I received this Lovely Friendship Award from Amy at Bubbles Blog.Thank you Amy for your thoughtfulness and your friendship. Meeting all of you fabulous and inspiring ladies has truly enriched my life.

Hugs & Blessings

Show Your Roosters

Welcome to the Rooster party hosted by Bella Vista. Be sure to visit her blog to find a list of all the Rooster Party Participants.

This is my favorite rooster. MmmHmm.....he has the magical beans that make me very happy. Without the "bean juice" I'm not such a lovely person.

(Hoops&YoYo fans know what I'm talking about. if you like coffee, click the link. You won't be dissapointed!)
I like this pair quite a bit. They have been at both ends of the dining room and never stay put very long. They chase the hens, naughty things!
This one was a gift from my hubby. It makes a great napkin holder for entertaning.



My absolute favorite plate! It was given to me by the Queen(you know who you are).

Square plates on the mantle in the dining room.

This sign hangs across the top of my kitchen......Come on over hens, the coffee is on!

Dog Days of Summer

This is Roxy our boxer at the only dog beach in Orange County. A dog running on the beach freely is....well, quite frankly doggy bliss! She ran back and forth for an hour.

A boy and his dog.....another one of life's simple pleasures.
These are the men in my life. Cute, huh? I'll keep 'em!

They are trying to coax Roxy into the water. This is as far as she'll go.

I hope all of you have had a great summer. I can't believe it's coming to an end. As summer fades, fall will appear bringing with her the smell of baking pies, the longer evenings, cooler weather and golden leaves. I can't wait.

Christmas in August

It's 100* outside but it felt like Christmas at my house! Elyse from Cottage sent a fabulous box of darling treats. Just Look!

A note of affection....I am the self proclaimed "Popcorn Princess"

simply because I eat sooo much of it!


Everything was wrapped so sweetly......

There were "Tinkered Treasures" and a beautiful pale ivory crocheted doily, notecards and stickers and glitter(a girl can never have enough) and a goodie bag full of tiny adornments! I squealed like a child when I opened it up. Thank you sweetie for making an ordinary monday so wonderful! ~Hugs to you~

Bella Vista's Rooster Party

Join the Rooster Party.....

Cock a doodle doo! It's rooster time. Hosted by Barb of Bella Vista.

Come on girls...gather up your roosters and share them with us. Visit Bella Vista for all the details. You don't want to miss out on the fun!

Peek inside

Come inside for a mini tour of my house.....

This is an old table given to me many years ago. It belonged to my girlfriend's grandmother. I'm not sure how old it is but it has been well loved!
This is the mantle in the living room. I change the decor here with the season but I've been slacking a bit this summer.

This little vignette is between the front door and living room. The mirror was rescued from an abandoned house that was going to be torn down. It was dark brown before it was shabbie up. The little cabinet came from Applerose Vintage Home. A favorite of mine that has been replaced by a dental office. Not nearly as inspiring.

This is one end of the dining room. I love this hutch. I bought it from my girlfriend when she closed her store. As you can see I collect white pitchers. I have several on my kitchen window sill too....can't get enough of them. To the right is the second fireplace but it wasn't picture pretty!

This is the other end of the dining room. My husband brought this table home for me. It was a roadside find that was missing its top. Boy I trained him well!

I just got this from a garage sale 2 weeks ago. All it needed was a good cleaning and fresh coat of paint. I really wanted to put this at the end of my kitchen as a catch all for backpacks & jackets but its too big for the space. So it sits at the front door in the hallway. Should I put pictures of the family on the hooks or keep it free for coats? I can't decide.

I have a big house but not a big budget for decorating. Almost everything I have is second hand. I never thought I could decorate on a dime. What I found is that it takes time to pull a room together even when you have a little extra spending money simply because its hard to find all the elements. But if you are patient you'll be surprised at how much money you can save by shopping at flea markets and estate sales.

This sign also hangs in my dining room it was painted by a friend of mine. And like it says....

My door is open to you my friends.

California Sunset #2

I love the evening when the sun sets and the sky glows.
I hope you are all having a great summer. To those of you in Texas,

you are in my thoughts & prayers.

Straight ahead, believe it or not is the beach. What looks like a hill is actually Catalina Island. When its clear I can see the boats. A little bit of fog rolled in tonight.

My hummingbird feeder gets a lot of action. There were 5 out here and they wouldn't cooperte for the camera. They are so much fun to watch. One crashed into my window so I picked him up and put it in a hanging basket. When he stopped seeing stars he flew away. Of course I didn't have the camera handy when that happened...fiddle.