The Cardinal: Magnificent Bird!

I was brewing a nice hot cuppa

 and happened to have my camera close by me-

so I grabbed it and quickly snapped a few pics

 of this glorious and beautiful bird.

This is also Ohio's official State Bird.

These pics were taken from quite far away

 through my kitchen window

with no tripod so they aren't very crisp.

Had I taken the time to grab the tri-pod

 this handsome fella would've been long gone.

In the pic above I think he sees me,

it appears as though he's looking  directly at me.

I love we can see the seed in his mouth.

Oh, was he such a gobbler!

I have been sooooo MIA -  lots going on in my life:

two choir friends have had serious surgeries,
  two choir friends had babies, another aquaintance passed away, 

 and I also burned my poor tummy badly.

(Warning: take extra caution handling boiling water when getting it out of the microwave!)

But I truly am on the end of my mend!

I am going to be FINE -  so please,

no worries, all is healing well! I promise!

All of this happened since my last post, so it's been kinda crazy!

I sincerely apologize for not visiting you -
 my wonderful blogging friends though, nor posting,

due to feeling pretty crummy.

One good thing happening lately is we're in the middle

of having a good portion of the downstairs repainted.

We're in that horrible drywall dust/holes filled/cracks smoothed

dusty/rotten/messy/icky stage right now.

We're not changing the color as much as freshening up

and covering problems fixed this time around
 using a much higher quality paint.

I am so excited, and can't wait to have this all behind us

so I can re-decorate and blog about it again!

(It can't happen soon enough, that's for sure!)

"No pain, no gain." 

That's has been our mantra lately
 and what we keep reminding ourselves. A lot.

I am also excited because my husband took out

the upstairs old broken bath medicine cabinet.

We refreshed the paint up there too - same color just fresh!

I just love having a place to put artwork on that plain wall now.

On my way over now to join in on the fun at

Judith's blog Lavender Cottage

 for her linky party!

Click on her icon below to take you there
to see all sorts of awesome mosaics each week!

Throw together a mosaic of your own, 

and join in the fun to start your Monday out nicely!

If you haven't tried PicMonkey's free editing for all your pics
you are really missing out on brightening up and fixing all your pics.

They have a really fun Mosaic program- and it's all super easy to use.

They also have awesome tutorials, I am still learning it myself!

(Be sure to try it, you will be so glad you did!)

This is NOT a paid endorsement, just me loving PicMonkey
and knowing you will too!

AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU FOR YOUR VISIT!

♥

~Michele

Make it a truly blessed and wonderful week!

Linking also to:

Nature Notes   *  WATW  

♥♥ HAPPY ST. VALENTINE'S DAY ♥♥

Happy St. Valentine's Day, friends!

♥

Here's a bit more Val Day decor around here at our nest..........

Whether it be inside...............

Or outside..................

Or perhaps used to be outside, but now resides inside....

Speaking of which, this is something new

 I purchased from a fellow blogger Dru Anne 

(from A Fine Farmhouse blog.)

She posted about the grand opening of her etsy shop here.

I bought a few things!

If you are a fan of country farmhouse you will love her shop!

Look for her to be adding more to it, too, soon!

A beautiful and special homemade card from a tea society friend.....

Wishing you the very nicest of things,
and much love ♥  on this special day...........

But the greatest of these is LOVE.............

source: internet

Wishing you a day full of love!

As always, thank you for your visit!

Linking:

Tuesday Cuppa Tea   *   No Place Like Home   *   BTTCG

There's Something About Roses...

Thought I'd re-visit and/or re-vamp some pretty rose-themed
pics now that we're into St. Valentine's Day week!

Oh, isn't there just something about roses?

They've been the symbol of romance throughout the ages!

Be it a romantic gift from a loved one...

 


    

Found on a beauitful china tea set 
or on a porcelain spoon,or on decorated sugar cubes....

Or soft deep red vintage velvet roses 
sitting inside an old silverplated dish....

Delicate pink wispy painted roses on lovely china
at tea time....

Around this nest it is quite easy to find roses
when one knows where to look ; - )

Fragrant rose petal soap flakes is a personal favorite...

Roses on a pretty place card & napkin ring
 when having a friend for formal afternoon tea...

Or on a yummy piece of cake....

The time I made macarons-
they deserved to be presented 
on matching rose-themed china!

Roses are especially wonderful if one's daughter grows them; 
especially unique ones... fresh garden roses have the best fragrance!

(I've shared this a lot but it is just so awesome!)

I am very slowly learning how to garden.

 Roses, treasured though they may be, are so danged fussy.

 Ours don't like how tall and shady the trees have become. 

(We really need to re-think the gardens this year.)

Just thinking about the garden has brightened my mood!

I hope you've enjoyed the "roses" at our nest
 as much as I have enjoyed sharing them with you!

As always, thank you for stopping by!

Have a Happy St. Valentine's week!

♥

~Michele

Linking:

Mosaic Monday  *  No Place Like Home  *  BTTCG  *  

Teacup Tues  *  Tuesdays at Home  *  Roses of Inspiration   

Make it Pretty   *   Tuesday Cuppa Tea

♥ February- Quiet Romantic Touches

Well, oh, my word and knock my socks off....

How is it that January has now come and gone?!?

We're now in the month of 

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ Love ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

It's that special time of year to get our romance on -

 be it real or simply just with our decor!

It's that time now to get out my

big bin of St. Valentine's decor! 

(I was just waiting for February and it snuck up on me!) 

I always find it so exciting to open up a seasonal bin 

and discover what "after season" sale items

that I may have poked inside; it's like experiencing

Christmas or a birthday all over again!

Don't you just adore the quieter, softer side of romance?

Cupids, hearts, roses - all say LOVE!

So....who holds the keys to your heart?

I look forward to sharing more Valentine's decor

 as I dig around the seasonal boxes and find my treasures!

Hope you come back and visit again soon.

I know you are very busy, and the time you give is a gift;

for one I owe sincere gratitute and thanks.

As always, thank you for your visit!

♥

~Michele

Linking:

Mosaic Monday   *   No Place like Home  *  BTTCG   *  Gonna Love It

Martha's Favs   *  Roses of Inspiration   *   Make It Pretty

Share Your Cup   *   Home & Garden Thurs.  *  5 Star Frou-Frou

Winter's Eve Dinner Party Tablescape

It's in the heart of wintertime here in Ohio

 with temperatures hovering right around 10 degrees.

Baby...it's COLD outside!

So what better to do than to host our annual 

Winter's Eve formal dinner party!?

Though I haven't quite planned it yet

(been travelling and having out of town guests as well)

and quite frankly it may not even happen....sooo...

I have played with my dishes and have our table all set

 if I ever DO get around to hosting another party.

At the very least I'd like to share it with you!

This would make a festive New Year's Eve Party

 dinner table for next year, too, perhaps.

Better late than never for inspiration, eh?

Snowflakes *  Shimmer  *  Silver  * Crystal  *  White

I ♥ using my custom made snowflake napkins

along with my snowflake silver-rimmed plates

this time of year when the snow is so pretty

 and winter is in full swing!

Lots and lots of candles are used on this table -

perfect for an glowing romantic winter's evening dinner.

I didn't get a great pic of them all

 but I haveover 2 dozen candles on this table;

mercury glass, frosted snowflake shapes, glittery

snowflake votive holders and crystal candlesticks.

I kept out some shiny and white trees and

a few "wintery" ornaments from the Christmas stuff

to use for the winter months, especially January.

Vintage silver candelabra on both ends of the table,

along with shiny placemats and a very tall white centerpiece

 does the trick to bring some formality to the table.

And old crystal knife rests work perfectly with this setting.

My antique cut glass champagne flutes

along with silver demitasse spoons

 make do to serve the sorbet for a palate cleanser.

The duo works well serving

 mousse, fruit, jellow, ice cream or puddings, too!

Helpful Tip: 

Use your cute seldom-used little cut glass punch cups

for srerving your soup appetizer courses.

They're dishwasher safe, and easily 

found at thrift stores for very little cash!

When serving multiple appetizers

 it is good idea to provide smaller portions - 

so your guests will have room for your otherdinner courses.

This little glass cup is just perfectly sized!

Placing a paper doily under the cup catches pesky drips.

I usually set out my short and mall vintage

 silver-plated soup spoons 

when I serve soup in small cups vs. soup bowls;

 as a normal soup spoon is much too long

 and tends to be too cumbersome and bulky.

It was fun to tuck in a little bit of whimsey here, too,

 just because, well, it's a clear glass teapot

 filled with all sorts of snowflake buttons.

Most of you regular readers know just

 how strongly I feel about teapots.

I really and truly do love winter!

It's so fresh and beautiful!

As always, thank you for your visit!

♥

~Michele

Linking:

Mosaic Monday   *   No Place Like Home   *   BTTCG  *  Inspire Me    

At Our Home   *   Roses of Inspiration   *   What's It Wednesday

Tablescape Thursday    *   Foodie Friday (aee)