Meet Pico Nin...

This is Pico Nin ("little one" in Italian)... Pico was scheduled to be put to sleep at the dog pound in Santa Fe, New Mexico, when my Aunt Betty posted his bail and saved his life! My aunt has saved literally "thousands" (no exaggeration) of animals throughout her lifetime... (Betty is my dad's sister, it must be in our blood). My sister Jill and her family immediately drove to Santa Fe and brought Pico Nin to his new, loving home... Today he was "helping" my sister at the cute little 1940's cottage they are renovating as a second home. (The inside is in a total mess right now, but Jill always has a way of making even a house full of sheet rock dust look cute with flowers, etc. in the process) Pico is excited for the upcoming 4th of July celebrations! He graciously agreed to be in a photo with me... I am sure he even has a special new tee shirt in red, white and blue to wear! If you would like to see more "Pico Pics", check my sister's online shop Indian Summer at http://www.indiansummer.com/( Click on Pico Nin on the sidebar) She has the most exquisite Native American items, and Pico Nin has his own page...he even receives fan mail!!! Love you Pico!

Birdhouses for sale... bird not included...

I have so many favorite places I love to visit... down the road a piece from my home is one of them... A wonderful man makes birdhouses in his backyard and sells them out front of his home.. I have bought many of mine from him through the years... Strolling through his gardens with him is such a delight! Every adorable little abode is full in the Spring... Today as I passed by there, his sweet peas were so gorgeous spilling over his fence, I knew I must stop and take a picture...

I was not the only one admiring the sweet peas today...

Apparently one of my little feathered~friends wanted to say hello to me, and landed on top of this one just as I clicked my camera...

I walked over to take a photo of this one that sits in the owner's yard year~round and my little sparrow friend followed me ... (the little squirrel is a garden ornament, the bird is real...) Isn't that just "tweet"...

Jack of All Trades...

Yes, this is a radio controlled helicopter sitting on my kitchen counter (at my previous home). Jack builds and flys both RC helicopters and airplanes... He is a pilot, and used to fly full scale helicopters and planes... I am happy he is content now with the RC models... when he crashes one, he walks away from the crash ok... (except for the pocketbook, these things cost a pretty penny!)

I call this "Hangar 126"... it is his hobby room downstairs...(these are just a few of his airplanes)...

Jack also loves trains... this is a picture of the old Bamberger that used to run through our little town of Centerville years ago... Jack is currently building a train layout we are calling "The Bamberger" in part of his hobby room... I love this old train!

This is my guy on his Harley... most princesses (yes, I am a self-appointed princess) wait for their prince to come riding up on a white horse... mine comes riding up on a blue Harley... I ride with him, sometimes... I am not really a "motor mama" type, but he did buy me a black sparkly Harley teeshirt covered in gold rhinestones!... It makes me happy that he has so many hobbies and collections. After 32 years, we know each other well... he doesn't say a word when I come home from an estate sale with a car full of "treasures", (just that "where is all that stuff going???" look).... He knows how much I treasure vintage items, and appreciates the ones I have found for him... old airplane books, an old bank that he had one like as a child, old bakelite chicken napkin rings just like the ones his grandma let him play with when he was a tiny boy, a WWII ammo box (for airplane batteries, what else?)... I even found an old copy of his favorite book his grandmother had given him when he was just five years old called "Cocky the Little Helicopter"! (sometimes I amaze him... I am very determined when searching for special things he likes) He tells me that little book started his love affair with helicopters and airplanes... So our home is filled with roses, lace, vintage china and crystal, my shabby chic collections... but just as important to me are the trains, planes, books, old toys..."his" collections, I refer to as "shabby sheik"...Look out Rachel Ashwell... I may have just coined a new phrase!

Thank you sweet Jeni...

Thank you sweet Jeni, (of Everyday Sparkles) for taking this picture of "Moi" at your beautiful home to use on my blog as my profile picture...Now maybe I don't look like my "mug shot" should be hanging up in post offices everywhere!... Jeni has a special way about her... everything she touches turns into something magical...

Sweet somethings...

Yesterday I received two very special gifts from my niece, the beautiful French book~treasure box in the photo to the left...the second gift, hearing "I love you Ju"... I love you too Filly!!! Juju

"Not so Extreme" Makeover, Home Edition...

This is the lovingly restored home where I buy fresh, homegrown black raspberries in the summertime... a wonderful couple lives here and tends to a bountiful garden out back... the lady invited me inside to see all of her gorgeous antiques... then out to the garden to taste fresh raspberries last year... they grow both red and black berries that are so yummy!... Yes Wes, (my brother~in~law), I WILL be making more homemade black raspberry jam this year!

I LOVE old houses! They have so much more charm, character and warmth than many of the newer homes today. Oh, the stories they could tell...

I get terribly sad when I see a beautiful old home demolished for ANY reason. I do not buy into the reasoning "well, it was old and falling apart." So are alot of people I know, (including "Moi"!!!) but I still want them here with me! And yes, I think THEY have alot more charm, character and warmth than some of the younger people these days...I LOVE old people too...

There are alot of wonderful old historic homes here in my little bucolic town of Centerville. I always try to ask the owner's permission to photograph them. Most times I have found that the people who lovingly restore these beauties to their former glory are quite happy to talk to me, fondly recalling wonderful stories about their homes and the history behind them, allowing me to take my pictures...(some even want to be in the pictures themselves!)

I then print a copy of their home for them as well and deliver it to them as a kind of "thank~you" gift for being so gracious towards me...

I have so many lovely photos, I will try to share some each week so my post isn't fifty pages long! It makes me smile to see that these homes have been "restored" to their original style, with just enough updates to make for comfortable living today...

Even the gardens reflect a sense of days~gone~by... a quieter, gentler time...

This one looks so inviting...

It is hard for me to pick a favorite...

I love the Oriental Poppies in the cottage garden in front of this one... I have been invited back to visit another day soon by the elderly couple who live here... I do hope you will come back with me...

Pardon my French...

I love my French heritage! I am one fourth French, but I adore ALL things French, especially my ancestors whose French blood I share. Le monsieur on the right in the photo is my grandpa, Jules Arthur Sr, my dad was Jules Arthur Jr. Le monsieur on the left is my grandpa's brother, my great~uncle Pierre Seraphin. (I listed their first and middle names) They do look quite "debonair"! Most people called my great~uncle "Pete" or "Babe" but I always loved to call him by his given name, "Pierre." It sounded so much more romantic for a Frenchman. They were both full~blooded French, and the epitome of French gentlemen. They were a very big part of my life growing up, and I think of them often. I have traced my heritage back to the early 1600's. Almost all of my grandmothers on that side of the family, great grandmothers, great~great grandmothers, generations back, were named "Marie." (I do not think that was a coincidence! Marie Antoinette WAS the Queen of France, you know!)) I am happy my parents chose the name "Marie" for my middle name, in honor of these ladies. (I was named Julie after my daddy and my grandpa) My sister chose the name Marie for my niece Elizabeth's middle name too (in honor of "Moi"??? ) Oui! Liz loves everything French too! (P.S. Je t'aime Elizabeth Marie!)

I wish I was fluent in French, but I am not. I know quite a bit, but would love to take a class. It is such a soft, romantic language. My grandfather used many French words along with his English ones. He always asked for milk as "le lait." My mother used to take my sister and I into the Paris Department store (where else???)in Salt Lake City as little girls to get nonpareils at the candy counter. If you have never eaten nonpareils, you must try some! They are still my favorite! (Nonpareil means unequalled, or having no equal)

Did you know many words we use every day are actually French loanwords we have adopted? I thought it would be fun to list some, maybe do a post each week about them. Here are a few fun ones: Bikini~named by two Frenchmen in 1946 for the skimpy two~piece bathing suit they designed;Derriere~your behind (mine is too big, so I no longer wear a "Bikini"!); Camisole~a woman's undershirt with shoulder straps, often embroidered; Leotard~body stocking worn by dancers and acrobats; Tutu~a skirt worn by ballet dancers. The list goes on and on...

I love to collect vintage French books as well. One of my most prized possessions is a French Bible dated 1904 that I uncovered in a used book store one day in Salt Lake City for a mere five dollars! I also recently found some vintage French opera glasses I have wanted for a long time. They are "Chevalier" from Paris, circa 1900, an Ebay treasure for only twenty dollars! Being born in the month of May, my birth flower is the Lily of the Valley, one of my favorite flowers, in France known as Muguet. My favorite perfume years ago was Muguet de bois (before my allergies took over) I would LOVE to visit Paris one day...(FRANCE, that is, I went to Paris, IDAHO as a child, no Louvre, no Eiffel Tower... just not the same...I was sooo disappointed!) Yes, I really do love all things French... Hmmm...time to fix myself a cafe au lait and order some nonpareils.... I will worry about my "derriere" another day...Bisous!

Every blooming thing...

By now you know I love roses... truth is, I love all flowers...just like I love all animals and Nature... This African Violet of mine had not bloomed for several years. Then one day recently I noticed little buds deep down inside the leaves... I was so excited, this is how it looks today. It sits happily on my dresser, along with my tiny treasures and some vintage finds. The key with the ribbon is an antique French skeleton key I found on Heather Bullard's site. The gorgeous postcard in the background, on my mirror, is from her site as well. (You can click on the photo to enlarge it) I love to visit shabby shops on the Internet... You can visit Heather at http://www.heatherbullard.com/. Her blog is as lovely as her shop, and she is always so gracious in sharing her ideas...

A favorite find...

I have searched for some time for one of these beautiful vintage knife~rests. I finally found one at Just a Bed of Roses. It is crystal, quite old and in mint condition. I found a very old silver butter knife engraved with roses to sit on it, however, I decided my little new~found treasure was too exquisite to cover it up. I love how the shabby white painted vintage fork looks next to it... what do you think...

Coming Home to Myself...

Coming Home to Myself is the title of a beautiful book by singer Wynonna Judd about her life and being true to herself. My niece Phyllis Ann gave me this book for Christmas and it is one of my very favorites. Phyllis Ann, (I call her Filly), is true to herself too. I have hurt her deeply however, certainly not intentionally. My niece is a beautiful young lady, and she is gay. Her partner Ellie is an equally beautiful young lady. I love them both very much. Filly is afraid I am embarrassed or ashamed of her. I am not, and I will always stand beside her just the way she is. She has simply chosen a different lifestyle than my own, and nothing will ever change my feelings about her and my never ending love for her. My blog is about me. I cannot be "Me" with any hurt feelings towards the family that I love. I want my blog to be a happy, beautiful place for people to come to look at, and read about the things I love in life, and that includes my niece. If a reader decides not to come back to visit me, that is their choice. My profile reads "C'est Moi", which means "It's Me" in French. This is "Moi", speaking openly to my niece. I love you Filly!

Here are some of the words from Wynona's book, a song she recorded and lives by: "There's gonna be peace in this house, Gonna be peace in this house, Gonna be some tender talkin', And some sweet little nothings, That add up to the somethings we can't live without, There's gonna be peace in this house, Some belief in this house, And every good thing that ever happens, Starts from the inside out, I'm tellin' you now, There's gonna be peace in this house"...

Secret Gardens... I want a closer look...

There is just something so enchanting about a rose~covered arbor...

I love this old~fashioned vegetable garden...

A white picket fence is soo romantic...

They must have painted their house pink just for me...

I could sit here all day and read, or nap, or watch the birds, or daydream...

Wish I could see inside better...

May I come inside..... pretty please?.....

Tres chic...

I received a gift certificate to TJ Maxx from my sister for my birthday recently... I wanted to find something really beautiful to spend it on... I think I found it... I LOVE these gorgeous vintage~look French steamer trunks! They are perfect for storing so many things, my journals, magazines, photos, mementos, what~have~you, and look fabulous!

P.S. Jeni, they had two more... I think they qualify for an "emergency" shopping trip! P.P.S. The lovely satin heart pillow was a gift from Jeni's sweet mom to me... Merci, Elaine!

Tiny treasures...

I love collecting these beautiful little bejewelled boxes. Some of them I received as gifts, others I bought for myself. They are so perfect to hold a ring, a necklace or some other little treasure. I found the most precious teeny weeny hummingbird feather one day and placed it in my newest addition to my collection, the hummingbird, of course!

On Fathers Day Sunday...

This is my favorite picture of my daddy when he was only five years old, feeding a little squirrel. I must have inherited my love of Nature from him.




This is my other favorite picture of him as a little boy. He was two years old and with his grandmother, my great~grandmother Souders.

"What Makes a Dad"... God took the strength of a mountain, The majesty of a tree, The warmth of a summer sun, The calm of a quiet sea, The generous soul of nature, The comforting arm of night, The wisdom of the ages, The power of the eagle's flight, The joy of a morning in spring, The faith of a mustard seed, The patience of eternity, The depth of a family need, Then God combined these qualities, When there was nothing more to add, He knew His masterpiece was complete, and so, He called it... Dad . ~~Author Unknown~~

Wishing daddies everywhere a Happy Fathers Day...