I've Done It For 52 Years!

I've added even more photos to my Pinterest page. Go visit it and see them. I know you'll love all the images.
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A few weeks ago at church, hubby invited some friends over for dinner before he told me he was going to do it. He's such an entertainer and social animal; I'm not. That wasn't a problem really, but he drove me crazy that afternoon.

The friends were invited over for leftovers from Christmas—ham. It was a beautiful and huge ham and although, I love ham I didn't particularly want it for 4 or 5 meals. Hence, we invited them to help us eat it. He fretted like a little ol' lady about dinner. Remember, I've been cooking his meals for almost 52 years.

Hubs: What about potatoes?
Me: I'll mash a big pot so you'll have some leftovers for next week.
Hubs: Great! Sounds good.

Hubs: What about salad?
Me: What about it?
Hubs: Could we have some coleslaw?
Me: What if I just make a fruit salad?
Hubs: OK! Good, good.

Hubs: What vegetable should we have?
Me: I'll make my famous fried corn.
Hubs: Ooooh, yeah, that sounds good.

Hubs: I think we should use some good china.
Me: Uh-huh. (Sighing at this point.)

Hubs: How about those leftover caramelized yams?
Me: Uh-huh, fine.

Hubs: I'm cutting up some pickles and putting some olives on a plate.
Me: Uh-huh, fine.

Hubs: I'm making a pitcher of sassafras tea.
Me: Okay, but not everyone likes the taste of it so why don't we have juice or something.

Hubs made a pitcher of the sassafras tea and had to explain what it was and how he loved it growing up. I knew the drink would necessitate a history of his childhood! It did. Sigh.

She and I had water. I think hubs was disappointed she didn't try the sassafras tea. (Snicker)

After dinner and after they left, I cut the rest of the ham off the bone and wrapped it up and threw away the bone. I told him cleanup was up to him and left the kitchen.

Let's see how long it is before he asks anyone over to dinner again. ;-) I love this man to no end. :-)
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A yellow laundry room is quite cheerful.

Ireland. Love that country.

Painted cookies? Adorable.

Sweet tweet hangers. ;-)

Darling cups and bowls.

Aren't these the most adorable hatboxes you've ever seen?! I love them.

Old world walkway with pretty tubs of colorful flowers to brighten up the drab stone homes.

More beautiful perfume bottles.

Darling kitchen with plenty of work space.

I really, really, REALLY like this room!

A profusion of pink flowers on a balcony.

Cute ol' French tubs.

Pretty vintage green tri-fold doors.

Cute vignette in a vintage room.

Just some eye candy to leave with you.

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Tidbit:
Only U.S. town where mail arrives by mule: Supai, AZ (at the floor of the Grand Canyon).
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Linking up with NMH Open House party.

Making Room In This House

Okay, getting the new sofa has put us in a tizzy around here trying to figure out how to do the family room with 2 sofas in it. Our granddaughter can't come get it at the moment and we can't go over there right now. We have to go through 2 ranges of mountains to get to Washington, the Blues and Snoqualmie. It usually snows in both this time of year. So, we're stuck with 2 sofas until the weather is good or February when we go over there for a model train convention that hubby is participating in. Even then the weather is iffy.

Here's what the family room looks like after I spent 2-3 days "thinking" about what I wanted to do. Thinking actually could be ruminating here! And, yes, that's Love Bunny reading a book. There is still much to do in that room. As you can see, there is still stuff in the dining area to do something with. And this is after moving stuff around for 2 days! Sigh...

Now, as I said, it's after cleaning out a lot of stuff, which is now sitting in the garage to be given to the thrift store or a friend who is coming over to take some stuff I'm giving her since her tastes and mine run along very similar lines.

A lot more things have got to go. We cannot live with so much "stuff" any longer. I certainly wish some of you like-minded bloggers who like the same style lived closer to me. I'd give it to you in a heart beat. More later.
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Isn't this a beautiful street? Reminds me of a street in Ireland hubs and I walked down.

Beautiful vignette.

If I've shown this before, forgive me. It's still joyful!

This is one of those white rooms I love.

A gorgeous pink and yellow bedroom.

My dining room furniture isn't even this beautiful. :-)

Coast of Italy. Okay, go ahead, swoon!

Pretty containers full of posies.

Okay, it's pretty, but think of the walk to the grocery store and back. Whew!

I. Love. This. Chair. I shall never have it though. :-(

Isn't this adorable? Notice my pink and white striped taffeta curtains. They have excellent taste! ;-)

Clever idea.

You can actually make this pink candy if you'd like. White almond bark and pink coloring.

I have no idea where this house is but I think it's lovely, especially with the pink clematis.

Sorry this is so small but I thought you'd like to see it no matter how small.

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Working on in The Studio

Sneak peek at what I'm working on in the studio today. Just a little something I'm whipping up. ;-)

And I want to share with you the most exquisite letter I received from my blog writing partner from Ireland. It was written on the back of this paper! I think I'm going to use the paper for another one of my birdhouses. The photos do NOT do it justice, trust me. It is absolutely beautiful.

And she was so kind as to send me some souvenirs of her beautiful country, Ireland. Now, we've been to Ireland and I've been wanting to do a post on that most magnificent of countries and will sometime very soon. We had a wonderful time driving through it.
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White Linens #2

We can strew a beautiful battenburg lace cloth on the grass with a picnic basket and beautiful crystal stemware—even if it is just tuna salad sandwiches, we can still make it elegant and memorable.

There is nothing I like more than crisp white ironed embroidered little towels for my guests in my guest bathroom. I know they recognize the extra touches also. Always have fresh extra towels in there for them.

Who can resist shadows flittering across a beautiful white linen cloth with a vintage salt shaker?

Lovely bedpost draped with exquisitely fine linens tied back with a beautiful white tassel.

This is absolutely how I do every single shelf in my home. It just adds that feminine and luxurious touch to any room.

Or drape lots of exquisite lace over the head of your bed. You don't need a crown to do this; it can be done with cup hooks, I can assure you.

Another beautiful bedpost with linens draped around it.

You also don't need wicker or wood tables to add beauty. With a long linen tablecloth draped to the ground you could even use a folding table to hold your little tête-à-têtes.

The most vivid memories I have of Ireland are their windows being so sparkly clean and adorned with lace. Almost without exception that was the norm there. I'll never ever forget it. We did, in fact, pick up some lace curtains in a little shop in Ireland and they have graced our windows in many a house.

While my primary use of lace is for privacy (I have it on every single window of my home except hubby's office), my secondary reason is for the feeling of romance it brings to a home. Nothing else can quite measure up as lace does.

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