Just a Little Sweet Silver for Sunday

And I do mean just a little.  Have to save some for another post, doncha' know.

Say hello to my little silver teapot lamp!

This little cutie took a long, long, long time to win on ebay.  Why?  Well I didn't win the first one I bid on.  I didn't win the second or third or fourth and to be honest I don't know how many I bid on before I finally "won."  It had to be at least 10 silver teapot lamps.  Who knew there were so many out there to bid on?  

Why did I want one?  Who knows?  I just knew I had to have one and I would not rest until one lived at Sweet Bee Cottage.

Well she now lives in our sunroom/dining room on top of my china cabinet and I'm pretty sure she likes it here.  She did come all the way from India (at one time) but I don't think she's very old.

Enjoy all the sparkly or tarnished silver lovelies brought to you by Gypsy Fish Journal and her hostessing of Silver Sunday.

Thank you for stopping by!  I'll make a little pot of tea for us the next time and we can sit and chat by the light of my silver teapot lamp!  

Living with Books and Loving It

I just heard about the party over at Chicory Nits and I couldn't stand it - I had to crash that party!  

I love books!  In fact let me tell you a little story about how much one family loved books . . . . 

Once upon a time there were three Sweet Bees living in a 1951 California cottage that came with a very tiny dining room.  It was very difficult to have a decent sized table, a china cabinet, and walk around the table to enter their sunroom.  This "dining room" measured 8' x 11'.  Microscopic! The Sweet Bees needed a solution.

So one day, the Inspiration Fairy paid a visit to  Worker Bee and Sweet Bee!  She helped them realize that they could turn their sunroom (which they used as a garden/family room/game room) into their dining room.  The Inspiration Fairy was PURE genius!  

Then, another epiphany!  Those busy Sweet Bees could turn the old dining room into a library.  Worker Bee was especially enchanted by the Inspiration Fairy and  he even came up with the idea for the card catalog/CD storage unit (this was in the days before iPods).  Now wasn't he a clever boy?

So they all lived happily ever after in their slipcovered wing chair and they never, ever fought over who got to sit in the library chair!

Wasn't that a sweet story?

Well, now I'd like to share some sweet and inspirational books with you!  

My favorite Louisa May Alcott story!

The book that turned me into a reader - way back in second grade!

My favorite children's author - Kate DiCamillo.  This is my favorite of hers - it even makes my hard-hearted third graders shed a little tear.

The book series that inspired a renewed faith.

The book that helped me define what I love and what I want my home to look like.

I have ALL of Mary Engelbreit's books and ALL the issues of her magazine.  (Can someone hand me a tissue as I think of this magazine's demise?)

Susan Branch never fails to inspire and this was my first book from her.

And here's my favorite recipe - so easy - and so magnificently delicious!  (Did you hear that?  Oh, that was my tummy! I better make this recipe again soon.)

And finally a new little bit of inspiration from my new friend Lynne!  So many ideas - it makes me think I can actually sew!  I will be sharing this with the Sewing Bee and the Fabulous Phyllis to help inspire them (to sew for me - oh dear - did I really type that out loud?)

Well please stop by and see what other books inspire so much in all of us.

Wasn't this a fun party?  I hope I get invited back again soon.

Thank you for hosting this Carey!  What a marvelous idea and what fun! 

Don't forget to stop by and visit the other party-goers over at Chicory Nits.  

And thank you for stopping by.  Love to see you come by and I love your comments!

The Generosity of Kindred Spirits!

Have you met Deb over at Loyalist Cottage? She is a pretty recent blogger and she's stopped by Sweet Bee Cottage a few times.  Now I have to tell you she is a generous soul and she has an excellent memory.  She emailed me and recalled that I had a collection of needlepoint cottages and knew I really treasured them.

Well do you know what this sweetie did?  She sent me a set of seasonal cottages her mum stitched many a moon ago.  Can you imagine how touched I am?  My heart has that squishy feel when someone does something super extra nice for you.

Let me show you. . . . . 

Spring!

Summer!

Fall!

Winter!

Aren't they sweet?

But you know what is really sweet?  That someone would send these all the way from Canada (ooops! I forgot to mention that before) to someone they've never met in real life.  

This

is what makes our community of bloggers so

wonderful!

There is so much generosity of spirit and support out there.

Thank you Debra!

And thank you all my visitors and those that leave a comment.  I appreciate you all!

I'm going to link up with My Romantic Home's Show and Tell hosted by the gracious Cindy because I just have to show off these cottages and brag about the kindness of Deb and all the other kindred spirits out there.

Historical Reds

Whenever we go for a family reunion to Kentucky for Worker Bee's family, we always make time for a few small side trips for just OUR little family.

Well a couple of summers ago we took a day trip to Hodegenville, Kentucky, President Abraham Lincoln's birthplace.

They have a lovely monument there.  It's a log cabin (not quite the original one, but still very old) enshrined in a marble and granite temple-like building.  One of the neatest things was that it takes 56 steps to climb to the top, one step for every year of Lincoln's life.

While we were there I picked up this little plate.  I started collecting these kind of plates on this trip.  

For those of you with eagle eyes, the blue plate behind it is of the Hermitage, President Andrew Jackson's gorgeous plantation home in Tennessee. (Okay, does two make a collection?  Well I'm planning for a bigger collection!)

Also for your Rednesday enjoyment is my table lamp with a lovely red shade.  Picked up both of those at my Target a couple of years ago.  Target always seems to have really cute, kind of trendy/Pottery Barnish lamps at very reasonable prices.  

Happy Rednesday to you all!  

I hope you enjoy seeing all the bright reds over with Sue at It's a Very Cherry World.  Don't you find this is always such a cheery day?  

 

Birthday Cupcakes Anyone?

Welcome to the Sweet Shoppe!

We recently celebrated our little Baby Bee's 9th birthday.  We had a hard time deciding on a theme this year after last year's stellar success - the Chef Party.  We looked and looked for inspiration and we finally found it in the dollar bins at Target.  

This year we celebrated Cupcakes!

Giant cupcake cake!  

I will admit right now in front of everyone - I am not a very good cake froster, but it sure did taste good!  Figured out after the fact that it might have been easier to frost the top half and then assemble.

Much of the paper party decor was purchased from Dimple Prints on etsy.  Carli was so easy to work with and had a quick turnaround.  I just printed these out on my computer, cut out the scallop shape with my Cricut, and glued them together.  

We had a banner, signs, water bottle wrappers, cupcake wrappers, and more.  I ran out of time to make all that came in the package.  The directons were very easy to follow for assembly.

We played games!

We had a relay race outside where they had to put the giant cupcake sprinkles (jelly beans) on the wooden spoon and then run them to the jar without spilling any.  We played that game over and over with the teams switching every time.  

We played "Pin the Cherry on the Cupcake."

I made the cupcake with scrapbook paper that I just folded in half and cut free hand.  (folded it in half for symmetry)

I think this might have been their favorite game.  But I have to advise - DO NOT PUT THIS GAME NEAR YOUR CHINA CABINET! I wasn't thinking about that so I had to guard the china cabinet the entire time so we wouldn't lose children or dishes.

We played Pass the Present too.  I filled gift bags with little $1 prizes and each girl got at least one prize.  This was played just like Hot Potato but the girls got to unwrap their prize before we continued the music. 

We made crafts - 

placemats (just cut out a giant scalloped square on my cricut and the girls put stickers on them)

cupcake bracelets - I found cupcake beads from Oriental Trading Company.

decorated wooden frames - $1 wooden frames from Michaels, scrapbook paper, modpodge, and the all mighty cricut cutting out the words "cupcakes"

You can see some of these things in this picture.....

I was so busy with the party I forgot to take some pictures.  I need a professional photographer for these events!  

The girls also decorated the cupcakes.  We used a gift Baby Bee got from Santa last Christmas  - a frosting pen.  That little contraption worked great.  The girls then put sprinkles on them and I found individual cupcake boxes at Joanns to put them in for taking the cupcakes home. 

We had so much fun - even the girls. 

I have to thank Worker Bee (my dear husband), the Sewing Bee (my mom), the Singing Bee (my friend), and the Fabulous Phyllis (another friend) for all their help before, during, and after the party!

Thank you so much for stopping by! Hope you enjoyed our little celebration!  

P.S.  I've been playing on Picnik!  So much fun to use!  So I made a little ginormous header for my blog.

What do you think?  I'm not sure about it.  I like the idea, but I'm not sure about the execution....
Let me know what you think!

Thanks! 

Yet Another Vintage Cottage

Gosh, I wish I knew what draws me to these little needlepoint cottages.  

Maybe it's the handwork. . . .  

Maybe it's their age. . . .

  

Maybe it's how sweet they all look clustered together in their own little neighborhood. . . . .

Well, whatever it is, another one got me.  This little cottage was just delivered yesterday straight from ebay.  I know it's not very spring-y, but it still has a sweet appeal.  (I often find if I buy off-season on ebay, the prices are much better.  Have you tried that technique?)

It's not very big  - about 5" x 7".  

Isn't the back of the frame interesting?  I've never seen picture wire attached quite like that.  Was it a make-do?  Was it supposed to be like that?

Well, no matter, it is too sweet and I'm glad it's home with me.

What new treasures have you picked up lately?

Thank you for stopping by!  I hope you know how much your comments delight me!

Birthday Must Do*s

Do you have traditions for birthdays in your family?

We have a few and they all seem to involve the color red.  Wonder why?  Could it be that red makes you feel special?  Does it make you feel warm and loved?  

One tradition we have is the birthday person gets to eat all their meals off of this plate....

(Now there is an ebay experience - okay, you won't have to twist my arm, I'll tell you - I saw this plate  in a little shop but they wanted $37  for it.  TOO MUCH for a plate we would use just a few days a year.  I thought, hey, I can get this cheaper on ebay!  BIG MISTAKE!  First, I got into a bidding war and lost on the first plate I saw.  Then I found one that I won with a $21 bid.  Great deal hunh?  WRONG!  Shipping was $14 on this beauty and it was gently used.  Yeah, you do the math - not a good deal no matter how you look at it.  Have you ever done that on ebay?  It's so easy to get carried away!   I can still remember the More Creative Friend laughing at the irony. Love that about her!)

So back to the birthday traditions....

I always fill an apothecary jar with a ton of birthday candles and one of those year candles for how old Baby Bee is.  (Us older folk don't need to be reminded of our age, so we just get birthday candles.)

There are also a few other things that help to make it clear that we are celebrating at Sweet Bee Cottage.....

And the latest addition....

(Baby Bee actually got this from the Fabulous Phyllis for her birthday, but I'm hoping she doesn't notice me adding it to the birthday collection - shhhh - don't tell her!)

I am linking up with Sue over at the delightful It's a Very Cherry World.  Sue just opened her etsy shop so be sure to check that out along with all the other reds for Rednesday.

Thank you so much for coming by for a little visit.  I have a few cupcakes left for us to share.