Outdoor Wednesday

I'm sharing pictures from our back yard this week for Outdoor Wednesday. Whimsy strikes my fancy and I love country cottage gardens. Combine the two and I'm just tickled pink! (Click on the pictures to enlarge them.)

A giant dragonfly bought several years ago at the country folk art craft fair flies over the flowers. My hubby found the little child's school chair in the trash and brought it home. He knew I'd be delighted and I was of course! (Yes, Bailey decided to walk through the flowers as I took pictures.)

A new stone bunny has moved into the garden. Isn't he just too cute for words?!? He's heard all about The Stone Rabbit's blog and thought our back yard would be a good home for him. I'm on a mission to collect stone bunnies after reading Dana's blog. You can visit The Stone Rabbit by clicking HERE.

I was thrilled to see the flowers in the bicycle basket blooming. I love whimsical pieces and they never fail to put a smile on my face.

One of my ceramic kitties guards a rose bush.

The Cymbidium Orchids have outdone themselves this year. The top two pictures are dwarf varieties.

Susan, thank you for hosting this delightful event. You can visit A Southern Daydreamer to see the other Outdoor Wednesday posts, by clicking HERE.

Enjoy!
Diane

Winnie is on her way back to Denmark, now Mom has to walk us and catch up with gardening and blogging and other stuff and did I say walking us? She'll be back soon.

Goodbye Winnie, we'll miss you!

Love, Roxy ♥

Winnie & Roxy
(Picture taken right before she walked out the door for the airport.)

A bloggy break message from Roxy

Hi everyone! My name is Roxy and Mom wanted me to tell you all that she has to take a bloggy break because our company from Denmark arrived yesterday! She and Winnie are too busy shopping and talking and shopping to take me, uh I mean to visit everyone's blog. Winnie will be visiting us for two weeks! I sure hope they take me somewhere soon!

Bye for now!
Love,
Roxy ♥

Pink Saturday!

Thumper the Bunny is wishing you a Happy PINK Saturday! He's all ready for Easter with his basket of gerbera daisies and a pink nest for his little chick friends.

This little chick is sitting in the pink!

Little pink vases with a pink Billie Graham rose and yellow Henry Fonda roses.

Thumper also wanted to pose by the pink vases.

PINK glass eggs and PINK chenille chicks in a pretty vintage bowl.

Thumper moved in with my son and daughter in law this afternoon, along with his large stash of candy and cookies. He looked a little like my son's bunny, whose name is Thumper, so this guy was also named Thumper.☺

I bought the bunny (who's basket is empty) at Cost Plus World Market, the gerbera daisies at Michael's, the glass eggs and nest came from Marshall's, and the pink vases are from IKEA. The Easter tablecloth is older than dirt!

Pink Saturday is hosted by Beverly at How Sweet the Sound. Please visit Beverly for the list of the other Pink Saturday participants.

Enjoy!
Diane

Tablescapes and Sweeties

Welcome to Tablescape Thursday, hosted by Susan at Between Naps on the Porch.

I went dish shopping yesterday and what did I find? Green bunny plates! I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the Bordallo Pinheiro plates just waiting on the shelf for me. There were two large plates and two salad plates. Needless to say, I picked them up very quickly and headed for the check out lines. I found the plates at Ross, then found a bunny pedestal on clearance at Marshall's. I was having a very good dish day!

I used the two large bunny plates on top of a soup tureen and a Bordallo bunny pedestal to elevate the bunnies in the centerpiece.
(Click on the pictures to enlarge them.)

Isn't this just the sweetest little bunny plate?

I bought pieces to this set many years ago at TJMaxx and Marshall's. I had some of the plates hanging on a wall at one time.

The little chicks are just so adorable. I found them at Reagan's Nursery and wish I'd bought a couple more.

I hope you enjoyed my Easter table. Please visit Susan for the list of the other Tablescape Thursday participants.


Now it's time for Foodie Friday!

Foodie Friday is hosted by Michael at Designs by Gollum.

Reality hit and I went to The Prolific Oven for desserts! (Okay, I also brought home dinner. I have a "thing" for their Californian sandwich...)

Yummm!

A fruit tart on a bunny plate, with a little chick a bit too close.

A delicious lemon tart! Mmmm, this is so good, I wish that I could send you a bite!

Apple Strudel, (in honor of Justine's new golden retriever puppy, Strudel!)

And hubby's favorites! Snickerdoodles, chewy oatmeal raisin, coconut macaroon, and a Mexican wedding cookie.

Please sit down to visit a bit and have a sweetie with a cup of tea.

Oops! Okay, this was my dinner! It was sooo good!

Please visit Michael for the list of the other Foodie Friday participants.

Enjoy!
Diane

Easter Bonnet

A few years ago, my future daughter in law asked if I could make an Easter hat for her to wear in the school parade. She's a kindergarten teacher at a private school and wanted a special hat to wear with her class in the parade. Of course I said "YES!" and we looked at repurposing one of my Mom's old sun hats.

I was so excited to begin the project but a bit concerned because I didn't have an idea of how the bonnet should look. I grabbed the chosen hat and hopped into the car and off to Joann's Fabric I went! I wandered up and down each aisle with hat in hand looking at fabric and then at silk flowers, and began to have the glimmer of an idea, but first I wanted to look at Michael's floral and ribbon departments before making a final decision. The flowers were much better at Michael's but I didn't like their ribbon. (It's a good thing the stores were only a couple of miles apart, because I headed back to Joann's for fabric.) The old Joann's store was closing, and pickings were a bit slim, but I finally selected a periwinkle polyester lining fabric for the band, then drove back to Michael's one last time to coordinate the flowers with the fabric.

I made a tube out of the fabric to create a giant "ribbon", then pinned it around the hat band area and hand tacked it in place on the inside. A soft knot was tied in the back so the tails can drape down. Each flower was hand sewn in place. (Glue can sometimes release with time and this hat was created to last for many years.) I was so pleased with the way it turned out and my future daughter in law was ecstatic.

(Click on the pictures to enlarge them.)

A back view...

Pretty cool, huh? I surprise myself sometimes! ☺