French bread on Friday... silver and gold...

Mr D. has been so sweet.

i have been focused on work this past month.

at the beginning of the month i kept saying...

"i wish i could wake up and have it be February 1st."

(i am one to never wish away precious time.)

well ... life... it's Feb one! and the hardest part of the

acquisition is over!  better yet...it's the weekend!

thank you for listening.

thank you for all of your encouraging words!

i'm not going to mention work again for a long time...

...i promise!

on Wednesday night, when i arrived home and opened

the door of my little commuter Corolla, i thought...

wow!  someone is barbecuing...

New Yorks on the grill !?! 

YUM!

(you know that i live in the chilly and wet Pacific Northwest!)

that someone was my Mr D. when i walked into the

kitchen, he was sauteing sliced Yukon Golds,

 Walla Walla Sweets, and mushrooms in butter and olive oil.

as i glanced at the counter top he said...

"i bought you a baguette!"

he knows that French bread is my ultimate comfort food.

he knows that i consider a golden baguette...a gift!

 :: C E C I L I A   R O S S L E E ::

the image above is Cecelia's perfect silver and gold gift.  

:: C  E C I L I A   R O S S L E E ::

i love to visit her here.

have a wonderful weekend!

welcome February! 

play it again...and again...and again!

a mother's song! 

i have played it every day for thirty years!

isn't she pretty? 

just like a star across the sky

(an allstar arrived in December)

just like an angel off the page

(sweet cinnamon came one summer)

you have appeared to my life

 i'll never be the same

happy birthday, darling daughter!

made..

withLove.

~ note images 2 and 4 were taken by Chrislyn's talented and beautiful friend 
Amanda!                                 ~today's words lyrics...inspired by Corinne Rae Bailey and Stevie Wonder.

Wednesday's wrap... journey with me...

are you singing ... ? ... just a small town girl, living in a lonely

world, she took the midnight train...i'm already off track (so to speak)...

that's one of my favorite open the sun roof on the way to the office 

summer songs...and, man! i can clean house to Journey!  it's also

our Mom's weekend song, while the kids were at Washington State University.

if you attend a WAZZU alumni wedding, the Mom's and kids throw their arms

around each other and sway and sing  it to the top of their lungs. 

it's emotion and love at it's best!

wow! 

i just started this day with the best memories dancing in my head.

back on track...this post is about Susie V.

i have not seen Susie since... before Christmas.

she has the sweetest heart.

she invited me to her trunk show last November.

Susie has traveled all over the world. along the way she collected

beads and stones as souvenirs of her travels.

she says, "these are my journey stones!". 

she decided it was time to share her stones by designing a collection

of jewelry.

i snapped a few pictures of her... Journey Stones.

(please excuse the quality of the images, i was using my little point and shoot.)

the images above are only a glimpse of her beautiful collection.


 this morning, before work, i prepared a surprise for Susie.

i cannot bring myself to cover Maria's French lavender filled pillows,

 i just trimmed it with fancy ribbon. i am lucky to have a die cutter so

i can make my own tags.  i keep my vintage trimmings in Ikea hat boxes.

the little piece with faux pearls, silver and white glass beads was the

perfect little flourish. i tied the paper linen tag on with natural tiny twine

from Besotted!

thank you to everyone for visits and your wonderful comments. i promise that

i will catch up with you in the next couple days.  the work days are

long, but i am enjoying all the new that i am learning.

withLove!

random tea ...

...cup by cup...sharing the goodness of our special community!

i have decided to start some Monday mornings off with

a cup of

RANDOM TEA!

early this morning, on the farm table.

the shop is located at the University Village in Seattle. i bought
today's random tea
 at our grocery store... and of course, they also sell TAZO at Starbucks.

i like my morning and afternoon tea...

 in basic black. sometimes i add just a touch of sugar.

while Mr D and i were shopping at Costco this weekend,
i found this heart shaped ravioli.

on the back of the package is a recipe for a simple pink Alfredo sauce.

1/4 cup butter
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 tsp tomato paste 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt & pepper to taste.

combine butter, cream and paste in a saute' pan.
bring to a simmer and whisk until the sauce tightens.
stir in the Parmesan cheese. season with salt & pepper.

pretty cute, huh?

while we are talking Italian, i wish to share one of my
fave blogs with you.

:: via ::

if you haven't met Mary at La Bella Vida, you should.

:: via ::

Mary would most likely not buy pasta from Costco.  the image above is
from a post where she was making pasta with her precious mother.
she learned her cooking skills by working with her father at their family restaurant.

:: via ::

everything she does is a work of art love. you won't be disappointed.

oh...darn...

...it's time to hit the road!

 i have donations to place out in front of the
garage and a quick stop at the dry cleaners on the way to work this morn.

 thank goodness, i stopped and filled the tank up, yesterday, on my way over to 
Sunday mocha's with Mom and Dad.
 Mom is doing better. lots of PT (physical therapy)
and OT (occupational therapy) appointments consume their time right now.
Dad is yearning for better weather and some PT for himself, on the golf course.

i wish you a good week!
i have some wrappings to share on Wednesday!

withLove!