the Saturday morning post!

i haven't shown you the chandie lately!

the leaf!   it flew here all the way from Indiana!

i popped a some "DSW" stripes on our sweet interior illumination...

... to coordinate with the October stitched book page banner.

happy Saturday!

i'm on my way over to do a DIY project with my Dad.
after we finish, Mom is taking me for a pedi!
mr d is out of town on a guys weekend!

[withLove]

Autumn notes...aromatherapy...

 Autumn's fragrant notes...

~ here...enjoy! ~

will be playing here on 34th street!

~ fragrance is described with a musical metaphor...

generally having 3 notes, which together produce a harmony!

the notes unfold over time.

the first impression is the top note which will lead you to the

middle note and the bass note. ~

here's to a harmonious Autumn weekend!

[withLove]

the stitched book page project is finished just in time!

~here~

if you have been following me for the past week,  you 

have had a few peeks at my progress on this little free hand

stitching project.  when i was working on my last page,

i decided that i wanted to add a little  pizazz  to the story.

keeping with the shop your home theory...i headed back up to 

my crafty studio. like most of you, i am a shopping bag 

hoarder collector. OMGoodness! how perfect is the DSW 

bag for Fall touches!

i added those cool stripes to the mix, with a couple book page

flowers. in the center of each book page posey,  i tacked a silk flower... 

(extras from the 150 that we made for Chrislyn and Jason's wedding two years ago). 

OK...ready to assemble...

mr d and i made a pact that i would never put holes

in the new cottage wall, so i doubled some lunch sacks

and filled them with rocks for my anchor pieces.

i had these cute little clips on hand...

they worked out  perfect...

the first page hung in the center...CHAPTER ONE,

and the simply stitched FRENCH TOUCH BREAD!

i am really tickled about how the banner turned out!

it makes me SMILE!

just a sweet little touch of  Fall...

on our newly created COTTAGE WALL!

some things never change and my favorite kitchen tool...

good day, all!

here on 34th street we are city folk that live

on FARM TIME. the alarm clock has been set at

4:45 am for over 30 years! 

the children are raised and on their own now, but 

one ritual has not changed. i make mr dreams lunch

every workday. the good news is that i am a 

morning person...and mr d doesn't mind 

leftovers for lunch. 90% of the time his lunch

is last night's dinner. i just make one extra portion

so it's a no brain er in the morning! 

actually it's kind of cool...his lunch can be anything 

from a beef tenderloin and twice baked potato

to a Chinese stir fry.

today it's spaghetti and meatballs. my fave kitchen tool is the Microplane!

i don't know what it is...but i just love this tool. it makes 

everything special. i use it for everything from

cheese to chocolate. if  something looks boring, i just grab 

the Microplane.

mr. d has a 60 min commute by bus to the 

University of Washington, so i usually throw in

a snack for the way home. the added treat right now

is our favorite HONEY CRISP apple.

(thank you Minnesota!)

so here it is ... today's lunch ready for mr d to

toss into his back pack!

then...it's...

 a kiss and a hug... we'll meet again at dinner

tonight...when the ritual happens once again!

oh!

did you think i forgot about ME?

this is where i add a touch of FRENCH to today!

it's a serious healthy addiction too...Tender French Beans 

from Costco...Tendres haricots verts...yum, yum and YUM!

i toss everything on top of these beans...

this morning it's Sunday night's beef tenderloin and almonds.

i added a HONEY CRISP and cheese.

 yes... that's last year's Starbucks Christmas shopping bag!

~*~

i'm off to work...and one more thing...

my mom's having knee surgery today...

i'll been leaving the office early.

please keep her in your prayers!

[withLove]

still stitching...

the inspiration piece 

i was going to go to the bookstore to find

an old book, but i thought...why not shop the house!

the pages are from a book that i  read as a child.

just free handing...no patterns...

i'm adding some texture here and there.

hopefully i'll be finished by Wednesday 

for Laura's Fall in love with your house series! 

happy Monday!

i gotcha covered...and cheerful graces!

remember this?

~here~

the washstand... with the cookbooks...piled in 

their temporary place in the living room.

then there was a little inspiration on Pinterest!

the before and after...so far...i even  found a new look for our  Chocolate Gousse's cookie jar!

yesterday, i made myself a giant mug of tea and started covering away.
it was sort of fun covering books in the Fall. it reminded me of my
old school days. i'm about half way finished. i just thought that i
would share my  progress...
and this!
the very sweet thing about the covering
project, was reading all the sentiments written inside the books that
were gifts to me.  my favorite is from my youngest brother Jay. it would be the
last cookbook and sentiment from him. due to a head injury, he experienced early
 onset dementia. he passed away about five years ago. he always recognized my
creative passion! i wish to share his sweet words with you today.

i LOVE  how he wrote the sentiment to my whole family...

Dear Lynne, Kim, Chrislyn & Jay:


'Tis  the joys of cooking
that bring family and friends 
to a festive table to enjoy
harmony and cheerful graces.


Merry Christmas  1999!
Love, 
Uncle Jay


from my brother's heart...to mine,
now to all of yours...
i wish you a week of 
harmony and cheerful graces!

[withLove]