Adriana Trigiani is a wonderful author!

Tonight our book club had the pleasure of having a conference call chat with Adriana Trigiani. We all had read her book Brava, Valentine, which we all loved! Adriana called in and she sounds just lovely, just like a thought she would! She told us about her love of the women in her life and some who are no longer with us. She has had alot of very strong women in her life, which made very good role models for her. One of the things we all laughed about was her confession that all the men in her book will always be good looking! When she is writing she talks out loud so she can write how the character would be talking. Adriana is so full of life and talked with us like she has known us forever. As a matter of fact, she was our book clubs first guest author. She said her third book in this trilogy should be out in about a year. The name of the book is Caio. She is also working on a non-fictional book about her grandmother. What a very talented author and I can't wait for her new book to come out! If you haven't read anything of hers, then you are really missing out and she give her a whirl!

Thrifting, material, lunch, my garden and button rings!

Yesterday morning I drove up to Jenny's for our girls day! We did alot of things yesterday and I have to say I slept really well last night-LOL! We went thrifting at about 4 places. Jenny got a few things but I didn't see anything. I was mainly look for beads and vintage buttons. Then we went to this restaurant called Akropolis. I had moussaka, which was really good. Jenny had a chicken parm sub sandwich. She said it was really good too. We also went to this vintage, shabby chic kind of shop and it was wonderful. They had homemade soap pretty near the entrance and the aromas were wonderful! I especially fell in love with the Verbena soap-I love anything lemon! We walked around and oohed and ahhed as we went along. We also stopped at this material store called Cotton Ginnys. I bought some material that is a beach theme-sand dollars, fish, crab, nautilus shell. It is reversible too! I'm going to use it on one my purse/totes I'm making. The man working at the store told us the material is woven right here in NC about 30 miles away. It made me feel good helping NC artists/companies. We also went to Hancock Fabrics and I bought some more material with palm fronds on it-very rich colors and beautiful! I better get sewing!! I had such a wonderful day with Jenny-she is so easy to be with! We decided we'll have to have a sewing day and chill out together more often! I headed on home and then took Teddy out. While I was out I check the plants in our courtyard and saw how much they had grown during the week. There are some pictures below of some of my plants-you will see how much they have grown! I then settled down and was determined to make one button ring-well guess what I made 2! They turned out so cute! I need to get some ring flats that are adjustable so everyone will be able to wear them! I will be posting the 2 I made on etsy today. I had so much fun doing this! Here are some sneak preview pics!





Here are the garden pics too:


This is one of the 5 huge buds on the tree peony.


The rose bush on the black wrought iron trellis has about tripled in size in 2 weeks! I can't wait for those beautiful roses to start blooming!


There is nothing holding this daylily plant back either! The daylilies I brought with me from our old house have all wintered over so well.


I have 2 really large clumps of coral bells planted in urns and they are doing so well. I'm glad everything I brought from the old house survived the winter and will still be a part of my garden. These coral bells are special to me because they were divided from my Grandmother's plants about 30 yrs. ago!


Last but not least the creeping jenny I had growing in two of the urns on our small front porch decided to have a major growth spurt last week too. I love the wonderful chartreuse color!

I hope you enjoy the little tour of my garden and the sneak preview of my button rings!

Thanks Jenny for a wonderful day-hugs to you sweetie!!

This weekend will be a sparklie creation weekend!

I hope everyone is getting ready for a great weekend! I will be thrifting with Jenny for part of tomorrow. She usually does really well finding Vintage items at thrift shops. I am looking for more vintage buttons. I have decided to make some vintage button rings for my etsy site. I bid on some vintage buttons on e-bay and won them. They are really beautiful and would make wonderful rings. I have to play around with some of the designs. I hope I find some really great buttons. Jenny usually looks for vintage clothing. Should be a fun time.

Then I will be creating for the rest of the afternoon. I want to make some more copper earrings and maybe a bracelet or two. I had so many designs to make and try out but then I got sick. I am now all better and I plan on getting alot more things on my etsy site.

I have material that I bought last weekend to make a purse/tote and I plan on making that some time this weekend too and putting it on the etsy site for sale. It is definitely a creative weekend for me!

I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend! Enjoy!

How is it in your neck of the woods today?

The weather was just gorgeous here yesterday. Them temp was 77 degrees with gorgeous, lovely sunshine. Today is another story! It is gray, blah and rain is on it's way. I was hoping we would have one more day of beautiful weather before the rain came. Maybe that means this weekend will be absolutely gorgeous! One thing though the rain will make even more flowers bloom and the grass turn even green! That certainly is a plus!

So how is it in your neck of the woods today?

The Charlotte Checkers

Last night John, Megan, Ken and I went to a Charlotte Checkers game and the Checkers won! John played hockey in high school and college and while I have never been a huge fan of hockey last night was very exciting! They played the Florida Everblades, who by the way were very rough and scrappy! Our goalie got knocked out cold because the other team player whacked him in the head with his stick-making his helmut and a few of his pads fly off. Very uncalled for behavior! This is a rough sport but that was not a fair play and the guy was called out for the rest of the game. I really enjoyed the Checkers mascot named Chubby. He is a polar bear and he is hysterical! The kids in the crowd just love him and the adults love him too! Here is a picture of Chubby on his ATV throwing T-shirts out to the crowd.



I hope everyone has a great day-gotta get ready for work!


P.S. Thank you for all the prayers and thoughts for John getting the full time position at Best Buy-they decided to give the position to a young guy. Oh well better luck on another job. John is annoyed and tired of younger guys getting the jobs he applies for but I told him there is the perfect job out there for him and that's why these "lesser" jobs don't work out full time!

Unfortunately I'm having a small relapse/Oprah's LIFE series

I am not feeling really well today and I did feel really great after we got back from Brunch with our friends. I am hoping as the week progresses I will get better and finally shake this thing!

Last night I was able to stay awake for Oprah's LIFE series and it was absolutely wonderful! I can't wait for next weeks series! John and I would like to buy this series to have in our collection. I told Megan that it would be a wonderful gift for she and her sister to give their father for Father's Day/ his birthday. They usually fall within a few days of each other. She said that would be a great idea! What interesting creatures live in our world and they have very strange lives!!

Today I get to relax with John!

John doesn't have to work today at either job-WOOOHOOOO! We are going to brunch with friends in a little while. We will both probably read, watch a movie, I'll make some sparklies while he takes a nap and we'll just plain relax and enjoy each other company! Best Buy now probably isn't telling anyone who got the full-time positions until Monday. The decision maker isn't in until Monday. Very nervewracking for us! Last night I made a pair of earrings for myself and I'm wearing them today. I took the copper discs my Dad and I made and then I placed a small hammered silver disc over the copper one. I affixed it to the copper disc also with E-6000 glue because it was jingling all the time and that drove me crazy. Today I'll be making things for my etsy site, which should be fun. Last night I spent 2 hrs. organizing my work area (my designs, sketches, gemstones, etc.). Now today I can great without a mess facing me!

I hope everyone has a marvelous day! We have rain on the way.

The Spring Bug has bit me-I ordered some plants today!

The temperatures hit 82 degrees here today in Charlotte! The Spring Bug has bit me! I got a Gilbert H. Wild and Sons catalog today and I placed an order. Here is what I ordered:


This is the lovely Brazilian Coral Daylily! I love the color. I have seen this daylily and have been waiting for the price to come down and now it has! Lucky me!


Apricot Sparkles has been in all of my daylily gardens since I started gardening 30 yrs. ago. I tried to dig up a piece to move with me last year when we moved here but it was too deep into the ground and wouldn't budge. Now I will have my Apricot Sparkles again! Love the diamond dusting on this one!


When we lived in NJ I had a beautiful hosta garden and I plan on making another one at this house. This hosta is called Guacamole! Last year I bought Avocado, which has been grafted from Guacamole. Keep it all in the same family!


Don't you just love this rich color! This dahlia is called Arabian Night. I have always wanted this Dahlia and I think it will make a wonderful addition to my little garden.

I will also buy a few annuals to fill in amongst all my perennials. I dream of having a house again and having all my beloved plants planted in the ground, but for now this is the next best thing!

Cherry Blossoms are Blooming!

I found this picture on line and I fell in love with it! The Cherry Blossoms are starting to bloom all over Charlotte now and they look absolutely beautiful! These are the early cherry blossoming trees. This weekend I will have to see if I can take some pictures of the ones around our neighborhood-they are beautiful! The daffodils, hyacinths, crocus' and all the other spring blossoming flowers just make you smile when you see them. This is the perfect time of year!

Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day!

St. Patrick's Day always brings up wonderful, wonderful memories for John and I. We went to Ireland 6 yrs. ago for our 25th and what a beautiful country! We didn't make it to the St. Patrick's Day parade here in Charlotte this year because of me not feeling well. Megan and Ken went and they had a wonderful time. I have decided to post a few pictures of Ireland in honor of St. Patrick's Day!


This is the Irish Coast. I just love the cottage in the picture too!


No trip to Ireland would have been complete without going to Blarney Castle!


John and I spent some time here at the Cliffs of Mohr. They are just magnificent.


This is the lovely Ring of Kerry! We absolutely loved it there.


This is Dromoland Castle. We stayed here one of the nights-it was really exciting staying in a real castle!

I hope you enjoyed my short trip through Ireland. Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!

I'm on the road to recovery finally!

Good Morning Everyone! I finally feel like I am on the healing side of these sinus/ear/throat infections! I have done nothing for the last 2 weekends and not very much at all during the entire week and finally I am starting to feel better. I don't wish this virus on anyone-it is the pits!

Hope everyone has a wonderful day!

I'm back!

I haven't been on here since Wednesday and it seems like a really long time! I am feeling a little better but still have issues with breathing really well. The beautiful weather (even though now it is a little cloudy) should help my recovery! I have the windows open in the house to "air" it out. John is off to work and I'm just planning on resting by reading today. I did venture out into the courtyard between our house and the garage and I can't believe how much the warm weather and rain brought the plants out of hibernation! The roses have leaves on them, the chives grew another 2.5 inches, the camellia is blooming like crazy, the mint is grow quickly, the lemon balm is 3 inches higher, etc., etc. I think Spring has arrived in Charlotte! Since I have been under the weather I had a little more time to browse the internet for low-cost decorating ideas. Here are a two ideas I found and really liked.


What a simple idea but great for a porch, courtyard or just about anywhere in your yard!



Green is my favorite color-green of any shade so this really appealed to me. You could have this tray with any dishes on your ottoman, table, picnic table or side table.

Sometimes the simplest things give the eye the most appeal! Well I'm off to read and rest-don't want a relapse! Enjoy the weekend!

I will not be blogging for a few days.

Hi Everyone! I will not be blogging for a few days. I am really sick with this virus, sinus, ear, throat infection. I did go to the Dr. on Monday and got some meds. I went to work yesterday and I should not have done that! Staying home today to rest but will be taking it easy for a few days. Hope to be back real soon!

What a surprise!

I picked up a magazine in Target the other night called Dream Gardens Across America 2010. I started reading it and I couldn't believe the picture in the magazine! When we lived in NJ and owned our little Victorian I was looking at a Better Homes and Garden Magazine and there was a beautiful arbor in a picture and you could order the plans. I showed it to John and he surprised me and ordered the plans. When they came he showed them to me and he told me for our anniversary he was going to make the arbor for me! My husband had never built anything other than a pinebox derby car when he was in Boy Scouts! He delivered his promise on our anniversary that August. As I was leafing through the Dream Gardens across America magazine guess what arbor was in a picture. The one John and I saw in the BH & G magazine about 20 yrs. ago! I took a picture of the one in the Dream Gardens.... and I'm going to look for the picture of the arbor John built me when I feel better. I will post it when I find it. For now here is the magazine version:


We even had roses growing up the arbor like in the picture!




Very uncanny!

John has promised when we have our own house again, he will build this arbor for me again. It was a great spot for me to read or sit with the girls when they were little. It holds a special spot in my heart!

Today was beautiful but I spent most of it resting and napping!

Still not feeling great! I will be going to work tomorrow but I'll call the Dr. and make an appt. for the early afternoon. I have a slight fever now and I feel miserable. Pretty sure it is a sinus infection. I did go out in the courtyard for a little bit today and here are some pics I took of Spring!!


My Tree Peony that I brought from NJ 6 years ago is start to unfurl its leaves!Definitely a sign that Spring is just around the corner!


My daylilies are poking their leaves up too!


The chives are coming up and are about 3 1/2 inches tall already-I can almost use them!


I brought my Lenten Roses with me from the other house and here is one of them blooming. There is another bud just ready to open too. I think they are just beautiful!


Here is a closeup of the Lenten Rose.

Definitely under the weather today!

Well I have finally got up out of my chair. I have not been feeling good all day-running a fever, runny nose, watery eyes, etc. I think I have officially caught John's cold. I am going back to my chair! Hopefully tomorrow I'll feel better.

Here is the alligator made from cupcakes!

Saturday night I went to Megan's house to watch her neighbors, friends, Jenny and Megan play Bunco. Jenny was actually hosting the event at Megan's house. The theme was Mardi Gras. Megan made Jambalaya and some of the neighbors brought chips and dip. We all wore alot of Mardi Gras beads and drank Hurricanes! It was alot of fun!

I'm trying to fight off a cold!

I have been trying to fight off this cold for about 3 days now. I have been taking Airborne, going to sleep early, drinking tea with honey in it and you name it I'm trying it. That is why I haven't been blogging that much lately. Tonight I'm just chilling out watching American Idol and then I'll go to bed early. Hopefully I'll be back to my old self real soon!

Too much computer time!

I have made a decision to stay off of Facebook. It was taking too much of my time and I was sitting at the computer way too much. I got hooked on playing a game on there called Farmville. I want to read, garden and take walks more so while I will keep the Facebook page, I will not be on there much. Sometimes you just have to make good changes in your life and that was mine. I will keep blogging as much as I have been-I wouldn't give that up! I love blogging and checking in with everyone.

Hope everyone is having a happy Monday!