Paper Flower Prayer Garland

Today was overcast and perfect for working indoors on paper crafting.

I recently purchased a Silhouette Cameo. Oh, the fun things you can do with this machine!

St. Louis Spring Garden Walk

I'll start this walk with a glimpse of Washington University's Hilltop campus. This picture is facing Graham Chapel and the gargoyle is one of many on its facade.

The campus itself is beautifully landscaped, but today I want to explore some of the neighboring streets. The homes that grace the periphery of Wash U's campus and Forest Park are filled with mature landscaped gardens and an eclectic mix of architecture.

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint: Old White Magic

Yesterday I was busy emptying out one of the bedrooms for what we have dubbed the Pullman Bedroom, the room will be outfitted with two iron beds (Craigslist finds), paired with two Pullman Resort posters (Cafe Press)and the waterfall rail travel themed dresser I completed a few weeks back.I can't wait to see all of the elements together and have that big reveal! 

Spring Fresh Wreath

It's spring!The daffodils have come and gone, my tulips are in bloom, and the redbud is budding. I love Spring and its time of reawakening and renewal, don't you?  

A Visit to Warm Spring Ranch home of the Anheuser-Busch Clydesdales

Not long ago we purchased a sweet blue mustang with a white convertible top.  Hubby and I selected Booneville, MO for our inaugural convertible day trip, home of AB's Clydesdale's. 

Things I Love Thursdays: Spring Babies

I must confess, I am a Flickr junkie. I love all things Flickr. One of my favorite groups is called TILT, which stands for Things I Love Thursdays. This group is all about spreading Flickr love.  The premise is simple, pick a topic of your choice, select photo's and created a mosaic. Share. The love you ask? The pictures cannot be your own, you must select photo's from others. I use Big Huge Labs Mosaic Maker to create my masterpiece.

If you want to join in the fun, sign up for a Flickr account, search the groups and join in.

Things I Love Thursdays -- Springtime Babies.

Mosaic includes photos from these talented Flickr Photographers:

1. .heirloom.

2. The Joys Of Spring

3. Baby Bunnies

4. .

5. Not so ugly Ducklings

6. Offspring

7. Gold Star Angel, Jenni's Cria

8. Kitten

9. puppy love

10. proud to be pink

11. BAA BAA BLING

12. Baby chickens hatched out:-)

13. Calf

Happy Easter

My daughter and I each have our own distinctive style. 

Crayon and basic Easter egg dye.

Where she's influenced by Tim Burton

Vintage Rail Travel Themed Dresser

A fictional railroad line departs at 5:30.
All aboard! Sorry about that, couldn't resist. :)

Both my father-in-law and my grandfather worked for the railroad and we have inherited many of their memento's, from pay stubs, Pullman wool blankets, to railroad lanterns. When I came across this Winter Resort poster I knew instantly our guest bedroom had its theme. I purchased two versions of Winter Resort from Cafe Press and couldn't be happier with their quality. In lieu of framing them, I plan to decoupage them to wood slats so they appear as old signage.

Signs of Spring

Spring has finally arrived--the calendar informed us of this fabulous occasion yesterday. In St. Louis,  we are still stuffing ourselves into winter coats and snow is falling in the counties south of us. To honor the new season, and to remind myself that yes, spring is here, I'm posting a photo taken in May a few years ago.  So on this chilly overcast spring day, these hanging baskets of Petunias, Marigolds, Lantanas and Geraniums can warm this gardeners heart.

End Table Redo

My daughter bought this end table at the Salvation Army store to use in her gallery show, Beautiful Blight, last May. After the show it ended up in our garage, as the piece isn't even wood, my hubby was ready to donate it to charity. I liked the lines of the table and decided it would be perfect for our guest bedroom makeover.

I painted the entire piece in Annie Sloan's Duck Egg Blue. For the handle I painted in Old White, highlighted in Pure White and added some Duck Egg Blue details.

Happy Pi Day!

Today is all about Pi, or the mathematical constant π. The American Pie Council has adopted the date as National Pie Day,

as in pi(e). I'm not a mathematician, but I do love pie.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Top of my list, Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. This pie brings back memories of my childhood, my Nana baked this concoction to its sweet and tartiest best. Unfortunately I don't have her recipe--I'm unsure if she even required one--here is Eating Well's version of Strawberry Rhubarb Pie.

Happy PIE Day All!

Happy St. Patrick's Wreath!

Happy 2013!

Our Merry Christmas

Santa is on his way

Make This! Pinterest inspired craft.

What I love about this project is the pure ease of it! And the price. I had all but the dry erase markers on hand, a collection of old frames, some left over burlap. Did I not say this was simple?

I came across this nifty idea on Pinterest and immediately pinned it to my Crafty Ways board. Jill Ruth & Co. blogger has made several for her home and I just loved the simplicity of it. 

Autumn Breakfast Hash

Really this could be anytime of the year hash, but as the leaves are still falling and it's November, I'll go with Autumn Breakfast Hash. My medical leave saga continues and I've been watching daytime T.V., one of my favorite programs is The Chew, a talk show, crafts show, foodie show. Perfect. This recipe is my take on Daphne Oz's Turkey Sweet Potato Hash -- you really can't go wrong with hash, it lends itself to adapting to the ingredients you have on hand. Daphne used apples and sweet potato's in hers and this intrigued me. I've used sweet potato's before, but never thought to add apples. A quick inventory of my fridge yielded fresh Kielbasa. This Kielbasa is the best, it's from Piekutowski's European Style Sausage shoppe, which is located in North St. Louis City, 40 or so miles from our home in the burbs. Our son was in that area yesterday and bought us some Kielbasa and other meats. So yum! Thank you son! 

Back to the hash. Here are the list of ingredients:

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 tbs butter
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 1 Idaho potato cubed
• 1 sweet potato cubed
• 1 apple cubed
• 1/2 red onion chopped
• 1/2 pound kielbasa
• Salt and pepper to taste

In a skillet, melt butter and add a tbs of the olive oil, add to this the garlic. After a few minutes, add the potato's and continue to cook until they are browned. Add additional olive oil if necessary. Now add your onion and continue to cook. Last, add the apple and kielbasa. The kielbasa is already cooked and only needs to be warmed, continue cooking until the apple is warmed through, but not too mushy. 

Cook your eggs in your preferred method--I cooked mine up over easy--plate a serving of hash and add your egg on top. 

This is a new breakfast staple for our house. Love the tart sweet bite of apple, along with the smokey flavored sausage. 

Enjoy!!

Sharing at:

blessedwithgrace:tempt-my-tummy-tuesday

33 Shades of Green: Tasty Tuesdays
mizhelenscountrycottage:full-plate-thursday-11-15-12

Memories

Memories, a photo by DiPics on Flickr.

Thanksgiving Mantel Inspiration

I'm currently housebound, as I tore my Achilles and had surgery two weeks ago. My knee scooter allows me to zip around, but simple things like hanging a picture can be problematic. The Halloween decor is being packed away and now it's time to dress the house for Thanksgiving. Get it, dress, like in dressing? I know, pretty lame.

I want something different this year for my mantel, so I've culled some Pinterest and Blogger finds here for inspiration:

Source: midwestliving.com via Diane on Pinterest

Source: thefrugalhomemaker.com via Diane on Pinterest

Source: shelterness.com via Diane on Pinterest

Source: potterybarn.com via Diane on Pinterest

Source: thebungalowblog.com via Diane on Pinterest

Source: adiamondinthestuff.blogspot.com via Diane on Pinterest

Source: thebungalowblog.com via Diane on Pinterest

Source: athoughtfulplaceblog.com via Diane on Pinterest

Source: adventuresindecorating1.blogspot.com via Diane on Pinterest

Source: thenester.com via Diane on Pinterest

PicMonkey.com Tutorial Featuring: Collage, Labels, Blending Tools and Text

Hi all, 

Here is another fun Picmonkey tutorial, in this one I show you how to create a collage, add background color, a label overlay and text. Did you know that Picmonkey has an easy peasy facebook banner collage? There are so many things you can do with your very own photo's, come on, let the fun begin.

Click below for today's tutorial.



Let me know how I"m doing, leave a comment with features you'd like to see.

Most of all, have fun!

di