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!

So I had a wonderfully “sweet” surprise this past weekend at ART IN THE BARN. My niece Taylor has gone off to college about six hours away for her freshman year… so I knew I would be flying solo without her help at the art fair. But then imagine my surprise when showed up “out-of-nowhere” to surprise me!!! I couldn’t process it at first… you’re here?, you’re at college?, what are you doing here?, why aren’t you at college?, thanks for coming?, great surprise?, etc.!!! And then she handed my a tin of homemade chocolate chip cookies that she had made for me… just like my Mom did for every art fair before she passed. The sweetest cookies, the sweetest gesture, the sweetest memories!

But then… oh, but wait there’s more!!!

I also spent the night at Taylor’s house out in the ‘burbs instead of driving back & forth. When we went out for dinner… this PILE of cotton candy came out for dessert… passionfruit flavored cotton candy!!! Just sealing the deal… as the “SWEETEST gestures of the weekend! Taylor’s the BEST!!!

Looks like my cousin Kim’s backyard is still in full bloom… including the wall pocket vases she’s installed on the side of her large tree! While they may not have drainage holes, you can still plant in them if you add a layer of pebbles in the bottom & be cautious while watering! Plus, it doesn’t hurt any that Kim has a green thumb!!!