Simply Charming

Saturday was Charm Swap day! Take a look at my new treasures...and how beautifully they are presented.

This twice-annual event is one of my all time favorite days. Thanks to all my swap buddies for your little gems and your continued friendship!

A dream come true...

One of my favorite blogs is The Itty Bitty Kitty Committee. Oodles of kitten cuteness on a daily basis. I happened along her blog a couple years ago from Linda Morrison's blog, Luluz. They had me at 'Itty".

'Professional Crafter' Laurie Cinotto is a kitten foster mom for The Humane Society of Tacoma and Pierce County and I really admire her work with animals along with her darling paper flower work.

(book coming soon!)

Well, our paths have crossed in the junking and blogging world and today

I had the honor of joining her, Linda and all the cats for lunch. And what to you take a

'Professional Crafter' and kitties for a hostess gift?

Hostess gifts for kitties and Laurie

The kitties received a vintage, pink floral container of organic wheat grass (a huge hit!) and I made little bouquet of button flowers for Laurie.

Charlene Butterbean (IBKC grand-dame) greeted me at the door; made sure I was

worthy to meet the kitties; received her well-deserved gift and accoulades and retired to her upstairs suite for the rest of the visit. I was in kitten heaven watching

the Fabulous Furman Five play, eat, sleep and run around.

Truly entertaining.

Oliver, Curtis, Teddy, Edith and Roland Furman

My attempt at kitten photography was dismal at best.

Please check out Laurie's blog for truly beautiful kitten photos.

Teddy and Edith

Oliver attacking my necklace!

I don't know how Laurie does it, but my fuzzy attempts at photos are

kinda appropriate considering how fuzzy these babies are!

Spending the day with these two very talented and delightful women along with

some bonafide Itty Bitty Kitties was truly a dream come true.

Thank you!

Basil: My favorite summer herb

Basil.
So delicious added at the last minute to sauteed zucchini or sprinkled over a quick salad of tomatoes, mozzarella and olive oil. I put my freshly cut basil in a glass of water on my kitchen window sill and change the water out every few days. If it roots, I count my lucky stars because that means it will last a really long time. I just harvest the lower leaves for my dish d'jour.
Nothing says summer like basil...grab a bouquet for your window sill today.

Cuckoo

My friend, Cindy Pestka, recently participated in 30 Paintings in 30 Days at Avanti Art and Design in Greenwood. It was a great show and the art was spectacular. I purchased this little gem. I love her.

I picked her up on Saturday on my way to West Seattle to visit Cindy...and so the fun begins...

My description of the day's events would be nothing compared to Cindy's...please visit her blog, Artgirl Island for the hilarious and TRUE and ACCURATE recount of some of our adventures on Saturday.

It was Cuckoo!

Abundance

Great word. I love it. I try to live it.

A subtle change. A great phrase. That would be my husband's doing.

Great guy. I love him. I try to live with him!

Lazy Days of Summer? --- I don't think so!

Two of my pals, Caroline and Joanne, both work at schools, so they have the summers 'off'. Well, they were bound and determined to cram a lot of fun into this summer break and we planned a day together as a last hurrah before back to school. Tuesday, we started the day at Joanne's so I could meet her 4 lovely black and white cats.

Those boys were stunners but kinda shy.

And I also got to peek into her 2...yes 2! craft rooms. Christmas is a very prevalent theme and was a delight to behold.

Then we hit the road to have lunch at Five, a delicious bistro in Edmonds, located in the old Salvage Studio space on Edmonds Way. We all dream about their Caesar Salad and want to make this our official hang out! You can see more photos of the lovely decor in this previous SS post.

Here we are after lunch...full and happy.

Our delightful server Naomi and her partner in crime, Bridget.

Since we had some time to spare before our last stop of the day we dropped into the Everett Goodwill Outlet. Joanne 'won' since she only spent $6, but I was very happy to make it out of there for under $20. I found some excellent treasures to repurpose into even better treasures for the upcoming Ruffles and Rust show.

The final destination was Black Door Studio in Everett. Julia Jacques is an artist who opened this studio and has created a wonderful community of artists.

Jill, looking Pretty in Pink

 She was hosting a fundraiser for her friend Jill of "Team Kindred Spirits" who is walking in the Susan G. Komen 3-day Event! We were happy to make a donation and make a few crafts and eat a few cookies!

 Very fun day and absolutely nothing lazy about it.

Whirlwind Weekend

My sweetie, Doug

We had a delightful weekend in Edmonds and beyond! First up was Junk-o-Rama at Bountiful Home.

I was so happy to meet Sandra and Todd of Pink Marmalade. I loved their stuff. The signs are fresh and nostalgic!

Joan, the famed Weed Lady!

Then we had lunch at the Taste of Edmonds. Loved the duck sliders from Epulo! Plus, my brother-in-law works there part-time. Gotta support the family!

And we decided to cool off with the car air conditioning and head to Bothell for the grand opening of The Weathered Rose in Country Village. Darling shop that also sells New York Cupcakes.

Hope you had a terrific weekend, too!