A Visit To Lavender Hollow

Hello Sweet Friends!  This past weekend I had the fun opportunity to travel with some gal pals to visit Lavender Hollow Farm.  This beautiful little farm is located in Escalon- only an hour drive away- and was a perfect, easy day trip.

 As soon as we opened the doors of the car the lovely fragrance of lavender greeted us.  I love the smell of lavender, so the fragrance was like heaven for me!

  The gardens surrounding the private residence are so charming.

 We enjoyed walking around the grounds.  There was plenty to look at...

 ... like this beautiful clematis climbing the entry to the private residence.  I love how it looks against that pretty used brick wall.

Aren't these beautiful?!  I love the vivid violet color.  No alterations were done to the color in this photo-- this is really how it looked!

  Lavender Hollow Farm is open for a very short season, only 5 or six weekends.  The lavender is in early bloom right now-- and I imagine that the color will intensify throughout the coming weeks.  Each weekend the farm offers lavender crafting classes under the canopy in the photo above.  On this day, the guests were creating heart shaped lavender wreaths~ so pretty!

Charm and sweetness around every corner...

 

  ...and a really great variety of lavender plants were available for purchase. I purchased two-- Sachet and Betty's Blue!

 I never knew there were so many varieties of lavender!  I love that this variety is named "Alice".  That happens to be my favorite auntie's name.

 Inside the lavender barn was a fun boutique.

I love the hardware on the door to the barn-- so pretty!

  We found a great variety of lavender goodness-- lots of bath, culinary, and gift products.  I ended up purchasing some ground culinary lavender for baking, and can't wait to try it out in a batch of shortbread cookies!

 It was refreshing to find items at such reasonable prices.  Sometimes prices of items in tourist locations can be so inflated, but that wasn't the case here at all.

 We wandered around the grounds, taking photos and enjoying the sunshine.  Lavender grows well here because of the Mediterranean climate in this valley.

 We enjoyed a really great box lunch catered by Leonardo's Cafe.  Every item was infused with lavender.  It was so good-- not overpowering at all.  Click here to see the yummy menu! 

Oh, and I couldn't leave without treating myself to a lavender infused pink lemonade for the road.  The perfect ending to a perfect visit to Lavender Hollow Farms!  (Now, off to shop the antique/vintage stores!)

Hugs,

Under The Sea

This past month has been a busy one for stitchin'~ all gifts for special friends and family... and friends that I consider family. These two lovelies are going to make their way to Boise, Idaho to two of my favorite people in the whole wide world-- mother/daughter dynamic duo, Debra and Chelsey. Deb, Chelsey, and I have been lifelong friends.

When Chelse-Woman was a wee one, she loved Disney's "The Little Mermaid". She would spend hours in the tub singing Ariel's "Ahhhh... ahhhh... ahhhh...". Those of you who have kids may know that song well, as your little ones probably sang it in the tub too. When Chelsey sang, you could hear her down the hall, and Deb and I would just look at each other and giggle.

Chelsey was a fun, precocious little girl, with gorgeous red hair and an incredible imagination. Chelsey was often in "Chelsey-World"~ dancing and singing around the house in her tie-die leggings, and her twirly-whirly red square dancing slip that her grandma found for her. Seriously, (giggle) I don't think I ever saw her without one or the other-- or both. Chelsey could speak from a very early age, and introduced us to vocabulary we didn't even know existed. To this day, we still incorporate "Chelsey-isms" into our conversations. ("Oh my goodness-- Deb! We need to have a discussment!") Just goes to show, close friends have a "language all their own", right?

Well, Chelsey has grown into an incredible, lovely, talented, world-travelin' young woman. She's an amazing photographer (I love, love, love her photos), a great cook (she can cook Julia's boeuf like none other), and she's got great style (she wears her leggings in solid colors now). And yes, she still has that gorgeous red mane.

However, no matter how grown up Chelsey is now, whenever I see a great mermaid image--I think of her. Needless to say, this was the inspiration for choosing these vintage mermaid embroidery patterns to stitch for Deb and Chelsey. I hope these images will bring back sweet memories, and that they will love them as much as I loved stitching them!

Hugs,

Cookie Factory

Hello, Sweet Friends. It's been a cookie factory around here! Last weekend I baked one of my favorite cookies-- sugar cookies!! I never was able to get my fix at Christmas, so with Valentine's Day around the corner, I figured I could break out the rolling pin, and have at it.

Yeah... and it's an excuse to break out the sprinkles too. I love these jimmies-- don't the colors just make you happy? Color in the winter makes me happy. Making things in the winter makes me happy too, so this was the perfect combination of happy.

This recipe has been in the family ever since my sister-in-law, Monica, joined the family and shared it with the rest of us. I'm so glad she joined the family. The girl can bake, and these are the best sugar cookies ever. They are rolled out thick and they're really cake-ety. (Yes, that's a real word. At least among my friends, it is. It's usually used in a sentence as in "Mmmm... I love chocolatey cake-ety".)
I don't usually do tutorials or recipes on my blog, but I know that you are going to ask for this fabulous recipe. Therefore, I will share it with you. Yes, I will take the time to type a recipe out. I guess it is less tedious than having to write it out, so I won't complain. Here it is:

Yummy Cake-ety Sugar Cookies

(This recipe is easy to roll out and makes wonderful Valentine and Christmas cookies!)

1 Cup Shortening*

2 Cups Sugar

2 Eggs

1 teaspoon Vanilla

1 Cup Sour Cream

1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

4 teaspoons Baking Powder

1 teaspoon salt

4 to 5 cups flour

* In some countries shortening is called "white vegetable fat", in case the word "shortening" sounds foreign to you. Yes, it's that ingredient that I try to avoid thinking about when I'm eating one of these yummy cookies! (Thanks Susan, for asking! I wondered if anything in the recipe would be "lost in translation" for my friends abroad!)

Cream sugar and shortening. Add eggs one at a time. Add sour cream and vanilla. Add in dry ingredients. Refrigerate for about one hour. Roll out to about 1/4 inch thickness and cut in desired shapes. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until slightly brown around the edges. Bake on ungreased baking sheet. (I bake them on parchment paper.) Let cookies cool, then frost and decorate!

These are a fun cookie to decorate~ the possibilities are limitless! I made this batch of cookies to bring to Lisa's Creativi-Tea, so I decided to back stitch them! Yes, those are jimmies. No, it was not as tedious as it looks, but I would only go to the trouble for something special. It helps to have a friend come over and help. Beverages help. My friend Kathy and I often get together on Friday nights for an "Artist Date". We try to do something or go somewhere creatively inspiring to kick-off the weekend. Sometimes we go to an art gallery. Sometimes we play with clay. Sometimes we go vintage shopping. Sometimes we get pedicures. We try to go to restaurants we haven't been to-- or sometimes we just "picnic". We love our "picnics". Our picnics are simple and usually consist of yummy cheeses, fruit, olives, a good crusty bread, and beverages. Our picnics involve no cooking, and we can get right to playing.

Since I made part of this batch as a hostess gift for Lisa (and Sean, her hubby who loves sugar cookies), I made a little tag for the container. I made a "belly wrap" for the container using shelf liner that I bought to line my dresser drawers and shelves. It worked out great because I could just slice a strip to the length I needed. Then I just used a simple di-cut, and some of my Cath Kidston labels to embellish. Viola! Ready to gift.

I also used part of the batch of cookies to give to my sweet next door neighbors to thank them for helping me out when I locked myself out of the house. I used my special valentine sprinkles for these. Damn, I love sprinkles. Lovelovelove them!

Well, I hope this post wasn't too long and rambly. (Yes, that is a real word-- in my vocabulary!). I'm trying to be better this year about posting about projects and the crafty shenanigans that I've been up to. I hope that you can try out this cookie recipe sometime, and enjoy it's yummy, cake-ety goodness for yourself!
Hugs,

A Fresh New Year

Happy New Year, Sweet Friends. I know, I'm a bit belated with my greetings. I think for once, instead of thinking, talking or writing about what I want to do in the new year, I've just been doing it. Imagine that! Me, actually doing something!
This adorable, giant-poof-of-a-pincushion was a fabulous Christmas gift from my fabulous friend Lisa-- and it's kind of become a springboard into the new year for me.

I love this giant pincushion more than words can say. It's in my favorite colors, and I love it so much I want an ottoman that looks just like it, for my living room. Wouldn't that be adorable?! Lisa so generously cut into one of her favorite fabric stashes to create it, like only a true friend would. I know this was not the easiest thing for her, so I love it all the more. (Thank you so much, sweet friend!)

Like I mentioned above, this giant-poof-of-a-pincushion has been a bit of a springboard into the new year for me. When you bring something new into your home, do you ever clean and tidy the house before finding a home for that item? Am I the only one that feels that way? I also feel that way about crafting. I want the house tidy, and then I feel like I can "treat" myself to some creativity. Needless to say, there wasn't a whole lot of crafting going on around here last year.

Without going into it, I'm really happy that last year is over. I'm really ready to move forward into this new year.

I've been cleanin' and stitchin'--- and it's been pure bliss for me. Creativity makes me happy. Simple, but true. I haven't been doing anything fancy, just sweet and simple stitching. Everything that I've been stitching has been gifts for friends and family. Creating for people I love adds a whole different level of joy for me. How 'bout you?

Well, my Sweet Friends-- stay tuned, and please come back soon to see what I've been up to!

Hugs,

Welcome To My Little Christmas Nest...

Okay, so it's no secret now that I love to decorate for Christmas. Did you know that I like to decorate outside as well?

No, I do not do outdoor lights like The Griswold's, but I do have a flamingo. It's pretty special. It has a hat. It's head moves. It's cord is carefully covered with strategically placed leaves. It's strongly secured to the ground with a cinder block. Yeah, I'm classy that way. Haggie seems quite smitten by her, doesn't he?

Every Christmas I hang my outdoor lighted garlands. They're battery timed, so I put them up there and they do the rest, like clockwork. Easy peasy. The wreath on the courtyard gate is the same. For the window and door, I purchase a fresh cut wreath from Costco. They're such a good deal, it's a no brainer. Although I have an artificial tree, I love the smell of fresh cut pine-- so this is how I get my fix!

Okay, this is my favorite Christmas decorating tip: visit your local Christmas tree lot and ask them if they have any branches they want to get rid of. Some people like to trim the bottom branches off their tree before they leave the lot. The guy at the tree lot I went to keeps a "free, help yourself" pile. I get free greens, and he doesn't have to cart them to the dump. It's a win-win. I like to snuggle the pine greens into my existing planters.

Even the fairy garden gets a little fluffed up with pine.

The front door to my little nest. Welcome! Please come in...

This is just inside the entry of my house, hence the picnic basket full of shoes. I love this old vintage dresser. It has lots of storage, and what little nest doesn't need more of that? I use to store my shoes in there when I came in the door, so they wouldn't be piled all over. However, I eventually found that I wanted to use the prime real estate in those drawers for other things.

A few of my favorite little things... I've always loved pine greens with red roses. Can you imagine how great this would smell if they were real?!

I love The Polar Express, and so I went nuts when I saw this Polar Express bell. It's an ornament, but I like to place it near the book. I love the story, and the graphics of the book and animation. One year I went to the 3-D version of the film at the Imax Theater downtown with friends. I loved the snowflakes...

I have this little Christmas pennant hanging on my lamp. My fabulous friend Debra made it, and I love it!

Okay, I know that you've seen this room(s) before, but I just need you to note the size of this room. Okay, now picture it with twelve people, a baby, and a large dog. That is what this room was like the other night when I had my family over. My family is much larger than twelve people, but not everyone lives near. Last night was the first time I've ever had my family over for a holiday celebration. I've always lived in tiny apartments, so it was impossible. It was really fun and special to have them over to my place during a holiday season... finally. I baked a bundt. (Isn't that just so retro/vintage? Hee hee! It was chocolate and I served it with toppings!)

Haggie loved that everyone came over just to see him. He was able to show off his new Christmas light bulb squeaky toy, and let my niece's adorable six month old baby boy sit on his back like a baby monkey on a pig's back. (We changed the words to the song... "baby Brennan, baby Brennan, riding on Haggie's back... Baby Brennan!) Ah, good times had by all at The Little Nest!

Hugs,

For Me?! Squeeeeeee!

Have you ever received a gift-- a really special gift-- from a very special friend? You know that friend. She's the one that just knows you so well that the gift touches your heart from the first glance?

My friend Joyce is that friend. We've been friends for about twenty years. We made it through our 20's together, our 30's together... and now we're navigating our 40's. We've been there for each other through thick and thin, joys and silliness, loves and losses. She's that kind of friend.

We met each other through one of our loves... paper crafting. Through the years we've seen each other's creative styles grow and change. From the early years of the rubber stamping craze, we've stretched our creative wings through various style and color combo obsessions. Through crazy pop-up dimensional creations... to simply elegant. This gift box would be in that simply elegant category. Don't you love it? My favorite color and details... lovelovelove.

This month is my birthday. Yes, I said month. My friends know that I do not object to celebrating all month long. He he. Well, my month kicked off to a start yesterday with my favorite sushi dinner, and an early surprise birthday gift! My dear friend Joyce created the beautiful gift box above, and gave me this absolutely beautiful necklace.

The moment I opened the box my breath was taken away...

A beautiful dragonfly... the keeper of dreams... created with vintage silver spoons. Joyce has always known of my affinity for dragonflies. She's also always known how selective (a nice word for "picky") I am about dragonflies. My house is not full of them. I don't tell people I have a thing for them for a good reason. Years ago, a friend of mine use to (past tense) love black & white cows. Needless to say, she was inundated with black & white cows, lovingly presented to her by her dear, well-meaning friends. So basically, only a few of my close friends know about my dragonfly thing. I have always wanted to keep my love for them special.

Well, this beautiful dragonfly is special. Super special. It's the perfect combination of my favorites: dragonfly, silver, and vintage. Looooooove this. So much.

Thank you so much, Joyce... I love this special gift, from first glance to forever. Just like our friendship. xox

Hugs,