Mosaic Monday: Celebrate

I've been busy celebrating this past week. :)

Of course, it was my birthday (although I'd just as soon forget that) but it was also the beginning of a wonderful new creative outlet for me. I've started a 365 project (a photo a day for a whole year) with my friend Amanda.

We've never met, but we share the same birthday (although she is quite a bit younger than me). We also share a love of photography. Amanda is a young entrepreneur -- she and her husband have a growing portrait photography business -- and she also blogs about her daily life as a young mother of two beautiful girls. Last year I took her photography class, Bloom. When she asked me early this year if I wanted to join her in a 365 project, it was a no-brainer for me. What a wonderful chance to spread my artistic wings. :)

The photos in my mosaic this week are all shots I took last week for our project. The title of our project is beauty unspoken. We have a new topic every week to guide our work. We each interpret the subject in our own way. If you have a chance, come and take a peek; we'll be posting daily for the entire year. :)

Now let's have some mosaic fun! Here are the instructions:

1. Publish your Mosaic Monday post.
2. Once it is published, click on the title of the post. This will lead you to the static link for your post. The static link is the page with only that post on it. Copy the url from your browser at the top of the page.
3. Paste the url into the appropriate Mr. Linky box in this post.
4. Type your name in the appropriate Mr. Linky box in this post.
5. Click on "Enter."
6. Please link back to this Mosaic Monday post so that your readers can find other wonderful mosaics.
That's all there is to it! It's always a good idea to then check and see if your link is working. If you have any questions, feel free to email me: mrcarroll(at)optonline.net. I can't wait to see your mosaics! Here is Mr. Linky:

Surprises

As much as I don't really like winter, I still love to wake up to a surprise snowfall in the morning. I think it must be the kid in me, happy at the prospect of a snow day.

And surprise snow is the best.

The reflected light brightens your bedroom, as you push the covers aside and go to the window. And outside the world has been transformed into a magical place -- clean and bright and white.

Thursday morning brought a surprise snow. Just a few inches, but enough to create its own magic. I couldn't resist taking the camera out for a few shots. This beautiful stone bank house, in a nearby town, is one of my all-time favorites. Oh how I would love to get a peek inside. ;)

I have a few surprises for you all next week too. Just a little bit of exciting (for me, anyway) news, and maybe a little celebration that we can all share. Stayed tuned for more information. :)

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Please join me for Mosaic Monday. Mr. Linky will be up by 8:30pm Sunday. I look forward to visiting you all. :)

Tablescape Thursday: Playing With Dishes

Sometimes I set the table for a special occasion, and other times I just play with my dishes. You do that, right?

It actually saves time when you have to set a table for a special occasion, because it's like a dry run.

Truly.

And playing with dishes is therapeutic.

I swear.

All those pretty, shiny things...

Beautiful colors and textures...

Flowers and ribbons...

OK, so I might have a slight problem. :)

Many thanks to the beautiful Susan from Between Naps on the Porch, for hosting Tablescape Thursday. :)

salad plates: German antiques

dinner plates: Wedgwood "Hamilton"

water goblets: Waterford "Donegal"

wine glasses: thrift store, pattern unknown

flatware: assorted antiques, thrift and antique stores

Odds and Ends

First of all, I want to say "thank you" for all your wonderful comments and birthday wishes yesterday. Wow, you guys are the best!!! Several of you told me that you or one of your loved ones shared my birthday; I hope you all had a wonderful day!

Secondly, welcome to all the new faces I'm seeing here -- both at Mosaic Monday and in my Followers list. I'm so happy that you have chosen to spend some time at Little Red House!

Finally, I want to remind everyone that Mr. Linky remains up all week, so that if you didn't have time to post your mosaic earlier, you can still do so now. I look forward to visiting you all this week. :)

Now, is there something I'm forgetting? Something I promised to tell you about?

Oh yeah. The surprise. :)

Well, you all know how I love a good deal, right? The queen of the thrift store bargain? Here is my greatest moment, bar none.

My husband and I were driving home Saturday when we spied a piece of furniture that someone had left at the side of the road. It was a beautiful desk, in nearly perfect condition. We looked at each other, and then said that we had no room for it in our house. We drove on by.

At home later, I looked at our junky computer table, and had a bright idea. We could use the desk there! Now you have to know that my husband, while he shares my love of a good bargain, does not really like going to garage sales, or picking things up at the side of the road. So he really did not want to go back and get that desk. But it was my birthday (almost) and he knew that it was killing me to let that desk go. So we went back and picked it up.

We got it home, brought it inside, and realized that it would not fit up the stairs to the family room. Aaaaarrrgh! So with a bit of furniture shuffling, it is now residing in our tiny den. My daughter has apparently decided that it belongs to her, and has filled the drawers with office supplies. She has midterm exams this week, so it has become her study station. It is already covered with books and papers. I cleared it off to take this photo, which is blurry because it was so dark in the room. Sorry!

So that is my big surprise -- a beautiful, almost new cherry desk. For nothing. Nothing. I tried to look it up online, and found a sideboard by the same manufacturer, half the size of the desk, selling secondhand for $1500.

Oh how I love a good bargain. ;)

Mosaic Monday: It's My Birthday

Making a flower mosaic for my birthday has become something of a tradition at Little Red House. January 25th -- all the excitement of the holiday season has faded and the winter weather has become a bit of a bore. It's a long time till spring. So I usually cheer myself up with a gathering of electronic blossoms.

My husband gets me some of the real kind, too. :)

I awoke this morning (Sunday, the 24th) to two armfuls of blooms -- white tulips and yellow roses. We're going out to dinner tonight, and I've been promised some gifts to unwrap tomorrow. I did get a sort of early birthday present on Saturday. But I want to surprise you with that story on Tuesday. Because you need a surprise in this dreary weather, don't you?

(And if you are enjoying lovely weather at the moment, please don't tell me. It would just be the last straw. Not that I'm jealous or anything... )

It's 34 degrees and rainy here tonight... lol

Now let's have some mosaic fun! Here are the instructions:

1. Publish your Mosaic Monday post.
2. Once it is published, click on the title of the post. This will lead you to the static link for your post. The static link is the page with only that post on it. Copy the url from your browser at the top of the page.
3. Paste the url into the appropriate Mr. Linky box in this post.
4. Type your name in the appropriate Mr. Linky box in this post.
5. Click on "Enter."
6. Please link back to this Mosaic Monday post so that your readers can find other wonderful mosaics.
That's all there is to it! It's always a good idea to then check and see if your link is working. If you have any questions, feel free to email me: mrcarroll(at)optonline.net. I can't wait to see your mosaics! Here is Mr. Linky:

Did You Ever Wonder...?

OK, I have a question for you. It has nothing to do with the picture of the roses. I just can't do a post without including a picture. But here is my question:

Have you seen the commercial for the new dog food that is billed as "appetizers for dogs?" I forget who the manufacturer is. My question is this: Who could possibly think that dogs need appetizers? I mean, they're dogs. They eat anything. They eat food off the floor. They lick their own butts, for God's sake.

Do they really need an amuse-bouche?

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Please join me for Mosaic Monday this week. (It's my birthday week!) Mr. Linky will be up by 8:30pm Sunday. Although I did not get a chance to leave comments for you all last week, I did visit and was amazed by the beautiful mosaics you made!

Red and White

Last week when I posted a formal luncheon in my dining room for Tablescape Thursday, several people asked me for a closer look at the dishes in my corner cabinet. So here they are. :)

I tend to change out the dishes here a few times a year. Right now, the cabinet is filled with red transferware and white milk glass. The transferware is mostly reproduction Spode, with a few vintage and antique pieces thrown in.

The milk glass is beginning to take over.

My kids think this cow creamer is kind of creepy, but I just love it. In fact, if I'm not careful, I might easily begin to collect these. ;)

The milk glass pieces appeal to my frugal nature -- none cost more than $28. and most were in the 50 cent to $4. range.

I found this little sugar bowl, minus it's lid, at a rummage sale. I think it was $1.50.

A few antique books help to stagger the heights of the pieces.

I think I've finally reached critical mass here. One more piece and the whole thing will come down. lol

Anyway, that's my little corner cabinet. I will probably change everything out this spring with some flowered dishes.

Stay tuned. :)