And the Random Kick Continues....

Okay.....only two random things for you tonight......

Random Thing #1

I love etsy!  Do you love etsy?  I love selling my vintage finds on it and I love the treasures I can find on it.  Have to share with you something I couldn't resist.

Aren't these the cutest napkins?

So summery and bright!

And I love how they go with this tablecloth I have!

And look at this!  She included a vintage hankie!  Imagine that!  A vintage hankie!  Did she read my mind?  I love vintage hankies!

 (could this be considered a bonus random thing?)

Isn't it sweet?

Wanna' know who she is?  Hmmmm.....maybe I should keep her all to myself.....but I'm not really like that......I just like to tease.......

Her shop is Vintage Fines & Linen and her name is Nancy!  Tell her I sent you.

Now just don't go and buy what I want!  LOL

Random Thing #2

Baby Bee and I had to stop at Costco the other day and I found the most fabulous cookbook.  

(Have I mentioned before that I am a HUGE fan of Williams-Sonoma cookbooks?  Well, I am.  I consider them my go to cookbooks when I want a really good quality meal to serve to my family.)

Well I found

 a new slow cooker cookbook.  

 (Have I also mentioned that I'm a cookbook addict?  Oh yes.....sad but true.  Worker Bee has had to set forth a mandate that I may not get a new cookbook until I've made at least 3 items from my latest acquisition.)

 But don't these look fabulous?

It's full of good tips for making delicious slow cooker meals. 

I can't wait to make some of them (so I can buy a new cookbook??? maybe.....) and hopefully blog about them.  

Thanks for buzzing by!

You know we're all into Mexican Mochas at the cottage these days?

Can I make one for you?

Maybe on your next visit?

Let me know!  The espresso maker's always on for you.

Three Totally Random Things

Well, you can't say you weren't warned about the randomness of this post......

Random Thing #1

We were able to set up Baby Bee's room for her and I can show you a sneak peek!  There are still quite a few small projects I need to complete before there is a full reveal, but it just looks so marvelous!  

Every night Baby Bee says she feels like she is swimming and that's what we were kind of going for.  

Wanna' come for a swim?

I can't wait to get all those little projects done and show you all.  Spring Break is coming!

Are you looking for cute ways to redecorate a room? I have some Bed Bath and Beyond coupons if you're looking for a bargain!

Random Thing #2

Baby Bee's birthday party is this Saturday.  I swore off theme birthday parties, but their siren song lured me in again (honestly, I don't know who loves them more - me or Baby Bee) and this year's theme is Nancy Drew.  (If you follow me on Pinterest you might have noticed my Nancy Drew board.)  There are some fabulous ideas out there!  Luckily I found this great site that had some fabulous printables and saved me a ton of time!  Check it out here.

Wanna' see the invitations?

Do you wanna' come?

Random Thing #3

I just have to show you the cute polka dots I got from the Famous Sue (I always think of her as famous because of her fabulous Rednesday) of It's a Very Cherry World.  We were partners in a polka dot swap that Holly from Cutie Pie Cottage organized.

Ummmm.......that little gold bag USED to hold a chocolate heart wrapped in polka dots.  Sorry, that didn't survive for the picture.  

Isn't she a clever tag maker???  

I wish I was that good. 

Thank you so much Sue!  I love them (although I did have to confiscate the noisemaker from Baby Bee) all!  

Random Thing #4 Bonus

Thanks so much for buzzing by my little cottage.  

I just have so many fun things to share with you!  

I'm looking forward to having a bit more time to visit you too.

Have you noticed the ad?  It's something I'm trying, but not sure I will continue.  Please give me some feedback - thanks!

What Color Did We Choose?

The painting is almost done.  I know....you're asking what happened to having it done by Tuesday?  Well, it didn't and we're okay with that.

(Okay, we're not really okay with that because I need to get this finished while Baby Bee is gone to Winter Camp for the weekend and I have to finish the plans for her Nancy Drew birthday party for next Saturday, but we're going to pretend that we didn't bite off more than we can chew and we're going to pretend that we can get it all done and then we're going to go to make several lattes to get us through.)

What color did we choose?

drum roll......... 

(I feel like one of those cheesy reveals they have on HGTV sometimes)

We chose Aqua Spray!

Rich......

Vibrant......

Bright......

Wake me up in the middle of the night......

Aqua Spray!

Lowe's can offer you some great deals on paint or painting supplies. Take a look at them here!

I love it!  I just hope Baby Bee does too.

We needed to paint the ceiling too - I've used this color for all our ceiling now - Popped Corn - it's warm without being beige or yellow but it's cool enough to work with blues and greens.

Well I won't be able to finish all the projects in her room for her birthday, but we'll get it put back together and set it up with the new linens (as much as we can) for her big day.  Spring Break is in about 4 weeks and I think I can get it finished then.  

In the mean time, here's another reason why I can't get her room done.

I had to take photos of some fun things I'm putting up on etsy in the near future.....

I admit - I kept them for awhile, but ultimately decided someone else would love them more.

Couldn't snatch this Pyrex child's plate up fast enough!

Time to let go of another one of my pretties.  She's served her time bravely and honorably here at Sweet Bee Cottage, but it is time for her to venture out.

and I had to rearrange my espresso bar.  

Priorities people!  

Thanks for buzzin' in!

 
Did you notice the ad?  It's something I thought I'd give a try, but I certainly want your feedback.  Please let me know your thoughts and opinions!
Thanks!

We're Underway - and - Another Broken Wing

I'll start off with the broken wing.  For those of you that visit often, you might remember back in May 2011 Baby Bee broke her left arm at school.  

Well...........

she's done it again, only this time it's her RIGHT arm - the one she happens to write with!  She was playing ferociously in a rec league basketball game last night and guarding her cousin (Reader Bee) and as she chased her down court she tripped and fell.  Fell hard.  

Okay, now this a mom moment that I didn't quite know what to do.  I wanted to run right out on the court and scoop her up but I didn't want her to be embarrassed.  So I sat there hoping and praying she would get up and shake it off.  That didn't happen so I scurried out on to the court and we got her up and to the bench.  She was crying so much.  I was afraid it was broken, but she had good movement so I was hoping it wasn't.  She kept telling me this morning as we drove to the Urgent Care that she was so glad when she saw my face pop up from behind all the people surrounding her on the court.  I was so glad I was there for her too.  She got her x-rays and it's definitely broken. Tomorrow I hope we can get in to her regular doctor and find out if needs a cast or a splint.  And while I'm there I'll ask him if I should wrap her in bubble wrap.  I will reassure him that I will leave a hole so she can breathe.

Which brings us to the project that just doesn't seem to get going, but I'm forcing it along now.  

The painting of Baby Bee's room.....

Before her game last night we cleaned and packed and moved furniture around so we could paint this afternoon.  The trip to the doctor today slowed down our plans a bit, but I think we can finish it up by Tuesday.  At least I hope so 'cause I don't want to see all of her furniture in the living room any longer than I have to.

We last did Baby Bee's room when she was about to turn 4 in 2005 and we all loved it, but it was just too sweet for the young lady she is becoming.  Redoing it is her 11th birthday present.  

 

I painted the scallops because I did not think I could live with an entire room of pink.  So we compromised and I painted about 2/3 of the wall pink and the top 1/3 a very soft green. Since she was so young I got to have lots of say in what went in there, 

so.....

 Can I have a shout out for my scallops?  I am still so stinkin' proud of how cute they look!

It was a very feminine room for my sweet girly girl.

But times change and pink is not her favorite color anymore.

It's now TURQUOISE!

I think I've picked up paint chips from every store in town!

Thank you Home Depot for custom mixing samples!  

I painted several spots around the room.  

The lighter color is "Refreshing Pool" and the darker color is "Aqua Spray."

I'm currently leaning towards the darker color and Baby Bee likes the lighter.  Maybe Worker Bee will be the deciding vote.  (On second thought, Worker Bee is way too smart to get caught in the middle of that decision.)

We won't be able to finish the room this weekend, but Baby Bee goes to Winter Camp next weekend so we'll be able to do a few things to surprise her while she's gone.  

And, I'm sure I'll still have several little projects to complete before we poke a stick in it and call it done!

Thanks for buzzing by today!  I'm so delighted to see you!

I'll be trying a new recipe this week....one I found on Pinterest, of course, for a Tiramasu bundt cake!

Sound good?  I'll be sure to save a piece for you!

 

Just a Few of the Reasons I Haven't Blogged Much Lately

Oh my......life!

It sure gets in the way of blogging creatively sometimes!  Know what I mean?

Well, I have some exciting news!  My school was nominated to be a California Distinguished School and today was our visitation.   You know how it is when company is coming over and there are so many little projects that need to be done and so much clean up?  Well picture that at a school with 27 classrooms, 16 classroom teachers, and multiple support staff.  Oh yes....I've been a cleaning organizing fool.  (And we qualified!  It's quite an honor!) 

And.....my principal asked me to help decorate the meeting room for the morning breakfast and luncheon.  So I've had a few projects to work on for that.  Did I take pictures?  Of course not!  But I did bring the lunch menu board home and got a pic of that so you can get an idea of some of the things I made.  

This is actually a chalkboard that hangs in my studio/guest room.  If you didn't guess, our school colors are blue and yellow.  A friend with better writing than me penned the menu with some of those fun chalk markers.  I made the little bunting with my cricut.

Did you see my little bluebird?  It's glued to the top corner of the chalkboard.  It broke off a Mary Engelbreit item (can't even remember what it was) and I just thought it was so stinkin' cute I had to save it and bring me some cheer.  Glue's a marvelous thing!

So, that was one reason I haven't posted or visited for awhile.

Now, I also was in a fun polka dottie swap from Cutie Pie Cottage!  So much fun!  I was partnered with famous Sue from It's a Very Cherry World.  I was pretty sure what color I needed to get for Sue.  So, after sewing the apron (which Sewing Bee helped me on tremendously) I decided I was good enough to sew a scarf!  

Okay....it WAS only a tube and then I knotted the fringe.....but I think it turned out cute!  Baby Bee tried to keep it for herself - that silly girl!

I found a cute tin at Hobby Lobby and decided I had to fill it with something yummy (and cherry, of course).  I found an intriguing recipe for Chocolate Cherry Biscotti.  (I pinned it of course!)

Oh my stars!  Oh my cherries!  Oh my taste buds!

These were delicious!  Just a wonderful combination of chewy cherries, crunchy almonds, sea salt, and chocolate.  Here's the link to the recipe (mine didn't look quite like hers did, but the taste was divine).

YUM!

And finally.....this is the weekend.  No more procrastinating.

We're painting Baby Bee's room and redecorating it with some thrifty finds for her 11th birthday present!  I'll keep you posted on our progress.  It won't be an overnight transformation but I hope it won't take to long!  I'm excited to tackle it.

Thank you so much for buzzing by for a visit!  

I saved some biscotti for you!

(But you better hurry, they're going fast!)

Love Is in the Air

Oh my stars!  Where has the time gone?  Can it really be almost two weeks since my last post?  Really?  

Shame on me, I haven't even posted a winner for my giveaway.  I keep thinking about some person who is almost completely organized, but isn't quite finished because they are waiting to find out if they won those cute Cath Kidston labels.  Well......wait no more.........#50?  Melanie from Country Cottage Living?  C'mon on down!  You're the lucky winner!  

Now, on to why I'm feelin' the love!

Have you met Chris from Perfectly Printed?  She lives very near the town where my Worker Bee grew up and she has a delightful blog.  Well, out of the blue, she emailed me that she had a couple things she thought I might enjoy.  I kind of forgot about it, but on Friday I found a little box waiting on my front steps.  

Inside was the cutest vintage valentine and one of the prettiest Depression Glass teacups I've ever seen.  

I know I will be using this for a nice quiet afternoon spot of tea.  Don't worry, I'll share pics with you! 

So at that point my heart was feeling all mushy....you know that feeling you get when someone does something nice for you totally out of the blue?

Then, my mom, the Sewing Bee, picked up the cutest dish towels for me.  She's been eyeing them for a long time (years, in fact) at the small town pharmacy she works at and finally took the plunge and picked them up for me.   And now my heart was feeling more mushy.

Now isn't she a sweetie?

And she helped me with sewing the apron I made for an apron swap.....

Sorry - haven't been home during the daylight to take a picture!

 Frankly, mom helped sew the hardest parts.  Sadly, I didn't get a good picture before I sent it off in the mail.

This isn't quite Valentine's Day fabric, but I didn't like what I could find and it had bees on it.  How could I resist???  I also stitched these buttons around one of the hearts.

Which brings me to the adorable apron (and coffee) that Sue sent me from Country Pleasures for the apron swap. 

Thank you Baby Bee for modeling it for me.

And then, my dear friend, the Fabulous Phyllis, dropped off a little red bag on my porch Saturday.  (That little porch sure has been busy!)  Would you look at the cute kitchen towel she made?  More bees!!!  

And she had this cute little jar filled with vintage sewing notions.  

So my heart is a mushy mess now.  

But I love it!  

And I feel loved!!!!!!!

I hope you have a sweet Valentine's Day!  

And thank you so much for buzzing by for a visit!  I'll have lots to share about Baby Bee's room and her upcoming birthday party soon!