Here I am, Finally

A large creek on the way down from Florence, it was BEAUTIFUL! Rain and all!

Morning Ladies!

So, it seems like it has taken me forever to get back to contributing to you precious ladies here in blog land. But if you are interested, I sort of flooded my blog spot with several posts, and one being an announcement!

I also wanted to add a few pictures too.

Nelson and Faith being silly,

But they really do love each other!

Here is Beau, doing what little ones do best in the car!

(On our way back home from Florence)

I hope everyone has the most wonderful of days and remember, it may seem like not everyday something memorable happens, but I believe that is truly in the eye of the beholder. Small things are at time even more beautiful then the large things.
XO's,


Aminta

Our kitten took care of our puppy after she got hurt!

{ Time is almost Up }

Just a reminder that you have until tommorow, August the 21st to sign up for our current swap { Embellish } . Expect to be hearing from Fairlight and I with your partner info in the next few days. All the details on how to join can be found here.

1. for, the travelling, 2. Button Drawer, 3. Terri's Birthday Card, 4. Color baby., 5. IMG_3017, 6. cork board + back door, 7. Inspiration to Go!, 8. Jessica's gifts, 9. Falling for you., 10. Ocean Girl, 11. Memo, 12. Untitled, 13. Emily07--IMG_0875-329x325

swap notebooks

Hey sweet girls!

I just wanted to let you know that my husband picked up a pack of the swap notebooks for me today at Barnes and Noble for $10.95 + tax, which is about $5.oo cheaper than the cost plus shipping on Amazon. Just thought you would like to know if you haven't bought yours already!

xo Andi

{ Be Inspired }

Maybe you are like me, so excited about this new little swap , but your creative juices could use a little jump start. Here are some lovelies for your inspiration, courtesy of some amazing artists on flikr... Also for those of us that might be hesitant to join because we fear our "crafting skills" are not up to par, I want to pass along this encouraging and insightful post I read a few days back, written by the very gifted Kelly McCaleb.

And as a reminder you have until the August 21st to join. Details can be found here.

1. {♥ The Notebook <3, 2. mein decor8 moodboard contest!, 3. central hk ．pen ft, 4. swap package, 5. keepers of private notebooks are a different breed altogether, 6. favorite senses, 7. swap package, 8. old notebooks & green tea, 9. free, 10. Birds of a Feather - Pocket Moleskine - Cahier, 11. Ocean Girl, 12. Gathering of Goodness, 13. Jane Notebook 1, 14. paper adventure08/no.6 front, 15. operation 10, 16. Spring Flowers Card - Pink Paislee, 17. side*view, 18. details, 19. Book 3: Pages 17-18 (pinxit) written companion, 20. mein moodboard details, 21. pa- week 22- favs, 22. january mini, 23. Roneo, 24. 080719, 25. write me a lovemail ♥Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

{Embellish}

{Embellish}
A little paperie swap of school-girl goodies

Take a moleskine notebook,
embellish it for your three partners,
add a few favorite school supplies,
and send those pretty little packages on their way.

The smell of newly sharpened pencils is in the air, mingled with eraser, chalk, new paper, and glue. It's time for school to start! And after rummaging through all the fun new school supplies and falling in love all over again with paper clips, magnets, pencils, crayons, post-it notes, rainbow sharpies, and colored staples we've decided to share the love!
We are planning a fun new swap to get the creative juices flowing after a summer full of fun activities, but very little time for crafting.


What: A paperie swap of school-girl goodies
When: now! sign-ups are open until August 21 (spread the word!)
How: send us an e-mail at Domestic.B@hotmail.com with your first and last name, complete address, e-mail, and blog address (if you have one)
Who: everyone! Blogger or not! International and state-side! (Invite your crafting friends and family.)

What to do: Send us an e-mail to let us know that your participating. Then order your set of three moleskine notebooks right away (they come in packs of three for $12 .) Here is the direct link to the exact size and style Large Ruled Moleskine Cahier in "craft" that we are requiring everyone to use. When you receive your notebooks, embellish them in any way you want. Stitched fabrics, papers, chipboard, rub-ons, stickers, ribbons, lace. Do each one different or the same. Then go and buy a few fun and favorite school supplies. Add them to the package- tied up with a pretty ribbon of course- and send to it off.
We will send you you're partner's information sometime during the week of August 24th
Deadline for sending out packages is : September 6th

We'll be posting some inspirational ideas for {embellish} ing your notebooks in the next couple of days. Please feel free to share any ideas of your own!

"If I knew your name and address,
I would send you a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils."

- Tom Hanks in You've Got Mail

Let Yourself...

1. Untitled, 2. Untitled, 3. yeah, I went back ... again, 4. 37 weeks, 5. Untitled, 6. hillyjump333, 7. raspberries, 8. erinandjoel2.jpg, 9. Untitled, 10. Untitled, 11. Untitled, 12. stacia + patrick.jpg, 13. Up Close14. Not available15. Not available 16. Not availableCreated with fd's Flickr Toys.

Let yourself do something for others today.

Let yourself laugh.

Let yourself make funny faces.

Let yourself eat too much chocolate.

Let yourself meet someone smarter than you.

Let yourself be.

Let yourself entertain new possibilities.

Let yourself listen more.

Let yourself discover a new friend.

Let yourself whet new appetites.

Let yourself open up.

Let yourself think young.

Let yourself pass it along.

Let yourself be dramatic.

Let yourself experiment.

Let yourself twirl.

Let yourself cook up something new.

Let yourself spill the sprinkles.

Let yourself help others.

Let yourself be stirred.

Let yourself shine.

This list was copied from dress barn advertisements that I clipped out and saved and found inspiring. Please add one or two or twenty, of your own " Let yourself... " to this list.

~EN-TRANCED~

The Greeting-way. The Passport (to your world). The Entrance. The Beginning of "Yours".

Such a beautiful opportunity to have! To have an entrance whether it be Grand in style or simple and cozy.

I really love entrances, it is the door to someones life, their feelings, desires, passions, family, firsts, HOME!

You can really get to know someones character with their doorway.

To get a feel for me, here are some of my favorite "entrances" I have found through my wanderings of the English countryside, paths in Paris ETC.... (of course ONLINE!)

Pathway to the "Garden"

Paris

English Countryside

New Orleans, LA

Virginia

California

Washington

Carolina

North Dakota

English Revival

And lastly, my favorite door. Can't you just imagine it with a LARGE stone wall surrounding it with a "Secret Garden" just on the other side?



Thank you for letting me share with you.

I hope this has inspired you to move forward with your very own dreamy plans for your very own "EN- TRANCE".

~Aminta~

What's cookin?

Would love if you would like to share your current favorite recipe/s with us here.

Yummy Yummy Scones. Moist and heavenly straight out of the oven. Not so great the next day. I am on a scone kick right now. :)

Grandma Johnson's Scones

INGREDIENTS

1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
1 egg
1 cup raisins (optional)

DIRECTIONS
In a small bowl, blend the sour cream and baking soda, and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a large baking sheet.
In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar, and salt. Cut in the butter. Stir the sour cream mixture and egg into the flour mixture until just moistened. Mix in the raisins.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead briefly. Roll or pat dough into a 3/4 inch thick round. Cut into 12 wedges, and place them 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown on the bottom.

And if you were feeling so inclined you could always top your scones with this.

Raspberry Lemon Marmalade

INGREDIENTS

4 medium lemons
1 1/4 cups water
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1 cinnamon stick
3 cups crushed fresh or frozen raspberries
7 cups sugar
1 (3 ounce) pouch liquid fruit pectin

DIRECTIONS
Grate peel from lemons and place in a medium saucepan. Trim white pith from lemons and discard. Cut lemons in half and remove the seeds. Chop pulp; set aside. Add water, baking soda and cinnamon to saucepan; bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add lemon pulp; return to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Remove cinnamon. In a large kettle, combine the raspberries, sugar and lemon mixture; bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 2 minutes. Quickly stir in pectin; return to a bull rolling boil. Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat; skim off any foam. Pour hot into hot jars, leaving 1/4-in. headspace. Adjust caps. Process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath.

Random Eye Candy for July

Of course since I am the one posting this it is all bound to have a hint or more of vintage flare.

Dust If You Must

Dust if you must, but wouldn't it be better,
to paint a picture or write a letter,
bake a cake or plant a seed.
Ponder the difference between want and need.

Dust if you must, but theres not much time,
with rivers to swim and mountains to climb!
Music to hear and books to read,
friends to cherish and life to lead.

Dust if you must, but life's out there
with the sun in your eyes and the wind in your hair,
a flutter of snow, a shower of rain,
this day will not come round again.

Dust if you must, but bear in mind,
old age will come and it's not kind.
And when you go and go you must.
You, yourself, will make more dust!

Anonymous

In that same vein...

More Outdoor Living Spaces.

( some lucky couple's at their vacation in their easy going backyard patio )

( love this exquisite treed archway )

( backyard powder room )

( some lucky little girl's play house )

( these amazing peopel convert their garage in the summer

into this breezy outdoor living space )

( garden potting shed )

( drool inducing front porches )

June the beginning of.......

Outdoor living! If you re anything like me, you crave cozy. Cozy in, cozy out, just plain cozy. I consider fire-light cozy, wood cozy, lamp cozy, candles cozy, bath-time cozy, colors cozy, flannel cozy, bed cozy...... I could go on for hours. So why not an out-doors cozy?

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Those last three were for Chelle.......and

This one was for Fairlight.

Therefore, I desire greatly an outdoor "cozy". Something where I could go out and lite-a-fire and just breath, read, sleep, eat, snuggle, romance, giggle or laugh, whisper, yell (with joy of course!), kiss (little ones and A big one)........ I guess just be.

One of my favorite sets......

So to settle this craving I have just dying to leap outside of me, I have gleaned some photos for us all to enjoy. BUT!, no drooling allowed! After all we are all "Ladies" are we not?

And last but not least, I will leave you with a photo of a modern indoor-outdoor flowing home.

~Min

P.S. I have a "ENTRYWAYS" favorites blog coming up......I am just itchin' up a storm with all of these entryways up my sleeve!