Saturday, December 31, 2011

hauoli makahiki hou

that's happy new year in hawaiian ;)


may your ship sail 
on gentle seas
with warm breezes
safe harbors
shelter from storms
islands of peace

happy 2012

Monday, December 26, 2011

health(ier) tea


I've been for a walk today already


and plan to go on another walk after tea


- boxing day -
does that come from the idea of boxing up treats and getting them out of the house?

and this is just the candy

never mind the
cake
waffles
cinnamon rolls
truffles
cookies
egg nog

uff da

*

happy tea on tuesday
a very healthy thing to do 
:)

*

I've been off the grid all weekend and hope to get around to everyone
a s a p
!!!

xoxo

Thursday, December 22, 2011

lo, how a rose


Lo, how a Rose e’er blooming from tender stem hath sprung!
Of Jesse’s lineage coming, as men of old have sung.
It came, a floweret bright, amid the cold of winter,
When half spent was the night.

*

Merry Christmas dear friends!


Monday, December 19, 2011

beachcombing tea


it was a good day to get out of the house


and get some fresh air


and sunshine


December 19th ... a great beach day on Puget Sound

*
how are you holding up during this busy busy time of year?
what do you do when you need to take a break?
where do you go when you have cabin fever?
happy tuesday ... I hope all is well where you are!

*


p.s. please visit Bleubeard and Elizabeth... She is in the midst of computer woes and is unable to link back from a comment box :(

Sunday, December 18, 2011

noel

we have a December birthday in our family


she is twelve ears old and almost as tall as me


where does the time go?


(elizabeth, my cake making friend, I made a red velvet cake!)

Monday, December 12, 2011

sit down a while

after school I made myself a cup of tea
and this was my view


it felt good to sit down and watch some busy hands at work


my 10 yr old is making waldorf tissue paper stars
(here's the link for a great how-to)


they are a spot of color in an otherwise dreary day


hanging in the window the light transforms


and the color spills


my tea today: Bengal Spice by Celestial Seasonings
oh, and don't forget the cookies to go with that tea!



***
are you able to take a break?
what do you see?
I hope it's a spot of color in your day

:)


Friday, December 9, 2011

candy dish

this once was my grandmother's candy dish


she always had this type of candy in it


as kids we weren't too crazy about it ... wishing for chocolate I guess


and even now, the only good thing in there is the raspberry filled one


but they sure do look pretty

:)

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

my little town ...

... has a really neat little tea shop


I was in there yesterday and picked up a little pudgy british teapot


but I always stop to admire the exotic asian ones too


and I picked up some tea as well,
but I also stopped to admire the exotic teas from china


the shop is all decorated for christmas
and all the talk was about how busy they were this weekend
and how business is looking up


this beautiful teapot is in the front window 
a lovely gift for any elegant tea drinker


and this one was on the shelf below it
... my personal favorite ...
:)


***
do you have any holiday shopping tales to tell?
don't forget to slow down and sip a hot cuppa 

Monday, December 5, 2011

orange wreath

remember the dried orange slices?


I used some of them to decorate a large willow wreath from the dollar store


I attached the slices with fishing line


and tried to alternate the more "well done" slices with the slices that were more on the "rare" side
*
it's a nice patch of sunshine on my entry way mirror
:)

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

sustainable wreath

every year 
I think it would be so cool 
to have one of those 
giant beautiful evergreen wreaths 
on my front door
*
one year I did .... 
it was a secret gift in the middle of the night and I still don't know who it came from
.... it just appeared on my front door ....
big, beautiful, extravagant and, oh so, fragrant


but
... and this is a big but ...
but


many of the branches that go into the making of those wreaths are harvested illegally
poached from local forests
leaving young trees struggling to survive after being denuded of their branches
(you can read an article about it HERE)


this wreath is made entirely from found objects on the forest floor
pine cones, lichen, moss


and one little token piece of imported plastic
I thought he was uber cute
:)
even though he is plastic

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

just orange


today I have sunshine streaming in and the oranges are showing off


I slice and dehydrate them for autumn and winter projects


an occasional slice slips into my tea


I mostly use them in garlands


but they're pretty just sitting in a dish too
... captured sunshine ...

***
what is showing off for you today?
is it orange?
or something else?



Saturday, November 26, 2011

another pinecone project

a couple of weeks ago I showed you some deconstructed pinecone ideas
(click HERE)

what I love about these is the complete lack of anything manufactured in a factory somewhere
(except the hot glue sticks I guess)


I used some of the wooden sewing spools from my collection
sticks, moss and pinecones from the forest
and glued the "deconstructed" pinecone parts to rolled up cone shapes I made from sturdy paper


miniature magic .... fit for any elf

Thursday, November 24, 2011

thankful

we have a beautiful sunrise here


wishing you and yours a blessed and happy day


xoxo

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

tea and stitching

my tea this morning is irish breakfast
hot, strong, and tempered with a little milk
it's a rainy and dark day


a good day for stitching


... I was gifted with this sweet little needle case ...

a give away from The Red Tin
thank you so much!


all of my favorite things have been gifts
the pincushion is from Patina Moon
the old recipe box is from my sister


and the quilt will be a gift from me to my daughter


it's slow going, but today will be a good day to make some progress!

*

what are some of the simple gifts in your life that give you joy?