The Wish of a Prayer Comes True

My prayer for my youngest son is coming true. On Saturday he will be married to his sweetheart. The heart felt joy of a child finding their mate is so glorious. I thank God for sending Carrie to share the life of my beloved son Kyle. All the glory and honor is his. What a gift from the Lord that Kyle has been to our family. From birth he has been the happiest child, always entertaining all of us with his bright smile and charming humor. In a few short days he will be joined to the wife that God has brought to him. Please join me in prayer for blessings on their marriage and could you put in a word too asking that the good Lord help us fit everything in the car ;)

Well, I better go finish packing. John wants to be on the road by 11:00, which means that at 10:30 he will be saying "lets go". Over the years I've learned that if I plan to be ready about a half hour before his departure time things go most smoothly.

Have a great weekend! I'll be back on Monday with pictures of the wedding, that is if I can keep the battery charged on my camera........

~Photos of Castle Farms, Charlevoix, Michigan~

Wild for White

Right now everything white is catching my eye. Maybe it is because John wants to paint the garage blue and I am trying, ever so gently, to help him realize that if we paint the garage light blue with the pink cupboards that he just installed he may be in for more taunting from his Harley friends than he imagines. I've had these images on my computer for a while and they keep catching my eye. Ornate white moldings add so much texture to what could be a very bland space. Classically placed moldings can be tricky to place but if you get it right it can add so much to a room. One of my favorite women of style is the late Nancy Lancaster. She used art in her living room to create the illusion of classical molding by placing the pictures as if they were tucked inside classically placed molding. That room has been photographed many times and if I find it I'll will post about it.
The hardware on this gorgeous door also adds texture and sparkle to another white room.
The diamond shaped mullions on the windows in this white kitchen add texture and dimension.

~Kitchen Picture is from The Well Appointed House~
~Ornate Door is from
~ Mirror on white is from

Nice Matters & Wedding Update

Thanks Toni at http://rabbithillcreations.blogspot.com/ for awarding me the Nice Matters Award. I'm passing it on to Stephanie at http://greeniegardens.blogspot.com/ she has the cutest post about trash that you have to read. Her daughter Heather at http://splaneyo.blogspot.com/ has a great post about the Nice Matters Award on her blog that had me laughing already this morning when I went over there to see if she had already gotten the award.

The wedding was so much fun and turned into a weekend event. I ended up wearing a sleeveless little black dress even though I'm opposed to black at weddings I guessed correctly that at this one that would be the color of choice and it turned out to be a good guess. One of my sister-in-laws was so mad that her husband told her not to wear black and three quarters of the guests were decked out in the somber color. Not that it was a somber event but knowing my niece and all her friends black was a safe bet on the color.

I took a black light weight cardigan with me but never ended up needing it. Plenty of hot flashes kept me warm even in the AC. For shoes I wore comfy black heels to the ceremony and quickly changed into black Havianna flip flops for the reception which sound awful but blended in just fine. All my gear for the day fit nicely into a mid size purse and kept all my necessities close at hand. I did however leave my camera at the reception site but the MOB brought it over yesterday.

Which brings me up to the pool party for the day after the wedding. Our neighborhood was packed. You could barely get a car down our street. The next door neighbors daughter was married on Saturday too. Both big Italian families partying in their pools created quite the busy place. Our poor other neighbors!

Well, hope every one had a good weekend.

Something Blue For Annie's Wedding

Today is going to be a long day. I don't know about you, but the older I get the harder it is to attend 11 or 12 hour events. Our niece is getting married today downtown at 1:30 pm, the reception is also downtown at 6:00 pm. Well I'm guessing many of you know this dilemma.....What on earth am I going to wear that I'll be able to get through this ordeal in. The usual issues: layering to go from hot flash to freezing in the AC, shoes that won't make me look like a frump but will allow me to stand around in them for some where around probably 6-8 hours, purse to carry a full days supply of necessities that does not look like a suitcase........and on it goes.

We really are excited about the wedding, it's just the getting there that is such a pain ;)

A Walk In The Garden

This morning I grabbed a fresh cup of coffee and my camera to see if there was any thing pretty blooming in the garden that I could share with you. Usually when I am outside first thing in the morning there is no one around, but as luck would have it, the neighbor pulled out of his driveway right when I was coming out. Oh well, I'm sure he has seen worse but it reminds me to try to get dressed first thing in the morning. I feel bad that he had to be subjected to a lady of a certain age in her night gown with a hoodie over it and uncombed hair first thing in the morning. Maybe he didn't notice me as I slid behind a shrub.

Pantry Project

This afternoon I finally got a chance to get the pantry cleaned out and organized. After my last trip to Costco things were stuffed in every which way and in danger of a complete avalanche.

The craziness that is my life has settled down a bit. As a result I had a burst of energy and pulled everything out of the pantry, gave it a good scrubbing, and reorganized it. It was easier to organize this time because John installed some cabinets, that were being discarded from the building he is working on, into the garage, right outside our back door. The non-food things that I had in here got moved to the garage leaving plenty of space to arrange things.

Hope everyone had a good day. Thanks for stopping by.

Rainy Day Protection

It is always nice to have umbrellas handy by the door to grab on your way out if it is raining or rain is in the forecast. These are my umbrellas that I keep by the front door. It is hard to photograph them in the front entry so they are in front of the door that goes to the basement from our backdoor to have their picture taken.

The big one in the back was a Christmas gift from my Mom many years ago, called the Rain House in the J Peterman catalogue. It has a horn handle and is big enough to protect a small family. The size makes it impractical for quick trips to and from the car but it has come in handy at times when we have had to be out in the rain for longer periods of time.

The two plaid ones were gifts with purchases from the old Ralph Lauren store that used to be in downtown Birmingham before they moved to the mall. Seriously, way back when, they gave out these beautiful umbrellas for even a relatively small purchase. All the details have faded, but my recollection tells me that Sarah and I made several trips back to the store, while Christmas shopping that year, for more umbrellas.

The black one with the silver handle is from Chloe's. We also carried the pocket sized version of this one. It had a replica of an antique silver knife handle on it. We sold ton's of them for about $17.00 each. They made the cutest gifts when wrapped up in our blue & white checked tissue paper, put in a clear bag and tied up with blue tulle ribbon. I still have one in the door pocket of my car that gets plenty of use. They aren't the sturdiest umbrellas but work great when there is a bit of a drizzle and you don't want to get your hair wet.

The pink plaid one is fairly new and I would like to add one with pink roses. Lori at http://pinkfadedroses.blogspot.com/ inspired my stroll down umbrella memory lane. I recently discovered her blog from DebraK at http://thebunnysbungalow.blogspot.com/ when she so sweetly included me in her fun tag (I'm still working on it Debra). Lori has a post showing the prettiest umbrellas and parasol's. Hopefully she will share with me where the ones with roses on them came from so I can consider getting one to add to my little collection.

Well, I haven't had much time to post lately but really appreciate all the comments and I'm enjoying visiting my blog friends. Hope all is well with everyone!

Natural Wonders Tag

DebraK tagged me to put names of blog friends on things from the natural world. Since I have no clue how to do that using the computer I wrote the names in my grandchildren's crayons on the back of my old business cards. To coin a phrase from my friend Cindi, I know this is "lame" but I wanted to play along so here is my lame attempt ;) Andrea at http://truesouthernheart.blogspot.com/ always posts beautiful pictures of classic design that I so enjoy. She probably thinks I am a terrible lurker because I could spend hours clicking on her side bar, it is a treasure trove of interesting sites to explore.
This is a rabbit weathervane that Rhoda at http://southernhospitality-rhoda.blogspot.com/ had in a post that I really fell for so I went out and got one for our kitchen. She has a beautiful home that she is willing to share with the blog world and often does tutorial posts about different project that are very informative. She has also been a bit of an angel to me, leaving sweet comments exactly when needed and helping me with my spelling.
Here is a rabbit for Suzi Q at http://rabbitruncottage.blogspot.com/ . I found Suzi Q when first entering the blog world because I loved the name of her blog and still do. That would be the perfect name for our house too because little rabbits play all over our gardens just like they do hers. Her home is just beautiful and her blog is so inviting, I love visiting her and hope you will too.

DebraK at http://thebunnysbungalow.blogspot.com/ tagged me for this post. She is the sweetest lady who's beloved Mother suffers from the same tragic condition that mine does. Thank you for including me in this fun tag. I chose this bunny bookend for you because it is right by one of my favorite books and sends love your way.
Cindy at http://romantichome.blogspot.com/ is nestled here among the blue faux berries and blue and white lamp. She is a favorite of many for all here creative energy. Since she has added me to here list of blog friends my readership has increased so I thought I had better get busy and make some posts. Her recent post had many thinking the photos were from a magazine, absolutely beautiful. We share a love of blue & white and I can't get enough of her lovely projects. This isn't really representative of the natural world but it is a painting idealizing my old downtown street scape. Tucked in there is Chloe's, the little shop that kept Sheryl at http://friendshipcottage.blogspot.com/ and I busy and got us through some tough years.

It may not be from the natural world but it was a sacred little space that blessed many and Sheryl was right there with me from start to finish.

Fifi is fairly new to the blog world but most of us probably recognize her work from many of our favorite magazines. Her blog at http://fabulousfifi.typepad.com/ is loaded with pictures from her adorable cottages many transformations. Her sisters French B&B is so pretty.
I am truly in love with this rug that Toni at http://rabbithillcreations.blogspot.com/ made and had for sale on e-bay. It was so exciting when it became mine. Really it is too nice to have on the floor but I love it so much that I have it right in front of my stove which since I have been so busy has not seen much foot traffic. Her creations are truly inspired and she always has witty and sweet comments. I love chatting with Toni.

There, I've done it. This was really fun. Some of you have been tagged before but if any one is up to it have a go. To get more information and to see others creations you can track back from Debra's.

Belated Thank You

Isn't this a sweet little bird nest gift? Lidy, from Little French Garden House, enclosed it in a package with a pin that I ordered from her web shop. Thank you Lidy!

Have a good weekend!

Seems like there was a nasty commenter making it's rounds in blog land last week. Thank you Rhoda and Sandi for your sweet responses to the comment.
Things are getting busy around here with house guests and wedding plans so I won't be posting much but hope to still find time to visit my blog friends. Thanks for stopping by and if you were one of the people that got a bad comment from who ever felt the need to say such vile things, please don't feel bad. We can't please every one all the time I guess.

Pink & Green

These Rose of Sharon bushes are just about ready to burst into their full pink & green glory. When we put them in about four years ago they we just little bushes about a foot tall each. This year they have shot up so much and are just covered with pretty pink blooms.

This Ones For You Toni!

These are for you Toni. John had a meeting tonight & I didn't have to make dinner so I went around the house and took bunny pictures for you. Boy, the pictures in the top grouping aren't even hung straight but I guess since they have been that way for three years and I haven't noticed it they will more than likely stay that way. Pictures really show the mistakes don't they. I've noticed some pretty weird things when I've clicked on the pictures and enlarged them.

While taking these pictures I thought about where each of my pals came from and it brought back many fond memories. The bunnies around the house are more part of the decoration than a collection I guess. Most have been from previous homes or gifts from my family or friends who knew just where I needed the particular piece that they found just for me.

Keep reading Toni, I have many more to share later, and I love hearing from you and all of the other kind readers of my silly little blog.

Just thought I would share a couple of pictures of our path and the right side of our terrace garden. These pretty flowers were blooming to welcome us home form our vacation I hope you enjoy them too.

This sweet chair is in the living room of my home away from home that belongs to Sheryl at http://friendshipcottage.blogspot.com/ . She is venturing into the blog world and if you get a minute you might want to skip over there and leave her a word of encouragement.

Her Friendship Cottage truely lives up to it's name. It is home away from home to many. She is always ready with a soft bed, kind words and a keen wit to accomodate her out of town friends. Over the last five years or so she has transformed FC from a quaint home that was loved by its former owners into a cottage that would be ready to grace the pages of any decorating magazine around. It is a combination of Shabby Chic and Sweedish Country style delights that literally draws people in off the street to tell her how much pleasure just seeing the outside of FC gives them. More times than not she will invite them in for a quick tour. It does not matter if she is in the middle of one of her never ending projects or not, she always has time to bless who ever the good Lord sends her way.

So, stop by for a visit and look forward to seeing and reading more from Sheryl, her charming life in FC, the antics of Stella & Gurry her cutie kitties, and Emma her nannadaughter. As an aside, I know she will want me to add that, no she is not a Cat lady ;)

Orange Lily

Have a good weekend!

Monogram Love

While I was outside in my PJ's this morning taking pictures of the Jumbo's I snapped a couple of shots of my favorite monogram's. There are two big "S"'s on either side of our front porch. We really should have a "J" some where. The "S" is hard to see in the second image. In the spring they are more evident.

OK, so I just deleted the other picture while backspacing, it wasn't really that good any way ;)

Red Geranium

These geraniums probably will not last long since I had to whittle down the root ball to fit them in this bunny cachepot and there is no drainage in it. They just looked so cute in here that I couldn't resist. If they look like they are not going to survive they will have to be transferred someplace else but for now they will do.
Thanks everyone for stopping by and commenting. I hope that you are all OK with me putting links to your blogs in my new favorites sections. It really makes it easier to browse through all your beautiful blogs. Please leave a comment if you stop by. I really shouldn't ask that because I know how hard it is when there are so many lovely sites to visit and so little time. So, even if you don't leave a comment, I understand, and hope that my little blog adds a bit of pretty to your day as yours do to mine.

Blue & White

This morning I pulled out some blue and white from all over the house. It is surprising the things that I take for granted until the urge to rearrange hits. These little rose needlepoint chandelier shades on the fireplace lights used to be on my kitchen chandelier at our old house. During the move three years ago one was lost, leaving me with only five instead of the six needed for our chandelier so I had two on a couple of candles in the dining room and three in the basement. After deciding to put them on the fixtures in the great room I headed to the basement to retrieve the shades and only found three and, of course, forgot where the other two were. After a search of the house I found them on the shelf in the dining room on two candles, so I put away one candle, snagged the shade, and there you go, four shades for these lights.

The urns and vases on the fireplace came from the dining room and above the cupboards in the kitchen. With some rearranging, you can't even tell they are missing from their previous positions.

Over the weekend the fourth of July plant was in its red wrapper from the florist. It seemed to stick out like a sore thumb in here so I transplanted it into this brass cachepot that I also had in the basement and it blends in much better now.

Blue Iris

Saturday we had a flash rain storm blow through here in southeast Michigan. I hope my southern friends got some of this rain, they need it much more than we did. Anyway, the rain made a mess of the garden. I went out this morning and cut these iris that were bent over on the ground and cleaned them up as best I could. When I came inside I plunked them into this pretty vase, planning to arrange them later, but decided that they were kind of pretty just the way they are. Not perfect, but what is? They really brighten up this corner of the kitchen. Thanks for stopping by and leave a comment if you will. I enjoy hearing from you and it reminds me to visit your blog. One of these day's I'll put links in my sidebar.

Lavender

Lidy at http://littlefrenchgardenhouse.blogspot.com/ did a post yesterday about lavender with a beautiful picture of a lavender field that must be in France. She gave a description of how to harvest it that is most informative. If you grow this pretty plant you may want to click over there and check it out.

My youngest son is getting married this August and she has given me a cute idea for the out-of-town guest baskets that I hope to put together. My lavender should be in bloom and ready for harvest the end of June. I am the most uncrafty person, but I can tie a pretty bow, so I will dry the lavender and tie it in bundles with some French wire ribbon that coordinates with the wedding colors of pink & brown to throw in the baskets to sweeten air in the hotel rooms of our guests.

Oh my, I just skipped over to Lidy's site to grab the URL for this post and read her new post. She has a little web shop that I hadn't take the time to look at before but will be going back to when I leave this post. I like peas in a pod & lily-of-the-valley and was excited to see the new jewelry that she just received from France. Such talented artists to be found here in blog land. I'm off to Lidy's, won't you join me?

Inspiring Donna

Donna wrote on her blog at http://thedecoratedhouse.blogspot.com/ , in her beautiful post about Mt. Dora, that she now takes more pictures because of her blog. That is how I feel too. Blogging has become a much needed creative outlet for me since I have retired. I love being able to be a keeper at home, and now, between household duties, popping in to the blog makes me know there are other's out there doing the same thing which fulfills that sense of belonging that I was missing now that I no longer have my little shop. I see other creative people sharing their passions, projects & pictures and it encourages me to work harder to create pretty inspirational things to share myself. I open a drawer and find it a mess and I think, take a picture of the before and after for the blog. Well I usually don't get around to actually going and getting my camera, but occasionally I do get around to really cleaning out the drawer ;)

Check out Donna's blog if you haven't already. She is amazing. The transformation that she has done on her adorable house is truly inspirational. I wrote her, when I first discover her, to tell her that, because of her, I now like my wooden kitchen cupboards. The canopy over her sink is like nothing I've ever seen before and would love to do in my kitchen.

More Planting Finished

I hope everyone had a good Memorial weekend. We spent time with friends and putzing around the yard. This week I need to get busy inside, the dust has a way of creeping in even when there is no one home.

At least I don't have to worry about the get-away laundry since John hit the valet button on the key thingy and everything is still locked in the trunk of the car. We can't figure out how to switch it back, to be able to open the trunk, since the key thingy hasn't worked in months and of course the dealership was closed over the holiday weekend. So, today's projects are getting the trunk opened, returning some Harley things & starting the house cleaning.

Bunnies for Toni ;)

Toni is great at spotting bunnie's around my house. She is also a gifted crafter. If you like bunnies like I do, or even just appreciate seeing good works of art, click on over to her blog at http://rabbithillcreations.blogspot.com and take a look at the rabbit rug that she created. Be sure to comeback her for a visit though.

Thank you to everyone that has been leaving comments, I really enjoy hearing from all of you and then visiting your amazing blogs. Please, if you come by, leave even a quick comment, I try to respond and enjoy meeting all of you.

Lilac's

Here's an outdoor picture of these blooming beauties.

Lilac Perfume

The lilac perfume in my office is intoxicating. The three dwarf lilac tree's right out side my window are in full bloom and the smell is delicious. Spring glorious, spring! Thank you Lord for the beautiful seasons here in Michigan.

OK, apparently blogger will let me load two but not three pictures. Here's a couple more, the window box on the right needed 2 more plants. The other one is a close up to one of the front porch pots that look a little skimpy now but will fill out fast and when I get my other smaller pots out and my wreath up will look better.

Finally got my planting started. The flowers that I got at Flower Day are beautiful and huge, filling my huge pots on the front porch and my 2 window boxes. There weren't quite as many as I had anticipated so I had to get more to fill the backyard containers. John also pointed out, while I was saying that the cost per plant was around a dollar, that that was not the case. I never was all that great at math. Still the cost for planting this year is coming in much less than last year so I'm satisfied with that.

Blogger is being a pain and not letting me post multiple photo's so I'll add a few more in separate posts. It must be blogger, not me, right?

I've been tagged!

This is the first time I've been tagged so I'm not sure exactly what to do but here goes. The very talented Toni at http.//rabbithillcreations.blogspot.com tagged me to post 7 random things about me.

1. I have read the Holy Bible all the way through more than once.

2. My greatest blessings are my 3 grown children that all love the Lord.
Two of them are married and have lovely families, the third is getting married this August.
They have all finished college and are gainfully employed.

3. Morning is my favorite time of day, I get up very early, sometimes too early like today it's 2am here.

4. I am Grama to 4 precious little ones and Nana to 4 more. They are all seven and under. 4 live with in a couple of hours of us and the other 4 live way to far away, but we are praying that they move closer soon.

5. Friends are important to me from the gang I went to elementary school with, to the many mentors that have helped me, the new friends that I've made here in Detroit, to my fab 4 that are the most creative bunch of women that I am honored to have in my life, I love them all.

6. My husband is of southern Italian ancestry and I am of English. If you've ever read Cheryl Mendelson's "Home Comforts" you will understand the striking contrast. My adorable Italian neighbors sweep their driveways nearly every day, I on the other hand, prefer ironing ;)

7. My pet peeve is a lack of set meal times. This becomes especially bothersome for me while traveling when everyone is hungry at different times. OK, I just read about that in "Home Comforts" while looking for Mendelson's little blurb about the differences between her Italian & English Grandmother's, but I so agree with what she has to say.

Well, I didn't mean for this post to be all bragging about my wonderful family and friend's, believe me, we have our problems just like every body, but by the grace of God we have love, His greatest gift of all.

Thanks Toni for tagging me, this has been a fun thing to do while not sleeping like I should be. Since I really don't know that many people in blog land I will just say that any body that reads this and wants to post 7 random things about themselves consider yourself tagged.

Yesterday we went down to the Eastern Market in Detroit for pre-Flower Day. We sort of expected to see more unusual variaties of flowers but found that not to be the case. The flowers that they did have were very well priced so I picked up these 5 pots full of pink geraniums and a tray of trailing needlepoint ivy. My plan is to tear the pots apart and use the individual plants to fill my containers out front, 2 window boxes and my 5 urns in the back. There seems to be about 6 individual geraniums in each of the pots which brings the cost of each plant down to less than $1 which is a really good deal. There are also Lobelia and other small green plants that hopefully will fill in the rest of the space in my containers.

Last night I prepared the soil in the urns and pots so today I'll start ripping and planting, we'll see how it goes.

I have been reading other blogs this morning and enjoying them so much and wishing I knew how to list them on the side of my blog like so many others do. In the future I will take notes on my favorites so that I can visit them often. It is so fun to find ladies with so much in common. One blog showed her garage sale finds that included a couple of my favorite plates that she purchased for a song, another shared her cute little cleaning caddy with all of her supplies arranged in a most inspirational way, several share my joy of bunny collecting, and a few MacKenzie-Childs collectors. As of yet I haven't run across any one that loves the work of Paul deLongpre but I'm hoping they are out there.

The above picture on the left is part of my deLongpre collection. The photo on the right is a picture of the plates that I have that are like the ones that my unknown blogger, hopefully, friend found while garage ?saleing?.

Later today I'm going back to Target to pick up the darling bunny weathervain that I saw the other day and thought was interesting, but when I saw how creatively another one of my, hopefully, blogger friends used it, I've decided it must come home with me.

Well, I'm on a roll here today since I found my camera and got the house put back together after the decorating and vacation. Here's another picture of the office that for some reason didn't show up on the other office post. Also, a picture of a section of the kitchen with it's new blue & white checked wallpaper.

I'm still washing sheets and working on the closets upstairs, but inbetween loads and bed changing I keep adding posts. Kyle and Carrie are coming tonight to go to the Red Wing's game tomorrow so I better finish up, take a shower and get to the grocery store soon.