By Lynn, on January 26th, 2012%
My Dear Friends,
Happy Thursday morning to us all! I am thankful to be alive this morning. For health and strength, a warm apartment, birds singing outside, freedom, happy children, food, fabric, and all important and frivolous things that make life so wonderful!
I wanted to share with you a new polka dot skirt that I fell in love with on first glance. I felt simply RETRO the moment I clapped eyes on it. So home it went with me, a 4-dollar steal of a deal that was washed up, put on a hanger and worn the very next day. Forgive the grainy picture; it was taken with my phone!
I say, who is not happy in polka dots? Do not dots feel the most retro of all? Perhaps my own natural “dots” — my freckles — are what make me lean toward the retro, the old, the impulsive, the elusive. Then again, the dark hair and fair skin that hails from that old isle Ireland and its sister country Scotland do lend to a melancholy and dark disposition, so what a mix! By the Alice Tree. Me. And my polka-dots.
Stockings. Strappy leather shoes. Vintage garden chair. Bright floral fabric.
I finished up another millinery pin, and this one is, to me, perfection. I love the satiny fabric and the touch of golden-bronze around the edges. Currently testing for durability and compliments — it has already had a few — and then will have to get my polka-dotted self busy and get them in The Shop. My oh my. Orders are being prepared to go out. More things need to go in!
And now, without further ado, I want to express some great big blog love for a blog I came across a few days ago. It is called Esme and the Laneway and I think you’ll be busy there for awhile if you decide to visit.
Talk about a fashion darling! She is lovely and has the most amazing collection of vintage clothing ever! If only I looked so adorable in vintage dresses! The following photos are from Esme and the Laneway, taken with permission from her darling blog.
Enjoy this day! I am on to errands, a couple of thrift store walk-throughs, and a bit of letter writing.
xoxoxo
By Lynn, on January 24th, 2012%
Happy Tuesday, dear friends. Another photography challenge became real to me this morning when I tried to photograph a black linen dress! My!
Yesterday I had to run out for some errands on my lunch break. While out, you know my van headed right into the Goodwill parking lot! I still just cannot figure out how that happens! But I decided to just enjoy it (not that I had that much extra time) and make a quick walk-through and see what jumped out at me. I spied a linen shirt in there about a week ago but did not get it, and I had decided that if it was still there I would get it. I had already tried it on for size. Then, whoa!, I saw a lovely black linen dress hanging close by, actually out of place from where it should have been, and I snapped it up, knowing it would be perfect even without trying it on.
Again, not the best photos, but here you can see the ruffles and the slightly-disheveled-but-still-dressy look.
It immediately occurred to me that one of the millinery pins would be fabulous on this dress!
I apologize, dear readers, that the quality of these photos just does NOT do the dress justice! But here you can see the size of the dress. I will certainly wear a layer under it, as it is a bit short for my taste, but I have tried it on since getting it home and it will work great that way! And the size is PERFECT!
This last picture may be the best one of all! Natural light or flash, it did not seem to matter, the texture of the fabric combined with all that black just did not make for a good picture. There’s gotta be something I could have done differently. Will try to have it figured out before I get the dress ready to wear and model it for you!
Now, friends, I have been remiss in my photo-taking of THE ALICE TREE. I was sitting here having my coffee this morning when Annie announced to me that she was severely disappointed at not having had her picture made by THE ALICE TREE and put on the blog. Come to think of it, she has cozied up to the tree several times and looked longingly at my camera! I cannot believe I didn’t notice it!
So here she is. Isn’t she lovely? She’s a good girl, learning to behave better and better every day. 
In closing, since we have had so many G.W. Boutique fashion posts of late, let’s have some quotations about FASHION and BEAUTY.
“Love is a great beautifier.” ~Louisa May Alcott
“So many women just don’t know how great they really are. They come to us all vogue outside and vague on the inside.” ~Mary Kay Ashe
“I think knowing what you can not do is more important than knowing what you can do. In fact, that’s good taste. ~Lucille Ball
“There is no cosmetic for beauty like happiness.” ~Anonymous
ENJOY THIS DAY
By Lynn, on January 18th, 2012%
I have been trying really hard to add more green to my diet. Actually quite a bit more, say, oh, two or three times a day. I do this with the awareness that some greens contain quite a bit of vitamin K, so if you are a heart patient or on blood thinners, that would be something to be aware of as blood thinners cause, well, thinning, and then vitamin K helps with clotting. The two do not necessarily mix!
Lovely, no? I think it’s beautiful! Some juices are sweeter, and my children tend to like those better. Not really sweet, mind you, but with more a predominance of carrots and apples versus this heavier cabbage taste.
Michaela and I watched a movie together called Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. It was centered around one man, and then two or three other people, who took on the challenge to go on a juice fast (after a doctor visit, of course), and how much weight they lost (one man started at over 400 pounds) and how they came off prescription medications and had autoimmune diseases disappear. Now, Michaela and I are not going on a fast right now. It is not practical at the moment. But we are drinking more juice. Personally, it thrills me that Michaela is taking an interest in health. She is the one who wanted to watch the move to start with.
Oh, and I can say that adding the color green to your DIET seems to be very good as far as adding some spark to your WARDROBE! I guess there is nothing as slimming as eating more fruits and veggies and cutting back on the buttery, dairy-laden meat and carb dishes!
It goes without saying (but I will say it anyway), the other best weapon against that awful old waist fat is exercise. It’s been hard for me to get to the gym lately, not just because of time but if someone changes the door code and you don’t know about it and are lazy about finding out the new one, well there you go.
I have the gym code now and I could and will go, but little Annie has been looking at me so pitifully lately, I decided to try walking outside more, Annie in tow, and alternating walking and running with her. She loves it!
Little weathered birdhouse spotted on a walk yesterday.
Finally, in FINANCIAL NEWS (ha ha) I wanted to talk about the concept of Use It Up, Wear It Out, Make It Do! For now, my black leather cowboy boots are in the closet and hopefully I will resole them one day. In the meantime, I have these tall Sam and Libby black boots that I will apply the Make It Do and Wear It Out concept to!
Tall boots like this seem to be in style anyway and I think these boots have a few more miles left in them!
I am learning lots of lessons about money in my new life. Not necessarily things I did not already know, but things that I guess are more real when it’s just you. It is in that spirit that I am making do with several things (not just tall boots) that I am not that crazy about. Now, I am crazy about these boots, but I have a face cream that I spent a pretty penny for and then did not like the way it feels. It’s sort of waxy feeling to me, but it is all natural, from Whole Foods. I have found that if I put a few drops of almond oil in with it, it feels 1000 times better! And my fair, freckled skin LOVES oil. It makes me feel good to apply the Use It Up concept to this face cream that has some lovely ingredients in it but did not end up being what I thought it would be!
Finally, THE ALICE TREE. Nothing to post today, except we are on the last chapter today: ALICE’S EVIDENCE. And tomorrow, Thursday, has been declared a catch-up-on-ornaments day, and then we’ll post final Alice Tree pictures on probably Friday! Stay tuned!!
Here’s to JOY today!
By Lynn, on January 16th, 2012%
Monday, Monday. Why? Why are you here so soon? Huh? Oh well. Guess I’ll pull myself up by the bootstraps and prepare myself to work today! Type, type, type. But, you know, with things the way they are, I am very grateful to have my job! There are so many who need jobs right now. Or who need better paying jobs. Or who have a hard time getting to work because of unreliable transportation. And here I am, working at home, full time, with enough to make my rent, and I should keep reminding myself that I have it made. Put a smile on and trudge on, dear girl!
Now.
IN ALICE NEWS…
We are reading chapter 10 at some point today, The Lobster Quadrille. Of course, in the last chapter we were introduced to the delightful little card people! Playing cards! Playing cards who are people. And don’t you love that when the gardeners fell flat to their faces, the Queen could not tell who they were because from the back everyone looked the same? Could have been soldiers, gardeners or anyone!
Is it not grand how Lewis Carroll put all this symbolism into a children’s story? I mean, I personally believe ALICE IN WONDERLAND is full of symbolism. Do you?
Anyway, I have always had a thing for playing cards — and I do not mean the verb “playing cards” because I do not much care for games, but I mean the noun “playing-cards” because they are so pretty and orderly and symbolic — and so I couldn’t wait to get to their part in the story!
So, loving playing cards like I do, when I saw this beautiful blue-flower design on some old cards sitting in The Scrap Exchange, I had to bring them home. I had no idea what I would end up doing with them, but alas they belong on THE ALICE TREE. ‘Twas their destiny!
And here he is, the KING OF HEARTS! He is the one who did not care much for The Cheshire Cat floating ’round in the air, showing only his toothy grin, and he is the one who asked the QUEEN OF HEARTS to please have him removed!
They don’t look like so much hanging on their white yarns, but a number of them hanging randomly all over THE ALICE TREE make quite the lovely show! At least to me they do!
More ornaments to come, dear readers, and please make sure you tune in to see THE ALICE TREE when it is all done!
WELL, NOW, LET’S DO A DIET UPDATE!
I find that the easiest way for me to consume fruits, and sometimes greens, is in a smoothie. I have never been a big fruit eater (unlike my lovely sister, who loves fruit and always has) and I just don’t gravitate towards the fruit bowl. I do, however, love the taste of fruit in smoothies! So it is that I start most every day with a big smoothie that has a variety of frozen fruits and fresh greens — like the kale shown below, yogurt, milk, honey, and my vitamins crushed up and put in. It is quite good!
My Michaela said that this thing, once it was blended up, looked like Play-Doh and milk mixed together and she made quite the face to go with that statement, but I tempted her into tasting it and she ended up saying that she would and could drink it every day if I made it. So did John! So it looks like they will jump on the smoothie bandwagon. Yay. Veggies and fruits into us all three!
AND NOW, FOR OLD TIME’S SAKE…
I felt like it would be nice to be reminded of the words that make up our club song, written back in the ’70s, at the height of my career. And you can bet your cluttery self that I was humming this last week when a STANDING AND STARING spell hit me and I cleaned out my closet. Yeah.
This basket of clothes contains items that will be donated to G.W. Boutique. I just hope I don’t have a relapse and buy any of it back, but I don’t think I will!
Hmmm, puts me in mind of a story. The time I cleaned out the kids toys, because they had a billion little things that I was tired of picking up, and I made a big donation to the thrift store. The kids did not even miss the stuff. UNTIL… We went to the thrift store about a week later and oh my, oh my…
“MAMA, THAT WAS MINE!! WHY IS IT HERE????”
I ended up buying some of the stuff back. Shame on me for not thinking. And I guess, for donating things without their prior knowledge. I don’t anticipate a breakdown like this on my own part in the next week or so, since I have told myself I am cleaning out, but I do expect to replace this outgoing clutter with some “new” incoming clutter as soon as time and money permit. It’s just the way I roll. Or maybe it’s the way the clutter rolls.
Well, have a lovely day, dear friends! More later on ornaments, ALICE, life, and other stuff and nonsense.
Enjoy this day!
By Lynn, on January 11th, 2012%
Oh, my, the joys of leading a busy life! Last night, dear friends, I was at another hockey game with coworkers. A girls’ night out! The Carolina Hurricanes played the Philadelphia Flyers, and it was a pretty exciting game! We got to see a fight (not unusual in hockey) that nearly turned into a pile of men on the ice. As well, Canes defenseman Spacek was hit in the chin by a deflected puck. It was painful to even watch!
Ladies, I highly recommend outings, when you can, and I am not saying you have to have ME time away from the kids all the time (although if you need it, that is fine too). What is good about it is the getting away from the house, and all there is to do there. Even a walk in nature WITH the children will change the scenery, help you clear your thoughts and come back with renewed energy! This fun girltime outing was so good for me!
Now, for SHOP news. More pins going into the shop, A Bit of Birdsong, over the course of the day and evening.
Recycled image of Cupidon by Chaplin.
Recycled — or maybe I should say UPCYCLED — image of A Beauty with Doves by Chaplin.
Doves and angel wings, anyone?
Yes, friends, these will make their way into the shop as time permits. It’s not easy some days, running around on breaks, trying to get things done, loving my REAL job working for the hospital and yet knowing I have to be wise and hustle with my time off to keep on top of the other things that make up my busy life.
And now, without another moment’s hesitation, some news on ALICE and THE ALICE TREE!
Yesterday we read chapter 6, today we will read chapter 7, or in other words PIG AND PEPPER and A MAD TEA-PARTY!!
I have some catching up to do on the ornaments, but fear not, that will come! The reading itself has been a good diversion for me. Yesterday I read a chapter right before I took my afternoon nap. Oh, and that TEA PARTY! Poor Alice, being caught in word riddles until she stormed off from the A MAD TEA-PARTY saying it was the most stupid tea party she had ever been to!!
Fortunately for me, and just in time, Michaela’s ALICE IN WONDERLAND board game came home from school. Lo and behold, this little basket of game pieces and game cards looks adorable tucked into the pink tree branches!
Then the board game itself was photographed and printed as a little MINIATURE board game, with a nice picture of CHESHIRE CAT on the back. Pictures of completed ornaments to come.
Well, dear friends, I must wrap this up. Time flies when we are having fun! There are all manner of things on my TO-DO list for today, including organizing my thoughts about a MAD TEA PARTY for Princess of the Universe and her friends. What do you think? I think they would LOVE it!
Enjoy this day!
By Lynn, on January 2nd, 2012%
I wanted to share with you some Vintage Magic that is right in downtown Hillsborough, North Carolina. Have you heard of Hillsborough? If not, you might want to look it up somewhere and see all the Revolutionary War history that resides in little historic Hillsborough. Anyway, they have a great little shop called Vintage Revival. Here are some WONDERful pictures from my Christmas shopping visit there.
Every room was magic! Dine with me here?
The bright silver was reflecting every little twinkling light!
You know this was one of my favorite little spots, right? Yeah? I love it! I really want to make a vintage dressing table area for My Princess of the Universe.
What do you think of the colors on the wall. The light blue and the brown in the CHICKIE print? I like it! I do!
And the very GIRLIE GIRL chandeliers! Oh my! I want one or two or ten.
NOEL. NEST. JOY. Yeah. JOY JOY JOY. Every corner was brightly lit and there was MERRY music playing.
Love the old cabinet and the YELLOW color there. Ahhhh. Bring me color! The vibrant WHITE of JOY. The REDS of LOVE. Every SHADE! The BLUE of CONTENTED CALM. The OLD YELLOWS and GREENS of TIMES PAST where the spirit of our ancestors still teach us things! COLOR ME HAPPY!
Bright lights? Pink? Crystals? Be still my heart! I am in love!
Now, dear readers, you know it would not be right if I did not share my G.W. Boutique finds and maybe a thought about hair.
“Petticoat” 3.00. Cotton skirt 3.00. White blouse 3.00. Flower pin made from a silk flower.
Sometimes I want a high ponytail, or even just a ponytail, but if you have long hair you know how hard this can be! The weight of your hair pulls the ponytail down. And the hair hanging down gets tangled up!
Maybe I can describe this.
- Pull the hair up high like you are going to put it in a ponytail.
- Twist it around tight as if you were going to put in a bun, going around only one time.
- When you get the hair around one full time and back at the top of the “bun”, reach your hand through the bun (loop of hair) from the outside and pull the long rope of hair through.
- Pull tight and pin the bun part all around the sides with bobby pins.
This keeps the hair up high enough to not get so tangled on the back of your shirt all day. It will stay up!
As I work this morning, I am thinking of the timeline/goals for THE ALICE TREE, for those who are joining me! We have to read the book, you know! Or at least parts of it!! Today I will put together a SCHEDULE. The TREE needs to be up by the end of the second week of JANUARY 2012 so we can enjoy it! Because you know in February we will have a Valentine Tree.
Enjoy this day!!
JOY
WONDER
By Lynn, on December 30th, 2011%
I wondered about a post title, yes I did, in looking for something that made sense. But why should anything make sense, since we are going on an adventure to build an Alice Tree and make January the month of Alice in Wonderland? I figured welcoming someone to the end of a month was every bit as good as welcoming someone to the beginning of a month!
Come closer, friends, and let’s talk about December coming to an end! It has been a beautiful month indeed! We have had lovely weather on many days, making it seem not so winterish, but then other days with evidence of Old Man Winter’s frosty breath on the grass and our windshield. We have had food and warm beds at night and friends nd family. Is there anything else in this present life that a person could want?
Lavender, perhaps?
And lavender we’ve got! I want you to know that my Princess of the Universe bought me the most beautiful Crabtree & Evelyn lavender gift set. It smells delightful! Reminds me of the lavender in my Little Wild Garden.
All items have been lovingly removed from the box and placed in my bathroom. (Hear that? My bathroom? With lots of counter space? New bathroom? Bright, white, and no leaks or hard-to-clean fixtures.) I digress. The box is being used to hold things that will be incorporated into the Alice Tree.
Oh, look! The bun-buns are SO excited over being included on the Alice Tree! Thank you to the readers who suggested it! Lily. April. And others, if you thought it and didn’t speak it, or if you said it and my mind has already cleared out and is onto some other bunch of words whirling around in my head (as is so prone to be the case).
These little bun-buns are playing hide and seek behind the roses.
Anyhoo… Where were we?
Oh yes! I am absolutely flattered that Michaela thinks so much of me. Actually, I am humbled.
Thrift store shopping continues. Ah, G.W. Boutique, I love you. In honor of Alice Month, I have pinned on an Alice brooch.
Old Navy dress 4 dollars; striped turtleneck 3 dollars. Black leggings — an old wardrobe staple bought new a few years back.
BEAUTY TIP, ANYONE?
When winter weather gets here, it seems my skin just won’t stay moisturized. Really. I feel that fair, freckled skin is prone to dryness and wrinkles anyway, but the winter cold combined with the dry heat going on inside just wreaks havoc!
Enter the avacado. Every morning, I peel a slice to eat and peel up a slice to put on my face. I mash it up and smoothe it over face and neck, leaving it there until it dries. I then wash it gently away with warm water and pat my face dry. You’ll have to try it to know how good it feels. And eating avacado, well that’s not hard!
Avacado has a strong anti-aging antioxidant called glutathione. Glutathione increases immune cells and breaks down bad fats.
Of late, I have really been trying to snack on healthy things when I am in the mood for something sweet. Sweet potato fries with honey. A smoothie made of yogurt, bananas and frozen strawberries. Yogurt with fruit stirred in. You get the picture.
I have to admit though, I have a weakness this time of year…
Looks like it might be whipped cream on top of hot chocolate, but it is actually whipped cream on top of coffee. Yeah. With cinnamon sprinkled on top. Since I live in WONDERLAND, why not also pretend that I have My own Starbucks right off my office? Actually, I am trying not to do this 10 times a day. Just one. Or two.
Well, dear readers, tag making is in progress. I have cut handmade tags which are currently being readied for the Alice Tree. I think this will be a major learning curve. I do . I am wondering if Michaela’s school would want to see the Alice Tree when it’s done. Maybe I am asking for a lot of work to have to haul this thing to her school.
A girl can dream.
And I say, dream big, or go home!
Here’s to this day. Enjoy this day!
OH, AND PS!! Here is a website with Alice in Wonderland, including illustratrations from various illustrators! It’s a treasure! Alice in Wonderland.
By Lynn, on December 28th, 2011%
“Only an ugly thistle,”
I heard you say
Of a pretty purple blossom
Beside the way.
But that was before the pastures
Were bare and brown,
Or Frost had cut with his sickle
The flowers down.
Here now is this self-same prickly
And ugly weed,
But its tufts of purple blossom
Have gone to seed.
And forth from their dingy covers
Come lovely things –
The tiniest of creatures, flying
On silken wings.
These are the seeds, and hither
And thither they go,
Light as the downiest feather,
White as the snow.
Loitering, or blown and drifted
About the air,
They make dull days in November
Seem almost fair.
~Clara Doty Bates
I read this earlier today in a very, very old children’s book called Seashore Chats, published in 1898.
I could not help but think of my own life — marriage over, buckets of tears left behind, and a garden of 23 years overgrowing from neglect these days. But on the winds of change (yes, they are a blowin’) I see the tiniest, most beautiful seeds.
You see, life is precious. And we only get one of them. Are we to be selfish with our lives, saving every last ounce of energy and time and thought for ourselves? No! But when a person becomes so sad and so drained as to have no peace, and when little ones are caught staring hard at their mother, wondering if she’s okay, then self-preservation must begin. That is when it should begin. That is when it does begin.
And what are seeds, except self-preservation? There are so many lessons in the garden, dear friends. I am humbled and amazed at the lessons that are indeed there!
And, dear friends, it does not take disaster to bring out the delicate seeds of beautiful change. Seeds of change can take the form of better eating habits, commiting to daily outdoor walks, or vowing to speak in a softer voice to one’s children. Seeds of change are beautiful!
My “flower of the day” today is not a thistle, but a white silky rose, pinned to a white Ann Taylor sweater, a recent thifty 3-dollar find. If I see perfectly clean and delicate silk flowers at the thrift store, I buy them up if they seem to match my purposes for them.
You can take a bloom apart and use as many or as few of the petals as you want. Put a smaller flower (paper flowers are good) inside and pin it all to your sweater with a safety pin coming from the inside of your sweater. Just be careful and don’t get stuck!
Another recent thrifty find, which I am absolutely LOVING, is this long (sweeps the floor) denim Arden B. skirt. I should have photographed the hem (or lack of one!) because it is the type of skirt that looks as if it had been hemmed and then it was all let out. Very cool. A few strings. I love it!
Perhaps I should learn not to swing all my weight onto one hip right before the flash. Sorry! I really mean it! Sorry! But I did want you to see the lovely V-shape set into the back of the skirt, so I am including this picture anyway! It’s a very pretty and flattering skirt! Skirt = 4 dollars.
Here is wishing you joy and wonder, and delicate seeds of change!
And now…
I accept your dare! The Alice Tree will be! The month of January is Alice Month at Rose Cottage! More lights! Alice tags, Alice tarts, Alice roses, Alice ornaments! It will be quite the tree! You are invited to join me! And we will share our trees come the end of January!
Enjoy this day!
By Lynn, on December 21st, 2011%
My Dear Friends,
Will you walk with me? Remember when we used to take our little walks through The Little Wild Garden? Ahh, those days are days of the past. But it is okay. I have a place for us to walk, and I think you’ll like it. The land is not mine, but is any land really mine? It is on the periphery of the apartment complex. There are beautiful colors this time of year. Muted, yes. Dull, no!
And a girl can always array herself in bright colors, which will stand out all the more against a backdrop of nature’s winter pallette.
Another fun 3 dollar dress!
All that’s left of what once was, perhaps even prettier than before.
The other day while out shopping, I saw a quotation that stopped me and caused me to pause for a moment.
“Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood and probably will not themselves be realized.” ~Daniel Burnham
I will add to this myself by saying that if you do make big plans, you must surround yourself with people who share your vision, or your plans will never be realized at all. Not even the smallest parts.
The life blood of the plant is gone, but the delicate frame stands on. It will crumble during winter and be replaced by new life!
I love the tiny bit of red. Actually, I adore the colors in this picture and can see a future kitchen with these colors. Can you? I am sure that as my life unfolds, you will get to see all the details. I hope you will still be walking with me!
Grass. A field of weeds and wild flowers. Trees beyond. Who would guess that a very busy highway is hidden in the midst of the trees!
Also love these colors! I can see just a very tiny touch of this green in my new home as well. New home. I believe.
I was so tempted to venture into the woods and do yet more exploring, but these woods are not mine and I did not want to tempt any neighbors or property owners to be upset with me!
So beautiful! These tiny blue-gray berries entice me to stand and admire. Yet another color I can see in my future. Don’t you think!?
I hope each of you have wonderful winter holidays! Enjoy time with family! Take joy!
By Lynn, on December 7th, 2011%
Sometimes I suprise myself when I find a new ray of sunshine in my life. Where were you, sunshine, all those years? I looked hard for you but always found you only indirectly. You were shining on The Little Wild Garden, you were, and that, in turn, kept me alive. Maybe I should be glad you were not shining on me all the time. For something had to make me move. Something. Anything. And find again the girl inside me who was dying.
Yeah, I am amazed every time I see a little bright spot in my life. A new, fun dress. A big flower pinned on for good measure. Something that makes me laugh. Doing something that reveals a part of me that was hidden from me and I had forgotten about.
I don’t want to make this blog a ME, ME, ME blog, but I am full of things I could share about women who give too much. Isn’t there a book about that somewhere? Ah, well. We must balance taking care of ourselves with laying down our lives for a friend. It is a delicate balance, friends, and one to examine in our own lives every day. I find that praying for widsom helps the most.
Do you love being a girlie-girl? (Well, of course not if you are one of my male readers.) But if you are a girl, are you a girlie girl? In a vintage shop the other day, I found these very dainty little hairpins with what looked like ivory roses on them. Even something so tiny makes me happy!
Yesterday, on a French country looking scrap of fabric, I dried dozens of handcut tags for the holiday season. Every little break yesterday, I tended these tags.
I tended these tags. I hummed Christmas carols. I thought of what to make next. The artsy side of my brain was happy.
And I ended up with 62 tags, ready for selling and/or using.
All covered in sparkly dust.
Pink sparkly dust, no less. And also sprinkled with some invisible fairy dust, left over in my thoughts from The Little Wild Garden.
This morning they are packaged into bundles of 5 and are ready for distributing. Don’t you LOVE making things this time of year? Oh my!!
I guess you are wondering about my latest GW find? Reference dress at top. Right at 3 dollars, give or take a few cents. Also, the desk I am leaning against was a find on the same day. I had been looking for EXACTLY that, to put the doll house up on, because a certain fatso spoiled rotten beagle of the universe (who shall remain nameless) had been chewing on doll house furniture. $9.99. And below, see the new, lovely, Victorian looking lamp for my mail/bill desk. $4.99.
Let’s enjoy this day! Let’s sing! Let’s twirl! (Put on something pretty!) Take care of yourself.
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About Lynn
I am the mother of four delightful children: a 23-year-old son, a 20-year-old son, a 17-year-old son, and a bright and bubbly 13-year-old daughter. I share an apartment home with my 17-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter. My little home on the internet is called Rose Cottage because of my love for gardening, roses, and all things romantic and Victorian. Welcome.
I'm a North Carolina girl and I love sharing North Carolina links and information. I do medical transcription from home. My hobbies include making sweet little dolls from clay who are named and have their own stories to tell. I also make old-fashioned brooches. These are for sale in my Etsy shop.
For 13 years continuously, I homeschooled some or all of our four children, but the time came that our homeschool had to be closed. It was the end of a beautiful chapter in my life. I will always be a strong supporter of homeschooling and I will continue to review books and maintain my homeschool website, The Healthy Homeschool. The Players
Lil Ol' Me
Son Daniel, 23
Son, Big Joe, 20
Son, John, 17
Daughter, Michaela, 13
Annie Fatso Beagle
My Symphony
To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly; to listen to stars and birds, to babes and sages, with open heart; to bear all cheerfully, do all bravely, await occasions, hurry never. In a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common. This is to be my symphony.
William Henry Channing
1810-1884
What You Do Sow a thought, reap an action.
Sow an action, reap a habit.
Sow a habit, reap a character.
Sow a character, reap a destiny.
Contact Me 
I would  for you to leave a comment, but you can also e-mail me at lynn AT thehealthyhomeschool.com
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