belles beautiful blessings

Laughter Maketh Like Good Medicine :D

2009-11-16T18:59:00.000-08:00

I am a firm believer in laughter being a good, no scratch that, great medicine. ~PROVERBS 17:22~

Lately I can feel my stress levels rising, as holidays approach, work slows due to weather changing, single income trying to feed, clothe and house 5 people....Man, lets just say it's been tough and trying at times. But altogether a humbling experience.

As much as I want to crawl back into bed sometimes and hide there for eternity, I must stay strong and well darn-nab-it...hold my head up high!

So here is a little encouragement for you today and a gentle reminder for me; when your feeling low, count your blessings (and I mean OUT LOUD!) Scream them if you have to :D Get the kids involved, come on, it'll be fun!!!!! Take a deep breath, laugh at the little things that steal your peace and remember that a happy face and a positive attitude is way more beautiful that a crappy frowny one!! (I know that's not a word, but it sounds fun!)

So here is a lil' poem I found for you today...my small contribution to encourage, enlighten and strengthen you (well hopefully :) as we roll through these next few weeks called the holidays. Enjoy!

The sound of laughter is a thing of beauty for laughter spreads the very gift of joy
That people they are drawn to happy people is not that hard for to
understand why
Since everybody wishes to be happy and laughter it spreads happiness around
And only the heartless could not like the sound of laughter for laughter is a very
happy sound,
Than laughter there is no more happy feeling laugh and the World laughs with you
seems so true
But if you feel sad and for yourself feeling sorry the saddest person in the World
is you
Even your friends would rather not be with you if they see you as one who worship
gloom
The happy people attract people to them and in their presence happiness does bloom,
The sound of laughter sends out laughter ripples it is a sound one always loves to
hear
And laughter it gives rise to smiling faces and never fails to fill the cup of cheer
The sad one who feels comfort in self pity is the one others do not wish to know
But if you are one who laughs away your worries your friends in numbers seem to grow
and grow
And who could not but love the sound of laughter to it there always is a joyful ring
It seems to send happiness out in ripples it is a joyful and infectious thing.

Francis Duggan

Please feel free to leave a comment and tell me what you are grateful for....here, I'll start, I am grateful for YOU and the beauty inside you just waiting to be shown!

Antique Fair

2009-11-07T17:00:00.000-08:00

This weekend was the Antique Fair for the Puget Sound area, held at the great Puyallup Fair grounds here in WA state. I have tried to make it every year and have had the pleasure of my Mamma accompanying me so far. Boy did we shop! My eyes are tired from browsing all the fabulous goodies!
I was sure to bring my camera along with me because I can't bring it all home. :) Here are some of the goods we spotted along the way.

Here is a coat rack made of wooden skies. Love this and could imagine it in my log cabin dream home, one day ;)

I LOVE candy and especially this penny gumball machine! Too bad it was close to $700.00!! Yikes! But still love it :)

You are probably wondering what on earth is this. This lil' beauty has been at the fair each year I have gone and still has not found a home. I always stop and stare and the rhinestone bra and think to myself "I wonder what my hubby would think if I brought this home for him?" BAHHAAhaaa! Imagine yourself in it and you'll be gigglin' too! :D

Here are some more goodies that I loved this year..

Lace, Antique mirrors, Feathers, OH My!

This little girl is sweet and loved her but my daughter has red hair so I snapped a quick pic so as to make one of my own for her down the road. Supper easy, it's all made of felt.

Buttons and bouquet of buttons, who's got the buttons!?

I adored these Harper's Bazaar magazine covers, even more so with the perfect frame! Oooh-LaLa!

More I wish I could have brought home with me.

My beautiful Mamma {Mot} gearing up to shop, shop, SHOP!

HERE ARE MY GOODIES! Some of the treasures I picked up this year. Hankies, an antique mirror, and treasures for my daughter shabby chic room.

I was so thrilled when I found this pink mini glass slipper. My Mamma gave me one (the blue glass slipper) when I was a little girl and my daughter fell in love with it, carrying it around our home. Now she has one in PINK, her favorite color, and I have mine!

Here is a silver plated antique hand mirror. Wanted one every year and broke down and bought myself one. ISN'T SHE LOVELY!?! :)

And finally these hand painted roses. I so wished I could have bought more. It was really hard picking which ones. But nonetheless I am so pleased with these beauties.

To my wonderful excitement, the larger of the two paintings had a lovely surprise. The artist recycled scrap paintings by turning the canvas over and painting on the opposite side. So when you turn over the painting of the rose, this is what I found.

A closer look at this beauty and you find a silhouette of a man walking a old town city street.

What a day, but a perfect one at that! Lots of good finds! Precious time with my Mamma and ubber ideas going on in the head. I heart Antiques!

Blessings! A

"Ssshrrriiimp!" ....A Yummy recipe for Golden Seafood Chowder

2009-11-05T10:01:00.000-08:00

I bought a bag of frozen shrimp a while back to have for those day when life just grabs you by the arms and takes you for a ride and the last thing you can think of is making dinner for five+ people. My son Bear, who is 4, loves to go over to the fridge and peek through all of our food when he is hungry. One day while I was in the kitchen he came in doing his usual scavenger hunt and found the bag of frozen shrimp. "Ssshrrriiimp!" I heard him squeal in delight. "Honey, put it back" I protested. "Mamma, can we have shrimp for deenner?!" "Shrimp?!?" I thought to myself. "What kid in in his right mind would ask and get so excited over shrimp!?! Why not pizza or ice cream??" Putting the bag of shrimp back and shooing him out of our kitchen, I laughed to myself. Needless to say, he didn't let it go. For the next two days all he asked for was shrimp! It was a cold blistery day here in the North West and I thought it would be a perfect day for soup! Oh, how I LOVE a good soup!! I stumble across this yummy recipe and to my sons excitement, he got his shrimp and, it was a huge hit for the family(who can be vary picky at times) Plus it is ubber easy to make! :D

Golden Seafood Chowder

Ingredients:

* 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
* 1/4 cup butter, cubed
* 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) chicken broth
* 1 cup cubed peeled potato
* 2 celery ribs, chopped
* 2 medium carrots, chopped
* 1/4 cup Clamato juice (I used tomato sauce)
* 1/4 teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning
* 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 2 cups milk
* 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
* 1 can (6 ounces) crabmeat, drained, flaked and cartilage removed(I used two cans)
* 1 cup cooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

Directions:

Saute onion in butter. Stir in broth, veggies, clamato juice(tomato sauce) and lemon-pepper seasoning. Stiring, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer on low until veggies are tender 15-20 minutes. In a small bowl, whisk flour and milk until smooth; add to soup. Bring to a boil, cook and stir for two minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat. Add cheese(opt.), crab and shrimp; cook and stir for a few minuted or until cheese is melted. Viola! Serve with a side salad of your choice and buttered french bread.

Serves 4 to 6 people.

Here is a pic of Bear helping me in the kitchen....such a handsome fella :)

If you love seafood and you love a good chowder, you've got to try this! Let me know what you think! Blessings! A

Fun Lil' Treat

2009-10-31T09:01:00.000-07:00

Last year I was honored at the request of a friend to take some pictures for her and her baby boy. She had wanted photos of him in his first ever Halloween costume as well as some fun festive fall photos (say that three times fast!) Seeing as today is the day for sweets and treats, I thought I'd share a lil' treat with you. :)

Here we have Mason the Octopus and his Beautiful momma Christy :)

Here are a few extra treats for you from this photo shoot

Blessings! A

Sprucing Up My Hallway

2009-10-28T09:20:00.000-07:00

"Shame on her!" I know that is what you will think of me when you are done reading this post. HA!

I must admit, to you all, that I have never had a family photo display on my walls. Yes, I have a few outdated photos in the hallway now of my small lil' family. But the only picture of my beautiful mother is in my bedroom and not displayed in a fashionably-proud manner. You can slap me now. No pictures hanging of times past with my babies and their grandparents...nothing...But, I must say it has been one of those lingering thoughts of "need to do sooner than later"! So with out further ado, here is my sad pathetic hallway.

I know, I know, blah is what your thinking. And if you didn't quite get a good enough feel of the BLAH, here is another angle.

I absolutely LOVE red walls! More like cinnamon red walls. There is just something about the warmth it brings to a home and especially when painted on the right wall, it can add a dramatic but beautiful display. When my hubby and I bought our first house just under 2 years ago, we couldn't wait to make it our own, painting and hanging trim. And I must say my man has a fantastic knack for picking out paint colors. We new for sure we wanted a cinnamon-red accent wall. And when pared with our new entertainment piece, it just made the whole family room pop! Love it!

Back to the subject at hand. Why the heck did we not just paint the other side of the wall?!? Which would be my pathetic hallway display! I am not sure why we didn't but I can tell you that I once saw a beautiful family collage displayed on a red wall in a Pottery Barn magazine (love PB!) and ever since dreamed of having one. Now, I have the paint, lots of it still. But not the frames. So I won't be able to get to work right away to show you the results. Money is funny :) But I did find some lovely displays that sparked some fabulous ideas...so I thought I'd share with ya'all so you'd get the idea.

So maybe I am not the most horrible person in the world for not hanging up my family photos, I mean, the idea is there right?! And I'll make sure I don't leave you all hanging. Now, just need to figure out what kind of picture frames would go best on my cinny-red walls. hmm...any suggestions?

Blessings! A

A Fabulous Fall in Washington State

2009-10-26T10:56:00.000-07:00

For my first post {insert excitement here!!} I wanted to share with you all a small passion of mine...O.K., O.K...a big passion of mine...well two for that matter;

Passion #1. I LOVE fall, I love everything about fall. The spectacular colors, the crisp autumn air, the warm fires, hot cups of goodness, warm blankets and the excuse to put on as many cute layers of clothes we drag from our closets. Washington state offers a beautiful display of Fall and I get the wonderful privilege of living in an area where I am surrounded by hills and mountains covered in this God-given art display.

Passion #2. Photography. I call myself a beginning photographer, as I feel there is so much I haven't learned yet, but hopes to someday. With three kids, whom I also homeschool {big smiles} and three dogs, five chickens and one amazing husband, I hardly have the time to expand my photography passion. But when I get the opportunity to pick my Canon up, I find myself lost in the beauty of an art that is ever changing, ever challenging, and when combined with passion #1 a wonderful and magical way to express the soul.

Yesterday, my hubby drug us out of the house for a walk, which I admit I didn't want to do at first, but SO glad I did afterward. In my defense, the cozy fire kept me immobilized. :) I haven't had the chance to get some good Fall pictures yet, so here it was, and even though I felt a little rusty trying to re figure all those buttons out on my SLR, here is what came of it all....

enjoy!

Here is some more beauty that I get to enjoy...

Trying to get all the kiddos to pose was a challenge, but a fun one at that.

Peek-a-boo! I see you!

And finally, here is a picture of me and my beautiful daughter courtesy of my hubby.

My hopes today is that you are inspired, inspired to stop the business for ten minutes enjoy a warm cup-o-goodness and look around at what comes from the change of seasons. Eye-capturing beauty and a sense of my souls passions. :)

Autumn Blessings!