A Story By My Son Harrison, Age 8

If I was there on Christmas day when baby Jesus was born, I would be so nice to him and his family and I would be so happy if I saw him smile.  I wish I could see Jesus in person.  He is such a good person he would be so nice to me. I would be so nice to him. I would let him play with me and he would let me play with him. We would be bestfriends and play all day. Jesus is a very, very, very, very good person. I love Jesus and God. If I was there I also wish my family was there because even though I am mean to my brothers and sister and they are mean to me, they love me and I love them more.  I love Jesus, God, Mommy, Sydney, Matthew, David, Ralph our cat, Grandma Syd, Grandpa Paul and their cats Prince and Grace. I can't wait to celebrate Jesus's birthday!   By Harrison

Shabby Chic On A Budget

Admittedly, when my friend Abby called and said her neighbor had a wooden headboard for sale, and the price was $3.00, I knew Abby had struck gold for me! She didn't even wait for me to say if I wanted it, she bought it up and shoved it in her car, 2 kids and all, and delivered it to me.  Abby rocks! The headboard is a double size and has carved roses and large knobs at the top.  It was exactly like the headboard used in a bench I just sold.  It has lots of dings and scratches, my personal favorite type of wood because I feel it has so much charm. It was unfinished wood and had so much potential!  

My daughter is 12 years old, and we agreed that for Christmas I would fix up the headboard and buy her a double bed since she outgrew her twin daybed.  On a little side note, the sweetest couple came and purchased her daybed last night.  They too have 3 sons and a daughter. She told me their ages: 20, 18, 18 and 12.  I asked if they have twins like me, and she said "no we are a blended family."  I really enjoyed hearing that because I have been a single mom for 8 years now, and I really hope to be a blended family some day.  I know in God's time, the right man will come to me.  Okay, so back to the headboard :)

The headboard was painted Linen White in exterior flat and it looks amazing! I normally hand paint most pieces, but this was done with a spray gun and is not distressed on the edges. It looks really sweet and perfect for my daughter.  I can always distress it later but like the way it is for now.

Her new mattress, boxspring and frame will be delivered tomorrow so I have been getting her room cleaned up today.  I used a Rachel Ashwell Simply Shabby Chic pink "silk" curtain panel that is lined and heavy for her window.  They come 84" long and I had already used the other half in my kitchen window so all I had to do was add a 1" seam for the curtain rod.  The panel is $24.95 at Target (www.target.com)

I used one of my $35 chandeliers in pink and white and hung that from the ceiling and covered the cord in my pink organza cord cover, which I have in my store for $8.00.  Then I went with my son to IKEA (www.ikea.com) and planned on buying a white ceiling canopy ($19.95).  However, when we got there, I saw that they also come in green, blue and are you ready for this...PINK!!!   The pink was only $17.00 so I bought that and came home to assemble it.  All you have to do is tie the ties onto the metal frame and it hangs from a center loop.  I had some different shades of faux pink roses I had used for display at the Rose Bowl and easily took them apart and glue gunned the roses onto the top of the frame where the ties meet the metal on the outside of the frame.  I will add pictures with the bed, but wanted to share tonight because my daughter is on cloud 9, and therefore, so am I!

Oh, and all her bedding is also from Target in the Rachel Ashwell Simply Shabby Chic collection and are extremely well priced. I can see that these pictures aren't great. I will update better ones tomorrow for the final reveal.

Pink Starfish

 

Last night, I worked on these pink starfish over a bottle of wine, with Abby, a friend I've known since I was 5.  Today I am 38.  I love that Abby worked on her Christmas cards while I painted, glued, & glittered my starfish.  Our children played while we laughed and got lost in our projects.  It was a lovely way to spend our Saturday night.

Of The Sea

Its no secret, I love pink. Every so often though, I am pulled towards shades of blue. I love robin’s egg, French and Tiffany blues. So when I sat down to work on jeweled starfish, I didn’t flinch when I reached for the blue paint. My son Matthew came over as I painted the first starfish and exclaimed, “thank you Mommy!” I said, “thank you for what?” He smiled his contagious smile at me and said, “Mommy I love the blue!”

I made three, and then felt the pull to my pink paint. I am waiting for the paint to dry on 9 pink starfish. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the blue. If you have a chance, please take a peek at Bella Lucille later because I will be adding the pink ones when they are finished.

~Jennifer

Pink Ice Skates

Like so many people, I opened last December's Romantic Homes with great enthusiasm.  I love to see all of the beautiful holiday pages.  When I came to Cathy Scalise's hand painted pink ice skates, they took my breath away.  What a clever and creative idea! I absolutely loved them.  I never thought to work on a pair myself.  It seemed somehow out of my league. 

A year passed, and I opened the December 2009 Romantic Homes and saw pink skates, this time made by a reader named Rosanne, who had received her inspiration from Cathy Scalise. 

Feeling more confident in my craft, I bought a pair of white ice skates and went to work.  I hand painted mine pink, and painted the black heels white.  I also painted the blades white and added a thick dusting of ulta fine white glitter.  I included some pink rick rack where the heel meets the leather.  At the top I added some white marabou trim. Lastly, I added 13 pink ribbon roses for trim near the laces.

I like the way mine came out, although I admit I still think Cathy's are the prettiest I have seen.  If not for Cathy's skates, I never would have thought of making a pair, so I am grateful to her for the inspiration. 

To read more about Cathy and to see her amazing creations, please go to http://www.eleganceandwhimsy.com

I have added the most adorable tooth fairy pillows, made out of the prettiest vintage reproduction fabrics and trimmed with pink lace. At $12.95, these are affordable and make lovely gifts. And by popular demand, coming in the next few weeks I will be adding tooth fairy pillows in boy colors so please look for them.

Vintage Treasures

Hand painted vintage table lamp. This belonged to my grandmother and my mom is 65 and grandma had the lamp before she was born so we know it is old, but not exactly sure how old. The body is ceramic and the roses and flower colors on it are vibrant and there do not appear to be any flaws. I have listed it on ebay (with mom's blessing) and hope to find out more about it from someone with more knowledge on antique lamps.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160362767118&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fshop.ebay.com%3A80%2F%3F_from%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dp4712.m38.l1313%26_nkw%3D160362767118%26_sacat%3DSee-All-Categories%26_fvi%3D1&_rdc=1

World's Best Pancakes

My kids will eat these for breakfast, lunch or dinner, and they are so good, they will even eat them plain! Here's the recipe, since I have made them 3 times this week.

1 1/2 cups flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix dry ingredients together

2 cups milk
1/4 cup butter

Heat the milk and butter together until the butter is melted

3 eggs, separated

Mix the yolks into the heated milk and butter, then use an electric mixer to mix this with the flour ingredients.

Rinse off the beaters and beat the whites until almost stiff. Gently fold them into the batter. Heat a skillet and use butter in the pan, not oil! Butter makes all the difference in taste!

Make small silver dollar size or larger, your preference. My kids like them small. Butter the skillet in between each batch, just a small amount, to keep the pancakes from sticking. These taste like the lightest crepes and are always a huge hit when family and friends come over. They are a little more work than other recipes, but they are always worth it. I'd love for you to try them and post your comments here. I have used nutella on them before, syrup and jam, but I still love them best plain. Enjoy!

Bits & Pieces Collages

Pink Christmas Bits & Pieces Collage

Halloween Bits & Pieces Collage

Paris Apartment Bits & Pieces Collage

Love For Tommy

Frankie Smith, who helped organize the "Love for Tommy" benefit, enjoys the sun with Tommy Conforti outside his family's house in Newport Beach on Monday, August 17, 2009.

Tommy, summer 2009
Tommy, center with "the buzz boys," his friends from school
(and younger sister in the back), Dec. 2008



Matthew, Tommy and my two sons, Matthew and David, Dec. 2008

http://lovefortommy.com/

Tommy is raising money for his charity CureSearch National Childhood Cancer Foundation. There is a link on the site http://lovefortommy.com/ if you would like to donate. Thank you for allowing me to share these stories with you!

More Plaques ~ New Sayings!

I have restocked more of your favorite plaques, and added some great new sayings as well. Each plaque is just $12.00 for handpainted roses!!! Please come take a closer look at http://www.bellalucille.com/

Grandma's Birthday

My mom just turned 66. What better way to celebrate than with a surprise party with her grandchildren! We had balloons, a cupcake pinata (pull string) and Susie Cakes cupcakes that are absolutely delicious! We got 4 flavors: coconut, chocolate, strawberry and lemon. If you live in an area where they have a bakery, they are so worth ordering from and they carry many other flavors! http://www.susiecakesla.com/

I made my mom's favorite spinach salad:

1 bag of baby spinach

fresh strawberries, cut and sliced

fresh blueberries

crumbled gorganzola cheese

candied pecans

raspberry balsamic dressing (I like Annie's brand, available at most health food stores)

Toss and serve cold. Pepper to taste, if desired

New & Improved Pink Christmas Signs

This year we are offering thicker, larger handpainted signs that read: "I'm Dreaming Of A Pink Christmas." They measure 36" long by 7" wide by 1/2" thick. They are nice and solid. The background is a distressed pale pink, and the lettering is done in script with dark pink letters. These look really nice, and are for sale now for $36.00 each.

Baby Shower Pictures and Ideas

Recently, I hosted a baby shower for my only sibling, my older sister. Thankfully she is having a girl, since I specialize in pink! We had 16 confirmed guests, so I went to Old Towne Orange and went into an Antique store where I had remembered seeing a large variety of Limoges dishes. I thought it would be really fun to buy 16 different plates, each one with pink roses on it but in different patterns. The plates were anywhere from $9 and up to $95, so I opted to buy lunch sized plates, which are smaller than dinner plates, but a little larger than dessert plates and I spent about $230 for 16 plates and 1 serving bowl. I lucked out because the plates and bowl were all 20% when I went in! I would have tried to negociate a discount if they hadn't been on sale. I have found most antique stores will entertain reasonable offers. I also mixed in white milk glass servers that have holes on the edges, and wove them with pink ribbon. I brought a chippy old bistro table inside for added seating and used a pretty table cloth and added some pink organza fabric over the cushions that I tied into bows. I repainted my dining set white, and decided to use 3 coordinating fabrics for the cushions. The tablecloth was my grandmothers white cut lace tablecloth and I added a diaper cake for the center piece. For a fun touch, I framed the shower invitation and had it on the entry table. My sister loves seashells so I put some pretty polished white shells into a silverplated dish that I found at our local goodwill for $.99!

Everything looked really pretty and the shower was a wonderful party. My sister is due in about 2 weeks and I cannot wait to be an auntie!