Merry Christmas!

"Maybe Christmas,"

he thought

"doesn't come from a store.

Maybe Christmas...

perhaps...

means a little bit more."

-Dr. Suess

Merry Christmas!!!

Thankful For.....

This is what I am truly thankful for!! My amazing family!!

(that and a bestie who is an incredible professional photographer. :))

I decided that I would be diligent about getting annual family photos as I watch my kiddos grow

up far far too fast. After last years success with Jen taking gorgeous family pictures, I

decided that I just had to make her work her magic again!

Well,... she did it!!.....Again!!!

THANK YOU JEN!!!!

I just love them!!

You really captured my children's personalities, which can be nearly impossible.

(Especially when they are in front of the camera. ;) )

I've said it before and I'll say it again... 

Your MAD TALENT just runneth over!!

Now,... how to make choices for a Christmas card?????

Such Talent...

My littlest and I attended a birthday party the other day for her "bestie".

She was turning the big '3'!!

So her mom (my bestie) got out the camera and just started taking snap shots...

they were all

BEAUTIFUL!!!

Given... her mom is a professional photographer...

BUT STILL!!

I feel like I should have paid a sitting fee. These are just a few

of the amazing photos that she sent me.

Thank you Jen for these...they are truly a gift!! 

The darling Birthday girl.

Easy as pie...

My son made an acrylic painting a few years back and titled it "Zero Gravity".

I thought it was so clever and cute that I (of course), immediately

stole it and hung it in our office.

Well,...

recently he decided he wanted a it in his room.

What??

He thinks he wants his own art work in his room??

The solution...

We scanned it into the computer and printed it out on nice photo paper.

He wanted to hang it over his bed so I needed to go an earthquake safe route. (i.e. no glass.)

We bought a cheep canvas and painted the edges blue.

I used Mod Podge and a paintbrush to spread sticky wonderful-ness

all over the back of the picture and stuck it to the canvas.

We flipped it over and stapled a felt ribbon right to the canvas.

And.....

Voila!!

He has a copy of his own art 

hanging in his own bedroom.

And I still have my original in the office!! :):)

Obsequious...

The word of the day is Obsequious...

...something I have been trying not to be since I painted this picture...

12 years ago.

I guess these things take time??

ob·se·qui·ous /əbˈsi:kwijəs/ adjective

 disapproving : too eager to help or obey someone important

: marked by or exhibiting a fawning attentiveness

: ready or prompt to help or obey like a servant or slave at the wish or command of another person especially to gain favor

 

 

 

Random-ness...

Been busy...

I feel like it's fall.

I know that sounds funny, because it is fall, but here in the desert where the temperatures stay high well into November fall is more of a feeling than a noticeable change in colors, or temperature.

It has cooled down,...a bit.

People have decorated for Halloween,

and there is that certain buzz.

That excitement that is contagious, and it starts to fill the air. Well it makes me want to nest.

So,...I have been nesting.

Redecorating. In colors fueled mainly by this picture. :)

sigh...

g

Got really sick of my curtains and replaced them with these.

I am in love with all things smocked.

Had a red clock on top of my cabinets. Red wasn't working for me any more, so I decoupaged it.

Put posy pins on some pillows that were in need of a makeover.

I have refinished a few pieces of furniture and started a few projects that I am excited about. I will post them all as they get finished up. Now my kiddos think that I need to get started on their Halloween costumes. Oii!!

 Wish me LUCK!!

Drooling

The French Inspired Home

by Carolyn Westbrook

My sister gave me this oober-amazing book about 6 months ago for my birthday,

and I thought it was lovely. Fun to flip through and enjoy the eye candy.

Now that we are mixing things up here at the Platt plantation and I am looking

for lighter and airier decor I find myself drooling over the pages of this book.

It has a very Victorian feel, and lots of gooey detail,

which 18 years ago I just loved. Then my tastes did a whole

eclectic voyage around the world flip flop thing, and now

...again...

I find I have come full circle and love the gooey-vintage

details mixed in with all of my other eclectic tastes.

What is a girl to do??

Fickle me!!!

Anyhoo... for any of you who have not yet flipped through a copy of

the French Inspired Home,... I thought I would just throw the idea out there.

It is a treat.

So many other things first...

                                                                        

    I was talking to a friend recently about how my blog is so

sorely neglected.

She is a good friend with good insight.

One of those people that you can just talk to,

...bounce ideas off of,

...blow off steam with,

...and voice concerns to.

 She asked me a simple but good question.

"Do you enjoy your blog or does it cause you stress?"

I have been thinking, and I have decided... both.

I enjoy having a place to put my ideas. To document finished projects.

To get opinions from others.

Honestly... my favorite part of my blog is the convenience of

my side bar. I visit my own blog nearly every day just to bounce off of it to

visit all of you. To explore all of my other favorite places.

I don't enjoy feeling pressure that I should post something if I haven't done so

in oh... say 2 or 3 months.

(Not that I would ever let that happen.)

I only ever created the blog as a haven for when my creative juices are most active.

I thought about deleting my blog.

Thought hard about it...

and almost did it.

Than I felt a sense of loss.

Real loss.  

That was something that I didn't expect.

I sometimes get attached to a work of art that I have finished and it is hard to sell it,

or give it away... and I joke that they are like my babies...

but I didn't realize that I was attached to my blog.

So I decided... no... I am not deleting you... my little

under nurtured,

but adored blog. 

But, I am not much of a blogger.

I have discovered that I am all of these other things.

I am...

First a mom, a wife, and a Latter Day Saint.

Next a friend,

Next an artist,

a cook (not by choice :) )

a housekeeper (""")

the doer of laundry

the chauffeur

the book keeper

the homework editor

the hairbrush er

the sock and shoe finder

the referee of sibling rivalries,

a journal writer,

jewelry maker,

clothes mender,

band aid putter on-er,

back tickler,

etc.

etc.

etc.

and then... a blogger.

I really appreciate so much my little band of followers,...

and I really appreciate the few hits and comments that I do get.

So, I am not deleting my blog that I have a soft spot for.

 I am, however, from here on out...

 owning that it is at the rock bottom of my priority list.

I will not promise myself that I will do better about updating it.

 Nor will I feel guilt, pressure, or stress if I go 2 or 3 months (not

that I would ever let that happen) without posting.

So.... if ANYONE is still with me it is opinion time. 

I have been "lightening up" my house over the last while.

Getting rid of some dark colors and tossing in bits of robins egg blue,

and lots of ivory and white...

little splashes of yellow and green.

Making it feel fresh.

My bedroom has had red accents for such a long time now. I am so over the

red. Downright sick of the red. I have gotten rid of most of it. The only thing keeping me

from redoing the whole color scheme are two original works of art by two different

people that I know personally. They are beautiful pieces and of course...

they are very heavy with red. My walls are taupe. My room feels heavy.

I think I have found a solution.

( I really wish I could remember what magazine

I found these pictures in so that i could give credit. oops. )



See how the red in these pictures looks really light and airy, even cottage-Esq when paired with yellow?

I propose this...

I paint my walls a very light creamy yellow,

add even more ivory and white accents, and keep the few red pieces that I already have.

What do we think?? Am I on to something?

Or is red and yellow soo totally yesterday? :)

I would REALLY appreciate your opinions!!

Thank You!!!

So clever...

Did anyone else receive this advertisement in their mail

recently??

I laughed out loud!!

It is so simple, yet so creative.

I already love my Kindle, but after this advertisement I love it even more.

How can I not be partial when they have such tastefully clever

people working for them?

Badger~

Meet our newest family member...

This is Badger.

He is a desert tortoise,

and the coolest pet we have ever owned!

He was a gift from some friends and we love him.

They had two tortoises, and Badger was the smaller of the two.

(He is about 15 inches around.)

Well, apparently when you get two male tortoises together they fight.

Badger is said to have nine lives like a cat because he has lost many a fight and lived to tell about it.

He has been flipped over on his back and stuck there for many long

hours in the HOT desert sun, until his owners discovered

and rescued him.

He has even had mouth to mouth resuscitation...

(yes really),

after nearly drowning in our friends swimming pool.

(On more than one occasion.)

All because of tortoise testosterone.

Who knew??

Anyhoo... because they too love Badger, it became too stressful for

them to always be worried that he was a casualty

of yet another tortoise war, and so they did what they felt was best

for him, and found him a new home.

We welcomed him with open arms!!

And though he is really not cuddly, I am amazed at just

how cute he is.

It is soo fun to watch him move around and eat.

Our youngest princess pets him and talks to him nearly every day.

" I wuv you Badga!"

It's very tender,... and then she turns to me and says...

"mommy,...Badga wuves me too."

Of course he does.....

Thank You to the Prestons for our newly adoptive family member.

Who knew one could feel such affection for a tortoise??!!

Happy Easter

My amazing friend Jen of J. Frank Photography has done it again!!!

Every time I hire her to take pictures of my

peeps, or my whole family,

or a teapot in a french pastry shop :):),...

she exceeds my expectations!!!

She threw together a little Easter special where she did mini

photo sessions locally with bunnies.

BUNNIES!!!

How cute is that??

How clever is that???

I don't know if I was more excited to see my girls enjoying real live,

soft, furry bunnies, or to get really great original photos out of the deal!

Anyhoo... I think that they turned out darling!!

Thank You JEN!!

If you want to see more of the cute Easter photos, including ones with

chicks,...

yes, real live fuzzy CHICKS,...

then hop on over to her blog My Happy Place

and check out all of the eye candy.

HAPPY EASTER!!!!!