I Was Ready For February.

I'm not sure why (because I enjoyed our snow days) but I was ready for February. I think it was the relentless cold and a lot of gray days that had me ready for the new month. I also wanted to put out a few little nods to the month of love to cheer things up a bit. I don't go overboard for the 'smaller' holidays but I do like a seasonal touch here and there.

This year I gathered up some vintage thrifted frames I had on hand, grabbed a few more for $1.09 at Goodwill, and then I decided I'd find some great little cherub images to frame and prop on the library mantel. I simply googled "vintage cherub art public domain" and dozens of options popped up. I tried to choose ones that were similar in shape to my thrifted frames and then I just printed them on white cardstock. 

I cleaned the frames up and popped the prints in. I decided that I'd mix gold, silver, dark wood and black frames together for a very collected, relaxed look. Plus I had a mixture on hand and that simplified finding the rest of the needed frames in just one trip to Goodwill. This was an under $10 project and it was quick and easy!

I did add an old milk glass vase with some roses and magnolias. I love a touch of something green or fresh mixed in. 

This little pile of framed cherubs on the mantel makes me happy every time I pass the Library.

January 2025

I can't believe that a new month is just a few days away. I posted on my Instagram that January had "januaryed" long enough which is true with all the very cold (for us) temps. On the other hand, how can one month of the year be finished?

We had snow all over the deep south which was fun for a day or two and then I'm ready for it to warm up. 

This was an asparagus fern that didn't make the cut for the greenhouse. 

It was perfectly coated in ice.

We have had some beautiful sunrises and sunsets when it wasn't overcast. I don't know if the cold weather affects that but we have had a lot of colorful ones.

I get very excited when the bulbs start to show! Spring can't be too far away.

In this cold weather the greenhouse was just too full. I brought a few plants in after the Christmas 'take down' and it's nice to have fresh greens in the house. 

I made these delicious steak and blue cheese chips one of the snow days. I snapped a few pictures and quickly posted on my IG and almost 18,000 people have viewed how to make them. Everyone wants to snack on a snow day! They are easy and delicious. The details are on the IG post. I used Boulder Avocado Oil Sea Salt chips, a skirt steak from LilyHill Farm and creamy blue cheese form Trader Joes. Plus fresh chives. That's it. So good. We had them again last weekend for a snack dinner.

I started out the new year by painting a large, glittery, sparkly monogram for a shower hosted by Mollie and some of her sorority sisters. 

And that is a wrap for January. I'm ready for some touches of Valentine's decor. Very small touches for me but I do like a little nod to the holiday. It helps with the dreary gray days that February can have in abundance. 

I'll be sharing those on Instagram. I hope you take a peek. 

Christmas 2024

 It's hard to believe the holidays are over and everyone has gone back to work and school. We *might* get a little snow here in the deep south so I have left my outside decorations up past Epiphany "just in case!" A Christmas decor + snow photo op is rare. I don't want to miss it. 

I decided to post a few images of the 2024 holiday season just to have it documented on the blog. There are lots of pictures and reels over on my Instagram if you wish to see more.