Spring thinking...

Despite another morning of -negative temps, I'm thinking spring thoughts.  Have a great weekend!  

Making the most of the winter...

Like many parts of the country, we've had record cold negative temps. 

 On Sunday, we had a heat wave of 18 degrees and we took a stroll in the woods behind our home.

The snow was deep and it was quite the workout, especially for Josie.

 We even managed to balance the camera on a tree branch to take a family photo.   Getting all four of us in the same photo, rarely happens. 

 More record cold temps are in the forecast for the rest of this week. Stay cozy.

March is nearly here!
   

Wising you a Happy Chinese New Year!

Out with the year of the horse, in with the sheep, goat or ram! 

 Thursday marks Chinese New Year, the longest and most important holiday in the Chinese calendar. 2015 is the year of the goat, but you may see it referred to as the “Year of the Sheep or Year of the Ram” too. 

I did a little research and the confusion stems from the Chinese character “yang”, which can translate in Chinese as either sheep or goat or ram.  

Regardless of the animal, Josie is looking forward to sharing her special holiday with her classmates next Monday.  I'm sure I can get creative and capture a few pictures of her party.

Wishing you a happy and prosperous New Year!
   

New Old Treasures...

I hope you all felt LOVED yesterday! 

We were under a winter storm warning most of Valentines and now have a wind chill warning with extreme negative temps.  It will be another good day to stay cozy at home.

 It's been a while since I've posted any estate sale treasures.  Estate sales are few and far between during the winter months.

This mermaid sand pail shovel has joined my other shovel in our laundry room/bathroom.

The fly tying kit box is empty but I bought it for the graphics.

  It will eventually end up at the A-frame cottage with the rest of Chris's fishing collections.

The pressed board walling hangings have found their way into my craft room.

I got the pair for a steal and they are in great condition.

The chick, Easter card and wagon are newly acquired additions. I can't wait to start pulling out the rest of my Easter treasures. Yes.  I'm jumping from one holiday to the next! XOXO
  

Sisters...

Sisters are joined 

HEART to HEART!

My house Valentine style...

Inspired by Magpie's post last week which showed her lovely Valentine decorations, here are a few more Valentine pictures from around my house right now.

My feather tree is nice and full with a few of my own creations and special treasures exchanged during past valentine swaps.

The plastic Christmas candle even got a Valentine makeover.  It was inspired by a pair of cupid lights that Magpie shared on her Valentine post.

The flowerhead vase was an estate sale acquisition in January.  With all her red, I decided she would be perfect for Valentines and jazzed her up with some special bling.

The red metal shelf is in my kitchen and the pom pom kitty is a gift from my dear friend, Viv.  The dolls and framed snowflake were things that I had embellished last winter.

I was blessed to receive several items from Elizabeth (Creative Breathing) years ago.

This is a shot of the entire mantle area in the sunroom.

Even my Halloween owl got a Valentine makeover.  He's now wearing a red satin bow.

As you can see, I've had fun creating a few vignettes with my Valentines.

 Lots of Valentine fun. 

I can't believe it's nearly here! 

XOXO
  

Special delivery!

A special delivery arrived Monday, traveling all the way from a very snowy Long Island.  Isn't my Valentine elf adorable? 

I had recently participated in Viv's valentine swap and was partnered with Maggie (Maggie's Lil' Fixins).  These ornaments have already found a special spot on my Valentine feather tree.

Maggie and I equally share a love for decorating for each and every darn holiday and have been blogging pals for quite a while.

I can always count on Maggie to share plastic popcorn holiday art with me.

Aren't these paper dolls sweet?  Thank you so much, Maggie for the beautiful valentine gifts you made for me.   And thank you, Viv for hosting this fun swap!

Here's a sneak peek and a few closeups of the things that I sent to Maggie.   

Stay crafty, friends!

XOXO

Icebergs AHEAD!

On Saturday, we traveled to South Haven to get our Lake MI fix and were pleasantly surprised to find out they were having their Ice Breaker festival.  

We then ventured out to the pier carefully making our way through frozen mounds of solid snow and ice.

It was amazing to see the Lake Michigan ice floes in the channel colliding into each other. 

There's something really powerful about seeing the mighty lake in the winter.  

On Sunday, the snow and wind began and didn't let up until early Monday.

The girls and Chris are home today with our recent recent storm.   I'm getting caught up on a zillion projects at work today.

Happy February, friends!