it was her birthday on the 19th. Be sure to stop by her blog, View from the Pines, and wish her a Happy Birthday, if you haven't already. She has the most lovely blog, with gorgeous photos of her peaceful garden! If you're not already a regular visitor to her blog, you will want to be. After a stressful day, it calms me down taking a virtual stroll through her lovely plants and flowers! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BRENDA!

I cooked pizza this weekend with ground chuck, sliced jalepenos, diced onions, garlic, green bell pepper, pasta sauce and cheese. I tried to find the Boboli pizza crust when I was grocery shopping at Walmart but they said they had never heard of it (I usually get it at HEB Food Stores), so instead, I used canned Pillsbury's Pizza Crust from the refrigerated section. It was actually pretty delicious!

I hope everyone had a Happy Valentine's Day! Cindy at My Romantic Home hosted a February Centerpiece Party. I know I'm a little late getting my Valentine's centerpiece posted but here it is....

I adore pansies..... I had bought these at Lowe's a while back. I drove through their parking lot this weekend and noticed they had lots of pots of beautiful pansies , but it was so chilly, I didn't feel like walking around in their garden center---I'm going to wait till it warms up a little before looking around for more plants or flowers.

Here's the metal wall pocket I got at the last Canton trade-days to hang on my courtyard gate. I love it! I saw it outside a booth as we came up the hill towards the Arbors, and it turned out the vendor was my old friend, Cathy, whom I used to work with at Elk! She made the arrangement herself.

Hope everyone has a great week! Patti

FOR THANKSGIVING...MORE FALL DRIVE-BY'S

2008-11-22T11:11:00.001-06:00

I absolutely love driving by looking at all the Fall decorations! I posted some a while back, but couldn't resist snapping some more photos, and thought I'd share them with you!.....
.

Hope everyone has a great weekend! Patti

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER.....

2008-11-15T20:54:00.000-06:00

Well, this week I finally got out the scarecrows who had made it through last season intact! They still looked brand new! Better late than never. Hey, it's not Thanksgiving yet!

Got out the front door wreath, too. Don was on the roof putting up the Christmas lights, while I'm putting out scarecrows!

Hope everyone's having a great weekend!

ANNOUNCING WINNER, GOBBLE GOBBLE GIVEAWAY!

2008-11-14T17:10:00.000-06:00

Thanks to everyone who entered my Gobble Gobble Giveaway! It was fun seeing what everyone is thankful for!

My Dad did the honor of drawing the name of the winner of Mr. Skinny Turkey! (He is a non-blogger and, therefore, totally impartial. My Dad---not Mr. Turkey----although Mr. Turkey probably doesn't do much blogging, either!)

Drumroll, please..........

And the winner is............Madame Zelda's Present, Past and Future! Congratulations, Angie, I'm so happy for you! Please email me with your mailing address and I will get Mr. Turkey shipped out to you immediately!

I told him where he will be going and he was so excited and said he is looking forward to meeting all your cute monkey friends! (If you have not yet visited Madame Zelda's blog, you have got to see her adorable sock monkey creations! They will put a smile on your face!)

LAST GERANIUM BLOSSOM & ALAMO-NORTH'S GIVEAWAY

2008-11-10T13:39:00.001-06:00

Don't forget to sign up for my Gobble Gobble Giveaway!-----------------------------------------------

I can't believe it's already November and I still have a geranium bloom! It's in a pot & usually by this time, everything in my flower pots have passed on & I start looking for pansies & ornamental kale to replace them. A couple of weeks ago or so, when they said we were going to get a freeze that night, Don brought all our flower pots inside (up to that point, the geraniums had not bloomed in several weeks----I really thought it was the end for them, as far as blooming), but I got busy & forgot to take them back outside again for 3 days. I don't know if having them inside in a dark place (they were in my laundry room) might have "forced" them to bloom, like you do with bulb flowers? But anyway, all of a sudden, they had buds & the day I brought them back out into the sunlight, they bloomed! How cool is that!----------------------------------------------------

Have you got your name in for Nola's 100th post giveaway at the Alamo-North blog? With each post, she is adding something to her giveaway until she reaches her 100th post! What fun! Also check out her photos of the newest addition to her family---little Chili dog! He's adorable!

Gobble Gobble Giveaway!

2008-11-07T01:40:00.000-06:00

I've got so much to be thankful for that I feel like celebrating! I decided when November rolled around, I'd have a Gobble Gobble giveaway!

I found this cutesy skinny turkey earlier this week in a local gift shop, Pack-n-Mail. (They are an official UPS stop in our small town, assist you in packaging things to mail, and have a huge selection of unique gift items!) Anyway, he's approx. 25-1/2 " tall & his pumpkin which says "Give Thanks" (well, it doesn't actually "say" it out loud; it's just written on it!---thought I better clarify that!) adds about another 1-1/2" to it. It comes with a stake that you slip through the hardware on the back. You can stake it directly into the ground or into a pot of flowers. I just have it propped up on something for the picture (I didn't want to get the new stake dirty).

All you have to do to get in the drawing for this turkey is leave a comment on THIS post & mention something you're thankful for. I think it will be fun! If you add a post on YOUR blog about my Gobble Gobble Giveaway and link back to my post, you'll get your name entered twice! But please let me know in your comment that you've done so.

Feel free to enter even if you don't have a blog----just include your email address on your comment or for more privacy, email me (there's a link to my email address on the sidebar of my blog) with your email address so if you're the lucky winner, I can contact you. Again, leaving your email address is for those of you who don't have a blog.

I'm having the contest go through the weekend, so that everyone hopefully gets a chance to enter. It ends Wed, 11/12/08, at 12:00 midnight Central. The winner will be announced Thurs., 11/13/08. I'll get Mr. Turkey mailed out right away to the winner so you can enjoy him for Thanksgiving!

As for me, I'm thankful for wonderful family and friends, including all you sweet blog friends; I'm thankful for your comments and for your wonderful blogs---I enjoy reading them so much, gaining ideas and inspirations from them! They brighten up my day! I'm thankful for my job, our home, and especially for our health, which is so easy to take for granted! Most of all, I'm thankful to God for being with us in every step of our lives, during the good times and the not-so-good times (and thankfully, the good times outweigh the other times!) and never letting us go.

What are you thankful for?

FALL DECORATING DRIVE-BY'S

2008-10-20T06:10:00.000-05:00

Melissa at The Inspired Room is hosting a "Fall Porches on Parade" Drive-By Tour starting today! Check out her blog for links to everyone participating in the tour! I love FALL, so I can't wait to check them all out!

Below are my drive-by's from this past weekend and last weekend:

Have a great week! Patti

PERIWINKLES & KNOCK OUT ROSES

2008-10-09T23:51:00.000-05:00

I saw so many gorgeous periwinkles and knock-out roses a couple of weeks ago in Waxahachie, TX that I just had to snap some photos.

FRAMED!

2008-10-05T18:00:00.000-05:00

Found this gorgeous frame a couple of weeks ago at Cato's for only $9.99! It's really heavy & I think it looks much more expensive. Our last name starts with a "K", so I found a vintage postcard by artist Catherine Klein which features the letter K and reduced it on the computer to fit into the frame; I used some vintage-looking scrapbook paper for the background and....Voila!....some cool wall decor for our kitchen!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NOLA OF ALAMO-NORTH!

2008-09-27T03:00:00.000-05:00

Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday to you!

Happy birthday, dear NOLA!

Happy birthday to you!

In case you haven't guessed by now-----it's Nola's birthday! Click on over to her blog, Alamo-North, and wish her a happy birthday! If you haven't visited her blog yet, you're in for a treat! She is a wonderful writer and has some great stories to tell about life, family, and home! She loves plants & flowers and you can view photos of her beautiful garden! Among her wonderful collections are lamps. I love lamps, too! It must be in the genes....you see, Nola is my cousin.

Nola, I hope your birthday is as special as you! May all your birthday wishes come true!

HOME LIBRARY PARTY!!!

2008-09-26T14:35:00.000-05:00

Have you heard? Jeannie at DreamerJean is having a party today! Specifically, a home library party! I found out about it from Nola at Alamo-North. What fun! We're browsing through everyone's home libraries and favorite spots to read! Check out her post for everyone else on the tour, and enjoy!......

Here's a little "table" I made from stacking up some encyclopedias my Mom was getting rid (the ones we had when we were kids. ) Just enough room to set a drink and possibly….a book!

Our comfy spot to read in the den! We won this chair years ago at an antique auction. It's called a "gentlemen's chair" because it's very low to the ground, and it's where the man would sit to put on or take off his boots.

Darling hubby enjoying a good book! What a sweetheart to pose for the tour! Thanks, Hon!

I love books--all kinds. I love to browse bookstores & Amazon.com. I read so much that I buy most of my books at discount prices from eBay & Half.com, where you can get new books at great prices, and the nearby Hastings in Waxahachie, TX, where you can get good buys on gently used books (they buy your books, too, and also sell new books). After reading, I pass most of them on to co-workers, friends, and family, but still seem to end up with lots I can't part with - the ones I might need for reference & the ones I want to read again. I'm fortunate to have a couple of bookshelves in my den and then my husband and I bought 5 bookcases at an auction a few years ago, which helped a lot! Three are in the master bedroom & two in the guest room. We also have a little vintage glass-enclosed "lawyers bookcase" we bought an an antique auction many years ago. (I'm blogging at home on my lunch break, as usual; check back later for more photos, as I've got to get back to work--smile!)

I wonder if anyone else remembers the ad which ran in a lot of decorating magazines a few years ago, which showed a room with all 4 walls entirely encased in built-in bookshelves completely full of books---the only piece of furniture being a bed in the very center of the room. I tore out that ad and kept it for a long time. That was my dream of the ideal bedroom! ----Just a bed surrounded by books! (I think the ad was for the bedding!)

Thanks for visiting, and be sure & check out all the blogs on Jeannie's tour!

Top 10 Favorite Fall Foods

2008-09-24T23:37:00.000-05:00

(Photo taken recently at the Hallmark Cards & Gifts on Hwy. 77 in Waxahachie, TX---so many adorable Fall gift items!)

My 10 Favorite Fall Foods (in no particular order):

1. Winter Squash - I love acorn squash with lots of black pepper & melted butter and spaghetti squash topped with spaghetti sauce, of course!

2. Chili - I make a quick & easy chili, using ground chuck seasoned with chili powder, black pepper, garlic, chopped onion, canned chopped tomatoes, canned Ranch Style beans, and Tabasco sauce. It’s a quick & easy dinner! I also make it using ground turkey.

I make a mean White Chili (using chicken) – I’ll be posting the recipe, which I got from my sister-in-law in Lubbock.

3. Pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pie and other pumpkin deserts!

4. Spice cake, spice bars, deserts with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg---the more cinnamon the better!

5. Baked apples – I’ve always loved applesauce and fresh apples, but was not a big fan of baked apples until several years ago when I found a yummy recipe from my old Enchanted Broccoli Forest cookbook (will post the recipe).

6. Hot Fall/Winter beverages, namely hot cocoa and hot apple cider with cinnamon.

7. Soups – I’m always looking for new soup recipes and I can’t wait to try Nola’s tomato soup from her Alamo-North blog! I've never tried Pumpkin Soup before (to make it or eat it) but there was a recipe that looked really good in the latest Better Homes & Garden magazine, which I'm going to try & will post if if it turns out good. Sounds good - it's got curry powder in it!

8. Stews and other comfort foods which I cook in my huge, trusty crockpot.

9. Chili dogs - I know, this one's a little weird, but I don't eat chili dogs during any other time of the year ----usually,---- but I have to have at least one chili dog during the Fall or Winter –turkey weiner, bun, and then the works, as far as toppings go, which for me means turkey chili, chopped onions, mustard, and grated cheddar cheese!

10. Popcorn balls & caramel apples (although I don’t eat these anymore ---I just can’t stand to eat anything that sticks to my teeth ---- I guess that’s from working the last several years at a dentist’s office! ) Instead, when I get a Fall craving for these, I’ll either get a bag of low-fat microwave popcorn or I’ll spread peanut butter on apple slices (one of my all-time favorite snacks!).

I’ll be pulling out my favorite Fall recipes and sharing them with you soon!