Monday, March 31, 2008

Sneak Peek

Hi sweet friends! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I have been a very busy girl as of late... you know up to the elbow in glitter and baubles! I can't spill the beans just quite yet but I will tell you that there are fun things afoot in Blogland. Today's picture is a little glimpse. Keep it tuned right here for all the details. I promise to tantalize you with more eye candy throughout the week and with a few more hints along the way. Hope you have a great Monday!

Friday, March 28, 2008

The Spoils of Travel

As part of my Spring Break folly, I traveled to a real city with real stores! (Insert chords from the Hallelujah chorus here.) No need to peruse catalogs or surf internet storefronts, I was able to see objects of my desire up close and personal. I'm talking Anthropologie, Macy's, Williams Sonoma, etc, etc. I think even more than shopping, I truly just love to look at pretty and interesting things that I don't have access to everyday. I'm sure some of you feel the same way, so I thought I would share a mini glimpse of my loot with you.

The first photo shows my Macy's merchandise. Surprise, surprise, cupcake supplies and by Martha Stewart to boot! Oh yes, and a sampling from See's Candies...a girl has to keep her strength up while power looking right? For the record I did buy more than one piece of candy...only the production staff (me) got to it before the photo session.



These goodies are from Anthropologie. I'm sure you all have seen these latte bowls before. I know, I know, I'm the last girl on the block to have them, but I had to show them to you anyway! Did I mention I have a monogram fetish? (That's right, move over Laverne De Fazio.) So this hankie was a must have. I asked if I could take pictures of some of the store displays, but was told "No." Such a shame too because they had some FANTASTIC vignettes.
Last, I had to show you my find from Williams Sonoma. Who wouldn't love a cupcake mix in a can? It just looked so fun, I had to have it! I also picked up some of their great Easter things for less than half price! I'll save those for next year's Easter post though. LOL!



Hope your Saturday is filled with a quirky little assortment of things to make you happy!



Watch the Birdie!


Hi sweet friends! It's Spring Break here but I had to pop in and say hello. We have had a fun filled week which included a trip to a really wonderful zoo. My baby girl obviously does not have the same aversion to birds that her mommy does. This was one of the first exhibits upon entering and she RAN to see it. I stood back at a "safe" distance to... you know...take the picture. LOL! Trust me, I was ready to bolt if these pink monstrosities even looked at me wrong. Never fear, daddy was close at hand if mommy freaked out. Fortunately no mommies were harmed while obtaining this footage.

She calls them her "pink mingos". We like the sound of that so they are officially "mingos" to us too. Hope you all have a great Friday!

Monday, March 24, 2008

I'm It!



Hi sweet friends! I hope you all had a wonderful Easter. It was cold and cloudy here, so we all had to squeeze in amongst the flower arrangements and bunnies rather than eat outside. We all managed to fit though! LOL!

My sweet friend Natalea tagged me to do the ever popular Blogland game of listing seven random facts about yourself. I'll try not to scare you all off by airing out too much of my crazy at one time. :)

1. I have some definite OCD issues. Let me qualify that statement...I'm the type of girl who has to have every cabinet/closet door shut COMPLETELY. Also no drawer in the house or within my proximity can be ajar. Most importantly, all objects hanging on the wall must be level. That being said, the rest of the house can be in utter ruin so long as those very "important" issues are addressed. LOL!

2.I remember obscure trivia from television/movies/ and life in general. I'm not talking about useful trivia that could help me win big money on Jeopardy, nothing helpful like that. I mean more along the lines of being able to tell you all the words to a song that I had never heard before that was playing in the background of an ABC Friday Night Movie from 1978, you know, IMPORTANT things.

3. Prior to attending college several hundred miles away from my hometown, I had only been away overnight from my family twice in eighteen years. These two times were slumber parties in the fifth grade. That's right, no week away at camp, no youth group retreat, no junior year abroad. I was NOT interested. I have always loved home.

4. Whenever I buy new clothes, I enjoy looking at them with the tags still on them for days, even weeks before I will actually wear them. I have always been this way. I think I like visualizing what it will be like to wear them and the possibilities that go along with that the most. School clothes are a perfect example of this. You get the clothes, but school hasn't started yet so you have to wait and anticipate wearing them.

5. I am addicted to Dr. Pepper, so much so that a twelve step program might be in order.

6. I do not like coffee mugs, they irritate me. I do not like their shape, feel, or flat graphics. I am not a coffee drinker so I really shouldn't care, but I do.

7.I am afraid of birds. Sure, I love beautiful illustrations of them, but if a real one even looks like it's going to fly in my direction I do the duck and run move. If you have ever seen the Hitchcock movie, I would be the girl at the front of the pack screaming the loudest with my hands over my head in surrender. LOL!

So much for not letting my crazy hang out all at once! Hope you all have had a great Monday.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Flower Faux Pas

Hey sweet friends, I had to pop in and show you a few more of my Easter things. Oprah, if you are reading, please avert your eyes. LOL! Some of you might have seen the Oprah episode where she preaches on the travesty of decorating with artificial flowers. Woe be it unto me, I am a sinner in this area for sure! I love to fluff up and fill in some of my displays with silk arrangements. Moreover, I figure the fake bunnies won't mind the fake flowers, so all is right with the world.
The above photo shows the buffet in my dining room. I like to do seasonal displays here. Does anybody out there actually use their buffet as a place to serve food from anymore? These seem to be a hot bed of decorating activity. Move over platters and chaffing dishes, make way for the glittered knickknacks!
This is my dining room table. Okay, so we already know there's no place from which to serve the food and now there is officially no place from which to eat it either!

"Hey, Honey! Set up the card table and folding chairs, Easter dinner is alfresco this year."

Gee, I hope it doesn't snow on Sunday!

Monday, March 17, 2008

Cake Dome Redo

I bought this at Hobby Lobby around Christmas. It has two of my favorite elements, a cake pedestal and a glass cloche on top. Ah, the best of both worlds! In December on into errrr...February this displayed a sweet little snowman arrangement. Sorry, photo not available. That was B.B. (before blog:) Anyhoo, I started thinking if only the base wasn't red, I would probably keep this piece out year round and change the displays with the season. I figured white would be the most versatile color for me, so I bought a small bottle of acrylic craft paint along with a basic foam brush and went to work. It took a couple of coats to cover the red. I wanted a somewhat cottage feel, so I didn't worry about doing more coats than that,and I was happy with the whitewashed look that was the result. I thought this would be the perfect venue for my ballroom dancing bunnies and I think they agree!

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Martha, Martha, Martha!

I had to give you a peek at a birthday gift I put together. I found these great storage boxes at Michael's. They are intended for housing scrap booking paper and are from the Martha Stewart craft line. Their covering has a linen feel to it, and like so many of Martha's products, the colors are unique and gorgeous! I put an assortment of gifts inside and let the boxes themselves serve as the wrapping. Some coordinating ribbons and trinkets complete the look.
I hope they are well received!

I also wanted to thank so many of you for your overwhelming response to my website! You have almost scooped up all of the Spring charm bracelets I had to offer and are keeping me busy with your custom orders! You all sure know how to make a girl feel special! I appreciate you!
These are the last two!


Hope you all have had a great weekend!

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Egg-cetera

Hi friends, hope your weekend is off to a great start! As promised I have more Easter decorations to share. Yes, you read that correctly, decorations, plural form. The very sweet fellow blogger, Elizabeth, clued me in on how to post multiple pictures and have it look right. This post is mainly to show off my new found picture prowess. Thanks a million Elizabeth, you're a doll!

I love these egg shaped plates and I just had to share them with you. I found them last year at Williams-Sonoma. Each one features a different vintage rabbit image. Here are some close ups.

Pull bunny, pull!

This bunny is showing off his dazzling large egg.


Row, row,row, your boat bunnies!


Ah, I love this one...bunny story time.


Friday, March 14, 2008

Happy Friday!


I thought I would share some Easter decorations with you. Make that Easter decoration, singular form, because I still haven't quite gotten the hang of posting multiple pictures and having them look presentable. This being said, I will do several posts each with a single shot. Hope that's okay!


I found this cute little piece last year. It is by the incredibly talented Susan Arnot over at After Midnight Folk Art . I wish you could see it in person, there is so much wonderful detail. I know she just recently added some Easter pieces to her shop, take a look when you have the chance.

Until my next "one pic post", I hope you have a great Friday!

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Cupcake Heaven

I don't think any of us need another reason to adore Target, but these cupcake making supplies offered there make me love that store all the more. Aren't these paper liners fun? I love their mod feel. I just had to buy some of the jumbo liners too because of the dark purple ones in the pack. "Oh wait, I don't even own a jumbo muffin pan!" Never fear, those were at my fingertips too! "Put it on my tab shop boy." And these adorable sprinkles, well I could just stare at them all day. Added bonus...these sprinkles actually taste good! That cannot be said for all edible decorations. Don't you agree?

You might be thinking "What kind of cupcake recipe requires the use of a rolling or spatula?"Answer...none that I know of, but who among us could pass up a PINK version of either and from the One Spot to boot!
Target, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Happy Spring!


Hey sweet friends hope you all are having a great day! Had to share one of my little vignettes with you. I adore cake pedestals, that's right, move over glass jars and make way for the cake pedestals! I think my Sweetie wishes there was a lot more cake resting on these little jewels rather than so much bric-a-brac, but they are so perfect to display my treasures on!
The darling figurine on top was purchased at the Silver Bella made famous Second Chance Antiques Shop. I just love her and what a great souvenir from that weekend of fun! The gorgeous velvet flowers were found in Natalea' s wonderful Etsy shop, while some of the other treasures were found at other favorite Blogland boutiques.
I really need to kick it into gear and post some of my Easter decorations. I figure I'll have ample time to do so seeing as how a couple of times in the past the "Easter" decor lingered around well into summer. I mean really, was there any harm in that? Let's think about it... there is such a holiday drought until ...July right?

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Curtain Going Up

I love Spring flowers. These were planted several years back, and they never cease to make me happy when they make their grand entrance each Spring. I am amazed that so much beauty packs itself up into such a strange thing as a blub and waits so patiently for the sunshine to call its name. Each October on Columbus Day I try to incorporate more Spring bulbs into my garden. This time more tulips were added. These graceful girls will whirl around the coy daffodils while heady hyacinth will stand on point in the front.

Within a few weeks all these playful lasses will be bending and bowing on stage together making the most of their sunshine days until they are tucked back in for their long beauty giving sleep.

Saturday, March 8, 2008

Something Smells Good!


Happy Saturday dear friends! I just came back from town with the most wonderful candle, and it's soooo good I had to share with you. It's called "Fresh Strawberry Rhubarb" by Colonial Candles. I love fruit scented candles and this one is yummy! Hope you all are having a relaxing weekend.

Friday, March 7, 2008

Jar Head




I have an unhealthy addiction to decorative glass jars.
It matters not the shape or size. I love them. I need them. I want them.

I think at some point my house might start looking like
ye old apothecary shoppe or maybe just a chemistry lab.
Nevertheless, the collection grows.


The need for an intervention might be on the horizon.

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Hello Dear Friends

With many nerves and much excitement, I have decided to enter the wonderful world of blogging! I have completely enjoyed getting to know so many fastastically creative folks through their blogs, that in the spirit of give and take, I felt it was time to make my own little contribution.

I hope to give you a small glimpse of my world and what I hold dear. Collecting and creating are my passions, so you are cordially invited to come along with me as I do both. Your company is always welcome. I have a feeling this is going to be the start of a beautiful friendship.Thank you for stopping by!