Little Pieces

I can think of few things more dainty and feminine than a fine bit of china, dotted sweetly here and there with little pink flowers. And I can think of no starker contrast to such sweet dainty-ness that a cold concrete basement floor, Iggy and the Stooges playing loudly in the background. However, that is exactly the scene I plunked myself right down in the middle of, armed with tile cutters and a devilish grin.

You see, the devilish grin was because I had big plans for these old plates. I had a new use for them, one grandma could never have imagined while serving Sunday dinners upon them. Nope, no longer would they be used to eat off of. Uh-uh. These plates, well, these plates were about to become accessories.

So, after a day with my trusty cutters, Iggy, and a good amount of tile adhesive, and another morning with my old friends Grout Bucket and Sponge, I had me some lovely new pendants. All that was left to do was add a bit of chain and some pretty what-nots, and then, just like that, grandma's old china has been turned into a little special something that can now be worn.

 Have a fancy day, my dears!

xo

A Little Bag O' Buttons

I love to organize things. Like, really, really love to organize. And organizing done in a pretty way? Swoon. Recently, it seems some of my little crafty this and thats have gotten a bit out of control, and could do with a bit of organizing. And, since I had a few of these:

and whole bunches of these:

I figured I'd make myself this:

Cute, no? Now...off to put things in a proper place!

xo

Orange Crush

I was in the produce store the other day. And I was thinking about cupcakes (Well, what else would I be thinking about while browsing produce?). I spied a pile of coconuts, and started musing on shreddy, coconut-textured frosting. The cupcakes themselves would have to be chocolate. Yes yes, definitely chocolate. And instead of adding regular old milk to the batter, I'd add coconut milk. That should work, right? Moments later, I walked out with a big old bag of blood oranges.

The cupcakes, of course, remained chocolate. But the frosting...oh, the frosting! The added blood orange gave it a perfectly pinky-orange hue, and the subtlest, most deliciously sweet and tart flavor. Pure bliss in a paper wrapper.

Wishing you a perfectly sweet and tangy weekend, dear readers!
xo

Certain A'Peel

So I've got this thing for old stuff. Old stuff has character. Old stuff has quirk. And, quite often, old stuff has chippy, peely paint. Nothing can set my heart all a-flutter in the middle of a junk-filled flea market quite like a bit of perfectly peely paint.

I have tried, with varying degrees of semi-success, to recreate an authentically peely look, with everything from sandpaper to wax to a hair dryer. But let's face it: nothing, and I do mean nothing, has that heart-fluttery goodness found in the flakes of authentically old and peely paint.

Hoping the day holds much appeal for you, my dears!
xo

Mama Mia!

Viola, pasta!

Easy peasy, right? No, I wouldn't know, either (my mama made it). I just stood by, taking pictures and making cocktails. I did eat it, though...delizioso!

Happy Spring!

xo

Snow Is Gone

Well, mostly. There are still a few of those big, dirty piles in the shaded corners of parking lots that are too high to have melted completely. But, according to the weatherman, the temperature is going to be flirting with the higher end of the thermometer this weekend. And, for the most part, the sun should be shining. Spring is a rare thing in these parts, we seem to jump right from boots and parkas to sundresses and sandals, with only a few precious days of the in between. So, ditch those parkas and get out and frolic while you can.
xo

What a Swell Party...

Indeed, it was a swell afair. All snips and snails and puppy dog tails. There were friends, and family, and sweet things all in blue. There was food...lots of food (Like pork balls. Try saying that without giggling.). For my part in making it the lovely day that it was, I stuck to what I knew: decorating and baking.

I made cupcakes in both the savory

scallion cheddar cupcakes

and the sweet varieties.



carrot ginger cupcakes

And, of course, there were cookies, flavored with lemons and shaped like stars.

All to welcome a new little star.

Twinkle twinkle, sweets.

xo



And Then There's Maude

There was once a mixer named Maude. A strong, sturdy mixer, who was often put to the test. Tests she always came through with flying colors. But while Maude had no complaints, this little beater did.

This little beater had been grumbling and complaining for a while. First, the enamel started wearing away. Not a very good thing. Recently, the grumbles and complaints became louder, and the little beater stopped doing what a good beater should do. Flour sat along the bottom and sides of the bowl un-mixed. Support had to be called in, in the form of a spatula. This could not go on.

Then one day, a new little beater came into Maude's and my world. A magical beater, with sides that look like bat wings. Sides lined with tiny spatula-like scrapers that scoop everything from the bottom and sides of the bowl while it spins, freeing the actual spatula up to do other things. Like scrape bowls of lemony goodness into cookie dough.



Oh, magical bat-winged beater, I can hardly remember my life before you came into it. How happy we are going to be together.

xo

Happy Happy Birthday, Bay-Bee

This week, my little Bee turns one. And my, how we've grown! It's been a year of baby steps and trying new things. A year of firsts, of learning and growing along the way. A year filled with wonderful and inspiring new friends. Friends (both old and new) whose support and creativity have, perhaps unwittingly, pushed and challenged me to achieve more, and kept me going when I felt there was no point. Thank you, friends. You are the world to me. Bee and I have traveled so far since our journey began, but we have so far yet to go. New challenges and discoveries and friends still to be made, and adventures awaiting us as we continue to grow. Thank you all, my dear friends, for joining me and Bee on this journey.

Wishing you many happy returns!
xo

{dear friends, please join me in celebrating my little Bee by taking 15% off of your purchasse during our birthday week. Just enter the code HAPPYBEEDAY at check-out!}

Baby Blue



Baby Boy Blue by Kiki and Polly


In a few short weeks (and the sure money's on it being a few weeks shorter than the doctor's suggesting ;), I will have a brand new, bouncing baby nephew. A tiny baby brother for The Boy. Exciting, no? The Bee family certainly thinks so.

This weekend we will be feting my sister and this little boy to be. And while this little shower is certainly no surprise (very pregnant ladies are apparently not very fond of being surprised), all of the ingredients that are going into making it lovely are. So you'll have to wait until after the weekend for me to share the goods.

But what I can share, between cutting out...something, and baking....something else, are a few of the things the Bee sisters have spotted on Etsy. Sweet things, for sweet boys.

I Love You Teether  by Little Sappling Toys

Handmade Doll  by Timo Handmade



Organic Hemp Shoes  by Bobka Baby



Dinosaur Onesies  by Pawling

Mister Numbers  by Sugar Fresh

Vintage Rocking Horse  by ethanollie

Wishing you a lovely weekend, my dears. And should you encounter any showers, I hope they're happy ones ;)

xo

Before/After

Hello my dears...are you ready for a little before and after action? Good! Let's begin.

Before...this was just a plain old wooden frame-type thingy. Nothing special. Odd in size, and there was some sort of veneer peeling off the back. But! After a bit of clean-up, some paint, a hint of pretty paper, and a few secret ingredients, we have this:

Lovely, no? It's so much fun to see the potential in what might otherwise become trash. It's even more fun when the potential you see in your mind looks even better in reality.
Here's to finding hidden potential, dears!
xo

Tiny Dancer

Edgar Degas- Two Dancers On Stage



 Do you have a bucket list? I have a sort of free-form mental list I carry around. Things I'd like to do and see, places I'd like to visit. For my birthday this year, I was able to scratch off one of those things: a trip to the ballet. A real, proper, grown-up ballet. Swan Lake, to be exact.

Edgar Degas- Dance Class At The Opera

Edgar Degas- Ballerinas In Pink

I suppose there's that tiny part of me that still dreams of growing up and being a ballerina, spending my days twirling in a tutu. But there's a much bigger part of me, the part that practices yoga and pilates and is happy just to be able hold a half-moon pose for three solid breaths, that thinks perhaps that wouldn't be so much fun. That part of me saw the tight muscles, the dripping sweat, the strength and training required to make it all look so easy, so effortless.

Edgar Degas- La Classe de Danse

I spent the entire performance going back and forth between those two parts of myself. In the end, the little girl part won, and I spent a few hours on a lovely Saturday night watching the ballerinas, in their pink toe shoes, tiaras and tutus, twirling around effortlessly.

Here's to realizing childhood dreams, my sweets.

xo



Edgar Degas- L'Etoile



Back In The Saddle

Good Monday to you, my dear readers! I just want to tell you that this weekend, I felt full of happiness because of you. It's true! When I sign into this happy little place of mine, I am greeted with the fact that this little hive is quietly growing in numbers. There are new followers (Hi! I'm waving to you!), and delightfully lovely new comments. It was a nice end to an already decent week :)

It also got me thinking...with more and more visitors stopping by this little place, I have a growing sense of responsibility to keep you entertained. So. Right here, and right now, I am vowing to do just that, with much more regularity than I have in the past.

When I first started tinkering with the idea of this little blog, I made lists (nothing new there...I make a lot of lists. Occasionally, they even get put to good use ;). On this list were things I might like to blog about. I've been looking over this list, and let me tell you! I had me some good ideas! I also had some completely crap ideas. I scratched them off the list. I have a lot I'd like to share with you...ponderings, musings, images, and the genius that is other people. I'm going to dazzle you with before and after projects (You know. Show you my upcycling process.). Occasionally amuse you with the goings on of my day-to-day. Help empty your wallets with the fabulousness I find on Etsy...and beyond. Make your ears smile by sharing my most favoritest of songs (and there are many.). We'll give a few sporadic features a try. Perhaps some will find wings and take flight. Others may come crashing to the ground. In any event, prepare to be wowed.

Today feels like a new start. Perhaps it's the whisper of spring that was in the air this weekend, or the sun shining brightly after a dark day of heavy rains. Whatever it is, I'm hopping on this bike, and it's time to start pedaling.
See you tomorrow, my sweets!
xo

{the fabulous image of Grace Kelley and a bike comes from my new favorite obsession, Rides A Bike.

 Seriously. Click on that. You'll thank me later.}

Feeling Stitchy

Every so often, I make a promise to my needle and thread that we'll spend some time getting better acquainted. But, me, the needle, and the thread, we're a fair weather bunch of friends. They rally against me and knot up, and I bail. But we keep trying. The most recent try came over the past couple of nights. I figured if I was just going to be sitting there, giving my brain a workout while watching Jeopardy, I might as well give my hands something to do, too.

I already had all of the ingredients: the aforementioned needle and thread, some pretty old fabric, and a stash of embroidery hoops scooped up at a thrift store in the hopes of filling them with something pretty one day.

I like what we did, me, the needle, and the thread. Perhaps I'll work a little harder on keeping that promise of us becoming better acquainted this time. Because sometimes, just sometimes, all the threads line up and pretty things happen. Wishing you successful attempts, my dear readers.
xo

It's All In The Details...

There are few things I love more than a well-thought tiny detail. It's where the love is ;) I'm also a sucker for a good noun. Imagine the squeal of glee when I went out to spend a gift card yesterday, and found this on my shopping bag:

The nouns were the tiny detail!!! Ahh, bliss. See? It really is all about the little things.
Wishing you a day of hidden surprises, my dears!
xo