JOIN ME AT THE OLD CROW MARKET...

This Saturday and Sunday, February 4th and 5th I'll be set up at THE OLD CROW MARKET

at WHEN PIGS FLY AGAIN,  a fabulous shop in Mt. Dora Florida.

Here's the info...

THE OLD CROW MARKET at WHEN PIGS FLY

822 N. Donnelly St. Mt. Dora, FL

9am til 5pm

The shop will be open and filled to the brim with wonderful primitives, and there will be booths outside as well. That's where you'll find me, on the brick patio. My friend Susie (From My Home To Yours) will be setting up as well.

There's also a fabulous world~renowned art show being held just a block away! Come spend the day in quaint Mt. Dora this weekend and shop til you drop!

Hope to see you!

St Brigid Feast Day coming Up

A quick reminder for all you preparing for St Bigid's feast day on the 1st of February~
I don't have much more to add to our plans than in the past but you can see them here as well as how we celebrated in 2011

Blessings to you and your homes,
 

A Mothers Charter!

Here is a beautiful poem, whose Author I cannot find that describes the type of Mother I desire to be.....perhaps unattainable but this is something to strive for.

God made mothers more special than anyone else.
He made them the bearers of life and in so doing,
knew they had to be more exceptional than the rest of us.
He made them the cornerstone of the home, the foundation of the family,
 the backbone of society, the ideal of all that is best with the human race.
They are the guardians of decency,
the preservers of peace,
the upholders of truth,
the protectors of morality,
the symbol of virtue,
an inspiration to all that is noble and good in life,
and love knows no greater representative than that of a mother’s love.
Upon our earth, no title is more revered and no sound more beautiful or sweeter heard than the tender loving word - mother.

Blessings to you and your homes,
 

My Dining Room Redo In Pictures

DINING ROOM REVEAL...FINALLY

Isn't it amazing how a little "facelift" can take so darn long?

My dining room and kitchen just received a new and beautiful freshening up.

Here's the dining room before...

White beadboard and a soft neutral color (?) above... It's been a while since we painted it that color and I couldn't begin to remember the name though I'm sure it was Ralph Lauren.

The dining room now in beautiful whites...

Benjamin Moore White Dove on the walls and Vanilla Milkshake on the beadboard and trim.

We added a ceiling medallion above the chandelier and I rearranged the cupboards and wall decor, which came from other rooms in the house. 

The kitchen got the same White Dove on the walls and Vanilla Milkshake on the cabinets and trim.

I took the door off one of the upper cabinets and painted it white to showcase my ironstone and tarnished silver collection. I edited my dishes to four of everything in the remaining cabinet and the rest went to the beadboard cupboard in the dining room.

I am loving the new fresh white look to both rooms. 

Hope you love it too!

Arwen's Third Birthday

The day has finally come!!!
Arwen had been anticipating her birthday since before Christmas, in fact at the start of Advent when we told her Christmas was Jesus's birthday.

For many days she has been counting down the days and the build up for her and the other smaller children over the last three days has been amazing. They were all sooooo excited for Arwen and kept helping her count down the days until she was three.

So this morning she was up and wanted her brothers to 'get up' so she could open her presents. She waited so patiently and had the most wonderful time and delighted us all with her enthusiasm for each special gift.

The birthday girl really enjoyed licking the bowl ALL to herself and she is really our little princess.

A butterfly cake was an easy cake and she had planned this for some time too. Don't you love sweet little girl cakes for sweet little girls?

She finally put on the crown I made her when it was time for the cake but no way was she wearing it at any other time today. She is such a  sweetie!

Waitning, waiting for the cake to come to the table.

Oh the excitement as we sing to our little precious girl

I said to her today 'Happy Birthday' and she said as she is hugging and kissing me back "Happy Birthday  Mummy" and then quite unasked "thank you for my presents' in that sweet, soft little voice.My heart just melted.....again

Of course she had to cut the cake up herself, thank you very much.

After this very exciting bed we had a little girl all tucked up and asleep in no time.

Blessings to you and your homes,

Happy Birthday Arwen ♥

Sweet, sweet little Arwen!
You are growing up so fast. We celebrate your 3rd birthday today and I know you will have a very happy day.
It will be a special day for you as you have your big brothers home for it and we have many surprised planned for you.

How hard it is for your Mummy though. Three is such a grown up big girl stage and I see the little toddler in you disappearing each day. You can clearly communicate with us and those precious 'baby words' you have used have almost entirely disappeared from your vocabulary.

You are becoming so independent and love being a big sister to Trahaearn. The way you help him and love him just shows how grown up you are becoming.

What a blessing it is to have you in our family our smiley little angel. Your happy disposition and caring loving ways are qualities we enjoy so much. Your willingness to give those special hugs and kisses is a constant joy.

Have a very happy birthday sweet sweet Arwen!

The Snuggly Duckling

A few weeks ago ago Braedon bought two little duckling for the younger children to have. As he gave us about 30mins notice that the ducklings arrive we had to find somewhere for them to live very quickly.

For quite a few weeks they lived in our old rabbit hutch that has had a few uses over time and Rogan who seems to be our official 'animal handler' would move it each day so they would have plenty of grass to eat.
This was actually quite a challenge each day as he had to hammer into the ground  metal pegs to stop the dogs from trying to push the hutch over and get to the ducks.

Imagine my surprise one afternoon, as I came home from shopping, to actually find this new duck enclosure in place with the ducks securely within. Well I guess you have to know how often it usually takes these things to happen I guess.
As soon as the duck enclosure was made Rogan was so keen to give it a name and of course The Snuggly Duckling was his choice as Tangled has an Inn named that in it and Tangled is a favourite movie.

So now our ducks Kronk and Yzma also named after another movie we like- The Emperors  New Groove.
are happily settled in  their new home.

Yes I know we watch too many Animated films BUT we love them and we quote them all the time. It is a major part of our family culture, that we all quote back and forward in any and all situations.

Blessings to you and your homes,
 

Project Snapshots

Like many of you, the beginning of a new year has me re-energized.  I have been busy organizing, cleaning, purging, rearranging, and checking lots of those little pesky things off my “to do” list which have been there way too long.  (i.e. - the clock above my mantel which has been leaning against the wall for almost two years has finally been hung!)

Along with all of the above, I have also been working on lots of house projects.  So today I thought I would share a sneak peak of what I have been up to and give you an idea of what is ahead.  I will be sure to share all the details as each project is completed.

The biggest changes will be taking place in the master bedroom.  The pictures below are a few hints of the progress which has been made so far.

I have also been completing projects in the basement . . .

. . . adding some new artwork to the mudroom . . .

. . . and updating a few things in the kitchen. 

Changes are also in store for the dining room.

Finally, I wanted to thank everyone who entered the Something About Silver giveaway.  I try to host a couple of giveaways throughout the year as a way to thank you for choosing to take time out of your busy schedules and spend it with Red Door Home.