Orangedotstickbutt and Superbadfriend

Isn't this a wonderful painting? My very talented friend, Jessie Smith Larson a.k.a. SuperbadFriend gave me this extraordinary gift!!! I love Orangedotstickbutt, but I can't grow too attached because I know the Whitney in NYC will be calling soon to add it to their collections.
The beautiful paper flowers with enormous pearl centers were made by Joan Babb . I am the luckiest and most grateful girl in the world!

Sweet Tweet

Fancy Flours sells ready to fill sterilized egg shells.

Don't you love these bird cupcake toppers?

I had to have these edible wafer birds!!!

I just went a little bit crazy at the Fancy Flours website. Can you blame me? Edible wafer blue birds and ready to fill egg shells, they can't send them fast enough.

Spring-A-Ding-Ding

Martha's beautiful muffin liners

I buy the cheapest bags of speckled jelly beans
and throw away everything except the blue and green ones.

Ready for Spring cupcake decorating!

I've trotted out all of my light blues, greens and creams,
now I'm just waiting for Spring!!!

The Wait Is Almost Over

We have been waiting for such a long time for pleasant weather to return to Chicago. It seems like we have had snow on the ground since early November.

This morning I hear birds singing once again! We are expecting temps in the 40's, and that is warm enough to open a few windows. When it's in the 60's I shall frolic in the grass.
I was so inspired yesterday that I painted our powder room a very springy green color. Today, I have decided that it is a hideous color of green and it looks terrible with the french limestone. I don't mind, maybe robin's egg blue today.

Candle Aviary

I am going to fill up this bird aviary with loads of white candles for Christmas. It reminds me of the altars of candles at Notre Dame when it is all aglow.


A big thank you to the very talented artist Marsha at Tumble Fish Studio for giving me this award. Please check out her colorful and unique style, I am the very lucky owner of a few of her creations!!! Her Etsy shop is wonderful!!!

Primitive Bird Houses

I am drawn to very primitive birdhouses, I like their clean lines and minimal decoration. I found the tall birdhouse at an antique sale. Something comes over me at these sales, perhaps it's adrenaline but I carried this hefty house all day long. The long birdhouse is from the flea market, coats tend to get hung from the nail perches. This was another cumbersome purchase to lug around.

I Need A Swan Boat

I need a swan boat and I need one real baaaad!!!! For some insane reason the Lincoln Park Zoo is selling their swan boat fleet. I have always loved these beautiful boats and they are selling them for $800.00 each. What a great work-out it would be to paddle my swan boat in Lake Michigan! There are three things that I have been yearning for:
1. Swan Boat
2. Big Boy Statue
3. Vintage Photo Booth
It is painful to have one of my dream items within reach, but not within budget.

Alabaster Bird Baths

I started collecting these alabaster bird baths after I met my Mother-In-Law, Ann. She was very creatively using one as a soap dish in her guest bathroom twenty some years ago. I started seeing these bird baths at flea markets and junk stores in varying stages of decrepitude. I find them today in swankier stores with higher price tags, but I did recently luck out on Etsy, and I am awaiting my newest addition to the collection!

New Assemblages -The Hats

Click on image


I found these excellent botanical specimen boxes at a church rummage sale. They are perfectly weathered for my assemblages. I am listing these in my etsy shop.

Cramped Quarters

I am ruthlessly going thru our basement and closets to donate all of our excess stuff. Every few years we get to the point of bursting at the seams with junk and we are currently ready to explode. These purges remind me of my many lapses in good taste, the collection of coffee mugs that say "You asked for half a cup" and the cup is cut in half, plastic fruit people and giant underpants are just a few examples. I am sure there is someone out there who will find delight in these collections (maybe not the giant underpant collection). I noticed this little birdhouse in the backyard is looking a little overcrowded, do birds clean out old nests?

Egg Hunt

This is just a wee example of my marble egg collection. I keep cool colors in a tall glass urn and warm colors in another one. I started collecting marble eggs when I was 10 years old and lived in France. We would visit different countries and I would be given a very small allowance to buy souvenirs on our trips. The eggs were always very inexpensive and came from the country we were visiting. My first egg was purchased in Turkey at the wonderful Turkish Bazaar, it was also my first experience haggling. I soon found more beautiful eggs in Greece and Italy, and have been on the hunt ever since.

Always Looking

I am always looking for things to pick up off the ground, a heart shaped rock or leaf, discarded, broken, rusty stuff. I think it makes me feel a bit like a treasure hunter or archaeologist.