Gifts for Dads, Grads and Teachers

Hi Everyone

 Happy Tuesday

♥

Its that time of year  

when we all need a few fun gifts
for Dads , Grads and Teachers 

This year for Mothers day I received this wonderful
 stepping stone kit from the family
 they found it online at
  Michaels 

 You can add anything you want to the stepping stone to make it your own
we decided to go to the beach for inspiration

We had so much fun 

 gathering shells and rocks 

and watching the sunset together

Beautiful daughter enjoying the view

When we got home

 we mixed the cement and made our design

it was easy  

{Love}

 the way our stepping stone turned out 

{Love}

Flowers made from beach rocks and friendship shells

{they are called friendship shells because it is fun to find one side of the shell

 and then look for the match}

The great part about this gift idea
 is you can personalize it
for Teachers ,Grads and Dads too
 it would be so cute to add the year
2013
  ♥ 

we have decided to make another one 

for Handsome Husband for Fathers day...

There is something so special about handmade gifts 

made from the heart

what would you add to your stepping stone

linking for Tuesdays Treasures

romantic saying for today

"I only wish to be the fountain of Love from which you drink"

unknown

♥

Pam

Matildas Mouse Sale

Hi Everyone

 Happy Friday

♥

I hope you all had a wonderful

 Mother's day

We just returned home from our daughter's graduation

  at Texas Christian University last Saturday

 on Sunday the family was all together to celebrate Mother's day

{best present ever} 

 the fun continued as

beautiful daughter and I had a blast driving home
  from Texas back to California

grateful for a safe trip

We took our time and enjoyed the beauty of every minute

I am always in awe when we make this drive 

America is so beautiful !!!

We made it home just in time for 

Matilda's Mouse sale today in Valley Center

Just look at these gorgeous cabbage roses cascading over the front gate
at Matilda's
{sigh}

Matildas Mouse sale
continues this Saturday and Sunday too
If you have the time this sale is worth the drive
always fabulous vintage treasures
I have yet to come home empty handed !!!

Found this rusty, chippy repurposed holder
 perfect for the green house

 Gorgeous roses are blooming everywhere

The front entrance to the sale which is in a wonderful old barn
 looks inviting with
vintage watering cans and lot's of outdoor plants and flowers
the garden theme is perfect for this time of year

One more pic of the cabbage roses

I just could not take my eyes off of them

Hope your roses are blooming now too

linking for

Be Inspired

Feathered Nest Friday

Simple and Sweet Fridays

  Pink Saturday

Cottage Garden Party

romantic saying for today

"The madness of Love is the greatest of heaven's blessings"

Plato

♥

Pam

Photography class

Hi Everyone

 Happy Wednesday

♥

What a fun weekend !!!
before hosting the Mother's day party on Sunday

 I took a photography class on Saturday taught by talented
  Cynthia Shaffer

 I was recently hired  

  to shoot 

 a few vintage flea markets in the mid west 

{Love}
my goal is to
 capture beauty
 and post the best pictures possible
grateful to be able to
 keep learning and growing
 as these new opportunities arise

Armed with our cameras new and old
 we all learned  more about
aperture , iso and shutter speed
these three words all mean
light,light,light

It was a gorgeous day

Me in action
thank you Liz Sandor for taking this pic

 Wonderful Rita Reade and her husband Dean
 at the strawberry farm near their home
You may recognize  talented Rita she has a
 blog too called Mammabellarte



We photographed  Rita's
baby Chick's

There was so much beauty to photograph
 eye candy everywhere
I am totally sold on chickens now too
They will  soon be a new addition to our Cottage home

Horses nearby posed for pic's

Here we are taking pic's

Grateful to keep growing and learning as life keeps providing
new roads to travel
 and the most wonderful new adventures!!!!
Life is all about change and growth
 is there something you have been waiting to learn more about too
linking at
Inspire Me Tuesday
Wow Us Wednesday

romantic saying for today

"Where there is Love there is Life"
Ghandi



♥
Pam

Mothers Day Garden Party

Hi Everyone

 Happy Friday

♥

This week end is my annual

 Mothers Day party 

This is a garden party with fabulous friends, pretty flowers

and delicious and decadent food

It is so much fun to get together

Everyone has to come wearing hats, gloves and pearls

There is even a prize for the best outfit

and a few years ago 

the winner wore a bicycle helmet, rubber gloves and a leather skirt 

some how she pulled this off like a champ!!!

We play fun games 

and exchange gifts of no more than $10 dollars 

Then of coarse you can steal a gift so there is always a 

little excitement

These talented Ladies get really creative with 10 bucks
 last year we all fought over a hand painted
water color picture of our home!!!!!

 Getting the house ready for the party

{Love}

 to include flowers everywhere

The kitchen gets a few

just picked flowers

 from the garden

Here is a picture from the very first 

Mother's day garden party

notice all the hats and gloves!!!!

{bad pic sorry}

The party is a way to celebrate

the blessings of

 Motherhood

with wonderful friends 

and a fun excuse to wear hats, gloves and pearls too

So grateful to be a MOM

♥

linking for Feathered Nest Friday
Cottage Garden Party

romantic saying for today

"Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs"
Shakespeare

♥
Pam

May Day Tradition

Hi Everyone

 Happy Monday

♥

This Wednesday is
 May 1st
One of our favorite family traditions is 

hanging flowers on our front door 

to celebrate May Day!

This vintage  glass peanut butter jar has a handle 

so it is easy to hang a 

few flowers from our garden
 we have also used everything from recycled tin cans
 to woven baskets and paper cones full of garden flowers

Every year we even surprise our neighbors and friends
by secretly hanging a bouquet of flowers
 on their front door too
Its almost a covert operation we try very hard not to get caught

via

May day celebrations were a wonderful way
 to get outside and celebrate the warmer weather
The May Pole was a town tradition
the men would erect the pole  on April 30th
and the  entire town would gather and dance around the pole on May day
how adorable are these little girls skipping around
a decorated May Pole in a field of flowers

via

This picture is from a college May day celebration
{Love}
 their beautiful dresses and the flowers
 look at the umbrella covered with flowers and the streamers
so funny to see only one person smiling

My Grandmother used to hang flowers on her front door
 she said it brought happiness
 to a Home 
 all of us grandchildren helped her pick the flowers 
and she taught us how to arrange them so they made a pretty bouquet

Celebrating May Day is not just a celebration of Spring
 in our home
 but a wonderful way to continue family traditions
 of spreading kindness and beauty
 to friends and family
and honoring a much Loved Grandmother
Don't forget to put a few flowers on your front door for May day too
linking for Make it Pretty Monday


romantic saying for today

"You called me and I came home to your heart"
Browning

♥
Pam

Decorating with Horse Shoes

Hi Everyone

 Happy Friday

♥

After traveling to Round Top
Texas 

and seeing all of the creative ways people decorated with

 horse shoes
We decided to add one to our little
 California cottage

In Texas we were told that horse shoes have
 a legend of good luck
but here is where it got tricky.......
Some said to hang the horse shoe with the edges facing up
so you catch good luck
others said to hang the horse shoe with the edges facing down
so the good luck runs into your home
LOL

via

Here are a few creative ways to 

decorate with horse shoes
{Love}
 this adorable horse shoe gate
just like the gate at Rachel Ashwells Prairie
{my pic's coming soon}

via

Rhinestone horse shoe
wedding cake topper
too cute

via

♥
How adorable is
this hanging heart

via

This is one way to hang
 horse shoes with the edges facing up above a door

We brought a few vintage horse shoes home
and
this one got a fresh coat of white paint now
it fits right in our California cottage

Grateful to have a little bit of
Texas charm
that is filled with wonderful memories


linking for Feathered Nest Friday
Be Inspired
Funky Junk
Pink Saturday
Saturday Showoff


romantic saying for today

"Come live in my heart and pay no rent"
unknown


♥
Pam

   

How to Create a Romantic Garden

Hi Everyone

 Happy Wednesday

♥

Creating a romantic garden

 for your home 

Begins with choosing the right plants 

There are many amazing varieties to choose from I made a list of my favorites 

 that will help you set the stage for romance by

 adding amazing beauty and

 fragrance to your yard

One of my favorite plants to add to the garden is 

 ~paper white bulbs~

 they have such an intoxicating fragrance 

and every year you will be happy to see the bulbs bloom again

 {Love} 

~Lavender~
 is another plant 

that blesses us all with its amazing fragrance 

The gray colored leaves are also beautiful year round

This is a fabulous plant called 

 ~Breath of Heaven~

love the way this sways in the breeze

and its luscious fragrance
is soft and sweet

~Tulips~
 are a wonderful border
 plant in our garden
{Love}
to walk by and say tulips so romantic!!!!

Of coarse a romantic garden would not be complete
 with out beautiful
~Cabbage roses~
the quintessential flower of romance

 and last but not least
colorful
~ hydrangeas~
that look almost majestic in the garden

 Freshly cut hydrangeas
add romance and beauty
everywhere

Do you have a favorite  romantic plant or flower
that grows in your garden
that you would add to this list
linking for Seasonal Sunday


romantic saying for today

"I Love thee I Love but thee with a Love that shall never die
 Till the sun grows cold and the stars grow old"
Shakespeare

♥
Pam