Lulu Belle's Portrait

I had Lulu Belle's portrait done by an Etsy artist from Brooklyn who does dog portraits on shells. I sent some photos to her and she just finished it. Looks a lot like her and perfectly captures her head tilt with a sad, worried "Poor Me" look!
I'm so happy with this portrait. I will have to put in somewhere in my beach themed bathroom.
I heart Etsy!!! Here's her shop: Shell Vergel.

Tiptoe through the....

TULIPS!!!!!
The tulips are blooming and just starting to wither away now. I really have loved the show they put on in the front and backyard....

...and in my kitchen! I got this little vintage chalkboard and every so often I will doodle with my colored chalk. Lately it's tulips of course!

Steve took this lovely shot of our backyard.

The yellow and red ones came up first, followed by bright pink, deep plum and we even had some pale pink ones.

Our lilac bush bloomed beautifully this year!

Last year we only got a couple of blooms. I read that if the previous summer is hot and rainy then the following year it yield less blooms, whereas a mild and cooler summer will be more favorable for blooms. Funny how last years weather affects some plants.

They are so heavily perfumed. I put some in the front hall and they smell great!

Some of the perrenial flowers we planted last year our coming up!

And these bleeding hearts.

Archie is enjoying the sunroom! The owl an the pussycat...heehee!

He is usually in there most of the time.

As is this new kitty from my brother and sister-in-law from Baltimore who gave this delightful handmade plaque to us. I love the bird and mouse details!

Speaking of birds, I was lucky enough to snap this photo of a bluejay from my bedroom window. You can click on the photo to see him better.

Ahhhh, nature!

little things mean a lot...

these tiny grape hyacinths are so pretty and petite and fit perfectly in this miniature vase.


I've always loved tiny things. The smaller the more precious they seem.


I picked up these cute little dishes on my Niagara region trip last July in a cute little shop...



and found this little blue tea set on Etsy.

I planted some seeds - basil, parsley, mint, thyme and lavender. I love to watch them grow from tiny little seedlings into leafy plants.


This little dove has made a nest on our porch column. It was a robin's nest last spring. She has precious tiny eggs underneath her warm breast.
Speaking of new life, I wanted to announce the birth of little Claire Louise Guillerez.
She is the new daughter of my dear friend Nathalie and her husband Jean Francois, and new little sister to Alex and Emilie.

Congrats to the Guillerez family!!!!

I hope I get to see the baby sometime this summer. Oh, and I will finally get to see my own new little nephew Sean in Boston at the end of May.

Lots of colors everywhere!

We've got color outdoors....

in pretty reds, yellows and green.


And we have the new colors indoors. Yes! We finally painted our kitchen!! What a job! Cleaning walls and removing all the pictures and things, so many things to dust and wash....then the taping of the walls and then finally dipping your paint brush in the can. Now I'm finishing the trim in the livingroom. Then I have to think about colors for the basement. We just got new carpeting and now I want to spruce it up down there.


This is the other side of the kitchen, we decided to leave it the color it was when we moved in. The lady picked a nice shade of bluey purple...periwinkle i think.

But I am so digging the new color. At first a bit shocking, but after we put back everything we loved it! So fresh and bright and pretty!

I painted this old bookcase with fake wood white and then the kitchen color for the back panels. It looks so nice now.

You know, once I start painting, I find it hard to quit. I keep finding more things to paint. I painted my dresser white and light celery green then decoupaged some flowers. I think I may need to add some more though.


Steve thinks it's a little too feminine but hey, I'm sure he'll grow to like in time.


Then we have my favorite sweater which is a brilliant shade of orange. This is the best item I have ever picked up at a thrift store. Soft vintage cashmere. I replaced the old buttons though with these cream ones. Oh, I got a haircut last week too. It's kind of sassy, no? Decided to go for bangs which I think make me look 10 years younger!!



I picked up this great book from the library from the new books display. I'm so into this new book called 'The Guynd: A Scottish Journal" by Belinda Rathbone. It's a memoir of a New England woman who marries a Scot and moves into his 400 year old ancestral home, The Guynd. The once-grand mansion is now in a crumbling state with overgrown gardens. It is a comical and often touching story of how they cope with the struggle of renovations and trying to restore it back to it's once glorious state. She writes poignantly and with wit about her marriage and living in rural Scotland, trying to adjust to a different land and class system. It's so wonderful to end the day reading in bed or outdoors in the middle of the afternoon. It's been awhile since I picked up a book that I find very hard to put down.