Snowy days make me feel thankful

We had a bit of snow today.  It made everything look just like a winter wonderland.

Walking in a winter wonderland...

 This winter has been quite mild here in Massachusetts.  So the snow was a welcome sight.

I had put my little outdoor pillow of my Let it snow design on my bench outside.  My snowman looked right at home out there.

 For Valentine's Day decorations I decorated the tree outside with hearts and lights.

The snow makes it almost look like it's Christmas again.  When it snows, I love being home, making soup and feeling cozy at home.

Now that we have turned the snow on, I hear that next Monday and Tuesday we are going to have lots more.  Sarah and Mike are on their way to Florida to visit Disney World.

The boys will be sledding and snowboarding now that they are finally feeling better.  They had the worst virus that just wouldn't go away.

I have been spending time lately reading the Bible and listening to sermons.  Remembering to be thankful for all of God's blessings.

I read the other morning that God has given us the spirit of thankfulness to be the solution to feelings of despair.  God has given us the Joy of the Lord as our strength.  The cloak of praise is the best armor we can put on every morning before we start our day.

I am thankful for so many blessings, and especially thankful for you.

Happy New Year 2016

So, Christmas is over and we all scramble to take down the Christmas decorations.  I usually feel sad to see the decorations go, but I am back in New England and our first snow arrived today.  This always makes me scramble to take down the outside decorations before they are frozen in place until March.

Just in case you have chilly weather where you are, here's a nice warm fire.  I don't have a fireplace in my bedroom. So I often bring my laptop in my bedroom and put this on, while I read.

There will be lots of fun things coming up for us in 2016.  My third grandchild is due early May, so I'll be planning a baby shower.  We don't know whether it's a girl or a boy, Sarah and Mike want to be surprised.

Speaking of March, I am thinking that March works best for a baby shower, since Sarah is due in early May.  Yet, it can be very snowy in March.  Here's hoping that we have another stretch of mild weather like we enjoyed this December. I took the photo of the icicles last February.

And so the winter begins, with lots of snow.  There will be snowmen to build and...

pretty scenes to memorize.

The year 2016 will be filled with lots of blessings.

Wishing you a safe and happy New Year's Eve and New Year's Day!

P.S. I went to see STAR WARS with Sarah and Mike.  Loved it so much.  They took me to a newly renovated theater nearby that has assigned seating, and the most comfortable reclining leather seats ever.  I remember seeing the original in Manhattan in 1977 at the Loews Astor Theatre.  One of the largest screens to see the amazing first Star Wars.  I lived in New York then, and my friend Rachel and I became Star Wars buddies and saw all their movies together.

Here's a photo of my friend Joyce's Christmas gift to them.  Baby Star Wars toys.  How cute is that?

Brrr it's cold in Boston

My flight from Raleigh to Boston was wonderful.  I was truly amazed at how much snow had fallen in Boston.  Here's a wonderful bit of music to add to the chill in the air.

I was in Wellesley, Massachusetts the other day, and when I saw the icicles on this house, I just had to stop and take some photographs. Yikes, that's allot of ice!

Oh, and there was some very cold weather to prevent the ice from melting.  Causing all kinds of havoc to homeowners in the area.

As you drove down the streets it was a common sight to see men on rooftops trying to shovel the snow so that their roofs didn't collapse.

I had someone come over and remove the snow and ice from above our roof near the skylights.

Both skylights were leaking which caused quite a bit of damage to the ceiling and walls.  My pretty gazebo looks like an iced cupcake.

We had some other damage to our family room ceiling.  Here's the view from the front of our house.

However, the Insurance agent said that we were lucky compared to other damages that he had inspected.  

I am hoping to capture some pretty snow photos over the weekend.

We celebrated Brayden's birthday on the 25th.

Next weekend is Brayden's birthday party, so this week will be filled with lots of planning fun.

Thank you for stopping by and please stay warm.

Shabby Chic Love and Mickey Mouse

I have been having so much fun designing a new Shabby Chic fabric collection called Once Upon A Time.  Here is Cole Porter, You Do Something to Me. I love old movies and old music and when this old world gets a bit overwhelming, I just lose myself in the olden days.

I painted watercolor pink roses and bluebirds and added some hand-drawn rose bouquets.  Roses and ribbons have always been a special favorite of mine.

I hope that you had a lovely Valentine's Day.

Designing some new Shabby Chic fabrics, always keeps me happy.

This design is part of my new Once Upon A Time fabric collection.  Here are some of the other designs in the collection.

Experiments with more of my own hand-drawn designs and watercolor roses have been more enjoyable and fun.  I have always felt the pressure to learn Adobe Illustrator like all the grown-up surface designers use.  But thanks to Molly Hatch's class on Creative Live, I learned that using my own hand-drawn designs works perfectly for my style.



I am so pleased how they have printed and that they look more like me.

Despite the snowy New England weather, I am getting ready to hopefully fly back to Boston later this week.  It's my Grandson, Brayden's birthday and we are planning a Mickey Mouse party.

My daughter Ashley and her friend Ashleigh of  Ashleigh Olson Photography  got together and photographed Brayden for a cake smash.  I love her photographs!

Her other friend Keri created two amazing Micky Mouse cakes for the cake smash.

Here is another wonderful cake that Keri created. Um, well it was amazing!

There is an amazing shop on Etsy that creates some amazing Mickey Mouse papers.  I used them to create Brayden's invitations.  They are called Paperland, and they have a beautiful selection of papers to use.

Now you know why I called this post Shabby Chic and Mickey Mouse.  I will catch up again when I get back to Boston.  We have had a bit of snow here in North Carolina too, so fingers crossed I will be able to fly home without delays.  

So, I am off to visit my snowy wonderland to make a snowman with my grandsons and plan a party with my daughters.

P.S.  All of the people and places that I have mentioned did not pay me to advertise.  They are just people and places that I adore.