Webster's Watercolors

I remember this day well. It was a nice summer day 2-1/2 years ago when I had a cottage in town under contract. I had to go over to wait for a home inspector and I took my mother and Webster with me. We sat on the front stoop to wait for the man and watched the locals walk up and down the street, with and without dogs. Webster was an angel. He never left the yard and was so happy as you can see from the expression on his face.

I should have doctored up the original a little bit to decrease the contrast so his eyes would show. I just wanted to show you some of the available choices. He looks so happy in all of them. I had an office meeting this morning and all of the agents were so excited when I showed them the watercolors of my listing. I had to make a few for the manager so he could post them on one of his listings too. Nobody could believe how easy it was! Love that Waterlogue app.

Stay warm. Looks as if we are all cold together on the east coast! I heard about the ice and snow in Birmingham, Alabama....I used to live there when I was young. Very tough for those of you not used to driving in it. Stay home and be warm. xo

Watercolor of The Cottage

Here's another iPhone photo of my cottage converted to a watercolor. It was a gray day with a sky much like we have today as we wait for another dusting of snow. I saved many different versions, the app is very addictive that way. Have you downloaded Waterlogue yet? I love that it shows Tabitha's little body so well on the front walk. I keep repeating John Lennon's quote as I play. Have a great weekend!

via

A Watercolor for My Real Estate Listing

One of today's comments suggested that I make watercolor portraits of the houses I sell as gifts and I will. The photo above is Piggy's house and it's for sale. I posted this watercolor portrait on the MLS as the primary listing photo yesterday. I have the regular photo there too. I can't wait to see if it generates any appointments. I feel like a broken record because I've talked about nothing else lately. Anyway, I wanted you to see this.

I also sent two watercolors to my buyers of their new house and they loved having them on their phones so they could show it off. I plan to make notecards for myself of my own cottage and I will print and frame one too. Now if I just had a robot to vacuum my house while I am playing on the computer, my life would be perfect!!!! 

xo - see you later.

I took an iPhone photo of my Wolfhound doorstop today and made two watercolors using the Waterlogue App. It was $2.99 and I love it. Believe me when I say it's as easy as pie to use. Really. It gives you 15 preset choices and you can click on each one until you find one you like. Then you can add a border and if you don't like it, you can remove it. You can also make watercolor darker. It's very simple. Click on the link above to see some beautiful examples. I love that you can do everything directly on your iPhone. I haven't tried it on my iPad yet but I'm sure that will be fabulous too.

Plain

Watercolor #1

Watercolor #2

Photo from an old blog post.

It's still snowing like crazy and it looks like about 12" so far. It's light and fluffy and easy to shovel. I had to go out in it today but my customer picked me up. I had to open a house so we could do a walk thru before a closing tomorrow. I hope I can dig myself out in time to pick up my commission check. It's in the afternoon, so I'm not too worried. Be safe and warm. xo

Watercoloring with My iPhone

This "watercolor" was done with an iPhone App called Waterlogue.

This is the photo I used for the watercolor transformation. It's fun to play around while it's snowing outside today.

Ice Igloo: Best Parent Project Ever!

An igloo constructed out of milk cartons filled with colored water and frozen. Snow is the mortar that holds the ice building blocks together. Isn't this the coolest thing you have ever seen? I guess you would have to start saving milk cartons way ahead of time. The colored ice blocks would freeze outside and wouldn't require a freezer. This would be something you would remember for the rest of your life. I want one too. The tunnel leading into the igloo is made of the ice blocks too. via

Prince Charles playing with delight in 1949

Princess Elizabeth, the Duchess of Edinburgh, playing around with her young son and heir, Prince Charles, in 1949.

It's easy to see he was adored by his mother. I love these animated gifs, don't you? Imagine what fun they must have had at Christmas!!!! via

Courtyard Patio w/ Flagstone Hopscotch

I found this photo on the MLS when I was searching sold properties near me. Isn't this a great idea? Look closely and you will see the impressed numbers on the stones arranged in a hopscotch pattern. I grew up loving this game, didn't you? Jacks, jump rope, and hopscotch were my favorites. This patio is perfect for all three. my image upload

Royals Watching the Highland Games in Braemar Scotland

They so enjoy each other's company.

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Queen Ellizabeth II and Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay laugh as they watch the sack race during the annual Braemer Highland Games at The Princess Royal and Duke of Fife Memorial Park on September 7, 2013 in Braemar, Scotland. The Braemar Gathering is the most famous of the Highland Games and is known worldwide. Each year thousands of visitors descend on this small Scottish village on the first Saturday in September to watch one of the more colourful Scottish traditions. The Gathering has a long history and in its modern form it stretches back nearly 200 years. See more pictures here.

1Have a great weekend

Try something fun like chasing butterflies. 

Swimming Hole in The Sea

Have a great weekend and enjoy one of the few last weekends of summer. Isn't this natural swimming hole in the sea great? via

Green Smoothie Detox Popsicles

These look so good. I recently got a great set of Williams Sonoma push-up popsicle molds at a thrift store for almost no money. They don't make them anymore so I was thrilled. They will be perfect for this recipe:

GREEN SMOOTHIE DETOX POPS

1 apple, cored and cut up into chunks

2 cups green grapes
juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp honey or agave
2 cups chopped kale, packed
1 cup cubed zucchini
1/4 to 1/2 cup water
1 avocado, peeled + de-stoned

Put all the ingredients, apart from the avocado, into a blender (start out with 1/4 cup of water. Add up to 1/4 cup more if you need it to get it blending) and blend until smooth.

Place a fine mesh strainer over a medium bowl. Pour the contents of the blender into the strainer and use a rubber spatula to push the juice through. Discard the pulp and rinse your blender. Pour the liquid back into the blender and add the avocado. Blend until smooth.

Divide mixture among the popsicle molds and freeze for 4-6 hours until firm (after 1 hour in the freezer, push popsicle sticks into the molds).

Don't they sound delicious? Recipe found here in celebration of Popsicle Week. Who knew?

A very Lucky Ducky

Are you considering a pet duckling? This one loves to be dried off with the aid of a warm hair dryer.

Watch here if you can't see the video above.

Kate and William Dueling w/ Magic Wands

Last april, the royal couple toured one of the main locations for Harry Potter films and got a short lesson in wand wizzard fighting and of course they mastered it right away, perfectly and effortlessly. She was wearing a white maternity dress with black polka dots and a black jacket and looked absolutely wonderful. via

Lovely Bicycles

I've never seen bikes with pick tires but I like them. It's much cooler this morning and I'm so happy. Now maybe my stiff neck from the air conditioning will go away. It feels better already since I turned the air off last night and slept with the windows open. Have a great Sunday. via

Benjamin Franklin Quote about Happiness

Fun with Quotes. I made this one here.

Boo.

So cute. Tabitha doesn't do cute. She's all business - eat, go out, sun herself, nap, eat, go to bed. via