Happy New Year!

Finally….. all the Christmas decorations are put away!!

xoShawn

Merry Christmas

A fun holiday tradition at our house….Gingerbread houses decorated!!!

 

xo Shawn

Growing Cotton…

Can’t believe I’ve never tried growing cotton, this is a wonderful plant!!

The bud

The flower opens a creamy white

Then turns this gorgeous pink, falls off and I guess starts producing the seed inside the cotton.  Free cotton balls for me, I’ll post a picture when it’s ready and I will grow the cotton plant again!!!

Another favorite is my buttercrunch lettuce as it goes to seed, I love these little flowers, and yes they do reseed themselves.

With the perennial geranium in the background ~ so pretty.

Butterfly visitor

xoShawn

Pool to Pond

We took down the pool a couple years ago and this spring started on the pond project, we’re getting there and loving it except for all the work!!

We already have (goldfish of course) and three kinds of frogs visiting on their own and tadpoles, guess our little ecosystem is working and it’s only been a couple weeks since we finished filling the pond.  We are using a biological filter so it will probably take a few weeks for the algae to clear.

The lotus, oh I love this plant and have been having fun water gardening.

Enjoying peppers and onions from the garden with sausage cooked on the grill…yum

And our favorite tomato salad with Italian bread.

xo Shawn

Green

Just noticing how much the landscape changes with the seasons around here, miss the green but not the mowing…haha

xoShawn

Merry Christmas

Finished my Christmas Tree Pants sew along hosted by Monica at the Happy Zombie.  I used Kona natural and red linen.

Outlined all my stars with some vintage cotton ric-rac that I have a lifetime supply of (thanks to my sweet Mama), hand stitched every peak and valley cause I didn’t want it to curl and I’m anal like that …lol  also added a border.

Hand quilted with red perle.

I made two new red linen table cloths, a natural runner and 15 napkins in a Denyse Schmidt print.  Now I just need to add dishes, cook and bake  and I’ll be ready for Christmas Eve dinner! I wish Christmas was a couple more weeks away so I could enjoy the anticipation a little longer….. I surprised myself at how much I like my table arrangement, I’m really happy with it.  Inspired by this pin.

Linking up to Amanda Jean’s Finish it up Friday

Merry Christmas

xoShawn

Gingerbread House Party

 

 

 

                                                                                          Barb

                                                                                              Susan

                                                                                            Samantha

                                                                                           Erin

                                                                                                Jade

                                                                        Alex

                                                                                              Dan

                                                                                              Verle

                                                                                             Grant

                                                                                 Will

We all had a fun time!

xo Shawn

I love making pasta

Thanks to my inspiring Mom and yes our dogs have a cookie jar on the counter…..

Now I need to go spend some time outside on this gorgeous day!!

xoShawn

Ranunculus

a gorgeous plant with a beautiful flower!!

Spring has finally sprung around here, yay!!!

The background is a Weeping Cherry, so beautiful this time of year.

So I’ll be spending a lot of time with a Wildcat and his friend Mr Weedywacker….

xoShawn

Wax on Wax off

Joining the shutter project link up at Donna’s Funky Junk Interiors

I found this shutter at a local Antique Store. I used Miss Mustard Seed’s inspirational tutorials on painting and waxing  to give it a whimsical look, and use it as a shelf in my greenhouse. I love the little porcelain knob, so sweet.

Had so much fun with this project, I started and finished another.  I really like the waxing technique.  I’ve refinished many pieces of furniture but never with paint and wax, it was fun and fast!!

A couple greenhouse pics

A flowering succulent

I like to decorate my pots with moss.

We have a little wren who likes to make a house in here in the Spring, hope she picks this one, this year!

xo Shawn