Nothing but sincerity as far as the eye can see...

I will be sitting in the middle of the pumpkin patch, waiting for the Great Pumpkin to appear... what will you be doing?... HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! Bisous...

Over the Top Award...

Recently sweet Dawn at Dawn's Crafts gave me this little Over the Top Award... I am supposed to answer a list of things in just one word... since I tend to talk alot and can't give one word answers to anything, I will just say Merci sweet Dawn for thinking of me! ... I truly think ALL of you ladies deserve this award as well so I will pass it on to all of you right now... Voila!... It is yours now too!... Bisous...

Tickled PINK...

First off, I want to say Happy Birthday Filly! I love you!...(I did a post several days ago about my sweet niece... tomorrow is her actual birthday)... I hope ALL your birthday wishes come true hon!... Merci to you and your mom for such a fun birthday lunch and party today!... Lots of thank~you's are in order from me today... Several days ago, I received a beautiful totebag in the mail from Andrea at One Hundred Wishes... it was a gift to me from Andrea and my sweet friend Jeni... Andrea's shop is closed right now, so I will do a special post about her and my treasures from there when she is back... Merci girls!...Today I also received some beautiful things in the mail... A while back, I fell in love with some beautiful pink pumpkins on Amy's blog at Bunny Rose Cottage... many of hers were made by Celestina Marie of Larearose... I emailed Celeste to see if she had any more available for sale... she had sold out and was not sure if she could find any more craft pumpkins to paint... I placed a "special order" for next year... plus I ordered a beautiful hand painted roses pie tin she called "Roseberry Pie Cottage"... when it arrived, it was absolutely beautiful!... Then I received an email from Celeste that she was able to find some little pumpkins and could do my special order soon... I was elated! They arrived today... they are the three smaller pumpkins on the left in the photo below with my beautiful pie tin in the middle... (I will tell you farther down in the post who the other pink pumpkin is from... can you guess???)...

Celeste also included a beautiful little heart shaped box painted with roses and filled with lavender, and a gorgeous hand painted roses thank you card...

I had also inquired about a beautiful painting on her blog... it was one from her personal collection and not for sale... I loved it so, that she made a print of it for me and enclosed it with my treasures as well... I will frame it and hang it in my kitchen... Merci Celeste!... You are so sweet to paint the little pumpkins and send them right out... it will be a pink Halloween around here this year for sure!...

Also in my mail today (I have a PO Box so all the ladies at the post office know what I am getting! They honestly get as excited as I do when I get packages!)... was a package from Catherine at Bumpkin Bears... Catherine is in Belgium and makes the most precious bears by hand, then they are "adopted" into their new homes... I asked Catherine if she would create a special bear for me, one that reminded me of my teddy bear when I was a little girl... I got to choose my new "baby's" name, and I named her "Honeybeary"... Here she is...

Who could resist this face???... I love her sooo much, I have requested a "little sister" for her from Catherine... I will post her little sis and tell you her name when she arrives from her long journey from far away...

Catherine also included this precious thank you card, she creates these and they are available on her Etsy site... I hope you will visit her and all of "Honeybeary's" relatives!... Merci Catherine!... I adore her!...

Then to my total surprise, there was a big box waiting at the post office for me that said Bunny Rose Cottage... Oooh, I was sooo excited!... I rushed right home with my treasures... Whenever something says Bunny Rose Cottage you can be certain there is something wonderfully enchanting inside... and there was!...

My precious little "adopted" sister Amy had sent me this big beautiful pink pumpkin! She also enclosed a sweet card and told me she wanted her "Cinderella sister" to have a pretty pumpkin!... Look at this beautiful crystal that dangles from the top with a pretty pink bow... am I a lucky girl or what!...

The little card is soo cute and such a sweet message from Amy... if you look at the first photo at the top again, you will see my little "Pink Pumpkin Patch" all together... Merci sweet Amy!... I love it!... You are such a little doll!...

Also today, when I visited my beautiful friend Ana at A Petite Cottage, I couldn't believe what I read... she announced the winner of her giveaway... and it was "Moi"!... I won a beautiful signed print by Christie Repasy called "Blush Pink Rose"... I am so excited!... I will do a special post when I receive it and show you where I display it!... Ana has such a beautiful blog and it is always happy and inspiring... Merci sweet Ana!...

As you may be able to tell... today I am totally tickled PINK!... Merci ladies! ... Bisous... Je t'aime!

The Yard Sale I Almost Didn't Go To...

Have you ever been on your way somewhere and seen a sign pointing to a yard sale, and wondered whether to try it or not? That is exactly what I did last week... I was on my way to the grocery store when I saw a sign pointing up the hill that read "Yard Sale, Everything is Cheap!"... I kept on driving, then something (or someone?) told me to turn around and go back... I drove up the steep hill, following the signs... soon I was in a very expensive part of town, and assumed it would be at a new house... it has been my experience that those types of sales usually don't have the older things I am looking for... At the top of the hill, nestled among the newer houses was an older home from the 50's... I stopped the car and started looking around... Ok, I thought, I am dreaming that I am at this yard sale, this isn't really happening... very few people were there even though the sale started an hour and a half earlier... Apparently the owner had passed away in August (at age 90 something) and his family was selling everything he had packed away for the last fifty years! I picked up a piece of Roseville, hardly daring to ask how much... then a piece of Red Wing pottery, then an old Roy Rogers and Dale Evans lunchbox from 1957... it can't be... this is my "dream" yard sale!.. Next I found what appeared to be a WWII ammo box... I bought that for a friend of mine and Jack's who belongs to a WWII collectors club... 25 cents... our friend was thrilled with it, and turns out it is from World War One!... The family members were super nice and said they just could not keep everything... so what did not sell would be thrown away... GASP!... With the help of their darling little 7 year old boy, I loaded up my SUV until it would hold no more... My total: $13.00! for everything! The little boy was sooo cute, I gave him a $5.00 tip for helping me load it all, (which his mother was so sweet about and thanked me over and over)... I can't possible list all the things I got, but here is a picture of two of my favorites... 25 cents each...

These are handpainted plates from Bavaria, which I am sure you all know, are getting harder and harder to come by... the big one is 9 inches and the smaller one is a little over 7 inches... both in mint condition! Look how they match my quilt that sits on my windowseat in my bedroom... I plan on hanging these beautiful plates in the bedroom, by my gorgeous rose painting my dear friend Jo~Anne Coletti did for me... So, I am so happy I listened to that little voice that told me to turn around and go back... sometimes hidden treasures are where you least expect them!... Bisous...

The changing seasons...

On our Nature walk this morning, I noticed just how much the seasons have changed... this furry little friend of mine was stashing walnuts into a little hollow in the tree... storing them up for the long winter ahead... (he told me he does not like winter either!)...

This is one of the first pictures I showed of my beautiful barn when I first started my blog, taken just this summer... it isn't really my barn, but we walk past it every day and because I love it sooo much, I call it mine...


Here is my beautiful barn today... I love the glorious Autumn colors now surrounding it... but do not want to think about how it will soon look blanketed in snow... is does look beautiful then... but I am already dreaming of how it looks in the Spring... are you???...

Wishing you all beautiful and relaxing Autumn days... Bisous...

Once Upon a Time...

...there was a beautiful little baby born named Phyllis Ann... she was named after her beautiful grandmother who left to go to Heaven just a few months before her precious little first granddaughter was born... not only does Phyllis Ann share her name with her grandma she never knew, but also shares her beauty, inside and out... and her love of life...they have a special bond that only love can bring ... When she was just a little girl I started calling my little niece "Filly" and to this day I still do... Seems like just yesterday I was going to her dance recitals... Filly is the third one from the left in the photo below, holding her little sister's Lizzie's hand... Filly would practice and practice until every step was perfect... she also always looked out for all of the other little girls and tried to help them however she could...

On to grade school, where Filly excelled at everything she did, from playing the violin to playing softball, to reading, to doing crafts, you name it... Filly did it all... she always looked out for the underdog and came to the defense quickly of anyone who she felt needed a friend...

Ok, I am teary eyed again...before I knew it, she was graduating from the University of Utah...
where did the years in between go???... I sat in the bleachers at the University and cried my eyes out, so proud of my beautiful niece...

Now my little sweetie substitute teaches grade school children here locally and is going back to the University to continue her education... She also recently opened her own Etsy shop called Dino's Doggie Delicatessen... named after my daddy's little Italian greyhound Dino that she inherited when my daddy passed away... She has the magic touch with everything she does, so I know her little shop will be a success too...

The photo above is my little sweetheart today... I am posting this early, her birthday is October 27th, but she has so many parties and fun things going on, including a birthday lunch with Moi and "the ghouls" that I wanted her to be able to see this, and to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY FILLY!... Bisous... Je t'aime... Juju ...PS ...I remember the day you were born...(our special story I tell her every year)...

Autumn Splendor at Mueller Park...

I always love seeing all of you ladies beautiful photos of your trips to your lakeside cottages or summer homes or cabins... we do not have a home at a lake, or a cabin, however we do have a beautiful canyon just ten short minutes away from us called Mueller Park Canyon... it is National Forest property and absolutely breathtaking, especially this time of year... we rode up there several days ago, when the sky was a brilliant blue and the colors of Autumn simply stunning... the trees sometimes lean to the west due to the severe east canyon winds we often get here... these trees in the first photo make an arch over the road... I always feel like I am entering a truly enchanted forest...

This last photo is my favorite... hope you enjoyed my little Autumn splendor post... Bisous...

But Officer...

...I was only in there for just a "spell"... what are you writing me a ticket for???... What sign??? ... I didn't see a sign???...

Hmmm... maybe I can use some of my magic "charms" on him...

Hey officer... you're kinda cute... has anyone ever told you you look just like Erik Estrada???... excusez moi???... you know you do???... you are still giving me a ticket???... And I still WILL pay a fine???...hmmm...

RATS!!!... I must be losing my magic touch... why didn't I bring my little bottle of Love Potion #9???... tee hee hee... Bisous...

Autumn Blessings...

Like so many of you whose blogs I visit, I am feeling very grateful for alot of things this time of year... I took the first photo today on our Nature walk of the glorious Autumn colors we walked past in our quaint little town... I am so thankful for the beauty of Nature in our lives... it never ceases to amaze me...


I am also so very thankful for my dear family and friends... yesterday the "ghouls" and I (Jill, Filly, Liz and Ellie) visited the pumpkin patch out by the Great Salt Lake... (I will post those photos soon!)... when I went to pick them up, Jill had this beautiful Eiffel tower pendant waiting for me... Merci sweet sister!...



I also am so thankful for the wonderful friends I have made through our blogs... today I received a very special card in the mail from sweet Dawn of Dawn's Crafts "just because"... how sweet is that! I love to visit Dawn and see the amazing cards she creates... I hope you will visit her too... Dawn was given my little Idyllhours award by someone (the original one, not the new and un-improved one someone revised!)... and found my blog through that... I am so happy she did, because then I found hers!... Merci Dawn!...



Also, you may remember I was the lucky winner of sweet Bunny's giveaway recently at The Paris House... the gift was a gift certificate to Bunny's beautiful boutique... here is what I chose.. a beautiful black toile canister... I love it Bunny! It looks fabulous in my kitchen (which is black and red, with Italian marble countertops that it is sitting on)... I believe I will stash my biscotti in it!...Merci Bunny!...

As the days are getting shorter and winter is approaching, that means more time inside... time to sit and relax some, time to daydream, time to think... and time to say thank you to my dear family and friends... Bisous... Je t'aime...

Hey Cinderella...

Once upon a time... (don't you just LOVE stories that start out that way!)... there was a beautiful Princess (ok, it is MY fairytale, I can be whatever I want to be! tee hee)... who was shopping at TJ Maxx... (ok, so the fairytale has been altered some)... she found the most beautiful "glass slippers" on sale for $7.00 and knew they were meant for her...she loves the REAL story of Cinderella and they reminded her so much of the glass slippers the REAL Cinderella had worn... One of the Princess's favorite songs is "Hey Cinderella" by Suzy Boggus...(if you have never heard it, you can watch the music video of it here on Youtube)...

She brought them home, dreaming about one day perhaps going to a fabulous ball in a beautiful castle... since she was a "self-appointed" Princess, she was not quite sure this would happen... so she sometimes would wear them around her shabby PINK bedroom, playing "make~believe" (her favorite!) and dancing around in them... Then lately... magical things began to happen... her sweet friend Cinderella Amy of Bunny Rose Cottage emailed her about many Cinderella things going on in her own life as well... sooo many coincidences... (hop over to Amy's blog and be enchanted by her Cinderella post)... that same day Vicki at Bunny Cottage did a post on Cinderella... pure magic!... Last week, the first Cinderella (Moi) went to see her sweet friend Jenni B of Jenni B Originals... Jenni B told her that she and her mother were attending a Mary Kaye convention that Saturday in Salt Lake City and the theme of it was "Cinderella"! ... Well, the self-appointed Princess was amazed!... At their convention, all the ladies were to come dressed in rags and at the magic hour they would go upstairs and be transformed into "Cinderellas" themselves, in beautiful ballgowns, and attend a ball... talk about a fairy tale come true!... Self-appointed Cinderella received pretty pink "slipper" pendants for the ladies in her family and her "adopted" sister Cinderella Amy...

Then, the Princess received a package in the mail that she had won the bid on Ebay... (see, the story HAS changed a bit from the original! ... I don't think the wicked step~sisters ever let the REAL Cinderella use the computer)... It was a Victoria magazine from 1995 that she was missing from her collection... opening the page, she was delighted!... the first article she looked at was...

"Slippers With A Princess Fit"... and started out "Just like Cinderella..."... and the article was written by a lady named "Amy"!...

This is the Princess's favorite rose in her garden... can you guess the name of it...

The self-appointed Princess still loves to read about the REAL Cinderella... here are some pictures from her book from 1954... they just don't make books this beautiful anymore... aren't the pictures absolutely breathtaking!..

So, the self-appointed Princess has her "glass slippers" out waiting... sitting by a pretty, glittery pumpkin that she hopes will one day be turned into a Golden Carriage...

Fairy Godmother... where are you???... (P.S. I purchased the beautiful little Golden Carriage with white horses from sweet Lidy at French Garden House several years ago, isn't is precious!)... Bisous...