My Dog's Find Me Boring !

My Dogs Jake ......

And Teddi find me boring!
I was trying to make some conversation with them and THIS is all I got!

But, on the bright side, LOOK at the cool carrot I found in a bag of frozen vegies from Trader Joes!

That darn Ashley ate it!

Carrot Tea Cake ~ Thanks Martha!

I am LOVING Martha's EveryDay Food Magazine!
I made this Carrot Cake from the latest issue ~ We all LOVED it!

I find many carrot cakes on the dry side but this one was moist.

Next time I may add another 1/2 cup of carrots and maybe a 1/4 cup of pineapple ~ diced in tiny pieces.

I also added 1/4 LESS confectioner sugar than called for ~ for the frosting.

NOTE ~ Watch those bratty kids in your house!!!

Ashley came home late the night I made it and as we slept ~ ate half the frosting off the top!!!

Practical Bag & Crazy Quilting Process

Here are some projects I have been working on this week.
This is the Practical Bag ~ a pattern by Grand Revival Patterns.
It is the perfect flea market bag as it will fit ton's of stuff!

Here is the lining fabric.
This fabulous fabric is Charisma by Chez Moi by Moda.

These are the silks I purchased in NYC recently.

I am working on a special remembrance gift for my Aunt Pat in honor of my cousin Kris who passed away this summer.

I thought I would show you my process for putting a project together.

FIRST ~ I pull my fabrics and place them like a puzzle where I find them most pleasing.

Under the silk is a piece of muslin.

SECOND ~ I don't tack down the fabrics in place like I used to do ~ I just pin and sew around the edge to hold things in place.

Now I can decide while I am creating where I 'd like to place lace etc and it can be tucked in easily.

THIRD ~ I use the clear lid to one of my storage boxes to pull together beads, trims, silk ribbon, buttons etc.

I put needles and scissors in the tray and I am ready to sew whenever I get some extra time.

Hopefully I will have this in the mail to my Sweet Aunt Pat by next week ~ keepin' my fingers crossed!

See the mat under Teddi's food and water dishes? I made that from oilcloth and just LOVE it!!!!

Not only does it look good but works perfectly!!!

Water NEVER penetrates my wood floors and I just run under running water and dry when it needs cleaning!

I will list these on Etsy soon :)

A Little Red Bull ~ And The Whole Joint Get's Torn Apart!

A little too much Red Bull combined with some spring fever ~ and before I knew it ~

My Dining Room was turned into my Sitting Room.

My Sitting Room became my Dining Room ~

All the magazines got a goin' through ~

Recipes and great ideas torn out ~

Below are the ones I NEVER throw out but file away for my children to deal with at the time of my death ~ he he!
Speaking of death ~ I am morning the loss of Home Companion and Country Home.

This is my empty magazine rack before I restocked it!

This was a door way we no longer needed.

My husband framed it out to hold my magazines.

It is one of the most practical and enjoyable things in our home!

If I were to do it again ~ I would add one more dowel rod across each section as the magazines flop down sometimes.

Since we are taking a stroll around my home ~

here are 2 of my favorite things.

This garbage can was my Mom's when she was a teen in the 50's.

She gave it to me when I helped her clean her attic this fall.

When I was a little girl ~ I pictured myself walking with that dog on a fancy street somewhere far away.

My son gave this to me for Christmas a few years ago.

He pulled the base it out of a dumpster ~ all rusty ~ and cleaned and repainted it.

It is absolutely beautiful in person.

The wheel still works perfectly!

It is fun to just sit there and move the wheel around and around.

The sound is the same one I recall coming out of my Great - Grandmothers sewing room when I was a child :)

It was an Eldredge Sewing Machine. If anyone has any info on it ~ I'd love to hear from you!

Wonderful Award from Laurie

Laurie from Buttons N' Lace (http://buttonsnlace.blogspot.com/) blessed me with this award.
She is always so kind and has lifted me up with the kind things she has said.
Thanks so much Laurie!

This is a blogging award that originated in Portugal. This is what it says about the blogs who are given this award....

"This blog invests and believes in PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are extremely charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly written text into the body of their award."

I nominate all the blogs I have listed to the left! They are all so awsome in their own right.

Crazy Quilted Eyeglass Case for a Friend

I spent the day making this eye glass case for a Dear Friend who just had some major surgery.

Today is her birthday so my gift will be a little late.........

but will be tucked in her mailbox early tomorrow morning to greet her :)

This is the silk I purchased in New York this week ~ the colors are so bright and cheerful and full of the promise of spring!

I went to Paron Fabric on 40Th Street but they had no silk under $29.99 a yard.

That was WAY over my budget so he kindly (as always ~ they are the best there!) sent me to another shop

on 39Th Street where I was able to get this for $10.00 a yard!


The silk ribbon is hand dyed from my sweety pie Pat Winter.

If you haven't been to her etsy shop lately ~ ya gotta go!

She is making the most breathtaking crazy quilted nightlights!

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=80476

Home Sweet Sweet Home

One of the best things about a fun adventure is finding my way back home!

My paper whites are perfectly in bloom!



The smell is heavenly ~ I have been putting them by my bed at night to fall asleep

to their sweet smell combined with the bright moonlight the last few nights.

Home just in time to celebrate Valentines Day ~

which means making my heart shaped meat loaf for what must be the 27Th year!

And to see my adorable neighbors Kay and her sister Annie.

I walked out my side door ~ all bundled up trying to stay warm in the cold Ct winter ~

to find these two sitting on their deck doing crossword puzzles!

This scene made me smile just as bright as the brightest lights in Times Square!

Martha Stewart,New York City Library, Times Square!

WHAT a wonderful adventure in New York City!!!
Every good thing that ever comes my way ~ comes from my precious Lord ~ who I feel is walking with me
and planning every good thing in my life.
The bad things that come along ~ are great opportunities for lessons learned.

My trip was filled with wonderful surprises and one creepy one ~
a really awful hotel room!
Even after a free upgrade to one of their best rooms ~ I was creeped out every time I walked in to that place!
It was located in the Hell's Kitchen section of the city near Broadway.

At one time ~ this area was saturated in Mob crime and prostitution.
Think what you may ~ but I couldn't shake this evil vibe at the hotel ~ even though everyone was very nice.

But oh the good ~ ~ ~
I arrived Monday afternoon , put my bags in the room and headed out for the night.
I was staying on 51st Street and walked all the way to Macy's in the 30's.
Then I went to Juniors to have a light meal before I went to see Phantom of The Opera.
I was in HEAVEN ~ it was as good as I remembered!




I woke up early to get in line for the Martha Show.
This is where you are seated before you enter the studio. I was the third group that got to enter the studio ~ my first God wink ~ they seated me dead center in the front row!!!!!
I was SHOCKED!!!!!

Yummy pink candies on her set.

The guest were all famous , amazing dessert chefs.

Just LOOK how close I was!!!!

I even had the chance to take the mic and thank Martha for being my mentor

from afar for over 20 years.

Second God wink ~ I got to go to the afternoon taping too!!!!!

I was the last person they let in. ( I had to leave and come back after lunch)

Still ~ I got a great seat ~ notice my vantage point below.

Joey (below ~ the warm up guy ~ often times he is on at the beginning of the show)

came up to me during a break and thanked me for the comment I had made to Martha at the morning taping.

I was ready to burst with excitement.

Martha is talking to the audience after the taping.

She has long, skinny legs and is quite beautiful in person.

She doesn't appear to have had work done on her face. She has wrinkles etc but they enhance her beauty.

This is one of the gifts we got to take home ~ Chocolates from Bouchon Bakery.

We also got a cookbook form one of the chefs and cookies from another.

The second show we got a magazine and a beautiful Laura Ashley candle.

And Joey gave me a make up book by Bobby Brown!!!!!

The second show is on tv the 17th of Feb.

After the second taping ~ Jaci had arrived at the city and met me at the studio.

We walked from the studio in the 20's in Chelsea to the New York City Library at Bryant Park on 42ND st.

It is one of the most amazing visions of beauty ~ free for all to visit and enjoy!!!

This is the ceiling!

We had a light meal and headed to the center of the world ~ Times Square ~ to hang out before we went to the Broadway show ~ Mama Mia.

These steps are in the center of Times Square ~ it takes your breath away to sit there and try to take it all in.

That's me in awe!

Here's my beautiful daughter Jaci.

After Mama Mia we headed to a local pub for a raspberry beer before going to our dreaded room.

At the bar was one of the ushers for Mama Mia!

He knew exactly where we had sat ~ to our amazement!

He had been involved in Broadway all his life ~ was in the show Dalmatians years ago ~ and told us all the fun facts about all the actors in the play.

We decided when we got back to our room at 12:30am that we would get up at 5am and try to get in to Good Morning America!

We were in line by 6am.

The security guard seemed to take a liking to us and plopped us smack dab in the front~ middle of the taping!

God wink # ~ well I've lost track!

Jaci got to answer a question live with Robin Roberts and Sam Champion about Valentines Day.

She was SOOO excited to have her 5 minutes of fame!!!

Robin Roberts is absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!!!!

They are getting the set ready for taping .

After the show ~ we had a quick breakfast at Brooklyn Diner and took a cab to South Street Seaport.

This is me and a Seagull hanging out!

Notice the Brooklyn Bridge in the background.

This is looking towards the city.

Then we walked to the Stock Exchange on Wall Street ~ where all the action is lately.

There were protesters and press from all over the world.

There was a heavy feeling in the air.

We sat there for a long time and just soaked it all in.

It is one of my favorite streets in NY as it is tiny and narrow ~ nothing seems to have changed in over 200 or more years.

http://www.earthcam.com/usa/newyork/nyse/

Well ~ 2 Broadway Shows, 2 tapings of Martha Stewart, being at and on Good Morning America,trying cup cakes at Magnolia Bakery and visiting amazing sites all around the city in 2 days ~ was truley an adventure!

And all done on a budget sooo low ~ you'd be shocked!!!!

And what lesson was learned from the creepy hotel room????

I felt like the Lord took the blinders off a bit and let me feel the evil and sadness that is in our world.

It was a HEAVY EVIL feeling there ~a feeling that I know many folks live with day in and out.

It made me long even more for every person to know He loves you more than you will ever know

and seeks to walk hand in hand with you.

There are not many paths to God ~ only one ~ Jesus Christ.

His light is SO bright and true.

Once youve REALLY known it ~ nothing else will do!!!