A Pink Fiesta

Look what I just found!

Fiesta ‘Flamingo’!

This will be a great addition to my lovely rainbow of Fiesta dinnerware. I’m so excited!

The color is still in preorder but I ordered a few to add to my collection. I’m so excited. They look so lovely!

In other news…. Our England trip is less than a month away. I’m freaking out a little bit right now. And I’m so very grateful I have a sister who lives there to not only invite me, but be familiar with the area a bit. It’s strange to travel without my husband.

Speaking of his deployment, he ate camel meat. Can you believe it?

And on the home front, today is the last day of school. My daughter went to the park with friends and I brought them a bag full of treats to celebrate. And in an unusual twist for Washington, it actually LOOKED like summer. Hoorah!

-Lynnae

Painting Play Date

Why do we wait so long to get out the paints when we love it so much?

That’s what I’ve been asking myself.

A friend and I have been planning to have a painting day for a long time, but so many things kept getting in the way. Finally we settled on last Thursday (we had to do it before school let out).

Our plan was for some plein air painting, but living near Seattle we had to have a back up- I ended up putting together a still life in my breakfast nook.

Even though I’ve painted with oils before I’ve never taken a class, so she had some tips and tricks to show me as far as setting up and maintaining my supplies.

The hours FLEW by. We had to stop for a yogurt break at some point, and then it seemed only minutes before the bus was dropping off kids and it was time to get back to the mommy world. But boy did we have fun.

And you know what? I’m thinking of clearing out the breakfast nook and just setting up an art room there for the summer.

-Lynnae

PS- Speaking of Art Room, I have a link on my sidebar to the 2012 Where Bloggers Create blog party. Join in! It’s so much fun!!!

Saturday Project- Box of Drawers

One day my husband brought home a little box of drawers someone was getting rid of. It’s about 6 inches tall and 2 feet long. He knows I like to paint and play around with things like this.

I was planning on painting it black and just needed the right embellishments. I bough some cute Tim Holtz idea-ology products- some number ‘plaquettes’, and these darling little metal legs called ‘foundations’ that I have been dying to use on something! I nailed on the legs. The numbers come with brads but since they were going onto wood I nailed them also.

 

 

 

 

Then I sanded the edges to give it a little wear. As I was pondering wear to put this I thought of a cute little iron ‘garden house’ that I bought a week ago. Thinking they would look great together I added a number to that and set it on top of the drawers.

Viola!

-Lynnae

One Week Down…….

My sweetie has been gone just over a week now. Over 9 months to go for his deployment. Just writing that sort of takes the wind out of my sails a little bit.

I know I’ve been a crummy blogger lately. Between getting up at 4:30 every morning for an early morning job (which tires me out), and preparing for my husband to be gone (which saddens my heart) I just haven’t had the mental energy to sit and blog and say everything except what I’m thinking about non-stop.

I have done a few little projects around the house this week. One that I’ve had a lot of fun with is fixing up my porch with more flowers and trying to make it more inviting.

Here’s the view from the front Yard….

-Lynnae

These Ladies Have Pizazz!

And I want to be just like them when I grow up.

-Lynnae

Rose- My Life in Service to Lady Astor

If any of you are craving a little more of the ‘upstairs, downstairs’ lifestyle now that Downton Abbey is in between seasons, I have a little book to recommend to you.

Lady Nancy Astor

I recently finished ‘Rose- My Life In Service to Lady Astor’.

It was a sweet memoir of the ladies maid who served Lady Astor, the first woman in Parliament. American born Lady Nancy Astor was fiery, strong willed and temperamental. She met her match in Rose Harrison, the hard working, indefatigable ladies maid who was pretty strong willed herself. Her struggles to look after the needs of Lady Astor remind me of the young professional in “The Devil Wears Prada”, accomplishing seemingly impossible tasks while handling an enormous workload.

Originally published in 1975, this book is back in paperback, and a great little spring read. It’s not heavy into drama or scandals, just a sketch of what it was like for one woman to work for one of the most famous and richest women in England. There are plenty of brushes with royalty and travels to exotic locals.

Lady Nancy Astor

One story I loved was how Rose, when accompanying Lady Astor on trips, was responsible for carrying all of the jewelry that her Lady would be wearing. She was entrusted with a small handbag that had to remain with her at all times, containing tiaras, necklaces, and other jewelry worth a large fortune while boarding ships, trains, or airplanes. All the while she would be overseeing the removal of baggage, handling the tickets and traveling papers, and tending to the clothing and other needs of her Ladyship. I found this amazing. She had earned her trust through her excellent service and hard work. It was her duty to wash much Lady Astor’s clothing. Trained as a dressmaker, she made or altered dresses and also sewed dainty, lacy slips and underwear.

Rosina Harrison

I hope you enjoy this sweet spring read!

-Lynnae

Gray days.

I’ve been painting with primer over a magenta colored accent wall in my house, getting ready to spruce up  my family room. It’s a slow process, and with three coats of primer up (and a bunch down my dog’s left side-whoops!) I think it’s about ready for the white paint. It’s amazing how much this lightened up the kitchen, just painting a five foot length of wall.

Here in Washington it’s been mid-winter break, and boy did I need it. Three days this week I slept in until almost nine, and it felt good. Back to the early-bird routine next week.

I just want the sun to come up a little sooner. Could the earth tilt just a little bit more, is that too much to ask? These dark, drizzly days are really wearing me out.

On the Jane Austen front, I’m still getting ready for my annual party, and hoping I can get a dress completed by then for my daughter. She wants something red and silky. Excellent taste!

-Lynnae