Baby it's Cold Outside!

With another arctic blast upon us and temps in the single digits (for a high, and not including the wind chill factor!), I am longing for spring!  (I know, I said I wasn't going to complain anymore about the cold!)  Tonight's low is supposed to be minus 8 degrees, brrr!

So today I stayed warm by snapping these photos from the comfort of inside, looking out the window!

We really enjoy watching the birds at our heated bird bath. It's a treat when the blue birds swoop in for a quick drink.  There were 7 today at once, but of course all but 3 of them flew off when I ran to get my camera.

Aren't they beautiful? 

 We have several bird feeders as well as suet feeders, which are always a hit.  I was so excited to see this yellow bellied sap sucker (he's huge!), on the right, and a hairy woodpecker on the left.

 As soon as the hairy woodpecker flew off, a red headed woodpecker flew in for a snack!

 Ok, I just had to share these next two pictures of our Katie, staying warm and cozy inside!

 Here she is, playing with an early birthday gift, a stuffed squeaky chipmunk.

(Yes, she is more than a little spoiled!)

 I just had to tease you and share with you these lovely shots of Giverny, Monet's gardens!

I was hunting thru photos that I'd saved and came across them today, and thought they would be a good antidote to our subzero wintery blast!

This was our second trip there, in 2008.

 Ever since art appreciation class in high school 

(and I won't even tell you how many years ago that was!) 

I've been in love with Monet's work.  I had dreamed for years of some day visiting his gardens, but never thought I would actually get there!

 What a treat, and a surreal moment, to be standing at his famous pond, the setting for his gorgeous water lily series of paintings!

 This is his home,above.  I just love the green shutters, and how the ivy has taken over the peachy pink stucco walls.  We toured the inside, but weren't supposed to take photos.

 Tons of rhododendrons and azaleas (sigh!).

 Another view of his pond.  Notice the pretty green bridge in the background?

Here's hubby on the bridge.  Isn't that wisteria gorgeous?  I remember it took quite awhile for me to get a shot of this, as the gardens were packed with other tourists the day we were there.

If you ever get a chance to visit Giverny, do so!

Just looking at these photos from the past makes me feel a little warmer:)

Have a great day, keep warm and cozy!

Spring Fever!

It's official!  I now have spring fever!

While I would much rather be looking at this pretty corner of our yard............

 Instead I am looking at this!  Ugh!

Winter actually didn't bother me this year, until last weeks arctic blast hit!

 Record breaking cold temps, more than enough snow and ice leaves me longing for warm and sunny days!

 So instead of this....................

 I would love to see this!

So since it will be many, many more weeks til a warm up, I will have to content myself to day dreaming!

I've got the urge to do some spring decorating and crafting, but will try my best to hold off for awhile!

 Here is a little Easter vignette I created a few years ago.  I just love the vintage chalkware bunny perched at the top of my tiered pedestal bowl.

I've also been wanting to create some Easter baskets from peat pots.

I found a little inspiration on line, below.

Source:  Cheeky Magpie

 Isn't this the cutest?  I just love the cheery pastel colors, that sweet little birdie, and those pretty vintage millinery flowers!

Source:  Cheeky Magpie

 I adore the little nest and eggs in this darling peat pot, above!

Source: Scrap Scene

And this is another favorite that I am totally in love with! Love the vintage book page, those pretty little blue eggs, and the butterfly embellishment!

So for now I will have to be content dreaming and looking forward to warmer days.

I so will not miss having to wear my winter coat, boots, scarf, hat, gloves, etc, etc!!!

Enjoy your weekend, and keep snug and warm!

Random Bits

Bonjour Mes Amis!

Hope you are having a great week so far.  Today I have some random bits of this and that to share with you.

Isn't this glittered angel just gorgeous?  One of my dear friends gave it to me for Christmas, and I just love her!

 She really sparkles and shines in the light.

 I think she looks right at home on our mantle surrounded by candle light!

 Next up is my large glass apothecary jar, which you have seen many times before here.  I love changing it out with the seasons, and for winter I've filled it with giant pinecones.

 I painted the pinecones a creamy white, and even though it doesn't show up in the photos, I've added clear glitter to them as well.  Because you know my motto............

"You can never have too much glitter!"

 I love displaying the apothecary jar on this vintage silver tray, with just the right amount of patina (love!).

Here is a closer look at the pinecones.

 Ok, sorry these next shots are dark in the foreground, I guess it was due to the bright white snowy background.  Anyway, our Katie visited the groomer yesterday for a new 'do, and wanted to show it off to you!!  She was being a bit camera shy, and just wouldn't turn and look towards me!

 This is one of her favorite perches, sitting on the back of our couch, front paws on the window sill, checking out all of the action!

 Ok, I told you this was going to be a random post!  I ordered Rick Steve's Italy book from Amazon, and was super excited when it came yesterday!  Hubby and I first visited Italy 13 years ago, and fell in love with the country!  We still talk about that trip, and vowed that we would some day return. So, we are hoping to get back there sometime this year, I can't wait!  This book is huge, well over 1,000 pages.  So I thought it would make for some fun reading and dreaming to help us get thru our cold, snowy and dreary winter!

 Looks like Katie decided to have her picture taken after all!

 I can't believe how much she has grown!  She will turn one year old in a little less than 2 weeks.

 And last but not least, I was super thrilled to discover this giant vintage Syroco decorative ladle last week at one of my favorite consignment shops!  It stands over 2 1/2 feet tall!  Of course I will be covering up that "gaudy gold" with my favorite shade of creamy dreamy white paint!

Usually the consignment shop is on the high end price wise, but I was surprised to see how reasonable this piece was.  I think because they thought no one would want the poor thing being so, well, gaudy gold!!

 I'll be sure to share with you her transformation when I am finished!

Looking forward to seeing what you all have been up to, have a great day!

Cozy and Creative

Ok, I am going to try and stop complaining about the record setting cold, and all of that snow, and instead attempt to put a positive spin on it!  Notice I said the word "try":)!

One of the good things about being house bound is spending time creating.

Nothing like playing in my craft room, a cup of hot cocoa nearby 

(with an extra helping of marshmallows, please!) to help beat cabin fever!

So on that note, I thought I'd share a few of my projects with you today.

I had so much fun with this first project, which I created for a friend's birthday present.

 I began by painting a couple of vintage wooden hangers a pretty robin's egg blue.

The floral design is actually copies of vintage wall paper that I printed and cut out by hand.  I added them to the front of each hanger with a bit of decoupage, and another coat of decoupage on top.

 A clear sealer, and some of my wonderfully crinkly aqua seam binding tied in a generous bow, and 

viola!

 A gift that is not only pretty, but useful, too!

Now I want to make some for myself!

 Last week I showed you the clay tags which I created, also using copies of vintage wall paper.

Well, this is how I ended up using a few of the tags.

I'm always hunting for interesting birdcages that I can transform, so I was super excited to find the following two, which went in my Etsy shop. Well, I have to give hubby credit for finding the first one, he is my official "picker"!

It was black when he found it, so of course I knew it could be oh so much prettier painted my favorite creamy dreamy white!

A bit of distressing, and a generous bow of cream crinkly seam binding, as well as one of my sweet clay tags, and she is looking rather shabbyliscious, if I do say so myself!

 She even has a cute door with a fun little latch!

 I added this pretty rose embellished tag to the next birdcage, and was thrilled when it promptly sold!

 Isn't it cute?  I almost didn't see the birdcage at first, as it was filled to the brim with old, dusty silk flowers, butterflies, falling apart styrofoam and more.  I know that someone thought they were being creative, but the poor thing really looked downright awful!  So after pulling it all out, and giving her a good bath, I used the same creamy white paint as my other birdcage and took her from drab to fab!

I love how her lid lifts off! 

 Next up are some pinecones that I painted pink, and glittered just for fun!

I had a large stash of pinecones on hand, that I had collected on various vacations.

While they were pretty tedious to paint, it was a fun project, especially since it involved my favorite crafting medium, glitter!

 I thought pink would be such an pretty and unexpected color for them.  I ended up painting some light and some brighter pink.  I then added coarse clear glitter, and pretty pink mica.

 It's a bit hard to see in the photos, but the effect is just magical!

These ended up in my Etsy shop, but I did paint and glitter a bunch in cream to keep for myself!

I've got plenty more creations to share with you next time.  Now I'm off to work on more fun projects in my craft room!

Have a great day, and keep warm!

The Deep Freeze

Hello everyone!

It's a balmy minus 14 this morning at the Chateau! And that is before the wind chill factor, which is more than 30 below zero!  Yes, you read that right!  With so much of the country under piles of snow and ice and record breaking cold temps, spring is sounding pretty good right about now!

Our local news last night said that it's colder here in Michigan than at the South Pole!  Now I feel so much better knowing that, hahaha!

I snapped these photos yesterday, to give you an idea of all the snow we have here, but of course the pictures don't do it justice. We received at least a foot of snow on Sunday, on top of what we already had.

No worries, I snapped away from the comforts of inside, no frost bite for me!

There is a birdbath under here, somewhere!

Ok, this is the one picture I stepped outside to take, but only for a second!  This is right off from our back deck.  Hubby had to shovel a spot for Katie to go out and do her business.  It was way to deep for her to even walk in.

One of our bird feeding stations in the back yard.  Notice all of the snow on the roof of the gazebo feeder?  I was enjoying watching this pretty blue jay.  He was all puffed up trying to keep warm.  I feel so sorry for the wild life and the homeless in this weather.  It is dangerous to be out for more than just a few moments.

We have a heated bird bath, which is a real hit.  Just look at those huge icicles hanging from it!

I snapped this from the patio door in our bedroom.  Notice the huge drift on our front deck?

And the next two shots from our living room looking out to the deck.  That is alot of snow!!!

We are fortunate to have blue birds visit our bird bath. Some days 5 or 6 land at one time, it's such a treat!  Of course I never have the camera handy when that happens, but I did manage to snap a photo of one, below!

And this is how our Katie enjoys spending a snow day, working on her tan in the sun room!:)

Our usual daily walks have been put on hold until we warm up a bit.

Have a great day, and keep warm and snug!