Mail TIME!!!

Hello again dear blog, so sorry for the delay. I know, I know, I promised in my last post that I would start typing up some more posts and sharing some more adventures and creations with you, but I have been waiting all week for the mail. Yep, I said the mail. All week I have been coming home and the very first thing I do is get the mail. And everyday I have been sadly disappointed. But today, yes today, I opened up that mail box and the first letter in there said it was from Oregon. I knew it had to be it, who else do I know in Oregon? So I opened it up and found an abundance of ephemera and a handmade ATC by Amber, a very kind lady who sent me it after I was a runner up on her One World One Heart Giveaway. I am soo delighted that I won these wonderful pieces, especially that beautiful ATC that she made. I just left her a comment, and I was rewarded with this. It was so kind of her, and I am going to send her a thank-you letter ASAP. Visit her site, you'll deffinately love it, she's always sharing her creations and inspiring stories.
Now off to what I did after I got my mail.. I entered my room to find Metayo, once again on my bed. He managed to "tuck" himself under my comforter someway and was enjoying the warm sun and the cool breeze coming from my cracked window. I just had to snap a picture of him, even though he was on my clean sheets, I did just give him a bath yesterday and he was just too adorable and comfortable that I let him be. He looks kind of mad at me in the picture for making him wake up, but he was happy to see me. Wagging his little nub! I just love him.After a while of reading the mail, watching some recorded That's Clever! shows, and having some tea, I took Metayo out back, hooked him up to the run I have for him since it was such a beautiful day, and I decided to start my sowing of the latest collection of seeds. So I went to my potting bench, for the first time since fall, and started "dusting" it off and cleaning up the terra cotta pots and such that I cleaned in fall but never put away. Happy to find none of them cracked, I got my little Ikea green house, and some plastic containers and planted Bells of Ireland, Sweetpeas, and some more lavender. I cant wait to see how they come along! So pretty much that was my day so far, hopefully I'll write you another post tomorrow as well! Wishing you warm and breezy Springtime weather your way!

Not too Shabby!

Hello again blog, long time no see! Just kidding, I am starting to get used to updating this now, although for now, do not expect more then 2-3 times a week of updates. I started quickly, but then of course, I also had lots of interesting things in my schedule, such as the antique show (which I never told you about!) and the flower show, etc. Now-a-days I am trying to find my creativity spark again, and some things to do and places to see. I just don't have much time anymore, I have so much work to do including all the things I say that I need to do around the house, including spring cleaning, planting new flowers, continuing to decorate the house for spring, cleaning up my old flower beds since I didn't do that in the Fall, etc. (Believe me the list could go on forever!!) Anyways off the topic of my time maintenance (he he) I am going to share with you some of my creations that I have made out of some inexpensive, and at a time not so attractive pieces.
The image above is of two IKEA frames that I bought unfinished for like 2 dollars (can you tell I have a love for IKEA?) which I then painted a green color and then crackled it, but didn't like it so painted it brown and then redid the crackling finish ( I just should have put the crackling medium on the unfinished wood!) The images below are of a dollar store (YES 1 dollar) plastic shelf which had a hideous fake wood image on it, that I painted and sanded to give it the worn effect, and of a mirror which used to be bronze that my sister was going to throw out. After a range of color selections I finally came out with the finished product (even though the rim of it still needs to be painted :) ) Anyways I thought I would show you that since today I visited Home Goods and saw lots of inspirational pieces, which I did not buy since I have no room for them, but I did see a bunch of Apothecary jars which were surprisingly inexpensive. I love the fact of finding antique pieces, but sometimes in Pennsylvania, with a lack of Antique shows around my area, I find it hard to get some treasured pieces that I see so much of on others blogs. As for that, it has been a pretty productive day, got some chores done, and after this I am hopefully going to finish laundry, yay!!! Until another time my blogger friends, wishing you some rest and relaxation for Sunday!




* Taken with my new camera!! Cloudy today, so not very good natural light :(

Springtime

Hello again blog, Happy Spring!! Once again I am sorry for not writing frequently, I just got a new camera, and have spent the last couple of days trying to figure out how to work everything and especially how to import them onto my computer. I got a Canon Power Shot A560 on Sunday, I know its not the best one, I would have liked to get a rebel or some other camera I was eyeing up, but that was 850 dollers too much. But when compared to my old canon power shot from like 5 years ago, this baby does a much better job! So I am happy with it, I took a few pictures that I thought I would share with you to show you's what I have been doing the past couple of days. The image above is of an Ikea clock that I fell in love with, and some of my craft paper in the background while the one below is of a necklace I made with my "Book Wish List" I created while searching crafty books on Amazon today. I am sure that that page is going to get filled up very quickly, I just love craft books, they're always there when you need a little inspiration or a kick start, and of course when you do read them, you get on a kick, whatever the topic may be about. Such as, when I start reading Rachel Ashwells books, or even Country Living, which is most of the time at night, I always feel like getting up, and starting a redo of my house, painting the walls, getting new furniture, etc. It's just like when you go to the nursery and buy a bunch of plants, you just want to keep going back and getting more, even if it is not a realistic idea. Anyways, I hope you share the same thoughts on books as I do, I just love them!
As I was reading my regular blogs, I noticed that alot of them are having "tea parties." Unfortunately I posted my cup and saucer a little too early, so enjoy that picture of the jadite cup and tea, because I sure did! As for the snow, which was the main topic of my last post, most of it has melted.... a sad ending for winter, but a bright and sunny outlook for spring! Oh well, I just wanted to stop by and say hello, and remind you that I did not forget about you! And with that note I leave you with wishes of Springtime beauty!

And lastly a picture of the box, since I couldn't take a picture of my new camera with my new camera!!

Winters Abundance

Hello again dear blog, I haven't written in a while, really busy, and really not much that was interesting either. So today I stayed inside most of the day other then when I took the dogs outside, and shoveled the snow. Yes, I said SNOW!!!! I am soo excited for it, all day yesterday it was sleeting, and I mean all day, the roads were bad, the skies were gray, and most were stuck at home since all of us do not drive big SUV's with four wheel drive. I enjoyed the tattering of the ice on the windows, it was a change from the sounds of rain weve had recently. The weather system is totally out of whack, just a few days ago it was 78 degrees here, in the middle of March!! I have already said that I like the cold, and I truly do adore snow. Its soo peaceful, especially if you wake up early enough and peek out the window or go outside, the usual sounds of cars and trucks dissipate,and the silence of snow surrounds you. Ahhh, well that was fun to type, it brought back fond memories of when we use to get at least 12 inches, maybe even a couple of feet, but now we only get about 4 inches every storm. I believe we got about 6 inches, some has melted, but its still there. Anways so off the snow topic, lol, I didn't do much,even though Saturday is my typical laundry day, I pretty much just drank tea, watched romantic comedies and read a few of my favorite magazines and books. The tea cup and saucer above are some Fireking jadite pieces I picked up a few weeks ago at an antique mall, oh how I do love it, and I also love the red rose emblem on the tea bag.

I also found some time to go through a few of my cluttered craft drawers, and thought I would share some of my pretty papers with you. This week I finally put away the winter and Christmas decorations that were still up and put out my spring decor. I am excited for spring, and I cant wait to plant the many flowers that await to be potted or planted, that are currently enjoying the view on my bay window seat. I wouldn't mind being them today, constantly peering out at the beautiful sight of the wintery abundance casting bright light all over the neighborhood! Wishing you a Happy St. Patricks day with warmth and inspiration on such a cold day!

Lazy Sunday

Hello again dear blog, hope all of you have had a wonderful asnd creative weekend. Last night I was so happy that I finally figured out how to change the html for the layout to show the header(above) I made on Friday night. I like it for now, but Ill change it soon. Anyways so yesterday was full of adventures and headaches. I woke up with a horrible headache and even with ibuprofen it didnt go away, plus for some reason I felt groggy all day, so I was in somewhat of a bad mood ;) Anyways so lets see what I did, first I went shopping for a few pieces of clothes, which I had been eyeing up. After that I ventured to Ikea to get an end table that I saw a few months back, which did not fit in Ikea since their pieces are usally on the modern side which I dont like, but this end table was an ivory metal base, with a scalloped edge around the circular glass top, it was so pretty and only 20 dollers, but of course they didnt have it in stock then or yesterday. I did end up buying a stuffed dragon toy which is ment for kids but I gave it to my dog metayo, and a lily. Let me warn you to never go to Ikea on a saturday, especially when the weather is nice out, it was a madhouse, and made my headache even worse. I then went to Walmart (I am obssessed with them!) and went on a gardening binge where I bought 2 gardenia plants, tons of pots, around 6 packets of seeds, a organic dirt galore! That made me happy, and by the time I came home, it was almost dinner time. So that was my day yesterday, but today, after coming from outside since it is such a lovely day, I discovered this (the picture above) and thought it was soo adorable, so I thought I would end my post with that, since it is still somewhat early. Until next time I wish all your clocks are correct :) and hope your creative juices are flowing!


What a sleepy head!

Floral Abundance

Hello again blog! As I had promised before today I am posting up the pictures from last nights Flower Show. I cannot even explain in words how beautiful it was. Flower shops and nurseries from all over the country I believe, got to set up different scenes depicting something which brought the dewy hills of Ireland to their minds. Fresh flowers and amazing scents filled the entire convention center. I traveled throughout the winding pathways and snapped pictures whenever I could. I am going to appologize in advance with my pictures since it was so unbelievably crowded I didn't take so much time getting the right shots. My pictures do not do this even justice. I wish all of you could have seen it, I know you would have loved it. It was great though, since my Uncle is a Philadelphia Police Officer we got free parking right next to the center. We spent about 2 hours roaming around viewing everything there. They had gorgeous arrangements and pieces of natural art made from people from all around. Every nook and cranny was packed, and there was live music and celtic dancing too!!! Ohh my, I cant wait till next year! After we finished seeing the displays we traveled onto the other side where there were the vendors and loads of garden items. I was going to get 25 roses for only 9.95 but I couldnt find any bouquets that I really liked. Now that I think about it, I should have gotten them, but its too late. I didn't buy anything (surprising I know) but everyone else did! After we left we went to Geno's for a "wiz wit" meaning a steak sandwich with cheeze wiz and fried onions. Yummm, I haven't had one of those for more then 1 year!! Anyways I am glad to share this with you and I am also going to share my pictures. Wishing you happy viewing!

ps: May be some random ongoers in my pictures, sorry about that!


A Gorgeous pond in the mystical lands.


Yes, they even had dinosaurs!


This setting was actually "floating" on a real pond!


The Wishing Tree




A lovely arrangement!


One of my favorites!




Simply Beautiful!


A quaint little cottage with a trickling pond.


A tiny garden shop.


This arrangement and chandelier were soo beatiful, the picture just doesn't do them justice!


The picture I took last, and its my favorite!


Had to throw this one in, show some Philadelphia pride while letting you take in a little bit of south philly!

La Bella Flora

Hello, happy tuesday blog! Today is quite a happy day for me, for tonight in a couple of hourse I am going to be attending the Philadelphia Flower Show!!! No, I have never been to it before, and YES I am excited!! I hope that I will be able to share some photos that I take with you blog, so when I am feeling a little down, all I have to do is look back at this hopefully, marvelous event! I believe that it is Ireland themed this year, and although I am not Irish, oh how I do think Ireland is so beautiful! Okay, okay enough of the excitement, I have just been waiting for it all day. After the show we may stop down at Genos steaks and pick up a real philly cheese steak. Anyways I just wanted to share with you my exciting news, and if I do not get back to you tomorrow then you can count on Thursday. Wishing you the happiest gardening!

Beautiful Sunday

Hello again dear blog, I am posting you just a tad bit late today since I just recently got home. So last night I fell upon some beautiful vintage ephemera that I adored and that got me creating again... this has been a great weekend for that, too bad it wasnt the cleaning bug that bit me since I really need to do that ( although I did a little yesterday :) so I started just scribling out some pieces of the ephemera, vintage wallpaper, and photos and created a new favorite of mine. It is something that holds a quote from one of my favorite poems by EE. Cummings. It is such a lovely poem and can hold many meanings for each who reads it, I saw it in a movie once and fell in love with it. soo the picture to the left is what I created, i hope you enjoy it too. I think I will be in a collage kick for a little while now since I have gotten the hang of doing on (yes I know very ancient) my computers paint program. Hey, it works and its free so two bonuses in one! I would like it to have this one tool that I have used on Adobe photoshop where it automatically traces the image without leaving any white backgrounds on them, but I think for these collages it leaves a sense of realness, as if the papers were really torn off. Anyways off to some of my adventures for today, lunch with the family, kohls, walmart (yet again!) and then sushi. yum, california roll and green tea ice cream!! So that was my day, this week I dont have much planned other then attending the Philadelphia Flower show on wednesday, which I am very excited about, hopefully I will be able to share some pictures that I take if they allow them. Okay well its getting late, and I must go, until another day, wishes of creativity and fun sent your way!

ps: heres the full poem, Ill know you'll enjoy!

I Carry Your Heart
I carry your heart with me(I carry it in my heart)I am never without it(Anywhere I go you go, my dear; and whatever is done by only me is your doing, my darling) I fear no fate(For you are my fate, my sweet)I want no world(For beautiful you are my world, my true)And it's you are whatever a moon has always meant And whatever a sun will always sing is youHere is the deepest secret nobody knowsHere is the root of the root and the bud of the budand the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which growsHigher than soul can hope or mind can hideAnd this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart
I carry your heart (I carry it in my heart)

-EE Cummings

Sunny Saturday

Hello again, just posting some updates on what I did and have planned for this coming week. So last night I was in the creative mood and was rummaging through my scrapbook papers ( which I have never used!! :( So anyway I bought some last week at michaels and had some other ones which I thought would go together and I started creating a header for this blog. About an hour and a half later, after dilligently trying to get it done and making many mistakes, I finally mastered the art of edging out images and finished the header. Now the only problem with that is I dont know how to put it on this page as the header. Dont worry, Im pretty good with computers and html so Ill figure it out someway. Today I ran some errands (dry cleaners, post office, walmart and then got an ice coffee. yum! I was planning on making a few things such as this great idea for a flower holder door hanger and a garden seed planner. In the past month I have bought about 10 packets of seeds for the garden, but thats a different post. With all these new magazines, including the new country living that I just got yesterday and BHG plus all the flower seed catalogs I get, Im really in the mood for spring, although I wouldnt mind a couple more snow storms and 28 degree weather (what can I say, I like the cold!) Sometime in the next week I have to take down my winter decor (a little late) and put up my spring stuff, just to get everyone in the mood for spring cleaning!! just kidding although I do love when the house and everything in it is clean and crisp. Okay well enough venting and imagining spring for now, its only the beginning of march. Until another day, I will bid you adue (sp?) and I hope your day(s) are full of beauty and creativity!

New Beginnings

Hello everyone, I am Genevieve and this is my very first post on my very new blog. I am venturing out into blogland, so I can hopefully share some of my creations and adventures with you while also viewing others inspiring blogs. I really enjoy nature, shabby chic, beautiful pictures, gardening, decorating, jewelry, music, friends, singing, and lovely creations. I just wanted to say a quick hello, and hopefilly we will be able to inspire one other!