What a fun weekend!

I finished my taxes on Friday (yippee!), so thought I would reward myself with a fun-filled weekend. I started out by meeting my good friends for breakfast on Saturday to celebrate three of their birthdays. We had a great time over some good food at Honeyberry Cafe.

                               

On Sunday morning, I attended The Washington Street Market in Naperville. 

Mark Norkaitis of Room 363 always puts on a beautiful show.

There were several of these gorgeous over-sized wreaths available to purchase.

And just look at this fabulous painted piano. When I was leaving the market a gentleman was 'tinkling the ivories' fill the air with wonderful music.

The vendors are always top-notch at this market.

After the market, it was time to move on to The Midwest Meet-Up in Lisle organized by Jen Rizzo for local bloggers to get-together.

There was an array of snacks to munch on. Jen had her darling three daughters and sweet hubby helping her set everything up.

Then we got down to brass tacks and serious blogger business discussing the latest in blogging trends and social media.

Jen is the cute gal standing in the pic above. It was so great to meet some new blogging friends. My head is still spinning from all the information exchanged. I can't believe how much this industry has changed since I started blogging eight years ago.

These gals were so knowledgeable and really work hard at making a living through their blogs.

Live in the Present

It's not very easy to keep your mind from thinking about what has been or what might be. Why is it so difficult to stay focused on the present?

xo

jeanne

Crafty Gift for a Friend

Don't you just love this print by Katie Daisy? I love all of her work and the color palette in this one particularly caught my eye.

I was getting together for breakfast with a friend for her birthday and I wanted to bring along a little gift for her. I saw a tutorial for making this mini mood board on Rae Missigman's blog here. So I made a birthday themed board based on the colors in Katie Daisy's print. 

Then when I was at Target I found all these paper goods in the same color scheme in the $1 Spot.

I embellished the note cards with chalkboard stickers, washi tape, and mini paper doilies.

Finally, I packaged everything inside a coordinating paper basket adorned with an floral embellished clothespin. By the way, my friend loved it! ♥️

xo

jeanne

Finally...

The long awaited first day of Spring is finally here. The snow on the ground is almost all melted. 

All I can say is, ITS ABOUT TIME!

xo

jeanne

Happy St. Patricks Day

#rhonnadesigns and #heidiswapp

xo

jeanne

Spring is Coming...Honest

I've been counting down the days until Spring to help get me through the dreary, cold, and snowy weather we've been having here in the Midwest. It's funny how crossing off the days seems to make the time pass more quickly. Fortunately we were blessed with 50-degree temperatures today and that, along with the sunshine, really does make it seem like Spring is right around the corner!

ox

jeanne

Starting to Decorate for Spring

Today is March 1st and it's the first day of "Meterolgical Spring." The more common first day of spring is March 20th, which is referred to as "Astronomical Spring." But since everyone around here is so sick and tired of winter's snow and ice, I decided to recognize the earlier date this year.

Other than bunches of fresh flowers which I purchased at the grocery store, this St. Patrick's Day vignette is all I have put out so far. I painted the leprechaun couple many, many years ago.

And the same for this St. Patty's Day bird nest.

The white tulips are in memory of my Aunt Helen, who recently passed away. She told me she had white tulips at her wedding and my Uncle gave them to her on their anniversary in February every year since.

Have you started to decorate for Spring yet?

xo

jeanne

Authenticity

xo

jeanne

Share It Saturday

Today I'm taking part in  Share it Saturday, which is a brand new linky party dreamed up by Jennifer Rizzo. The idea is to share something you read on another person's blog or website. You can read the details about it here. 

Last week I came across this photo of these yummy looking cinnamon rolls from Country Living Magazine on Pinterest. I don't know about you, but I find cinnamon rolls irresistible. And to make these even more delectable, they are almond filled cinnamon rolls. So I decided to test out the recipe and make them for myself. 

And the recipe certainly didn't disappoint. . .

However, I don't really need to be eating a dozen cinnamon rolls, so I think if I make them again I will cut the recipe in half.

If you'd like to make some of these Almond Filled Cinnamon Rolls for yourself, you can find the recipe here.

xo

jeanne

The Find

I recently discovered The Find Market Event located in Plainfield, Illinois. This is a once a month shopping market which opened last October. It happens to be not very far from where my daughter lives, so I decided to stop by last night on the way home from babysitting my grandson.

The Find is located in a warehouse-type space full of a wide variety of vintage treasures. They sell everything you can imagine such as furniture, architectural pieces like, doors, windows, shutters, spindles, etc., industrial items, bed springs, old enamelware, wooden ladders, quilts, chalk paint, vintage lampshades, suitcases, handmade tote bags, milk glass, silver serving pieces, corrugated metal letters, wire baskets, vintage tins, etc., etc.

There is even a cafe area where you can sit and relax and enjoy a beverage or snack under a unique chandelier made out of tiny lights and an old box spring.

The Find is open every third Thursday through Sunday of each month and you can find more information (as well as directions and exact location) at www.thefindmarketevent.com