Friday's Fancies: Time for a Picnic

Happy Friday! We've had WARM, WARM weather here in Michigan for the past week or so!

*

It's put me in the mood for watermelon, running in the sprinkler, catching fireflies and of course . . . PICNICS!

*

Summer just isn't summer without a weekly picnic! Since my husband is a teacher and has the summers off, we are always packing up the car with the picnic essentials and heading to a park to enjoy an afternoon of fresh air, sunshine, and yummy food!

*

Here are some lovely picnic picks from fellow Etsians.

*

{clockwise from top left}

*

You need a good picnic basket like this lovely vintage one from Laurie Rohner Studio for any real picnic! Just beautiful with sweet little strawberries painted on the top lid. Ready for filling with some vintage china and all kinds of good treats!

*

Any good picnic deserves a quilt as lovely as this beautiful bright lap quilt from Chasing Lightning Bugs. The colors are so vibrant and cheery! You couldn't help but have an enjoyable time wherever this blanket might land!

*

Every picnic needs an ant, and this Ant Picnic Ring Pincushion from The Finicky Frog was perfect for this Friday's Fancies! This cute picnic-inspired pincushion ring, with the necessary ant would remind any seamstress of happy days picnicking under blue skies!

*

The perfect picnic includes delectable food! And these Edible Sugar Strawberries from Andie's Specialty Sweets are the perfect summery addition to any yummy cake! These sweet confections conjure up images of garden-fresh sun-ripening strawberries, and are both cottagy and elegant!

*

Happy picnicking! :)

Fondly, Kate

Garden Party

After a week of mulching, mowing, weed-whacking, pruning, amongst various other lawn chores, I was ready to host a Garden Party at my home last Thursday.

*

Thank heavens for a dear friend who helped me weed my front walkway, fold my laundry, bake, and more! We worked together a good part of the day Thursday setting up for the Party and Plant Exchange!

*

The results were phenomenal! I expected to have a nice evening with friends! But I wasn't prepared for how much fun we all would have together!!!

*

{top row, starting from top left}

Baby sage plants ready to be planted in a kitchen herb garden, sweet little violets with their cheery faces, time to eat! {the menu consisted of quiche, lettuce with garden-fresh greens, broccoli salad, fresh strawberries, homemade marshmallows, and chocolate mousse tarts with coconut shortbread crusts}

{middle row, starting from left}

homemade marshmallows with real strawberry and raspberry puree, a nice little gathering spot in my backyard filled with vintage metal chairs and various other odd items, potting up herbs

{bottom row, starting from left}

species columbine for exchanging, friends exchanging plants, wildflower seed packets for all to take home and scatter

The evening was filled with good food, lots of chatting, learning how to take and start cuttings, laughter, and really . . . too, TOO much fun!!!

*

I'm definitely planning on making this an annual event!

*

Happy Gardening Season!

Fondly, Kate

My Saturday

Good Monday Morning!

*

My Saturday was SUPER busy and fulfilling! Here's what I accomplished:

*

woke up. Read scriptures & meditated a bit.

made up a crockpot of bean soup

showered

did a bit of Etsy, relisted 2 sold items

paid bills online

made homemade cinnamon rolls

ran to the grocery store

stopped back at the College plant sale {bought a species columbine}

spackled the wall in our bathroom where I removed a huge medicine cabinet and light fixture

pushed through 2 loads of laundry

helped my kids fold 8 loads of clean laundry

cleaned up my "garden nursery" to the side of our house

*

planted a flat of annuals while my two oldest boys:

moved 6- 4x4x8s

loaded up the tractor trailer with bark mulch, moved it up to the front yard to the blueberry bed and dumped it

*

patched up my hanging wall basket to get ready to plant it with flowers

secured a vintage metal milk crate to the back of our old cruiser {display} bike outside

sorted through our "donate" pile in the back yard

painted 2 coats of chalkboard paint on my sandwich board

trimmed the burning bush

cut down 2 scrub bushes that keep growing on their own! ughhh!

weed-whacked

sprayed weed-killer in the driveway to get it ready for more peastone

started cultivating the blueberry bed and spread mulch

made dinner

bathed my two youngest sons

sanded the spackle and painted 2 coats of paint in the bathroom

watched a movie with my kids and hubby

talked with my husband for a bit

made 2 pans of lemon bars

read a magazine

went to bed

*

All in all, a very satisfying day! Hope my day today is as busy!

*

Have a LOVELY, LOVELY day!!

*

Fondly, Kate

Friday's Fancies

Well, lovelies, time for another Friday's Fancies!

*

My mind and heart are longing to get out to my garden and get my fingers in the dirt! So today's Friday's Fancies are all Garden-related!

* {clockwise from top left}

1. I absolutely love and need some charming little herb garden markers! And what could be better than this Vintage Silverware Garden Marker Set from Wooden Hive!

*

2. This original signed photographic print entitled "Traces" by alice b. gardens is so soft and romantic, it makes me wish I had a lovely, distressed wrought-iron fence as beautiful as this one!

*

3. Everyone needs a sweet little gardening apron such as this pretty linen and doily pocket apron from Prairie Seed! So lovely and practical at the same time!

*
4. All the little birdies in your garden would love this White Shabby Chic Distressed Birdhouse from Cottage Rose! Great for all your feathered friends and so pleasing to the eye!

*

After working in the garden all day, it's time to show it off by hosting a Spring Garden Party!

*

Here are some absolute MUSTS for a relaxing evening spent with friends and family.

* {clockwise from top left}

*

1. Top sugary-sweet cupcakes with these beautiful Edible Butterflies from Sugar Robot! Both absolutely eye-pleasing and yummy besides!

*

2. Light the garden path with a set of four Mason Jar Lanterns from The Masonry. So simple and cottagy! It reminds me of days spent canning golden peaches! Repurposed for casting a soft glow in the fading evening!

*

3. Drinking any beverage from a lovely bone china teacup and saucer such as this one from Alice's Looking Glass makes for a charming experience! An elegant addition to a relaxing party.

*

4. This Oilcloth Pennant from Magpie & Cake is the most perfectly cheery welcoming banner to an evening sure to be filled with good food, laughter and an evening cricket concert!

*
Last, {but MOST CERTAINLY not least!} are these lovely garden-inspired lovelies!

*

*

{from left to right}

1. Feel like a gardening princess any day of the week with this beautiful felted whimsical crown from Cosa Bello! Perfect for little girl's dress up, an enchanted occasion, or just to wear while you're mopping the kitchen floor! ;)

*

2. Bring the garden in to you with these Petite French Farmhouse Pillows from my adobe cottage. These lovely pillows lend a sense of rusticity, comfort, and farmhouse appeal to any decor!

*

3. At the end of a long day of gardening, reach for this English Soap Rose {yes, it's SOAP!} from Satin and Birch. So realistic, if I set one of these on my bathroom sink, I'm not sure if I would use it, or stare at it and smell it every time I entered the room! It's SO BEAUTIFUL!

*

Well, lovelies, I hope you will enjoy this gardening season as much as I will! And I hope these little fancies have inspired you!

*

Well, I'm off! Because I am planning a Garden Party at my house next Thursday! So I'll be trimming, mowing, mulching, cleaning {my house}, planting, and preparing until then!

*

Have a LOVELY, LOVELY weekend!

*

Fondly, Kate

Front Page of Etsy . . . again!

Hello again, friends!

*

I awoke to about 30 more shop hearts this morning to find out that my {come what may} nest shoe clips had made the Etsy Front Page at 9 pm on Wednesday evening!!

*

WOW! Twice in two days!!! :)

Fondly, Kate

Front Page of Etsy!!!

Good Tuesday Morning!

*

My "flutterings" blue silk butterfly hair clips made the Front Page of Etsy this morning from 6-7 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time! :)

*

First time I've made it to the Front Page!

{photo courtesy of CraftCult}
*

Just had to share!

*

Have a LOVELY day!

*

Fondly, Kate

Flea Market Style

Good Monday Morning, Lovelies!

*

I was in the supermarket a week ago and ran across this absolutely BEAUTIFUL, CREATIVE AND INSPIRING magazine!

*

I picked it up and thumbed through it {back to front, as I am left-handed and that's the easiest way to read magazines!}

*

I looked at the price: $9.95

*

I set it back down {I don't usually spend money on indulgences like this! Especially not almost $10!}

*

I thought about it all evening!

*

Two days later I was at the supermarket again buying some strawberries for shortcake. Without giving myself time to think about it, I grabbed the magazine and checked out!

*

I must say, I am glad that I bought it!!! I've been perusing it almost every evening since then!

*

*

This magazine is FILLED with tons of great ideas and GORGEOUS photos! Ever thought of using an old metal funnel as a pendant light??? Yeah, me neither! There are yo-yo flowers, eight ideas of how to use old books, a feature on lace, a potting shed makeover, a Garden Party feature, and a super-simple recipe for homemade raspberry jam . . . amongst many other wonderful ideas, tips and lovely pictures! Did I mention an eight page cupcake-decorating section??? :)

*

Authored by style guru Matthew Mead, and Ki Nassauer {co-author of several Junk Market books and www.junkrevolution.com}, this magazine features the shabby chic, vintage, cast-off, well-worn, historic, and imaginative!

*

They even have a website for the new magazine! www.fleamarketstylemag.blogspot.com They aren't offering subscriptions as yet, but you can bet that when they do, I'll be one of the first to subscribe!

*

It's on shelves now and I think I even saw some floating around ebay the other day!

*

Well, toodles! I'm off to spackle and paint my bathroom {we took down a gigantic medicine cabinet and huge light fixture to be replaced with a lovely vintage mirror and simple country lighting!}

*

Have a LOVELY day!

*

Fondly, Kate

A Tribute to Mothers

With Mother's Day tomorrow, I couldn't help but post this truly touching photo print from Modern Classics Paper on Etsy.

*

{A Mother's Love photo print}

*

Who fed me from her gentle breast,

And hushed me in her arms to rest,

And on my cheek sweet kisses prest,

My Mother.

*

Who ran to help me when I fell,

And would some pretty story tell,

Or kiss the place to make it well,

My Mother.

*

~Ann Taylor

*

A Happy Mother's Day to all mothers, whose far-reaching impact they may never understand!

*

Fondly, Kate

Friday Fancies

Wishing all you lovelies a BEAUTIFUL Friday! :)

*

I awoke to a lovely thunderstorm this morning! It is completely overcast and quite dark outside. The perfect day to light a few candles, wrap yourself in a blanket and snuggle in with a good book.

*

As one of the administrators of the Positivity Team on Etsy, I've decided to kick off our newest team feature, "Friday Fancies" with a few items from my Etsy Favorites here on my blog. Hope you enjoy them!

*

I love the soft, crinkly texture of this absolutely BEAUTIFUL Cabbage Roses Ribbon from Memrie Mare! I would love to wrap this around the waist of a lovely cotton eyelet dress, or tie up my hair with it, or use it to embellish a thoughtful gift for a friend. Beautiful color and so nicely presented! It looks so yummy, I'm not sure if I would use it or eat it up!

Okay, I must admit, I really don't iron our clothing much! I prefer wash and wear items, and those that appear like they're supposed to look a bit rumpled. But this LOVELY, cottagy Trirose Ironing Board Cover from City Chic Country Mouse makes me want to grab my clean laundry and iron it all! {I must say, that I DO iron fabric that I turn into skirts for myself, and various other sewing projects}. The fabric is lovely and perfect in keeping with my shabby chic cottage style!

Lastly, for those dreamy days, this whimsical Shabby Chic Buttercream blouse from My Fair Maiden is so fun! I think I would wear it everywhere! While hanging out my laundry on the line, baking a loaf of homemade whole wheat bread, and to a lovely Spring Garden Party! I absolutely adore the pieced-together, romantic feel of this blouse! It puts my heart in a flutter!


Just a few lovelies to share with you today!
*
Have a beautiful, long, restful weekend! I'm off to fix up a cup of homemade white hot chocolate and enjoy the thunderstorm!

Fondly, Kate

Tuesday Musing . . . Carpe Diem!

I've been thinking a lot lately about the phrase: Carpe Diem.

It is now May and I haven't planted my peas.

I usually plant peas in April. They like the cool weather, and grow best in it!

You just can't plant peas here in Michigan in July or August! They won't grow! They hate the hot weather.

This led me to ponder upon seizing the day. I can only enjoy the lilacs at THIS TIME OF YEAR. No matter how badly I would love to smell lilacs in December, it just ISN'T going to happen!!! Just as I won't have another really good apple until September! So, yesterday, I walked through my backyard, smelling the lilacs . . . capturing that scent in my nose and mind.

Life happens so quickly! There is really only today! We really have nothing else! Yesterday is gone from us! Tomorrow is never promised to us. So, grasp hold of today, and LIVE!

I went a-wandering through my yard the other day, seizing the day to take some photos of some of the lovely flowers growing around my house. For some reason, every year, I always think that the poppies are the first plants to bloom. And, silly me, I forget about the anemonies, the wild violets, the phlox, and the forget-me-nots!

{clockwise from top left: candystripe phlox, verbascum, anemone, chives, english daisies, forget me nots}

So, I'm off to seize the day by taking a refreshing walk, starting some herbs from seed, getting together some Mother's Day gifts, and maybe hanging out a bit of laundry to be kissed by the sunshine and light breeze!

Fondly, Kate