A Girl's Book

My daughter was the lucky recipient of this book for her birthday. I flipped through it last night and fell in love. It is a book any 6 year old girl should have. The recipes alone make me happy but I also loved the stories and the quotes that are peppered throughout. I very diverse bunch of quotes they are too! A lovely addition to the bookshelf.

available here

To my wonderful little girl

you have no fear
you have no cares
you are as free as a bird
you make living seem so easy

I cannot believe it has been 6 years since I first saw that beautiful face
You were born as perfect as can be
so beautiful and strong and aware
you have remained so

I love you little girl
even when you destroy a room in 10 seconds
even when you have a meltdown in Target
even when you pay me no mind

I love you because you have brought out the best in me because you are the best of me.

Happy Birthday to my sweet little Alexandra

I love bloggers

Yes it is true. I love those who blog. I thank them for bringing lots of pretty inspiration or food for thought into my world each day. I can have all my design needs, recipe needs, color fixes and just plain eye candy needs given to me by simply hitting my google reader. I am very grateful for this. I have read a few posts lately on various blogs about negative comments being left and downright vicious feedback being given to those that blog. It blows my mind. One incident in particular jumps to mind. Apartment Therapy held their annual Homies awards and it unleashed some of the nastiest comments I have read. It just made me angry. The audacity required to write some of this poison astounds me. All 8 of the blogs are wonderful worthy blogs and the amount of time and effort the writers out into them is inspiring. To attack and try to knock these efforts is beyond me.

I have tried many times to maintain a blog but I fear it is just not in me. It takes far too much time and effort on my part to keep blogging on a regular basis. Yet people do it and they do it well. So please, I ask of you, instead of finding criticism, just say a simple thank you. Thank you taking the time to make my day a little brighter. Thank you for caring enough to share your vision. Thank you for spending hours of your time uploading instructions or photos or typing in recipes just so I can enjoy them at my leisure. The alternative is to do as many a mother said and remember that if you cannot say something nice, shut the hell up.

On a more personal note, I love Eddie Ross and his blog and I left a comment on one of his posts yesterday. Imagine my surprise when I found an email in my inbox this morning from the very same Eddie Ross, thanking me for my comments. Now that made my day!

Owen and his lunch

I love that he loves his lunch so much! He attends a morning only preschool and he would prefer an all day affair like his sister! I try to make his lunch special to make up for the fact that he has to spend it with just little old me! However, I cannot possibly compete with Roary the Racing car! Oh well

Oh so pretty Valentines Cards

I picked up these cards at Barnes & Noble yesterday. They are incredibly beautiful and will be perfect for my daughters Valentines party at school. I particularly love the envelopes which are lined with a pretty floral pattern. Very high quality and well priced at under $7 for 24. Love them.

A Happy Happy Mail day!!

My whole day can be completely affected by a trip to the mailbox. Today was a great mail day. Lots of pretty pretty stuff for me to look at. 2 back issues of Donna Hay kids magazine that I ordered 6 weeks ago, Southern Weddings magazine which is a new magazine that captured my interest, the new issue of Domino magazine, Food Network magazine and the February issue of Martha Stewart Living (sigh). Oh and not a bill in sight. Happy happy mail day, I do so love you.

I heart this cup and saucer

I really do! It makes me smile.

available here

Sour-Orange and Grilled Jumbo-Shrimp Caesar Salad

I was watching Martha on Friday and the salad she was making with Sarah Chalke looked fabulous. So I decided to try and make it for a nice healthy lunch today. It was absolutely wonderful. It had so much flavor but also felt light and healthy. A great combination and one I will make again very soon. You can find the recipe here

image and recipe via Martha

Awesome downloads

I have used a few of these downloads before and today I found myself drooling again. So many beautiful ideas and I must use them all!

Eye candy for your pleasure





Images and projects here

Into the Woods

A friend of mine has been obsessed with the 'Woods' wallpaper from Cole & Sons and has been dying to paper her little guest bathroom in this design. However, she wanted the paper in a color that has been impossible to find. After much tittering about it being like crapping in the woods, I used my research skills and British connections to find her the desired paper. It has been ordered and is winging its way across the Atlantic as we speak! So, I cannot wait to see photos of the end result, she has impeccable taste and everything she undertakes, turns out beautifully.

image and product via Sanderson Fabrics

Where is my copy?

The delightful Kenn of the House Blend blog was kind enough to share details of the February issue of Martha Stewart Living magazine. The cover alone made me smile a big fat smile! However, the smile was tempered when I realised that my copy was nowhere to be seen and was not likely to show up for days yet. Am I the only person who gets annoyed when I see a copy of a magazine I subscribe to on the newsstand before it hits my mailbox? Just wondering!
Image via House Blend

Wedding Style Guide

Today was a nice day. Both of my children were at school for the first time in forever and I had a two hour window which was for me and me only. I went to Barnes and Noble as it is the only bookstore locally. As I perused the magazines looking for something to read, I let out a squeal. A magazine I had coveted for some time but had long given up hope of actually finding, was just sitting there on the shelf - oh my!

They actually had two issues there which was more than I could handle!! One of my favorite images was the one below. It has so much bright color and makes me long for spring again. It has been a long winter here and it is not a month old yet. So thank you Australia for having the sense to have your seasons opposite mine!!


Image from here

Such a beautiful wedding

I especially love the apples in the bottom right image - it is all so fresh and natural and beautiful

via Style me Pretty

What is the date today?

I know I have had a touch of cabin fever of late and I am hoping that is why I was so happy to see a Cadburys Creme egg at my local Wal-Mart! Yes really! At the end of the aisle where pink and red went to die, there was a smattering of Easter things just waiting for Valentines to be over. It was odd to say the least but after all the snow of the past few weeks and the record rain and flooding we are experiencing now, I was happy to see that spring may just be around the corner after all!

Country Home Magazine

Another one bites the dust. I was sorry to hear that another of my favorite reads has joined the magazine rack in the sky. What is going on? Meanwhile crappy ass magazines still survive. Makes me sad. So long Country Home, I loved you and will miss you.