~~Camping with Dinosaurs~~

We just went on a little camping trip & had a wonderful time camping in Dinosaur Valley ~~ walking where the dinosaurs walked. This beautiful state park has actual dinosaur footprints & how lucky we were that it was still 80 degrees so we could cross the river where most of the prints are under water. They have wonderful marked trails where we took nice long hikes & beautiful wooded campsites where we spent alot of time just sitting & soaking it all in. We made early morning campfire coffee & there's nothing better than breakfast on a camp stove......bacon smells SO good outside! And of course Cabo & Cookie loved it too & their tiny little legs kept up every step of the way on our hikes. It was hard to come home! But we did get back for a wonderful Thanksgiving with family & after our 80 degree days we had snow & sleet Saturday morning! Texas finally turned cold!

Tonight we will be putting up our tree in between watching Dancing with the Stars Finale! I hope everyone had a wonderful & happy Thanksgiving! I can't believe it's time to decorate for Christmas! My family gift tradition with my parents, brothers, & sister is only homemade, handmade things so I'm busy trying to come up with ideas !! I actually took a bag full of fabric, ribbon, pins, beads, & styrofoam balls on our camping trip thinking I would come back with lots of treasures made........has anyone ever covered a styrofoam ball with fabric?? I'm having a terrible time figuring this out so please send suggestions if you know how!!

Have a lovely day!

~~Simple & Quiet Halloween Night~~

I hope everyone had a fun & happy HALLOWEEN! Ours was VERY laid back & quiet with no little ones anymore to take trick or treating & none to trick or treat our house. Well we did have 3 come by together - 2 little ones & a big one who started up a chain saw on the front porch when I got to the door! I was happy to see it didn't have a blade but it scared me to death! I always buy a little bag of candy "just in case" so I was happy to give out 3. It still felt like Halloween with our 50 cent garage sale orange lights, one pumpkin, & two mums.....our only splurge for this holiday ~ I did make popcorn balls earlier in the month but they didn't last long!

We spent most of the evening outside starting a new wildflower bed for next spring & then lit the fire pit & sat mesmerized - it's always hard to get up & walk away from a warm outdoor fire.....so nice & warm & soothing.....kind of just melts your to your chair. The coyotes were howling which made the night seem "spooky" so we considered that our "halloween"!

And here it is November 1st already ~ Wow - just 3 weeks from now we will be having turkey & getting ready for the holidays! Even though I miss summer I have to admit I'm excited about getting the casa cozy for Christmas! ~~ HAPPY NOVEMBER! ~~

~~VICTORIA ** A Return to LOVELINESS~~

Once upon a time & for many years I thought I lived in my own little "VICTORIA World"! But I have learned otherwise from so many bloggers that love this magazine TOO! I was ecstatic when I discovered that VICTORIA was back! I subscribed for years & still have all my many stacks that I look through over & over & I still enjoy them all these years later. Every once in a while I run across them at garage sales & pick them up to sell on ebay.

So last week I went through every cupboard, shelf, & cabinet where I stash my old ones & sorted them by month & year to make sure I only sold the extra ones that I already have. AND "ditto" with my other two favorites - Romantic Homes & Home Companion. I can't part with any of them unless I have two! So once I got them all laid out & sorted I wanted to look at every one of them right then ~ every Victoria cover makes you want to open it!

When I looked at the new Victoria website & read "The Bliss is Back"...."Fall in Love All Over Again"....& "A Return to Loveliness" I was overwhelmed with that cozy ~ old fashioned feeling again.....I'm so looking forward to getting cozy with that very first issue & I'm so happy it's back!

~~A Little Red Jewel in a Sunny Spot~~

The back room of our house is our "mud room" ~ just a little room where we come in from outside....it's main purpose is for packing ebay stuff because my ebay closet where I store what I sell is just off of this room. We've had an old plaid couch back there just to have something to sit on but during a walk through our favorite flea market there sat a little "red jewel"!

This little antique love seat is very old, with springs & straw inside, wooden turned legs, & best of all it's RED!....my favorite color! And even better than RED it was only $20 & happened to just fit in the back of our Santa Fe so that I could bring it home. I really fell in love with this little antique ~~ it's not perfect so it fits in perfectly ~ but still in good shape for it's age & I adore it!

Some of my favorite things in this room are the picket fence garden picture & the red geraniums picture, both painted by my very talented mom ~ she also made the stained glass hanging in the window ~~ the little girl mask with grapes is Fitz & Floyd - one of my favorite garage sale finds that I've researched & have never found anything like it....I bought it to sell but couldn't part with it - she's so unique & too cute!

I've filled the wicker basket with some of my favorite Fall back issues of Home Companion & Romantic Homes - a nice reading spot. I love sun rooms & since I don't really have one I like to think of this as my mud~sun~room~parlor! It's bright & sunny & a quiet cozy corner in kattz*cottage! ~~

~~Bloom On, Summer~~

Wow -don't know where the time is going but I can't keep up with it! Where have I been? I've spent so much time with Ebay & on the dance floor that I can't seem to keep up with anything else ~~ But, I HAVE taken time to enjoy the last of my summer flowers ~ the blooms just keep blooming & hopefully they will keep on keepin' on awhile longer. I'm never, ever ready for winter & wish I could have a year-round garden~~

It's almost time to bring my house plants back inside which is a big job - I have a 30 year old ficus tree on the front porch that comes inside in the winter & several more larger plants & trees that I have to "make room" for inside. I would love to dig up everything that is blooming & bring it in! If I could I would!

For now though, I will enjoy my end of summer flowers & then wait, anticipate, & watch for them all to come up again in the spring! I will miss my angel watching over the pink periwinkles & zinnias, the red hibiscus, yellow maximillion daisy, red salvia, heavenly blue morning glories, four o'clocks (those are coming out my ears....lol - I will have a zillion seeds if anyone wants some), purple mexican sage, yellow esperanza, purple jack hyacinth beans, etc. They are still giving me so much joy ~~ and this weekend I will be on a Mums & Pumpkin Hunt! I really do love fall!

~~LUCKY Winner of this PRECIOUS PACKAGE!~~

What a lucky girl I am to be the winner of such a sweet & lovely package from Kathy at Kathy's Cottage!

This gorgeous Lace Bag that Kathy made is just beautiful with a pretty sparkly rhinestone pin on the front! Tucked inside were the sweetest goodies ~ delicious Chocolates & a scrumptious Verbena Soap both in the prettiest boxes! The Toile card is the nicest little keepsake & the package was wrapped almost too pretty to open! I have been the lucky winner of two drawings so I'm anxious to pay it forward & do a drawing soon of my own! I'm not close enough to 100 posts yet but do I have to wait??!!.....LOL Thank you Kathy ~ everything is just lovely & I am thrilled to have won it! Be sure & check out Kathy's wonderful blog!

The cutest thing happened a couple of weeks ago ~ I saw a little Bluebird on one of Kathy's posts & on the very same day that she received it from a friend as a "Bluebird of Garage Sale Happiness", I found a pair of the same little Bluebirds at a garage sale! I gave one to my dad & the other sits in my kitchen window! Not only do we have the same Name, we have the same Bluebird!
"FROM ONE KATHY TO ANOTHER" :-) Thanks so much!

~~FINALLY FEELING FALL!~~

As of today I know it's here! I LOVE AUTUMN!! I walked outside at 5:30 this morning & was overwhelmed by a rush of COOL air, an awesome breeze, & that wonderful fall feeling! There's nothing like it! It's a very welcoming thing & when it happens I feel a new energy & comfort & coziness in my cottage ~~ and that's when I'm hooked on candles! The first thing on my list for our weekly wal-mart shopping trip on Sunday was my very favorite Pumpkin Spice Candle~the minute I lit it I was surrounded by a cozy feeling I can't explain - I just feel it. And today, being fall - not officially - but in my world ~ starts my daily lighting of candles all over the house. I love them as much as I love fall! This wonderful & finally cool day comes after a crazy week of no internet because of a burned out modem, trips to the library computer & mom's computer to keep up with ebay until my computer was back up & running. So now, finally being almost caught up with ebay, I will open more windows, go light another candle & enjoy MY first day of Autumn! Hope you're feeling fall in your world too!