This, That and the Winner

Hello friends, hope you are having a nice week so far. I have been busy getting some things together to put in my Etsy shop and finally get it opened back up. More about that in days to come.

You know how I like to ask you all to help me out when I'm not sure of what an object is...well, we have another one today.

I picked these up a few weeks ago at a thrift shop and the tag on them read, 'French shot glasses'.  Well, I don't know whether I can really go along with that, as I can't see the french bothering with the wood holders, for that matter, I don't know why anyone would bother seeing that you usually drink it straight down, right?

They are the size of a shot glass and you can see on the bottom that it does say France.  I did some searching on the Web and even looked up Espresso glasses, but really found nothing close.

Hopefully one of you might have traveled to France and have seen these.  I will be putting them in the shop and would like to label them properly.  Thanks in advance for any ideas.

Lately, I have noticed some nice collections of succulents and cacti around the blogs and Pinterest and have become quite smitten with them.  So, I had to start a little family of my own, it is still small but I have high hopes of the sweet green bits being in every corner of the Little House.

My goal is to house them in the most unique containers I can find, which makes the hunt that much more fun.

This one we found at a street sale in Anacortes and the lady I bought it from told me it was a 'donkey tale'.  Well, the donkey is shedding and little bits are everywhere the 'donkey' goes.

 

So, everywhere I have dirt, there are parts of the tail, hopefully taking root, poked into a pot.



Now, lets get on to the winner of the giveaway.

Little Birdie can't wait to take flight in the package off to her next happy home.....So little one, let's see who you will be going to live with..

The winner is.....Lindsay from the blog 'Wooden Nest'.....Congratulations my friend.  Please email me your info and I will get the package right off.

Coincidentally, just this weekend I used Lindsays' recipe for dilled green beans and am having a hard time not getting into them before they age.  You can go here for that recipe and to visit her sweet blog with plenty more good things to stir up.


Thanks to you all for entering and always being such good friends..I do appreciate you more than you know.

Wishing you all a happy day.  xo

A LIttle Birdie Told Me

I made it! Not only did I really 'make' it, but I actually made it to the self imposed deadline for today.

Completing the pot holders on time was not without a bit of anxiety.  When I chose the fabric, the little pile looked oh so good all together and I had grand(iose) visions of the perfect hand protectors that I would be creating.

Then, that all too familiar, uninvited guest, Mr. Doubter, came to pay a visit.  He said all of the right (or wrong) things, reminding me how long it has been since I have made anything without a pattern and pointing out how there is way too much green in the fabrics...even adding a chuckle at the end of the sentence.

I told him that this was just for fun and not some contest that I was entering and after all it was only meant for practical use in the kitchen not a piece of clothing to wear out side. 

With that said, he came back with the most biting remark..."No one would be caught dead in those colors, that's for sure!"

Seeing that he accomplished his mission for the day, he bid farewell, poking at some fabric and knocking to the floor with his walking stick.

It wasn't but a few seconds after the door closed, that I heard a sweet voice coming from the buffet.  It was the little birdie..she was pointing out that many of the colors in the fabrics were in her feathers also and she hopped down to the sewing machine to show me.

Sure enough, it was all very clear to me once again, as plain as day really, the reason why I chose all of those pieces...they made me happy, simple as that.

Now that I have that all sorted out, we can begin the giveaway.

Along with the potholders I will be adding the yellow doily too.  The little birdie will also be included, so when Mr. Doubter comes to visit you, Little Birdie can set it all right again just like she did for me.

Giveaway guidelines:

Starts today and ends next Tuesday, winner will be announced Wednesday.
Just leave a comment and you are entered.
That's It.

Hope you are all having a good week.  Our summer has been fantastic here in the Pacific Northwest.  It reminds me of when I was a child in Portland..the summers were so hot that my bare feet would make prints in the asphalt and there would actually be bubbles on the street too...Come to think of it I must have had asbestos feet!  Anyway, the winters were great too..sledding in the street and snow drifts up on the house and in the yard, I loved it.

See you all soon.  xo 

I Can See It Now

A very happy Friday to you all, my sweet friends. I hope your week has been a pleasant and productive one.

I must tell you that mine has been challenging, to say the least. My back is never great, but after the drive down last Thursday the real monster that lives there, reared its ugly head for sure. I have been in treatment all week with my chiropractor and just now feel like I may be able to drive back up North, early tomorrow morning.

 Enough of the whining an on to something on the fun side.

Yesterday I crossed over the bridge to Portland to meet mom, sister, daughter and grands at Fabric Depot, one of those rare mega fabric stores that have everything.

I didn't feel up to standing in the cutting line so I found a nice offering of fat quarters and chose some that suited my fancy.

On the top of my sewing list, and a long list it is, I have 'make potholders' in very large print with stars and exclamation points all around it.  So this fabric will be making a trip to the machine so that I can get that one marked off.

After all of the little threads are clipped and a proper pressing has been done, I will share the finished product and we will be having a 'Giveaway'!  and off a new pair of pot holders will go, winging their way to a new home.

Let's say  that next Wednesday will be the reveal and start of giveaway, that will give me plenty of time to pull it off.

I will say so long for now and wish you all a very happy weekend...Fall is just around the corner!  xo

Tea Cup Sharing

Happy Friday friends, I hope you had a nice week, mine actually flew by.

I know that out there in blog land, there are always exchanges of one kind or another going on and they always have looked like fun but I had never joined in on one before. When Stephanie from The Enchanting Rose offered a tea cup exchange, well, I couldn't help but join in on that one and add to my collection.

Am I glad I decided to give this exchange a chance...this is what showed up on my doorstep from Vee over at 'A Haven for Vee'.  What a thrill to see a tea cup with the same roses that grow along our drive!

I also smiled when she said that she put in the tea because it matched the cup as that is what I did with the package that I sent to my recipient.

Here is a special trinket that Vee put in as a bonus, a sweet little magnet with two little girls having a tea party.


This was so much fun and this cup will be a reminder, every time I use it, how very special blogging is and all of  the new friends I meet through it.

Thanks Vee for this lovely gift and your new friendship.

And a big thank you to Stephanie for hosting this fun exchange!  You can go and visit at her place (here) if you would like to see the rest of treasures that we all got.

Wishing you all a happy weekend.  xo

Blackberry Pound Cake

When I got home on Thursday, I did indeed find the blackberries calling my name like the Mister said. After unpacking, a bowl was located and quickly filled. I told you that I had plans for these first berries...besides jelly, of course. Well, I searched cookbooks for something special and do believe that I have found a recipe worthy of sharing with you my special friends.

This is a recipe adapted from Molly Wizenbergs book,  A Homemade Life.  You may be familiar with her famous blog, 'Orangette'.

I must move along quickly with this post as my sweetie will be coming home for his morning break and I want to get this out to you.(since I said it would be posted on Friday!)

You can find the recipe on Molly's blog and the recipe is titled 'Raspberry-Blueberry Pound Cake'

I obviously used blackberries instead and also put butter and brown sugar in the bottom of the pan before the batter went in, I wanted it like an upside down cake..yum!

When I served it up, I added whipped cream and fresh grated nutmeg which gave it a nice touch.

Here is the pan I used and it worked well, easily holding all of the ingredients...Molly calls for a 9 Cup pan and this was a bit larger.

As you can see I will be busy with much more picking...I love the free bounty from the earth...Thank you Lord!

This was my breakfast this morning.....I couldn't let it go to waste after the photo shoot, now could I?

Must run now.  Wishing you all a happy, sunny Monday.  xo