Pic of the Day

No tree skirt is safe.

Three Squashermelons

This is How Roscoe Operates

{Lux discovered the warm, freshly folded towels first.}

 

"This spot is pretty sweet, but I want that spot."

 

"So I'm just gonna hop down here and wait it out."

Waitin' it out.

 

Waitin' it out...

"Tada!"

 

"How did mommy know to take this cute and telling series of photos? Because I do this sort of thing all the time..." 

{We call him the space invader.}

Pic of the Day

Forbidden love.

Pic of the Day

Pic of the Day

OK One More

Cute of the Day

Cleaning the Sunroom

I've decide to give our filthy sunroom a thorough going-over. Up to now it has served us as a storage unit / summer cat hangout / habitat for bugs. But I want to make it a cute useable space. I am tackling this mess from the top down. To boost my morale, I took some time to prettify "the top" after I got it clean.

 

 I went down the row and put a suet cake in between each bottle to make sure they were evenly spaced.

 

We have a ton of these oak-leaf hydrangeas that are in bloom right now.

Helpers.

Cute of the Day

If there's one thing Luxy loves...

It's corn husk.

How to Yard-Sale

The yard-saling tips below are mostly based on this morning's yard-saling expedition, which included 5 stops.

~

Unless you just want to gawk at the pretty houses, avoid yard-sales in rich-people neighborhoods. They suck.

The sellers are not especially friendly, and they don't have anything good for sale. 

If you see community gates and out-sourced landscaping... 

 { Keep driving. }

You want to see country roads and old houses, beautiful in their own way in the 7am light.

You want a sweet little country boy, age 3 or so, to greet you at the chain-link fence and give you permission to open the gate.

You want to meet the grizzled older gentleman sitting on his porch who is parting with his jadeite coffee mug on your behalf.

{ These are all very good signs. }

Cattail.

Happy yard-saling!

Outside

I've been going outside, which is unusual for me.

 

Ineko and I have been enjoying each other's company.

{I think he's camouflaging himself.}

 

Yesterday I hung some clothes on the line, using the hanging bag full of clothespins that's been there since my grandma last used it.

I've clipped some pretty flowers.

Roses and peonies.

 

Josh was going through some stuff in the carport the other day, and I spotted that milk-glass vase. I was like "I want that!" and I snatched it up. Then, like that same day, I was looking through the current issue of Southern Living, and my vase was in there!!!

 

{See there it is.}

We have this one iris that's brown and it's totally cool. I think someone gave it to my grandma at a flower show.

This year I clipped it and brought it in.

 
When I was in kindergarten or something, I apparently told the class that I had "two pet grub-worms." 

{They really were my pets. I kept them in a tray full of dirt on the patio.}

These guys were hanging out in some mulch. Me and Josh got a chuckle out of seeing them. (He knows the story.)

Cute of the Day

Stay@Home Cats

Roscoe & Lux like to "help" with the Stay@Home chores.

Happy Valentine's Day

Enjoy the love in your life today!

♥

Josh, Betsey, Lux, and Roscoe

Sun Cats

Sweet little creatures enjoying the sunlight.

Yeah, I guess I'll just make the bed later...

Confession of the Day: 1/21/12

Josh & I sometimes refer to our cats as "internet sensations." 

I hope we're not damaging them.

Flea Market Haul

What can $4 buy you at a small-town Arkansas flea market? Beauty and functionality, with 50¢ left over for awesomeness. Here is my Friday haul:

 I got this beautiful plate with handles for $1.



I'm very into old plates with gold detailing.  

 
And this beautifully functional spatula for $2.50. 

 
I've been wanting something like this for a long time. A metal spatula made from a very thin piece of metal. It's great for sliding under and lifting with ease. And also scraping. So handy, but not so easy to find in today's stores.

 
It's Ekco, just like my beloved pastry blender.

 
And finally, I got these awesome vintage Christmas cards for 50¢.

 


Roscoe got a sweet box out of the deal.

 
But then he lost it.

White Christmas Eve

Today I've been enjoying Christmas Eve by making a Southern Living cake for our dessert tomorrow. I'm home alone today. Josh is spending Christmas Eve in Fordyce with his dad & brother. I didn't go with him this year because I've been missing spending Christmas morning at my mom's house. We'll be reunited tomorrow at lunchtime. For now I've been enjoying the solitude and the all-day cooking project. And the leftover shrimp.

 

Roscoe and the cardinal.

Hello!

Our outside friend Ineko. AKA "Sneaky Ineaky."

I like to juice my lemons with this old-timey thing.

Love me some cake batter.

Lemon filling.

Fluffy white frosting.

Pre-frosting.

Pre-coconut.

And done.

Stay tuned for the garnish!

Christmas Cookies

Mom and I have been making Christmas cookies for the last two days.

We used recipes from my grandma's old Christmas cookie booklet. 

 

Cherry-winks.

Pinwheel cookies.

Cookie press win.

Cookie press fail.

 

We made tamales too. 

While I was over at my mom's yesterday, Josh was wrapping presents. This is what I came home to. 

So, a few weeks ago I found these vintage cookie tins at a local thrift store.

(Closeup of cuteness.)

Anyway, I'm seriously in love with these.

They're just perfect for our retro-fabulous cookies!

 

Love the sides.

Cherry-winks, pinwheels, icebox with pecans.

 

Cacoons, spritz.

 

Merry Christmas!!!