SOME PRETTY THINGS FOR YOU TO SEE

Things have been pretty slow in my life lately. I don't feel like I have much to blog about that would be of any interest to you.

But, I didn't want to leave you hanging there either.

So, I thought I would share some pretty things for you to enjoy.

Like this darling tea pot I have.

The little bird on top is what first caught my eye when I spotted it on the shelf at TJ Maxx.

I love birds and they make me happy having them all over the house.

The basket weave is just lovely too. Lots of detail on this pot.

It's been pretty warm here in CA this winter, so there has not been much hot tea drinking though.

I also love this cream and sugar set. It's really old. I found this a few years ago in an antique shop.

The little pink roses are so dainty. Some of the gold rim is coming off, but, I don't carere. I still think it's beautiful.

This is another piece I found ages ago at a little antique shop. Once again the roses caught my eye.

I think these roses are hand painted. They look so pretty on the pale green background.

This spoon came with it but I don't think it's a set. The roses are different. Yet the colors go together nicely so I keep them together.

To be honest though, I'm not even sure what this little dish would be used for. It has some tiny holes in there so I don't think it's a sugar dish at all. Plus, if the roses are indeed hand painted then I wouldn't want to put any type of food in there as I don't know if the paint is food safe.

Does anyone know what this dish is used for?

CUPCAKE VALENTINE'S DAY PARTY

It's getting close to Valentine's Day. I know this is true because I just went to my good friend, Sandra's, annual Valentine's Day party.

Every year she picks a theme and this year it was cupcakes.

It's so fun to go to her parties because it's almost like going on a mini scavenger hunt. Everywhere you turn you can find hidden areas that decked out with the theme.

Like in this corner. How cute! She even got her kids to dress up in a cupcake costume to make pictures!

Or, this little set up. So cute. Hey, I don't have that cupcake book! I think I need to go buy one.

Even the soap and towels in the bathroom are cupcakes. To cute!

She always has her mantel decorated to match the party theme too.

I love seeing how she dresses her little monkey from Build A Bear. This little monkey has become the parties mascot. It just wouldn't be a true Sandra party without her.

Her tablescape was done in pinks, brown and white.

I just adore the cupcake centerpiece. It's actually a cookie jar.

I love how she raised the cookie jar up on the white cake plates. Next to the them are two candle holders holding...what else? Cupcake candles.

Look at that! Even the ribbon that is around the cake plates have little cupcakes on it.

For the place cards she used these darling cupcake luggage tags with the guests name on the back where your address goes.

Where does she find these things?

Aren't these little salt and pepper shakers darling.

We always have a lunch. Everyone brings a dish and the spread is wonderful.

The theme, or holiday, is always brought into the food some how. Like the cute sandwiches that are heart shape.

But it was the desserts that took the cake (pun intended).

Sandra's daughter, Ashley, made these cute little cake pops in the shape of cupcakes. Not only were they the cutest things, they taste great too!

One of the guests, Ali, brought this cute dish. I fell in love with her clever way to present fruit. She layered the fruit to look like cupcakes.

This is an idea I will be using somewhere down the line for sure!

What would a cupcake theme party be without actual cupcakes!

Sandra used my cupcake stand. I love this stand but honestly, she has gotten way more use out of it then I have. I love having friends you can share things with. It always makes me feel good when someone borrows my things to use.

After eating, until we were so full we could hardly move, we all made some sweet cards that Sandra had designed.

I think there were 10 cards and they were all so cute.

She supplied all the items needed for all the cards. She covered her pool table and laid everything out for us to use as we wanted.

Then we had our gift exchange. We play the game where everyone gets a number and then opens a present when your number is called. You can steal from someone else if you really love something you see.

We were all very friendly this year and no one stole anything. Oh wait! Our hostess, Sandra, did steal from someone. Watch out Sandra, there is always next year to get even!

Once the fun was over and it was time to say good bye, we were greeted at the door with not one, but two party favors to take home.

One was these cute little cupcake note books.

The other one was these great jars full of cupcake items. Inside mason jars were cupcake liners, sprinkles, bags for the icing and icing tips. Everything you need to go home and make your own cute cupcakes.

A lovely little thank you note that says "Thanks for being so sweet and celebrating Valentines Day with me", was attached to each covered jar.

I don't think she left one thing out. The day was fun, a lot of laughs and getting to play catch up with the other girls. I had a great time!

Thank you Sandra for being my friend and inviting me to your party!

OH SO ROMANTIC

I was excited when I came home the other day and found a package waiting for me to open.

This is what was inside! A wonderful Valentine's Day giveaway that won from Jean over at A Romantic Country Home. If you have not been over to her blog, you should hop over there now. She has a beautiful blog that I'm sure you will enjoy.

Well now, if I could only get Cupid to find me a handsome, rich, kind, funny man to fall in love with me, I would be set.

JUST A WALK IN THE PARK

It has been so lovely here in CA. Today it was around 80 degrees out. So, when I dropped my dogs off at the groomers, I decided to go take a walk in the park.

One of my favorite local parks is Huntington Central Park. It is really nice because it changes with the seasons. Many of the trees die off in the winter (though you would never know it's winter here).

In the Spring it will be a lush green everywhere you look.

There are walking trails and if you follow the trail I took today, you will have walked a little over a mile each trip around.

I went around twice today.

I love seeing the birds and animals that show up here. You never know what you will spot on any given day.

You will pass by people walking either alone, with friends or their dogs. But, it never seems crowded here. There is plenty of room to spread out.

This park is large and there is a lot to do here.

Can you see the little squirrel? He stood there looking at me for a little while and then he quickly ran into the hole/tunnel he had that went under ground.

Soon there will be lots of baby squirrels running around. That's when it's really fun here.

It's also nice to feed the birds and ducks. Again, Spring time is the best with all the babies. I just adore watching mommy ducks teaching her babies to swim in the lake.

It was a nice, relaxing way to spend the day. Just taking a stroll in the park on a beautiful warm winter day.

DOWNTON ABBEY

I really hope that I am not the only one watching this wonderful mini series on PBS.

It's on Sunday nights and it's called Downton Abbey.

The show opens on the day the Titanic sunk. The year is 1912. The location is Downton Abbey the Estate/Home of Lord Robert Earl of Grantham and his family.

Lord Robert is married to Cora, his American wife. While they are the "care takers" of Downton Abbey, the English Law states that the Estate must be left to the next "male" heir.

Since Lord Robert only has three daughters, his eldest daughter must marry the next heir in order to continue to live in the Estate.

Sadly, Lord Robert's cousin and his 2nd cousin both died when the Titanic went down. Thus, leaving no known heir to marry into the family.


All three sisters are very different from each other. Lady Mary is the eldest daughter and has no desire to marry anyone her parents want her to.

Lady Edith is more of free spirit that enjoys the changing times. She believes in Women's Rights.

Lady Sybil is the one that lacks the looks. She is the one who believes in love and keeping up the family tradition.

After doing research, Lord Robert locates his 3rd Cousin Mathew. The only problem is he has no real desire to jump into his roll of taking over the Estate.

He is a lawyer and his father, when alive, was a Dr. His mother is a Nurse. However, back in the Edwardian times, a working man (no matter what the job was) was thought of to be a lowly working class man.

Mathew must learn the ways of Downton Abbey and convince Lady Mary to marry him. Neither proves to be an easy task for him.

Mean while we also get to peek into the life of the servants of the Estate. The difference in the way they live and the way the family does can't help but be noticed.

The story line, the clothes, the beautiful Estate and the tale of love is enough to keep anyone amused for hours.

I for one, will be sad to see this show end. I do believe I may even order the DVD so I can watch this again and again.

The Edwardian era is one of my favorite ones. While it was actually a very hard time to live in, it seems to be such a romantic time in history and a beautiful one at that.

If by any chance you have not started to watch this show, do yourself a favor and get caught up. You won't be sorry.