Everyone's so serious today...

which is not a bad thing at all.

Frankly, I can handle only so many posts on granite counter tops (without which lives are empty and sad - or something.)

Debra, over at Bodeci Body has a wonderful post on validation -   Happiness or Validation 
and Bliss, over at Stepping My Way to Bliss, is starting a new series  and brings up some very important questions about the way we live.


As for me?  I'm, busy building ritual which sounds so much better than forming a habit.  Remember the book I had my hubby read while managing to keep my big yap shut?  Well, in "The Way We're Working Isn't Working" the author refers to habit changing as "building ritual."  Since last week we have been to the gym for eight straight days. Allow me to repeat that.  We have been to the gym eight straight days. If you ask hubby why - expect to hear,  "We're building ritual."

So glad I kept my mouth shut and allowed hubby to "own that book." 

Good Grief!!

I can't believe I haven't posted since November 2nd.  A gremlin must have stolen some of my posts.

While the weather was holding  I managed to get more work done each day.  I spent a few days butchering pruning trees and have all but 5 or 6 done.  Luckily hubby runs around with the truck and picks up the piles of limbs.  All I have to do is make a mess.  But now there is snow on the way and my outside garden days may be over for a few months. 

There have been some very interesting posts up about the coming holidays that I will be linking to in the next few days as well as adding some of my own thoughts.  For now I will leave you with some items of interest.

In case you missed it:

The lovely Fiona at How to be Chic has been doing a series called 30 Chic Days.  Do not let the fact that she is on day 17 alarm you.    All her posts are concise and informative.  You could easily read through them in no time at all.  Or you could read two a day for 15 days or 4 a day for - never mind - you get the message...

If you are not ADD and prefer to start with the first day - here it is  30 Chic Days - Day One

Debra over at Bodeci Body explains her absence in  11 Days to Fit and Fabulous, Then Life Happened.... and shares some wonderful news.

The Parisienne Farmgirl has finally unveiled her big gardening project and you can color me impressed!  Urban Homesteading - Pariesienne Farmhouse Style



And last years tips for a organized Thanksgiving:

Thanksgiving Dinner Preparation Tips


First thing tomorrow I will finish my Thanksgiving cards and letters so they can be mailed on Thursday. The envelopes were all addressed days ago.  Over the years I've discovered that doing the envelopes one day and the letters and/or short enclosure notes on two other days makes this a really fun endeavor. 

Vows are sometimes meant to be broken...

 Last year I banished all the silk flowers from my home except for one large Capodimonte vase in our bedroom and one vase that sits on a little shelf in the living room.  I vowed to never buy any more dust catching silks.  Ha!  Last week found me at Michaels buying some additions for my living room vase and my old autumn wreath.

I rarely start from scratch on any project but instead recycle and add a few new embellishments.  My motto is "quick, easy, and cheap."

The dried flowers that were in my living room vase were utterly disgusting and I couldn't get them in the trash pile fast enough. I picked up a few very inexpensive flowers and tall squiggly things that matched my cute little wall lamp shade (you can read about that cute little lamp here) and stuffed them in the vase. Time and money spent (other then shopping)?  Maybe 5 minutes and $4.00. 

My fall wreath, languishing in the barn got a few new fall leaves and a ribbon from the Dollar store crammed on it and hit the wall.  Time and money spent?  10 minutes and $2.00.  Ah - that's my kind of decorating...

Introducing another Adrienne. 

Good heavens!  The Adrienne's are multiplying like flies or mice - or something. 

La Vie Quotidienne (which means "daily life")  is home to Adrienne of the pretty red hair, 100 watt smile, and a flare for all things French.  Adrienne can make beautiful clothes,  has designer mice in her house, and has a scarecrow that's better dressed than moi. 

I threw in the moi (sole extent of my French) so Adrienne wouldn't think I was a dummy or something.  After all, she and Parisienne Farm Girl have potagers.  I only have a garden.  Sigh...

Meantime, Roz, over at La Bella Vita is whipping up one of my favorite breakfast or brunch items - frittatas.  As usual she has explicit instructions and great pictures.  I posted a simple "clean out the fridge frittata" a few months ago. 

Plums, comments, magazines, and some linky-love

I am obviosly way behind on addressing all my fine comments, but I promise you I will get to it later or sooner (I like to put the most likely to happen in first place.)

We had some of the last of our plums for breakfast this morning.  I chopped them up, put a dollop of plain yogurt on top, and a sprinkle of cinnamon/sugar for appearance and a bit of zip.  Lovely and delicious.

Last weekend I picked up some beets at the Farmer's Market in Coeur d' Alene.  And lo and behold, what does Roz over at La Bella Vita post but some excellent beet recipes including Beet Salad with Avocados and Machego Cheese.  Thanks, Roz.  Even if you hate beets and, trust me, people either love them or hate them, you must see Roz's pictures.  All her pics are the best!

The "other" Adrienne at Rich Life on a Budget offers up Tasteful vs Tacky,  Fiona at How to be Chic gives some hints for Instant Chic , while Debra at Bodeci Body brings us Of Women, Wine and Weight Loss - three fine posts that compliment each other nicely.  I keep these ladies in my Google Reader section labeled Inspiration for good reason.

 Introducing:


The Parisienne Farmgirl

Spend some time perusing this lovely blog.  It's fun, elegant, and informative.  According to her profile she likes:  Family, Gardening, NASCAR, Fashion, Politics, Cooking, and Bordeaux Wine.  My favorite thing about PF is her ability to be real.  No playing Miss Perfect for this smart and very pretty lady.  She also has her very own on-line shop full of very cool things at super reasonable prices.  And do be sure and tour her garden while you're there.

Magazines

Last week I received one of those "subscribe to our magazine for really, really cheap and we'll send you this bonus whatever for free 'cause you know you really want to do this since it's only twelve cents or less per issue" offer.  It was Victoria, a mag I like anyway and have subscribed to before, so I sent in the postage paid envelope and am eagerly awaiting my first issue.  Ladies, show some patience when it comes to subscribing to mags.  Sooner or later you'll receive an offer you can't refuse. 

From their website:

Simple, soft, and elegant...

Lunch is served...

Love these glasses...

Beautiful simplicity

The garden awaits. See you later...

Blogs of note ...

While wandering the inter-webs,  I've run across some very fun blogs.  I've even started a new category in my Google Reader and these ladies are some of my first entries.  

First up is "The Rich Life (on a budget)" by a beautiful young lady named - ta da - Adrienne, from Sonoma Valley, California.   Her motto is  "Spend Less, Live Better"

In her words:  

 "Living a rich life isn't about money. It's a mindset; a lifestyle. You can spend less without sacrificing quality. I will show you how! I live in the beautiful Sonoma Valley. Travel, books, cooking, exercise, wine, foreign flicks and a love for simplicity and sophistication is my rich life."

Adrienne has two darling Yorkies and a couple of bigger doggies, she likes Costco (and we all know how I feel about Costco!), has a handsome husband, and a little blue dress.  You'll have to go over there to find out about the little blue dress.  She is also over 6 feet tall  to my lowly 5"2", but I'm willing to overlook that 'cause she's such a nice lady. 

Here's Adrienne and her handsome hubby in France for her birthday trip...

While hanging out over at her place I noticed she follows the wonderful Diann at The Thrifty Groove, another great site.  

Next up is Fiona (don't you just love her name??) at How to be Chic.  We'll let her tell you about what she's up to:

"In real life, I don't live in a chic Paris apartment. I can make my real life more fun without having to move countries though. All I have to have is a little imagination. This is my online inspiration journal."

Pay this ladies a visit and plan to spend some time reading their delightful posts...

Pizza on the Grill and Homemade Sweet Cherry Tomato/Pesto Sauce and an Update on the Garden Tool Belt

 It started when I stopped in the Grocery Outlet and checked out their basket of  "fresh stuff that really needs to go away before it starts to smell" cart.  There was a whole bunch of organic cherry tomatoes that were perfectly fine as long as you planned to use them immediately.  Due to our erratic weather this year, my garden has not produced one tomato yet, so I scarfed up two packages for $1.00.

I remembered Roz over at La Bella Vita posting a recipe for sweet cherry tomato/pesto sauce.  I washed my tomatoes and popped them in a grill basket on the gas grill and ran out and picked a bunch of basil to make the sauce.  Then it hit me.  Hey - how about pizza on the grill since it's so dang hot in the house? I've always wanted to try pizza on the grill.

I pulled out my favorite pizza crust recipe and started a batch.  When the dough was ready, I cut it into four pieces, patted it out, and brushed it with extra virgin olive oil.  While it was resting on the cutting board I had the gas grill heating out on the deck.  Even though they were liberally brushed with olive oil, to be on the safe side, I sprayed the grates and threw on the small pizza rounds.  All it took was about 2 minutes per side.  Very rustic and ready for toppings.  Next time I'm going to make the crusts much thinner and make sure the edge is more raised (but they were still great!)

After just a few moments on each side they came back to the kitchen and we piled on the wonderful sauce, pepperoni, sweet onion, olives, and fresh grated whole milk mozzarella.  I turned off one side of the grill to cook with indirect heat and turned the other side to medium.  I put them back on for about 5 minutes to finish cooking the crust and melt the cheese.  Deliziosa!  

We couldn't eat more than one each so the two bare crusts pictured above are for tonight.  The left over toppings are ready to go.  Tonight we'll just pop them under the broiler for a few minutes.  Instant dinner...

Next I'm going to try making bread on the grill...

Roz also is starting something really fun called Fresh Friday.  It begins on Friday, August 27 for any blogger that has a post related to anything fresh.  

What does that include?

Roz says:

• fresh scent/s
• freshly prepared food
• non-packaged or preserved food (however canning or freezing 'fresh' food can be included)
• fresh new look/outfit/design/decor
• a fresh new quilt made, or any new hand-made treasure
• a fresh new beauty/exercise routine
• fresh cut flowers
• fresh new outlook, beginning, start, idea, experience, goal
• anything recently made or produced
• newly harvested 
• fresh, clean and pure:  water, air, make-up, rain, products you use/recommend
• anything unused and free from dirt, soil, impurities

Well that about covers it all.  

Read more at La Bella Vita  and say hi! to Roz...

Update on Garden Tool belt 

Tried out my new garden tool belt from Avon yesterday.   Wow!  It was better than expected.  Nothing fell out and it felt light as a feather when it was on.  My husband said I looked really serious while wearing it...(I think that was a compliment) 

Busy, busy, busy and some Linky Love

This time of the year is my busiest season.  Today I'll (finally) finish planting the last of 45 or so shrubs.  I still have five pots to plant after completing about 20, which includes the hanging ones. 

I've been moving along on my creation of a "lower" patio next to the deck.  It's an area designed to be reminiscent of an enclosed French or Italian garden. 

So what did I do yesterday?  Headed to Fred Meyer and bought a whole bunch more stuff to plant.  I'm crazy!  I'll get busy with some pics of the current work.  Here's some from the beginning of tulip season.

Not to Miss: 

I LOVE good homemade onion soup.  Diann over at The Thrifty Groove has the best post ever on French Onion Soup.  Oh my - pictures, history, recipes, and a give-away.  Thanks, Diann...

Susan, over at Writing Straight From the Heart has some beautiful pictures of her lilaces.  She asks if we have lilacs where we live.  Why yes, I do.  I am the proud caretaker for about 150 lilac bushes.  Do you think I like lilacs?  

An excellent guest post from Amanda over at The Shabby Chic Cottage - On Balanced Blogging


Annnnnnnnnnnnd...Gina (The Shabby Chic Cottage)  is having an Etsy Sale.  Yahoo!


Have a nice weekend.

Roosters and Some Linky Love

One of the dealers at My Favorite Things is really, really into roosters.  When I was a little girl, my Aunt Laurie decorated her kitchen in a rooster theme.  Since she has impeccable taste, it was never overdone.  Many years ago, Aunt Laurie gave me a wonderful Deruta rooster pitcher.  I was a little shocked when I visited their website and saw how expensive  their pitchers have become. 

Rooster Ladies Space

This is just one little part of the space. There is another large cabinet to the left and one to the right.  I didn't know there were that many roosters thingys in the world.

This little guy caught my eye 'cause he was so different.  He's cloth with little wooden feet and hand embroidery on his side. Very cute!

 My Deruta pitcher lives on top of my kitchen cabinets (when I'm not using it.)  I use everything I own, living by my Mom's motto, "if it's too good to use, it's too good to have."

Note Bene:  I just about died laughing when I looked at the picture and realized there was dust string festooned from the rooster's handle.  I decided to post the picture anyway.  Hmmmm, must be time to clean the top of the cabinets.  Ya think?

I love the bright flowers...

Some Linky Love:

One of my favorite blogs to visit is Imagine Cozy owned by the lovely Angela  Ingo.

From her profile:

I love to redesign rooms! It is such a passion of mine that I have decided to teach how simple it can be---doing it one step at a time. You will be able to pick and choose what you want to do, but with each step your space will become more cozy and comfortable.

Angela provides wonderful before and after photos of rooms showing how proper placement of furniture can change a space.  Too often we concentrate on details and forget that the "bones" of the room must be right.  Angela teaches good sound design principles in an easy to understand manner.  Give her a visit.

Visiting New Friends

I wanted to say hi! and pay a visit to all the nice ladies that left comments on my Show and Tell post and see what they've been doing.

Chari over at Happy To Design has a wonderful faux fireplace she installed in her living room. We have a wood stove in our living room, but I've been lusting after the wonderful fireplaces you can get at Costco.  Haul it home and plug it in.  It really looks quite real for a fake. It would be so nice in by bedroom.

I will be spending lots of time over at The Thrifty Goove. Diann has oodles of ways to save money.  Check out her thrifty and gorgeous finds from her last shopping trip...   

Just got back from  Hootin' Anni's.  You have to see the photo of shells Anni posted.  Gorgeous!  Anni also has a photo blog called Colors of the Wind.  She's pretty handy with a camera and will probably laugh when I show my homemade light box...

Next I visited Glenda over at Dab of This and That.  Glenda makes dollhouses (I love dollhouses), and re-fashions jewelry.  A very, very talented lady... Check out her miniature greenhouse. It is adorable!

Juniper Hills Antiques is the store owned by sisters, Linda and Suzanne.   Their new blog is called Juniper Hill and is just chock full of wonderful photos and ideas.  Be sure and check out their "pretty things" section of their store...

Next on the tour is Walnuthaven Cottage to visit Rechelle who is one busy, busy lady.  She has some new vintage family china to show off.

Rosie over at Journey to Charm claims she's trying to learn how to decorate.  Ahem - she's already great!  Do not miss the tea cart she snagged for $35.00. I am beyond jealous...

Ok - four more places to visit. Except I have to take a dog feeding break before they chew off my leg.  And then it's off to watch Dancing With the Stars...

Art Journals

Art Journaling

I think art journals are so much fun. One of my inspiration journals I started years ago was really a form of art journal.  To me it was just a fun book where I could cut and  paste, decorate with colored pens or crayons, and write a few things.  Now I've come to find out it's some sort of big deal art form. That means I can now obsess whether mine is "good enough."  Aren't we silly creatures sometimes???

If you keep a notebook filled with decorating ideas and inspiration, you're already doing a form of art journaling. Some of the decorating notebooks I've run across are "works of art" (not to be too obvious!)

I think art journals would be a wonderful project to start with children.  Just think - every rainy day when the kids whine, "I'm gored bored", you can look over and say, "Let's work on our art journals." 

One of my favorite sites for inspiration is Kelly Kilmer.  Kelly is both a very accomplished artist and a busy instructor.  In addition to her blog she has her artist's website where you can check out where she may be having a workshop. 

Isn't this page beautiful?  

And if that isn't enough she also has "A Prompt a Day" online classes. I'm planning on signing up for November.  Her site is also a wealth of great links to places selling great pens at super low prices, and links to her favorite paint sources.

Check out her finished Prompt a Day Journals from January to October....Wowzaa!

Another fun and inspirational site is Aimeslee at   Paper Paisleys.  I've exchange some emails with Aismeslee and she is just delightful and full to bursting with creativity.  Aimeslee not only does art journaling but all sorts of paper projects.  I don't think she's ever met a piece of paper she didn't love.  Here's what Aimeslee says about herself:  "paper hoarder... art supply collector... paper craft hobby artist... I pretend I'm an artist and make pretty things..."

Aimeslee's  journal page from her post Bad Hair Day, Life, and Art School Update.

Now that you've seen some really gorgeous stuff  let's take a look at mine.  No laughing allowed!!!


My cover: 

This is an art book I had laying around. Did I mention my love for notebooks? I have a whole box full. It's an obsession!

This is a page that I gesso'ed (big mistake), then tried to use water color (another big mistake - I HATE working in water color- what was I thinking?)  By the time I got to the lettering, I was soooooooooooooooo out of the mood.  I also couldn't find my glue gun and on and on. But I had fun and  guess what? I know what day I harvested the lavender this year and my book smells divine!!

More on Art Journal's:



Aislings Art Journals:  How to create and keep an art journal (this site is chock full of fun stuff!)
Teesha Moore:  Teesha's Circus Teesha is another well known artist and journaler

Clutter,Tulips, and Linky Love

What do tulips and clutter have to do with each other? Nothing! It's just so happens one of my tasks for today is planting this years batch of tulips before the rain starts up again.  Even though I avoid doing heavy labor on Sunday, because of rain I had to mow about 3 acres last Sunday.  As soon as I finished it started to rain, and continued to rain all night and all day Monday, so my timing was excellent.  The sun is out right now, but not for long, so today is tulip day. Every year I plant spring bulbs by the hundreds to add to my collection.   I really hate this task (even though it goes pretty fast), but the spring reward is worth the autumn angst.

Let's Talk About Stuff

I love pretty things and I really have a tendency to love my stuff. You know the stuff I'm talking about.  It creeps and crawls its way into our homes and pretty soon all our time is spent taking care of this stuff.  We clean it, move it, and most of all, we organize it.  News flash - you can't organize clutter.  Trust me on this one. I've spent years organizing stuff that should have been kicked to the curb years ago.

I still remember my first apartment.  Tiny by most standards. A small living/dining combo with a galley kitchen.  A smallish bedroom, walk-in closet, and bathroom. There was a slider in the bedroom that opened onto a tiny walled in patio. I LOVED that apartment.  The living room was large enough for a love seat, two directors chairs, and a WWII army trunk that I used for a coffee table and extra storage. The dining table was a wonderful round iron patio table and matching chairs.The bedroom was big enough for a double bed and one bedside table.  A small dresser lived in the closet.

So what was so special about this apartment aside from the large windows, cute shuttered doors on the kitchen entry, and some built in shelves in the living room?  It DIDN'T HAVE A BUNCH OF STUFF IN IT~  sorry for shouting...

That being said (shouted), I'm not suggesting you get rid of all your stuff. Some stuff is good stuff and fun to have.  But guard against the creep of too much stuff.  In the future I'll talk about more specific stuff that needs to go and some strategies for keeping our homes under control.

Now I'm going to send you off to look at some pictures of glorious stuff  (how schizophrenic is this???)  over at My Romantic Home.  Cindy (one gorgeous lady, by the way!), was nice enough to take oodles of pictures at her favorite shop, "Vintage and Vogue." It made my mouth water!

Spend some time over at My Repurposed Life.  This lovely lady who signs her posts "G", is one of the cleverest DIY'er I've run across.  There are a wealth of ideas there to spark your imagination.

Check out this bathroom make-over at The Embellished Bayou.  Christy highlighted a room re-do miracle one of her friends did on a bathroom.  It has stuff - just not too much stuff.   Perfect!! 

For balance, Laura over at I'm an Organizing Junkie, will keep you from diving off the deep end. It's all about balance, doncha know. She also hosts Menu Monday with over 400 people linking to their menus for the week.

Before you go check out these gorgeous spring bulbs....

I planted this tulip last year.

 

 Over the years I've added more and more parrot tulips

 

I really love pastels

 

But still have some wonderful reds for sparkle

 

Spring would not be spring without lots of grape hyacinth

I've seen my crocus blooming in the snow.