Happy Halloween!

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Happy Halloween from our resident mad scientist (at age 6)!

Our boy as the mad scientist is my all-time favorite costume. 
He had plastic spiders throughout his wig and a jam-packed pocket protector.


Each year, as dusk begins to enter the sky, I create a candle-lit walkway leading up to our door to light the way for all the little ghosts and goblins.  It's very simple to do this, and the children (and adults) love it.  Here's the easy how-to:

~Take brown paper lunch bags (I use 16 for my walkway),
~Fold the top edges of each bag over twice (about an inch fold each time),
~Fill the bottom with about 2 - 3 inches of sand or kitty litter (both work well),
~Set a votive candle in the center of the sand and light.

The result is a lovely, glowing path that really is quite magical.  I'll try to capture a photo of mine tonight and share it with you.


I hope your Halloween is filled with
laughter, sweets, the warm glow of candlelight,
small children ringing your doorbell,
little hands carefully choosing just the right piece of candy out of your bowl, 
jack-o-lanterns,
and not-so-naughty goblins...


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A new chapter...

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My boy with his best friend, Flopper.  Seems like only yesterday...

Our boy was so little here.  It makes me a bit weepy to see this photo.  Would you look at that sweet face?  And Flopper is still around, but he's even more well-loved.  Those little wiffit days are long gone.  He's now 14 and a fine young man...Well, almost a man.

I'm feeling particularly melancholy and sentimental today.  This is due to a new chapter in the boy's life.  The title of this chapter? The Girl.  Yep, you read it right.  Here's the scoop...

Yesterday, he asked me if I would take him to the store to have a picture printed up.  I said yes, certainly.  When he was loading the photo from his camera to a memory stick, I saw the photo on the computer screen.  A cute girl I had never seen before.  Okay, I told myself, play it cool because 14 is a super sensitive age.  The conversation went as follows.

Me: What a cute girl.  Did you take that picture? (trying to sound nonchalant)

The boy:  Yes. (chirp chirp)

Me:  Is that Brenda, the friend you've mentioned before? (smooth like buttah, right?)

The boy: Yes. (again, chirp chirp)

End of conversation.

Actually, the Brenda inquiry was a bit of a guess on my part.  A pretty good guess, as it turns out.

How did this whole situation end?  Well, it ended with him getting a 4x6 and a wallet size and a frame for the 4x6.  All with his own money.  Oh, and me secretly threatening R to not tease the boy.

And so it begins.... 
Hold. Me.




Madly deeply cool...

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Steve McQueen.  Impossibly cool.


No other actor comes close.  In my opinion. 

If for some crazy reason you're not familiar with McQueen films,
I'd like to recommend the following movies to you as a start:

Bullitt (1968)
The Great Escape (1963)
Love with the Proper Stranger (1963)
The Sand Pebbles (1966)
The Thomas Crown Affair (1968)

He starred in many other films, but these five offer a good variety to begin with.

I hope you're having a scandalously fabulous day...xo




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Turquoise Tuesday...

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Hello, dear ones, and Happy Turquoise Tuesday!  Yippee!  How's your week going?  Mine is already zipping right by, with a long list of goals that I'm hoping to achieve.  Even the littlest goal achievement is worth celebrating...so be sure to pat yourself on the back, or treat yourself to a little splurge when you check one off your list...Love yourself.  Mama D's little snippet of wisdom for the day.

Today's feature is about one very talented lady.  I have purchased eight or nine pieces from her so far.  I plan to add more of her super cool items to my wardrobe in the future too.  This week's focus is on the lovely Alix of Treehouse28.  I'm in love, smitten to the ends of my fingertips, with her armwarmers.  And she happens to have them available in a gorgeous rich turquoise/teal (yes, I own them)...



Alix makes these in a variety of styles and prices, so they're affordable for every budget.  Each fabulous style is custom made for you so the size is perfect every single time.  I highly recommend them.  I promise one pair is simply not enough...sort of like one potato chip...you can't stop with just one.

I hope today brings you happiness...
and thank you so much for popping in to see me...xo



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That man of mine...

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Today is a very special day in my world.  It's my husband's birthday.  He's so much a part of me, and I'm the luckiest girl in the world to have him.  Today's Photo of the Day on National Geographic is absolutely the best photo to be chosen for R's birthday.  It's really very symbolic...R chases his dreams and blazes trails like this cowboy and horse are tearing across this prairie.  He's a man alone ahead of the pack (I envision a group of riders far behind him to the left of this photo, trying to catch up with him). 

R is quite literally my everything.  He makes me smile every day.  He's a man of wisdom, humor, patience, kindness, intelligence, and vigor.  He's a very loving father, son, brother, and uncle.  I've never heard him raise his voice in anger even once in all the years we've been together.  A better man you'll never meet.  We had such a scare earlier this year when we could have lost him...that makes me even more thankful to have him in my life.

Did you ever hear how I met R?  We were next door neighbors.  Funny, isn't it?  It just goes to show that we were meant for each other.  Fate brought us together because you can choose your friends and your enemies, but you can't choose your neighbors...



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The third Wednesday...

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Howdy, dears, and Happy Wednesday! In case you’ve lost track of this month (which is zipping right by), today is the third Wednesday of October. That means today’s the day of my Décor post on Lillyella. Yippee!

For those of you who may not know, I do a guest feature post on the lovely Nicole’s blog, a.k.a. Lillyella, on the third Wednesday of each month.

This month’s post is titled



 
I had such fun writing the post! I hope you'll take a minute or two to go check it out. While you're there, you'll see there are lots of other wonderful features and posts by Nicole as well as featured guests.

Enjoy your Wednesday, lovely friends! Thank you so much for dropping by...You really do bring little bursts of happiness to my day with your comments...xo





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Turquoise Tuesday...

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Hello, friends, and Happy Turquoise Tuesday to you!  I hope you're having a wonderful week, filled with little snippets of joy.

This week's feature is just one photo from Paris Fashion Week, but this one photo is more than enough for any week.  This woman is at once modern and classic, elegant and edgy, chic and urban.  To be honest, she's the very soul of fashion. 

She is indeed everything I hope to be when I grow up.


Thank you for visiting....
Have a beautiful evening...xo




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So tell me...

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Palomino photograph by David Orndorf


How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are?

~Satchel Paige quote


So thought provoking.  Maybe not such an easy question to answer, right?  It's left to the interpretation of each person.  You could think of it in terms of your physical self, or your soul, or the development of your mind, your creativity...So many options.

I have a different answer to this question each time I think about it.  For the most part, I feel that age is a state of mind.  Keep growing with ideas and beliefs, always try new things and stretch your skills as far as possible, keep moving so that your physical being is as fit as it can be, feed your body (and your mind) with good, healthy things, love your loved ones, stay compassionate and non-judgmental...do all of this and you will be forever young.

So, dear ones, what's your answer...?




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Two years ago today...

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Today marks two years since my beloved grandmother, Ardith, passed.  I was with her when she left us, as was my dad and my aunt.  It's still haunts me, her passing.  I wish I could say it's easier.  It is somewhat softer around the edges, but I still think of those last days in some capacity each and every day.  I realize this is part of life, learning to let go as well as embracing the pain of loss.  And I have let go, for the most part, but her memory is here with me always.  I'm very thankful for that. 



This photo of Ardith is one of my favorites.  It was taken in Columbia, on a lush green mountain.  She looks so happy and full of life.  I often wonder what she was looking at when the photo was taken.  If I had seen this photo before her death, I would have asked her.  The thing is, I never saw this particular photograph until after she was gone...It was in a box of old photographs stored away in her home.  I like to think she's looking at a magnificent flock of birds, flying across that cloud covered sky...

Sometimes I think of Ardith as a great white bird, maybe an egret, gracefully floating on the breezes...slowly disappearing from sight into the neverending blue sky...


Thank you so much for stopping by, dear friends, and thank you for being you...xo



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Broken plates...

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I recently stumbled upon this very cool Etsy shop.  I don't know how I managed to go all this time without ever seeing her work before...Etsy is so big, which means I just don't know about an awful lot of fabulous artists.  This is one new-to-me discovery that I am so happy to have discovered.  She's had some great publicity, such as Rachel Ray.

Such a clever girl...Juliet makes all kinds of lovely items out of broken plates.  How many of us have accidentally broken a plate and been heartsick over it?  I bet Juliet would take a broken piece of your favorite smashed treasure and turn it into something magical.  I, for one, will remember her next time I pull a smooth move (I've been known to drop/break things...).

Thank you so much for visiting...
Have a beautiful day...xo


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Turquoise Tuesday...

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Egads, friends, I almost missed Turquoise Tuesday!  Things are so busy around here...I only just now remembered.  Better late than never, I always say...And it is still Tuesday here on the west coast, so I made it (just barely)!


This one picture is enough for me.  I love this room.  It's so calm and peaceful.  I'm not sure why, but I find myself drawn to turquoise accents in the bedroom.  What do I love most about this room?  Several things stand out for me:

~The worn, rustic armoire (now, you knew I'd choose that, right?).
~The two white chairs.  I love the crispness ( a lovely contrast to the armoire) and the shape of them, and the fact that they're facing the window.
~The no frills bed looks cool and inviting.
~The natural light in this room is lovely.
~And I would be remiss if I didn't mention the fresh flowers...

Thank you so much for stopping by, dear ones...
I truly hope your week is beautiful...xo



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The Nostalgia Series ~ Installment 2...


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There it lies. His letter. It was a long time coming. She stares at the unopened letter, now crumpled into a ball, inches from the fire.

Burn it.
Leave it unopened.
Read it.

Her fear of his words fighting with the never-ending pull of him. Love and hope entangled with hate and anger.

Will his words explain?

Will they caress?

Or will they simply destroy her…again.
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This one-of-a-kind necklace is the second installment of a new Fringe series – The Nostalgia Series. The designs I create for this series will evolve around a story. A story from the past.

Stay tuned...



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The butterflies are back...

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Sarah Burton brought Alexander McQueen's butterflies as well as his vision back to life this week during Fashion Week.  The McQueen Collection brings a tear to my eye every time I look at it.  Especially the butterflies...and the white suit.  This collection is what dreams are made of, and here are a few of my favorites....






Thank you for visiting, sweet ones...
I hope your day is filled with beautiful moments...xo

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And the winner is...

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...The lovely and gentle Lisa of Lil Fish Studios is the winner of the Daredevil Cowl!  Congratulations, Lisa, I will be in touch with you soon!  The winner was picked using Random.com. 

Thank you so so much, everyone, for being supportive and fun and playing along for this giveaway. I can't believe how many of you entered! I wish you all could have won...I'm certain I will have more giveaways in the future.

I hope you all have a beautiful evening...xo



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Fringe Giveaway Reminder...





Hello, darling dears, and Happy Turquoise Tuesday!

Just a reminder that the drawing for my Turquoise Tuesday Giveaway is coming up later today.

There's still time for you to enter! I will draw the winning name at
5 p.m. PST.

See more details and enter to win here.
Just leave a comment to enter for a chance to win my
Daredevil Cowl...

I'm so excited! It's been lovely that so many of you have signed up already. Yippee!

Thank you so much for stopping by, friends. I hope you're having a beautiful morning and I'll see you later today when I announce the winner… xo



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A real live girl...

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...for my Fringe designs.  At least some of them, for now.  It's a slow, somewhat tedious process getting photos like these to look the way I want them to.  I feel it's important to see how my designs look on an actual person...There will be more new photos soon, but for now, what do you think?










When you click on the links to these items, you will be directed to my new Big Cartel Shop for Fringe.  There are several reasons why I chose to link there.  I want to increase traffic to that site, again, for a number of reasons. 

The reasons that will perhaps interest you most are:

1.  There are no fees per sale there so I can carry that savings through to you by lowering the prices a bit.  You pay less than if you were to purchase this item on Etsy.

2.  I can offer discount codes to you on the Fringe Big Cartel site.  I will usually announce them via the Fringe Newsletter (in development), but today I'll offer a discount code right here that you can use:

STAYWARM

So just type in STAYWARM in the discount box provided when checking out, and you'll get an additional 10% off your purchase.  It's that simple.  Continuing my October celebration, this discount is in effect for the entire month of October for any of the items here

And last but not least, don't forget to enter my
You can read all about it here.

Thank you so much for stopping by. 
I hope you have a beautiful weekend, filled with laughter and love...xo




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