Amazing Garden

On my way to the Post Office I drive by this lovely
garden.
This lady works hard to have all of her front yard
looking like this.
Last week I thought why not stop and ask if I
could take a few pictures of her garden. I pulled
up in front of her sweet home, had camera in my
hand and went up to her door, knocked, out came
this sweet lady. I told her how much I admired
her garden and was wondering if I may take a few
pictures of her beautiful garden,well she was
thrilled that I liked her garden and replied,
"Oh my yes, take all you want," so here is part
of her amazing garden.
Have a sweet day...Lu

Happy Father's Day

Daddy you were the best dad anyone could ever have.
Thank you for being my sweet dad and being there for me always.
I never saw you angry or upset about anything once in my entire life.
Remember when I was a little girl and you would
take me shopping down town to buy me my paper
dolls and my coloring books? Of course had to
have that big box of 64 crayons, oh how I loved
those days and will treasure
those memories forever.
Love you Daddy and miss you, I know you are my guardian angel...

A Wedding Party

I have joined Stephanie of Angelic Accents for this wedding party.
Two group wedding pictures are from 1930, family members, dear husband and I leaving on our honeymoon between them. The year was 1955, a magical time, this is our original cake topper and my crown, so glad I saved them all these years. See below for other vintage wedding pictures which I had posted previous to this party. God has truly blessed us and we are forever thankful.
Love is wonderful without love we have nothing.
Blessings...Lu

My Teddy Bears

Hi to all my precious friends, I never post things I make so today decided to show you just a little bit of my wares. I enjoy hand embroidery so made these children's clothes hangers, also love to sew and made the little bear dolls the last picture is of my favorite three bears. Gold bear was given to me before I was born, he is vintage by now, lavender is Annette Funicello bear, purple bear cause love purple. I also do decals on china cups etc., altered bottles, images on pillows and much more.
Hope you enjoyed my little bears...Love you all, Lu

Vintage Weddings

Sorry but had to take pictures down because people were stealing it.






Hello dear ones...Since it's almost June the month of weddings, thought I would post a couple old photos. Ok, so the first photo are my parents then my godparents. Don't you just love those vintage bridal gowns, don't they look so beautiful, and the men look so handsome. Both couples reached over 60 years of wedding bliss...we should all be so lucky, right?
Hugs...Lu

Our Wedding Anniversary

May 21, which is tomorrow Saturday, is our wedding anniversary. I thought it would be nice to post our hands photo which was taken on that day 56 years ago. Came across this little verse and thought it was perfect....
"They say nothing in the world is perfect but I know one exception, the joining of our two hearts" author unknown.
Hugs and rainbows to all my dear friends here on blogland.
Lu & Rick to God we give thanks...

Oh what fun to be able to be out in my small garden. I don't have much space so have to make good use of what I do have. Will post more pictures soon but this is what I have for now. Hope you are also enjoying your garden.
Loving hugs...
Lu

Happy Mother's Day Mom, I Miss You

"My Mother Emily, my friend so dear,
throughout my life you're always near.
A tender smile to guide my way,
you're the sunshine to light my day."

Cottage Style Pink Month

Hello dear friends,
I have pink through out my home, couldn't decide which pictures to use for Cottage Style Pink month.
Choose these three and hope you enjoy them...
Hugs from Lu

My Garden Roses

Yellow Rose means Joy, Friendship and Freedom
Red Rose is Love, Passion, Respect and Courage
White Rose is Innocence, Purity,Secrecy and Reverence
Pink Rose means Gratitude, Happiness and appreciation
To all my friends I give you a rose...
Hugs,
Lu

Happy Easter

Happy Easter to everyone. I made these bunnies back in the 80's and they come out every year to enjoy our Easter festivities.

Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA

Today being the second Sunday of the month, it's the day for the Rose Bowl. My granddaughter Kimberly and I love going there, so I packed our lunch she was here to pick me up early and off we went. What a wonderful day it was, weather was perfect, you can see the blue skies and temp was about 72deg.
We both came home with merchandise just bursting our of our bags. I found a fabulous vintage swan in pink and charcoal,very unusual, a gorgeous mirror for the dining room with pink trim and a few other pretties. She bought some to die for jewelry among other things. We can't wait till next month. If you are ever in Pasadena, you must go to the Rose Bowl on second Sunday.
Have a sweet spring week everyone...
Lu

Spring Flowers

Well think the garden is looking a little bit better now, it will take me a long time to get things back to normal this year. As I have said before I had shingles last summer and nothing got done outside, of course my husband couldn't do anything as he had a stroke. Little by little I will get it done and looking forward to it. My favorite time is early morning when the birds are just waking up, I say my morning prayers outside and enjoy the birds that come to visit and bathe.
"Oh, if you're a bird, be an early bird
And catch the worm for your breakfast plate.
If you're a bird, be an early early bird-
But if you're a worm, sleep late".
by Shel Silverstein
Have a wonderful day...
Lu

Cottage Style Color is Green

Bought the green bunnies at TJMaxx, this is my kitchen window.
My vintage cockatiels, a different green but still green.
Part of our china that my sweet husband brought back from Japan years ago. Have service for 12...a huge set.
Hugs...Lu

~ The fragrance always stays in the hand that gives the rose ~

A big thank you to amelias-parlor.blogspot.com for featuring my etsy shop on her blog. Take a peek and enjoy her lovely blog.

Spring Has Arrived

I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden. ~Ruth Stout
I absolutely love spring. Last year I had the shingles and could not do much in my garden, so hopefully this year I will be able to work outside and enjoy the garden.
I did the decal work on the tea pot and tea set, fired them in my kiln.
Lovingly,
Lu

Cottage Style Color Purple

I am joining up with etsy Cottage Style with the color purple this month.
These are some of my purple items, I have done the decal work and fired them in my kiln. Hope to do more this summer since I enjoy it so much. The purple card in frame was given to mom from dad when they were courting in 1930.
Blessings, Lu

Thought I would share with all of you my baking shelfs and give you the recipe to the cupcakes, it's an easy one. Ok, here we go:
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour (unbleached)
1 1/3 cups sugar
3 tsp baking powder (aluminum free)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 lg eggs
Preheat oven to 350 deg.
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in large mixing bowl.
Add shortening, milk and vanilla. Beat 1 minute med. speed.
Add eggs beat 1 more minute, beat on high for 1 more minute, till well mixed.
Spoon batter into paper lined cupcake pan 1/2 to 1/3 full.
Bake 20 to 25 minutes. Frost with your favorite frosting, I use Pillsbury Strawberry
...Pink hugs, Lu

Hello dear friends,
What would be the best thing to do on a very cold day like today, bake cupcakes that's what. We are expecting rain tomorrow and for the next several days, thought the rains had left us for places unknown but they are returning, guess they liked it here in CA...well I say, "welcome rain" we do need more of you so we can have our lovely flowers in April and May. I planted so many bulbs and am anxiously awaiting for the blooms to arrive, spring is just around the corner.
Have a wonderful evening...
Lu

Youth, Love and Marriage

Karen Valentine had a darling Valentine Party, something went wrong and many names were lost. I am trying to post my Love Story but have not been able to do so since something went wrong with her Linky Tool. However, will try again.
We met on a Friday the 13th when I was only 15 and he was 17, this was early in the year, saw him a couple of times at high school dances, I liked him and though he was was so cute, blue eyes and strawberry blond hair. He joined the Navy when he turned 18 in June of same year, he asked me if he could write of course I said yes. We wrote for the next four years and we really got to know each other and our love blossomed. He would come home for one month once a year and that was a magical time for us. When he was discharged he surprised me with a beautiful engagement ring. I remember we were sitting on our lawn swing in our back yard when he kept taking off the ring I was wearing, you know on and off like playing and at one point slipped it off slipped on the engagement ring, oh my gosh! what a wonderful time that was. We planned our wedding and took out our license also on a Friday the 13th, then we wed. Now three grown children and five grown grandchildren and still very much in love. He is still the love of my life and I am his.
Blessings to all...

Today is blue Monday at Cottage Country Style. The two blue ceramic dolls I made for my mother in 1980, tea pot is from a flea, the little girl is a Maude Humphrey and my two little birds have been with me forever. That's all I have in blue.

We had a wonderfully warm day here in CA today 82deg. so my husband and I had tea and cookies out in our patio. It was so nice to get out after all the rain we had just about a week or so ago. Birds were bathing in the fountain, had to keep our eyes on our cats cause they were keeping their eyes on the birds, whew! but all went well. Last summer we didn't have cats but now we do, two kitties. They enjoy the outdoors but know their home is inside and I like it this way, they can be in or out and they don't run away or get lost, they stay in the yard or the patio. Enjoy your evening my dear friends. Hugs, Lu

Today being Saturday, couldn't make up my mind about going out to a few garage sales, but decided I would for a little while. Didn't really find much except for this little beauty. Don't know what I will use it for yet but had to have it, isn't it cute?
It could be used for sugar, but already have a pink glass sugar bowl with lid, candy perhaps? Hmmm! this will take some thinking but meanwhile will enjoy it sitting on the counter and looking so pretty, of course it wasn't this clean when I bought it. Have a wonderful weekend...Lu

Since I love pink so much I like to collect pink plates with roses among other things, of course. Antique shops have a good supply of them. I use them for different things, to put jewelry or keys on them, some are for eating, for pretty soaps in the bathrooms and so on. It's so much fun to spend the day in antique shops or thrift shops too just looking around looking for that special item to take home. It's so exciting when you spot something you like, if it's at a distance it seems like forever that you don't get to it, whew! I made it, what a relief, right? It's happened to me more than once. If you are planning on a day out there, don't forget to take a snack cause you will get hungry and thirsty too. I eat as I go, can't stop have to get to the next store and the next. Enjoy the day, Lu

New Curtains

It's amazing how a new curtain can change a bathroom. Next to my studio we have a half bath, it's only mine. I was a bit tired of the curtain that was up, so the other morning while enjoying a cup of hot coco, I began to think about changing it, did not have a color in mind for this curtain just so it looked a bit victorian. Ok, got dressed and off I went to the fabric store, row by row I went, knowing that when I saw it would know this is the one and that's exactly how it was. Would you believe the last row of fabric, the last bolt...there it was. I got so excited and bought what was left, which was five yds. have enough for a long valance to go over my mirror closet door adjacent to the bath and my studio, plus made another curtain to another half bath we have. Decorated it with items we already had around the house, things look different when you move them from one room to another, didn't spend any money except for the curtain fabric. Hugs, Lu

Old Venice Manhattan Beach, CA

Well thought I would post a couple of pictures of our daughters restaurant. These pictures were taken before they opened for lunch. They have Greek/Italian Cuisine.
Before my husband had his stroke, we would always go for Valentine's Night. Julie our daughter would decorate so beautifully for the occasion and it was so romantic. Now it's difficult to take him out but we go whenever we can like today, it was a special day, my birthday, and we enjoyed the day at the beach.

My Birthday Today...January 13

Today is my birthday and my husband Rick and I are going to our daughters restaurant, Old Venice in Manhattan Beach for lunch. Later just the two of us will enjoy a cupcake each here in our living room. (pink cupcakes, of course)I just love pink and my eyes just go to anything and everything pink.

It's been so cold here in CA and the fog came in the other morning so my son took this picture from an upstairs window, now this doesn't seem like CA...we are used to sunshine most of the year. I like to bake in the mornings to enjoy fresh baked goods for breakfast so I made this raisin/cranberry bread and it made the kitchen so warm and cozy plus it smelled like a bakery here, of course I could have used a larger plate, oh well...my husband likes this bread, so I made it just for him.

I think I was born in the wrong era, would of loved to wear all the fashions they had then and gone to the balls to meet handsome young men. Of course I would of lived in a castle with a heavenly bedroom all designed in pink and gold...and my jewelry, oh well you can just imagine decorative boxes just bursting with diamonds and rubies. A girl can dream, right? That's me wearing the pink dress, do you want to be the other gal?

I was looking out this window in the morning and spotted this tom cat sitting out there waiting for food, just had to take a picture of him. He comes and waits for food, of course I cannot touch him, he is feral and afraid of everything. I only put the dish out for him and close the door. He is a beautiful cat.

Ivory Love Whispers Romance

A lovely ivory keepsake box that I felt looked romantic so called it Ivory Love. Cabbage roses in soft pink and champagne color with a beautiful hand painted china salt shaker right in the middle in sage green with pink roses. So perfect for your romantic cottage decor. Lunamia, my etsy shop.

Slipper in Aqua

This is a very small and sweet acrylic slipper which I call a Cinderella Slipper, only measures 4½". I decorated it all in aqua, this color is so popular right now and goes beautifully with pink. It will fit in any decor. Slipper is at my etsy shop lunamia.