Easter Bunny's Trail

I haven't decorated my home for different seasons nearly as much, now that I'm single. It seemed like a lot of effort and no one to enjoy it. But today after looking at all your cute Easter themed blogs that I thought to myself...If NO ONE BUT ME see my bunnies....that's enough! But now I'm inviting you to hop down my bunny trail...come on!!!!!

I got my boxes labelled "SPRING" down from the attic and begin reacquainting myself with some old "friends". I hung this cute "Hop On In" sign on my backdoor for all my Backdoor Friends to see (and you know what they say about Backdoor Friends...they are the BEST!) Sitting beside the sign is my stuffed bunny from, I dare say, from my Easter Basket at least 45 years ago. Does anyone have any good ideas on how to clean this sweet little rabbit safely?

I'm really not so sure this mantle will stay the same. The bunnies just don't look right with the dark paint and Venice artwork. MAYBE I'll find something to put in place of this picture and I will like the look more.

The crystal deviled-egg server was in my cabinet and thought it made a good center piece for the kitchen table.

I have a thing for EXTRA tall bunnies and ones with very long legs...hehe! Since my home has a lot of red, gold, olive green....I'm just not satisfied with the look of the pastel bunnies. This is the OTHER mantle I have (it's a two sided fireplace). Any tips on how to incorporate Spring into a house with these colors? Are there too many bunnies up there....should I take one of the group of bunnies down?

Here's a simple little raffia bunny and the metal lamp beside her is filled with yellow eggs to match the gold wall.

The fun thing about not decorating for a while, is that when I opened the boxes it was like Christmas. I'd forgotten some of the cute things I had. This little bunny is iron and very heavy. I like the way he's stretched out and relaxed.

I got this cute patriotic bunny at a craft show during Desert Storm. I think his red pants make him fit right in on my kitchen window sill.

This metal bunny opens up to accomodate a candle so that the light shines through all the holes. The other bunny is ceramic and has such a great look on his little face. There are a couple of eggs peaking through the greenery but it looks like I need to "tweak" the arrangement a bit so you can see them. Thanks goodness for photographs...they help us to see our "mistakes" so we can correct them, right?

This is a sweet ceramic bunny that was my mother's. She had admired it and my sister bought it for her to enjoy on one of her last Easter's with us. Thanks for HOPPING by! I enjoyed having you see my bunny trail!

Three Young Girls

I'm joining up with Tam's Three or More Tuesday today. You can find Ms. Tam at Gypsy Corner

This picture is my sister, Donna (right), my cousin, Martha (middle) and me (left). This was taken approximately 1967-68??? We were at our Grandparent's house, about to go to another cousins wedding.

We were QUITE the fashionista's, weren't we! LOL!

PS: I would kill to have that lamp, table and the cool front door in the background!

Are You Adventurous and Have Big Dreams??

I've always thought of myself as somewhat adventurous.--willing to try new things and go new places. Do you? My dream once was to move somewhere like New York City for a year. I'd love to be able to soak up the culture and diversity; poke around the different neighborhoods; walk or take the subway to work; live a completely different lifestyle than my life here in Houston, Texas. Manhattan would be a great place to settle and have a job in a creative industry; maybe at a magazine, a fashion house or the theatre! I know it's a dream but if you're gonna dream, dream big, RIGHT?!?

Today, an opportunity was thrown at me that surprisingly threw me for a loop. There a VERY remote chance I could transfer to Europe and work for at least 3 years. When my supervisor called and told me about the position, I laughed and didn't think she was serious. I very quickly said..."OMG...I can't go"? What about the language, the living arrangements, my dog/cat, my friends....? How's THAT for being professional...!!! UGHHH...I'm just a big wienie!

I surprised myself. Now that a REAL opportunity arises I chicken out and back-peddle. Have I've gotten too old for adventure and now I'm too settled? I'm a home owner and a pet owner now....is that what is making a big difference?

It turns out the position would most likely be in London...which at LEAST I sort of speak the language...they DO speak Texan there, don't they?

This is all in the very preliminary stages and not a done deal by any means (probably the chances are 1-1,000 that I would be offered the position)....but I'm certainly wondering if all along I've just been a big talker and never intended to do anything adventurous?

Have YOU had dreams, and then faced with the possibility that they might actually come true, you cave and run straight for your old, safe, familiar life and ultimately never fulfill your dreams? Just curious.......

Spring Yard Work

When the yards in your neighborhood are 1/3 of an acre, it's a good idea to recruit friends to assist with yard work. Below is a picture of my yard last spring before I had the stone patio installed (more about that on another post). The picture is taken from the deck outside my dining room. The building on the left is the garage and attached to the back of the garage is the game room (aka known as the Martini Lounge). In the very back is my cute little storage shed. A single girl needs help with the big yard work so I've lured some friends (and their hubby's) over to help with the MANLY things! My friend Susan A is a Master Gardener (just look at her lush yard behind us) and she loves to share plants. WOOHOO....!! She's holding cuttings from her 10 foot tall Angel Trumpets. We ALL got to take some home.

Jeff got the job of dividing the huge ginger plants. They smell divine when you cut the stalks...just like Ginger Root . We all got a huge trash bag of ginger to plant at home.

After all the digging, we brought the Mother Lode back to my house to plant. Since I'm not a very good digger or planter (however, I'm the best darn water-er around)...I decided to take pictures of pretty flowers in my yard and the next door neighbors yards. I just LOVE the pretty passion flower that grows on my deck railing. It looks fuchsia in the pic but its really a deep red.

Don't you love the view of my next door neighbors yard? A lot of this flower bed got ruined when IKE blew threw. Many of those big trees in the easement behind the fence fell over into the yards. Neither of our houses, garages or sheds were damaged by trees so we feel very blessed. We can ALWAYS plant more flowers, right!?!?!?

Back in MY yard, the Bougainvillea is beginning to bloom. This is a pretty pinkish/orange bloom and it gets beaten down by 100 degree sunshine in the summer.

On the other side of this fence is my other next door neighbors pool. We have a gate between the two back yards and it's nice to be able to wander over for a dip after hot yard work! This neighbor, (Tyra--from a previous post regarding the Yaya Chique) is also a VERY good gardener and helps me with my yard work. We trade off and she helps in my yard and I help her decorate her house....great trade off, huh?!?! The bird of paradise is planted near a beautiful rock waterfall.

Hibiscus do really well here in South Texas and I particularly like this red and white one. It looks so happy and fresh.

Morning glories are very prolific here too. They climb up the fences and are 75 feet up in the pine trees in the backyard. They grow like pretty weeds.

I WAS planning on doing more yard work today...but the weather had different plans. We are having a cold and rainy day here so my plans are thwarted. I think Ms. Riley has the right idea. She got back in bed and got under the covers.

I hope YOU are HAVING SOME FUN this weekend even though Mother Nature might not be cooperating in your neck of the woods!!!!

Three or More

Tam, over at the Gypsy Corner http://gypsycorner.blogspot.com/ is having a cool little post feature today..."Three or More - Tuesday'". Last week I posted about my Coca Cola collection and Susan at Between Naps on the Porch http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/ suggested that I post on Tam's Three or More....so here I go. It's so fun how people spread the word via blog....Thanks Tam and Susan! In my kitchen window sill, sites a tiny ceramic six pack of cokes, the box hinges open and there is a tiny bottle opener inside. I can always refer to my tiny Coke Date books if I'm running short on ideas for what to do on an exciting night out on the town, enjoying Coca-Cola!

These are three favorite Coca Cola Postcards a friend brought me back from the Coca Cola Museum in Atlanta, Georgia. As you can tell I'm particularly fond of Girls and their Coke!

The Coke bottle in the corner is a wooden one that I bought at a craft fair. I love the way they painted it to look like it was "sweating"....it looks like it ready to be sipped as a refreshing beverage!

Blue Monday---Italian Style

Ciao and Happy Blue Monday! I'm giving this "Blue Monday" thing a whirl. Smiling Sal at http://smilingsally.blogspot.com/ is hosting this event. The first picture is of the Blue Train that runs between the five cities of Cinque Terra...one of the most beautiful places on earth. Cinque Terra (Five Lands) is on the northwestern coast of Italy...it's a picturesque community that is similiar to Portofino but still has a lot of the old world charm. Don't you wish YOU could sail around admiring the beautiful scenery in this sailboat? This was the view from my tiny 3rd floor, walk-up hotel room.

Here's a closer in shot that captures the boats that dock and brought in fresh seafood. This is also the region that invented PESTO,. They also invented a special pasta (???can't remember name) that should be served with the pesto. It's got all sorts of squiggles and wiggles/nooks and crannies in it to allow the pesto to cover the pasta completely. YUMMMM......

This is a typical fruit and vegetable market. Notice the passage way to the left...it's their version of an alley...so picturesque, right?

Since this is a seaside community, the cats are smart and wait by the boats for the fishermen to bring in their catch.

I could have sat on this rock wall for days. Such a BEAUTIFUL view and the weather was gorgeous!! CIAO BELLA....hope you enjoyed Blue Monday...Italian Style!

I'm Hooked On Coke

Coca-Cola that is! This is the piece that started my love of Coke. This is a metal toy truck my father (born in 1926) played with as a boy. Growing up it was my all time favorite toy to play with at my grandmother's house. There are only five of the original "coke" bottles and the other side is "empty" so I always display it with this side showing. It's probably worth a nice amount of change but I would NEVER part with it. This cast iron truck was found an antique store but the Coca-Cola logo is a decal--so it's not the real deal but I like how it fits into my collection.

My window sill has my little, bitty Coke collectibles. I'm particularly fond of the ads portraying ladies....usually 1965 and earlier.

This piece was made out of a Coca-Cola calendar. I modge podged the logo over a frame tin tile decoration. I THINK there was a picture of a rooster underneath. I like roosters but I glued the Coke logo over the rooster ...and voila!

Here's another view of my kitchen window. The little six pack of Cokes is a cute Limoge type box. It has hinges and opens to reveal a tiny bottle opener inside.

These four-mat frames suited my Coca-Cola postcard collection perfectly. A coat of golden wall paint on the previously white mats made the look more custom to my kitchen. (I TOLD you I paint EVERYTHING!...LOL!)

Same for these pics....I think the continuity of the gold frames pulls all the pics together.

And just a few more postcards.....

That's about it for the kitchen decoration....check back later to see my Coca Cola yard art. All this talk about Coke is making me thirsty....I'm gonna go get me a big, icy Coke.