Thanks to Heidi & Now I'm Paying It Forward To YOU!

Thanks Heidi from "Bargain Hunting In The Corn" for sharing this wonderful and meaningful Sisterhood Award with me!

What a sweet surprise to find on my blog step! ;) I so appreciate your frequent visits to my blog, your kindness in always leaving a bright comment, and now you've showered me with this lovely award! (Curtsy) ;)

I now will pass the baton! ;) Again, Merci!

GUIDELINES OF AWARD:

If you accept this award, the rules are...

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.

2. Nominate at least 10 blogs which show great Attitude and/or Gratitude!

3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post

4. Let them know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.

5. Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received the award.

With all the lovely friends I've made over the past six weeks that I've been "actively" blogging with, I've decided I MUST share this award with all of you! Please copy this logo and post it on your blog. Pay It Forward by following the rules above.

I so appreciate each and every person that has befriended me, has left such wonderful and meaningful comments on my posts... I've learned much from this new experience and really cherish the kindness of each of you all! Thanks again Heidi for sharing this with me! ;)

Have a GREAT week everyone! ;)
~Blessings!
~CC Catherine

~CC's "Pinknique" & Clean Saturday! ;)

As a little girl, my Grandmother would sit at her bedroom vanity and tell me how important it is for a girl to always keep her skin clean by using cleansing cream and a very good moisturizer.

She lived till the age of 92, and had the smoothest skin from anyone I knew!

My "PINKNIQUE" Share today:

This is a "PINK" jar (empty) ;) that used to belong to her!

I keep this in a special place and I always envision her sitting

at her vanity when I come across the jar.

"Vintage Bee Logo Yardley Dry Cleansing Cream 4.5 oz. "

The little Bee on top of the jar is so adorable...
It's also very dimensional...it's raised up., I've never seen
anything like this on a modern day jar of cream...

If you like this and would like to own one, I found one on Ebay, I don't know the buyer, but you could go look for yourself! ;) "Damosel"

Please check out Miss Beverly's blog where other Pink Saturday Hostesses you'll find to visit!

Have a Blessed Weekend!

~CC Catherine

Foodie Friday...It's all about SCONES & Please, Don't Forget The Devonshire Cream!

Thanks Ms. Gollum from Designs by Gollum, for hosting Foodie Friday!

This is my first week joining in on the FOODIE FUN!

Today we'll be making Buttermilk Scones, Recipe included below: ;)

This is my favorite scone recipe (one of them ;), because I get to use my mixer instead of having to "cut in" the butter. It's SOOOOO easy when you use the "Tupperware" Wonderbowl., (I don't think they make this anymore., what a shame) I can tilt it while mixing and the lid has a snap off that gives me a hole in the center top so the flour doesn't fly everywhere! Hi Ho Silver....Away ~ goes the mixer, whirling, twirling...and such till all are fine little granular morsels. ;)
Then, a very important method I use is to make sure once I get the scone mixture shaped onto my baking stone or sheet., I use a Pizza Cutter to score the scones before baking them. Before I use it though...I spray it with a "pam like" spray. I like the Mazola Pure spray because they don't use any silicone or alcohol in it.

Now, this recipe called to mix the raisins in before adding the milk, but not everyone likes raisins, so this time...I decided to press a few onto the tops of some before baking. They did very well...and they look so pretty like this. (This recipe makes either 16 large scones, or 32 smaller scones as I've made this time when I made them)

See how pretty and golden these look after they came out of the oven? Once again, I used the pizza cutter to score them again where you see the lines, and I then lift them on to a cooling rack.

...here they are finishing cooling. I always make sure they have completed cooling before storing in an airtight container. Sometimes I'll use quart size freezer bags and make sure I remove all the air from the bag before sealing. These can also be frozen., and defrosted in the microwave for 10-15 seconds before serving. They taste like they were just baked fresh from the oven when trying this method of defrosting. Make sure you rotate the scone when defrosting in microwave.

Serve with Mock Devonshire Cream

1/2 cup whipping cream

2 Tbl Confectioners Sugar

1/2 cup sour cream

Whip cream and add Confectioners Sugar two minutes before done whipping.

Once done, fold in sour cream.

Voila...it's that easy and is ready to serve a dollop on any scone you love!

Now go visit Ms. Gollum at the link above to enjoy loads more of Foodie Friday entries!

Bon Appetite!

~Au Revoir

~CC Catherine

"I Remember You" ~ A Nostalgic Tablescape Thursday event!

Welcome to a very "Nostalgic" Tablescape Tea Party...

My focus will not be on the dishes, linens, or stemware today,

but on the precious couple sitting at the table

holding hands and sharing lovely stories of their life together

...after celebrating 67 years of marriage just a few months ago!

Thanks Susan, for hosting a favorite of mine, Tablescape Thursday!

To visit other tablescapes later today,

please be sure to click on Susan's blog "Between Naps On The Porch".

On the menu ~

Fresh Baked Buttermilk Scones with Golden Raisins

Home made Devonshire Cream

Dried fruit & nuts

Black Currant Preserves from France

Le Petite Ecolier Cookies

Special Tea Selections

After the scones were baked, I prepared my Tea Basket for Travel..
I wanted my time with this couple to leave them nothing but great memories when I left..
So, I packaged everything from the plates, napkins, milk, sugar, tea pot, etc... (everything)
I took a half day off work, and scurried to my car to begin my 30 minute drive...
Let me put it in reverse for just a moment... ;)
Let me explain how I met Elouise...
I joined a Writers Club in a nearby town in '08, Elouise is one of the founders since it's inception, 1973.
One day last November, while on a call with her, I asked her if I could come and have a tea party with she and her husband Barney, whom I'd never met. She said they'd love that!

We set the date for 2/25/09 2pm
Let me now begin to introduce you to this most adorable couple
Elouise, 83, and Barney, 86
I thought I was going to have a lovely tea with this couple...
I excitedly set the table with the pansy table topper I'd taken along...
and began to put all the plates and silver in their places...
Barney had just woke up from an afternoon nap...
From the time they both sat at the table, their hands were clasped...
All of a sudden, I didn't care what type of china I'd brought with me,
I didn't care how pretty my cups were that I'd brought for them...and had no interest
in telling them who they were made by... :)
All of a sudden, I was enveloped into witnessing one of
the greatest "love experiences" in my life.
Barney told me from the moment I met him
that he'd married the prettiest girl in the world...
he reminded me of that all afternoon...
When he did, he always squeezed Elouises's hand and smiled.
They shared with me moments of how they met, about their early years...
I felt as if I were meeting the couple from the characters in "The Notebook",
especially when Barney broke out in song and serenaded Elouise singing...
"I Remember You", the great classic written by Johnny Mercer.
He knew every word, and we all had tears in our eyes when he was done.
During our talks, I learned Barney had been a great boxer and an avid golfer!
Elouise brought in his huge trophy he won in earlier years so I could see it.
I'm glad I took my camera, I wanted to capture pictures of the tea party
so I could provide them to Elouise & Barney as a keep sake of our day.
I asked them if I could take a picture of their hands together...because this is a moment
I wanted to remember for the rest of my life...
They obliged...
Once the tea had ended, I found myself driving home
reminiscing about our tea and the wonderful stories both Elouise & Barney shared with me...
I had been forever lifted into an entirely different world than the one I'd left when I'd jumped into my car earlier in the day to start my journey. This "Nostalgic Tablescape" reminded me that it's not always about the linens, the candles, or the ambiance...but about the people seated behind the tablescape...about their hearts, their stories, and their endless love... Maybe I'll share on another day the tablescape I used while there, but then again...that could ruin the memory I've left you with today, "Elouise & Barney" and their endless love of 67 years and his serenading her with, "I Remember You"...

~CC Catherine

It's "Ash Wednesday" for my Wordless Wednesday...

Thanks Dixie for hosting "Wordless Wednesday"...
I've selected Ash Wednesday for my "Wordless" post today!
Please stop over at "French Lique" to see other Wordless Wednesday posts!

~Framing These Up~

Yesterday I posted one small clip art for W.W.,

went to bed, awoke at 1am,

couldn't get W.W. off my mind.

Walked up to my office,

snapped some shots of my husband's cross collection,

grabbed a snap from my inventory from a cross headstone with a robin bird sitting atop,

and this is what transpired over the next couple hours...

(clip art was tossed, sorry clip art) ;)

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~Photography by ~CC Catherine...

Inspired by "The One & Only Up Above"... (wink)

Serendipi-`Tea, `Art of Interpretation

Chatting with a "Mare" & an Iris Garden for my Outdoor Wednesday...

Today was a bit of a downer for me., until I grabbed my camera...and got in my car on my lunch break & took off for the unknown picture I wanted to capture. For months now I've wanted to take pics of horses, this is one I found along the road by a lane. I stopped and chatted with her...what a blessing it was to visit with this lady! ;) She had like six friends too...I'll share more on another Outdoor Wednesday...since I had already completed my post for the Iris Garden to share today.
Another Outdoor Wednesday with Susan from "A Southern Daydreamer"...
Thanks Susan for hosting such a fun Outdoor Day!

I've often talked about the Iris Bulb Sale my mother held two years ago to raise money for a children's orphanage in Peru.

She's actually held the sale two years in a row, the first year raising $1,000 by selling her bulbs for $1 & $2 each. She was 73 the first year, and my sister Becky & I were visiting when she had it. We all camped at the Iris Garden to help dig, load, and sell the Iris's to locals who stopped in over a period of 2.5 days. My mother advertised in the local paper, and with the sign she made all by her lonesome in the pic below. Isn't she a cutie?

Her Iris Garden is the largest I've ever seen. And in the country it offers a great open door backdrop of lush green mountains and a clear blue sky for taking photos! I had a blast that day...literally laying in the grass snapping the pics!
This shot was taken from the underneath of the Iris...it's one of my favorite shots!
This purple one looks so lovely amidst the yellow ones...
This is an "Old Fashioned" Iris... I love the little Zebra looking stripes on the lower petals.
This is a tea photo I snapped., and I used a special filter on this one for my custom photo note cards I sell. I love it, because it looks as if it's a drawing.

I used another filter on this one and also showcased it with a spotlight.

It doesn't even look real, but it is. It's one of her black irises.

Another favorite is this one that has the sky in the background with the clouds.

I layed down on the grass to get this shot., and didn't even get any ticks in my hair. ;)

Full of Smiles is the Solo Yellow Iris amidst some blues in one area of the garden...adorable!

Another Old Fashioned Iris...LOVE it!

This hangs in my powder room on my California Lilac walls...it's so ruffled and feminine!

She had so many varied colors, and they seemed endless...I took about 400 pics that day. It was hard to select the best ones for my photo note cards, but I managed. Many on this post made the cut!

This pic gives you an idea of how lovely they were when the colors were close and varied...

And my favorite Iris... I call Kathleen! My dear friend Kathleen Ellis gave me a cutting of this bulb probably 15 years ago. I gave my mother a bulb, and she since has created many many bulbs as a result of that one. I have given this Purple & White Bearded Iris the name of "Kathleen", since she was the one that shared it with us. Is it not exquisite? Just like my friend Kathleen! ;)

Well...these are just a teency weency part of my Iris Outdoor Garden Tea Party favorites.

Maybe I'll show you more on another Outdoor Wednesday!

Now, don't forget to drop by Susan's to catch all the other Outdoor Wednesday posts!

Enjoy today, the "present", for it is truly a GIFT!

~CC Catherine

Three or More Tuesday...Meow, Meow... ;)

A "SHOUT" goes out to Tam at "The Gypsy's Corner" for hosting another terrific Three or More Tuesday! Be sure to slip on over to her place to catch all the other Three or More shares today!

Today my post is "Short & Sweet" (For Real) ;)

I don't have Kitty Cats., but if I did, they'd look like these three precious babies that live at a nearby Greenhouse Garden. When I stopped by last spring to look at annuals, these curious kitty's loved being in the spotlight!

This precious lil thing was really a new Mama! If she were mine, I'd call her Calie...

I've always thought I'd love to have an all gray cat, and if I did, I'd name her Sophie...
And this lil gal, "Calie's" little baby...I'd name her Aqua...because her lil eyes were so blue that day...
All Photography by ~CC

Blue & Meta Monday ~ Mirror Mirror On The Wall...& Bella's Blue Eyes~

Welcome! Today I'm combining my Blue Monday & Meta Monday Posts!

Please be sure to stop by "Smiling Sally" to see all the other Blue Monday posts!

First, Blue Monday...this is my Great Niece, are her Blue Eyes not just the greatest?

This pic expresses to me a Bella Blue Eyed little girl that adores Chocolate!

On To my Meta Monday post...

Welcome to Meta Monday where I love to share in Susan's "Between Naps On The Porch" special Monday where we each show a great example of a "Metamorphosis" item we've accomplished or been a part of!

This week I'm sharing one wall in my Master Bedroom that's had a Meta Moment

...and also one of my guest rooms!

Here you see the "Before" of one wall in my bedroom...right before we moved in.

Years ago I'd seen a photo in a magazine of a wall completely filled with all types of mirrors.

As soon as I seen that, I knew that someday I wanted to have one. Both my Beloved and I love Vintage Mirrors., and thus, we decided to make over the one wall., the vintage electric fireplace that you see in this pic was picked up in an antique store one year ago and we love it! The vintage lamps with crystals on each side of the mantel belonged to my grandmother., and I love to light them in the morning while I'm reading in bed., it brings Grandma a bit closer to me in my heart. ;) I added a splash of RED on the mantel (a tip I learned from Ms. Kathleen Ellis) ;) and it makes the entire wall POP!
Another view from the entrance into the room let's you see where my Abbie sleeps to the left of the fireplace on my Grandma's chair. I tried my hand at reupholstering (my first project to see if I could do it) it and did good until I had to do the seat and a few minor finishes., I then hired a subject matter expert to finish it! ;)
Next is our Guest Room on the second floor near the Veranda Porch.
This room is a lovely huge room in an L shape. It's so nice and large that I have a full size Henredon sofa and chaise (purchased used for $350 for the pair) at the opposite end that's not pictured completely in this photo. It's really a Guest Suite., we are fortunate to have closets large enough to our guest rooms that they could be small sewing rooms. We enjoy the storage, because we do not have a basement. This is the BEFORE pic!
Voila~The Guest Room completed...
Of course, I tend to be a mover and slide things around rearranging often, but no matter where the furniture is placed, it's a pleasant and relaxing room. The drapes (made from one long sheath) were made by cutting the fabric in two pieces. I then simply tied two knots (one at each end) and my Beloved put a nail on each side of the window frames, and it took less than five minutes to hang on both windows before an event I was holding for a church event., our very own "Decorating on a Dime" evening. The white Vintage Bed was purchased at Goodwill for $14, the quality made sage green duvet cover folded at the end of the bed also from the GW for $4, Topiary Lamp Base, $2.99 from GW ( I added a shade I had at home already), the custom velvet matted and framed crocheted yellow doilies behind the sofa (3) were purchased at GW for a total of $20. The antique trunk belonged to my Grandfather and I purchased it at their estate sale for $50. My favorite item in the room is the purple & white quilt that my mother stitched by hand, every stitch is sewn by her sweet hands. The wool rug pictured here is no longer in this room, it now is in our other guest room where my French Country Love Seat is.

The mirror to the right of the window I got free because it was going to be thrown away ( I distressed it), the artwork to the left of the window is something my youngest son made when in elementary school...I loved it when he brought it home and I saved it for years knowing I wanted to mat and have custom framed. I selected purple for the mat so that I could use it in the room with the quilt my mother made me. This piece of his artwork brings me so much joy every time I see it. The little welcome sign hanging on the headboard was purchased at GW for $1. You'll notice a bed tray at the foot of the bed. I always enjoy getting ready for my guests, and the bed tray is always a very inviting way to let them know how glad we are that they're with us. Typically I have a Guest Prayer, flowers in a vase, and candies or chocolates waiting for them on their tray.

Along with my sons artwork, my other favorite item in the room is the purple & white quilt that my mother stitched by hand, every stitch is sewn by her sweet hands. The pattern of the quilt is called "Dresden Plate". The Fringed White Chenille Pillow Shams were a GW buy at only 59cents each. The neck roll pillow was custom made by a lady that wanted to buy something from a yard sale I was having, but didn't have the money. I knew she was a seamstress, so I bartered with her to sew some items from some material I had and I gave her the queen size bedding I wanted to sell. Many times we can get things we'd like to have without spending money. Swapping services is a great way to do that!

Well, there you have it...

My Master Bedroom Mirrored Wall & Fireplace Makeover and

our Guest Bedroom completed!

I'm now in the process of selecting a Wall Color to paint the room, ANY SUGGESTIONS? Please share with me when leaving your comment what color you think would look nicely with the quilt...it for sure will remain the focal point in this room.

Don't forget to visit Susan & Sally to see the rest of the amazing Blue & Meta Monday projects!