"My Fav's This Week"

First let me say that I absolutely adore Autumn time..

Beautiful warm sunny days, crisp nights,

surrounded by the incredible colors that signal a time for

rest...

Snuggly quilts and blankets

Sweaters, scarves, jammies and big warm socks..

Hot cocoa, Chai Tea, apple cider

Homemade soups, warm breads, yummy desserts..

Reading, art, quilting and crocheting..

Its all absolutely wonderful and peaceful and warm!

but there is one thing I'm not so fond of..

The Flu in all forms..!!!!

well for me anyway.. its always bronchitis

Its my thing...every darn year the nose starts up and then

boom right to the chest...ugh!

and that has been me and my mister for almost 2 weeks..

sneezing, wheezing, coughing..oh its been so much fun..eeeekkkk!

but I think, dare I say, that we may be turning a corner..

Finally...antibiotics are kicking in..

EmergenC empowering our bods..

Lots of beautiful Honeycrisp apples, delicious pears

orange juice, apple juice and tea homemade chicken soup,

and mega water..

The biggest problem for me though is..

tons of liquids as they say, a 54 year old bladder, and lots of coughing and sneezing...not so good (if you know what I mean)

Anyway I ramble..

All I can say is..STOP THE COUGHING ALREADY!

I'M SICK OF DOING IT AND HEARING MY MISTER DO IT..

OK ENOUGH ALREADY...I'VE HAD MY FIT..

So for the first time in days I finally feel good enough to sit down at the computer for a bit..

and here are the favs I found for this week

Enjoy!!

Loving this..it feels like me to me when I was a little bit of a girl..

The swing in the backyard was a faithful friend and oh how I loved that squeaky sound when it moved back and forth, just me and the sky above!!!

Are these not the cutest toes?

confetti toes they are called..

and come on are these not beautiful...!!

The most darling idea I have seen in a long time..

Totally going to do this on my desk..

Its a dish drainer for heaven's sake..how creative is that?

A few more projects going on the list

wine bottles covered with yarn

Magazine page ornaments

And this pillow...I'm in heaven!

Ideas for my art room that I am still working on..

I was on a roll and then the germs did their thing..

And I can't say good-bye without sharing something new on the menu for this week

And something to think about this week..

Blessings and may the flu loose its directions to your house...

Me

"A Few Little Things To Start The Week"

Seriously adding these to my list of fall projects and gifts..!!

The tutorial can be found on this adorable blog

http://texascottage.blogspot.com

Shut up!!!

Anthropologie of course!

With the holidays soon to be upon us, I am in the process of gathering recipes for baked goods and ideas for gifting pretties!

These are both adorable..

First one comes from 

cosmocricket.typepad.com

These are made out of Pringles containers!

Sooo cute..

And lastly, a little fall food for this week

Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Lasagna

This recipe can be found at 

howsweeteats.com

With mouth watering and stomach growling I now make my way to my awaiting bath and off to work!

Tonight looks like a yummy night indeed..

Blessings

Me

"Here's to The Crazy Ones" They Live To Dream of What Most of Us Think is Out of Reach"

She's 14, who knows if she's crazy, or a misfit, a rebel or a troublemaker and who really cares.. She's not afraid to dream...and she's amazing!!!

“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They invent. They imagine. They heal. They explore. They create. They inspire. They push the human race forward. Maybe they have to be crazy. How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art? Or sit in silence and hear a song that’s never been written? Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels? We make tools for these kinds of people. While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” – Think Different, Apple

May we all be sooo crazy!!!

"On A Recent Road Trip"

Not too long ago 4 girls set out on the road..

Many miles traveled in the company of that incredible safe place called friends..
Arriving to the open arms of Aunt Elaine and Uncle Bob..
Beautiful Corey on the far left, Aunt Elaine (our hostess with the mostest) in the hoodie,
Yours truly in the sunglasses (never without my shades) and Dena, my wonderful daughter's
Mommy in-law and one of my closest girl sisters!

On the beach in Northern California...
We sit..4 of us minus daughter behind the camera..

Soft sand in our feet,

Endless ocean, endless waves..

No words needed, we all stare ahead in awe..

Our eyes reminding us that what we are seeing is so much greater than ourselves!!

Thank you my very special friends for an incredibly special journey!

Blessings Always..

Me

"Hmmm..Some New Projects To Ponder"

I happened upon this most lovely blog just the other day
http://www.cluckclucksew.com
and I have to say I have been in heaven ever since..!!!
What a beautiful blog, full of the prettiest colors greeting you upon arrival
and absolutely abounding with inspiration!!

Here are 3 projects I believe I will need to partake of during this winter nesting time..

I am aghast with sewing and fabric pleasure with this lovely and she has offered a tutorial on the making..so much easier than it might appear to be..
but heavens to Betsy...the colors, the colors..
I am beside my little self!!

And these...I have no words...
they are a total must "make" !!!

And this...I must begin right away...I am already in possession of
everything needed...I am feeling this would be perfection for this upcoming Sunday!!

So there they are..winter projects abound...like I said, I am in heaven just contemplating!!

I leave you, on this bright and beautiful sunshiney fall day here in the amazing Northwest
with this cutie patootie from one of my favorite all time characters..
POOH!!

Oh how I wish I could, but I can hear it..
work is calling..!!

Blessings for a most wonderful day with maybe a "Nap or Two" for you!!!

Me

"I Absolutely Adore This Girl"

Today is Monday and that means ITS MY DAY OFF and I'm so excited..

One of my very bestest girlie friends is coming to spend the day..

She is Carie and she is amazing!!!

Talented, gifted, incredibly intelligent and so so dedicated to whatever the cause..

She literally can juggle 100 balls in the air and never miss!

The absolute greatest multi-tasker of all time...well that I know personally anyway..!!

But she is more than that to me..

She is a blessing..

She is the most beautiful soul I have ever met..

She is a giver, she is a stayer, she is my angel!

She is that friend we all wish for, you know the ones that aren't afraid..

They don't scare away easily, if the goin gets tough they roll up their sleeves and do what needs to be done..

They aren't afraid of UGLY...ya know when life gets really ugly they stay the course..

They hold you up, they carry you, they get down on their knees in the trenches and help you see through the mud, help you crawl towards the light..

They let you be you, whatever that may be, no expectations, no judgements..

They get you, they want to get you, even if you aren't always the easiest, even if you

need them and I mean really, really need them..

Carie is that friend and has been all of these things for me and believe me there were times when it was not pretty..

I have laughed with her, cried with her, screamed with her,

giggled and been amazingly silly with her..

And I have broken into a million pieces with her and you know what?

She stood the course, she never left, she was never too busy! It was never too difficult..she didn't fall away not understanding, she worked hard to try to understand..and even if she couldn't...no matter..

And she has watched me move forward, steady as she goes, one foot in front of the other, celebrating right alongside..

 always in my thoughts are her favorite words of wisdom..

"Make it a Great Day"

And now I can truly say with all my heart "Life is Good, Life is Oh so Good"

So today we are spending the day together, she will be here in about an hour..

I woke up early so that I could make her this..

We will eat on and off all day...gab till we lose our voices and we always have to do a little sumpin sumpin...

So I am thinking we should do some painted pumpkins..maybe some like these, well not exactly like these, but you know what I mean...

inspired by the most beautiful and talented

alisaburke.blogspot.com

or maybe some like these

Mostly I know that whatever we do, it will be wonderful...

Love you Doll...thank you!!

Blessings Always,

Me

"A Beauty Of A Cake"

Had to totally show off the talents of my sweet little friend and daily companion at work

 Kristen and her Mr. Eric..

A cake made with love for his Mama..

Kristen was so kind as to send me pictures of each stage of their fun and yummy weekend project..

Can't let something like this go by without talking about it, now can I.. :-)

They are soooo adorable and so is the cake..

I believe the cake is white chocolate as well as dark chocolate, mixed together in a very magical way to make this..

Ok guys, I hope I explain this right..

One with white chocolate, one with dark chocolate, each dropping by cupfuls alternately, working very quickly to make the pattern..

This is after baking...

Sooooo darn pretty and amazing I say!

Like a Zebra...how cool is that!!!  And she said it is 

quite yummy indeed!

Now decorating start to finish..

I am over the top impressed!

Neither one of them has ever done anything like this before, truly proves the point that with determination and an open heart, not to mention a trusted, excited, enthusiastic someone beside you,

you can do and achieve anything..!

What a lucky Mommy Eric's Mom is..

Do I see a cute little bakery in your future??? :-)

Incredible job, you guys are amazing!

P.S.

And just because I couldn't resist, had to throw in a pic of their baby Mugsy!!

A couple days before the "Cake Making Challenge" Kristen was enjoying a nice, relaxing, warm bubble bath and he just had to join in...what a smart puppy!

Now is this not the cutest picture and look at her little toes poking out of the water..

I swear this dog is a human in "Pug Disguise" Ha Ha!

Love and Hugs,

Miss Val