I've Been Crocheting...

Hello friends,

Are you ready for Spring?

Well it's not quite here.  Sadly there are still two months left in the Winter season.  But there is nothing like the color yellow to bring the sunshine in and brighten up these cold blustery Winter days.

A blogging friend of mine was kind enough to send me this pattern.  I told her I didn't crochet many doilies but that I was going to give this one a try.  She kindly sent the pattern to my inbox and I was eager to start on it. 

It felt good to pick up a hook,  I hadn't crocheted in a while.   I've done a little bit of knitting here and there but not crochet.

When I was searching through my yarn stash I came across this lovely shade of thread I had picked up at WM on clearance a few months back.    It is a  Red Heart brand and the color is called golden yellow.  Now doesn't that just make you think about Spring?

 I enjoyed making this little gem.  While my fingers stitched away I propped my Ipad in front of me and watched a few episodes of my favorite Netflix shows.  

Guilt free screen time.

 I'm being productive, right?

Most of you are probably already familiar with Olga from Lacy Crochet.  She is the mastermind of this pattern.  She not only designs doily patterns but also baby blankets, scarfs, baby clothes, and I'm pretty sure I even remember seeing a pretty red skirt pattern on her blog.  

If you are a crocheter go by and visit her I'm sure you'll find a pattern you love.  And even if you aren't a crocheter go by and say hi anyway.

Ninfa Doily Pattern

Thanks for the visit! 

 You may follow me on bloglovin or instagram.

Vintage Vibes

When you come across a vintage Moon and Stars canister with no lid...

 and you buy it anyway...

because even something damaged and broken can find beauty and purpose.

Plus, it was only 2.99 so,

why not?

Hello January...

No more jingle bells and twinkle lights...

all the Christmas decorations are gone.

They were boxed and tucked away the day after Christmas and it felt good.

There's always an element of comfort in getting the house "back to normal".
♥♥♥

The Christmas tree this old pick up was hauling during the holidays was replaced with a potted succulent.  I borrowed this little pick up from my husbands office.  I don't think he'll be getting it back anytime soon now that I found a use for it as a planter.

For New Years Day I made black eye peas in the slow cooker with collard greens.  Hubby liked them but I didn't.  I had a small bowl with some cornbread.  I remember in elementary school having black eyed peas on the lunch menu about once a week.  I didn't like them then and I guess I still don't like them now.  It 's a good thing we only have to eat them once a year.

I do, however, like the idea of starting off the new year eating a humble meal.  After all the food and excess of the holidays it's a welcome change.  And while I don't believe in "good luck", I do believe it helps to reset you and put you in the right frame of mind to start off the year.

A little simplicity is good for the heart.
♥

One big happy family + one puppy + one cat = one very full casita (house).

  The kids are still on holiday from school so I spend most of my days planning and preparing meals and doing loads and loads of laundry.   So while things aren't quite back to normal yet, they will be soon enough.

The New Year

I was reminded of one of Gods promises in the early morning as I sipped on my cup of coffee. From across the room I saw  the sun beaming in through the screen door and lighting up one of my houseplants. I noticed how the plant delighted itself in the rays and this verse came to mind.

It is of the Lords mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 

They are new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness. 

Lamentations 3:22 - 23

As this year comes to an end and the new year begins, we can find encouragement knowing that God will be there to meet us every morning to offer his limitless grace and mercy.  Not just once a year but every single sunrise it is there for us.  

I hope this is as encouraging to you as it is for me.

Good thoughts, good vibes, and full hearts for 2019.

Happy and blessed new year to all.

♥♥♥♥♥

  

Merry Christmas Eve!

Twinkle lights...

food...

family...

The gift of giving...

Well here we are,
it's Christmas Eve and I'm ready.

Everything is done and the only thing left to do is relax with the family and watch Christmas movies.

Here's to you my friends,
A Christmas greeting New Mexico style,

Feliz Navidad!

 I hope everyone has the loveliest of days tomorrow and may your hearts be full in Christ's love.
♥♥♥♥♥

Pom Pom Embroidery Hoops

I always do a happy dance when I find vintage crewel work at the charity shop.  Especially when it's as adorable as this.  

I could not believe my eyes.  First I spotted Santa, then after a few moments I spotted Mrs. Clause a little bit further down the aisle.

Oh, yes! 

Into the shopping cart they went. 

I did a little bit of searching on the Internet and quickly found out these were a packaged kit sold by Bernat back in the seventies.  I just adore the avocado green  fabric, but what I like the most is knowing some sweet grandma lovingly stitched this by hand, many years ago.

You can see in one of the pictures above what they looked like when I found them.  They had wire garland glued around the hoop and were looking a little bit tacky.   I was able to rip out the garland fairly easy and with the help of a glue gun I added a few red and white pom poms.

An easy fix and a fun way to spend two dollars.

Ho Ho Ho

Merry Christmas!

♥♥♥♥♥

Counting Down...

Come on in friends,
welcome to my humble abode.

The days are slipping by quickly.  The rush of the holiday season is here.  There is only a few more shopping days left and I am still not "done".  What do you buy college aged kids who already have everything?  I think and think and think and think and I still can't come up with something creative.  It gets harder and harder each year to come up with something new.

I miss the days when they were little and unwrapping a few inexpensive toys made them squeal with excitement and kept them happy for days.  It was a simpler time.  Now it's all about the latest trend in tech gadgets which I have a hard time keeping up with as I am not a technology buff. 

On another note, I am happy that this year I put up a few Christmas decorations.  For the last three Christmas's we've gone without any.  The reason being is that our house is small and bringing in a Christmas tree requires a lot of shifting and rearranging of furniture.  If you live in a small house you can relate.  But this year I bought a teeny tiny tree and put up a few small decorations.  It's minimal but it's cheery and it makes me happy.

Tis the season for all things merry and bright.
Only 13 more crazy days to go.
:)

Little Nothings...

Hello dear friends,

Just a few random nothings to share with you today.

These succulents were once outside but I've moved them in. 

They now reside in my kitchen.

A Fall vignette I put together at the beginning of the season.  I was eager to fill my home with these rich Fall colors.

Some of you may already have your homes decked with Christmas decorations.
Here I am still in Fall mode.

More pumpkin bread.  'Tis the season for everything pumpkin.

 I have a good recipe for pumpkin bread but it makes a lot.  I forgot to half it and ended up with four loaves.

 Oh well, three of them went into the freezer to be eaten on a later date.

I found these cute crochet earrings at WM on clearance.  They had my name written all over them since I'm a crocheter.

 I thought they would be heavy but they're not.  Just something fun to wear.
I like dangly earrings.

We got a bit of wintry weather this week and woke up to snow a couple of days ago.  They were calling for much more but we only got a dusting.  It was all gone within a few hours.  That's my kind of snow storm.  One that comes and goes quickly and doesn't stick around.

Hope you're all staying warm and cozy!

Simple Comforts ♥

Well here we are only two weeks into Fall and I've already gone and caught a cold.  I'm usually the last one in my family to come down with it but this year it was me who took the fall first. I suppose it was only a matter of time.  As soon as school starts back up, all sorts of contagious ailments start making their rounds.

I haven't had much of an appetite and the only thing that sounded good to me was soup so I made some.  I didn't want to make a trip to the store so I used what I found in the refrigerator and freezer.  It's a little on the skimpy side with only the basics but the broth was good which was basically all I wanted.

There's something so comforting about chicken soup.
 

While my soup simmered I made pumpkin bread. 

It's the first pumpkin-y thing of the season and it was oh so good.
I love Fall food.

Do y'all remember Mrs. Roper from Three's Company?  She was the Muu-Muu queen.  Well that's what I've felt like these last few days, the muu-muu queen.

It being gloomy and drizzly outside and having a cold are the perfect excuse for me to sport my pretty prints around the house. 

I've been trying to add some rows to this baby blanket I started long ago.  Even though I keep knitting rows and rows it grows at a snails pace.  I think I'm finally reaching the halfway point though, thank goodness.

And oh yeah...it's post season baseball time!

Yes, I admit, I am a muu-muu wearing, baseball lovin' boho mama.

The simple pleasures of life are still
 enjoyable even with the sniffles.
:)