Victorian Valentines & Gifts From the Heart...

"I LOVE collecting these Victorian Valentines" probably as much as the original Love that the cards exchanged... I particularly look for these with the little 3-D tissue fold outs(The two pictured here are German)...I think that I am "Drawn" to the 3-D honeycomb ones because it reminds me of my Dad and his Christmas tissue honeycomb bells that he would hang from EVERY light fixture in our home! I would stand under him on his chair as he reached up high and hung them in place...

"I just picked up this FUN READ"... It didn't take long to get trapped into it's spell... It's a delightful story mixing Food & Love(just as the title implies)

My two youngest sons gave me this Valentine card MANY Moon Ago... Do you see the Heart with a Smile in the middle of the bouquet?(That is Moi)

The cherry pie you see is actually hand carved out of a single piece of wood... The man that made these used to make them exclusively for a few chosen bakeries in Manhattan(He is now retired)... It looks So Real, even up close you can almost smell it...

Almost every detail of my table tonight is a gift from all my favorite people...My Husband, sons, family and friends... All the people who grace my life with Their warmth and comfort... "Life is Good"!!!

Please be warned that Mr Capella has an incredible ability with words... This is going to have you craving all sorts of culinary temptations... AND "You will probably gain a pound or two along his chapters"...BUT I guarantee it will be a delicious ride for you to travel...

Ms Sweet Lil' Hershey Kisses is always so delighted to attend a tea party... She can sweeten anyone's day!
(Little Miss Hershey Kisses is a Madame Alexander Doll) 

Ceramics was one of my hobbies back in the early 70s... This was the smallest and favorite of a set of canisters I had made... Although I have used this little cupcake quite often the remainder of the set stays Tucked away waiting for someone to say "They would LOVE to own it" and Magically it will be theirs! I think I have had a few hints from my youngest son BUT nothing definite YET!

Nothing whispers "Sweetheart" like Roses&Orchids... I love this combination throughout the winter season until the Pastels of Spring breath their fresh air upon us once more...

This little bear just loves to pour cream from my antique German transferware "Burgenland"... I didn't have the heart to tell her to wait for the tea...

"Happy Valentine's Day" XOXOXO

I'm Linking To
http://breathoffreshair-paperbutterfly.blogspot.com/2011/02/41st-teapot-and-tea-things-tuesday.html 

http://houseinroses.blogspot.com/2011/02/show-off-your-cottage-monday.html 

http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com/2011/02/door-decor-seasonal-sundays-35.html 

http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/my_weblog/2011/02/pink-saturday-february-5-2011.html 

http://romantichome.blogspot.com/2011/02/show-and-tell-friday.html 

http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/2011/02/red-silver-feathered-nest-friday-no-20.html 

http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/2011/02/valentines-day-table-setting-welcome-to.html 

http://suelovescherries.blogspot.com/2011/02/rednesday.html 

 http://www.aholidayhaven.com/

http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/2011/01/50th-table-top-tuesday.html 

http://workofthepoet.blogspot.com/2011/01/ruby-tuesday_31.html 

Gnome Management in the Garden

"Oh Yes", this is cute AND can be true...BUT... I myself have awful sweet gnomes living amongst my Flora & Fauna... Personally I prefer the little guys to be stone with no trace of color... this way they stay where I tell them to stay!!! and at the moment there is no trace of them under the LUMPS of WHITE in my winter view BUT I know they are there...

"Please don't hate me because I'm beautiful"... I have a VERY important purpose here... "If ONLY I could remember what"!!!

We "Must" have an official garden greeter! This little guy keeps everyone's ice tea topped... BUT occasionally I find he gets preoccupied with the antics of our little chipmunks and wanders away from his post! Oh Course I forgive him for this "Because" I do the same exact thing...

Those are "Jack-in-the-Pulpit" leaves that this little guy is so Happy About! He loves chatting with all those little Jacks...

If this munchkin is this grumpy here... Can you imagine his expression under the avalanched white blanket over his head???

Cheer up Grumpy... Spring is only "Months" away!!!

You'll have to look close for this Bashful Fellow... He is Ever So Shy and if you WERE to make eye contact with him he would disappear into the thicket till all returned quiet again...

It's nice to see Green Moss "even if It's borrowed from my previous year"... If you liked the Gnome management video, PLEASE watch this one "It's my VERY VERY Favorite"...http://conghailecottage.blogspot.com/2010/08/jean-shepherd-ollie-hopnoodles-haven-of.html

"Snow Sculptures living within My Narnia"...Blizzard of January 27th 2011 (15 MORE inches)

My Sons Sean & Justin would NEVER let a year go by without their snow sculptures... This was Life BEFORE Our Land of Blog when we could show off our creative fun... As I said before, we don't get much snow here in Connecticut so my boys would have to work hard to cart enough snow to activate their imaginations... AND they did! There was ALWAYS something Lurking outside in the dark...AND let me tell you, "They were GOOD AT IT"... I never fully appreciated it because they were always there and unfortunately "This guy is just about the only proof" I have of their talents"...

Dino was quite handsome and in his prime here... This was winter of 2000... and it was a warm one... As this fellow melted his neck gave way and the guys would keep rebuilding him until he only had a short neck... He was Still cute as EVER and we had Lots and Lots of Laughs watching him morph... "Oh My, do I miss those precious moments"!!!

This is Sean with Dino... Sean is about 6'4 and Dino is standing about 2 feet taller than he is(you really can't see that in this photo)... It's hard to see just how giant he is BUT he was already starting to melt... We were under construction here(you can see Sean has his work clothes on. He looks as though he may have been staining something)...

The Blizzard of January 27th 2011 left us with more than 15 more inches of white... As you can see my home is now half buried... AND there's MORE SNOW COMING!!!

I'm Peeking out of the stone foyer at my front door looking toward my library...The shadow on the right is firewood to keep us cozy...

This has GOT TO GO!!! My view from the guest room is "Almost Gone"! This is the ONLY part of my roof that doesn't avalanche SO "Off with it's head"!!! It's going to be Roof Rake today!!!

Only one teeny tiny spot left to grab a few photos from the guest room before the guys Roof Rake... It sure is pretty though!

This is also taken from the guest room and this is my front door foyer roof... AND that sky and those clouds are the culprits in our situation of "White on White on White... and so on and so on"!!!

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My landscape "Glows in the Dark... All Night Long"...

Well what do you think??? Believe me, "It's WORSE than it looks in these pictures"!!! I'm seriously wondering how the little snowdrops are going to EVER make it out of there!

"UGH"!!! BUT... the following picture is what's sleeping "Right behind that iron chair"!!!

"Sleep Tight my beautiful little Babies"... We'll get you out of there Sooner or Later!!!

Hard to believe there is a pond and a waterfall SOMEWHERE in there! This scene will erupt into the next picture if we EVER get to see the soil again!

Ahhhh! Isn't the COLOR soothing to your eyes after being snow blinded for SO LONG?

This is Papillion Pass WHICH is now being known as "Papillion UNpassable"!!! What I wouldn't give for some SNOW SHOES... It's definitely been added to the TOP of my WISHLIST!!! and Murphy's Law guarantees that IF I buy them, the snow will stop coming...

Hmmm, I wonder if I sold snow cones at the road, if anyone would buy them??? Probably NOT seeing as they have so much of the VERY Same ingredients at their own homes! hehe...

So Pretty is the smile of My Tree Peony and a Much Warmer shade of  "White"...

 There is a Solitude to a Winter Garden that Whispers to it's keeper... I Love to Listen as it naps...

I'm linking to...
http://fadedcharmcottage.blogspot.com/2011/02/white-wednesday-85.html 

http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com/2011/01/eataly.html