Happy birthday Linkoln and Nathan!!!

We had a great time at Linkoln's first birthday party at Grandma Marilyn's house. Lots and lots of people, both family and friends were there to help us celebrate. The weather was good so the kids, (and men), were able to play outside. One of the ladies brought her French Bulldog puppy, Bella, and what a cutie. That's her in a couple of the photos. She was plum tuckered out at the end of the day. She chased the kids all around the yard and the house and tried playing with the older dogs but got nipped a couple times for her trouble. Linkoln had his own birthday cake, of course, and made a huge gooey pile out of it. A couple of the other little girls helped him eat it. What fun.Nathan's 10th birthday was last weekend and had forgotten to bring my camera so I got shots of all the grandkids at Linkoln's birthday party.They are growing up so fast!

Spring has sprung!

New pieces just added to my Etsy store.

Well, spring is finally here and this is usually the time of year to clean and freshen up my home. I've been adding some really great home decorating links to my favorites. Places that I check everyday and I'll add them here for you to enjoy also. If you have perused my link list at all you have probably discovered that my interests are all over the board. Maybe I'll get around to organizing the different categories one of these days.

One of my favorite sites of late has been The Lettered Cottage. Layla is a writer/design consultant, and her husband Kevin plays in a rock band. The sites purpose is to document an ongoing renovation of their home in Alabama. Layla has lots of great ideas, photos, and even frequent how-to videos to share. The site is well done and updated frequently. I like the cottage decorating style, (among others), and have been thinking about a more neutral color pallette for my home lately and so I'm inspried to try some of Layla's decorating ideas. I'll be sure to share as soon as I get started.

Special Birthday Greetings!!!

I wasn't able to send this in an email. It kept bouncing back. Probably because of the image. So Debbie (UK), now everyone knows it's your 40th birthday! Have a good one girlfriend!

Cool Whip

I've spent all week working on the beads for "Cool Whip". Classic black and white in lots of different shapes. I love it!

Bella

This is Bella. She is my niece's dog and she is so very sweet. A funny mutt mixture of black Lab, Welsh Corgi, and Pit Bull. Cracks me up! She's very short and stocky with an amazing disposition. She will be going home to Alaska tomorrow with her momma and daddy. I'm going to miss them all. We've had such a nice visit.

Feelin' Groovy?

I've been busy as a bee the last couple days working on this really fun bracelet design. Yesterday I made the beads and today, (several hours), went into construction and photos. It was a little tricky getting the weight of it, (balance), just right. I really love the playfulness and bright colors and especially the handmade "Be True" clasp by Hippchick Beads. I may just have to wear this to the Haiti benefit dinner at the church tonight.

The weather has turned rather ugly here in the last few days. Winter returned and left us freezing and windblown. There will be no golf or yardwork this weekend. I think a nice cozy fire and a movie rental or two is in order. Hurry spring!

Livin' the life.............

Pioneer Woman has a new assignment on her Photography page. Cat photos. I did not enter this photo of my kitty. It's a pretty good picture but really amateurish compared to the entries on her page. That's okay. I'll just continue to practice my photo skills and read Pioneer Woman's photo tips. I've learned so much from her already. Thanks Pioneer Woman!
This is Zoofy, my kitty, and I took some photos of him last week while we were hangin' in the backyard. Zoofy and I see eye to eye on a lot of things. Napping in the sun is just one of those things. We also really love to watch hummingbirds and pester the neighbor's dog. We don't care much for the other cats in the neighborhood because, you see, we are not a CAT!

Soooo me......don't you think???

Lucky Brand and I....hmmmmm. I think we're on the same wavelength. Just bought the bag, I'm addicted to their tees, and I'm LOVING these sandals!!!! Hold me back!!!!!

The sun is shining and it's going to be a great weekend! (There seems to be lots of exclamation points in this post.....) Go have yourself some fun :-)!

#76.....

Yep, this is the 76th flip flop bead I've made. Actually, a few more than that because not every single one of them was "ready for prime-time", as they say... And, some had tiny little cracks that I discovered only after I lovingly took photos of them. Oh, and I didn't count the ones that I used in a piece of jewelry, or the ones I gave away, or the ones I've saved for my upcoming shows....... So, I'm thinking the number is actually much, much higher. Hmmmmm, think I'll ever get tired of making them? Probably not. I still think they're adorable!

No more gravel....cool!

"Heart of Mine" remake just finished up yesterday, (and sold, thanks J.).

It's done and it turned out fabulous! I'm very happy with the professional job that this company provided us with. Our driveway looks great and my husband loves it! And doesn't the plastic trash can in the photo do wonders for the overall esthetic properties of the whole look......? (Just making sure no one drives on it till tomorrow.........) Now, I think I need to get started on the flower beds.

Have you seen Shutter Isand yet???

Let's see, what have I been up to..... The Mr. and I had a real date on Saturday. First we went to see Shutter Island. I thought it was a great movie and I would recommend it. Lots of plot twists and no, it really isn't scary, for those of you who aren't into that sort of thing. Strange maybe, but not scary. Leonardo DiCaprio did a fabulous acting job as usual.Then we went to dinner at the Woodfire Grill on Everett's waterfront. It was yummy!


I have been making lots of jewelry. Still trying to get that inventory together for upcoming shows. The above bracelets are remakes, sort of, with some of the findings switched out. I love how they turned out. And I'm still doing heart pendants. Hope you aren't tired of them yet. I ordered a bunch of rubber cord necklaces in different colors to hang the pendants from and I really like them. They're very comfy to wear, look great, and they're also inexpensive.


We are having our driveway paved tomorrow. One thing about the awful economy.....great deals from companies that are trying to stay in business. We have had a paving company, (recommended highly by our daughter and son-in-law), offer to pave our driveway for less than half of what we were quoted by another company a few years ago. I feel bad that they have to lower their price that much but he, the owner, says he will still able to make a few bucks because his overhead is now lower now, (I think he gave up his office space). Anyway, it makes us happy, me, because I won't have the gravel from the driveway in my house anymore and my husband, who won't have to constantly kill the weeds that grow in the gravel.