The other evening when we were relaxing around the fire, I took a picture of Milo with my phone. I rarely use my phone for pictures since I have a small simple camera that fits in my purse. I have never really wanted to upgrade to a bigger and more complex camera as I have so little patience for technical things. I don't even use Photoshop, although I enjoy seeing what people come up with. The pictures in this post were taken using an application on my android called Retro Camera. I think they are awesome.
The weather here seems to be warming up. It is 42 degrees as I write this and the sun is trying very hard to come out. I don't know what I would do outdoors besides take a walk as the ground is still frozen and we can expect more frosts and snow in the next few weeks. No sign of any of my bulbs coming up yet. I did sit down and order some vegetable and flower seeds from Renee's Garden. If you haven't been to this website, have a look. She has beautiful heirloom seeds and now has 2 cookbooks all about cooking with ingredients from your garden.
You would think that being in the city I would have to buy my vegetables at the grocery store {and I do, we have a marvelous selection year round}, but we also have some great farm stands. When I used to work in downtown Chicago, across the street was The Daley Plaza, named after our mayor. Fun events were always happening there and I walked through it everyday several times going to court. One of the things I loved best was the Wednesday Farmer's Market. Vendors came from all over, including Michigan and Indiana and sold fresh vegetables, flowers, jams and baked goods. Sly as I am, I found that if I was hanging around at closing time, I could usually score some free flowers.
While the weather still makes it too cold to do much other than sulk, I have a few projects going on in the house {other than the Laundry Project, a never ending endeavor}. I brought home a few frames from my Dad's house and I am in the process of painting them and then I am going to do some different things with them. I have seen so many great picture frame projects and I really want to start working on wall art for the family room. Remember that project? It is still waiting to be done as son Jeff is still at home while he house hunts. I'm not able to order furniture until he takes the furniture that is in there. After seeing the slip covered couch at IKEA, I have had that on my mind so I did a little research online and sound that JC Penney's has a beautiful white slip covered couch that I am really impressed with. But for now it is just a far off plan, depending on when my son moves...and I'd rather have him here.
Plans are being finalized on out trip to Asheville. I feel like the only person in the world who has never been to the Biltmore. Today I read a little more information on it and I can't believe all there is to do there, besides tour the mansion and gardens. There are many different types of restaurants and shops. I am wondering if I should bring an empty suitcase with me to bring my goodies home in. And The Husband has not stopped looking for things to occupy his time with, although I am really lucky that he likes to shop, maybe more than me if that's possible. He wants to take fly fishing lessons. I am still mulling that over. Believe it or not, I'm pretty good at fishing, being near all these lakes here in the Midwest. I mentioned the gourmet kitchen we have in our suite...maybe we will have a fish fry. I am also really excited that I will be meeting and having lunch with Penny from The Comforts Of Home. That is really going to be fun.

Well, this is just a random post as usual, I hope I didn't bore you. I am off to get some laundry done, even though the cleaning ladies do all the sheets and towels, somehow I feel the need to let them know I do something around here! lol! Have a great week! :-)

~DREAMY DAYS~

It's been a very quiet Saturday. I blogged and cleaned and blogged a bit more, cleaned a bit more...blah, blah, blah. You know, The Husband said that he and his staff has been complaining at the office about having cabin fever. It's hard for me to imagine people working in a high rise building in a major bustling city having cabin fever {office fever}, but I guess it happens to the best of us.
We didn't go to the lake as The Husband had a lot of paperwork to work on in our home office. It was just as well since it has been raining and snowing all day long. Although we had projects planned at the lakehouse, the weather makes it more depressing there since we are so used to enjoying outdoor time there. I keep thinking about all the work I have to do on my English flower garden and it makes me get a little catch in my throat. I'm anxious to get started.
We are having a quiet evening. A fire has been burning since this afternoon. I made bacon wrapped fillets for dinner with boiled potatoes, green beans and garlic bread. Now we are just enjoying the fire and sipping a glass of wine.

I have been playing with vignettes on my kitchen window sill. I spend SO much time in my kitchen and most of the time with my hands in hot soapy water. Say hello to Blondie in the window. :-)
Tomorrow I hope to get out for a little while, even if it is to wander around CVS looking at makeup, stocking up on clearance items, smelling candles and buying a few St. Paddy's Day decorations. I go into a trance sometimes looking at all the enticing things to buy in each aisle; scented body lotions promising miracles, paperback books that you can read in a weekend and cute greeting cards that make you laugh out loud. Do you ever get caught up in that? Maybe it's just me. Small things amuse me.
And lastly, our plans for Asheville are finalized. We are going for a week in mid May. A WHOLE week. Yay! I heard such nice things about the Biltmore and so did The Husband as he perused the Internet, so we are staying at the Residences At Biltmore which is adjacent to the estate. It is described as an "All suite hotel nestled on top of a hill outside the gates of the Biltmore Estate." We have a living room, bedroom and kitchen, which is outfitted with granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances. It sounds nicer than my own kitchen. I don't however, plan to spend much time in it. All in all, I am pretty excited.

So that has been a short synopsis of my day. I hope yours was good, too. See you next week! :-)

SUN THERAPY

I'm sunburned. I have that rosy glow. No, I haven't taken off to the tropics, although I wish I had. I had Sun Therapy, my doctor's recommendation for a chronic rash I have. Off to the tanning salon for 8 minutes of sunlight and I came out looking positively peachy. Since I haven't seen the hot sun in months, the first time is always a little brutal. I sort of like looking like I just came back from the Bahamas. It lifts my spirits and makes me forget it is 28 degrees outside.
A little retail therapy helps, too. I had so many things come by way of UPS this week that the boxes piled up at the curb make it look like we just moved in. I found some great things for the backyard and garden, here and at the lake, I'll have to save those things to show you. I found some new websites and Etsy shops thanks to some fellow blogger/shoppers and I have been having a ball.
And I have had my first few experiences bidding on ebay, which is a thrill of it's own. My biggest acquisition was a Kate Spade purse at $50.00 off the original price. I LOVE Kate Spade. Her name could be on a shoe horn and I would buy it. My signature wedding gift is always a Kate Spade vase. I also won some silver candlesticks and a candle lantern. Fun, fun, fun.
It was time to redecorate the mantel, put a little spring into it. A sweet blogger mentioned that I should add a little greenery, so that I did. Emily did most of the work here, my only words were, "Layer and elevate". She did a great job, as always.
This is a table runner with script that I found on a shopping website. I love it on my old cabinet.

Last night I was perusing the new Wisteria catalog and I noticed something that shocked me. I make a habit of ordering from their clearance section online and I noticed that some of the vignettes included items I had bought there. They weren't being offered for sale, just added to the pictures. Now that's recycling in the retail world. By the way, last time I was there they were having an 80% off clearance sale. Ooh la la.
Now, moving on past all my shopping excitement as of late, The Husband and I have been pushing ideas around for a short trip. With son Kevin's wedding just 5 months away, it doesn't look like a prime time to head off to England or Bora Bora. I suggested we go back to Martha's Vineyard as we loved it so much when we went a few years back. But he wants to go some place new so we have agreed on Asheville, N.C. in May. I don't know much about Asheville; The Husband keeps calling it the Paris of the South. Does anyone have any experience there? We will more than likely stay at a B&B, check out the sights, do a few tours {they have vineyard tours with wine tasting, who would have thought in North Carolina?}. And of course there is always the shopping. So let me have your input if you will...it sounds like a sure thing.
Off we go to the lake again this weekend, only this time we are going to work on projects to keep us busy. The Husband is going to spend time on the kitchen to get that completed and I am going to paint some furniture. Thankfully, the garage is heated. Hopefully we will have more to keep us busy while we await the warmer weather. What do you have planned for the weekend? I hope the sun stays out. Have a great one! :-)

GARDEN DREAMS

It has been raining and snowing for the past week and today the sun is finally peeking out from behind the clouds .It makes me think today will be a great day. That vitamin D level is definitely up. And it has been a good couple of days since I last posted, just getting out of the house and having the kids coming through my revolving door. Keeps me on my toes.
I have been looking through my seed catalogs and I decided that in addition to growing a few tomato and pepper plants at the lakehouse, I will attempt a vegetable garden here at home again. I have a nice size plot that has a little fence around it to keep the dogs out, little stones to walk on and full sun most of the day. Forgive me if I sound ambitious, but I used to grow beans, peas, carrots, zucchini, lettuce and eggplant. And of course tomatoes and peppers. Other than the squirrels playing toss with my tomatoes, the garden thrived. Then along came an invasive weed and every spring it would take over and choke all my plants to death. It was impossible to keep up with so I threw in the towel.
Since then I have been content to grow my favorite herbs in a little plot next to the back door and in some pots. I LOVE fresh herbs when I cook. But this year I am putting on the boxing gloves. I am going to turn over the soil in that big garden bed, put down some weed killer and let it go to town for a few weeks before I plant my seeds.
Yes, I am determined this year. Daughter Emily became a vegan about 6 months ago. She has really been learning how to cook with vegetables and herbs and spices. I hope the garden will gain her interest. She was such a big help when she was a little girl...well she was more interested in looking for worms.
And as I continue on with my Weight Watchers diet, totally stuffing my self on healthy foods, it is going to be so nice to eat my own homegrown veggies. Do you have a garden? Big or little?
Friday Emily and I went to a gift shop a couple of blocks away. It's one of my go to places when there is an occasion to buy a gift. She was going to a party and needed something, so I walked around and snapped some pictures.
Look at these cute purses. They are very summer~like to me so maybe I will go back for one in a few months. I think ruffles are going to be in vogue for awhile longer.
And I thought these signs were really fun. They have everything from candles to jewelry. It's a very popular place.

Saturday night we went out with friends to dinner and a play. It was a good time. I have a habit of taking pictures everywhere I go, but the play involved nuns and they have some scary habits of their own. It really was fun, an interactive sort of play in a church setting, complete with the nuns from your catholic school nightmares. I don't think you ever get over that fear. At the end when we got to meet the actors, I found out Sister Bernice was one of the people we go to Las Vegas with every year. I didn't recognize Mary Ann under the habit!
Well, it looks like it is time to get my day started. Layla is not looking too excited about it.
Milo is the sort of "throw anything my way" kind of dog. He'll help me in the garden this spring and Layla will lie in the shade.
In the meantime we have to be content with the last few weeks of winter. I try to take each day as it comes...make every hour happy as they say. There will be days that I am snuggled down in my nest (still trying to make my way through Pride And Prejudice), poring over the seed catalogs and dreaming of warm weather. And before I know it, spring will be here. Yay!

I am linking with Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday. Thanks for visiting! :-)

~~HEARTS & ROSES~~

Sometimes you are reading a blog and you find a link to another blog that looks interesting. Or you are reading the comments on a post at a blog and you find one that captures you, and you think, "I like this person, I have to check out her blog." Well, that happens to me all the time and that's probably why I follow so many blogs. And that is how I met Suzan.
Her blog is called Old Grey Mare. She is sweet and witty and down to earth. And crafty. Give her a piece of twine and a twig and she will create something memorable. And now I am head over heels that she has opened her own shop called a Mare Of A Different Color. These are some of the beautiful, handcrafted pieces you can order. And things are selling fast.
These are the gorgeous little {I shouldn't say little, they measure about 5' x 4'} hearts that smell heavenly. I couldn't stop at ordering just one. Use them as sachets, or fill a cute basket with them as I did...I am in LOVE! Pop in and visit Suzan and tell her Blondie said Hi! I hope you are soon hearing the knock of your little UPS man with a beautiful pink and green box filled with goodies.

See you soon! :-)

WINTER WEEKEND AT THE LAKE

Warning: These pictures may make you shiver. The lake is covered with a sheet of ice. It's hard to believe that 5 short months ago we were zipping around in our boat and swimming at the sand bar. And it will be awhile before we are doing that again.
As I took these pictures I felt like I was somewhere in Alaska, just no sign of life anywhere. The roads were desolate looking and although many people don't come up in the winter, everything looked closed up and deserted.
Inside we kept a fire blazing and the wood stove burning. We only ventured out to get a bite to eat. In the evening we rented movies and watched them cozied up in the loft with popcorn. I rented Pride And Prejudice. I was hesitant to watch it because I haven't finished the book yet. The good thing is, I fell asleep before the end. Perfect timing.
Funny, after not being at the lake for 3 months, I expected the house to look different; dusty, abandoned, but it looked the same. The only plants I seemed to have lost are my two huge ferns and that makes me sad. The Husband's palms are thriving. Everything was in it's place, it looked like we just walked out yesterday.
There was just a tiny bit of snow left as you can see and the grass looks looks nice and green. My porch looks like it is crying out for plants and flowers and big fluffy cushions on the furniture.

It wasn't all melancholy {baby} as I am making it sound. We weren't stocked up with food so we had 3 wonderful dinners out. Saturday we went to a small town about 45 minutes away and browsed around an old bookstore. It also carried new books and I bought a book of short stories by Alice Munro. It was sad to see that some of the antique stores we love were closed down with For Sale signs in the windows. Here I go getting melancholy again. We visited the gift shop in town and I bought a beautiful big trellis, about the size of a twin headboard, for planting flowering vines on this summer. I also bought a big bouquet of flowers that I filled several vases with and that really brightened everything up.

The forecast was that we were going to warm up to about 50 and the sun would be shining. Well, it never went over 30 degrees and Sunday we had snow and sleet and rain. We sat on our rockers and read our new books. It was peaceful.

So that was our 3 day weekend. It has been snowing and raining off and on since we got home, but as always, this house is always bustling and lively. I think we better wait for a guarantee of warmer weather before we hit the road again. I hope all of you are having a wonderful week and staying warm and dry. See you in a few days! :-)

~SIMPLE & RUSTIC~

I haven't done a tablescape in the longest time, so with the weather being rather gloomy today and no sign of spring, I got down to it. I gave you a little peek of the dishes I got from Ballard's awhile ago but never actually set a table for you with them. We use these as everyday dishes. I love the soft brown glaze around the edges.
The napkins and place mats are the Food Network brand that you can buy at Kohl's. I love their kitchen linens and stock up whenever they have a sale. The monogrammed silver napkin rings are from Grandin Road, and no, the B is not for Blondie.
The wine glasses are from Pier 1 and the silver is vintage.
These are dried hydrangeas that I bought on eBay. Can you order dried flowers on eBay? You bet your sweet Pay Pal you can! They arrived from the farm packaged just so, not a petal dropped. The enamel pitcher is from IKEA.
I love my mercury glass and kept most of it out after packing some away from Christmas. I filled this little piece with potpourri from Smith & Hawkin.
Mercury glass votives.

This was a fun table to set and most everything was right at hand since we always use the dishes. I am trying to convince son Jeff to get these for his new apartment {yet to be found}. I asked him if he would rather be George Clooney or Adam Sandler. lol!
Other than the gloom, the temperatures are climbing and we are supposed to hit 60 degrees this weekend. The snow is melting super fast, just a few patches left. If we have a clear path to our door at the lakehouse, we may just go this weekend. It has been SO long since we have been there, I know I'll have to bring my feather duster. And my poor car is going to pay a visit to the car wash, I have months of road salt on it. I'm not kidding myself that spring is here, I'm just going to pretend for awhile.

I hope you have had a great week. I am going to link up to Susan's party at Between Naps On The Porch. It's a little late but I bet there are some beautiful tables out there. Have a wonderful weekend! :-)