Beautiful Baskets

Is there anyone out there who shares my

Obsession

for

Baskets?

Aren't these the most

Beautiful Baskets?!!

And the really cool thing is...

they were

Handmade

by

My Very Dear Friend

Carey.

I am so amazed by her talent!

Each one is lovelier than the last.

It is hard to choose a favorite.

Carey has long been a

 gifted knitter

&

absolute

Queen of Crochet

but this too.....

Come on now!

So much talent in one sweet person :)))

And by day

she's a

Nurse Practitioner.

This little beauty is

mine all mine :)))

She made me a

Tea Basket

for my birthday!

And filled it with teabags

&

a handmade teabag dish.

She even signed the bottom for me.

As much as I love baskets...

there's nothing that compares to

Good Friends!

Thanks Carey ~

I love you!

Meet Mr. Darcy

On Sunday afternoon my sister

Bridget

brought me a gift.

I had been thinking I might enjoy watching a pretty fish

float around while I am in my upstairs office.

So I pulled a pretty crystal rose bowl out of the china cabinet

and made it ready,

thinking I would go fish shopping one day this week.

Instead I got a lovely surprise ~

Bridget showed up with this gorgeous

Beta.

I love how colorful he is.

Such a beautiful creature needed a special name...

So~

Meet

Mr. Darcy.

Isn't he pretty?

I especially love the turquoise blue across his body.

And speaking of

turquoise blue...

I finally finished my third pair of

Crocheted Socks :)

These are for my friend

Mary Anne.

She has been off work with a back injury.

I decided she needed a little something soft and snuggly to comfort her.

She was delighted!

Isn't it fun to give gifts :)))

And back to my sister

Bridget ~

I just can't resist telling you this little story...

Last night Bridget decided she would walk

to my  house and join us for Knit Night.

Her favorite coffee shop is along the way.

The girls in there saw her going by and waved her in for a nice chat.

She pulled her crochet work out to get a few stitches in while they visited.

And this is what happened~

If you look closely

you will see

that she crocheted

{and connected!}

her work around the strap of the bag!

They all got a good laugh out of that...

and when she arrived at my house...

well....

we had to laugh some more!

So today's post has gone from

Fish

to

Frog.

For my Dear Sister

must now get busy

frogging

that bit of nonsense.

A Trip to Versailles

I've taken a trip to

Versailles

this week~

well....okay....

not really.

But I have painted everything

that didn't get out of my way

in this lovely shade of

Versailles

green.

Before

After :)))

I am in love with this

Annie Sloan  Chalk Paint!

I have the  most charming Vintage store

~Second Betty's~

 just across the street

about a half a block up from my house.

And it is owned by the most delightful couple ~

Mike and Cindy.

Not only do they have lovely items of all sorts,

they also carry this fabulous paint.

I purchased this dining room table about 3 years ago

from another shop downtown when it closed.

The owner had used it in her farmhouse at one time.

Although I love it, I always intended to paint it.

I am quite happy with the fresh new look!

I think I will purchase a can of

Old White

and repaint the legs with it.

While in the midst of my painting frenzy,

I happened to spy a coffee table sitting on the curb 2 doors over.

The young man is moving out and no longer wanted it :)

So....

I helped myself!

This is what it looked like.

Ick!!!

But NO WORRIES....

I had plenty of paint left.

This is what it looks like now :)))

It's just perfect under the window in my upstairs office.

I really needed a place for my overflow of books

{and, of course, a few more pretties}.

So~

What have all of you been up to this fine week?

P.S. My Mother began to worry I might paint the dogs if they didn't stay out of the way.

Well... there is still some paint in the can.....

Baby Shells

I crocheted this baby blankie for

my granddaughter

Gabby

who is now a whole 6 years old.

Does time ever fly?!!

I ran across it this morning

and realized I had never taken any photos of it.

The darling wicker buggy it is draped over

is a gift Grammy found at an antique store

when Mommy was expecting Gabby.

There's just nothing quite like baby things.

Everything that has to do with babies is always so

soft

&

pure.

And I love to wrap new baby's in crocheted shells.

Hope you are all having a beautiful day!

P.S. In case anyone has noticed

I am having Picasa Web issues.

On Sunday I nearly had a heart attack

when I realized that all of a sudden almost all

of my past blog posts no longer have any pictures!

I am working on trying to get them back.

If anyone has any clue as to what I should do

PLEASE HELP!!!

Make Mine Pink

I just LOVE

re~making

re~doing

re~using

&

re~cycling.

Especially when  I can make something

pretty

&

{you guessed it!}

*pink*!

And if I can stick a

rose

on it

Well....

that just makes my day :)))

So here's today's project all done up.

An old floor lamp that got left behind when my youngest

daughter

Chelsea

got married.

Mainly because it no longer has a switch on it.

There is a slot for one behind the handmade

clay button which I glued a plastic rose to.

I just plugged it into a power strip

that has an on off switch.

Yesterday I purchased some

Anne Sloan Chalk Paint in

Antoinette

&

now it has a new home next to my

Crocheting

Knitting

Reading

Chair

in my upstairs office.

I found this divinely comfy chair

back in the Winter

at the local thrift shop for just a few dollars.

This is what the fabric looks like

but I am not a lover of yellow and orange

{nothing against those of you who are}

I just always have to

make mine

pink

when possible.

Or green with pink roses in this case!

So I dug out this old quilt and tucked it around

then topped it off with a butterfly doily

&

tossed a pretty pink

heart shaped pillow on it.

And now I'm

Happy!

Summertime Crochet

Okay ~

So I am still

addicted to these lovely

Crocheted Socks.

I mean ~

they just

tickle me pink!

And, of course,

I had to make a pair in

*Pink*

for myself :)))

I love this shade of pink.

It has just a hint of lilac to it.

I used the same Queensland BeBe CotSoy yarn as

for the aqua socks.

It is so soft you feel like your feet are walking on clouds.

I have started another project in a gorgeous shade of

turquoise

in the same yarn.

And the good news is...

I  have enough skeins in this color for

another pair of

Socks!

Sweet Summer Socks

A few days ago I picked up the newest issue of

Simply Crochet

It's hands down my favorite

crochet magazine ever!

{You can find me lurking about in Barnes & Noble

just waiting to exhale

when I finally get my hands on it}.

Each issue is chockfull of 

the cutest

projects just screaming my name :)))

These lovely lacy socks were my first pick

this time around.

They were designed by the darling Vicki Brown

of

Lilley Stitches

I mean....Really!!!

And they were so easy to make.

I sat on the porch swing yesterday with the perfect breeze

gently billowing around me

and crocheted my little heart out.

Throughout the day my

Mother

Sister

Daughter

Granddaughter

and finally

Hubby

were all spectators of my

perfectly

Lazy Summer Day.

We all have to have one of those every now and then.

And at the end of the day ~

Voila'

a pair of

Sweet Summer Socks.

Today's project?

A pretty pair in

*pink*

{shhh.....Don't tell Hubby.....

I'm supposed to being cleaning the basement...}

The Time Has Come...

The Time Has Come

to talk of many things ~

just not of

shoes and ships and sealing wax

nor

cabbages and kings.

{That was SO last week!}

This week is full of its own beautiful things :)

Like this sweet vintage looking

Little Dress Potholder

I just added to my

Etsy Shop

AND ~

The newfound

freedom

of my precious

Baby Bunnies.

They were with me for 5 full weeks.

Remember?

This is where we started.

And now look at the chubby girls!

At ll:00 a.m. yesterday

Daisy & Violet

were released back into my garden.

It was a

sweet

happy

{and a little bit sad}

day.

My Son~In~Law

Eric

came over to video tape

Miss Gabby

&

Grammy

setting them free.

I tried to upload the video so you could all see the

Big Event.

However, I cannot get it to happen......

I will contact a Son~In~Law to get some help

and get back to you on that!

It was a lot of fun.

We spotted them several times throughout the day

running and playing together

&

eating in my garden

alongside the Mommy and Baby Squirrels.

And they have been seen a couple of times today.

I am so filled with joy that they survived and have

made it through their first day and night

out where God intended them to be :)))

Ahhh...

Life truly is GOOD!

And NO Girls ~

you CAN'T have rabbit stew for dinner!!!

Simple Saturday

Today I am going to have a

Simple Saturday.

Scott has taken himself off with a group of friends

for a baseball game

and will be gone till bedtime.

And after a week filled with birthday celebrations,

fence building,

and a holiday

I am ready for some down time.

This is the gorgeous cake my sister made me for my birthday.

I realized I had forgotten to show it to all of you.

The first picture shows the flowers my

Dear Friend Krista

brought to me for my birthday

and the sweet tea set my sister gifted me with.

But ~

back to today....

I plan to

drink tea

sit on the porch swing with my Bible

crochet a few stitches

and

keep all my animals fed.

Happy Saturday to All of You!

xo

  xo

  Danette

Alice in Wonderland Tea Party

For my birthday

my granddaughter

Gabby

wanted to throw me an

Alice in Wonderland Tea Party

at her house.

My Son~In~Law

Eric

came as

The Mad Hatter

He made this hat out of an old cowboy hat and blanket.

{Chelsea came as her darling self ~

a hostess that worked hard for her mother's

special party!}

The table was delightful from every angle.

I was the guest of honor so I had a special

Tea for One

Since PaPa {Sweet Hubby} was on vacation

he was able to join us as well.

Gabby was sure to instruct him on how to

"drink tea like a princess"

with pinky held high :)

Aunt Hilary {my beautiful first born} was able to take an extra long lunch break

from the library.

Grandma Brenda

{my Mom}

and

Aunt Bridgie

{my sister~ just barely visible to the left of the hat}

were also in attendance.

Jaxon

{Chelsea's dog}

came as

The Cheshire Cat

{that is until Gabby decided he would make a cute bunny}.

Good times were had by one and all!

They sure know how to make  me

Smile :))) 

OH!

And of course

Gabby

was there as well!