My cousin Kim was outside enjoying her garden… and decided to take a few blooms to enjoy inside as well. Good thing she had one of my flat textured ikebana vases to put them in… using the small pin frog inside to prop-up the flowers! Thanks for sharing your beautiful garden Kim!

One of the highlights of the Fourth of July in Chenoa, Illinois is the parade through town. It’s such a retro-flashback parade with people tossing candy to the kids, one marching band, one kid on a decorated bike (Ryann), clowns with water hoses, the Shriners in their little cars… and seemingly every old tractor, vintage car, or semi-truck that wanted to be part of the festivities. It’s a loud parade… but so much fun to see the parade with the little kids having fun along the route. Excited about the candy & festivities… not so much about the LOUD noises!

The weather had cleared up & held it’s own until the very end when a small cloud of drizzle passed over. Luckily, Mimi was there to hold “down the fort” while they shuttled the kids back to the house! I was more about the AMAZING hand-dipped & freshly fried corn dog that followed downtown… a little sprinkle of rain didn’t deter me!

Yesterday took me down to Chenoa, Illinois to spend the holiday with my “adopted family” of friends from college with all of their kids & grandkids! The plan was to start the day with a great bike ride along Route 66. But as I got further into Central Illinois, the clouds covered the sky and the rain slowly began. Not a ton… but enough to cancel my bike ride. So it turned out to be a leisurely start to the day playing games inside while waiting for the Fourth Festivities to begin! Chenoa is known for its great celebration… very old-school nostalgic… with fireworks, a parade, street fair, corn dogs, house decorating contests, street dances, road rallies, flea market, lemon shake-ups & so much more! An annual tradition.

Early morning allium flowers in my front yard. Fun balls of small flower blossoms swaying on a tall stem. I kind of “assumed” they only came in purple when my cousin Kim & I planted a ton of bulbs last Fall. So it was great surprise to see these come up this Spring. Thanks again Kim!!!

After a very hectic “pottery & holiday season,” I’m finally getting around to finishing up some of my own personal holiday fun! And I just love this gift that arrived from my cousin Michael & Anna in Minnesota… custom dish towels with two family recipes printed in them. I must admit I got a little choked-up when I saw my Mom’s perfect handwriting on one of them… and my Grandma Kitty’s on the other (my Mom’s mom). Such a thoughtful gift… THANK YOU Michael & Anna!!!

Now I feel like I might just need to make a Pineapple Coconut Sheet Cake!!!

On a dark & rainy night, this homemade french onion soup looks AMAZING… baked in handmade pottery with ooey-gooey cheese melting all over the place. Thanks to my cousin Kim for sharing her homemade gooey-goodness with us!

Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates the day… mine will be filled with my family in pajamas, silly holiday games with fun “presents” as prizes, breakfast foods for dinner & plenty of holiday desserts! Hoping your day is filled with fun festivities too.

Did I mention desserts???

Hard to believe, but it’s time to pull out your advent calendars and taking care of Day One! My Grandma Kitty made these calendars for all of her grandkids. Such a great heirloom bringing great memories for the upcoming holiday season!

After cleaning out my garden (in the wet & drippy snow)… my cousin Kim stopped over and we spent the day planting HUNDREDS of Spring bulbs!!! It was a whole lot of work to have my garden look pretty much the same… digging holes, dropping bulbs, filling them back in & covering it all with leaves?! But come next Spring… fingers crossed… we should see a huge floral explosion of color!!! Thanks so much Kim!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN… with one of the largest displays of The Ghouls Collection! So much fun to see them all lined up in front of a custom tile surround that I made for my sister & family!