Retail Therapy, Coastal Style!

Hi everyone,

We're enjoying the last bit of warm temps here in Florida, before we head home.

The town of Venice quickly became a favorite of mine.  It was about an hour drive from us.  I would have loved just staying there the entire trip!

It's right on the Gulf, and the beaches are amazing.  In town you will find many beautiful upscale shops (read: expensive!!).

The home decor stores all had a wonderful beachy/coastal vibe that I loved so much.

Wouldn't you just love to take a bubble bath in this incredible shell encrusted clawfoot tub? 

 I was drooling over these aqua tinted starfish!

At $10 a piece, I had to pass them up, though!!

 Plenty of mermaids!

 Venice of course has many Italian themed restaurants and shops, as well as Italian named streets.

The shop below was filled to the brim with beautiful ceramics, straight from Italy.  It made hubby and I think of our trip to the Amalfi Coast 1 1/2 years ago.

 More coastal treasures.

 And another one of my favorite stores.

Notice the pink wood shutters on either side of their window?

 And this adorable pink bike with the basket and flowers made me smile!

 Gorgeous glass hearts.

 I was totally drooling over the shell covered creations. Everything from lamps, picture frames, urns, mirrors and furniture was embellished with them!  Love!

 Sorry for the blurry photo, below.  I just had to show you this gorgeous mirror.  Notice the crystal chandelier in its reflection?  Wow!

 Sweet stone cherubs and oh so soft drool worthy linens.

 Shabby Coastal Chic!!

 The ruffles make me happy!

 And looking out on the main street of down town, Venice Ave.  Cloudless blue skies and the tallest palm trees made for a wonderful day!

Thanks so much for joining me on my little outing!

Random Acts of Kindness

Hi everyone,

Hope your weekend is off to a good start.

Today I wanted to share with you something amazing that happened.  

It couldn't have come at a better time either. What with all the sad news, the attacks first in Paris a few weeks ago, and then the tragic shootings in California a few days ago, it is easy to become jaded. 

So I thought I would share this with you, a reminder that goodness, and good people, still exist.

 Hubby and I were in line at the grocery store yesterday, with our cart heaped full.

There was a young woman that got in line directly behind us, with just a few things in her hands.

I told her to go ahead of us, and thought nothing more of it.

Well, as we were paying for our groceries, the cashier told us that the girl who'd been ahead of us had paid $40 towards our purchase!  I had to have him repeat what he said, as it took a second to sink in!

I was floored!

What an amazing and generous gift that girl gave!

We could hardly believe that a stranger would be so kind, and to do it without wanting any accolades either

(she of course had already left).

 To say that gave us a lift is an understatement!

I assured the cashier that we would spread the kindness for sure.

We are having fun thinking of ways that we can reach out and pass the good will on to others.

 I think no matter how much or how little we give, it is just the act alone that counts.

Helping others, being kind, caring, and respectful all go a long way to helping spread peace.

 In all honesty, I had begun to lose faith in people, with all of the terrible violence in the news especially of late. Peace on earth has come to seem like only an unreachable dream.

This young woman gave a gift more meaningful than a dollar amount.  Not to sound cheesy, but she truly helped restore my faith that there are indeed many wonderful, kind souls out there.

It all starts with just one person, and one kind act, right?

We can all make a positive difference, I truly believe that.

Praying for those who have lost loved ones.

Let's spread peace, ok?

Dinosaurs Recently Spotted Roaming Michigan's Lower Peninsula!

Yes, it's true! We have dinosaurs currently living here in Michigan!

 And they have been busy laying and hatching their baby dino eggs!

 Pterodactyl soar overhead.

Ok, maybe I fibbed a little bit!

Actually, all have been spotted at our local botanical gardens that we belong to!

Every fall, the gardens put on an amazing, creative display of scarecrows, made mostly of burlap.

Yep, plain ol' burlap!

The dino you saw in the first shot is huge!

I'll try and get some more photos of him to give you a better idea of just how large he is, as well as some of the other fun characters that are at the gardens.

We are so fortunate to live very close to the gardens.  We walk with Katie there every day, on the many trails. She loves it as much as we do!

 

 Ok, wait, what is this?

A giant furry green and pink spider???

 Oh, that's right!  It is Katie's new fuzzy squeaky toy!

She is feeling a little camera shy...........

 Now she's warming up for the camera:)

 Trying to look her cutest!

Don't let that innocent looking face fool you! 

Thanks for stopping by, have a great weekend!

Cherub Treasure Box

Bonjour Mes Amis!

I've been meaning to share with you this gorgeous cherub box, which was given to me by a sweet friend as a birthday gift this past May.  I just love it!  Not only is it totally "me", but it looks perfect on my French Provincial hutch in my craft room.  And as a bonus, the inside of the box has little compartments, perfect for storing treasures and bits of this and that.

 For today's photo shoot, I brought the box to our dining table.

The box is wood, with a hinged lid.  Just look at the gorgeous cherubs on the glass insert!

Love!

 I love the front, too!

 Lift the lid, and this is what's inside...........

 I had so much fun filling the box with bits and pieces of craft supplies and other treasures, like the glittery French bird tags that I created.

 More fun little bits of inspiration!

 I love ribbon, so the box is perfect for displaying and storing some of my favorites, along with more of my tags.  I especially love the fleur de lis ribbon!

 Vintage French vocabulary cards, and a few of my glittered paper roses that I made from vintage sheet music await a future project.

 My friend also included several great ribbons, including this neat large wooden spool with gorgeous blue velvet ribbon.  (she knows my taste so well!) Love!

 More fun little bits and pieces.  Wooden birds ready for embellishment, and my glittered hydrangea blooms.

 Here is one last look at my box.

I must say it is one of my very favorite things!

Have a fun and creative week!

Au revoir!

A Mother's Day Bouquet

It's finally starting to look and feel like spring around here at the Chateau!  Actually, today is more like summer, with temps in the 80's. So it seems as if we've skipped from a chilly spring right into summer, but I'm not complaining!

Today I thought I'd share with you one of my latest creations, a floral arrangement that I made for my Mom for Mother's Day.  It's hard to believe that it's this weekend already, isn't it?

Anyway, I usually get Mom a bunch of flowering plants that she can enjoy outside.  I thought this year I'd do something a bit different, that was low maintenance, that she could enjoy year round, and that wouldn't need watering!

So, I made her a silk floral centerpiece, that is nestled inside of a pretty and large ceramic white basket.

 I just realized that I should have taken a shot of the basket before I added the flowers!  I filled it so full of flowers, that it's hard to see the actual basket in my photos!

 So you know how I love to spray paint just about everything that doesn't move, right? Well, that is just what I did with this floral arrangement!  You may have seen my silk flower wreath some time ago that I gave a spray paint treatment to. Well,  I purchased a very large silk bouquet at Hobby Lobby, on clearance last winter.  It began life in autumnal colors of gold, orange, rust and yellow. I knew when I spotted it that it would be perfect to tuck away for a project just like this!

I took the entire bouquet outside and spray painted the heck out of it with Heirloom White spray paint, my favorite creamy color!  It took quite a bit of paint, as the flowers seemed to suck it all up!  I really was happy with the end result, how the colors still show thru, but in a more muted and softer faded over time look.

 To the inside of the basket, I place blocks of floral foam, also from Hobby Lobby.  I then cut each wire stem of each flower, and randomly stuck them into the foam, in a pleasing manner.

I also added a few of my paper roses made from vintage sheet music. They each have a tiny little rhinestone in their centers, for a bit of bling!

 My favorite part of the arrangement is this cute little bird's nest and eggs!  I fashioned the nest out of Spanish moss and other mosses.  Nestled inside are three sweet little eggs that I made from pink Sculpy clay.  I added little brown speckles to make them look realistic.

(though I don't know how realistic pink eggs are, hahaha!) 

My Mom loves pink, so I think she will be excited!

To top it all off, I tied a ribbon of crinkly cream seam binding around the handle of the basket.

 I must say that I'm really happy with how it turned out!  It was a fun project, and I think my Mom will really enjoy it!

 Wishing you a very Happy Mother's Day!