When the woes of life o’er take me,
hopes deceive, and fears annoy,
never shall the cross forsake me:
lo, it glows with peace and joy.
~Hymn 441: “In the Cross of Christ“
Her Nest
Luanne’s Salon has a new name. It will now be known as “The Nest”. I am now lucky enough to be able to share my space with another “LM”. My little lady and her Grammie will now be sharing
The Nest
It’s pretty much completed except for new white black-out curtains. The valances will be coming down and are being replaced with white black-out curtains. I bought the valances to go with the décor but this room needs black-out window treatments if my little lady is going to be able to nap in here. This room not only gets the direct morning sun through the front window, it also gets the direct afternoon sun through the side window. I love a sunny room but it’s not conducive to good naps. And I LOVE good naps much better!
The colors are white, pink & tan. I designed around the wall color because I decided there was no need to paint a perfectly well-painted room. I love how the wall color contrasts with the white. I also didn’t want to replace the pleated shades or curtain rods. I am going to hang the new curtains from metal rings that match the rods already in place. Everything else in the room was already there. The white crib goes well with the IKEA Billy bookcase in the corner. The Ethan Allen chair & ottoman are neutral so they coordinate well. The Ethan Allen maple bureau is a classic and will be joined with the matching twin head board someday when she grows into it. My IKEA Fredrik computer desk fits nicely in the corner. I think this room will work through out her infancy and we’ll make changes as needed as she grows up.
Sources of New Items:
Crib: Delta Children Bennington Classic 3 in 1 Convertible Crib in White from Babies R Us
Linens: Well Nested crib sheet & baby quilt, toddler bedding set (not shown) from The Land of Nod
Crib Liner: Breathable Baby Breathable Mesh Crib Liner in White from Amazon
Cotton crib blanket: TJ Maxx
Lamp: Harper Lampshade Pink on White Candlestick table lamp base from Pottery Barn Kid
Pink Wall Letter L from Pottery Barn Kids
Valences: Harper pink from Pottery Barn Kids
Curtains: (coming this week) Classic Cotton Blackout Panels in White from Pottery Barn Kids
Framed Print: “You are Awesome” from Home Goods
Pink rug: Home Goods
Bunny blanket and doll: Home Goods
as usual,
totally donebyme
A Valentine Tea
A Valentine Tea
Sunday, February 7, 2016
This tea party took place on a beautiful, sunny February afternoon. All my tea parties are special but this one was EXTRA special because it had 3 special guests. This was my first tea party where I invited 5 adult women and 3 little women. It gave the tea party a different vibe which was nice. They were so excited! They came all dressed up and were 3 perfect little ladies! We all had a wonderful time and I look forward to having some little girls at a future tea party.
Menu:
Beverages:
Lemonade
Sparkling Rose
Tea:
Bigelow’s I Love Lemon
Twinings Winter Spice
Red Grapes
Vanilla Bean Scones with Lemon Curd
Sandwiches:
Cinnamon bread hearts with butter
Wheat bread circles with cream cheese & cucumber
Wheat pita bread with egg salad
Desserts:
Pink sugar wafer cookies dipped in white chocolate & sprinkles
Marshmallow ballerinas
Heart sugar cookies
Cinnamon French toast muffins
Yellow cupcakes with buttercream frosting
Fairy Heart cakes
Tea Party Favor Bags:
Valentine necklaces & tea party bracelets I made for the girls:
A wonderful Valentine Tea that was, as always,
totally donebyme
A Few Minutes……
Wait a few minutes. What I said in the 2 posts ago when it was 55 degrees outside. A few minutes have passed.
It was -16 degrees last night.
Think about it. -16 degrees.
Yes, I just wrote NEGATIVE SIXTEEN DEGREES!
The temperature today did not get about 8 degrees and it’s about to go below zero again. It’s supposed to ONLY get to about – 8 degrees tonight. (NEGATIVE EIGHT DEGREES) . I haven’t left the house all day. Nope. Too cold for me. I am a failure to thrive baby all the way. Tomorrow supposed to get up to 27 degrees. I WILL probably go outside tomorrow. Plan to anyway. Who knows what this princess will do.
Tuesday is supposed to be 52 degrees. FIFTY TWO DEGREES! And, then, mid to upper 40’s most of the week.
(UPDATE Wednesday: It was 55 degrees at 2PM today….71 degree difference in less than 48 hours. Yikes!)
I can’t deal with this. I just can’t.
34 days and counting. Always counting.
Happy Birthday Big Boy!
THE BIG 60!
2/01/2016
Just Wait a Few Minutes
As Mark Twain said:
“If you don’t like the weather in New England now, just wait a few minutes.”
After an unseasonably warm Fall, we are having an unseasonably warm Winter. Now don’t get me wrong, it IS Winter out there. There is no doubt about that. But it is in the 50’s lately and there is no snow cover. Nothing. We’ve had a few “snow storms” but the “storms” have been more media hype than REAL storms. Every one is saying we deserve a mild winter after last winter. If I had my way, we’d have a “mild” winter EVERY winter! But, being a true New Englander, you really have to pay attention to Mark Twain’s words about the weather in New England. Will we get away with this weather the whole winter? Not a chance. IT.WILL.COME You can be sure of that! In the mean time, we will take one day at a time. Heck, I haven’t even put on a wool winter coat yet! Woo Hoo!!
It was in the mid 50’s this past Sunday, January 31 so Dan & I decided to wash both cars. You can’t get near a car wash these days, the lines are down the streets. So Dan got out a hose & turned on one of the outside faucets and away we went. It actually was fun. It didn’t seem like work because it was just so nice to be outside in our shirt sleeves. Dan even decided to vacuum both cars…..there was still summer beach sand in both…..ahhh Foot Bridge Beach……
Here’s a bit of snow
The Dwarf Japanese Maple doesn’t even have her snow tent on! The Yellow Rose has her cold weather jacket on though.
Pool Party!
43 days and counting…..
New Year at the Beach
We started out 2016 in the best possible way:
AT.THE.BEACH
Today was a beautiful winter beach day in Maine. We went up to check out our usual favorite places to make sure all was well.
First up was Nubble Light in York.
After checking out Ogunquit Beach proper, we were off for a walk on Foot Bridge Beach.
Then on to our most favorite place- PIER 77– where we had a delicious lunch.
We meandered back home and found this beautiful lobster trap Christmas tree.
Wonderful afternoon visiting one of our favorite places.
A very good beginning of 2016!
A Very Merry Christmas!
This year was a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS indeed!
New England Christmas Weather
As the old saying about New England weather goes, wait a minute and it will change. We have been having an unseasonably warm fall. 17 of the 18 first days of December were above average breaking the record. I can’t say I have NOT been cold but it is definitely not December weather out there. I am dressing in my usual winter clothes but have not worn a winter coat yet. I am doing my usual dressing in layers.
I was reading my favorite Boston blog, Universal Hub, and some posts were about all the different plants in the Boston area that are unseasonably blooming and/or budding. So I took a walk around the yard to see if anything was happening in my yard. There didn’t seem to be any bulbs sprouting but I did find an azalea bush with shiny NEW leaves and the Autumnal Cherry tree has blossoms all over it.
It’s cold (normal) today & tomorrow and then the temperatures are going up again. It may even be in the low 60’s by Thursday, Christmas Eve Day. This is the Christmas to get the kids bikes, & skates, etc. because they can get outside and use them.
But remember……..(play ominous music)……Winter will arrive at some point in all its white & icy glory. After all, this is New England….wait a minute and the weather will change. And, Winter must come in order for Spring to come.
92 days till SPRING!!
Christmas Ornament 2015
We have a dated Christmas ball ornament for each year we’ve been married. We also have a few more dated ornaments such as Baby’s First Christmas 1983. Hallmark used to make beautiful, collectable dated ball ornaments but, for some reason, stopped making ball shaped ornaments several years ago. Because of this, each year since, I have had to create & make my own ball ornament that was totally donebyme. Some years have been easier than others. Some years have been a somewhat generic dated ornament and some years are more directly related to an event of that past year.
This year has been the year of Favorite Baby so therefore I felt it only appropriate to have the ornament portray something directly related to her. I put my thinking cap on and decided on an inked handprint on a Christmas ball. Well, that’s easier said than done. I didn’t think about how I would actually DO the handprint of a 4 month old baby. She just doesn’t open up her hand on command! Plus it’s usual wet from being in her mouth all the time. Not gonna happen! So, hmmmm, how about a footprint? YES! That sounds good. Well, the ink didn’t work. I couldn’t get a good enough impression on the glass ball. So, with the help of Walter (her Grandpa!), I painted some ivory acrylic (safe & nontoxic) paint on her foot and was able to get 2 useable footprints. 2 out of 4 is pretty good. I then glittered the footprints up a bit and put some gold lettering on the other side to commemorate the date. A few baubles & a gold bow and we are good to go! I am keeping one and gave the other the my favorite girl & favorite boy for their Christmas tree. Enjoy!
This is the first one:
This is the second one:
And here she is gazing and the first Christmas tree she as ever seen:
Totally donebyme 