Better Get on the Bandwagon!

Hey everyone!  So many of my bloggy friends are signing up HERE for "The Linky Followers".  They all say they want to be prepared just in case Google does something else to shake things up.  So I decided it wouldn't hurt to have The Linky Followers as a backup.  I'm not saying you have to start following me here, but I would be happy if you did.  They do have a pretty amazing dashboard where you can sort & categorize those blogs you follow.  Anyway, it's up to you.  Every time I visit a blog & see that they have the Linky Followers (usually located just below or above GFC & that's where mine is located), I sign up.  Gotta follow the Scout motto, "Always be prepared!"

A NEW WAY TO FOLLOW ME!

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I'm off to do some fabric shopping today for a duvet for our master bedroom.  I can see exactly what I want in my mind, now if I can just find it in the store.....lol!  Wish me luck!

Have a great day,

CAS

A Few New Tweaks in the Kitchen

Hey everyone!  Hope everyone has been having a lovely weekend.  I've been a bit under the weather the last couple of days, at my own doing.  I decided as part of my getting healthier plan for 2012, I should give up caffeine.  Silly me, right!  I've never been an "all-day" coffee drinker, but apparently those 2 cups I always had first thing in the morning were enough to create the addiction.  So, now I'm dealing with the annoying "caffeine-withdrawal headache."  To ease the pain just a bit, I have had a very small cup of tea in the mornings, but I don't really want to trade one caffeine beverage for another, so I'm really limiting how much I have.  Oh well, hopefully I'm almost over the withdrawals.  Anyway, between naps (they really do help), I've been enjoying blog hopping & doing some catching up.  I even had time to put together another new post.

As I've said before, I don't do a lot of Valentine's Day decorating, but don't like to ignore the holiday either.  I love having some pops of red around our home, especially in the kitchen; and what says more about Valentine's Day than anything red.  Well, I might be stretching that just a bit, because most of the red in my kitchen is definitely not Valentine-related, but who cares.  Ya'll like seeing vignettes of anything, right?  Right!

Just wanted to show you the little goodie bags I made for the "Grands."  

Just filled some cello bags with Teddy Grahams & candy hearts, then made some labels with a little love note from Nana & Bappa on the back of each one.  The blue & red one is for Parker -- couldn't give him a pink & lavender one, no way!

Are these just the cutest dish towels ever?  My sweet son & equally sweet DIL gave them to me (along with another very special item you will see in a minute) for my birthday.  Our children are not supposed to buy us gifts for Christmas or birthdays -- we don't need gifts & they have their own families to buy for, but these two broke the rules.  I can say they shouldn't have, but I do love what they gave me...lol!

I haven't yet hung them up, I just like looking at them in this little vignette.  I love my red china basket, & it is always filled with apples and pears right now.  Mr. Roo nite light adds a bit of red to the scene as well.  And the plate is one of two that I found on clearance at Pier 1 a couple of years ago.  The mosaic candle holder is several years old.

I like to keep our breakfast table fairly simple, because The Man doesn't like having to move a bunch of stuff when we get ready to eat.  Men!  

I can't even tell you how old this basket is, but old.  I just ran some red ribbon I had through the weave & jazzed it up a bit.  This is another salvaged from Christmas candle.  I just added a scrap piece of scrapbook paper & added a fiberboard sticker that says Cherish -- my "One Little Word" for 2012.  Added a little tiny vase with a piece of ivy just because I thought it needed some greenery.  Red salt/pepper shakers sit right inside.

The other part of my birthday gift is sitting over here.  Do you see what it is?

Isn't this gorgeous?  It's from Italy, & the writing is in Italian.  It's more of a shallow bowl, not a plate, that would be perfect for serving a large tossed salad.  The stickers on both this piece & the dish towels said Sur La Table, which is one of my favorite stores!

My little red Roo is looking on in awe!

With all the cabinets & wonderful storage in this kitchen, it is lacking a good place for my "most often used" cookbooks, so I opted for this basket for now.  I added a couple of hand-carved (by The Man's aunt) wooden utensils & a cute little dishtowel with roosters on it.  This whole basket-thing is working for me for now. 

A couple more pops of color with the apothecary jar filled with faux fruit, & the little nesting bowls, which were a gift from a friend a couple of years ago.

One more little look-see from the other side.  I've had my Hoya & Christmas Cactus here since Christmas, and they are so happy.  Pretty soon I'll be moving them out to the patio.

Well, that's it for now.  Thanks so much for stopping by and please come again soon.

CAS

I'm happily linking to:

Party Time @ It's So Very Cheri

Motivate Me Monday @ Keeping It Simple 

Creative Blogger's Party @ Homemaker On A Dime
Making The World Cuter @ Making The World Cuter

Show Me What You Got @ Not JUST a Housewife 

Tuesday Treasures @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia 

Table Scape Tuesday @ A Stroll Thru Life

Overflowing with Creativity @ It's Overflowing 

Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style
Piece of Work Wednesday @  Primitive & Proper

Open House Thursday @ No Minimalist Here
Strut Your Stuff Thursday @ Somewhat Simple

Potpourri Friday @ 2805 

Inspiration Friday @  At the Picket Fence   

Weekend WrapUp Party @ Tatertots and Jello 

Somebody Turned "1"

Hey everyone!  Hope you are having a great weekend.  I decided it would be fun to share some pics from our youngest grandchild's 1st birthday.  The party was a couple of weeks ago, but ya' know, life and all that....lol!  Anyway, let the party begin!

Here's the Birthday Girl!

Avery started walking about 2 weeks before her birthday.

My sweet DIL did a beautiful job of decorating for the kiddos,

 ranging in age from 1 year to 12 years, and.........

simple loveliness for the adults, too!  She made all the poufies -- aren't they cute?

 Notice the tulips are displayed in large mason jars -- love that!

Did ya'll know a penny in the water for the tulips makes them stand up straight?  Ally bought

 them at Trader Joe's, & that's what they told her to do.  She said it worked like magic! 

Big Sis taking the birthday girl for a spin!

Cousins......uh oh, is this a hint of things to come?

Big brother is just doing his own thing!

Avery really got into the unwrapping process.  After accessing the situation, tackling it

from a standing position won out!

A bit tentative at this point, but.......

Here we go!  Boy, did she smell good enough to eat....lol!

She was just about ready to fall asleep right in her chair, so we decided it was

time to call it a night.  It was such a fun afternoon and evening.

Thank you so much for letting me share some of my most precious little people with you!

Stay tuned for some more new vignettes early next week.

Ya'll are the best!

xoxo, CAS