Brrrr, Hoping the Spring Lamb Time is on the Way~

Our warm winter turned normal last week and the snow is here! Windy and cold it is, but I do like my snowy photos. Here are some hearts and a lamb that makes me think of March going out like said creature.

Rearranging

Well, Santas are packed away, always a bit sad, but fun to rearrange all my shelves. My biggest decorating dilemna is that I love so many styles, the romantic whites and china in Shabby Chic, the clean lines and spacious feel of Shaker style, the cozy dark cabin primitives of the early prairie and I can even appreciate a severe modern city style. One good thing about having a shop, I can play with all the styles and never have to settle on one! I cleaned off my bookcases of all the samplers and Santas and put out blue bowls and pitchers, blue does make me happy. I switched some of the piesafe toppers, put an early dough bowl of stone fruit by the Madonna and put the pretty blue pitcher on the stair landing. That pitcher would be worth a mint, except that the spout was broken and glued back on, I spent all of $25 for it, a lot of beauty for just a few dollars. The breadboard used to be plain jane, I added the blue milk paint, of course. The little headless cherub is from a day when my dad was digging up the front flower bed and unearthed her, and started to throw her away, I immediately laid claim and she's been my kitchen angel for the past 20 years!

I Kept Thinking I Wasn't Accomplishing Anything

I've spent this week flitting from project to project, feeling like I wasn't getting anything done....until I started taking pictures. Holy cats, do I have a lot of stuff to list! You can see from the different styles, the craft ADD was in full force...

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

The most unbelievable winter weather here in Iowa lately, today was 58! It is the rarest of treats to have a nice January, sure I'll be complaining loudly when the inevitable blizzards arrive, but what a wonder to have today. I first woke up and wanted to pull the covers over my head, but got up and put the sheets in the washer just to avoid temptation of slipping back into bed. I was dreading taking the girls to the dentist, but all for naught, they had great check ups, no work needed, and since we were downtown, we parked and walked down to the river to see if we could spot an eagle. No eagles today, but a beautiful walk. The university campus is right in the middlle of downtown--I started school at Iowa State in Ames, where the campus is a completely separate entity from the town and had quite a shock when I transferred to U of I here, kept looking at my campus map and wondering why on earth French class was upstairs from a jewelry store. We got a nice photo of the Pentacrest (I am standing in the shopping area taking the photo--the university is still on break, thus no people around), some river views and just a shot of my favorite restaurant in town, Givanni's.

Waiting for the Sunshine

I got a few more pictures today, braving the chilly wind out on the deck to get enough sunshine for things to show up in their photos. Here are some lovely earlies and a few more pillows I'll be listing tonight.

Landscape Bowl and Bunches of Other Stuff Now Listed

I have ebay elbow after listing all the latest, store is stuffed full! Aren't these corn cob dollies adorable? I got them from the artist, thinking I'd make my own, as usual, just never got around to it....The little stocking stretchers are doll size, old knife tray has square nails, graters very prim, mashers all mushroomy...

Crossing My Fingers for a Good New Year

2011 over, hard to believe how fast it goes...Hoping the new year brings good things to you all! No New Year's Eve parties here (I've never actually been to one, and can't say I'm sorry about that). Glass of wine, my new Top Chef Allstars video made for a very nice evening.

Here is an old dough bowl with a wonderful winter scene that is just right for a January day.