~ Shimmering Bright and White ~

*

all is calm

*

all is white

*

Winter Whites

*

cool

*

Snowy shades

*

can feel

*

cozy

*

and warm

*

Happy December

*

~ Friendship Tied with a Red Ribbon ~

Book Bundles

one of my favourite things to

give at

Christmas

*

Old or New

Does it really matter?

*

I love the look of

vintage books

all bundled up

with

bright ribbon

I found this lovely illustration

of the bumpkin bears giving books

over at Bumpkin Bears

*

Catherine from Belgium

has the most enchanting blog

and her etsy store is filled with

her sweet illustrations

each making my heart so happy

that I just had to share

{she is also having a holiday sale}

I want to be a cute bumpkin bear!

***

Check out these wonderful books

that

celebrate friendship

*

Anne of Green Gables

Lucy M. Montgomery

*

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm

Kate Douglas Wiggin

*

The Secret Garden

Frances Hodgan Burnett

*

The Water Babies

Charles Kingsley

*

The Wind in the Willows

Kenneth Grahame

*

The Nancy Drew Mystery Series

Carolyn Keene

*

You are sure to find all of these

and many more

at any

Used Bookstore

Bundle up a few

for giving

this

Christmas

~ Signs of the Season ~

"Brown Paper Packages

Tied Up

With String"

***

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in our home

~ Shoeriffic ~

Happiness is....

*

a pair of Red Polka Dotted Shoes

or a card from a friend

which has Red Polka Dotted Shoes

on it

which is just what I received in the mail the other day

{polariod painting card by Rhiannon Connelly}

thank you Susan from Paperhill

take a peek at her amazingly lovely etsy shop here

*

*
So while we are on the shoe topic

I gathered up some of my shoe/slipper images

Can you guess my favourite pair?

*

~ Drum Roll Please.....~

Today is the Day

Giveaway Winner Time

I was overwhelmed by the number of you that thought

my giveaway was worthy of entering

Thank you so so much

My daughter Sydney did the honors...

{I told her to give a little stir and dig down deep}

Yahoo for June
her lovely blog
Laughing with Angels
is a special place you will want to visit

I really wish I could send you all a little something
just for entering
Thank you so much to
my lovely faithful followers
and
to my new followers that just found me
I really appreciate you all!

I just need to have another giveaway soon...

This was so much fun
{next barn sale Angela has I will be looking for something special}

~ Bits of Wisdom ~

To handle yourself...use your head

To handle others....use your heart

~

Anger is only one letter short of Danger

~

If someone betrays you once...it is his fault

If someone betrays you twice...it is your fault

~

Great minds discuss ideas

Average minds discuss events

Small minds discuss people

~

He who loses money....loses much

He who loses a friend....loses much more

He who loses faith...loses all

~

Learn from the mistakes of others

You can't live long enough to make them all yourself

{from the book...If only I'd said that...P.Legge}

~

Bits of Wisdom

to start your

Week out Right

~ Baking Ups and Downs ~

Oh No!

Does this ever happen to your cookies?

Flat as pancakes

What did I do wrong?

They look like something the birds would enjoy

My apple crisp did turn out!

Our favourite after school snack

Do you have a favourite baked item

that brings comfort to your soul?

~ An Adorable Apple Sweater for the Teacher ~

Have you ever seen anything so cute?

Found this on etsy

at jacqueline knits

I want to give everyone I work with

one for Christmas...

{they are all teachers!}

A*D*O*R*A*B*L*E

Jacqueline also has these little beauties for all you

tea lovers

It's a tea bag holder!

How clever!

If only I could knit

my dear Grandma tried to teach me when I was a young girl

but I was hopeless

note.....there will be slim pick ens on my own photos until I can get a new camera

my daughter's camera is just not the same.

*****

A great big thank you hug to

Luiza

over at Feelings

for the amazing award she designed for me

Please go say hi to her

she is a Swedish Sweetheart!

*****

Thanks to all you lovely amazing wonderful friends

who entered my giveaway

and especially those that posted about it on their blogs

{you still have time to enter on the post below}

xoxoxo

~ It's a BLUEBIRD GIVEAWAY ~

I have been so blessed lately

that I have decided to have my very first

giveaway

to thank you all so very much for your

Friendship and Love

I went to a fabulous Barn Sale

{and I mean fabulous}

Angela

{who does not have a blog and really needs to get one}

and her friends

amazed me with such glorious handmade items

so I had to pick up a few to share with you

In my giveaway package is

*a lovely Friend banner

made from vintage seam binding and authentic German glass glitter

* a set of six special gift tags

handmade with vintage buttons, ribbon & glass glitter

&

*a "wee" little Paris perfume bottle

decorated with a sweet vintage key

{Angela told me these bottles were found at the bottom of the Puget Sound}

***

please enter

you have until Tuesday November 24th

~Just leave me a comment on this post

and your name will be added to the draw

~If you are a follower let me know

and I will add your name a second time

~If you post about my giveaway on your blog

I will enter your name again

{just let me know}

Oh I am so excited...this will be so much fun!

I am also special guest over at Little Monarch

for her "Talk to me Tuesday"

She asked me the best questions

and

I even gave her some photos of me

{so unlike me..I am a bit shy when it comes to showing my face}
Go visit and say hi

{a sweet little blog indeed}

you may even find out something about me you didn't know!
XOXOX

~ Pinwheel Dreams ~

How lovely is this?

Magical Pinwheels above my bed

I saw this here
and just knew I had to share

Just think of the lovely dreams you would have

with this bit of whimsical joy floating over your head
from a special blog you must visit
Portabellopixie

~ The Spirit of Love ~

The Art of Encouragement

is

the art of creating community

and celebrating friendship....

it is a way of living that seeks to bless

every person

we meet

-candy paull

*******

This week I have been blessed beyond words

by a wonderful friend

who knows the

true meaning of Encouragement

This lovely package arrived in the mail from

Janet...her lovely blog French Blue

....a wee little french creamer from a Paris flea market
.....some amazing Marie Antoinette tea from Laduree
{in such a lovely pale pink box..heaven}


and some sweets for my "sweet tooth"
{Janet remembered my sweet tooth xoxoo}
all for me ...just because

What a blessing to bless others
a true gift from above


"You will find as you look back upon your life
that the moments when you have really lived
are the moments when you have
done things in the spirit of love."
H. Drummond



Love in Action
Thank you my thoughtful friend!

*******

More love this week

from some more thoughtful friends

Jacqueline from Home

gave me the most amazing award

which she designed herself

{please see my sidebar}

Thank you my friend

*******

Madame Sucre

presented me with the

Creative Blogger Award

Many many thanks!

*******

What a blessed week I have had

I am back to school starting tomorrow

still not 100% but getting there...

Thank you for all your well wishes all week long

you all are my blessings

xoxoxo

~ How to drive your kids crazy ~

? ? ?

! ! !



Has she gone crazy?

....no it is not the flu bug meds.
......it is just me feeling a little silly
....i brought some new polka dot panties home a while ago
.....pinned them in my frames to see what sort of reaction I would get
....no one noticed for awhile
.....then I got the eye roll
...... someone said "so typical of you mom..lucky I didn't bring home a friend today"
.....oh how they will miss me when I'm gone!

~ Drs. Orders ...... Have You Taken Your Soul Break Today?

what would we {I} do without tea?

soothes my soul

a constant companion

helps me to capture a quiet moment

my sweet daughter introduced us to the delight of

homemade London Fogs


now we are all hooked
earl grey + vanilla = a little self-nurturing
{just what the Dr. ordered}



we have been treating ourselves constantly
{in fact my camera has been completely ruined from one of my indulgences..
I went to take an image of all that lovely foam and PLOP in went my camera...lens full of vanilla foam..}
oh how I miss my camera





you can blame me if you
fall head over heels in love
with this warm cup of bliss


"take time to come home to yourself every day"
-robin casarjen

~ Picking up the Pieces ~

One day.. Life is nothing but a "Bowl of Cherries"

{or bowl of fruit in this case}

everything is wonderful...

then bingo bango...it hits you!

{the ugly bad ugly rotten ugly terrible ugly flu bug from you know where}

shattering your healthy world

4days in bed...not eating...not moving

feeling like you have been hit by a bus...train and plane all at once

then slowly....slowly

slowly....life gets back to normal

your shattered body starts to feel like eating

you slowly begin to pick up the pieces.....

Until one day you are

all glued back together and ready to face the world again

{I am working on it}

Thank you so so much for all your well wishes

I am overwhelmed by your love and concern

you have lifted my spirits and made my

road to recovery a happier one!

I am taking all of your advice...

~drinking lots of tea~

~snuggling myself up with cozy comfort items~

~wrapping myself up with a positive attitude~

What would I do without you ?

xoxoxo

~ XOXOXO ~

Sending you all some love

{photo taken by my daughter in Paris of this year}

I have been under the weather for a few days with this

terrible flu bug

{diagnosed today with the H1N1 virus}

I am taking a few day off and hope to be visiting you

all again soon

please stay healthy

~ Treasures Old and New ~

Bringing together

old & new

treasures

to help celebrate

Girlfriends and Sisterhood

{pretty things we all seek and adore}

my favourite old teacup

+

a favourite new necklace

**a recent purchase from Tracy.... visit her etsy shop here

you will be so glad you did **

my mother's old pretty china

+

a charming new pair of earrings

**a giveaway win all the way from Stockholm Sweden

thank you Eva

please visit her lovely blog Angel.Pearls to find

new treasures to add to your collection**

***

One more huge thank you
to Ocean Dreams

for presenting me with

The Superior Scribbler Award

please go visit her amazingly lovely blog

it really is a delight

***

New and Old Friendships

These are my true treasures

~ Knee High Fun ~

I found them today!

{all fuzzy and warm}

~Every year starting December 1st

it is our family tradition to hang socks

on our stair railing

one for each child~

~I fill them every morning with little treats

until December 25th~

~like an advent calendar

only 100xs better

because the treats are amazing

handpicked by me~

~this is definitely a

Christmas highlight in our home~

~when my girls came home today and saw the socks
they knew exactly what they
would be used for~
{the only requirement is that they have to be knee high socks}

~the fun part is they get to wear the socks after~

~advent calendar socks....
so much fun~
{the store clerk told me they were going to get pink stripe ones in too... we will need some of those }

~ Pure Enchantment ~

Window Shopping

Everyone loves to do it!

Whimsical Fun

Pure Make Believe

Enchanting

Magical

Best Place...any major city
Best Season... a week or two before Christmas
Best Time....Night

All of us girls
in our home love to make a trip into
Vancouver or Seattle
at Christmastime
we walk up and down the busy streets
{best if done at night and snow is falling}
peeking at the imaginary worlds
so cleverly displayed
in the shop windows

Just another reason to get excited for the Christmas Season
{as if we really needed another reason}


the above window display was
designed by Beluga-creative platform
located in Paris, France

~ Oh Happy Days ~

The countdown begins

I have started my Christmas list

Happy November

{image from mary ruffle}