Christmas at the Stewarts ~ Part 1

Just thought I'd share a few pics with you of our home during the holidays. Lots of pink going on in our house as usual, but I never tire of it. The hubby, on the other hand, probably does, but he's a really good sport! Happy wife, happy life...as "they" say! (*_*)

We had three trees this year...a larger one in the front room (not shown), a medium sized fiber optic one on the sofa table and then a small pink one on the kitchen counter. It's fun to have more than one and they really don't take long to decorate or take down which is the really nice part! I will share more with you in Part 2 in another day or so. Enjoy! ~Stacy~

Pink Loot!

If you visit my blog on any kind of regular basis, you will know that I am all about PINK! So I thought I'd share with you my PINK presents that I received for Christmas. The first is a darling Babycakes cupcake maker. This makes mini cupcakes (perfect for me because I'm a Lifetime Weight Watchers member for over 10 years now!) and I can't wait to try it out. Then I received a PINK Cuisinart Mini Prep Plus chopper which I know I will use alot and next a PINK ice cream maker. I already made some frozen yogurt in it and it turned out fabulous! The only thing that is not shown is my PINK stun gun. What you say??? Yes, I received a PINK stun gun for Christmas and I am thrilled about it. Hey...I live in a big city with alot of crime...one can never be too careful! I only hope that I never have to use it! (*_*)

So, that's my PINK Christmas loot. Stay tuned in my next post for pics of our Christmas trees and home during the holidays. Until next time, ~Stacy~ xo

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Across the miles...

From my house to yours...

I would like to take this time

to wish all of my wonderful customers and friends

a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Thank you for your support and patronage during 2010!

I appreciate each and every one of you and wish you all

continued health and happiness in 2011!

My Love To You All,

~Stacy~

Love, Loss & New Treasures

After a lengthy break, I am finally ready to get back to the web site again! It's been a funny fall for me full of love, fun and heartbreak. If you read a few posts below, you will know that I lost my little furry friend this fall and it's been so hard getting over him...not that I ever will, but just the same. Thanks to all of you who wrote to me about Bobo and especially a big hug to Bonnie T. for your lovely email! Thanks Bonnie! You made me feel somewhat better at time that I was feeling pretty down! (*_*)

In between all of this, my Mom was here for two whole months this fall and we had such an amazing time! We have so much fun together and I am so blessed that she is able to come down here and spend so much time with me. She even extended her vacation by one week as we felt that we were running out of time! I am so lucky that I have such a terrific Mom and a Mom that really "gets" me! Isn't that what we all really want?, someone who "gets" us! (*_*)

So now I'm back at it. I've spent the past few days taking pictures and managed to get some new things listed in the Cottage Treasures Boutique. Pictures of a few of those things are above. Don't you just love that gorgeous tole tray and that needlepoint...it is so beautiful in person!

I have wanted to add some new categories to the site for some time and I am now working on pictures and listing for the new French Finery Boutique. It is going to be amazing with some of the best glitzy, glamorous and just downright pretty stuff! You'll be getting a message soon if you are on the mailing list (and if you're not, why not?! LOL!) as to when they will be listed. They should be done here in the next three or four days.

I'm also adding another new category to the site called "Sweet Treats" and it will be full of my little faux cupcake confections and other "sweet" things. I'm really looking forward to getting this category going. I think you are going to love it!

I hope you had a lovely fall and are looking forward to the holiday season like I am. I am so excited about Christmas this year for some reason! Do feel free to drop me an email at any time if you have a question, comment or just want to say hi! I always love hearing from you! ~Stacy~ xo

Pretty In Pink Fenton Vases

Today I thought I'd share with you a quick note about my sweet Mother-in-law. She loves going to yard sales and thrift stores and a few weeks back she went to a yard sale and found some "stuff" for me. She was trying to describe these pretty pink vases to me over the telephone and from what she said, I thought that they sounded pretty nice!


She brought them over a few days later and lo and behold, they are gorgeous vintage pink Fenton vases! She only paid $1 each for them so yes...she did good! (*_*) She is always on the lookout for me and she is really starting to know my taste. I love these gorgeous vases and I think that my Mom-in-law is just about the sweetest lady in the world for thinking of me! ~Stacy~

Antique Lady Portrait

Just thought I'd share a special treasure with you that I found last week at one of my favorite antique malls here in Salt Lake City. I have a real penchant for antique lady portrait prints and I almost escaped the antique mall without finding a thing. At the very last moment I turned toward a display and saw this beautiful girl staring back at me. (*_*)

I love this artist and I simply could not resist the beauty of her exquisite face and the lovely art deco frame that she is framed in. For now she has a place on one of my kitchen walls. I may part with her and I may not...who am I kidding? She is not going anywhere anytime soon! ~Stacy~ xo

My Best Friend

BOBO

March 1994 - September 2010

My heart is aching tonight in a way that I can't describe to any of you who are not dog lovers. It's been two weeks today since I put my little best friend down and I must tell you that it's been the most difficult two weeks of my life. I'm always looking for him in the hall, around the corner or in the kitchen. It's funny when you have had a faithful companion with you for over 16.5 years...he just meant everything to me and now my home feels empty and dull. With no biological children of my own, he was basically my child, my furry child!

Hug your little furry friends tight tonight ladies...it's so hard when they are taken away. ~Stacy~

Pretty Thrift Store Find

I love decorating my home with statues...they seem to be ever growing in numbers around here! I found this pretty one a few weeks back at one of my favorite thrift stores. She was sitting quietly perched on a filing cabinet out in the "yard area" which is a large covered fenced-in outdoor area that is connected to the thrift store. I know she was waiting just for me...

This pretty lady is made out of very heavy plaster and stands about 20" tall so she is pretty large and very heavy. She was plain white so I gave her a quick spray of antique white spray paint which is almost a very pale yellow. She has such pretty features and I love her long hair (I'm a long hair gal myself)! I don't have a place for her yet so she stands on the edge of my long countertop in my kitchen waiting for me to put her in just the right spot. Don't you love her?! I do! ~Stacy~

Sweet Vintage Pink Sewing Machine

I am always on the lookout for cute pink pieces for my home and was absolutely thrilled to come across this adorable pink sewing machine at Savers one afternoon. It was priced at $30 and I really didn't want to pay that much, but after looking around the store I realized that all purple tags were half price that day. Did it have a purple tag? I'm sure you know the answer...it's now in my house!

It is an Atlas brand sewing machine and I must admit that I've never heard of it before. It is in really good condition and actually works! The case is a little bit rough in spots, but who cares! It's such a cute vintage treasure for display and everyone (okay, the girls) who walks in through the front door comments on it. I love it ~ it's a keeper! ~Stacy~

Off On A New Adventure...

We are off on a new adventure tomorrow morning! Our first stop is the California Redwood Forest and then we will be making our way up the Oregon Coast! I haven't been to the ocean in years and I'm looking so forward to it! The fifth wheel is going to travel a fair distance this time! My brother and sis-in-law are coming down from Canada in their huge motorhome and are meeting us for two weeks of vacation bliss! See you in the middle of August! ~Stacy~ **Photos courtesy of Flickr.**

A Little Portrait Wall

Recently I have been updating our bedroom a little bit and have been slowly adding more French style touches to the decor. My friend Marci is the "Queen of French" so to speak and her decor has really influenced the way our bedroom is evolving. I have been collecting these adorable vintage and antique portrait prints for awhile now and finally had enough of the "nicer" ones to make a pretty display on one of the walls. Most of them are very "Marie Antoinette-ish" looking and I just love them!

I am also a fan of old swag lamps and I adore the ones with the gorgeous chunky gold metal roses and leaves attached. I came across this one at the Salvation Army a few weeks back and just had to have it for the corner of the bedroom. Out went the tole chandelier into the main powder room and in came the swag lamp....musical lamps around here I swear! I'm always moving lamps around! Anyway, I love this pretty swag lamp and it adds a nice "Frenchy" feel to the corner. It's so pretty at night too! Love it!

My next job is to update the top of the wardrobe, but that will have to wait for now. Until next time, have a lovely day! ~Stacy~ xo

Antoinette & Friends Door Plaque

Those of you who have followed my blog over the years know that summer usually tends to take me away from posting very regularly at all. It's not that I'm super busy...it's just that the last thing I want to be doing is to be sitting at my computer on a lovely day! I am an outside girl, even in the heat! (*_*) I'm so thankful for all of you regular posters though as I love to while away part of my evenings perusing all of the gorgeous eye candy out there...so thank you ladies for keeping me entertained and up to date! (*_*)

Today I thought I'd share with you a little project that I finished up a few weeks back. A friend of mine gave me this adorable wooden sign complete with a very pretty carved top with a bow in the center so I thought I'd make a little vignette to hang on my front door. I added vintage sheet music for the background and then adorned it with gorgeous tags that I purchased from my friend Janet over at Shabbyfufu. She makes the BEST stuff! I added a few small embellishments and then I put an adorable pink bird on the corner. I found this charming creature at Michael's a few months back. Actually...I bought all of the pink birds that they had left! What can I say?!...I'm a pink girl! I was also going to add trim around the edges, but I never got around to it so I think I'll just leave it alone. I didn't have any at the time and I didn't feel like buying any so there it sits!

I'd love to hear what projects you are working on or what's on your front door. Until next time, have a lovely day! ~Stacy~ xo

A Dose Of Pink!

Well, it's been exactly ONE month since my last post! I know that I've been missing in action as of late. The weather has turned warmer and I have been spending a lot of time outside in my yard with my flowers. The web site has been sorely neglected too, but I think that my huge dose of cabin fever has finally been satisfied a little bit with all of my outdoor pursuits.

As most of you know that read my blog, my favorite color is PINK! I love to cruise around the web looking for pretty photographs that I am allowed to share, so I usually visit Flickr for the best and most beautiful pictures of all. Here is a collection of pretty PINK photos for you to enjoy. I seem to be really into old pink vehicles lately. I especially love the little PINK Ford truck! I would love to have this in my yard to plant flowers around and I would heap up the truck bed with topsoil and plant flowers back there too! Wouldn't that be divine!

See the stunning pink blossoms...those are from Japanese Kwanzan double flowering cherry trees and I was lucky enough to purchase three of them at Lowe's recently to plant on our front park strip. We only need eight more for our side park strip and hopefully we will find them again at Lowe's when their next shipment of trees comes in. Aren't they incredible! When I go to visit my dentist, his office is tucked into a little orchard of these trees and if it's windy out, soft pink petals come floating down all around you as you stroll by. Now isn't this a much more pleasant thought than actually visiting the dentist! Enjoy the pretty PINKNESS! ~Stacy~