Favorite Things ...

There is a little store in a small beach town on the Oregon Coast that, for the past two years, has displayed beautiful lighted blossoms in their storefront window. All colors of blooms ... vivid white, brilliant orange, stunning red.

Every time we would visit the town, we would walk by that window and I would comment how much I loved those blossoms. Sometimes, I'd stop and run in to check them out up close and peek at the price. But, I never purchased them.

Several months before Christmas, I discovered them at a local gift store in a gorgeous deep burgundy color (that just happened to coordinate well with our living room!).

Not only did my sweet hubby surprise me with them for Christmas (living room - check!); but, on Valentine's Day, as well (woohoo ... a set for the bedroom!).

Now, as the skies darken outside, these beautiful blossoms bring a touch of light, warmth, and charm to the house.  Love them!

Have you been surprised recently with something you've been wanting for a long time?

Little Projects ...

Projects, sketches, and papers are always coming home with the kids from various places ... school, Sunday School, daycare, the gym, etc. Sometimes, it feels like we are drowning in little trinkets and half-finished art projects.

Other times, it feels like we've found a special treasure.

My son formed this bowl out of clay in Sunday school, and my daughter made the little heart during a children's choir practice break. They brought them home and each project went its separate way for a few days ... the bowl to dry, the heart to sit on the counter waiting to be 'mended' (two of the beads still need to be ironed back on!).

One evening, my daughter placed her heart in her brother's bowl and declared, "There! That's pretty!", and slid it into a place of prominence on the counter.

I have to agree ... it is pretty, and adds a simple splash of color and charm to the kitchen counter. So, this one will stay on display on the kitchen counter for a while. It makes me smile ... and who doesn't need to begin and end their day with a smile.

Dear Costco ...

Thank you for the Gingerbread House you sold this year.

First, it was a bargain ... maybe $10, and well worth every penny.
Especially considering it came with the following glorious words printed on the box: "Pre-Built".

That would be the second wonderful thing ... there was no constructing required, save for a small tree.
It was all about the frosting and decorations ... fun, fun, fun.
It even came with a snowman and a gingerbread man. So cute.

And, here's the third and most wonderful thing of all about your gingerbread house ... it's indestructible.

We can certify this.

As we moved into position to snap a quick picture of the finished product - our children beaming with pride at the creation they had labored over for an hour - my son, who was holding the glass cake platter that now displayed the gingerbread house, slipped right off his chair.

In a split second, he was flat on the floor.

Somehow, he saved the glass cake platter, his arm held high over his head with the platter firmly in his grip.

But, the gingerbread house had crashed to the floor.

Amazingly ... the side peak of the roof was the only spot that sustained damage.
Minor, considering the 'earthquake' that had just occurred.

So, thank you ... for selling a product that not only brought joy to the children who decorated it (and the parents who didn't have to construct it), but held together through a fall that could have destroyed an hour's worth of careful decorating within a matter of seconds!

Please, please ... sell it again next year!

Bringing Autumn Indoors

Our little family adores a local pumpkin patch that resides on an island. Annually, we make our way to the opposite end of town to this quiet farming community, where we enjoy a hayride out to the pumpkin patch, picking pumpkins, visiting the livestock, climbing on hay bales, and shopping in their local store for fruits and veggies straight from the garden.

This year's first attempt was on a perfect fall day ... temps in the low 60s and a clear blue sky. As is par for the course in a region that rains a lot ... everyone had decided to make the same trip. As we sat in traffic, and watched the little cars off in the distance inching their way across the two-lane bridge and down the two-lane road leading to the pumpkin patch, we realized it was probably time to turn around. We had been in the car for nearly an hour, and estimated an additional two hours to inch our way there.

The following weekend, plans were made once again ... and, this time, it poured ... and poured! Sure, there would be no crowds ... but it wasn't really the experience we were going for.

Maybe we'll have a successful trip this coming weekend ... or maybe not! I'm learning to 'go with the flow' a bit more these days.

In the mean time, we've brought autumn inside the house.


My sweet friend, Kelli, owns a wonderful Real Deals on Home Decor store. She was having a sale; and, we, being small business owners ourselves, had to go support our fellow small business owner!

Look at the gorgeous pumpkins we found. And, those beautiful oak leaves. The turning colors of the leaves are my favorite part of autumn outdoors ... why not bring them inside (without the mess once they turn crispy and crumble all over the floor!).

And, how can you resist children's art ... doesn't it just make you smile?

Do you decorate your indoors for autumn or Halloween?

Autumn Brings ...

(click on picture to view larger)

~ A rich, warm color scheme to the porch and patio ~

~ A bee frantically working on late-blooming asters ~

~ A tiny frog protecting the remnants of the garden ...

including a pumpkin that may or may not be ready for Halloween ~

One-Year Blog Anniversary!

Wow, this date snuck up on me! Hard to believe, but it is the one-year anniversary of my blog!!

In honor of this momentous (ha!) occasion, I'm sharing my very first blog post. I can guarantee none of you have read it, because - when I started this blog - I was scared to death of being 'out there' in the blog world and didn't tell a soul that I had started a blog!

OK ... I told one friend and one of my sisters, but that's it. And my husband, but that's a given.

It was a very covert marketing plan.

It wasn't until around October that I actually started truly trekking into the blog world ... perusing and discovering YOUR wonderful blogs!

So, here it is, originally posted on June 26, 2008:

Eau de Chicken Manure

It’s official. We have gone all-organic with our outdoor lawn fertilizer. After reading an article that all but pegged the rise in childhood leukemia cases to the use of common lawn fertilizers (due to certain ingredients that link back to ‘Agent Orange’ and other crazy stuff!), we switched cold-turkey.

Or should I say ‘cold-chicken’.

Maybe I should explain.

After reading the article and making the decision to switch, it just so happened that a well-known lawn care company appeared at our door offering a special introductory offer for lawn services, including fertilizing. They offered an organic alternative, so we decided to take them up on the lawn fertilization portion.

They came in the early-morning hours, leaving a little yard sign in the lawn as proof of their service.

It was a beautiful blue-sky day, and a comfortable breeze was pumping wonderfully fresh air through the windows and into the house. As I made my way down the stairs to grab a quick bite to eat, I noticed a stench that I couldn’t immediately identify. There was no one else in the house except me. I’d showered and – as far as I could tell – did not have a stench.

Wait a minute.

That is not exactly “fresh” air coming through those windows. That is the distinct smell of … chicken manure?

I quickly learned that chicken manure was the organic treatment used by the company and applied to our lawn that morning.

Mere minutes after my chicken manure ‘aha’ moment, I was back upstairs working diligently at my computer. And, with the window open, could hear a young voice, fairly close to our house, say, “Ooooh, it smells like dog poo!”

I hoped with all my might he wasn’t referring to our house, and quickly decided it was a good time to get the mail, allowing me the covert opportunity to investigate the smell from outside.

It did smell … but, truly, it wasn’t that bad.

I guess now it is just a matter of waiting to see if we ruffle the feathers (sorry!) of any neighbors with our au naturale fertilizer!

[Author note: A year later, we are still getting the same service and have noticed that it doesn’t even smell anymore after they apply the fertilizer. Though … we’re not certain our neighbors would say the same!]

Eau de Chicken Manure

We’ve gone organic with our outdoor fertilizer. After reading an article that all but pegged the rise in childhood leukemia cases to the use of common lawn fertilizers (no joke … certain ingredients are linked back to ‘Agent Orange’ and other crazy stuff!), we switched cold-turkey … or should I say ‘cold-chicken’(I’ll explain shortly).

We’d been moving in the direction of organic gardening treatments, but this article made us move much faster. Fast forward to this past week … a well-known lawn care company was going door-to-door, offering a special introductory offer for lawn services, including fertilizing. They offered an organic alternative, so we decided to take them up on the lawn fertilization portion … just to see if it made a difference.

They came today. There’s a nice breeze, so I have the windows open, and – as I made my way down the stairs – noticed a stench that I couldn’t quite place. There’s no one else in the house except me (I’ve showered and – as far as I can tell – do not have a stench) and the fresh air is blowing through the windows …. oh, oh, wait … that’s not exactly fresh … that’s the smell of … chicken manure? By the way, chicken manure is the organic treatment. So, now we’ll have to see if we ruffle the feathers (no pun intended) of the neighbors with our, um, au naturale fertilizer!

By the way, I have the upstairs office window open as well … and just heard a young voice, fairly close to our house, say, “Ooooh, it smells like dog poo!” Oh my … please don’t let that be our house to which they’re referring. I’m off to get the mail, which will allow me the covert opportunity to investigate the smell from outside!