Peonies, Some Vintage Goodness, and a Surprise in the Mail!

Thanks to Claudia's Trader Joe's tip-off and inspiration, I now have this beautiful bouquet of pink peonies gracing my dining room table. I've never bought peonies before, and when I saw those beautiful flowers on Claudia's blog post, I just had to have some. They're so... feminine and sweet! And she was right-- they smell divine!

As the sun beamed through the window, they started to open up in minutes. I just love how frilly they are! Have any of you ever grown peonies? I think I'm in love with them. I would love to grow some. If you have any advise, please let me know!

Besides Claudia's inspiration, this is the other inspiration for the splurge-- these vintage table cloths. Don't you love the giant pompom trim? I do, but I've always felt it needed some kind of overlay, so when I was out shopping in the foothills this weekend I found this wonderful vintage tablecloth. I laid them out on the table, and looked around the house for something to put in the middle of the table. I think the peonies are perfect!

Okay, do these look like real cupcakes or what? (Okay, you'd never see a real cupcake shrink wrapped, but you know what I mean!) These arrived yesterday-- a wonderful surprise from my wonderful aunt, Alice! These cupcakes are actually bath fizzies-- they're amazing! I think they may be almost too cute to use... almost. It was so fun to receive such a random, sweet, happy surprise in the mail. Thank you so much, my dear Auntie Alice!

Hugs,

More Vintage Finds...

I thought that I'd post some fun finds that I've found over the last few weeks. I've been having too much fun!

I fell in love with the vintage lamp immediately! It was in a shop at a nursery up in the foothills, believe it or not. It was love at first sight. I knew that I could find several spots around the house for it.

I also found these sweet little pottery pieces at some antique shops-- love the blues and greens. I just love the sweet raised flowers on the sides. (Just click the photo to see it up-close.) The tiny white ceramic basket was only 50 cents! It will be joining my little white pottery basket collection that is still in a box in my garage somewhere. Someday, when I have unearthed my collection I will share photos of it with you.

I found this print(?) at a street fair a couple of weeks ago... I just love the soft lines and colors. Oh, and the frame---looooove it!

This is a close up (sorry for the blurry photo- still learning this new camera!) of this aqua/robin's egg blue pottery piece. It's an interesting shape. I'm not exactly sure what it is, except I do think it may be an egg poacher. I saw something similar in a magazine, and that's what they called it. Whatever it is, I love it!

...and this I call, "Happy Tax Return to Me"--- a little splurge, but you guessed it-- I love it. It reminds me of Cinderella's pumpkin carriage. I'd never seen a pewter teapot in that shape. It's pudgy and sweet. I must have picked it up and held it a zillion times in the past few weeks. The last time I was at the shop, I told myself it was "A Sign" that it was still there waiting for me. Have any of you received any of those "signs" ever? (Come'on-- fess up!) I receive them far more than I should ever admit. Although, let me just say, there are "signs" that I have passed up that I regret to this day.

So, my advise for today is "Don't pass up A Sign." Especially when it's biting you in the butt. Ah, I do have my poignant, profound moments, don't I?

Hugs,

I Spy... and a recent find!

Okay, so I haven't spied any fairies in the fairy garden, but I saw these sneaky little guys the other day. Okay, so I put them there. I just can't help myself, I love them.

The other day I saw these adorable mushrooms and gnomes at Target in the garden section. They're by Sean Conway-- love his stuff!

I loved tucking them in around the courtyard. This one's near my front door, keeping watch.

...And this one's taking a nap! How cute is that?! Okay, here's something else that's cute! Check out my little find the other day...

Are these the cutest coasters you've ever seen?! They're too cute to just rest a drink on, so I'm going to use them around the house for other purposes also... in the kitchen as a spoon rest for my coffee creamer spoon, in the bathroom as jewelry dish for my random rings and earrings... you get the idea. I'm really big on actually using and repurposing items that I bring home from my favorite antique/vintage shops!

On the stitching home front... I just repaired-- I mean finished--a square. I'll post it when I have more squares completed. I've got to find a specific floss that got chewed on by Hagrid when I wasn't looking. It's silver, but soft not wiry. I've tried to salvage what was left after Haggie got to it, but I'm getting a lot of short strings! Grrrrr... so frustrating!

I hope that you're enjoying your weekend-- I think I'll be heading over to my favorite garden nursery this afternoon, and then taking Haggie for a walk with his best friend, Gracie the great dane!

Hugs,

My Fairy Garden

The other day I finally got around to designing my fairy garden! I had bought the accessories a couple years ago, but hadn't found the right container. The other day, while shopping with a friend at a favorite nursery I found the right container-- it's just a shallow square box. You can also use a cute flower pot, like Amy did.

All the plants used are real-- mostly ground cover starts, and a few baby succulents. I made the path out of crushed seashells from JoAnn's. I like them because they're iridescent-- I thought the fairies would appreciate a little sparkle in the garden. I lined the path with peat gravel from my neighbor's yard. (Thanks, Krista!) The peat gravel turned out to be just the right scale for this project!

Aren't these "shrubs" wonderful?! They almost look like day lilies!

I scooted back for this shot, so you could really sense the scale of this little garden. As you walk into the courtyard, you see that it's a planter, but then as you move in closer it becomes apparent that it's a little miniature garden-- I like little unexpected surprises like that in a garden! Here's another angle-- looking down onto the garden. It's been fun to collect the accessories, and then to finally put it all together! Now I've just got to wait for the fairies to show up!

Hugs,

I'm so Lucky!

I won a giveaway a few weeks ago that I've been meaning to post about. Thank goodness, I was actually able to capture it on my camera before it went kaput!

The wonderful artist and inspirational blogger/published author, Kelly Rae Roberts had a very generous giveaway a few weeks ago. I've been a big fan of Kelly's work and blog for quite a while now. I even own some of her art already, so you can imagine how excited I must have been when I read that I had won one of her fabulous gifts! It was so fun to receive such a wonderful surprise in the mail-- and don't you just love how she addressed the package?! It made me feel very special.

And this is the wonderful canvas print she sent me! In comparison to my other pieces, it's a pretty substantial piece, at 16"x16". I really, really love it. I love the colors, the textures, and she creates such beautiful faces! So pretty! Thank you soooo much, Kelly!

On the stitching homefront... I haven't given up on my sampler. I just keep ripping up my most current square and re-doing it... over, and over again. (Seriously, four times... really.) It's been such a tough one to capture with thread. I will post it when I'm satisfied enough with it. Really. I promise.

Also, thank you so much, sweet bloggie friends, for your input on cameras. I actually made a decision yesterday and went with the Cannon Power Shot SX120IS. My last camera was a Cannon Power Shot also, so I think I'll be able to take pictures with it without too much confusion! I'm not very high tech. I think writing this blog is the most high tech thing I've ever done. Operating the microwave oven comes in a close 2nd.

Hugs,

Oooooh No!

My blog is naked.

My camera has died. Sweet friends, I need your help. Many of you bloggie friends take such great photos, so I think your feedback could be very helpful. I'm seriously in the market for a new camera and I need some suggestions. Please tell me if you know of a good "point-and-shoot" camera out there, and why you like it.

Thanks so much! I'm looking forward to hearing from you!

Hugs,

Ready for Company...

My little sister, Judy, and her two children are coming to visit me! It's been a year and a half since I've seen her! This will be the first time they see my new little home, and meet my sweet Hagrid. I've been busy cleaning, fluffing, and fussing all week. I've been so excited to see them!

The linens are fresh, the house is clean, the dog is washed, the courtyard is freshly updated (more on that later!), and I'm waiting for them to drive in. Oh wait! I better get into the shower-- I knew there was something else I needed to do!

I hope that you all have a very wonderful, blessed Easter... I've got to run now!

Hugs,