A Birthday Wish

I can't believe I almost forgot to send out a special Happy Birthday Wish to my youngest brother today.

W.W. and the soon

(are you two ever going to set that date?!)

to be Mrs. W.W.

Darn, now his birthday was yesterday, I didn't get this posted before midnight!

Happy (Be-lated) Birthday W.W.!

He's the baby of the four of us. I was 13 when he was born and he was only 5 when I went away to college so I really didn't get to watch him grow up but I did change a lot of his diapers! Now it's the two of us living near our parents and the middle two are at opposite ends of the state (and California is a loooong state).

I am so proud of this guy. He is a firefighter with Cal Fire. He worked his way up from being a volunteer to a Captain in about 10 years. He put a lot of time in serving the local community as a first responder and fighting wildfires all over the state when duty calls. If you've ever seen the national news in the summer you know California has a long fire season!

We love ya W.!

(We'll celebrate when you get home!)

Giveaway Winner

A little over a year ago I stumbled into blogland while looking for decorating ideas. I had a pretty good idea where I was headed but I still enjoyed seeing how other people put things together. When I decided to do my own blog because it just looked like so much fun, Hubby was a bit skeptical. You see, I'm not the most enthusiastic housekeeper. I get distracted by the pretty things and loose sight of the laundry, dust and general clutter. I assured him blogging would be a good thing, it would give me a reason to make sure everything was in it's place and properly polished.

Fast forward to the here and now. Blogging has been a good thing for the most part but I've also learned a few things about myself. Like I'll go to great lengths to move clutter away from a shot but not take the time to actually put it away. I've also learned I'm susceptible to all your whims and ideas and am easily led astray. Combine that with an already present more is more philosophy and you get a cottage bulging at the seams.

Okay, okay, I'm admitting that maybe more can be too much and a little less "more" might keep my head from spinning like this all the time...

So I'm refocusing on where I was headed before and letting go of some things that, while beautiful, don't fit into my picture of what our home needs to be. Things similar to these...

I know by now you're thinking enough already, who won?! After crossing out my own comments, accidental multiples and chit chat with people who already entered I came up with 27 seven entries. Two newer friends sweetly told me to pass on them and give to friends who have known me longer. Ha ha!

All 27 of you are winners!

Even the silly girls at Cranberry Cottage and Arbor House Lane. Don't worry, I've got things to fit all your styles!

What are you waiting for? You heard me right. All 27 people who commented on my One Year Blogiversary Giveaway post prior to the deadline will receive a hand picked prize. Get me those addresses. My email is on my profile, click on "see my complete profile" at the top of the left sidebar to get there.

A few of you don't have blogs or profiles showing so make sure you let me know something about your style.

The next couple of weeks will be rather busy but I will try to have every thing in the mail by the end of June if not before.

LOL! You think I've lost it don't you. Don't worry, I'm fine, except my closet doors won't shut, corners are full, flat surfaces are covered and piles are starting to spill into the traffic patterns. Yard sales are too much work, I'm embarrassed taking things back to Goodwill and I can't enable loving family members any more. I felt so guilty the last time I let them leave my house with boxes that were intended for Goodwill!

So you all have nice weekends while I start sorting, choosing, scraping off price stickers and gathering shipping supplies...

Hugs,

Dawn

A Special Night

My daughter attend her first prom last night. It was held for several special ed classes. Thank you to the staff and student volunteers for making this fun night possible!

If you haven't entered my giveaway yet please see the previous post or click the button on the sidebar. I'm afraid I'm terribly behind in my visits I will try to catch up as soon as possible. I miss knowing what you are all up to!

Thank You (Edited for comment issues)

There seems to be a problem with some comments not showing up for some of us. My comments all come to my email so I'm seeing your entries even if they aren't showing up here. If it's not all straightend out within a few days and you think you left a comment but it's not showing please email me. As I re-post this it shows 14 comments but when I click on it only 7 are showing up. All 14 have gone to my email though. Is anyone else having problems?

May 19th, 2009 was the date of my first blog post. I can't believe it's been a whole year! I never expected to find such wonderful friends is cyberspace. Your blogs, comments and emails have filled me with love, joy, laughter and hope time and time again.

In honor of this amazing online community I'm celebrating with a gift for one of you. But what to choose?

Red? Pink? White? Blue?

Shabby? Shiny? Old? New?

How about I hand pick something specific to the winner's style? Sounds like fun to me. It may be something I've shared on my blog or a similar item. It could be brand new or a thrifty find. We'll all just have to wait and see!

If you'd like to enter just leave a comment on this post. Giveaway will end next Wednesday, May 26th, at 8:00 p.m. pacific time. One entry per person, just to keep it simple for me! I'll announce the winner on Thursday, May 27th.

Thank you all for being such great friends. Here's to many more years blogging for all of us!

Don't Rock the Boat!

Oh my! While catching up tonight I came across this wonderful piece of art at Banner Haus news (look for the link on my right sidebar). Holly always seems to know what I need. Thank you Holly for saving all these wonderful vintage graphics for all to share.

I've been feeling a little pulled apart lately and boy does this picture capture it! You see, that dock is "Real Life" and the boat is "Virtual Reality". I'm trying to do too much at both sides and don't feel like I'm doing either well.

So what would Hilda do? Gently toss the pup to the dock, the picnic to the boat, do a belly flop and come up laughing! I'll be back in a few days after I towel off and figure out how to keep myself from being stretched too thin. Wait a minute, being stretched thin might not be bad after all, except I'd have to be stretched to about 11 feet to even resemble thin. LOL!

Enjoy the rest of the week friends, I'll be catching up with you as soon as I can.

Gone Rustic

I hear the boys have been working in the feed house.

Let's check in on the progress.

Hmm...they didn't bother to lock it back up.



Some nice red here, after a good cleaning that is.

Well, this explains why the door wasn't closed.

Oh Honnneeeey.....?

Imagine That!

Come listen to story 'bout a blogger named Blossom,

A poor farmer's wife, she barely kept him fed with possum.

Then one day she was surfing on the net,

Clicked on a link, and there her clay pots set.

Empty flower pots that is. Highlighted in blue you see. Linked right there on HGTV!

Well the first thing you know ol' Blossom's mind exploded!

Followers said, "She's hit the big time and gonna be loaded!"

Said, "Californy is the place you ought to be."

So they loaded up the sprouts and moved to Beverly.

Hills that is. Decorators. Blogging Stars.

Well now it's time to say good-bye to Blossom and her kin,

And they would like to thank you folks for kindly droppin' in.

You're all invited to her blog 'bout life's reality,

To have a heapin' helpin' of her hospitality.

Humor that is. Keeps it real. Blows your socks off.

Y'all go visit now, y'hear?

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day

All Our Love,

Hubby and Me

Daring Diva Party

Today's the day girls!

Over at Note Songs, Shelia's having a

Daring Darling Bathroom Snapping Divas Party!

Did you dare?
I did.

Oh, I can't believe I did it but I did!

I guess there's a bit of Diva in me after all!

I had a hard time finding decorative items for our only bathroom. It's dominated by original blue tiles that go half way up the walls around the entire room. I would find things and bring them home only to discover the blues in them were too different. I tried simple, fancy, retro, kids prints, anything that came close but nothing fit the style of the room or colors of the tile.





Then we had to replace the old tub fixtures and I ended up with a chunk of the old tile to take with me when I shopped. Once I found the mini rose print with the right shades of blue, creamy yellow and grayish green I knew where I was headed. It was sure easier shopping with a sample of the material instead of that chunk of tile in my purse!





My favorite thing is the white lace curtains used as shears. The window faces west and in the late afternoon we get the most amazing sunlight filtered through the trees outside. I love the way the beautiful shadows of the lace dance on the walls when it's breezy.





What do you think Shelia? Can you love dancing lacy shadows? You bet your tiny cottage bathroom you can! Thank you for daring us to find our divaness in a most unlikely way. You are such a sweetie!





Please click on the Bathroom Beauty Snapper button to visit sweet Shelia and see who else dared to snap away!

Playing in the Garden...

with a paint program.

Original Photo

Softened and Warmed

As an Oil Painting

I'm so happy my red roses have finally bloomed.