Valentine Giveaway

I haven't done a GIVEAWAY in forever so I decided it is time for one!

You know...that holiday that is coming up soon?

I think it celebrates LOVE? 
...yep pretty sure.

Being a romantic at heart what better time to spread the love!

What is included in this giveaway you ask?

Well...

You will be getting a white cup with a pink cozy with extra strong black tea
and a tea strainer...

{I don't care for extra strong tea and really I only drink herbal tea, but it is
what came in the cup when I purchased it. lol. Pitch it if you want, but it does
 look cute in there for the photo..SMILE}

...along with a bag of Dove dark chocolates...

...and four hand/pocket warmers made by yours truly.

Now, please don't look these over too carefully because they certainly aren't perfect, but I had fun
 making them. They are filled with rice and I am told that if you nuke these for 30 seconds in the
 microwave and then put them in your pockets they will keep your hands warm...

OR...

you can always just use them for decor also. They are kinda cute, no?

Now for all the nitty gritty details:

For a chance to win just add a comment on this post.

For an additional chance share this on Facebook or Pinterest and let me know
that you did and you will get extra chances. That is all there is to it.

United States entrants only please. I would love to send overseas and feel bad
that I can't , but it is cost prohibitive, so for now I must keep it to US only.
Sorry.

I will draw a winner on February 10 so I have time to get it in the mail to the
winner before Valentines day.

Good luck to all who enter!

Blessings~

Vintage suitcases and Paper-whites...

...have absolutely nothing in common except that I took pictures of both today. ha!

{or maybe suitcases full of paper-whites?? How fun would that be!}

I love this bench that I purchased over a year ago from a dear blogging friend.

Isn't it amazing???

She is so uber talented and I just love her shop and all her goodies.

I have told her that it is a good thing that I don't live very close to her shop or I
would be in trouble!

I am also thinking as of late with all the vintage suitcases I now own
I should be traveling!! :)

PAPER-WHITES

I decided to plant some paper-whites today. Oh, I know everyone else is way ahead of me.
But...I love a bargain and a bargain these were!!
Marked wayyy down since it is after Christmas so I purchased a few and got to planting.

I'm kinda messy...shh, please don't tell anyone!

Three containers all planted up and ready for these babies to

GROW!

Wouldn't this be a fun way to give these as a gift?

I have always hated to throw out the pretty cardboard containers that some of them
come in so today I made tags out of them.

I would love these every year as a gift because it brings such a bright spot of spring to
the cold winter days.

I took a break shortly after I planted all my bulbs...a gal has to keep up her strength you know.
Yummy!!

Do you plant paper-whites?  I would love to hear about it.
I am not so sure about Amaryllis...I have some planted , but they don't
seem to be doing much. Time will tell.

I pray that each of you have a wonderful rest of the week and that abundant
blessings fill your life!

Blessings~

Kitchen decor redo

I have wanted to change up the decor in my kitchen for awhile now and finally accomplished
that today.  I didn't purchase one thing, but rather went shopping throughout my home and
 I thought it turned out great. Something different and fun.   I made hubby a coffee station
which I also turned into a tea station for me! :)

{I was inspired to hang the clocks on the window from Tracey's  blog over at
French Larkspur...and also the 3 tiered metal stand. I am in no way an expert
like she is, but I like to play anyway. lol}

If you remember I used this chalkboard at my Fairy Party this summer.
The coffee pods are in the hanging basket which I JUST realized says
FLEURS!! How funny is that!! Maybe I should turn the basket
around. HA!

Crowns are always in style. Funny story here...I decided I wanted my crown gray so
I spray painted it, totally forgetting that it had rhinestones on it {fake}. I thought
I would clean them off , but never did. Oh well...:)

These cutie pie chocolate eggs were found in the cupboard from Easter. They had not
even been opened yet. I can't believe that! Ferrero hazlenut...yumm!!

Still in love with my french style totes and use them a lot!

Would you like to come for coffee...or tea? :)

Some of my pretty vintage spoons ready to use.

My painted table and mismatched chairs. I still want either a rectangle table or a chippy
white island...someday.

Hmm...I am NOT good at noticing things in photos until I actually post them.
 There isn't anything in my cloche on the table! A few days ago it was full of
blueberry scones! Someone in this house must have liked them, but we won't
say who! Maybe two someones...???

Clock face and linens...what can be better?

Pretty vintage plates with tiny aqua roses on them perfect for a treat with coffee or tea.

I love this candle-holder above, but most of the time it sets on the floor as it is
very large. {That little tiny piece of bittersweet is NOT supposed to be up there
on that shelf. ha! Another oops! Looks kind of silly all by itself }

What you can't see is that I have made a mess of my border up at the ceiling. I don't even
want border, but until we remodel this kitchen {hopefully in a year or two} it is what it
is so I got the brilliant idea to paint it.  I did three layers of paint in different colors and
then appliqued a fleur-de-lis on with drywall mud. LOVE the concept and it turned out
okay, but the color is NOT right at all. Haven't figured out what to do yet. At this point
I have tried three different things and UGH!

Hope you enjoyed my attempt at redoing my kitchen decor.
Happy Thursday!!

Time for tea...wear your hat!

These are pictures of my oldest granddaughter

Allysha Lynn

when she went to a tea earlier this summer.

{11 years old}

Isn't she just adorable in her vintage hat? If memory serves me correctly, she found

it at a resale shop and loved it.

I think I may have a teesny chance with

this granddaughter loving vintage items like me.

I hope so...keeping my fingers crossed...

oh okay, I am really, really

wishing on a star! *smile*

I thought I would share a favorite tea time

sandwich that I have used a lot over the

years and it gets rave reviews.

Cream Cheese, Celery and Walnut Sandwiches

1/4 lb cream cheese, room temperature 1/4 celery heart, very finely chopped

1/4 cup diced walnuts

White or whole wheat bread

Parsley sprigs {for garnish}

In a small bowl beat the cream cheese until smooth.

Mix in celery and walnuts. Make sandwiches with

cheese mixture. Trim off crusts of bread and

cut sandwiches into rectangles or triangles.

Garnish plate with sprigs of parsley.

{I also make these open faced on small bread squares

like the *party rye*, but I use sourdough I think }

It is rather warm here again today and supposed to be

warmer tomorrow. I did get to town and purchased

some paint so hopefully I can start painting my

pantry area soon. Have wanted to do that for quite

some time now. What are you doing this week?

***********************************************

We have a wedding anniversary this week...our 33rd.

I can't believe it. Where have the years gone?

We have most certainly have had

our ups and downs and spats just like anyone else,

but God is good and He has been so good to us.

Wouldn't trade my man for the moon! :)

My oldest son also has a 7th wedding anniversary

today. He posted this on facebook...I thought

it was cute:

*‎7 years ago today, I married the woman of dreams...

woke up this morning and, to my delight, she was still there!*

He makes me laugh, makes me proud and is a delightful son.

I wish them many more wonderful years together!!

Blessings~

White Wednesday~

I purchased this piece of ironstone at a garage sale

on the way up to my daughters house last weekend for $2.00.

Love it~

My beautiful White Phlox and Queen Annes lace

Mirror reflection ~ Home Goods deal also on the way to my daughters... Tea canister for 5.99~ Wish we had smellaputer so you could smell the intoxicating fragrance of these flowers~

Enjoy your White Wednesday today.

Be sure and stop over at

Faded Charm

and check out all the other participants. Blessings~

Blessings Arrive by Mail ~

I am feeling overwhelmed at all the goodies

that arrived at my door today. I will tell you that they came at

*just the right moment*...

when I needed a pick me up.

I opened my back door to go out and do some

weeding and there was a package from the mailman waiting.

Just for ME ~

These wonderful blessings are from a giveaway that I won from Tracie over at

My Petite Maison.

Just look how wonderful everything was packaged...

Thought it was my birthday ~

She even sprinkled lavender buds and glimmery silver shred

in amongst the goodies. How did she know that

I ADORE

the little touches ~

What amazing items. I love it all Tracie! Thank you so much!!

My goodies include: The Heirloom Tomato Cookbook Music for Two Hearts CD Cooking Salt (from France) Adorable little wooden scoop (from France) Lip Treatment (from France) 2 teabags (from France)

I did a little research on the amazing salt and found out that:

"Sel Gris or Grey Salt is a cooking salt from the coast of Brittany in France where it is still made using time-honored way that was carried through the centuries. In February of each year salt farmers sculpt eight-chambered clay beds and flood the first chamber with water from nature preserves. During the next three months, the salt moves from chamber to chamber. In July after the water has reached the eighth chamber, the salt crystallizes in it's purest form. The farmers then rake salt to the edge of each bed. The salt picks up it's gray color and distinctive flavor from the healthy blue-green-hued minerals in the clay bed's bottom."

You can read more here:

http://www.dasfoods.com/

Now I have decided that I am moving in with Tracie...lol~ I adore anything French or from France.

May you be richly blessed for your kindness to me I am walking on clouds today... Blessings~

Victorian Afternoon Tea ~

Come along with me to an afternoon Victorian Tea at the Holly Hotel in Holly, Michigan~

My granddaughter and I on the steps leading up to the entrance of the Holly Hotel where her , my daughter and I took Victorian Tea on Saturday at 2:30 pm ~

Grand entrance to the Holly Hotel ~ This table greets you as you first walk in the door ~ We walked through this entry way into the room for our tea~ Beautiful decor in the entryway~

Love this antique teapot~

My sweet granddaughter sitting in a most elegant chair~

One view of the room from our table~

I love this ceiling!! I have seen a lot of old tin ceilings, but not like this one. Someday I would love to have a tin ceiling in my kitchen.

Now on to the delicious food ~

Our food was just perfect for a Saturday afternoon tea~

The first course consisted of:

Pecan scones with a dollop of raspberry cream

Chocolate muffin

Mixed fruit compote

(which consisted of pomegranate, black raspberries and blueberries...if I remember right)

All I know is that it was all wonderful!!

Our second course included:

Pate canape with roasted plum

Saffron cucumber tea sandwich

Spinach Mushroom Pinwheel

The saffron cucumber sandwich and the spinach mushroom pinwheel were both very good. In fact I could have made a meal out of those pinwheels if they would have let me! SO delicious!

But...not so fond of the pate. My daughter told the waitress, "we are naughty...I guess we just aren't refined enough".

I can't eat anything that resembles liver and neither could my daughter. That is one thing I have never developed a taste for. Our first clue should have been when we were seated and our waitress told us that she would change one of the sandwiches for our granddaughter with something else because she probably wouldn't like one of them....we should have asked then what it was...lol )

Our last course was dessert~

Cheesecake baked in paper (loved this presentation),

Chocolate tart with a dollop of chocolate mousse,

a tiny flaky pasty with a dollop of raspberry cream.

It was delicious!

We had tea served to us along with glasses of ice water and lemon. My granddaughter was trying so hard to be a little lady and she really did a wonderful job , but she got so tickled about them constantly refilling up her water. She would take a sip or two (literally) and over the waiter would come and fill it back up. After the third fill up, she was giggling. She told us later that she counted and they filled up her glass 7 times!

All in all it was a very fun day and a neat experience ~

Blessings~