The St. Patrick's Day Birthday Party!

We're big on traditions in our family.

Every year we celebrate Court's birthday over the St. Patrick's Day weekend 

because she was thisclose to being a St. Patrick's day baby!

Carrot cake has been her favorite since she was very little, so that's the birthday cake of choice each year (and this one was quite good, if I do say so myself!). The cake topper I use (almost) every year brings back sweet memories of her very first birthday!

My Nana's china is the star of every St. Patrick's day meal. I come from a long, proud, Irish heritage on my mom's side and our New England boiled dinner just couldn't be served on anything else!

Sunday was beautiful and sunny despite being quite chilly. But the kitchen, with the pots boiling and the oven going was hot, hot, hot, so I threw open the dining room window while I was cooking despite the cold temps.

The birthday crown rested atop the lamp shade until the birthday girl arrived.

It's the crown of honor for whoever's birthday we're celebrating. 

The birthday girl arrived and we all had a wonderful day together! 

Happy birthday, sweetie! May all your wishes come true!!!

Love, Mumsy

The bay window and the basil plant...

 The sun is sitting lower in the sky these days...

 ... as it passes by the dining room window.

 It remains to be seen if the Spicy Globe basil will adapt to being inside.

When I brought it in last week because of an overnight frost warning, it was potted in the huge plastic container that sat on the deck all summer.

That just wasn't going to work for two reasons. #1, the pot was humongous and, #2, the pot was ugly. This clay pot is much more attractive and a much better size.

So far, so good. I trimmed a lot of 'brown' off the ends of the basil. I think they had already gotten a bit too cold before being brought inside.

This is a southern exposure window, so hopefully it will be a sunny enough location.

(DR light turned on)

About 20 years ago we had this bay window installed in the dining area. Before that, it was just solid wall.

(DR light turned off)

I can't even imagine the dining room without this sunny window now.

The basil plant can't either.

Completely off topic, I've been subbing in addition to painting and transcribing lately. Being self-employed means never knowing how much work - or how little work- will come in each month, so in addition to painting and transcribing from home, I've been subbing lately. Can you guess what day it was at school yesterday? Yes, indeed - Red Sox Day!

I'm joining Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show & Tell Friday today.

I hope you all have a great week!

Donna

Swan Song...

The vintage swan Paint-by-Number that hangs in our dining room is now
 framed within a frame.

 It wasn't always. Although the decorations in the bay window and the table &
hutch vignettes are always changing...

... the swan painting remains a constant.

(Same photo using PicMonkey!)

I'm not sure if I'll leave it like this forever, but for now I'm liking the extra chippy detailing.

My photo software's (contrast) Levels AutoFix really emphasizes the dimension and crackling.

Lots of worn wood underneath the chippy paint...

... and an amazing scrolly medallion on top.

Joining Show & Tell Friday at My Romantic Home.

Wishing you all a lovely weekend!!

Donna

Spring + Sunlight = Happy!

The warm spring sun was shining through the window the other morning and I had to grab my camera!

This time of year is so exciting when you live in a region known for harsh winters 

 (although I have to admit that here in New England, we had a pretty easy time of it this year!)

I set up this spring vignette on a little table that sits in the dining area of our small split entry, using things from other areas of the house.

The birds flanking the nest were 'borrowed' from the mantel.

They're such a pretty 'mottled' shade of robins egg blue (a favorite of mine).

I know they're not robins, but they are guarding the three pale blue eggs in the nest until Mrs. Robin returns.

The nest was originally purchased as an ornament several years ago 
(nests in Christmas trees are considered good luck).
I like to keep it in the house year-round.

I love the quote on this frame, "Humor is mankind's greatest blessing," by Mark Twain. The girls were hamming it up one Christmas morning, trying on their new cloche hats, complete with tags hanging down and stuffing still inside the hats to helped keep their shape.
(It seemed an appropriate photo for this particular frame!)

One of my favorite lampshades with a very spring-like pattern.

The sun was shining through the "faux" plant in this cherub planter.

And now the sun has gone behind some clouds, but that doesn't change the fact that
SPRING has arrived here in New England!

Pop over to Show & Tell Friday at My Romantic Home to visit everyone else participating this week.

Have a beautiful Easter weekend, everyone!

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

A whining Witchy Woman... and lots more tweaking...

About a week ago I told you all I was sooooo lazy that I didn't even give Witchy Woman a scarf this year. Well she has been whining non-stop all week, begging for something a bit more than her pointy black hat...


And truth be told, I do understand. I mean Halloween is her holiday...


So I dug through my stash and found a vintage scarf and black clip-on flower for under her chin...



I'm happy to say she is feeling like the belle of the Witch's Ball now...


Okay, back to rearranging and tweaking... The pink polka-dotted pumpkin/pewter candleholder have been moved from the LR pie safe to the DR hutch...


...where the pewter candleholder now sits on the shelf beneath my Nana's photo (I am the lucky recipient of all of her china so she gets a place of honor over the hutch!)....

...and the pumpkin sits atop a small hobnail vase.

And the lamp that used to be on the LR pie safe is now on the little table next to the hutch...

It's nice to have a choice between soft lamp light and bright chandelier light at suppertime (maybe some day we'll get a dimmer for the overhead)...

I moved little Pete the Parakeet (in his HomeGoods cage) from the kitchen to the little DR table...

And last, but not least, I gave the top of the recycling bin a mini-makeover...

The swan was moved here from the half wall in order to make room for the fabric pumpkins...

I placed some of my favorite old books and a bird's nest around the swan, and it gives the top of this little recycling cabinet a whole new look...

So thanks for joining me while I tweaked this, and rearranged that, and gave in to a whining Witchy Woman...

I hear it might be SEVENTY DEGREES on Thursday so I might get to play outside, planting some bulbs!

I hope you all have fantastic weather wherever you are!!!

Donna