Smile

So few muscles are needed.

It takes very little effort.

And provides oh so many benefits.

Smiling always brightens our faces

and lights up every room.

It can disarm and 

charm.
Add mystery and fun.
Fill your day with smiles,
it's good for you.

Joining Leanne's Flower Art Friday....

"It takes 17 muscles to smile, and 47 muscles to frown.  Conserve energy."  ~ Unknown

Until next time....

We Are All Creative....

We are all creative.

We are all artists of some kind.

Some are better than others,

a few are geniuses.

But we all have a creative spirit.

Allow it to rise up.

Nurture it, challenge it.

Give it freedom.

Celebrate it

Linking to Nancy's 

And to Deb's

                                                   

"Love the art in yourself, not yourself in the art."  ~  Konstantin Stanislavsky 

Until next time.....

Brunch on the Porch

My good buddy Marti, had a brilliant idea a few weeks ago.  She thought it would be a great idea if we ended the summer with a brunch on the porch...my porch.  The good news was...she would do all the cooking, all I had to do was provide the spot.  OK...I can do that.  As it turned out, she had help with the food, many stepped forward and volunteered to bring food, but I don't remember anyone stepping forward and volunteering to come over and clean my house prior to the brunch....just kidding.  I love having people over and I would have cooked all the food too, but it sure was nice just providing the dishes, coffee and tea.  I hope she comes up with a good idea like this again.

I decided that since the ladies were to be on the porch I would make that banner for the porch that I have been thinking about all summer.  I have fallen in love with banners...on pinterest I have a board specifically for "banner love".  Last summer I was in love with pinwheels, this summer it's banners.  So ta da...here is the back porch banner.

It is made out of double sided scrapbook paper, the letters are chipboard (painted), the line is baker's twine and each banner is attached with those little tiny clothespins.  I added a button on a couple of the letters along with the green trim at the top of each banner.

When I knew that I would be having 10-12 women over for brunch I decided to order those cute little milk bottles and paper straws that I have seen on other blogs.  Too cute. Now do I need 12 cute little milk bottles and paper straws??  Well, you know the answer to that one, but oh the juice tasted so much better in these little bottles.

The girls arrived and the fun began....

Two ladies came late and another one does not like her picture taken...but these are the ladies I was able to snap a pics of.  Dear, dear women they are...loving and kind, each and everyone.  I have been blessed with my friends.  I don't know how I could have gone through my life without my friends.

There was wonderful food, fruits and muffins and crescent roll-ups, and quiche (2 kinds) and a  potato casserole, coffee and tea, and ofcourse orange juice in the milk bottles.  And you see those cute little signs...another "thing" I bought for the occasion...tiny blackboard signs with clothespins on the back to label the food.  I found a "fine-point" chalkboard pen at "Paper Source" that washes right off just like a black-board, so these can be used over and over!!  Cute huh?

And finally, Marcia, who came just a tad late brought me a bouquet of flowers (uhh I guess I should have given 1/2 to Marti...sorry, Marti).  In the bouquet were these tiny roses.  I removed them from the big bouquet and added them to their own mason jar vase.  So pretty with the blue and pink.  Thanks, Marcia.

Before she left, I gave Marti a disc with pictures of her granddaughter that I took last Friday....she was thrilled...and here is a couple of my favorites of the group.

So that was my day....just about next to perfect, including the weather.  How was your day?... grand, I hope.

"In prosperity our friends know us; in adversity we know our friends."  ~  J. Churton Collins

Until next time.....

The Daily Almanac

Every morning (or at least most mornings) I read the morning newspaper and drink my coffee.  To me that is the perfect way to ease into the day.  I'll admit that some mornings I will have a destination I must get to and I don't have time for my morning ritual, and on those mornings I feel a little cheated.  Oh I know many of you, probably most of you, don't have a morning newspaper delivered to your door, you find your news on-line, but there are just some things you usually don't find on line....the Daily Almanac.  A sprinkling of happenings in history on today's date.  Little tidbits of information that you could most definitely live without, but that I find quite interesting.  On today's date

• In 1609 Henry Hudson discovered the Delaware Bay - my gosh that was a long time ago.
• Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first American-born saint (and we have very few since her) was born. I think the US has only 7 Saints out of the 10,000 world-wide.  
• In 1922 a radio station in New York City aired the first radio commercial, a 10 minute ad for a real estate company.  The station charged $100 for that ad and now I pay Sirius Radio to NOT have commercials while listening to the radio.  
• Donald O'Connor (one of my favorite song and dance man, you remember him, Debbie Reynolds & Gene Kelly dancing together in "Singing in the Rain" ) was born in Chicago in 1925.  (I sure wish we had good fun-filled musical comedies again on the big screen)
• In 1996 the 15 year troubled filled marriage of Prince Charles and Princess Diana ended officially.  (see it's not always great to marry a Prince)
• In 2005 the monster storm Hurricane Katrina headed for New Orleans, a storm that wrecked devastation in both destruction and the handling of the whole situation.  
• And in 2008 Barack Obama became the first African-American to receive the Democratic party's nomination for president of the US.  And it's that time again.  The next few months should be mighty interesting.  

So those are just a few of the tidbits of info you probably don't read but I find it interesting to read what happened today in year's gone by.  Wonder what piece of history today will bring.

Linking to Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesday....thanks Kim for sharing your talents.  You are a saint.

"If what you did yesterday seems big, you haven't done anything today."  ~  Lou Holtz

Until next time.....

It's Monday

Today I woke up to the freshness after the rain yesterday.  I am not sure how much rain we did get, but we had flash flood warnings last night so it must have been significant.  It has not rained that hard all summer and it was most welcomed.  Unfortunately I think the rain came too late to save the crops around here.  A whole summer of corn and soy beans lost to Mother Nature.  Sometimes she can be bountiful, sometimes she can be cruel.

As I walked down the driveway to retrieve the morning newspaper I noticed a morning glory blooming.  I planted this particular morning glory at least 5 years ago and sometimes by the end of summer I begin to see their beautiful deep purple flowers blooming again.  It obviously re-seeds to bring its beauty back again and again.

And I love how the raindrops lay so gently on the flower buds and grasses.

Today was Movie day with the girls.  We elected to see "Hope Springs" with Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones and Steve Carell.  Good movie, wonderful wonderful acting.  Can't get much better than this cast.  This should be a must-see for both husbands and wives after the "passion" has dwindled within a marriage.  I would consider this a dramedy...some funny but a whole lotta drama.  A rather thought-provoking movie and a ton of truth and believe it not, Steve Carell was not a funny guy in this movie.   I definitely give it 2 thumbs up.

                       

And finally, a barn for Trish's Monday Barn Charm...I found this charmer last week on another ride in the country.  I can find barns all over our countryside since I am smack dab in the middle of farming country...the midwest.  I added a Kim Klassen texture for enhancement.

"Relationships create the fabric of our lives.  They are the fibers that weave all things together."
  ~  Eden Froust

Until next time....

My Sunday Best

Yesterday was my husband's birthday and we celebrated today at his facility.  They provide a lunch for up to 10 people served in a private room with tablecloths, cloth napkins, wine glasses (no wine) just water and real dishes (I mean no plastic plates).  What a nice gesture for everyone that lives there to have their own special lunch on their birthday.  The last couple of times that I have been to visit my sweetie he has not been very receptive to me.  So I was a little concerned that today may be the same.  I was pleasantly surprised that he was a delight, smiling and laughing with no frown on his face.  So lunch with my sweetie and my daughter and son-in-law was a pleasure.  Sometimes you just have to grab those little bits of happiness and smiles when you can.

So between the smiles and kisses from my husband and the fact it is raining (pretty hard) which is so desperately needed, I am a happy lady today.

My daughter, son-in-law and my sweetie...

Me and my sweetie...

This is definitely "My Sunday Best".....linking to Nancy's "My Sunday Best"

                                                               

"A smile is a curve that sets everything straight."  ~  Phyllis Diller

Until next time....

Scavenger Hunt Sunday - The August 26, 2012 Edition

Good morning, lovelies.  Are we ready to begin our challenge for the week?  It has been a good week here, lots of things to do and more to come.  But first let's get busy with this week's hunt.  The list for this week is:

• School  (a Mother's relief)
• Rule of Thirds  (does this have anything to do with math?  I was terrible at math!!)
• Side Profile  (got it)
• Small  (how small?)
• Motion  (you're not talking motion sickness, I hope)

I gotta admit I pulled this from my archives.  This grade school is one of the oldest schools in our fair city,   Naper School, named after the founder of our city, Joe Naper.

Rule of Thirds....this shortly became the rule of nothing because I ate it!!

Side Profile....the sweetie that I did a photo shoot with on Friday.

Small...one of the smallest birds that visits the birdfeeder.

This little cutie patootie just stood and watched the "motion" of the water.  I loved the fact that her shirt and the color of the pool matched.

So that's it for another fun week.  Hope you found joy this week.  Hop on over to Ashley's blog and find more treasures.
Until next time......

Day 5 - Pieces of Me

Ok, I know I am late in posting this...but I really do have a good excuse.  Yesterday I was busy all day, from morn til night.  I'll tell you about my day later but first let me finish my week of "Pieces of Me - Scavenger Hunt" for Beyond Layers.  Today or I should say, yesterday, our prompts were View from our Window and Favorite Drink.

I love this view...this is my living room that looks out over the front yard and across the street to a wide-open field.  It's always a pleasant sight until the boys across the street park their trucks right in front of my pretty view.  There are 4 drivers in their house and 5 trucks.  They are one truck lovin' family.

And the 2nd prompt is favorite drink....well this was way too hard for me to pick just one.  And it all depends on the time of day.

And I have to add this sweet, sweet image.  I did another photo shoot yesterday for a good friend's granddaughter....here is a little preview of Dad and Daughter in a sweet (very quick kiss) .....

Oh we had a good time...hope you ended your week on a high note.

"I'm a big believer in just saying yes if someone asks you if you can do something."  ~  Piper Perabo

Until next time....

Day 4 - Pieces of Me

Ahh..day 4 of the Beyond Layer's Pieces of Me Prompts is already almost over.  I've been gone all day so this is the first chance I have had to post. Today's prompts are (1) what I am currently reading  and (2) a light fixture....

I seem to be reading a multitude of things right now.  I have started 4 books and need to start a 5th & 6th for book clubs in September and October.  It's not that I don't like the books I have started, I am like the kid in the "proverbial" candy store when it comes to books.  There are just so many, it is hard to choose which one to read so I try and read multiple books and then end up having a hard time finishing them.  Pretty dumb huh?? Right now my started ones are:

1. The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister - a sweet lovely little book about a cooking school and those that attend.  
2. The Soldier's Wife by Margaret Leroy - Our bookclub book for August.  Didn't finish it, but still reading.  Interesting story that takes place on the isle of Guernsey during the war.  Beautifully written.
3. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkenss - this received so much press and the author has just released the sequel that I thought I would see what all the hype is about.  Well written story of a modern day witch in Oxford, England along with her vampire, soon to be love.  
4. Sister by Rosamund Lupton another English setting with a twin sister that has been murdered and the remaining twin desperate to find how and why.

And the two I need to get started are:

1. The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
2. Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake by Anna Quindlen

Looking forward to reading both of those.  Any good books you are reading??

And the 2nd prompt is "a light fixture".  Well, I have to post this.  It is my 3rd and final bathroom re-do. I bought this little chandelier at the flea market a couple of months ago in anticipation of putting it in my new re-done bathroom.  

The color of the paint looks different in these two pics....I am sure it was the lighting.  But it is a lavender purple.  I love it.  Will show more pics later.  

I am now officially tired and need to go to bed...tomorrow is another busy day.  Be sure and hop over to my collaborative blog on Friday (Focusing on Life) to ride along with me as I go on another adventure.  

"Unlock your natural desires by doing what you enjoy."  ~  Hans Selye

Until next time....