Blinded by Gods Presence

This time last year my sister in law Melinda lost the fight with the monster that had invaded her body and turned in her earthly body for her everlasting body with her Savior Jesus Christ..kind of like a caterpillar sheds its cocoon and becomes new life as a butterfly....
Butterflies have always been just another flying object to me until last June 12...the day Melinda died...as we celebrated the life she lived so sweetly and passionately with the friends and family , we released several hundred butterflies to honor her and her new heavenly body...you see to me butterflies are her...whether they are flying around the flowers in my yard...on my stationary or in the wallpaper in my bathroom...they are just Melinda..pure, sweet graceful and one of Gods most beautiful gifts...we miss her everyday and what she stood for and what she meant to her family and friends...
Last Friday, which was the year anniversary of her death, her daughter Ali picked up her little boy up at daycare...as she was gathering up his backpack and other things and was walking out the door, the teacher handed her his artwork for the day...he had colored a butterfly.!!!!So dont even try to tell me her spirtit and Gods presence are not here with us every single day...sometimes our eyes are closed and sometimes we are blinded...open your eyes...

SNEAK PEAKS

beautiful shoes

beautiful bride

beautiful bridal bouquet....to be continued May 17, 2009 no more sneak peaks til then...it is going to be a beautiful marriage celebration...I texted Whitney the day of the bridal portait and told him just in case he was wondering he is going to have a beautiful bride ....and his response back to me was..."well I wasnt wondering, i knew that a long time ago" how sweet is that!!!!!

HOPPY EASTER

just a little Easter cheer from me to you....have a blessed day and celebrate life !!!!!

CHAMPAGNE, CUPCAKES AND CHOCOLATE

last weekend all of my best girlfriends totally went out of their way and hosted an unbelievable dream bridal shower for Mckinsey...I mean really..what more could a girl want besides champagne, cupcakes and chocolate...of course there is one more thing ....diamonds ...but she allready has that and is eagerly waiting her big day to get here....May 16 is getting closer by the minute....

beautiful table setting done by the girls....

Beautifully decorating and I must say tasty as well cupcakes

flower arrangement straight from mollys creative brain and yard....you know you have a friend when she picks a hydrangea out of her yard to put in the bouquet...for those of you who dont live around here it is a miracle if we can get one bloom off of a hydrangea plant here in texas so for her to pick one out of her yard is super special...you wont understand this if you are not a gardner!!!!

favors for the hostesses with the mostesses !!!!! thank you girls for making her day a dream..it was perfect .....

A LITTLE ROADTRIP

a couple of weeks ago my much older sister Paula and much older brother Jeff and I took a little road trip...not a quick trip...a nine hour road trip ...all in one day.. off to Alburquerque to celebrate with an aunt and uncle on their 50th wedding anniversary.....we left bright and early ..of course I was up most of the night before, reveling in the excitement of this little adventure ( really I was up because the wind was blowing 40 mph outside my bedroom window ) so when my doorbell finally rang and it was time to go I sang my brother a little tune:(sing to the tune of leaving on a jet plane)

OH MY BAGS ARE PACKED I'M READY TO GO
I'M STANDING HERE OUTSIDE MY DOOR
HOPING TO NOT GET BLOWN AWAY.
I'VE BEEN UP SINCE FOUR IN ANTICIPATION
OF THE LITTLE JOURNEY WITH MY FAVORITE REALATIONS.......

at that moment I got the stare and shaking of his head like oh boy ... what have I gotten myself into....this is gonna be a long weekend....

being the baby, literally and literally, of course I called "shotgun" and got to ride in the front seat the whole time...I think I made an excellent co-pilot as part of my job was to try to figure out how to get "mrs. Dash" the GPS system person to shut up....as Jeff would take his known shortcuts she voiced her disapproval quite loudly...we had lots of fun, ate at lots of hole in the wall mexican food restaurants..and spent lots of time with family, seeing the sights of Alburquerque and sharing time together.....

eye candy

Shabby Chic
Originally uploaded by Gigi & Big Red

PICTURES TO INSPIRE,,,VALENTINES IS COMING UP...TIME TO GET SOME CREATIVE JUICES FLOWING

pink bling

Jewelled Heart! Fun to create!!
Originally uploaded by vintagedragonfly

O.K who knows how to post more than one flickr picture in one post...help...

MIRACLES

I believe in Manicures. I believe in overdressing. I believe in primping at leisure and wearing lipstick. I believe in pink. I believe laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing; kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles... ~ Audrey Hepburn

MY OWN WINTER WONDERLAND

Just sharing a little holiday bling....the nice thing about being a snowman person is after Christmas you dont feel the rush to take it all down !!! as long as its winter I am safe to have a little snowman village in my dining room...Christmas came and went just like it always does...the hustle and bustle are all over now except now there is a new hustle and bustle still swarming in my head...in the form of wedding bells chaos...now that Christmas is over , I feel like I am on a downhill sled without brakes....so for all you experienced wedding planners send your thoughts and prayers my way.. May 16 is going to be here before we know it !!!

Wishing everyone a very happy new year filled with blessings and baubles !!!!!

MORE SAVING GRACE

Below are some more pictures of my friend Sharon's house...sorry the pictures are divided into two postings because I cannot figure out how to download more than 5 pictures to one post at a time...so for you blogging buddies...HELP !!!!!

MY SAVING GRACE

All it takes is once a month, once a month to meet with my creative , soulful friends to get me re energized....today was our December meeting of SPQOH ( society for the preservation of quaint old homes) and I always come away from the meeting with a smile and a little dance in my step... we meet once a month and share stories , ideas, smiles and tears, fears or whatever else we want to.. it is a unique group of women of all ages who have been blessed with special talents...every month I learn something new or meet a new friend or become reaquainted with an old one.. it is truly my creative saving grace....today we met at my friend Sharon's house...she is a nurse and works at the hospital with me...she is incredibly talented and this is the second old home her and her husband Walt have restored...

THE JOY'S OF SLEEPING WITH A YOUNGER MAN

gotcha ya thinking .....just my little buddy...last friday at work we were all talking about what we were doing this weekend and my response was "Allen's out of town till sunday so I'm gonna be sleeping with a younger man..." and everyone gasped!!!...and so I did...Carson came to stay with me on saturday night...my car is even now equipped with a car seat...professionally put in by the local fire department certified safe and all...because we have places to go and people to see....

he is all over the house....faster than greased lightning....hmmmm he says , I know there is something in here I need....

just as sweet as he can be ...perfect in every way...I know his Mimi would be most proud of him ....

FEELS LIKE FALL

This past weekend was just about like fall as fall can be...cool temperatures...overcast skies...lazy days....so I decided to do a little fall decorating....fall is probably my favorite season...I like the warm colors... leaves falling from the trees...pumpkins...scarecrows...ghosts and goblins...and hot apple cider...drinking hot apple cider is not quite the same in Abilene, Texas as it is in Nashua, New Hampshire but this is where I happen to be now...so it works...
A few trinkets going up my staircase.....
a few pumpkins.....

and my St. Francis to watch over things... Hoping fall brings joy to all of you like it does me....have a blessed week.....

THIS AND THAT

Last weekend I once again went to canton to the flea market...I think its an addiction...I dont know whether its the thrill of the hunt of the perfect treasuure or just good times spent with friends....its like a soul revival...so I captured a few pictures to document my day....the weather was great as were the treasures..

I actually came home with these skeleton friends....couldnt resist...

MORE HAPPENINGS

This last week we had our Quaint Old Homes meeting...not to be confused with Quaint old Ladies!!!! but most of us are quaint, creative, love to go junkin and flea marketing...there are about 50 of us who meet once a month in one of our homes...all of us live in and love old homes and are forever working on a project or two....this last week it was at my friends, Kayes home..which is a darling cottage with a wonderful cottage backyard....I am dreaming of waking up and finding my backyard as great as hers is ...everything she touches grows...and grows...and grows...next month we are meeting at my friend Jana's house and since we cant go to round top we are bringing roundtop to abilene....we are setting up booths and selling our junk and wares and eating flea market food...sounds tasty....cant wait... table decorations
more table decorations

heavenly brownies...you can see most are gone
so until later....have a good week and happy fall!!!!!

HAPPENINGS

A couple of weeks ago my dad celebrated his 80th birthday...it is hard to believe he is 80 , not that its old or anything...but he just doesnt seem like he should be 80....he doesnt act like he is 80 ....maybe because of the geriatric ballet class (as he calls it ) he goes to at the health club....keep up the good work and thanks for all you have done....


My brother and his grandson Carson at my dads 80th birthday dinner...He is our little ray of sunshine...he is a very happy baby and it makes my day and fills my heart with joy when he comes to visit me...My parents at my dads birthday dinner....

Well, I dont know whether I can sleep because I got back on my hormones or because the wedding frenzy has finally left my creative brain!! but whatever it is I am thankful...it has been a month since Mckinsey got engaged and the anal and obsessive , creative person I am thought I had to get the big event all worked out immediately down to every little detail....I must say we have done a whole lot, got the date, church, reception site, florist, cake baker, photographer, compiled a guest list, sent out save a dates.. and a planner to help me on the day of the wedding so now I can finally rest...we are going wedding gown shopping in October and besides the invitations the big decisions are made...that is until the spring 2009 Brides magazines come out...no we are not changing our minds we like what we have done ...that is our story and we are sticking to it!!!

ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE

Its official!!!! the wedding is on...proposal done... ring on finger...now all we need is the date, time , place, prayers for patience and a credit card !!! Mckinsey's boyfriend proposed to her Friday night and all is good..they came in this weekend to share their joy....and their story begins....so all you creative friends with wedding experience or just creative brains I will be calling on you and your expertise to help us make all her dreams come true...

ON VACATION

Last week I took off work and took a much needed vacation....not really intending on going anywhere but my own home....My true intentions were to work nonstop on the bedroom we have been remodeling...trying to get it done so we can venture on to other projects...did I say work nonstop while on VACATION!!!! no way ...changed my mind ....not gonna do that...so while drinking my coffee tuesday morning my friend Gail called and when she realized I was off all week she insisted I get in the car right then and come see her and go to Canton...she didnt have to twist my arm much....so off I went...like I have said before going to Gails is like going on vacation...she has a wonderful cottage home that welcomes you the minute you walk in the front door..most everything in her home is from canton or the roundtop flea markets...she is very creative and can make anything look like a million dollars.
chest 50.00 she painted white!!!! looks like something right out of Rachel Ashwells books...
So off to canton we went...I will post my treasures later and boy did I find treasures...blessings to everyone and have a happy week!!!