Friday, October 29, 2010

Bye Bye Birdie

 For a long time, I have wanted to share my bird collection on Cindy's Show and Tell Friday @ Romantic Homes.
I quickly snapped these pictures and a couple are blurry, but you know my pathetic camera story by now, so hope you enjoy my little "Tweets" anyway.

Love this little happy little guy because of the shading on him.

These were first in my collection.  You see these often in antique stores.

You've seen her before. Found her in a trift store and cleaned her up with toothpaste.

This one is on a tall pedestal and sits way up high keeping an eye on things.

These two black ones sit in my a little niche in my black and red entry.

You've seen these silver ones on my entry table before with my little silver display.

  One of my red ones.

I split this pair up, one on either side of the TV.

Love these chubby yellow iron ones. Found them at Homegoods, when I first discovered that wonderful place to shop.

My DIL gave me these two on pedestals to add to my collection.

I've also shown these before when I did the cloche party.
They are in my dining room.

Oh my! Do these have story!  My friends gave me these beautiful alabaster birds, but they weren't my first pair like this.
I buy a lot of milk glass and during one shopping trip, I bought alabaster birds along with a whole bunch of milk glass pieces. I always come home from a thrifting trip and put my milk glass in the dishwasher. It really cleans up shiny and pretty.
I guess I also put the birds in with a load of milk glass. It was several days later that I discovered I couldn't find my alabaster birds. I had long since put away or displayed the milk glass.
I remembered that they were in the dishwasher, but I had reloaded it with dirty dishes, so while looking for the birds,  I noticed gritty sandy stuff in the bottom of my dishwasher.
Moral of this story...don't put alabaster in the dishwasher...it dissolves.
Years later, some of my friends found these and gave them to  me along with a warning not to wash them in the dishwasher.
Believe me, they have never let me forget what happened to my first pair.

Again, be sure to go over to Romantic Homes and see what others are sharing today.

More to come about the "Bye Bye Birdie" title to this post.
It's a good thing.
















Saturday, October 23, 2010

Hi! I'm Emmy Lou

Hope you don't mind, but I'm writing my Mamaw's post for her tonight. She's been really busy lately and is a little too tired tonight.
You see, I don't get much time with my Mamaw all by myself.  Being the youngest of 10 cousins, (5 of them are my brother and sisters) I don't get much one on one time with anyone.
But tonight it's just us playing, while Mommy and Daddy get a date night.

I'm crawling now, so Mamaw has to stay on the floor near by, because I can get into trouble really fast.
She has lots of toys for me to play with, but I see other things that look like a lot more fun.
I've also learned to pull up on furniture. Darn she moved all the fun stuff back so I can't reach it.  I promise I won't break anything, I just want to chew on it.

Papaw came in for dinner and I played bashfull with him. (That's my newest "trick")

I also show him how I play Patty Cake (another new "trick")
A little more floor playtime before I get to take my bath.
I love taking a bath at Mamaw's.  She has the greatest bathtub sink in her kitchen.
I can take all my toys with me, but it's really more fun to just suck on the washcloth.
Then I get cuddled and dryed off with a warm fuzzy towel.
I love getting rubbed down with good smelling lotion and getting my jammies on.
More playtime until Mommy and Daddy come pick me up.
Opps! The picture isn't upside down, just me!


It sure is fun being an "only" grandkid for the night.
Rest up Mamaw, because next time it will be all of us again.


Dayle at  A Collection of This And That asked that I link this post to her Simple Pleasrures on Thursday's. Such a great idea, so click on her name above or on the button on my sidebar to visit all the other "Simple Pleasures"










Wednesday, October 20, 2010

One Year Anniversary

Just came from my friend Gail's blog, "Victorian at Heart". She is celebrating her one year blogaversary with a great giveaway. It is a decorated Victorian at Heart tote bag full of goodies.
Be sure to go over there and enter and take a look at her blog. You will be glad you did.
Gail and I have been friends for over 35 years.
When I read she has had her blog for a year, I had to go back and see when my first post was, because  unknown to each other, we started about the same time.
Guess what!!
Today, one year ago, I posted for the first time.
Sorry, I don't have a giveaway prepared, but I promise if I can think of something soon, I will do another giveaway. The one I did for my 100th post was fun to plan and I want to do it again. Soon....

Having a blog has been so rewarding and changed my life in many ways.
1.  I can brag about my grandkids.
  2.  I have met so many new friends.
                             3.  I have learned a lot more about using a computer.
              4.  I can share about the things I love to do.
                                                   5.  I have a new appreciation for my camera (well, maybe not my  
          camera, but the camera in general.)
              6.  I look at all things with a different eye. 
                                                     7.  This may seem like a strange thing to say, but I think I have more self confidence.                 
                                 8.  I have learned so much from reading all your blogs.
                                                  9.  I am more motivated to finish things so I can share about them.
                                                     10. I have tried new things, because I have seen them on your blogs.

This list has a lot of "I"s in it, but even if there was no My Sew Sweet Studio, I would be reading and being blessed and rewarded by your blogs and friendships.
Thanks for a great first year. I appreciate each one of you who comment or who read and don't leave a comment.
A special thank you to my friend Suzanne from Notes From the Patch. Her's was the first blog I read and she encouraged me to start my own.

Don't forget to click here and enter to win the giveaway at Victorian at Heart.

P.S. I promise, those numbers above line up so perfectly in my draft. I guess I have more to learn about this computer thing. Just when I think I've got it, I am humbled.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Montage Monday

Woke up this morning with the smell of rain in the air. I love cool rainy days.
Mr. SS is home this week making cabinets in the garage.  After making coffee, I felt like baking.
So my sweet hubby woke up to the smell of his favorite Hazelnut coffee brewing and this
warm Banana Nut Bread.
Since I was in the cooking mode, and cool rainy days shout SOUP to me, I started Navy Bean Soup in my crockpot.

It's early, and off to my sewing room to embroider a blanket for 8 month old Emmy that I should have done for her when she was born. I have done one for each of the grandkids and it becomes their "B"
The older ones still sleep with have theirs.
I didn't make the blanket...got it at KMart.


While my machine does the work, I am cutting out these little dresses for a sweet lady named Denise that saw these dress models that I did for Strawberry Patches a while back.

Next I'm off to Strawberry Patches to meet another sweet lady that they gave my name to.
She's pregnant and wants me to make this for her.

Many thanks to the sweet ladies at Strawberry Patches who have sent so much work my way.
The patterns and fabrics that they help their customers choose are so much fun to work with.
Today when I went in, they had helped Deborah  with everything from fabric and interfacings to snaps, zippers, etc.  It made her decisions easy and my job even easier.
I can't wait to start.

The afternoon was spent sewing and finishing up
this
Navy Bean Soup and Cornbread with Honeybutter

Well, there you have a good day for me.
Doing a little of a lot of things I love to do on a rainy fall day,
and making Mr. SS a happy camper too.
Can't top that.












Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Heart of the Home Party

I love parties, don't you?
Even though you have seen much of my kitchen as background for my recipes and for my holiday decorating posts, I don't think I have shown pictures of the whole kitchen before
I'm joining Shelia @ Note Songs for her
My kitchen is the Heart of Our Home. With 10 grandkids, I spend a lot of time cooking up meals and goodies for them. Nothing makes me happier than when one or more asks "Can I help?"  Sometimes that slows down the process a little, but I always find something to do for anyone who asks.

Starting on the right side and working around.
There is one of these corner cabinets on both sides of the kitchen
This is my "candy counter" which I have shown many times decorated for different holidays. I should have my fall decorations out but.....

Skipping the fridge and laundry room door, this is probably my favorite area.
COFFEE
My farmhouse sink (great for bathing grandbabies or hiding dirty dishes)
Above window over sink.
Corner to left of  sink
Spice cabinet
Below spice cabinet
We chose to use subway tile for the backsplashes and tile for the counter tops instead of granite so we could use these tile pieces with the black liners around the edge. I wanted a more retro look and saw in a magazine where this look was retro 1920's.
Mr. SS did all the tile work and was ready to "wring my neck" by the time he finished all the cuts.
I love my stove top and oven.
Not much room for a fancy hood with the microwave, but we managed a
little one. The center is a door with storage room inside.
Counter next to stove.
 A close-up of my bin pulls. These came from Pottery Barn  a long time ago and I had saved them for this kitchen. They are a vintage reproduction.
Above the other window.
My appliance garage. Love being able to hide my mixer, food processer and blender here.
An important cupboard in the Parks household is this one. There is a giant Lazy Susan behind that door that holds all my baking supplies.
I saw a cabinet like this in a magazine.
It had beans and pastas in the little drawers, but I knew I had to fill it with these for the kiddos.
and Mr. SS...well maybe the York mints for moi.
Counter underneath

Corner cabinet on other side of kitchen
Now the island in the center.  I am never happier than when someone is sitting on one of the stools talking to me as I cook.
This is one place, I gave in to having granite. It is so useful for food prep and baking and easy to clean.
The other side and sorry, I forgot I had not put away the milkglass pieces before I snapped the picture.
I really thought this prep sink was a little extravagant when Mr. SS insisted in putting it there, but I really use it as much as the other one, because that large door next to the drawers is a trash can, I clean all my veggies here and wash and prepare meat.
For all holidays, I decorate the center of my island. But in between, I usually go with a lemon theme here as well as with the other little vignettes around the kitchen.

I think I have told you before that my youngest son Brandon and my husband built all my cabinets. That's the only way I could get everything exactly like I wanted it. I showed them pictures and made a list of must haves and I really wouldn't change a thing.
The love they put into making it exactly like I wanted it really helped make it the
HEART OF THE HOME.

Be sure to visit Note Songs and see all the really special kitchens shared by others.