Good Morning~

We're on the 2nd of two snow days in a row so I find myself with a little blogging time and some bragging to share.



This past Sunday I was visited by Jayme of Tales From The Coop Keeper and her sidekick Glenco! I've mentioned before that I simply adore her blog for her honesty and humor. She is even more wonderful in living color.....sweet and kind (see the pictures below of the eggs from her very own hens and the coffee beans that she roasted herself especially for me!) and funny and beautiful and easy-peasy to talk with. You know Miss Introverted Me, I had started to worry that I wouldn't know what to talk about but the conversation flowed!

Thank you Jayme for the great visit, the goodies, and your friendship!

Grace & Peace, Leslie

Vintage or Ugly?

What do you think of this sofa? A friend of mine who both blogs and frequents Craiglist posted it along with some commentary on how to preview pictures on Craiggy without having to click on the whole post. She titled this an ugly sofa.
I commented by wondering what it says about me that I like this sofa (but the orange carpeting has to go) and another friend commented back that she just knew I would and she called me a Vintage Vamp!
I kinda' like that (can you see me smiling?).

Bridal Shower Gifts

Last Saturday I attended a bridal shower for my best friend's daughter who is getting married next week. My friend and I have been "besties" since kindergarten.....40 years! For a shower gift, I made some seasonal table runners & potholders and then added a cookbook that I think is phenomenal for a new cook. When I was going through my mother's wedding things, I found an unused, still in cellophane, shower gift card. Instead of using the original (shown in the picture), I copied it and cut it with deckled scissors to attach to my package.
Enjoy!

Christmas

Patriotic

Spring/Summer

Fall (no potholders, that's the back folded over)

My friend and I (sitting), the bride in white, my daughter in red

Lovely

Isn't this the prettiest little card? I received it from my dear friend Michele as a thank you note after she visited me from out of state for a few days. I plan to put it in a suitable frame....it will look lovely in one of my vignettes either on my entry table, in my sewing room, maybe in my family room or even for the wall of vintage pictures that I'm planning for my bedroom when I finally paint in there.
Check back Saturday for a gorgeous vintage anniversary card that she sent too.
Michele, thank you for your wonderful friendship!

Whew!

Last week was extremely busy! I know that Monday was full but I can't remember with what!

On Tuesday I cleaned the sunroom really well, including all the windows, even the high up ones! I re-arranged the furniture in there too. I also dusted off and in some cases re-arranged & re-attached my tins in there.

My neighbors (and friends!) next door are expecting their first baby in August and on Wednesday I helped scrape wallpaper off the walls in what will be their nursery. Now you know my issues with wallpaper! I prayed the night before, asking God to help it come off and He did! There were only 2 walls and it took up about an hour to strip each wall! Then we washed them with T.SP and did the remaining walls also. They're planning an elaborate "under the sea" theme that should be pretty cute.
I also had a friend of Charlie's overnight whose parents were out of town.

On Thursday a dear long-time friend arrived with her son for an overnight visit. We had a great time catching up and also got in a little thrifting. Here's a not-so-great picture of us:
Friday night was the Greater Lafay.ette Heart Ball and in preparation I had my hair styled at the salon I've finally settled on here after 2 years! In addition to my firend and I receiving complimentary parrafin hand treatments (because I'd pre-booked the appointment on a previous visit) I also received a complimentary make-up touch-up. Which in my case was my entire face done for the evening! That was a huge treat! After a wonderful day of friendship I had a marvelous date with Dr. Love. And, we're famous! A shot of the top of his hair and my back flashed across the local news as they covered the Ball. Good thing my hair looked fabulous!

Earlier in the week I had promised Miss B that I would sew her dress so that she could wear it yesterday. I stayed up pretty late Saturday evening getting it together. I encountered a few things with the pattern that I hadn't done before, and the zipper gave me some trouble too. The end result rivals any store-bought dress, in my humble opinion. Here's a shot of her showing it off before we left for church yesterday morning. She already had the red shoes from a winter outfit and so she chose the fabric to go with them!


At church, Pastor Viars began a new series entitled "Finding Hope From Your Past." This first sermon focused on ways our pasts can benefit us. When he was finished, he challenged us to examine our pasts and make four lists this week: victories, blessings, forgivenesses and failures.

Yesterday afternoon we dropped off Charlie at Purdue's College of Technology TOTAL Camp. He's got a fun week scheduled. Here's a picture of him with his roommate, a nice boy from Merrill.ville.

This week is shaping up to be slower. I'm hoping to work on my quilt most of today. I do have two pair of shorts to sew for Miss B and her 80's prom dress to alter for her theatre class but I'm planning to save those for tomorrow.

I hope you have a great week too!
Leslie

Friendship Weekend

The D's and the H's visited over the weekend from Bethel-land. We had the most wonderful time! During the week leading up to their visit, us girls were as excited as jr. higher's: planning Saturday's & Sunday's menus ahead of time and deciding who was going to bring what, etc... Since I wasn't home Thursday & Friday, I waited to make my cake until we could all pitch in. Here we are making the frosting:


Doesn't this cake look lovely? Well, it not only looked good, it was the most delicious cake I've ever baked!


Dr. Love and I are both grateful for good friends!

Thanksgiving Surprise

If you know me at all, you know 2 things about me: that I have been "best friends" with Connie since we were in kindergarten and that Thanksgiving dinner is my absolute favorite meal to prepare and share with family & friends.
As I see it, one of the beauties of the friendship is our flexibility. At times we talk more than once a week and at others we'll go several weeks without communicating. We might send a birthday card a whole month early so that we won't forget to send it, another year we might call a few days late. We both moved away from the small town where we grew up and currently we're a 3-hour drive from each other. The only tradition that is constant between us is that we usually spend Thanksgiving Day together along with our families and whomever else Dr. Love & I invite for the day.
This year, for the first time ever, we opted for her home instead of mine. I made some changes to the logistics of cooking....I prepared the turkey the day before and had Dr. Love do his carving thing so that it could be taken ready to be warmed up in a pan of gravy. Connie baked pies as she always does (hers is the absolute BEST crust you will ever taste!) and we worked on the rest together. We ate leisurely, played cards, discussed her daughter's upcoming wedding plans, spent the night and the next day baked Christmas cookies and did just a small bit of shopping. On Friday evening our men took us for dinner and then Dr. Love & I made our way home. It turned out to be one of our most memorable Thanksgiving days ever and we're thinking of starting a new tradition.
The surprise of the entire day is pictured above. Isn't it gorgeous?!!! Since we've never been much into presents, I was shocked when she brought out a beautiful gift bag complete with tissue paper and inside was this lap quilt that she made for me. I love quilts, especially pieced ones with soft, muted colors surrounded by cream or white. I have never made a quilt myself nor have I ever been willing to purchase one. I love handmade things....the idea that someone uses their creativity and time to make something with me in mind. I love tulips....they are my favorite flowers. And I love my dearest, bestest friend. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Best Thrifting Purchase

Yesterday I had a wonderful day up in Northwest Indiana.

Along with pampering myself with a visit to House of Bianco for a haircut by Katrina (thank you Dr. Love for agreeing to that!), I also visited with my friends at Pruzin Brothers, had a great lunch at Panera with B & T and then joined C & J to go thrifting.

The hat pictured was at the Salvation Army. I hesitated to pay $3 for it but then decided that since I will wear it and also use it to decorate--although not on this lamp shade, that's just to position it for the pic--I'd get it. I think I'll wear it tonight for "date night."

After we found all the bargains the van could hold, we headed back to C's where she had a crock pot with stuffed pepper soup and the most awesome corn bread I've ever tasted!

A huge Thank You to all of my friends for your time & fellowship yesterday!

My Thrifting Buddies

From our outing last week. Thanks for coming down my friends!