Burleigh Pottery

This morning while googling images for English country style I ran across this line of pottery to share. They describe Burleigh Pottery as the epitome of the classic English country look. This look isn't for every one I know, but I just love the homey undecorated look of the English country style home where nothing is perfect, too new looking or pretentious, just well lived in spaces cluttered with the stuff of every day life.

You can click here to see more from Burleigh Pottery.

Our Home Four Years Ago

It is hard to believe that we have lived here for four years now. This was not our first choice for a house when we were house shopping. The house that we were about to close on after we had sold our house did not pass the builders inspection. Now, in the grand scheme of things I know that it is not the end of the world, but it took me a long time to get over the Mud House never the less.

I've been reading Melissa's blog about being authentic this morning and am feeling the need to be more authentic here on my blog in order to be known authentically.

John is my third husband............I know, I can hardly believe it either. My family has a large family business that provides for me very well. Did any body watch that awful show Dirty Sexy Money last night? Well, on a much smaller scale that could be my family. A few different story lines and take it out a few generations and there you have us.

My first husband and I were married shortly after high school. We had our three beautiful children over the course of several years. Thirteen years later we were divorced. To this day I regret it and would advise anyone with children to stay married to the father of your children unless you are dealing with one or all of the four A's, adultery, addiction, abuse, or abandonment. Even then there is hope through the grace of God, but none of these were the reason for my divorce, I was an idiot.........that was the reason for my divorce. Before I knew it he was remarried and had adopted a little boy. Through it all he remained a wonderful father to my children.

On March 16, 1986 I was saved and born again through the blood of Jesus Christ our savior. Five years later in 1991 I married a man fifteen years older than me. We were married for 10 years but after the first 5 years it began to become clear that our differences could not be overcome even though we both tried very hard and sought all kinds of outside help and kept trying probably longer than we should have, but I now know why that was........

Two years after my second divorce my first husband had an aneurysm burst in his brain at a meeting. He never recovered. I know that he had some brain function immediately after the incident because when I went into the ER room when he got to the hospital I leaned over him and told him that the children would be fine and that I would take care of them and a tear rolled down his cheek. It was the worst time in our lives and it continued for two more years until he went home to be with the Lord in the spring of 2004.

Shortly after my second divorce I met my husband John. We were married in 2003 at which time I sold my home and cottage to move from a small central Michigan town to Metro Detroit. He sold his house and we found the Mud House and were excited to start our life together down here. On one of our first dates we began reading the Bible through in one of those read through the Bible in one year Bible's. He had come out of a difficult marriage and had turned to the Lord to help him come to terms with his situation. We finished reading our Bible coincidentally the day we were married. This was not my first time through it but it was his. That Bible reading and many prayers together have gotten us through some very difficult times.

Two weeks after my first husband went home to be with the Lord John's mother fell and broke her hip. Within a couple of days she also went home to be with the Lord. She was a loving mother and we were heartbroken by her loss.

It has been almost a year now that my second husband also went home to be with the Lord. As I mentioned above I now know why we were together. Shortly before he passed he asked me to come over to his house where he was in the final stages of his battle with lung cancer and he thanked me for bringing him back to God. He had a peace about him that I could feel even though I knew he was in a great deal of pain. He died two weeks later.

So, you are now probably thinking, what a nut case, and maybe so, but I have loved and I have lost, I've been a sinner and a saint and through it all the Lord has been beside me holding me in His arms comforting and leading me bringing me back to Him.

Some time ago I erased much of my blog because I became the topic of debate among some of the Christian bloggers. At that time I couldn't even put into words my experiences of the last few years. I was called an isolator, a Jezebel and blasphemer of the Word of God. Hopefully, what they said is not true, but if it is I repent of it and will continue to have faith in God who forgives us and guides us.

Back to the topic of our home. I give God all the glory for all that I have. It is all his and only mine to be a good steward of so it is this house and not the Mud House and that is just fine with me. Could my computer be broken so that I would have to use this old one so that I can finally put the past few years into words......Thank you Jesus, thank you all who have listenend to me ramble.

Hope I haven't scared any one off. This is the first time in years that I have been able to sort through all this.

It is nice to meet you authentically.

Linens and Things

This morning I decided to organize my table linens and discovered that many of my tablecloths don't even have a table to cover in this house any more. Hum? Let's see, there is the round blue one that goes to the table that Dana has now, better save that for her. Then there is the plastic outdoor blue & white checked round one that went on the round outdoor table that is in the basement waiting to be resurrected at someones cottage one of these days.
Does this happen to any one else or have I really turned into a pack rat? You would think I would pass them on and I really do give away a lot of things that I don't use but for some reason there are categories of items that just stay with me.


Guess that needs some pondering. For now though my linens are nicely organized and accessible, ready to be put to good use. Have you organized your table linens lately?

Photos above are from Very Fine Linens & emsheart via google image search.

Karla's Party

Today over at Karla's Cottage she has invited us to share what we love about our home. She has posted about her darling cottage including a recent photo shoot from Romantic Country Homes magazine that showcases her eclectic kitchen as well as other past articles that show its many transformation. I really can't say which one I like best, they have all been so creative and I love them all. Visit her blog at http://karlascottage.typepad.com/ and join in the fun if you like.

Since my computer is still down I can't post any new pictures about what I love about our home but one of our favorite things about this house are our weekly Tiki Sunday parties. Every Sunday during the summer we host an open house sort of pool party where we never know exactly who will show up but on most sunny Sunday afternoons we have a pool full of family, friends or both. Every one brings food to share and helps with the clean up so it is a fun relatively easy way to entertain.

Stop by Karla's and join in the fun and read about other bloggers homes.

Arcadia Bluffs

It has been a busy week here. Jury Duty turned out to be no big deal once I found my way to the court house, in fact, I never got selected to serve on a case and met a couple of lovely ladies that I shared the beautiful sunny day with. We had an hour and a half lunch break so we walked around Mt. Clemens and had lunch at a charming restaurant that had outdoor dining. The rest of the day we spent swapping recipes and telling each other about our daily life. I got the address and phone number of one of the ladies because she does alterations, but unfortunately I didn't get the others information. She was a factory worker for General Motors and was telling us about her schedule of working 8 hours a day, 7 days a week. As you may have heard on the news General Motors today decided to go on strike. I so wish that I had gotten her name so I could contact her to offer her my wishes of a speedy resolution to the situation. This is a very difficult time here in south eastern Michigan for so many people.
On a more pleasant note, last weekend, as I mentioned before, we went up north to see our girl friends newly remodeled cottage. My computer crashed last week and is in the shop being fixed so I'm using my old computer that won't let me upload my pictures, but to my pleasant surprise Sheryl at http://friendshipcottage.blogspot.com/ has written a couple of posts about the weekend that tell the tale, well most of it any way ;) She graciously omitted some of the events.

Above is a picture of the club house at Arcadia Bluffs where we had dinner Saturday night. You have to see the picture that Sheryl took of the bagpipe player with the sun setting behind him, amazing.

Jury Duty

Today I'm off to Jury Duty. I was hoping that my number wouldn't come up but it did so off I go to do my duty as an American.

Consignment Shop Majolica

Last week Dana and I had to go up north to Petoskey to pick up the chairs that I bought for the guest house last summer. While we were up there we went to our favorite consignment shop and I found two majolica pictures to add to my collection, they are the ones in the bottom photo.
The one on the left has is pink on the inside, the one on the right has a bird on a branch of what looks like an apple tree in bloom. The smaller ones in front are reproductions that we carried at Chloe's.
If you are in the Petoskey area I recommend that you take a look at this consignment shop, that I can't remember the name of but if you are interested let me know and I'll give you directions. We were in there for about an hour and during that time there were no less than six ladies in there that looked like they were Interior Designers stopping by on their lunch hours making calls to what appeared to be clients describing certain pieces that they were spotting. This place is a treasure trove of everything from furniture to small items that the people from the resort communities in the area bring in to sell. The prices are unbelievably low and the selection is top notch. It is probably hit and miss but both times that I have been there it has been packed with inventory.
I happily snatched up these two majolica pieces and a blue and white cache pot with a drip plate under it but could have loaded up the car with more goodies for the guest house if we would have had room with all the chairs already in there. We are hoping that in December when we start to put together the GH that they will still have a good selection.
Hope every one had a good weekend. This week I have Jury Duty............but next weekend several of my friend and I are going to our girl friends newly remodeled cottage on Lake Michigan and we are all very excited to see the finished product and share some girl time.
Thanks for all the sweet comments. I'm off to visit some blogs.

Happy Birthday Aaron

Happy birthday Aaron! Thirty four years ago today Aaron was born. When he was born the name Aaron was very rare, now it is much more common but in 1973 it became popular. That was the year that Hank Aaron broke records in the game of baseball. His name was every where and apparently people liked it, at least his last name. Aaron was also the name of the articulate brother of Moses according to the holy Bible. With a name like that how could you go wrong.

Aaron has lived up to his name. He was a good baseball player but really excelled at the game of golf. His prep school days were during the time that Tiger Woods was also coming up in the game of golf, he was the guy to beat. He also played on the same prep school team as Doug LaBelle who is now a member of the PGA. Aaron was coming on strong in the golf world but after a summer of internship as an assistant golf professional while in college he decided to change his path.

Aaron now works for our family business and like his Biblical name sake is an articulate man of God. Since his father passed away in 2004 after a two year illness Aaron has become the family spokes man. He is a strong leader of his brothers and sister and a role model of Christian grace.

These last few years have been difficult for him on several fronts but he, by the grace of God, has survived and grown to further his testimony reflecting the Lords promise to be with us through it all. It blesses me to see a smile on his face once again and hear the laughter, that was for so long stifled by grief, reappear.

God bless you my son, the gift that God so generously bestowed on your Father and I to raise. May you continue to grown in your walk with the Lord. I love you with all my heart and wish you the happiest of birthdays and blessing through out your life.

Living Room Flowers

When we were up north for the wedding I had a few minutes to visit the cutest shop in Charlevoix and got this cache pot with pink roses on it and a lavender plant to put in it. I put it on a table in the other corner of the living room but it didn't photograph well there so I stuck it here where the light is better, still not the greatest picture but you get the idea.
This mosiac platter with roses on it has been with me for a very long time. It get's moved around a lot and makes a nice serving piece for desserts at Easter.
We have two of these white and pink Morning Glory vases on either side of the secretary sitting on very rickety wall brackets. There is no way I could put anything in them without toppling the whole thing, so we just enjoy their pretty presence from afar. An errant feather duster can send the whole thing crashing to the ground.

Well, most of the flowers are fading in the garden but the sedum seems to be coming in nicely and will soon furnish some color. We also planted a few dahlia bulbs this spring that are starting to produce nice pinkish red blossoms that will look nice in the kitchen and great room.

It is about time to clean out the planters and replace the geraniums with some fall colored mums and change the door wreath. The wreath that I have used for years is looking pretty tired so after I go to the gym this morning I'll try to find something a bit fresher.

Hope everyone is well and enjoying these first few crisp fall like days. The weather here in Michigan has been glorious.

Thanks everyone for your kind comments on the wedding. Things have settled down some and Kyle & Carrie seem to be enjoying their wedded bliss while working on the mounds of thank you notes for all the generosity they received.

Mr. & Mrs. Kyle White

What a glorious time we had up north celebrating Kyle and Carrie's marriage. It really was a dream come true. The kids all forgot their cameras so I was in charge of all the pictures which is a frightening situation since I usually can't even remember where my camera is, but I must say I think I did alright, maybe it's because of blogging. In fact, there are so many pictures that I had to put them on a separate blog.

Not that anyone is interested, but if you would like to see more pictures of the wedding you can view them on the blog I set up for them at http://kylecarrieswedding.blogspot.com/ .

Hope everyone had a good week! Thanks for visiting and leaving a comment.

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.