"Pearls and Lace Thursday" Coming Soon!!!

Pearls and Lace...the two just seem to belong together. Whether as a duo of an heirloom wedding dress with pearls handed down from mother to daughter over the years, or in an exquisite vignette of 'found' lace and 'flea market' pearls, still the relationship of laces in whites, ecrus, and creams with the lustre and sheen of pearls makes our hearts beat a bit faster at their beauty.

Maybe it's because it takes our fast-paced minds back to a time when fans cooled our faces, parasols protected us from the sun, and life was paced at a walk through the garden. Maybe it's because it reminds us of those ladies we read about in books from our childhood. Maybe it's because we hold dear to our hearts the sight of beauty and recognize and respect the women who worked so hard to create it. Textures and designs engage us at first glance. Our hands want to touch and feel the threads woven together to make such beauty, to touch the coolness of the pearls and see how they run through our fingers. Such elegance!

SO ladies, show us your LACE!

Whether old or new, as a doily or scarf,

In whole or in part, or a work of art.

Pair it with pearls, (or rhinestones too),

A lot or a little, any amount will do!

Starting on Thursday, April 8th, I will start the Party!

Come join the fun!

Blessings!

Doni

Creamy White China Roses

Praise and Thanksgiving

O My God,

Thou fairest, greatest, first of all objects, my heart admires, adores, loves thee, for my little vessel is as full as it can be, and I would pour out all that fullness before thee in ceaseless flow.

When I think upon and converse with thee

ten thousand delightful thoughts spring up,

then thousand sources of pleasure are unsealed,

ten thousand refreshing joys spread over my heart,

crowding into every moment of happiness.

I bless thee for the soul thou hast created, for adorning it, sanctifying it,

though it is fixed in barren soil:

for the body thou hast given me, for preserving its strength and vigour,

for providing senses to enjoy delights, for the ease and freedom of my limbs,

for hands, eyes, ears that do thy bidding;

for thy royal bounty providing my daily support,

for a full table and overflowing cup, for appetite, taste, sweetness,

for social joys of relatives and friends, for ability to serve others,

for a heart that feels sorrows and neccessities,

for a mind to care for my fellow-men, for opportunities of

spreading happiness around, for loved ones in the joys of heaven,

for my own expectation of seeing thee clearly.
I love thee above the powers of language to express,
for what thou art to thy creatures.

Increase my love, O my God, through time and eternity.

from the book: The Valley of Vision
Puritan Prayers and Devotions



I'm honored to be a part of Teatime Tuesday over at
Rose Chintz Cottage and Inspirations
here:
http://sandimyyellowdoor.blogspot.com/


and also a part of White Wednesday
at Faded Charm
here:
http://fadedcharmcottage.blogspot.com/

Blessings to you all,
Doni

In The Pink

I just wanted to share the first of a project I've started...it's called

CLEANING THE HOUSE!!!

If I understand this correctly, it means that every single object in my house is supposed to be clean and organized and in its place all at the same time.

I choose to disregard the part about 'all at the same time' as well as 'every single object'. I'd kill myself if I had to do that or even tried!

So, in keeping with the abbreviated version of cleaning the house, I've chosen to start cleaning one part of my house at a time, and the pink dishes are the first things to get a bath.

Hope you enjoy them.

I've also had another brilliant idea and would like your feedback on it.
I want to host a weekly post where everyone who wants to participate may do so. I'd like to have one called, "Show us Your Lace Tuesday" or something like that. Laces are some of my favorite things, and when I see pictures of what others have and use, I get all excited.
So, tell me what you think, and I'll start. Give me some good ideas of names too...perhaps I'll start by having a giveaway.


The dried roses are from my awesome wonderful husband. He has been wonderful to me on my birthdays and our anniversaries. I have kept every rose he's given me over the years and dried them for keepsakes. With some I've dried the petals and have them inside this glass vase to hold the roses that I've dried by hanging them upside down. I just love the light pink and cream colors when they're dried.

I suppose now I have to choose another part of the house to "clean", and then when I get it all pretty and dust-free I will take a picture of it. Just think! In a year or two, I will have a blog full of clean objects posted that will stay clean forever in pictures, and then I'll have to start all over again in the house and clean it all over again! (It will take me at LEAST that long to get to it all!!).

Please let me know what you think about the "Show us Your Lace Tuesday" idea!

One more thing...I just want to thank all of you who have decided to follow my blog! I never thought I'd have 20 people decide to actually follow ME! Wow! And I've had so much fun over at your blogs. You have inspired me to clean and decorate and make my house a home.

Hugs!

Doni

The White Stuff

This will be my very first White Wednesday! I'm so excited! It took me a awhile to

decide whether or not to be a part of the fun (by posting my whites on my own blog)

but I have enjoyed seeing what all of you very creative and talented ladies post on your

White Wednesday posts! Here are the items I've found in my home, and will

be adding more as time goes on.

This swan was a gift from a sweet friend years ago. It's just beautiful and has

graced my home for a long long time.

The 'Praying Hands' are new to me, are old and chippy, and found at a local thrift store!
They are the beginning (I hope) of a new collection of praying hands that I've
been wanting to start. As I see more, I'll add to the collection!

This angel playing the violin was a 'White Elephant' gift from a Christmas party I attended
a number of years ago. I threatened anyone who DARED to take it from me!
(I play the violin and collect them!!!)

And this pillow is a new gift from my winning the giveaway by Sharon over at
Pansy Cottage Garden. It's just beautiful!
That's all for now, and hope you enjoyed it!
Please also head over to see "The Gift" here
and let me know what you think.

White Wednesday sponsored by
http://fadedcharmcottage.blogspot.com/

Thanks!
Doni

The Gift

It's really pretty. It was fun to look in all my boxes and find that if I put it all

together, it would look so nice. But there's more to it than that.
Click here to read why I did it.

Blessings,

Doni

"Meant" to be Mine!

I guess I've always love glass...I went to garage sales a lot when I was just a kid (thanks mom!), so I've always wanted to have a home of my own and collect all the beautiful

pieces I saw and display them. This first picture show a recent find at a

local shop near me. It was so sweet, it had to be a part of the collection.

The rose jar on the right also came from the same shop, and of course I fell in love

with it at first sight! Do you ever do that? Just see something and KNOW that it

was meant to go home with you? The piece on the left was from a garage sale,

and as usual, it just had to come home with me!

This is a cool jar. It's large and it's heavy. It has a spigot down at the bottom (like for tea),

and seems to work. BUT, I wanted it for all my LACE!!!

Perfect! It looks cool in there! The bottom of the jar says ITALY, and

I found it at the GoodWill store near me. Cost me 5 dollars, and

I almost left it behind....but it just caught my attention and I KNEW...

It had to come home with me!!!

They were meant to be mine!

I'm still working on my Guest Room, and have SO far to go, but it's a work in

progress and looks as if it will only progress slowly. I've redone the dresser my

Grossmutter gave me, so it looks a whole lot better. I used the new dresser scarves

I bought at the Estate sale, and I've moved the purple violet tins to another

place in the room. More pics as I get them all done!

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Doni

Garage Sale Find!!

OK...it cost a bit more than I'd normally spend at a garage sale, but

seriously, I've wanted one for AGES, and when I saw this, I just fell

in love with it.

The base is nice and heavy, it's pretty, and it works.

No, it's NOT a Tiffany lamp, so Antique Roadshow will NOT

be seeing it ever!! BUT, it's here in my home and my husband and I

both just love it! Price??? 30 bucks. And it's missing

the screw on the top that attaches the shade to the base (anyone know of a

source for that??), so right now I've stuck a pencil in the space to

hold the shade on.

Daffodils on a snowy Texas Spring day!!!

Snow, snow, snow...I've never ever seen it like this!

I know we got over 3 inches today.....

Another thing:

I was over at Donna's website at Brynnwood Needleworks (see my favorite places on the

right for the link), and she has shared a VERY user friendly version of how

to add a Page to your blog. It was so easy to follow her directions the I even

could do it!!!

Please check out my new page labeled "The Gift". (Also a link to it at the top right of this page).

Hope you all have a wonderful and safe week!

Doni

My Gifts from Sharon @ Pansy Cottage Came!!

First, y'all need to go check out Sharon's blog over at Pansy Cottage Garden! http://www.pansycottagegarden.blogspot.com/

She sent me this box full of lovely items for winning her giveaway.

Aren't they fabulous!!! Look at this beautiful pillow...it's just gorgeous! And isn't this bird hook the cutest thing you every saw!!??? And even a little nest for the birdies to sleep in at night. How thoughtful. These little hangings are so cute...I can't believe the color on them! Thank you Sharon for your sweet giveaway and for picking ME!! I was so excited...even my husband had to take a few minutes away from Basketball to see my goodies, and was impressed!!!

The pretty tissue paper was such a sweet touch, and each piece was wrapped lovingly.

Hugs!

Doni

Lovely Lace with Handpainted Beauty!

So this blogger business is really making me read a lot so I can do what y'all do on your blogs! I've tried so many times to get my pictures in the right spots, and finally just used the help button! (I don't like reading directions either!). SO...hopefully in order, are a few of my finds this week. I'm so excited about these! First is a hand painted plate of purple flowers

on a blue backgroud. It's so sweet!

Next I found (in the same booth), this precious blue forget-me-not plate and just couldn't decided between the two, so I bought both of them!

Aren't they just yummy?

See the lace in the background of the picture below? I found it today at an Estate sale.
Don't you know that the dear lady it belonged to just relished her laces?
Just like us! Just like I will.

The next picture really shows the lovely coloring of the lace.

Here is a darker backgroud behind it so you can see the beauty of

the lacework.

There were 3 pieces of lace in the set, in 3 differing sizes.

All are in pristine condition.

Behind the pieces of the set is a piece of cut and frayed lace

that I just couldn't leave behind. It was just 50 cents...

So...for a song I now am singing the virtues of lovely lace!!

I'm playing along with everyone over at My Romantic Home

http://www.romantichome.blogspot.com

for Show and Tell Friday! Y'all really need to come over

and see what some very talented and lovely

people are showing off!

My husband just came in here and told me that it felt balmy like Florida outside right now,

but that in the morning it will be cold and possibly we'll get some snow soon!! YUK!

And here I thought Spring was here~!

Doni