New Publication! The Feminine Home

It's here!!!

 I haven't received my copy yet, but I can hardly wait!

Jo-Anne Coletti's  The Feminine Home  is now ready.

This is a 128 page mega-book full of beauty.

If you are interested in a copy for yourself, you can go to Jo-Anne's site

Vintage Rose Collection

and order a copy.

I pre-ordered mine about a month ago and I can't wait to go through it's pages.

I posted some time ago that I was to be featured in it and I have been

anxiously awaiting it's arrival. This will be the first time I have ever

been in any publication, so I am pretty excited about it.

 Jo-Anne is an incredible artist and has been published many times in the past, in

several publications. When she e-mailed me and asked if she could include me in it, 

I thought...this can't be the Jo-Anne!

But it was!!!

So I want to thank you Jo-Anne, for this opportunity to be included in this

lovely book you have created.

A thankful White Wednesday

I love this time of year.

The time of year when my family comes together to give thanks for the many

blessings that we enjoy in life.

We love good food, good company, good laughs. Many, many good laughs.

When I think back over the years, there are some things I might change,

but for the most part, I would want my life to be just the way it is right now.

I really am so blessed.

I have a husband that I love with all my heart.

I have six children and seven of their children, that I adore.

A mother and siblings, of who I am very close to. 

I live in a gorgeous part of Idaho, that is surrounded by majestic mountains.

I live in a teeny rural town that holds so many of the people that I love.

I have a roof over my head, a pillow on which to rest that head.

A fire to keep me warm....and food in the cupboard...enough to share.

I have friends whom I love and who love me back.

Friends who really 'get' me.

Friends who think I'm a little crazy and funny...and are as crazy and funny

as I am.

For all these things I am grateful. So grateful!

~

I wanted to join with Kathleen at Faded Charm for White Wednesday today.
I went treasure hunting a week ago and found just a few whites to share.
I am working on a few things around the house that have depleted my stash of laces
and trims, so I thought I would visit a favorite little antique shop where the prices and supply
of laces are plentiful.
I found some pretty whites that I thought I just had to have.

The lace in the picture is an old collar. I also found a lot of crochet to plump up my stash.

I loved the little chippy white keyhole cover and wish I had bought all he had.

 I believe there were six total. I will check back next time I go. I think they would be awesome in 

some artwork I have rolling around in my head. 

I loved the little bottle with the crusty, rusty lid.

And of course the chippy, browning ironstone had to come as well.

I liked the brush for it's creamy and aged look.

The little shop has many dusty nooks and crannies and it was in one
of those that I found this cute white box.
I really liked the little hook closures on each end.

I have already been filling it with things that I will forget are in there and tear the studio apart

trying to find them.

I fell hard for these baby mittens and little furry bonnet.
The vintage round picture was a great find at $10.
This will make a cute Christmas vignette in the house this year.

~
Now for my BIG thank you.
I won Jo's amazing giveaway at her beautiful blog Secret Garden Cottage!
If you don't already know Jo, you must get to know her.
What a gorgeous home and garden she has!
Her blog is full of beautiful photos that really inspire me.

Now for the good goods I won.

Aren't these amazing???????
They came from Maria's Dreamy Whites shop.

Maria sent them to me with a sweet note of congratulations for winning Jo's
awesome giveaway.
It was all packaged so beautifully.

Then Jo sent me the Autumn issue of Jeanne d' Arc Living that she had received
from Tracey at French Larkspur.

I was totally blown away by the beauty of everything in this unbelievable giveaway Jo

offered to all of us on her blog. I am so THANKFUL that I was the lucky number that

came up for this one. Everything looks so lovely in my home. I'm sure this won't be

the last you will see of these treasures.

There was a bundle of lavender wrapped up and tied with twine.

A little canvas pillow filled with a pound of dried lavender.

A bar of yummy lavender soap.

A little canvas bag of lavender blooms.

And a sweet lavender bottle that I will fill with blooms in the Summer from the garden.

I love it all Jo!!!

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

I am so thankful for all of you who come here to read and share my life with me.

 I am thankful that I have the blessing of knowing you amazing women,

 and share the joys that are in your lives as well.

I would have never guessed in a million years, the connections that are made and cherished

here in this amazing community of blogs. 

What a blessing it is to all of us to be able to connect in this way.

To make the world a smaller place. 

To love and encourage each other, and want only the good 

things in life for each other, no matter what country we live in. 

I know you and the feelings I have for you, are as real as the love and feelings 

I have for my 'face to face' friends and that even though you my live

miles from me, you are as near to me as my computer.

Isn't this amazing to even think about???

We live in a wonderful age...

and I am blessed.

A Happy Thanksgiving to all my US friends.

And today, I send love to ALL of you, no matter where it is you call home.

The pure prettiness of pink...

I bought a new camera a couple of weeks ago and I have been practicing a bit this week

and thought I would share some of the pinks in the house.

I finally took the plunge and bought a DSLR. In the olden days, an SLR was all

I knew, but when I decided to try my hand at digital, I bought a Canon Power Shot S5IS 

and have loved that little camera. I have just about worn it out and needed a new camera.

I decided on a Canon EOS Rebel T1i. So far I'm happy with the choice. 

Of course as usual, I have mostly dried blooms from the garden to share.

Love the way these hydranges turned this year.
They are the 'Limelight' variety.

Oh, here's a little silver sprinkled in.

More of the peonies that I dried this season.

This is the peony wreath I made the other night.

My fingers still hurt from the burning glue...LOL!

Oh do I LOVE pink!



I went to the post the other day and what do you think I found????

M from the wonderful blog The OC Cottage sent me this

 lovely pink teapot because she was offering one in a giveaway,

and I had written in my comment that I didn't have a teapot

 and boiled my water in a pan! 

Well...I didn't win her giveaway...but...

she and her sister couldn't stand the thought of me not having one...

and so...I have this wonderful note...

and a beautiful pink teapot to boil my water in!!!!

She also tucked some of her posies in as well.

I love the cards she sends me. I am sure they are also her own

personal artwork as well.

M you are truly the best!

White Wednesday!

I mentioned in my last post that my daughter Ember had been here to visit.

Having her here was such a good time, even though her visit was V-E-R-Y short.

She was only able to be here two days.

We had planned to paint the shack...or as it has lovingly been renamed...

la Cabene.

thank you Suzan!

One of the things having her here accomplished, was to get a few things out and 

work on a project or two. 

I worked on a wreath made with pink and white peonies I had dried from the garden.

(I'll show you that one next time because it is pink with green hydrangeas...not white)

It lit a little fire under me and so when I got that one done,

 I kept going and made this simple one from a few of the white

peonies I had on hand.

Thanks Em, for your company and help. We had a great time.

Anytime spent with my daughters is a great time!!! 

I have it hanging in the reading room on an old porch railing I bought at a yard sale

some years ago.

In the background, you can see the old column I bought at the Farm Chicks

 show this past Spring.

The mirror below is the mirror that I bought at Farm Chicks also.

 I showed it in a previous post after I got it home.

It has got to be one of my favorite finds of the day.

In it's reflection, you can see the living room has some new whites in it too.

Can you make out the arched church window frame near the front door?

Here's a little better view of it.

I found it this Labor Day at the shop Rebecca's.

I have shown pictures of her shop here before. She is only open on Fourth of July

and Labor Day weekends.

I bought it with plans to put it in the garden, but placed it here for now.

It will decay pretty fast in the garden, so I may rethink putting it

out there.

Here is a close-up of the pillow my daughter Season made from

a ruffled blouse that she found at a thrift shop.

I just adore this pillow!!!

I had a slipcover made for one of my favorite chairs. It used to be covered in

a blue slipcover that I had sewn for it several years ago. My slipcover was not what

I would consider a great job, but it worked while I decided what
I wanted to do with the chair.

I found a picture in the Wisteria catalogue of a chair and settee with a cover

that had the size of ruffle I wanted and took it to the woman I've had do some 

other pieces for me and she

did a wonderful job with the slipcover.

This chair is so comfy with it's down cushions and deep seat.

It will be perfect for browsing through my decorating books and 

stash of magazines on those long Winter days.

I decided I liked it here in the reading room in front of the window that looks

over the garden. 

I painted the the wide pine plank floors white a number of weeks ago.

The room is much brighter and cheerier now. It seemed 

so dark when the floor boards were stained.

I found myself avoiding this room and using it as a dumping ground

for things. Brightening it up  will give it the lift it needed.

This is where the grandchildren hang out when they visit.

So, when my daughter's little boy came the other day,

he walked in and said,"Oh this room is so beautiful".

I guess that means I made the right choice to paint the floors!!!

Sorry I can't show you the rest of the room.

It isn't up to taking pictures of today. And I really needed to get this post up

for White Wednesday.

I am joining those that have added their links to Faded Charm's long list

of whites today.
Have a wonderful Wednesday!!!