Little Bouquets of Happiness

Earlier this summer I found a bunch of vintage yo yo's at a yard sale that were grouped together to make a clown and a dog. Even though they were cute I decided to take them apart so that I could use the yo yo's for something fun and unique. Later in the summer I found these bed springs at a yard sale and knew that I wanted to make vases out of them. I remembered that I had been saving the yo yo's and thought they would make sweet flowers. I added the finishing touch of vintage buttons and earrings as flower centers. These happy flower vases will be for sale at the Mad Hatter Vintage Market in October.

WORSHIP

Alias

Amanda and I adore Sydney Bristow. What a girl! We love her work wardrobe and secretly wish we had her job. We have been watching the first season of Alias this summer (for the 3rd time) and never get tired of her great moves and sweet face.

Celebrating Fall (a bit early)

Summer is not my favorite season. I know, to some of you that statement is sacrilegious but I really love fall. Not that there aren't some wonderful aspects of summer, like, huckleberries, lilacs, jet skiing, peaches, fresh corn on the cob, sandals, toenail polish, zinnias and sun flowers. There are also some not so good aspects of summer, for instance, heat, sweat, and bugs. Heat makes me feel lethargic, unmotivated, and crabby. I have fair skin and while I used to bake in the sun to get that perfect summer glow I no longer want to risk my life for a tan. So usually toward the end of August I start feeling fall in the air and it makes me wish for summer to be over. I love the colors of fall and the cool nights and sunny warm days. I enjoy fall foods and the chance to eat anything made of pumpkin. It's funny that I actually could eat as much pumpkin as I want all year but for some reason it is most enjoyable in the fall. I enjoy decorating for fall and the opportunity to use orange in abundance in my color scheme. Because I live with a summer lover I feel guilty wishing summer away so I usually try to rally towards the end but I am secretly wishing for a sweater a good book and a bowl of soup. I was inspired by Jerusalem over at My Little Life who feels the same way I do and just decided to be done with summer and bake pumpkin bread. So I decided to do a little celebrating myself and ordered my favorite candy in the world, pumpkin truffles from Sweet Shop USA ...... a fantastic way to start the fall season!

HOME

A house is a HOME when it shelters the

body

and comforts the

soul.

Phillip Moffitt

Hi, My Name's Amanda....

This morning as I was courageously blogging about my magazine addiction, Amanda got out of bed and came into the office to say good morning. I told her that today I was going to blog about my serious and costly problem involving magazines and she said, "Wow mom, way to fess up!"

Um...wow Amanda, look what's under your bed!

Like grandmother, like mother, like daughter, I guess.

You can check out her blog at, voyagetoutlemonde.blogspot.com.

Hi, My Name Is Cindy........

I'm not sure how comfortable I am revealing this little secret about myself but I am addicted to magazines. There I said it. It all started in my childhood years. Now, I am not blaming my mom....I have made my own choices. No one put a gun to my head and forced me to purchase magazines (they wouldn't have to) but I did grow up with a mom who had a bit of a problem herself (sorry mom for outing you but you know it's true)!

I grew up in a home where furniture was always moved around and color schemes were changed on a regular basis. When I came home from school chances were that something had been painted or re-painted and a new outfit for me or one of my sisters had been completed. I am grateful for being raised by a creative mom. I know that she must have been inspired by many articles and photos that she found in those magazines that she purchased so many years ago.

I am equally inspired by beautiful photos of other peoples living spaces and their creative ideas. It is my all -time favorite way to relax....sipping ice-tea while looking at decorating and craft magazines. The magazine industry, especially the decorating magazine industry, has been very adversely effected by the recession and so many have stopped production. I was very pleased to See that Ki over at junkcamp.blogspot.com and her friend Matthew Mead are starting a new magazine called, Flea Market Style. I wish them much success. So, while there are not as many magazines out there as there used to be there are a multitude of amazingly talented bloggers who share wonderful photos and ideas that inspire me daily. Thank goodness for that!

Okay, so this is a red trunk I have in my basement that is , guess what......

filled with magazines!

So is the bottom

shelf of this cupboard in

the guest bedroom.

And the bottom shelf of this bookcase in the office.



You can read about this new publication over at, junkcamp.blogspot.com.

Recycled Thermoses

When we head out to estate sales we are usually on the look-out for certain items that interest us or have eluded us but these vintage thermoses (or is it thermi ?) just keep running into us. We think that they are darling all grouped together as vases. Most of them are actually in great shape and could still be used as...thermoses but I think they are definitely happier as vases.

I Love My Camera

I have a minimal understanding of how to use my Cannon PowerShot S5 digital camera but in spite of my ineptness, it takes beautiful photos like these.

I wanted to take a photo of this Lilly that had just bloomed in one of my flower beds and as I zoomed in I noticed the yellow jackets busy doing what yellow jackets do. I was also stunned at the amazing color combination going on.


The texture was also incredible. The darker dots on the Lilly are actually raised up like hairs or thorns and you can see that in the photos. The vibrant orange pollen on the stamens is very thick and looks stunning against the fuchsia of the Lilly.

Thanks PowerShot...you make me look good!

Zucchini, Squash, and More Zucchini!

Chocolate Chip Orange Zucchini Bread

INGREDIENTS

3 eggs
2 cups white sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon orange zest
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

DIRECTIONS
Sift together flour, baking powder, soda, salt, and spices.
In a large bowl, beat eggs until light and fluffy. Add sugar, and continue beating until well blended. Stir in oil, vanilla, zucchini, nuts, chocolate chips, and orange rind. Blend in sifted ingredients. Turn batter into two greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 50 minutes, or until bread tests done. Remove loaves from pans, and cool.

I have been trying out some new zucchini recipes and though this one from allrecipes.com was pretty yummy! More recipes to follow.

How Easily We Forget

As I was looking at photos this morning and complaining to myself about the heat and how tired I am of sweating, I came across these photos of last winter!!!

Summer can stay as long as it wants!

The Freakin Never Ending To Do List

My good friend Sara sends great website addresses my way and this is the latest...thanks Sara!

You can find these free printable lists at, erinvaledesign.com. I am a hard core list maker. If I lost my notebook that contains my lists for everything, I seriously wouldn't have a clue what I should be doing. Some people criticize list makers but it is my humble opinion that making lists frees up the mind to be creative and not be bogged down with trying to remember everything that needs to get done. Of course you could be like some people I know (I'm not going to name names) that aren't bothered by the fact that they can't remember what they should be doing therefore don't feel stressed at all. I on the other hand would be completely stressed out not having a list so I could check things off. Just to give you a picture of how list dependant I am....if I accomplish something that was not on my list....I will write it on the list just so I can cross it off!! Yep, I know!

I also just love the Dreamy Blog Topics List. Since I started blogging in March I find myself looking at life differently. Every day not only holds the potential for a Kodak Moment but now I am always looking for blog topic opportunities. There are more free printables at erinvaledesign.com so go on over and take a look. She has some great recipes too!

Cool Spaces For Kids

I ordered this fun book from Amazon and when it arrived Amanda said,"but mom, you don't have little kids." She said it like I needed to finally come to grips with the fact that all my children are grown up. But there is hope on the horizon! Our 5 1/2 month old grandson Liam is going to need some cool kid spaces of his own one day. So I am getting ideas now so that I have plenty of time to get these projects accomplished.

Cool Spaces For Kids

Sam Scarborough

Liam at the lake.