Lifesize Kitten Parfait

If this doesn't brighten up your Monday, nothing will.♡

Found on: https://pinkfairiesteaparty.tumblr.com/ This link will take you to a site completely devoted to decorated pastries for all occasions and an occasional kitten parfait. Enjoy!

xo

The Most Beautiful Easter Cookies

These lovely cookies are almost too pretty to eat, aren't they? via

🐰 H A P P Y   E A S T E R 🐰

Spring Flowers for Good Friday

I moved my hellebore closer to the front door so she would be in more shade than she was previously.

My grape hyacinths are doing well in spite of my neglect.

I have been working outside for two straight days getting all my outside faucets, hoses, and hose reels in tip top shape and it hasn't been easy. I have worked with hack saws, plumbers wrenches, WD40, hose clamps, and various other tools. I had to replace several outlets by butchering old hoses. Most of my reels leaked underneath but not anymore. I've been wanting to do this for years and now I'm all set for years to come and I enjoyed giving them new life. That's another thing on my laundry list I can cross off and feel good about doing myself.

! Best Powder Room !

The black floating sink inset into the white wood paneling is absolutely stunning. What a wonderful design for a small space. It's just wonderful! Tour other rooms in this Houston home here. Enjoy! xo

Tiny Duck with Giant Girlfriend

Love at first sight.

She loves him too.

Read the delightful article about a male green-winged teal (one of the smallest ducks in North America) who fell in love with a Mallard three times his size.

This story warms my heart.♡🦆

Love is love.

All photos by SHANNON EMMEL

https://www.thedodo.com/daily-dodo/tiny-duck-is-obsessed-with-giant-girlfriend-three-times-his-size

Enjoy!

xo

Small but Wonderful Home Office

It's wonderful, isn't it?

I love the potted plants in the window.

I love a small home office and this one is the best.

via

Perfect Summer Bedroom

Isn't this gorgeous? I love the ceiling. 

I would prefer no rug under the bed though.

I would want to put my bare feet on a cool bare floor in the summer. The rug could go back for the winter.

Photo found here.

xo

Contest Winning Galley Kitchen

So nice. If you can't have a window over the sink, try to have one nearby. I love this bench under that grand tall window. 

deVOL kitchens (Image credit: DeVol)

Get ready for a joy ride of great kitchens.

https://www.devolkitchens.co.uk/blog/the-most-loved-devol-kitchens-of-2020

"Beating out bigger and grander rooms, this small and understated kitchen clinched the top spot at the very last moment! Whilst many of us dream of large sprawling kitchens with islands, dining tables and counter space galore, the reality, particularly in the city, is often a small room which can fit only the necessities. However, this project shows that even a small space can give you the kitchen of your dreams, all you need is well-made furniture and some clever design."

Spring Flowers Just Outside The Door

S P R I N G

Tulips and dogwood blossoms.

Just perfect. via

Have a great weekend!

xo

Ants have Aphid Friends: Who Knew?

“Ants and the Aphids” (© Prathamesh Ghadekar. All rights reserved.) Winner, Natural World. Aphids and ants coexist in a symbiotic relationship: The aphids suck the sap of plants and then secrete a substance called honeydew that feeds the ants, who in turn protect the aphids from predators.

The above photo was the winner of the Natural World Category. See all the winners🏆 of this contest -- Smithsonian Magazine Announces Winners of Its 19th Annual Photo Contest Be sure and click on the link. Each and every photograph is absolutely wonderful. xo

Wonderful Country Kitchen

I have been saving this photo on my desktop for ages and I have no idea where I found it. Later today I'll search for the photo source. Isn't this a wonderful country kitchen? Don't you want to pull up a chair and have a cup of coffee? The drop-leaf table is all set up for that and acts as a kitchen island as well. I am calling the blue and white checked table covering oil cloth. Can you still buy that? It lasted forever and was so much easier to wipe down than to launder and iron a tablecloth. I grew up in the era when nothing was used rough dried but had to be starched and ironed. That was the only household task my mother despised. xo

Best Repurposed Under Sink Cabinet

This sink cabinet juts out into the room like a piece of furniture that has been converted for use in the kitchen. Designed by Gregory Vaughan of Kelley Designs, Inc. I honestly thought this was an old piece of furniture that was repurposed. It's fabulous, isn't it? More kitchen trends here.

History of the Easter Bunny

Gearing up for the big day in less than two weeks. via

Benjamin Franklin Documentary on PBS Tonight

I am definitely excited about the first two-hour segment tonight @8pm and the final two hours tomorrow night. Benjamin Franklin has been fascinating to me. Be sure to set your DVR, stream on PBS Video, or watch live tonight on PBS. 

More viewing information here.

It Happened Again ☕️

I have no idea where I found this but it made me laugh.

Have a great Sunday. xo

Best House Tour Ever: Robert Kime's London Flat

Sit down, get comfy, and get ready for a treat.

Robert Kime's intricately-layered flat is the distillation of 50 years of expertise. The London flat owned by antique dealer and decorator Robert Kime is a journey of discovery through decades of collecting art, textiles, and curiosities. There is a fabulous 8-minute video with Robert Kime and 9 more photos. WOW. Wonderful article too from House & Garden UK. 

Begin tour here. 

Enjoy! xo

1953 Movie Recommendation

"Peanut vendor and washed-up baseball player "Coop" Cooper teaches his 9-year-old son all the game's finer points. When Christy becomes the new bat boy, the youngster passes on his father's advice to the teammates and soon the team is winning. The team owner then names Christy the team's head coach as a publicity stunt."

This movie is playing this morning on MOVIES! channel on my air antenna TV but I have too much to do to sit and watch it. I found it on YouTube here in case you can't see the movie above. This is NOT an April Fool's joke, I love old movies with children. This one is about baseball and it looks very good. Enjoy! xo

UPDATE: I watched the film above and there were no commercials. I loved it. Another baseball movie started playing automatically after the first movie ended. It was the true story of Dizzy Dean, the pitcher. It grabbed my attention immediately and I ended up staying up until almost midnight. I loved it too.  Here's the link. 

The title of the movie is: The Pride of St. Louis.

George Washington: Rare Miniature Portrait on Ivory

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — A rare and important “H. Patterson Harris” portrait miniature of General George Washington, completed by Charles Willson Peale (American, 1741-1827) after his 1779 sitting and public commission to honor the “hero of the Philadelphia campaigns” was the top lot at Brunk Auctions March 25-26 sales, bringing $442,800 and selling to a private collector in the United States, bidding by phone, who was underbid by an American institution, also bidding by phone. It is the only known miniature of its kind that has ever been offered at public auction. Painted in watercolor on ivory, in what was presumed to be its original 18K gold case.

The miniature was accompanied by a period leather case lined with silk, a circular 18K gold locket containing a lock of hair purported to be that of Washington, a brass inlaid mahogany studio desk and its assorted contents, and a medallion that reads “CH Peale / to / Coleman Sellers.” 

The portrait miniature was published in Charles Coleman Sellers’ Portraits and Miniatures by Charles Willson Peale. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society. Descended in the family of H. Patterson Harris of Westport, Conn.

That must have been a very exciting auction for the audience. They were so lucky to have been able to see this rare portrait of the father of our country in person.

Charles Willson Peale: (American, 1741-1827) Rare and Important Portrait Miniature of General George Washington, c. 1785, the "H. Patterson Harris" miniature, painted after Washington’s sitting with Peale in 1779, watercolor on ivory, 2 x 1-1/2 in.; presumably original 18kt gold case, pinned to silk lining of a period leather case, 3-1/4 x 2-1/2 in.; together with a circular 18kt gold locket containing a lock of hair, (purchased separately) purported to be that of General George Washington, 1 in. diameter, pinned to the opposite side of the period leather case; together with Peale’s studio desk and its assorted contents, mahogany with brass inlay, medallion reads “CH Peale/to/Coleman Sellers” Note: This miniature is one of the works completed after the famed Sitting of 1779. This additional information and photo found here.

One Bird Not Looking

Dare to be different.

Aren't these brown birds with blue bills lovely?

They are Little Woodswallows (Artamus minor)

Found on @worldbirds32 on Twitter.

xo

Wonderful Kitchen Corner

This image has the feel of an old master painting.

Don't you love the composition and the light?

Photo found here. xo