Dogs, Cars, Family, and Celebrating my Beloved's 50th! Something Blue?

I think this year my fascination for all things French has taken a back seat to family, and rightfully so~ Yet, the love still resides within my heart to be on the search for anything to add to my collections when I get a chance... Life in the Family Lane has pulled me back into "real time" and it's far from French~ It's actually very Italian...like my Beloved! I threw him a Surprise 50th Celebration just last weekend~ Note, the sweet cake above! He was blown away to see the 50 guests in attendance.Every man turning 50 wants a BMW Z3 convertible, right? Well, here is my beloved taking his mom for a spin in his new (used) car of only one day, she flew in from CT for the surprise!

This is at the end of the party where we got to give our sons a big hug goodbye. Peter is in the blue, and Jonathan in the white shirt. Our daughter Kim is below in the pic where her husband, Chip, is kissing her, and my grandson, Tyler, is kissing his sister, Cate. We are VERY blessed!
After the party was over, we spent the night at my husbands Aunts home where his mother also stayed. On the morning of his birthday, he kissed his Mother the last minute he was 49. And then he kissed her again the first minute he turned 50. He told me that was the highlight of his birthday...and that made my heart warm. Any son that loves his mother that much, makes a very loving & thoughtful husband, and that he truly is! You'd never guess that my Gorgeous Mother -in-Love is going to be 69 in June. Yes way, she uses Oil of Olay! ;)
Now for the dogs...all seen this week! :) This little pooch riding shotgun below in the rig was in a traffic jam on my way home from the birthday party on Hwy 85. I couldn't resist.

These little pooches are Australian Shepherd puppies, 9 weeks old. They are sisters...

Wait a minute...that doesn't look like they're sisters? Nope, they're not. Enters the one year old Great Dane...He nearly took her pretty little spotted head off after I snapped this pic. The Great Dane, a recent rescue, is learning manners her new owner said. Uh, gulp...manners? Rule #1, you never eat a puppy on your first day out trying to improve upon your manners. ;)

Now for some posies, these are near my patio...and I have rarely got to enjoy them this past week, as I've either been in Charlotte, NC for the surprise Party or in MN on a business trip. Yes, could you please pass me a bit of cheese to go with my "Whine"? ;) Ahhh, Merci!

Well, now I'm home....and I'm going to "make" some time to stop and smell the Irises this week. I still have many to bloom yet. Can you believe this Iris garden is only two years old? My window boxes are filled with a Hot Pink Ice Plant...and it's just beginning to bloom, I can't wait till it's lush in pink, they'll remind me of my Claudie friend when they do... :)

Next weekend I have a friend coming in...we are going to sip tea, eat scones, and "Enjoy Being Friends". Maybe soon I will get enthused about taking pics of my recent junkin finds to share with you. Right now though, it's all about Dogs, Cars, and Family...and, Oh Yea, posies too! :)

Be sure to visit the following this week for other special posts from super friends:

Blue Monday: Smiling Sally

Outdoor Wednesday: Susan's, A Southern Daydreamer

Hugs & Have Missed You All Dear Friends...

~CC Catherine

Odd Fellow Blues on a Monday! :)

Drop by Sally's to see all the other lovely BLUES today!

Let's start out with this cutie pie of a PIC! Nope...it's not BLUE - but it's too cute to not share it with you! This is my precious little Allie (Grandbaby Girl Yorkie) that was hiding her head under the chair. She's so embarrassed when she wears her pamper! :)

Now this one, you have to THINK of BLUE when you see these precious shells! :)

This is one of my Mother's favorite Pink Dahlia's in her garden! Is it not gorgeous with the BLUE SKY backdrop? That fills my PINK cup too! :)

This is the beautiful ceiling of a B&B that I stayed at in Memphis, TN last spring. We dined in the evening and it was tremendously romantic.

My favorite tea party amongst the clouds and blue sky earlier this past spring!

A Whimsical Tea Set always looks great with a BLUE SKY Backdrop... God truly is the ULTIMATE artist!

Have a great Day!
~CC Catherine

Generational Stitches Link Yesterday to Today with Meta Monday & a Blue Monday Auction for you!~

I feel like I'm springing up from a pool to get a breath of fresh air today! I'm back for Meta & Blue Monday....for the first time in a long time~ IT's great to be back!

Thanks to both Susan, from "Between Naps on the Porch" for hosting Meta Monday...I've gotten more projects completed when I participate in Meta Monday...it's inspired me week after week!

And thanks to Sally, from "Smiling Sally", for hosting Blue Monday's. My passion for blue and white is extremely noticeable on my blog, as all of you well know. First up - My before picture of a Pillow Top I recently redid. Both sides of the pillow looked like this:

The other side looks like this completed after I stitched it onto the reverse side: The reason why this Pillow Top is so special to me is because my grandmother started it over 60 years ago. She tacked all the color you see on to a muslin square...she then embroidered all the black stitches you see. I found it ten years ago in her possessions and asked her if I could take it and finish it. I purposefully wanted to use embroidery thread colors different than black so that I'd always remember where she stitched. I recently completed this after picking it up and laying it back down the past five years. I love it...here is a close up of the stitches:

Now for my Blue Monday Auction offer...I've recently decided to begin an Auction opportunity to my readers. Today...I'm sharing the following Blue/White favorites from my collection and am auctioning them off.

Items being auctioned:

Two exclusive dish designs that remind you of a Fitz & Floyd look. I have a matching pair of bowls that are a very nice size...each one is glazed so it can be used for food...and a little bunny is on the front of each bowl. (Two of these - 5 inches circular wide at top)

Then, the third piece to the collection is a 12" end to end, with 8" x 4" basket like tray with a bunny on each end. I've used this for serving bread, veggies, potato salad...anything you need to serve looks tremendous in this!

How the Auction will work:

1. I'm starting the auction of all three pieces at only $15.

2. If you decide you'd like to place a bid to purchase these, just leave a comment with your bid amount and your email address on this post.

3. If you are the highest bidder, I will send the payment arrangements to you personally by email. (Shipping and Ins/Handling charges will be applied to the total fee)

4. If for some reason the highest bidder does not end up sending payment, the next highest bidder will be notified to see if you're still interested in the items.

5. This Auction is only open to USA residents due to high cost of shipping out of states, my apologies.

NOTE: If this auction is fun and well received, I plan on doing this frequently.

Happy Monday to everyone~
~CC Catherine

My Blue Monday GIVEAWAY ~ Yes, another one! Join me for Cindy's "My Romantic Home" Meme GiveAway launching TODAY!

Hi Everyone! For my faithful frequent readers...YEP, another Give Away!

And, on the heels of announcing my previous one just earlier today!

I just couldn't pass this up when I seen it offered at Cindy's from "My Romantic Home" blog. Can you imagine how cool it would be to see 100 different people join in to offer Give Aways on the same day each month? I couldn't resist.

Once you get done with this post and entering my Give Away by leaving a comment to possibly win the lovely little Blue/White cottage plate below, be sure to drop on over to Cindy's to see what all other bloggers are joining in on the Give Away frenzy! ;)

You must double click on the pic below so you can enjoy the verse imprinted on the front of the plate:

This is what is stamped on the back:

Celebrating also with Sally at "Smiling Sally" for BLUE MONDAY! How sweet it is ladies, please be sure to leave your comment so you can possibly add one more B/White item to your collection! ;)
The winner will be announced this THURSDAY when I post my TableScape Thursday post! ENJOY Ladies!

~CC Catherine

Roosters & Fruit...New Tile & Granite...A Great Meta & Blue Monday Post!

I am participating in both Blue Monday & Meta Monday today!
First, for the "Schocking Blue" ;)

Thanks goes out to "Smiling Sally" for hosting Blue Monday~ I took the photo of this "Blue" guitar a few weeks ago because it was so original. I used a photo shop technique to give it more of a psychedelic look. It's totally not like me, that's why I loved it! Opposites attract! ;) Be sure to click on the Blue Monday logo to visit all the other Blue Monday posts!

Thanks to Susan from "Between Naps On The Porch" for hosting one of my favorites, Meta Monday! Please visit Susan by clicking on the logo below to visit other Meta Monday Makeovers!
Many of you enjoyed the Meta Monday post of my sisters foyer steps and railing being updated. Well, welcome to her "Kitchen" makeover just completed last year. I don't have as many before pics as I do after...but I think you'll get the feel of what it looked like prior.
BEFORE:

The tile back splash was most likely the original from when the home was built. At one point, the former owner had the flower vase stenciled on to the tile. It was very pretty...but my sister wanted an entirely new look. You'll notice the counter tops were Formica & were trimmed with wood, typically an upgrade when homes are built. The range will be replaced with a new ceramic flat range, my favorite!

The dates on the pics my sister took reflect the few took prior to the work and then during the work too.

She and her husband removed the tile themselves to save on labor, but the wall behind the tile ended up needing replaced. You'll see the granite counter tops are already installed now, and the range is inserted. The drywall is up and is drying...

While upgrading the counter tops and the back splash, they also opted to upgrade the faucet, new lighting, and a new dishwasher to the Stainless Steel front; what a difference that made!

Okay, before you see the end result with the new back splash., I'd like to show you some of the items on her kitchen walls and the cove above her cabinetry that I helped her pull together using items throughout her home.

AFTER THE WORK WAS ALL DONE:

This item below is a cute peg hanger.

We had the most fun running through the house and looking in cabinets to see what we could use to change out on items for above the cabinets. We kept some things we'd used the last time when decorating, and then we swapped out many others. Just changing a few items around can sometimes make it all seem new again.

We combined all types of accessories from faux greenery, to pottery, to beaded lamps...it's quite eclectic, and looks really nicely with her rope lighting above the cabinets at night.

You'll notice two distinct decorating themes in my sisters kitchen, roosters and fruit! And the combination she has looks really nice!

This arrangement is above the double oven area, it's one of my favorites!A Wall display my sister arranged, it's very welcoming as guests enter.

Her large fruit filled glass vase stands tall on the center island.

Some fruit plaques and and inspirational plate.

She keeps her granite counters fairly cleared off because they look so nice. This is just one of a few vignettes you'll see as a result of that.

A little Asparagus Tea Pot that I gave her one year for an occasion.

A recent gift from a friend that looks so nice near the sink!

She looked high and low for the perfect kitchen breakfast stools, these made the cut! I love them!

Her lovely little black wrought iron brackets that she installed on each side under the breakfast bar area since she had the granite made a little bit larger.

She incorporated the length of the granite center island to cover a custom made trash container my brother in law made out of wood and painted to her specifications, gloss black.

Her sinks were also replaced along with the new upgraded faucet.

I love the way the sprayer pulls out of the faucet so you can use it to reach hard to get at areas on pots and pans.

Now we're getting into the "dramatic" change on the new back splash above the granite:

Doesn't it look like a brand new 2009 Kitchen Makeover? Notice her cute little rooster rug in front of the kitchen sink?

One final view... My sister and her husband were quite pleased with the results!

I love being in her kitchen...it's really a tremendous makeover!

I'm so glad you joined me today for my Blue Monday and Meta Monday post...be sure to visit everyone else today! ;)

~CC Catherine