thirty~one, January, nineteen hundred and eighty three...

i became a mother on this day, twenty nine years ago.

she arrived, bright and beautiful! she melted my heart!  

ohhhhh...those freckles...a million angel kisses from above!

she fills the world with sunshine!

she insisted on doing her own hair and makeup on her wedding day!

she has a confident, naturally sophisticated style! 

she worked in county government and for the college success foundation. she was on

 the board for an organization that purchased homes for homeless woman with 

children. their mission, to give them shelter long enough to become self sufficient.

this past summer, she became a mother.  Mr D and i were very nearby.

it was like this day twenty~nine years ago, that ray of sunshine!

the very same rush of love!  my sunshine was holding her sunshine!

my sunshine is now a mom!

she and her love, Jason delivered dear Holland Grace.

it's the most wonderful feeling to watch your child become a parent.

Chrislyn is a wonderful mother!  

time spent with my two sunshine girls is living beyond my childhood fairy tale dreams!

Happy Birthday, Chrislyn!

Happy Mommy Life! 

there is new joy in every day!

[withLove]

my '"grand" Valentine!

hellooo Monday!

yesterday, we celebrated Chrislyn's birthday! we had a lovely

Sunday dinner. Jason brought Chrislyn's favorite

decadent dark chocolate cake. 

 just when i thought... "life can't get any better", 

i got to hug and hold my first  Grand Valentine!

grandpa Dreams found her cute velour ensemble here!

have a great week!

[withLove]

Saturday shoes ...and the rest of the give a way!

last Saturday, we were living in one big slushy here in the PacNWest. the slush is 

gone.  for the past couple days it has been cold and crispy clear!

 a crispy clear forecast =  grey flannel boots! 

no fancy schmacy here. 

i found them two years ago, HALF PRICE, at a local sporting goods store.

~ * ~

this morning, i decided to try  a new breakfast!

i had never eaten a broiled grapefruit! 

after seeing photographs of this take on the morning treat on 

Pinterest and various blogs, it was due time for me to go for it! i dusted 

it with some brown sugar and popped it in the oven!

you might be thinking...Lynne, this is pretty simple. why haven't you tried this before?  .
here is the answer.

 the inspiration from blogging is a daily reminder to do and try things that i have never tried before. 

since this was spur of the moment, i didn't have a maraschino cherry on hand.
( grapefruit is usually photographed with a maraschino cherry in the center.)
the walnuts were a perfect substitute!  

you may have noticed the Somerset Life bookazine next to my breakfast.

( i moved it out of my place setting immediately after the photograph.) 

in my post yesterday, i mentioned  that i found something special at Barnes and Noble. 

i also mentioned that i drew a second name

on glassybaby give a way day. i am so very excited to give a copy of this

 beautiful publication 

to Linda 

at flowers on my table!

Linda...please email your address to me!

(oh!...the broiled grapefruit with walnuts was YUMMY! 

it was worth the 50 +  wait!)

thank you all for your daily inspiration 

and for lifting me at sunrise!

have a wonderful weekend!

[withLove]

Winterplace...a liebster thank you, Mr D's dinner, and a glassybaby winner!

happy weekend on the rise to all!

what a week it has been! 

(snow day catch up week!)

on Tuesday, i received two Liebster blog awards from two very dear blog friends.!

thank you, Cheryl! Cheryl has a beautiful blog called
" fresh vanilla for C"
~here~
she lives in SoCali ( i just love saying that). she has a beautiful
family and shares her passion  for  vintage style. i love to
peek at  SoCali  shops and "vintage where a bouts" through her eyes!

thank you, Maria!  Maria is a newer blog friend!
she portrays the essence of country living sprinkled
with French sugar on her blog...
Rusty Hinge
~here~

Liebster is German and means 'dearest' or 'beloved' but it can also mean 'favorite'. The idea of the Liebster award is to bring attention to blogs with less than 200 followers. So, in the spirit of good fun I am passing this award on to 5 other bloggers.

please click over and visit them. Then decide if they may be one of your new favorite blogs!

The RULES are:

1. show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.
2. reveal your five picks for the award and let them know.
3. Post the award on your blog.
4. bask in the love from the most supportive people on the blogshare-other bloggers.
5. have fun and spread the love!

and the Liebster is awarded to:

The Velveteen Rabbit
Linda's life journal
Texas Tales
The Taylor House
number five is very new.  my daughter, Chrislyn at
Holland Blossom
i offered to do a post with a link to her blog. she asked me to
wait a month or so. (she is just getting her feet wet.)
if you would like to stop by and welcome her
to blogdom, please do.

~ i checked to see if you were award free blogs. if you do not have
the time to devote to award linking right now, it's totally fine.
blogging is about the spirit of having fun!~


~* ~

on Wednesday night, Mr D surprised me with a

beautiful steak dinner. when i arrived home after working late,
i walked into the kitchen to find

 a perfect green salad and two baked potatoes... just

out of the oven ...they were rubbed with olive oil and dusted with sea salt.

( i cannot believe that i did not grab my camera.)

i looked around...Mr D and the Chocolate Gousse were missing.

i found them out in the "oh so cold" grilling the steaks! Mr D had a
glass of wine in hand...the Chocolate Gousse was happy and waggling away!
i just had to share this sweetness!

I'm a lucky girl!

~ * ~

 now that i am caught up at work and here on
my blog it's time to announce the winner of

the

glassybaby 

give a way!

she picked...

glassybaby "chango"

10% from the sale of each chango will be donated to PAWS Chicago, a champion for animals.

Heather, it's you!...
...and because of you, we have some furry pals
 in Chicago that will benefit from this!

~here~


please email your address to me!

i am exhausted elated with all this giving and paying it forward!
my coffee is cold! i'm going to go warm it up and get ready for work!

before i go...i'm just going to tell you that i found a little something
special at Barnes and Noble last weekend...so, i decided
to draw just one more name...
i'll meet you in my Saturday shoes, tomorrow and tell you who it is!
am i being a tease? YES, i am!

[withLove]

January's pink post!

just checking...

...because i love you!

{tomorrow... i love my Liebster girls and the

winner of the January glassybaby! give a way!}


[withLove]

Winterplace...just signing in...

it's catch up week at work!

i missed three days last week due to the snow!

i haven't posted since Sunday. i have missed you!

~so~

i'm here to say hello and share a  pretty piece of laundry!

~ here~

Winterplace...put the records on! Journey and Joan...

"some were

~via~

meant to sing

~via~

the blues."

~via~

"if you're offering

~via~

diamonds and rust,

well, i'll take

~via~

the diamonds!"


[withLove]

images via pinterest 

Saturday shoes ...

we're melting!

it's one 

BIG GIANT SLUSHY

here in the PacNWest!

i will be trekking in my crazy plaid rain boots!

what  kind of shoes will you be wearing today?

have a wonderful weekend! 

[withLove]

Winterplace...it's another morning at the farm table... under the chandie...a bit of French bread...

a view of our dining room from the kitchen sink.  our red phone is vintage
 PB. the Chocolate Gousse's  puppy chow is kept in the Ikea can! the chandie
looks very drum~like with it's upholstery ticking makeover for January.

the has snow stopped falling...

it's soooo frozen outside. most of the buses are not running. Mr D

drove into work this morning. he called and advised me to wait a bit before

going in to the office. i'll be commuting to work around 11:00 am, with my dear 

friend Helen. she has a 4 wheel drive vehicle, which is helpful in icy conditions.

last night, on the national news they were reporting how a few inches of

snow paralyses western Washington. it's mainly because we do not have adequate

road equipment and we dwell among steep hills.  when you cross the Cascade

Mountains into eastern Washington, it's a whole different story. they have much 

more snow than we do, which justifies the need for snow equipment. 

this morning i gathered some inspiration on the farm table. i had some natural

 black wool (which is really dark taupe) that i needed to wind into balls. i 

accomplished the winding with my coffee this morning.

i  then decided to grab some needles and cast on a few stitches for a winter scarf.

also on the table, i placed two of my favorite books from French General.

"Handmade Soirees"

and "Hand Sewn"

Hand Sewn has an envelope filled with beautiful patterns

inside the front cover!

our table holds today's inspiration. 

i hope that you have the loveliest day!

it's time to get ready for the Northwest trek to the office...MUSH!

with...

very over priced...but inspiring...

~here~

{i'm linking up today!}

Winterplace...snowed in...found a pretty Etsy shoppe...

this may be your very first peek at 34th street!  it's just a regular

little neighborhood street. this morning, it

is beautiful because it has been dusted with a blanket of  fresh fallen snow. 

a few posts ago, i mentioned that i wished to keep a couple strands of 

lights up until the end of January.  we chose the glowing cedar garland on the
 front steps. the garland still so fresh and fragrant. Mr D has the lights on a timer. 

the lights are a welcome greeting when we return from our workday.
this morning it frames our  front porch view of  34th street.

it's so pretty!

on the steps i have two stone vases filled with bay leaf branches!

Mr D's miniature fir lollipop topiary  has a new winter cap!

there are two chilly little winter Pansy plants and a  iron hummingbird .

it amazes me how the Pansies weather the winter storms.

our home style is a Pacific Northwest Contemporary. it was built in 1979.

this is what it looks like at 5am on a snowy week day morn. 

we are early risers due to Mr D's commute. the snow is falling like

the finest sprinkle of sugar as i am taking the photographs.

~ * ~ 

i found this pretty little Etsy  shoppe!

Julie sells precious trimmings that are

reminiscent of  the "bits and bobs" that were in the homes of my
Grandmothers and Great Aunties!

i am smitten with this pleated crepe paper.

her products are  perfectly packaged and presented.
they would make a lovely party favor, or Valentine "as is".

she has also assembled a wonderful nostalgic Valentine kit for purchase!

if you would like to visit her shoppe click

~here~

[withLove]

Winterplace...sipping "warm" on snow days and nights!

it's snowing here on 34th street!

that means it's time for hot chocolate!

 we serve it...heaped with marshmallows,

or topped with freshly whipped cream 

and shaved chocolate!

here are the recipes of some of our favorite
Winterplace drinks along with a few 
new ones that i plan to try soon!

{hot mulled apple cider with whipped 
creme and caramel}
~ here ~

we love sipping a warm treat 

by the fire while taking in

Winter's cool magic!

PW's hot chocolate recipes!

~ here ~

below, are two snowy evening

 (or afternoon if you please) drinks with a little kick!

{blueberry tea}

 is my Whistler, BC signature drink. 

~  recipe here ~

(now that you have seen the recipe, you might ask... Lynne, where are the

blueberries? well, according to Wikipedia. ~here~ , the mix has

been likened to the taste of blueberries.

  i have used a blueberry blend tea in the recipe. it's also fun to

drop a fresh berry in the snifter with the cinnamon stick for a finishing touch.)

Gluhwein  (glow wine) or 

en France, Vin Chaud (mulled hot wine)

is Mr D's favorite when we go to the mountains!

~ recipe here~

speaking of PW... she took this photograph!
it's one of my favorite Winter "pins".

Ree's recipe for dulce de leche coffee is
right ~here~!


it's time to get to the office!
i'm leaving a bit late today. there are a few 
hills, both arterial, and freeway, between 
34th street and the office. i may just have Mr D. 
drive me in the Expedition since he's off
for M.L.K. day!

happy Monday !


[withLove]

{all photos courtesy of Pinterest}