Lurking in the gloom...

As long as I can remember we have had Better Homes and Gardens magazines in our house.

BUT NOW... http://www.bhg.com/ has become a favorite read!!

The following ideas are from their daily site that you can subscribe to free and get inspired by hundreds of exciting ideas and projects. They arrive in the form of an email... subscribe and you will be adding a daily smile to your life.

Simple black upholstery tacks.

I adore these painted pumpkins with a touch of Bling!

Unique idea for a door or a fence.

Shortbread cookies with almond fingernails.

Little fabric ghosts tied to painted branches & stuck in a pumpkin.

Love this on a gate!

Add some fake black birds or crows to an existing wreath.

Better photo of the painted pumpkins!

Easy to make!

But the squirrels are feasting on all of my Indian corn.

Thanks Better Homes and Garden website... http://www.bhg.com/.

I anxiously await your daily email!!

Have a creative Halloween!!

Joni

Marathon Shopping

Kristin and Wendy were home for the weekend. It is always sooooo good to have them both under my roof!! We laughed and laughed and shopped and shopped. Kristin lives in Chicago (anyone want to rent or buy a cute condo on Michigan Ave?) and although she has access to great stores in Chicago, the sales tax is 10%. The moving van is coming to her Chicago place this week and she wanted to shop for her Denver place (Cherry Creek) as our sales tax is only 5%.

So... we shopped Friday evening and most of Saturday.

FUN, FUN, FUN! 

 She got the car packed and the realized that her suitcases needed to squeeze in someplace and so did Wendys. And... she was picking up her friend Katie and her luggage in Milwaukee and giving her a ride to Chicago.

 Kristin bought 16 place settings of FiestaWare in yummy colors!

And lamps, towels, etc.

I got a text saying they had arrived home safely!

I can't wait to hear the story of how they all fit in the car.

See you at Thanksgiving!

I'm flying to Denver for a few days to see Kristin's new home and then the 2 of us will fly to Phoenix together for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving at Wendy and Daren's is always a blast!

XOXO

Joni

Apple Pickin' Time

It's that wonderful time of the year... apple pickin' time! It's time to find an orchard and pick those apples right from the trees. A Fall tradition here in Wisconsin. 

Jerry, his daughter, two grandchildren, a little friend, our two dogs and I, went to his brother's orchard loaded with baskets and bags.

It was a beautiful sunny day!

The trees were laden with every type of apple you can think of and we picked some of each. The most inviting are always at the tippy-top and this 'basket gadget' was perfect for reaching up high.

It doesn't take long to fill a bushel basket with so many big and little hands working together.

I just love this time of the year... jeans and sweatshirt time.

My dog Otter just loves Jerry and he is so good to Otter!

Jerry's dog Dixie isn't in the photos as her legs are soooo long and she moves sooooo fast that I didn't get even one clear picture of her as she ran laps around the fields. Dixie's a Doberman.  

Otter had his first experience running in a farm field. All I could think of was, "I hope that his flea and tick medicine works well!" Just the thought made me scratch!

These apples are headed to the oven to become apple pies, apple squares, and apple bread. Jerry's daughter was going to make applesauce with a lot of her apples.

YUMMERS!!

Have an apple, polish it up, and crunch right in!

ENJOY!!

Enjoy the season that your part of the world is experiencing !

Joni

PS The photos of Jerry's grandchildren and the friend they brought along, are adorable. I was asked not to put the children on my blog and I want to honor their mother's wish.

Icky, Sticky, Icecream

This is a page from my "Summer 2010" album.

Jerry deserved a big icecream cone for taking me all the way to Appleton to Archivers. Most men dislike that place, but he's a pretty good sport. I don't go there very often now that I do mostly digi scrapping, but I was in the mood to organize my "December Daily Album"... which is hybrid. I'll share photos of the collection I picked out for it on another day.

We stopped at Vande Walle's Chocolates for some really good icecream and it was indeed YUMMY!

And drip, drip, drip it did!

Make this a great day!

Joni 

Picnic in the Park

Always Time for a Picnic

We are very blessed to live a few blocks away from one of the largest inland lakes... Lake Winnebago! The park along the lake is lovely... Menominee Park. There's an old-fashioned carousel, a little red train that carries happy children through the park, a great zoo, a built-by-the-community playground (yes, I hammered some nails), Sea, Sand and Sailorland... another playground, a lagoon with paddle boats, bike and walking paths, and every sport you can imagine being played! I love to just sit under a tree and read!

Today, Jerry and I headed to the park with my picnic basket in hand. We munched  tasty but very messy egg salad sandwiches... as the photos show. Everything slid out of the bread as we took a bite! 

Jerry was gathering odds and ends of his sandwich to feed the ducks.

This photo gives you a better view of the shoreline up to the swimming pavilion.

Jerry took an afternoon nap while I played with my camera. The sound of the water, the ducks and the seagulls make a very conducive atmosphere for napping.

There are lots of boats on the lake... especially sailboats. These boats were returning from the end of a race. It's actually one of my favorite photos of the Summer.

I love our little Midwest city!

A lovely place to live and raise a family.

When we want a taste of an urban life, we just hop on down to Chicago.

But then we get to come home again to fireflies and quiet.

Make this a great day!

~Joni

Lovin' Italy!!

Ten Days in Tuscany

Celebrating Kristin's 40th Bday

Kristin wanted to do something special for her 40th so she decided to rent a villa in

Tuscany... and invite 8 other close friends. They all chipped in for the Villa.

As a 'thank you' to them for helping her celebrate, Kristin hired an Italian chef

to come to the Villa and give them a cooking lesson and serve them a complete dinner.

Kristin said that this was the highlight of the trip her... being able to share this meal

with her wonderful friends.

 

This photo is out of order, but special to me.

This is the town of Portofino. A much-loved spot by me and

full of wonderful memories.

Wendy and Kristin

This is their Villa and they said it was much better than they ever expected.

You never know when you make all of your arrangements online.

They went to the small nearby town of Greve where they

were having a festival-of-sorts.

The town put on a version of "Grease".

They gathered in Florence for a glass of wine and to discuss

plans for the rest of the day.

Fried cheese balls!

Just like being at home.

Kristin, Wendy, and Wendy's husband Darin spent several days in Rome and

went to The Vatican.

They're on their way home as I write.

I pray for their safe travel.

Make this a great day!

~joni

Looks Like Fall!

The Farmer's Market

Signs of Fall

This summer, we (my camera, friends, and I) spent almost every Saturday morning at our local Farmer's Market.

Last week the temperatures dropped and Fall showed it's true colors. It was amazing to see

the changes reflected at the market. 

Acorn squash (Winter squash) appeared for the first time in the vendor's booths.

Baskets replaced some of the crates.

The flowers changed to those that can survive our chilly weather.

Soooooooo BEAUTIFUL!!!

The bands dressed warmer!

Beautiful orange pumpkins appeared in a number of the booths.

I also saw some colorful Indian Corn.

Warm clothing and warm egg rolls. They also make great crab rangoons!

Mum plants for sale!

Time to get those frost-tolerant flowers in the ground.

Isn't she lovely?

This morning it has been raining and we missed the Market, but there will be other

Saturdays thru October!

Missed you all this Summer!!

Make this a great day!

~Joni

PS All materials used in the making of my Blog Header are from Designer Digitals.

Check out their fantastic sale going on right now!!

Happy Birthday WENDY!!

Today is Wendy's 38th birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO WENDY!! Wendy is my youngest and lives in Phoenix with her husband and 2 dogs. She is Operations Director for Pure Grips, a company that manufactures and sells Golf grips. Her husband is a scratch golfer! The whole family is involved and addicted to golfing.

Queen Wendy shall walk among her people later today!!
Thanks Sunny for decorating her office!

~Joni

A Summer Place

Ardy and Eds has been in Oshkosh since 1948. It's an old fashioned 'Drive-In' that is only open in the Summer. 50's and 60's music plays outside... ah, memories!! The Car Hops wear roller skates and do a great job of staying up-right. When my girls were little they would ask if we could go to Ardy and Eds and "watch the Car Hops wipe out"... which does happen occasionally.

They serve great root beer in frosty mugs!

My friend GJ is eating a pizza burger. I had one also and it was tasty!

Great buns!

I ordered a diet root beer in a bottle. It was so darn good! It was also 90 degrees out.

We arrived in GJ's convertible... his Summer car. Perfect for eating at Drive-Ins,

but it was so hot we headed to an umbrella table for some shade. I love this photo of the underside of the umbrella.

So, if you're ever in Oshkosh...

~Joni

Happy 4th of July!

I met my friend DW for a sandwich at a local coffee shop yesterday. They make the BEST egg salad sandwiches on a yummy grainy bread. Great place to meet when you don't feel like getting out of your garden clothes. When I saw DW's shoes, I had to have a picture! My camera takes up most of the space in my purse, but it's worth it. Aren't those shoes perfect for the weekend? And so adorable!

Our fireworks are tonight and I wanted to play with my camera & the fireworks. However, My doggie is terrified of the noise of the crackers going off as they did last night. Tonight would be a bigger and much louder display (we live a few blocks from the lake) and I think he needs his Mom home to protect him.

Happy 4th to all of you!
~Joni

Free "Computer Tricks" class

I have taken so many classes from Jessica Sprague. She is a fantastic teacher and person. She's offering a FREE online class... Compute Tricks for Cards. I'm not a card-maker but I know I will learn something new from this class. So, join me and register now!
Click on http://www.jessicasprague.com/ to register now!
Hope to see you there!!
~Joni

My BIL's funeral is this afternoon and I'm feeling very nervous.
Same funeral home and restaurant (including same menu) as
we had for Boyds. The memory is too fresh!
But this too shall pass.

Another Sad Loss

Boyd's brother Dana, died on June 9, 2010 from cancer. He was in his 50's. So sad. He was a talented musician, composer, and actor. Like Boyd, he graduated from UW-Madison. He was also a member of the UW marching Band. The memorial service is this Saturday. Please keep his mom, dad, and sister Mary in your thoughts and prayers.

~Joni

Otter's Album

I am continuing to work on Otter's album. As soon as I get caught up I am anxious to start an album about the transformation of my backyard... the picket fence and the tons of perennials and some annuals also. It's looking good and is so cozy. My own little world. Just needs a hammock!

And here's Otter...

If you want to know the name of any of the supplies that I used, just click on Designer Digitals on the right side of the blog.

Make this a great day!

Joni

Favorite NEW TV Series!

I am head over heels in love with this new TV docu-series on Bravo... 9 By Design !

Husband and wife team Bob and Cortney Novogratz are owners of a NYC based design firm... Sixx Design. They're young and hip and artsy and have developed and designed UNIQUE in Manhattan. They've rebuilt entire blocks in the city and turned funky into fabulous! They face daunting construction challenges against rapidly ticking clocks. They create sumptuous spaces from wrecks and empty lots and then decorate with rare and inspiring collections.

Did I mention they have 7... yes, seven... children? The kids are loved and nurtured and put an interesting twist into the program.

The parents have a new book out, Downtown Chic! I saw it on Amazon.com and it's on my wish list.

Here are a few family photos...

They use a lot of photography in their decorating!

To read more about this fascinating family and show, click on Bravotv.com

Our cable company offers 9 By Design on Primetime on Demand so you can catch up or re watch the show. Also check their website for possible episodes online.

Enjoy!!

Joni

Signs of Summer

Today is such a BEAUTIFUL day outside! It's hard to stay inside and work on anything! The rain and wind last night brought down most of the pods from my maple trees so it might be a good day to start raking them up. What a job! So many happenings outside are screaming "SUMMER"! I've listed a few on this layout... Can you add more? Share them with us all!

I hope your weather is as lovely where you live!

Make this a great day!!

Joni

PS Just got back from my doctor and she thinks I have a 'torn rotator cuff'.

I have an MRI next Tuesday.

Always something!