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

Happy Valentine's Day!

xo

jeanne

Lady of Letters

This is my dear Aunt Helen from Dallas, who recently passed away. She would have been 102 years old today. She is my last tie to my mother's side of the family. She was the oldest of three sisters and my mother was the baby of the family. My mother died fairly young and has been gone for almost 38 years, so Aunt Helen has been like a second mother to me. Aunt Helen said that when I was born my mother told her she would share me with her, since my Aunt never had a daughter of her own. Little did anyone know all those years ago, that truer words would ever be spoken! 

Aunt Helen and my mother were very close and they shared the love of letter writing. Once my mother passed away I continued the tradition. We must have exchanged thousands of letters between us. She loved to correspond with people and she looked forward to receiving letters from them as well. Writing letters seems to be a lost art these days, but like my Aunt I quite enjoy it. It was a special bond we had with each other and I certainly am going to miss that now. I treasure all her letters, which were always so uplifting and supportive and funny too. About 10 years ago I began to save every card and letter she sent, thinking that once she turned 90 her letter writing days could end at any time. Little did I know that we would continue to write to each other for almost 12 more years! 

Family was always so important to my Aunt. She would share stories of growing up with my mother and my grandparents and I loved that so much. When I was a young girl and she would come for a visit, we would sleep in the same room and talk endlessly in the darkened room until one or the other of us would eventually fall asleep. We often laughed until we cried at some of the funny stories she would tell me. Now that Aunt Helen is gone, I need to start writing some of those stories down while I can still remember them. I probably could fill an entire book because there were so many of them! 

It makes me sad to think that Aunt Helen is gone now, but I am comforted by the thought that she is reunited with her dear husband, her sisters and my grandparents. I'm sure they are probably all sitting around laughing reminiscing about the good old days!

Winter Wonderland

It looks a lot like this snow globe where I live lately. Snow, snow and MORE snow is coming this weekend. Windy and below zero temperatures. It's pretty to look at from the inside, but not so pleasant to be outside in this kind if weather. 

Happy New Year

Merry Christmas!

The cooking, the baking, the shopping, and the wrapping are all done. Now it's time to enjoy!

Wishing you all a blessed Christmas and a wonderful New Year filled with lots of happy memories!