Happy New Year 2013

Wishing You and Yours

Health, Happiness and Love

in 2013

Love Always,

Kim

Merry Christmas Everyone

     The world needs love, more love. We need to care for ourselves as well as those less fortunate. Let us say a prayer for all of those in need and have faith that 2013 will be a brighter year for everyone.

Love Always,

Kim

Anonymous Email

Twas' 11 days before Christmas, around 9:38
When 20 beautiful children stormed through heaven's gate.
Their smiles were contagious, their laughter filled the air.
They could hardly believe all the beauty they saw there.
They were filled with such joy; they didn't know what to say.
They remembered nothing of what had happened earlier that day.
"Where are we?" asked a little girl, as quiet as a mouse.
"This is heaven." declared a small boy. "We’re spending Christmas at God's house."
When what to their wondering eyes did appear,
But Jesus, their savior, the children gathered near.
He looked at them and smiled, and they smiled just the same.
Then He opened His arms and He called them by name.
And in that moment was joy, that only heaven can bring
Those children all flew into the arms of their King
And as they lingered in the warmth of His embrace,
One small girl turned and looked at Jesus' face.
And as if He could read all the questions she had
He gently whispered to her, "I'll take care of mom and dad."
Then He looked down on earth, the world far below
He saw all of the hurt, the sorrow, and woe
Then He closed His eyes and He outstretched His hand,
"Let My power and presence re-enter this land!"
"May this country be delivered from the hands of fools"
"I'm taking back my nation. I'm taking back my schools!"
Then He and the children stood up without a sound.
"Come now my children let me show you around."
Excitement filled the space, some skipped and some ran.
All displaying enthusiasm that only a small child can.
And I heard Him proclaim as He walked out of sight,
"In the midst of this darkness, I AM STILL THE LIGHT."

 

Love Always,

Kim

One last card

     This is the last card that I am making for this Christmas and I wanted to share it with you. I had a wonderful day today. I was able to get many things accomplished. I have ordered the turkey for Christmas dinner. The tree is up and decorated. I have made my menu and I know how I am going to be setting the table.

     We received a little bit of snow this morning and the weather man says we may even have a white Christmas. Now wouldn't that be really nice. Hope you had a great day too.

Love Always,

Kim

     

Sunday Afternoon

     It is Sunday afternoon and I have finished another Christmas card. It is quiet now but the forecast is calling for freezing rain. I don't have to go anywhere today thank Heavens. I sat and watched a nuthatch busy on our big maple tree a while ago. The squirrels have been extremely busy lately. Yesterday afternoon I just happened to look up and there was a raccoon walking behind our car at the end of the drive. A little later he was making his way back up the yard and onto the neighbouring lawn. It is very unusual to see them in the middle of the day. He was waddling as he went; he must have been looking for some food.

     I love this pretty image of the lady with her gorgeous hat and coat. She needed a pretty border and I think the pale green damask looks really nice against the red. Can you believe that there are only 15 days until Christmas? Hope you are enjoying your weekend.

Love Always,

Kim

Bunnies in the Sleigh

     I have another card ready for my Christmas list. This image is so sweet with all the bunnies dressed in their finest and bundled to keep out the cold. The temperature has dipped below the zero mark here and I am sipping tea while wrapped in my favourite fuzzy blanket to keep warm. The chickadees and nuthatches come frequently to our feeder and the squirrels are hiding precious bits of food for the coming months all over the backyard. The cats spend many hours watching all the fun.

     We are heading out tomorrow to do some Christmas shopping at the stores. This will be the first time that we have set foot inside a store. We really love the convenience of shopping online. It is much nicer to sit at home in your favourite chair than to pound the pavement in some mall. Have a wonderful day.

Love Always,

Kim

Santa Christmas Card

     Here is another of my Christmas cards for this year. I love this Santa with his white hair and beard and his rosy cheeks. I hope you are having a wonderful day.

Love Always,

Kim

Joining Karen at GraphicsFairy for Brag Monday

     I have always loved making Christmas cards for family and friends. This is my newest card. I love pink and so when I saved the original image from the Graphics Fairy I knew that I would use it this year in my card making. Some people like to make one card and use it for everyone. I love to choose an image and make a special card for almost everyone. I have so many images in my files sometimes it is hard to choose just one.

     Today I am sharing my card at Brag Monday over at the Graphics Fairy. Just click on the link to see all the wonderful things that Karen has to share with you today.

Love Always,

Kim

Reminiscing

At Christmas time I usually reminisce about my life. I think about the wonderful times of Christmas past. Christmas Eve is only a month away. I was taking some pictures today and when I put them into my computer I also looked at a few pictures of the kittens. They were born just before Christmas. There are 6 little kittens in the first picture; they are only a few days old. My husband has one of the kittens cradled in his hands. What a beautiful little baby. The last picture is of Rudy and Eva the momma of all of the litters. She was a wonderful mother. She is no longer with us but she lives on in our hearts.

We have received our first taste of winter. I heard the snow plow on the main street this morning very early. It is still snowing; large flakes are being tossed and swirled by the wind before they land gently on the ground. The temperature if hovering around 0 degrees Celsius so it probably won't last. Hope you are enjoying a lovely weekend.

Love Always,

Kim

I am getting in the spirit of Christmas early this year. I am looking forward to the season with plans for the lights and making the turkey with all the trimmings. I just love the smell of the turkey wafting through the house all day. Besides the turkey my most favourite things to make is the Christmas pudding. It is my grandmother's recipe and I will be making it again this year.

I have made a couple of Christmas cards already. Today I am sharing with you my Santa card. I used Karen's Santa image as well as quite a few of her snowflake images.

I am joining Karen for Brag Monday at the Graphics Fairy.

Getting ready to meet the new dog!

I received this picture from my cousin today. She knows that I am a cat lover. This is the first email I opened this morning. It is really good to laugh from deep down in your belly first thing in the morning. Hope you have a wonderful day.

P.S. No, we are not getting a dog, in case you were wondering.

Love Always,

Kim

Happy Thanksgiving

 

Thanksgiving Day has rolled around again. It is hard to believe that all the beautiful flowers and leaves will be just a memory soon. It has been unusually cool here for this time of year. We have had high winds, rain, hail and grey skies. I already miss going to the beach.

We will be having our Thanksgiving dinner is two weeks when my brother and his wife come up to the cottage from the big city. I am looking forward to making the pumpkin pie. I love to bake. One holiday I made a pumpkin cheesecake with caramel sauce. It was truly the best cheesecake that I have ever eaten and my guests were of the same opinion.

So for all of you that are celebrating or not this weekend I wish you well.

Love Always,

Kim

Beautiful Blue Bedroom

This morning I found this picture of a bedroom designed by Bryan Batt. I had never heard of him. Upon a bit more reading I found out that he is a designer, actor and an author. He has written a book called, ' big easy Style, creating rooms you love to live in." Isn't that what decorating is all about?  I certainly do like his style. This is a bedroom that I would feel so comfortable in. The bedroom reminds me of my grandmother and the way her guest room looked when I was a child. 

It is a peaceful room and I love the simplicity. I wanted to share this with you. Have a wonderful day!

Love Always,

Kim

My letterhead at Antique Images

Today one of the letterheads that I have designed is being showed by Carolyn at Antique Images. I made my letterhead with her little bluebird image. He is so sweet and I knew the minute I saw him that I would have to use him in one of my letterheads. I have been following Carolyn at Antique images for some time. She has amazing images that you can use for all kinds of projects. So hop on over to her blog and take a look. 

Click below to go to her blog. Enjoy!

Carolyn at Antique Images

Thank you, Carolyn.

Love Always,

Kim

The Most Wonderful Time of Day

     It is Sunday morning and my most favourite time of the day. It is just around 7:00 a.m. The sun is shining through the leaves of our maple tree and all the birds are singing. They actually start to sing at 4:00 a.m. but I was fast asleep. I can hear the starlings whistling and trilling and I here a little chickadee. I heard a cardinal calling off in the distance. It seems that this morning it is too early for the insects to be flying. How nice. Chubbie loves to be in the backyard in the nice weather and sometimes he sits beside me in the other chair while I drink my tea in peace.

     We have a bullfrog in our pond and he seems to like to call out first thing in the morning or when the sun starts to set. The baby starlings have left their nest. We won't see them anymore but there will be another nest next spring. Occasionally overhead I here the sea gulls, just one or two perhaps. We have had a lot of little chipping sparrows in the yard but they do not come until mid-afternoon much to the delight of all of our cats. I am sure they like to pretend they are great hunters but in fact they only watch.

     There is a mourning dove gently cooing in the neighbour's tree. They always seem to be in pairs; it is so romantic. Right now there is a robin sifting through the leaves looking for her breakfast and a bright coloured goldfinch on his way to another feeder.

     Our neighbour rescued a baby raccoon a couple of months back; it's mother was dead. Sarah told me she fed him with a bottle. Every once in a while I can hear him; he makes a funny little sound. If you have every been around a raccoon you would recognize the sound immediately. Sarah named the raccoon Bill. What a funny name for a raccoon.

     Well I think I should get myself some breakfast and maybe another pot of tea. I wish all of you a wonderful day.

Love Always,

Kim

Today is my Birthday

     Today is my birthday so I am posting a beautiful pink rose. I spent a wonderful afternoon at the beach yesterday to celebrate my birthday with my dear friend Mary and her daughter Madeline. We had a great time and the day was perfect.

     We are off to the beach again today and this evening we will have a romantic dinner for two at home. Tomorrow we will be celebrating with family at their cottage. I think this is a wonderful three day birthday celebration. Lucky me.

Love Always,

Kim

A Picture for our Front Hall

    I have been working on this picture this afternoon. I wanted something different to hang in our front hall to welcome our guests. I wanted to share it with you. I love little birds and these are particularly precious. Now all I have to do is find the perfect frame. Have a wonderful day.

Love Always,

Kim

I hope that everyone is enjoying a wonderful weekend!

Love Always,

Kim

My New Card

Have a wonderful weekend.

Love Always,

Kim

Pink Roses

     I just had to share this pretty sign with you. Have a beautiful day!

Love Always,

Kim

A Few Things

When I dream I always dream in colour. This picture reminds me of dreaming. 

Kim

     My father took this picture of me when I was about a year old. My mother is holding me in the back seat of the car. I must have loved pink and I still do. I have a sweater that I wear all the time that looks just like the one in the picture.

 

     I have been thinking about my birthday. It is just around the corner. I would like to make a pink cake just like this one. I love cake. This one is so pretty with the pink cake and white icing. The recipe calls for almond extract in the cake. Sounds so yummy.

     We have a number of farms close to us where they grow everything they sell. Right now the strawberries are in. When the farm opens where you can pick your own I want to pick some strawberries and make some jam. I have my grandmother's recipe for strawberry jam. She used to make her jam with wild strawberries. I hope my jam turns out like hers.

     

     I hope that everyone is having a great day.

 

Love Always,

Kim

Happy Mother's Day

     I am joining Beverly at How Sweet the Sound
for Pink Saturday.

To all the mother's I know
and those I don't,

Have a wonderful Mother's Day
and to all those joining
Beverly

Have a wonderful Pink Saturday!

Love Always,
Kim

 

My Cottage Dream House

source unknown

     Sometimes you find something and you just know you were meant to see it. That happened when I found this picture. When I was young I dreamed of having a home and decorating it to suite my taste. I could see in my mind the house, the fence and all the pretty flowers growing in my garden.

     I have always loved roses especially pink ones; the paler the better. I wouldn't pass up a rose of another colour but pink ones are my favourite. I have a large file of inspiration pictures and I keep finding things that I love. I always try to write what I love about a certain picture for future reference. 

     This past weekend Connie at Living Beautifully posted a picture of a gorgeous little cottage. All it said about the house was Fig Tree Cottage.

     So I googled it and found there were many Fig Tree Cottages but this one is in Australia and you can stay there. So this picture is now in my file.

source

     Just is case you love roses as much as I do here are a few more pictures for you.

Vintage Rose Image

David Austen Pink Roses

source unknown

Victorian Rose Card

Pink Roses 

source unknown

Love Always,

Kim

My Blue Heaven

 

source unknown

     We have an attic in our home. We had the insulation installed and now we are just waiting to have the drywall done. I have been trying to figure out how to put the room to good use. We have to use some of it for storage. You know things like Christmas decorations, out of season clothes, lamps that I haven't found a home for as yet. I found this picture and I fell in love with it. Blue is my favourite colour. I love mahogany furniture and I have a beautiful writing desk that I need to refinish. I also have a lamp similar to the one on the desk. This is perfect inspiration for a room that I can call my own.

     I have a small wooden chair that fits my desk; perhaps I will paint it blue. I am going to move our loveseat from the living room to the attic so I will have a comfortable place to sit. I will blog, drink tea, daydream and maybe entertain my friends. It will be fun to make my dream come true.

Love Always,

Kim

Cat in a Box

     Do your cats like to be in a box? Chubby likes to be in a box. Any old box will do. It seems the smaller the better for him.

    
     As you can see this is a really small box. We came home one evening and found that he had taken the box off of the kitchen cabinets and put it where he wanted it, the floor. He was sitting in the box when we walked in.

     There is nothing like a happy cat. Hope you are having a wonderful weekend.

Love Always,

Kim

Pink Saturday

     I am joining Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for Pink Saturday and to celebrate Easter and Spring. I have made this card for Easter and I think that it covers Spring as well. Thank you to Karen at The Graphics Fairy for her lovely images and as well thank you to Carolyn at Antique Images.

     Happy Spring and have a wonderful Easter Weekend. Think Pink.

Love Always,

Kim

Vintage Charm Dining Room

     I came across this gorgeous dining room last night while I was reading my emails. It was sent to my by Style at Home. With spring here and the weather getting warm I will soon be able to start painting my breakfast room furniture. This picture brings together all the elements that I was thinking about. It looks like spring doesn't it? I wanted to share it with you. There are many other wonderful things at styleathome.com so just click here and take a look. Have a wonderful day!

Love Always,

Kim

Avoir une Bonne Journée

Have a good day!

Love Always,

Kim

Happy Pink Saturday

     I am joining Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for Pink Saturday.

Have a wonderful day.

Love Always,

Kim

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Have a wonderful weekend.

Love Always,

Kim

She's a Cutie

     I cannot remember where this little bunny came from. I saved the picture because I wanted to make one that looks just like her. Isn't she sweet with her little Paisley patterned dress and sweater with room for her ears? I am sure there are plenty of little girls that would love a bunny like this one. 

     Have a wonderful day!

Love Always,

Kim

In the Garden

     Today I have this darling card with three little children and their dog to share with you. The children are picking the daffodils that will probably sit on the table in their kitchen. The little girl with the bonnet is so sweet; she is trying to put blossoms on the dog's head. I love the stone wall and the wooden gate. The garden looks so peaceful. I hope that you have a wonderful weekend.

Love Always,

Kim

A Sunny Day

     This picture reminds me of spring. This lovely lady is sitting doing some sewing while the sunlight shines in her kitchen window making it easier to see her work. I wonder what she could be sewing. Perhaps she is making something new or just doing some necessary mending.

     Have a wonderful day no matter what you are doing.

Love Always,

Kim

Victorian, Edwardian and Vintage

Dear Friends,

     I come from a long line of seamstresses. My grandmother was amazing at it. My mother was as well. When I was 11 years old my girlfriend Stacey and I learned how to sew on a machine that her mother had in their basement. I took Home Ec. as we called it then. They do not teach this anymore. That is a shame. I adored my teacher in Junior High School. She allowed me to use her machine and I guess I was teacher's pet. I loved to sew and made most of my wardrobe for many years.

     I began to admire clothing from yesteryear, not only Vintage but Victorian and Edwardian. The clothes were so well made with details that you just do not find in the retail industry today. I started purchasing clothes from vintage stores. Today I am going to share some things that I have found on line and that I love. I hope that you enjoy them as well.

 

 

 

     Have a wonderful day.

Love Always,

Kim