Of Stress and Sneak Peeks

Oh man.  I am stressing out so bad.  I have got to finish all these decorations and table decor before SATURDAY!  Yes, I'm shouting because I am STRESSED!!!

I keep thinking I will get a handle on it, but then things I have to do for work keep getting in the way!  (And I got a nasty little cold too which sidelined me a bit - hmmm - perhaps from the STRESS?)

So why am I writing a blog post when I should be working on these things?  Because I'm STRESSED and CRAZY!

And I dare not show too much because there might be spies for the Big County Fair out there.... (am I being paranoid or just STRESSED?)

 I wonder what those could become?

 And these?  They look rather mysterious to me!

And a log?  What is going on at Sweet Bee Cottage?

cue the mysterious music....

Stay tuned darlings.  There will be much more to show after Saturday.....

and the music crescendos....

buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

P.S.  Check out what my teaching buddy gave me....

Yep!  It's a Scrub Daddy!  And my real life Scrub Daddy (aka Worker Bee) is so excited to welcome this new member to our family.

Estate Saling with Worker Bee

Worker Bee and I did a bit of estate saling this weekend.  I can probably only talk him into going with me every 6-8 weeks so I was feeling lucky.

We went on the second day and most of the gorgeous vintage linens I coveted were gone.  In fact, they were all gone, so I didn't buy any linens.

Now I did find these –

a set of four vintage metal Christmas trays,  

a fabulously illustrated vintage chocolate box - I've tried finding information about this candy company and I can't find a thing - I'm pretty sure it is from the1920s though.  

Any thoughts?  

I also found this wine coaster - I already have a couple similar to this.  It's so pretty I might keep this one for myself (especially since I only paid $1 for it). 

I also found this pretty glass bowl.  It's such a sweet shade of blue.  I know nothing about this piece either.   I'll probably put it up on etsy, but I would love to know more about it.  

And here's something I can almost never resist - vintage baby clothes.  

Could it be part of a layette?  I couldn't get a nice picture of the whole thing.  It's like a jacket, but it's quite long - as long as a baby.  Do you know what it is?

Isn't the embroidery so sweet?  Pretty sure it's hand done 'cause I think I can see bits of the pattern.  Do you remember getting ready for that first baby?  I can just imagine the new mom who made this being so proud to show off her adorable baby in something she made.  

But what made this a spectacular trip was that Worker Bee found something he had wanted for a long, long, long time.

See, I'm not sure if I've told you that Worker Bee has a degree in geography.  (I know....what does he do with that? Not a lot - but it's what he loved, hence the degree.)

Part of what developed that love of maps and places and people and populations and regions and climates and weather is a book.

A book that Worker Bee's mother donated right before they moved from California to Texas.  A book that he has looked for for years.  (They moved in 1988 so you can see how long he has been hunting.)

The only bad thing about finding this book is now I can't play the

 "Hey, you might find that book you've been looking for" card any more.

That Worker Bee of mine was so cute.  As soon as we got home he pulled out that book and started sharing with us the things he remembered and learned from that book.  His enthusiasm was contagious and I could almost see the little towhead with glasses he was,  sharing what he learned with his parents and his older brothers.  

(yes, my heart got all melty)  

I was so thrilled he found something that made HIM happy!

So what have you found that had you buzzing like my Worker Bee?

Getting Worker Bee Organized

I LOVE getting things organized!

I have to confess that I'm not always great at keeping things organized however.

And....well.....Worker Bee is even worse.  (Sorry Worker Bee, I called you out there AND threw you under the bus.)

Well, it was time.  Time to get Worker Bee's side of our closet organized.  

 Hey!  It doesn't look so bad....

Cue the ominous music....

Oh yes, I see danger lurking there in that bottom right corner....

Eeeeeeek!  Why is there a Trader Joe's bag in there Worker Bee? 

(Boy am I glad HE doesn't have a blog where he can point out all the mess on MY side of the closet!)

 How does all that junk fit in that tiny closet???

What happened to my pretty little bed?

Well after 4 ginormous bags of clothing Worker Bee donated,

we had this....

Now doesn't that look grand?

A nice big basket for shoes (uh...Worker Bee....why aren't there more shoes in there?  Are they out in the living room again?) and

all the shirts nicely sorted by type.

 Okay....I have to admit....I'm kind of proud of this idea.  I used foam door hangers I picked up at Michaels and cut a slit so it would go over the closet rod....

 so long sleeved knits are separated form long sleeve button shirts, which are then separated from polo shirts, and then those are separate short sleeve button shirts and so on and so on....

Ahhh......organized nirvana.....

 Then Worker Bee's sweaters are stacked nicely on that top shelf.  Worker Bee might be almost as addicted to sweaters as I am.  Although I'm exponentially more addicted than he, as in for every 1 of his I have 12 (or maybe more she confesses sheepishly).

 All his ties are hung neatly on a little peg rack.  (And really, Worker Bee, you couldn't get rid of the cheapy Christmas and St. Patrick's Day ties?  Those would have easily fit in those 4 huge bags.)

A nice handy hook for hanging his robe, pajamas, or whatever....

And one of our favorite inventions for tight closets.....stacking pants hangers.  Just clip them on and you can fit four pair of pants in the space of about 2 pants would take up on normal hangers.

Doesn't it look marvelous???

Next up....my side of the closet, Baby Bee's closet, the hall closet,the coat closet....I could go on and on, but it sure does feel good to have one closet tackled and done.

So what are you working on to get organized?

(And have you noticed?  Two projects done!  Yes, I know, none from on my sidebar, but those WILL happen someday!)

Thanks for buzzing by!

When Disparate Things Come Together in a Lovely Way

First off, I have to say I love words.  Did you read the title up there?  Yes, I really meant disparate, not desperate.  Worker Bee and I love to play with words and impress each other with our $20 words we use.  (What's a $20 word you say?  Why it's one that's obscure enough, yet not unheard of, that perfectly describes the situation or event or whatnot.  Like disparate.  So now you know.  We're word nerds.  It could be worse.)

So, anyway, lately I have been wearing an amalgamation (oh yes, there's $20 for me) of sweet charms that I happened to combine the other day and I just love them!

I thought you might enjoy seeing them and hearing the stories behind each one.

Charm #1 is a heart shaped piece of Nicholas Mosse Irish pottery - a strawberry.  (cue the violins 'cause this is the romantic part)  My dear sweet Worker Bee blew me out of the water one Valentine's Day.  I had found these beautiful heart shaped charms from broken china through a mention in Country Home magazine.  (yes, all of us sigh at the demise of that treasured magazine).  Well that sweet husband of mine drove all the way to the store where they had them - about 2 hours away - and bought a few of them for me.  I had no idea he'd driven that far and never thought he would actually remember me telling him how much I loved those charms.  Every time I wear one of them, my heart gets a little squishy over my Worker Bee.

Charm #2 is one I bought from the oh so sweet Mica over at The Child's Paper.  Have you seen her artwork?  She is quite talented and I love her sense of whimsy.  I love whimsy almost as much as I love words.  Wait, I might love whimsy even more.

And finally, Charm #3 is one I bought for myself (oh yes, I bought Mica's for myself too) from this charming ebay shop called - you're going to love this - Charmedware! It's a lovely bit of lace sandwiched between glass.  It came with a little silver heart charm and a small pearl charm, but I'm misplaced them.  I won't say lost because lost sounds so permanent and I'm sure one day they will come home.

Oh and this cute little thing I took the pictures on?  Why this little A-Z pillow cover is from Deb at Loyalist Cottage (you know - the famous HGTV magazine pillow maker) and her sweet little etsy shop.  She screen prints these herself!

So...now you see how three (actually four if you think about it) disparate things can come together in a lovely manner!

And while we're at it, let me thank you for your visit!  Your kind comments are always a day brightener! Especially since I'm heading back to school next week.  It's awfully hot here too.  109º tomorrow!  So you bet I'll be spending my last Friday of Freedom sipping a nice cool iced tea and I would love for you to join me.  And if you're really sweet, I'll even make it a sweet tea!

We Went to the Beach!

So, I haven't learned to sew yet (see my last post) but I did go to the beach!

Worker Bee. Baby Bee, Sewing Bee, and I all went to Morro Bay for a few days!

We stayed in a friend's little cottage about 1 1/2 blocks from the beach.  Did I remember to take any pictures of this sweet little place?  Nooooo!  I even told everyone I've got to take a picture, but...... I forgot.  Well.....that's what vacations are for, right?

Well, let's see we read, played in the ocean, hung out, and went out for many nice dinners.  

This is Morro Rock - the Gibraltar of the Pacific.

One morning on the beach we saw several sailboats.

The sandpipers were fascinating to watch.

Hmmmm.......what kind of sea creatures are those?

Oh!  That's Worker Bee and Baby Bee playing in the waves.  I think their scientific names are Apis Negotium and Apis  Infans.

I even took a little video of Morro Bay.  

On our way home we buzzed into the cutest and best smelling little cookie bakery.

Have you ever heard of the Brown Butter Cookie Company?

One of my friends goes to the beach often and always stops here and brings back such delectable cookies.  It's just the right combination of sweet and salty.

You can even order these little treats online.

Thank you for coming along with us on our little jaunt to the sea.

Now I can't wait to go back again!

And thank you for buzzing by!  I'm back just in time to work on more projects!  Oh buzzzzzz!

Do You Like to Cook?

I really like to cook.  I love to watch Top Chef (which really helped me improve my knife skills) and Food Network.  Worker Bee and I love to go out for a good meal - not just okay - but an I'm dreaming of that carrot-blood orange-sunchoke soup after eating it last year-----again. (Can't get that one out of my mind.)

I'm definitely not a chef.  But I like to try new recipes.

The question I always ask, "Is it a make again?"  To me that's the ultimate compliment and what I want to hear from Worker Bee.  I think that's why I experiment with new recipes so much 'cause I'm always wanting to know if my dear one would like to try this again.  He never asks me to make anything for him (he is really a very low-key, non-demanding individual), so I keep trying to find that dish that will spark that desire in him.  After 21 years of marriage, I'm still trying.

So, I probably went on a bit too long about my honey, but I wanted to let you know why I'm always trying new dishes.

One of my favorite magazines for good recipes is Cooking Light.  It is filled with recipes that call for good, fresh ingredients, cooked in a healthy way.

Since my dad passed away, we have my mom over for dinner every Sunday night and I try to make something really good to send everybody off to a good week.   

Now what was I saying?

Ah yes....my new recipes I tried Sunday night.

We grilled a pork tenderloin, had some delicious fresh blackberries, and had Pappardelle with Baby Spinach, Herbs, and Ricotta.  

This was yummy!  Baby spinach, ricotta cheese, fresh chives and flat-leaf parsley (from the kitchen garden), fresh dill (snails ate my dill so I had to buy some - stinkin' snails), pecorino Romano cheese, a little olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Perfect for a lovely spring evening.  It was so nice outside we ate under the trees in our backyard.  

For dessert I tried a recipe I got in my e-mail box from Real Simple.

Chocolate Panini!

I love my panini machine!  But I've never made dessert with it.

Doesn't that look yummy?

It's just semi-sweet chocolate that I chopped up and white bread.  (I cut off the crusts to make it a little fancier.)  Just put the chocolate between the bread and heat in the panini maker.

Well, it looked a lot better than it actually was.  It was okay.  Worker Bee suggested I put a layer of peanut butter on it.  I'll try that and let you know how it was.

So, do you like to cook?

Do you like to try new recipes?

Well, I'll cook something tasty for you when you can pop over for a visit.  We can just chat and chat out on our backyard patio.  Doesn't that sound nice?

Thanks for buzzin' by!  

 

Thanks to Runner Bee, we will probably have some cake balls for dessert when you come over.  She has convinced me I need to try these.  Have you made 'em?