Fairy garden...

The fairy garden

I made for my girlies...

  here is what I started with:

some succulents...

 a zinc planter still housing
remnants of the winter...

 and some mini

fairy garden accessories...

 I cleaned out the planter, 

 separated the succulents

and planted them all around,

and just added the garden accessories,
and made a path way with the rocks
 that came in the succulents container...

Now, we are just waiting on the fairies to arrive!

 

If only laying out and

planting my own garden was this easy...

 

Easter...

Easter

I know that Easter is well over.

The baskets and bunnies have been stored away.

The eggs have been found and eaten....

....but I am just now getting around to

sharing my Easter picts with you.

As I posted in an earlier entry,

My hubby was able to be home with us for Easter

before returning to Afghanistan.

Such a blessing to wake up on Easter morning with my whole family,

To be able to worship in church with my whole family,

To eat Easter dinner with my whole family,

To celebrate a holiday with my whole family.

The Easter bunny brought my girls sock monkeys.

They were named Oso and Alley Easter morning bed heads...

The Easter egg hunt after Easter dinner

at my mom and dad's house.

My mom and Mary-Morgen hunting.

We started out calling my mom "Grandmother".

Of course little children have a hard time pronouncing grandmother,

so in an attempt at saying grandmother

my youngest daughter started calling her "Mugga".

So now, she is mugga to all grand and great grand children.

My nephew Ben on the hunt ....

Katie on the hunt...

Mary-Morgen on the hunt...

I love how Mary-Morgen looks like an Easter egg in her dress.

notice the pink Chuck Taylor high-tops with the dress.

my dad with Ben on the hunt...

My father also started out as "Grandfather"

and the same attempt made by the same little girl

lead to "FaFa".

Needless to say he is now known as fafa

to all grand and great grandchildren.

by the way my mom told me that they

found an egg yesterday that never got found.

{we use real eggs, so you can imagine the smell, at least in was outside}

part of the family in my mom's back yard on the hunt ...

could not take enough pictures this day....

Such precious memories,

made even more precious with hubby home.

Happy Spring!

He is risen!

Photo Envy

Ok, let me begin by saying that I have total photography talent envy.

I have one of those fancy-smancy cameras that makes me look like I really know how to take some rockin' pictures,

but as with all technology, I refuse to read the manual...

Therefore, I really only know how to point and shoot, and what is captured is left up to chance.

I was actually quite proud when I learned how to

zoom in and out after a month of use.

Yeah, it is that fancy-smancy that even zoom took figuring out.

So, even with me lugging my bells and whistles around my pictures come out looking like the ones my hubby takes with his phone.

Well, I can tell you with all certainty that this guy HAS read the manual to his fancy-smancy camera and he DOES know how to use his bells and whistles. I mean REALLY knows how to use them. These are pictures of my girly-girls playing and jumping and just being themselves at home. I love the idea of lifestyle photography.... It is so laid back and relaxed. It is real. I mean, when you look at the posed, professional photo of the whole fan-dam dressed alike with the pasted on perma-grin if you are the mother in the group all you can think about is ... all the time it took to pick out the matching clothes in a color that would look good on everyone, and that everyone would be willing to wear without pulling too many teeth. (some teeth are ok) The stress of making it to the studio on time with teeth brushed, hair combed, wrinkle free, trying to hide the tears that have run down the toddlers face because it just happens to be the one day that she missed her nap in three weeks and everything is causing a melt down. Trying to remain calm when the photographer tells you to "act like you like each other!" When you know that hubby left you inside the house to fin for yourself with the curling iron that just happens to have a long cord, a 6 year old, a toddler and two dogs while he patiently waited in the car all while honking in two minute intervals. Oh, and you had to apply your make up in the car on the ride to the studio, so you did not notice the foundation was not all the way rubbed in on the left cheek, until you went to look at the proofs. Fuming that no one bothered to tell you. And even if the only other two adults at the shoot were men, you are quite certain that it was noticeable if it showed up in the proofs! Well, no more for me thank you..... I am taking the easier road of my own back yard, a chair from my own bedroom pulled outside last minute, uncoiffed hair, and shoeless sister love. This guy, Jonathon Campbell has shown me the light, and I am never going to the dark side again. Best photo shoot ever.

Heck, I wouldn't even call it a shoot, more like a photo hug.

Ok, Ok, enough of that. I know.

I mean look at these pictures.....

Would you rather have these memories,

or the memories of the afore mentioned story?These pictures made me consider reading fancy's manual....

(I said consider)

Yep, photo talent envy! And photo talent LOVE!

Check Jonathan out at his website

http://www.jonathoncampbell.com/

Cloche Encounters

I am a collector.

I love the thrill of the hunt, and I love new and creative ways to display my collections.

So, in my quest to marry my collections to displays I fell truly, madly, deeply in love with all that is cloche.

Here are just a few that make my heart skip a beat! Can you even imagine going to a tag sale in the french countryside, and walking up to this? Hows about a metal cloche?

If I had a green house, I think I would love the idea of green glass in my green house. Celebrating all that my green thumb could do! Alas, I do not have a green house, I do not have green glass, and I certainly do not have a green thumb.

I know it is not even near Christmas, and the last thing we want to think about is decorating for said holiday, but holy holiday this is a great grouping of cloches.

I love the idea of growing a garden and rushing out before a frost to cover my plants with my collection of cloches. Hey, wait a minute the cloche was not supposed to become a collection, but a way to display an existing collection. How did that happen? Oh yeah, I am a collector, and it is just part of my nature that can not possibly be helped.

How about a little funky modern to the mix!

Such a modern twist on an old faithful!

no need for words here....

Did I mention I collect old scales for my kitchen?

How about a little Asian twist on the cloche?

I am a shoppe keeper, so this just tickled my fancy as a great way to display the candles we sell.

So sweet when paired with a desert pedestal....

Did I mention that I collect old clocks?

I would love this on my dining table for Spring. Notice the mushrooms. A great alternative to the expected flower.I think this is my favorite of all.

LOVE this industrial look paired with the architectural pieces and again with my old clock collection.

I feel an office make-over coming on!