A study in black and white...

black and white cat shaped tin boxes that recently sold in the Etsy shop. (I had a hard time parting with these beauties, being the cat lover that I am)...

a vintage copy of Little Women, a beautiful prismed candle holder (thank you, Jill!), and a button vase on the mantel...

my lady head planter, 1950's hat, and ceramic hand (all thrift store finds), also on the mantel...

some old family photos (I love the dated short 50's bangs in one and the old 40's car and legs in the other!) along with a vintage wedding cake topper from the same era...

a couple of vintage Bibles and an old religious statue (all originally intended for the Etsy shop, but I'm having a hard time parting with them)...

the St. Francis of Assisi wind chimes that hang in my office window, again, thrift store decor...

Baby (literally the baby of the family) taking over 18-year old Tiger's bed...

and Tiger trying to decide whether to let Baby stay or not...(she did. such a good Tiger girl.)

Pop over to see all the other Show and Tell Friday participants at My Romantic Home.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Donna

Spring vignettes...

Spring has really arrived here in New England! Not only outside, but inside as well!

A little spring vignette in the Family Room featuring a vintage paint-by-number and bird figurines.

I think Mama Bluebird is squawking to Mr. Blue Jay that he'd better stay away from her nest and eggs!

As you can see, I use most of my old chair pads on tables rather than chairs. This plant is enjoying soaking up the sun through the slider.

Now this plant is an artificial boxwood, so technically it doesn't need the sun's rays, but I think it likes this spot in the window anyhow!

Baby is enjoying lounging in the family room today, laying against one of my favorite pillows made out of an old chenille bedspread. It is definitely a spring pillow with a big pink rose against a blue and white background.

This floral swan was a bedroom decoration in one of my girls' bedrooms when they were little. They're now in their 20's, so it's been around for quite some time.

It sits above the family room sliders.

This is my Christmas/Easter cactus. I call it that because it blooms at both Christmastime and in the spring around Easter. It sits on a robin's egg blue floral place mat in the living room bay window.

And last, but certainly not least, is the bird bowl I shared with you in yesterday's post. This little fellow definitely brings a touch of spring to the fireplace mantel.

(photo editing courtesy of PicMonkey)

I hope you enjoyed some of our spring vignettes. I'm linking up to Beverly's Pink (Spring) Saturday at How Sweet the Sound, so stop on over!!

Happy spring, everyone!

Donna

Button, button, who's got the button?

I do, actually!

Lots and lots of creamy white buttons...

... and they're all being watched over by this beautiful little bird, perched on the rim of this petite bowl. Isn't he handsome?

I thought the bowl might look good holding some earrings from my vintage clip-on collection since they pick up a lot of the colors in my little friend...

But a little birdie told me (yes, it was him) that he prefers to be the main pop of color, and I quite agree. This beautiful bird bowl was sent to me last year by a very good friend who wanted to cheer me up. She knew I was having a hard time dealing with my dad's passing and, being the generous, caring person that she is, she sent this little beauty my way to bring a smile to my lips.

I'm sure that any of you who know Claudia from Mockingbird Hill Cottage won't be a bit surprised to learn that it was she who so generously sent this little fellow my way :) (Thank you, Claudia, I love him!)

You might remember that Claudia also posted about PicMonkey last week. Let's just say I'm officially addicted to PicMonkey now. See the photo above?

Look at it after playing with PicMonkey!! OMG, I am absolutely in love with this site! You must go check it out!

It's like eating potato chips. One just doesn't satisfy you. So I "tweaked" another!

Isn't this just too cool?? I hope you all have as much fun as I do visiting PicMonkey! And Claudia, once again, thank you for my beautiful bird bowl! I absolutely love it!

I'm linking up to Show & Tell Friday at My Romantic Home. Be sure to pop over and visit everyone!

Donna

Hooray for open doors!

It's hard to believe that in mid-March we are throwing open all our windows and doors here in New England...

But as you can see in our "wavy mirror" reflection, it's true!!!

But since this is New England, I know better than to expect these warm temps to last long.

After all, this is what we woke to on April 1st of last year!

I guess it was Mother Nature's April Fool's Day joke on us.

And as BEAUTIFUL as it was, I do not want a repeat performance this year!

Wishing you gentle spring weather wherever you are!

Donna

Early Morning Shadows, Baby, and PicMonkey

The sun was shining in the bedroom window the other morning, casting the most beautiful shadows across the bed (and Baby).

 I love this photo of Baby sitting on the nightstand at the foot of the bed. I thought it would be a perfect photo to "play" with. Claudia posted a great tutorial of PicMonkey the other day and it looked like so much fun that I had to give it a go.

 I absolutely love the results! I softened the image, darkened the edges, and framed it. I may have to get a real frame for this photo!

Here's another photo with the sun creating beautiful shadows.

And here's the same photo using HDR, darkened edges, rounded corners, and again a frame.

By now Baby had moved to the bed, totally enjoying the warm sun shining through the window.

And here's the same photo after adding Yester-Color, darkening the edges (again), and using the Polaroid frame with text. I think I'm totally addicted to PicMonkey now!

Would you just look at how beat up the finish is on our poor bedroom furniture? We've had this set since 1989 and my nightstand has been the springboard to the bed for all of the beautiful kitties we've owned since then (it's a VERY high bed). Clearly their claws have done a number over the years. It's a good thing I'm into old, rustic, and distressed!

Clearly Baby doesn't seem to be concerned about the marks she and her predecessors have left on the nightstand. She knows some of those marks are also from puppy paws over the years, trying to see which kitties are snoozing in the bed.

Baby looks lost in though in this photo. I do hope she's not feeling bad about the furniture after all. Don't worry about it, Baby. I'm not.

A final photo of the gorgeous shadows on the bed... Happy (almost) spring, everyone!

I'm linking up to Cindy's (My Romantic Home) Show & Tell Friday. Be sure to pop over!

Donna

March: In like a Lion...

... if the lion is a little baby cub.

What a strange New England winter this has been.

This is the extent of the snowstorm we had this first week of March. As you can see, it didn't amount to more than several inches. Back in October we had a freak snowstorm, right before Halloween. But other than the snowfall of October and this one now, we haven't had much more than a dusting all winter long.

 These photos were taken on March 3rd, just 5 days ago, and the snow is already gone as the past two days have been over sixty degrees!

I gave my aloe vera plant a little hair cut the other day. The tips of several pieces had been touching the window when we were having colder weather and the didn't like that. It looks much better snipped back a bit.

I love the ceramic pot I have this plant sitting in.  I remember purchasing it a couple of years ago at a local garden center. What I remember most was that my Dad was with me that day. So many things remind me of him.

I got these little bird stakes at the same time. They look quite at home sitting under the aloe vera stems.

Well, it appears Baby has spotted something out in the yard. Maybe it's that itty bitty Lion Cub that ushered in the month of March!

Enjoy this beautiful month!

I'm linking up to Show & Tell Friday at My Romantic Home. Pop over and see everyone there!

Donna