Lee Jofa Veranda Ad

Lee Jofa has a beautiful fabric shown on their ad on Veranda this month with a floral and leaf pattern.

The ad didn't show the pattern and we got tons of inquiries as to what it was.  In case you need to identify it, it is called Tree of Life, pattern number 2009129 color 519.  




You can find the pattern here.  Sorry, the image is not uploaded but we will be loading it up shortly.

And I Will Live "Hoppily" Ever After...

As you may have already guessed, I'm a little obsessed with rabbits!!!!!!!! I have previously surmised that it's probably from a childhood "something to do with Alice in Wonderland". I'll probably never understand, but does that really make any difference? When I start with my Portfolio, inside my house pictures, in the next few weeks, you'll see I'm REALLY obsessed and you may not want to be my "friend" anymore, but that's just a chance I'll have to take. I'm actually excited to start sharing my "inside" home with you soon, so that you can see examples of my sewing projects which is one of the reasons I really started this Blog. Then I know you will have a clearer picture of what I can do for you, if that is why you are reading this blog today. If not, and you just love seeing new ideas and catching up on the latest and greatest, that makes me very,very hoppy, I mean happy!!!See you soon! Love, Allison




























MY LION WAS FEELING REALLY, REALLY LEFT OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!










AND MY PIG IS NOT TO CRAZY ABOUT BEING LEFT OUT EITHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One Woman's Junk is Another One's...

Years of garage sales, first-in-line thrift store mornings, antique stores, boutiques, etc., etc., etc., has paid off big dividends in my yard art. I probably screw myself over and over, by sharing my finds and experience with all who venture in, but what can I say... That's just the kind of hairpin I am! (Ask your grandma for an interpretation) So hope you get some more ideas in how to incorporate what YOU love into YOUR yard. My theory... if you love something, you WILL find a place for it!!! Happy
Hunting! See you soon! Love, Allison








































To be continued...

a pretty little number


Just another card I recently put together for a dear colleague of mine. The paper is from Pink Paislee's "Butterfly Garden" and Graphic 45's "Once Upon a Springtime". The flower is Prima with stick pins from Maya Road. Just a simple piece of twine ties it all together in the opposite corner. I apologize for the blurry pictures. The card was finished after the sun went down and I still refused to use my flash - silly girl! I tried to create enough natural lighting - but didn't quite succeed! Oh well - the lessons of photography!


Hope you are enjoying the end of your weekend!

Thanks for looking!

xoxo



a warm country howdy!



This cute little card was made with a few scraps from the childhood mini album I shared yesterday. I used a cream card base with paper from Crate Paper's "Emma's Shoppe". The farm gal is from Crafty Secrets farm scraps - so cute!


47 degrees this morning.....ummm - what?! Good Lord I'm not ready for fall just yet! It turned out to be a super, sunny, 70 degree day. But even so, we needed something warm in our tummies tonight. I stumbled upon this recipe a little while ago and since I am a corn maniac I couldn't wait to try it! This is not a real thick creamy soup - but it was still surprisingly tasty. The chipotle powder adds a nice smokiness while the jalapeno and pepper flakes add a lip tingling kick. The bacon on top was surely my favorite part! We omitted the chicken and it was still yummy.


Corn Chowder
8 servings

Ingredients
5 strips thick cut bacon; sliced into ½ inch pieces
1 sweet onion, diced
2 carrots peeled and chopped
2 stalks of celery chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
6 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon chipotle seasoning
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (add more if you like some heat)
6 cups vegetable stock
2 cups heavy cream
2 Idaho potatoes, peeled and diced
6-8 ears corn
2 cups cooked and shredded chicken; I use rotisserie chicken from the local market
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
green onions; sliced for garnish

Directions
1. In a Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium high heat until crisp; remove bacon with a slotted spoon and allow to drain and reserve for garnish.
2. Reduce heat to medium. Add the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, jalapeno and thyme to the bacon drippings and cook until the vegetables are soft; about 8 to 10 minutes. Dust the vegetables with flour, chipotle seasoning, crushed red pepper flakes and stir to coat well.
3. Cook vegetables, flour and seasonings for 2 minutes; stir frequently.
4. Pour in the vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Add the cream and the potatoes, bring to a rapid boil. Allow soup to boil hard for about 7 minutes, until the potatoes break down. This process will help thicken the soup.
4. Cut the corn kernels off the cobs and add to the soup. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add in the cooked chicken. Simmer until the corn is soft and chicken is heated through; about 10 to 12 minutes.
5. Stir in the parsley. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with the reserved bacon and green onions.

recipe courtesy of My Baking Addiction


Birds of a Feather

Birds of a feather don't really flock together...to MY garden at least. They just come to visit with all of my other friends to see where I've put my latest garage sale, thrift store, and boutique finds, in my yard. With the price of flowers going "to the birds" I've tried to find new ways to fill pots, nooks and otherwise empty spots with a bit of humor and whimsy. Originally I had over 50 pots. The expense was staggering and watering them took 100's of hours a week!!! (Well it felt like that) And did I mention the deadheading??? Plus BIG BONUS...I can use the birdhouses over and over again every year. So, like I love to say, start looking now for fun, new ways to use something ordinary in creative ways to share with your best friends, be they fowl or human. 'Til we meet again! Love, Allison