Favorite Things and This and That!

We are getting close to finishing our grove area...

well closer

than we have ever been...!!

I was out shopping for a little ironwork table and chairs

to put in Pixie Hollow for the girls

on Saturday,

but the little ironwork shop

in Murietta is now out of business.

So sad!!!

But as we were turning around we

came across a fountain and

water feature store.

I want to take our fountain

up by the house and move it down

to the new "Rose Garden".

 I had a style of fountain in mind

to replace it with, and I think I found it.

The one I want actually has a different basin, and

I think I want more of a gray stone look but this is

the basic design with the 4 iron spouts,

and I can order it in whatever color I want. 

It reminds me of something

I would see in an old English garden

and it has a lovely sound.

Now all I need is money....maybe

I should plant this first.

It would definitely come in handy!!

I recently painted my downstairs

bathroom and have been looking for accessories. 

My inspiration pictures

are butterflies of all things.

Ballard was having a sale on wall art,

so I ordered this set of 3 wall plaques.

I think they will be perfect in the bathroom.

They are all 3 different.

Don't you just love ordering things online? 

It feels

like your birthday every time something

comes in the mail.

We also planted the vegetable garden this weekend,

(partly in the rain)

and started plans for an herb garden.

The herbs and herb seeds are purchased ... now

all I need is a little water to my whisky barrels.

So much to do and so little time...........

P.S. Is anyone watching DWTS????

Spring is Springing....

The weather is definitely not cooperating

with my Spring yearnings...

With a few gorgeously warm and

clear days last week, I was really feeling

Spring was going to be right on schedule. 

Little did I know we

would have snow in our local hills.... yikes.

The weather hasn't gotten in the way of fun however. 

Tammie hosted our

lovely March bunco,

embracing the green of the Irish.

with lots of food...

(that was friendly to the waistline)

It was a fun night....and I even won one of the

top prizes. 

I must have been channeling the luck of the Irish.

Thanks Tammie!!!

The Irish fun continued into St Patrick's Day!

The Rush's hosted

a delicious dinner which included all

the best things you would expect from the Irish.

Everything was so festive and fun....

and did I mention Green?

Tim took the opportunity

to speak with an Irish brogue for the day.

If I didn't know any better, he

may have some leprechaun in him.

(which he did an imitation of ...oh

how I wish I had gotten a pic of that)

The girls were sporting their new St Patrick's Day dolls

(I know really?  Mermaids??)

and of course most importantly...

The green beer...

We also had:

Corned Beef Rubens

Cole Slaw

Mac & Cheese

Fruit....

Soooooo yummy!!

and even a low fat chocolate and pistachio filled cake.

Thanks Tim and Kristi!!!!!!!

It was so much fun!!!!!!

On Sunday I had

2 projects I wanted to finish.

I wanted to put up a frame collage in my hallway

 (including new pictures)

which I did and LOVE!

As you can see the rug

is going to stay.

I think it looks great with the dark frames.

2nd

I wanted to do my entryway arrangement. 

I am happy to

report I got them both done.

Lastly, I would like to

"WELCOME SPRING"

with my new little sign

and my new and I think happy welcome mat.

Now if I can only get those bunnies out

and hopp'in.....

Happy 1st Day of Spring...tomorrow!!!

A Bit of the Green

Yes...as a 


"Kelley" 


I tend to embrace the Irish traditions.  
I love St Patrick's Day 
and have already sent 
my little Bella some "


GREEN"  
in the form of dollars...haha.  


Stacy will appreciate that.

Riley has decided she needs 
some sort of Barbie, 
so we

will be shopping today. 
And of course

Madi will do whatever Riley does...maybe...as long

as it includes something extremely sticky and dirty.

So off we go to brave

the weather for an

adventure, while

Kristi cooks our 

delicious St. Patrick's Day meal.

Hope we see "Himself"

while we are out.

 and maybe if we can catch
him we can get some
gold

I hope everyone has a .....

Don't forget your Green.....

Shopping...shopping...shopping...

...and a Diva in the making...

I have been painting, updating and trying to refresh

my home without changing the major things like furniture.

(even though I would love to change the major

things like floor coverings...)

I purchased some inspiration pieces recently and I

just had to share.  This mirror is one of my favorite things

and will hang in my entryway as you walk in.

it looks old and worn, (like me) and seems to be

my new favorite look.

This is also for my entryway.

I was looking for some sort of vase like container

that was a little different.

We shall see how it looks when

I get it put together.

I have added a splash of yellow to my entryway.

Yellow is so happy.

I also found this yummy rug...it is getting mixed reviews

with the family, but I love it.

(and it is all about me)

I have been known for buying frames and leaving

the pictures (of strangers)

in my frames. 

In fact when my son was small he asked

who the lady was in the frame.

I chuckled and told him it was Aunt Gertrude.

(aka lady who came with the frame)

He promptly showed anyone

who visited the lovely photo of his Aunt Gertrude.

This was my first indication I had a problem.

I am happy to report, that so far,

all the new frames I have purchased have updated and very

fun pictures in them

(thanks Kristi)

The frame in the background is one of Pop Pop's favorites

and since my photos are so up to date I thought

it would be okay to do another round.

I got some new mantel accessories

that I have been

playing with. 

Notice the tags and wrappings are intact...just in case.

I am noticing I do love mercury glass, flowers and birds....

who knew?

and some happy color

As for the Diva I mentioned.

The new rose garden is beginning to show

some life and I do believe there is a

Diva trying to take over.

It's not my Barbra Streisand rose as I would

have suspected.

It's the other Barbara....

She is racing to have first bloom bragging rights.

Funny thing!

 St Patrick's Day is right around the corner

and

Barbara's nearest competition seems to be....

St Patrick Himself

So I will keep on working on the house

and try to fit some of my new treasures in with

my old treasures.

We shall see how it works out.

Spring Break?

Sean just finished mid terms...can you believe he is already

into his second year of law school.  

Since he is a starving

law student, Europe is not on the agenda for Spring Break. 

Instead,

he is home for a few days, decompressing and putting in some yard lights.

Not as glamorous as a trip, but hey....

now that I think about it...he should

have just relaxed in San Diego.

But like the rest of us, he

doesn't like to be idle for long.

He also helped me paint 

this bathroom.

Here are the before shots.

My last hold out for any bit

of wallpaper.

and he helped me clean out the tree 

for Pixie Hollow.

Are you seeing a pattern...

when I say 

"WE"

??????

You can just peek in and see how

gorgeous it looks with the new

bark down.  

Clean and

ready for the fairies to move in....

now, if they

only had a few houses.  

and last but not least, 

"WE"

(Kevin this time) 

planted

a few tomatoes. 

We haven't

planted the whole garden yet, 

but that will

happen next weekend.

After looking at these pictures, I'm wondering

why I'm so tired and sore.  It looks like

I didn't do much, but hey...

someone has to be

in charge.  

By next weekend, these

projects will be ready to show off.

There's a Baby in There....

Meet Shrimp...

Keep on growing Shrimp...

we can't wait to meet you

and find out

if you are a baby sister

or baby brother.

My Rose Garden, the new sandbox and Oscar

Since the moment we moved into this house, Kevin has wanted to put in a rose garden for me.  

Last year

we actually had the brick retaining wall built, and it was just waiting for roses.  

Here is the original post
of "Unfinished Business" 
and after reading this post
I realized some of these projects
actually got done and I should
update them...future post...

So... I ordered some barefoot

from J&P 

(a little late, I guess you need to order in June for January/February delivery) 

but missed my opportunity to buy barefoot locally.  

I did make a trip over to a local nursery

and did I score!!!  

They had just planted their bare root roses,

so they pulled them out, wrapped them up and I brought them home.

I am still missing 15, but I am much closer to a rose garden.

I have a wide variety of types and colors.

The nurseryman said I should

be looking at blooms in 6 weeks.

all of my roses were planted

with TLC by
the master gardener.

I even have some famous roses

you may know.

Where there's Ronnie...

Nancy can't be far behind.

I have plans of inviting 

Cary Grant to my rose garden and I'm sure if he comes Grace Kelly and 

Audrey Hepburn would like

to be on either side of him.  

For that matter I need a 

nice white rose so I have invited JFK.  

He will be

flanked by Jackie and Marilyn Monroe.  

I'll have

my own little rose walk of fame.

Speaking of stars....I went to Katina's annual Oscar Party last Sunday.

As usual we had a great time.  

I didn't see any of the movies yet

this year, but I always enjoy seeing the dresses on the red carpet.

Katina is always such a splendid hostess!!

Katina is this Latte or Jasmine?

Our food was terrific and since everyone is on 

Weight Watchers, it was 

also WW friendly.

These ladies really know how

to put on a spread of delicious food.

They had pork tostadas, a pasta dish,

egg rolls, strawberry shortcake just to name

a few of the menu items.

and last but not least,

POP POP has been at it again.

Our little Madi is a bit

of a dirty girl.

She owns every piece of dirt

in our backyard.  Just ask her.

she tells us all the time 

that she loves her dirt.

So the girls sent POP POP this little

hint from Toys R Us.

of course Madi didn't really even know

what a sandbox was.

So after working on the rose garden, Pop Pop and I 

headed to Toys R Us to see what was

so special.

He loved it and carted it home, filled it with 

sand...and look what grew.

Another successful project by the 

Popster.

I'm working on the living room 

mantel and my office redo. 

Hopefully I will have some

pictures of these two projects soon.

Sean put up my new

sconces over the fireplace and it looks

so different.  

You know what happens when you change one thing though.  

My can of worms

is now open...

don't tell Pop Pop.