stripesandrosescottage

Happy 2012 to All!

2012-01-01T13:15:00.000-05:00

May all your dreams and wishes come true!

Rosa

Merry Christmas- Joy to the World!

2011-12-25T15:17:00.001-05:00

Just enjoying this special time of the year with family and friends.

Banner is a free printable from Howdoesshe.net. Fabulous site with lots of great ideas and nice printables!.

Elphie

Decorating cookies

Christmas Decor

The sources for these printable can be found on my Pinterest printable board.

Decorating gingerbread houses

Class Treats

Mischievous Elphie

Yes, he left a goodbye letter!

I will post the rest of the pictures in my next entry.

Hope you all had a great time with your families.

Rosa

Happy Thanksgiving-2011

2011-11-25T17:23:00.000-05:00

I love Thanksgiving for so many reasons, but mainly because our little family gathers together to celebrate. The one thing that I'll always remember is that smell from the turkey being roasted in the oven. It's funny that my sister who now lives in her own place, came to sleep over at our house just to wake up to that delicious aroma. I hope those of you in the USA had a very happy and healthy THANKSGIVING . Here a few pictures from our home, enjoy!

The center of attention YUM YUM!

Family and Friends

Take care and be well,

Rosa

Happy "SNOWeen"-Halloween -2011

2011-11-02T11:11:00.000-04:00

What an interesting weekend it was...the threat of snow felt way off. Maybe the forecast would change, but it didn't!. We had plans for our annual Pumpkin Carving Party on Saturday. We woke up to an overcast day, but as the hours ticked it started raining, then the flakes started falling. By midday it became evident we were in the middle of a very unusual storm for this time of year. Since the leaves haven't fallen off yet, the branches became so heavy with the snow, they started breaking off, bringing down any utility wires in their path...then the widespread power outages. We had phone service for a few hours on Saturday, but lost that too. Most of our friends who were supposed to come over to our house for the party couldn't make it, what a bummer. We had our party anyway with my in-laws and our neighbors. It was very challenging carving pumpkins by candlelight, but we did it!

On Friday, I took two my kids to a local pumpkin patch:

Looking for the perfect pumpkin

On Saturday, let the pumpkin carving begin:

We had a great time, family, good friends, great foods, lots of laughter...we'll remember this day forever.

On Monday (Halloween), we woke up to this:

Once the fog lifted, this is what I captured with my camera:

Lost our Ornamental Pear tree

A neighbor's front yard

Later, it was trick-or-treating time:

Needless to say, it was very chilly, there weren't too many kids out, but the kids had fun. At least we were able to go out.

Thanks for stopping by and take care.
Enjoy each day, no matter what it brings your way!

Rosa

Back To School 2011

2011-09-07T15:23:00.000-04:00

The 2011-2012 school year started yesterday for our kids. Inspired by different back to school parties in Blogland, I thought it would be nice to hold a Back To School breakfast for our family and a few of our neighbors and their kids, a couple of days before school started. We had pancakes, bacon, french bread, fruit, and various drinks. It was nothing fancy, but everybody had an enjoyable time.
I decorated with various school inspired items to set the right back to school mood for the kids. Hopefully, we'll do this every year, God willing.

Some of the kids

After breakfast, we took the kids outside for pictures. I used some awesome grade printables from

Iheartnaptime, they are available for grades pre-k to 12th grade. They are just fabulous!. It's awesome when people share their creations with others. I'm thinking about using them for the next few years. Hopefully the kids will cooperate.

It would be so cool to have a kid from each grade represented, I'll keep that in mind for next year!

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Here are the real first day of school pictures:

Best of luck to my munchkins.

Take care,

Rosa

On This Day

2011-08-18T12:20:00.001-04:00

47 years ago...I came into the world to the delight of my loving parents. Oh how the years fly by!. I feel very fortunate and grateful to God, to be able to celebrate another year with my loved ones. Life Is Good!. Don't get me wrong, I have many rough moments, but the good outweigh the bad, and for that I'm thankful. We celebrated my birthday
last Saturday, so that my sister and her boyfriend could be present. We had a small gathering, and we had a great time!

I set up a "Photo Booth" outside, with some props, a backdrop, friends= Good Laughs!

I printed the pictures and hung them on our wall unit for all the guests to enjoy!

We had a BBQ, a "staring contest", we drank, we laughed, I had a wonderful birthday celebration.

And for the favors, I put some of my favorite candies in a bag with a cute tag, for my family and friends to enjoy after the party.

Take care and thanks for visiting,

Rosa

Graduation Celebration

2011-06-26T20:02:00.000-04:00

Hayley and my mom

Our daughter, Hayley, graduated from 8th grade on June 15. I remember her first day of kindergarten as if it was yesterday. I'm sure four years of High School will pass by in a blink of an eye. We are very happy and proud of her. I wanted to celebrate this milestone in her life by having a dinner party with a few family members and close friends.
I knew I wanted to use the color purple, she's been into this color for a while. I thought it would be nice to pair it with green and aqua to change things up a bit. I love this color combo. I wanted to set the color scheme for the party right off the bat. I started with the design for the invite. I knew I wanted to use a gate fold style card. This is what the invite looks like:

outside of invitation

inside

I thought her kindergarten picture ups the cuteness factor! I love it.

I looked for decor inspiration everywhere, just like I do for all the parties. I've always loved the tissue poms that people use in their parties and made so popular by MS. Since I had my color scheme all set, I bought tissue papers in the party's color. At first I wasn't sure how they were going to turn out, but I kept trying, and my first tissue pom ever came to life!

"Ok", I said to myself, "I think I can pull this off!". And so I created six more:

They are gorgeous!

My plan was to hold the party outside, but up to the same day of the party, the threat of thunderstorms kept me from creating other things. I decided to make doily banners. They look so beautiful together.
We got lucky and had no rain, but I didn't want to put too many items outside. I kept it very simple and pretty.

I made a cake topper using a stamp, and made a banner for the cake also. These are very popular and can be seen all over blogland. You can click on the picture below to make it bigger.

My mom cooked most of the food, a few of our friends made some delicious items too.
It turned out to be such a beautiful celebration for our Hayley, I hope she'll remember this day always.

For the favors, I packed store bought mini chocolate chip cookies in plastic bags, and placed those inside purple paper bags. I made a tag with her silhouette and placed them on the bags. They turned out so cute!

We all had a wonderful time. The party continued to about 11pm.

I want to wish my Hayley much success in High School. We'll party again in four years!

Take care and thank you for visiting,

Rosa

EASTER 2011

2011-04-26T13:41:00.000-04:00

I hope Easter was great for all. We had wonderful weather: sunny and warm for a change. Decorated the house as usual, it makes the house feel cozy and welcoming.
The kiddies had a blast hunting for the eggs. We just had our immediate family over, and we all went out to eat dinner at a restaurant. It's great to spend time with them!

My sister and I

My daughter felt too old @14 to carry a basket

The house inside:

And on a different note, one of my favorite flowers are in bloom:

Bleeding Hearts

Take care, be happy, and stay healthy, wherever you may be!

Hugs,

Rosa

All You Need Is... LOVE!

2011-02-14T21:00:00.001-05:00

Happy St. Valentine's Day!

This is how the blackboard wall looked like two days ago. I wanted to give it a more personal touch with
our silhouettes. What do you think?

I took pictures of our profiles and drew them freehand, not too bad!

I'll leave you with a few more pictures of our decorations and such. Enjoy!

Some of you may recognize this cupid dog from Target's Valentine collection. My kids love it!

The kissing booth letterpress poster is from rollandtumblepress , I love it!

Love note I created for my hubby

My masked " Love Bandit"

I hope all had a wonderful St. Valentine's Day!

Love,
Rosa

A very happy and healthy 2011 to all!

2011-01-01T14:57:00.000-05:00

May 2011 bring all good things to you and yours!

Best wishes,

Rosa

Mischief, and Trick Or Treat

2010-11-01T17:51:00.001-04:00

One of the things I love about having kids is that they make holidays like Halloween so much fun!. I don't let them go around the neighborhood on Mischief Night, but I give them toilet paper to throw on our front lawn trees. They love it!

Having a pile up with our neighbors

Light stick show

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I managed to do some crafts:

Made this prize ribbon pin for Jason's teacher

Treats for Jason's classmates

Treats for Jeremy's classmates

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And of course the best part is getting dressed up for trick or treating fun!

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Some of the decor around the house :

I can't post the rest of the pictures, they are not oriented the right way. Sorry about that!

All and all, we had a wonderful time. Just can't believe it's over.

And now to get ready for Thanksgiving!

Take care and be well. Thank you for visiting,

Rosa

Fall Fun

2010-10-26T20:36:00.000-04:00

Even though I'm a warm weather person, I love the beauty that nature provides with the changing seasons.
I love to go apple picking with my husband and kids; picking out pumpkins at the patch. The beautiful hues the leaves turn before falling. It's all amazing, and how lucky are we to be able to live and experience these things.

Apple Picking, Warwick, NY

Having fun with friends and family

Pumpkin Carving Party

Toilet Paper Mummies!

Taking a ride to look at the beautiful trees:

I love spending time with my family and enjoying the seasons with them. Of course the holidays, like Halloween, and Thanksgiving, make the Fall even more special and fun.
Wether you get to experience the four seasons or not, I hope you're enjoying your life to the fullest!

Hugs,

Rosa

School Days...School days

2010-09-07T18:33:00.000-04:00

School started today for our kiddos, they reluctantly let me take a few pictures. What is it with some kids and having their picture taken? I managed to take a few nice ones to remember the day by.

I also redecorated by painting one of the walls in our dining room, a few days ago, with chalkboard paint. Not

a look for everybody, but I love it!

Our kids love it also, and ask me all the time to let allow them to write on it, and I will.

This was only the first coat, I painted two.

Found a perfect quote for back to school and put it on the wall:

I decorated the dining room chandelier with a few school ornaments I bought in Kmart, they were from Martha Stewart's Christmas collection a couple of years ago.

I realize the lightbulbs are different, but they're still good; as they burn out I'll make them match. I'm just embracing imperfection, I guess!!

The chandelier really stands out against the black, this is the view from the kitchen:

It's also a great backdrop for pictures:

A few more pictures:

Envelope I decorated for Jason's teacher

Card I made for Jason's teacher

There you have it, a bit of our day.

Thanks for stopping by, have a great day yourself!

Hugs,

Rosa

Summer Vacation 2010- Part 1

2010-08-31T16:24:00.000-04:00

This Summer, we decided to take our kids on a fun yet educational, road trip. We packed our suitcase and headed west to the beautiful and breathtaking, Allegheny Mountains. Our destination spots were: Altoona, Cresson, Gallitzin, and Tyrone, all in the beautiful state of Pennsylvania!. We kept the trip a surprise for our two sons; we wanted to see the surprised look on their faces when we arrived at our destination. Our two boys, like their Dad, LOVE TRAINS!, and this area is a railfan's dream come true as far as train watching is concerned. And boy were they excited!.
In Altoona, we visited the world famous Horseshoe Curve:

Kittanning Reservoir

Below is a westbound trailer train, led by a NS C40-9W and a Conrail SD-50. You can visit this area from April to November. If you've never been there, is a beautiful place to visit. You don't have to be a railfan to appreciate the majestic
views.

We visited The Railroaders Memorial Museum

Cute kitchen...totally my style!

We went to Gallitzin:

Watched trains:

In Part 2, I'll post about the remainder of our fabulous trip.

Hope you've enjoyed the pictures so far.

Big Hugs,

Rosa

One Lucky Birthday Girl

2010-08-19T14:03:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was my birthday. I can't believe how fast time is flying by. The day started by opening birthday cards from my hubby and kids. They gave me gift cards to Barnes and Noble, Panera Bread (Yum!), and Bath & Body Works.
My husband took me out to eat at The Cheesecake Factory...speaking of which, I always order the same things:
the Avocado Rolls (appetizer), Shrimp Scampi and Steak Diane with mashed potatoes ( so good!!). By the time I'm done eating, I don't have room for their delicious cheesecakes.
Afterwards, we went to Barnes and Noble ( I left the gift card at home), however, I did buy three magazines. Then we proceeded to Target (love that place!).
Vince had secretly called a few of my closest friends and relatives to come over later in the evening for cake and coffee. I had a wonderful time with all of them.

In my Birthday Finest

The Birthday Cake

My sister and her boyfriend

Having Fun

Nice Tatoos

My beautiful Family

It was overall, a very happy day!

Thanks to all of you who visit my blog, and have a wonderful day, wherever you may be!

Hugs,

Rosa

Everything's Coming Up: Red,White and Blue

2010-07-06T17:14:00.002-04:00

I hope that if you live in the USA, you had a wonderful, fun, and safe 4th of July!. We celebrated the holiday with a BBQ and pool party, with family and friends. Everybody seemed to have a great time.

This post won't be too long, I just wanted to say hello and leave you with a few pictures of our day. Enjoy!!

I was so inspired by the Summer issue of Martha Stewart (ticket wedding cake), I just had to create my own! I LOVE IT!!

It was really easy to make, Yay!!

I bought different props to take pictures of all our guests as they arrived, I'll be printing and giving a copy to each family so they can have it as a favor from the day:

This is my family and I

We also had confetti poppers for the kids

The chocolate fountain was a big hit with the kids ( and the grownups, too!)

And we ended our festivities with sparklers, I ordered them from Sparklers Online . We had sparklers galore!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures, until next time, stay happy and healthy!

Hugs,

Rosa

A Sweet Celebration...Times Two

2010-03-30T13:03:00.002-04:00

On Saturday, March 27th, we celebrated our daughter's 13th, and our son's 10th birthdays; yes, my two older kids share the same birthday...long story, I won't go into details!. But celebrating their birthdays always poses a challenge for me, due to the fact that they're three years apart, and different genders. Most years we've celebrated their birthdays on the same day, other times, we've celebrated one's birthday first, the other one's the next day...very tiring, but fun!
This year we celebrated the two birthdays on the same day...all I'll say it turned out to be a very interesting experience!
I thought the uber popular CANDY theme fit the bill perfectly, and it did.
I made the invitations in the shape of a giant lollipop:

They turned out so cute, everybody thought the same. I printed the party info on the back, needless to say, there was a great deal of cutting and gluing involved!

I also made party hats for them:

The lollipop is a stamp (once I find where I bought it from, I'll list the source); so perfectly cute!

I decorated with balloons, I made a happy birthday garland with their names, a paper chain,etc.

As you may notice, we had a candy buffet set up, I created the candy labels using the party colors. It looked very beautiful in real life. Here are a couple of more pictures of the cancy buffet:

Since it's close to Easter, it was easy to find candy in the chosen colors.

I bought the pink photo frame at TJMaxx

I even decorated the chandelier with sleeves and keychain mini gumballs machines, I found them in Party City:

And the cake was beautifully decorated, and so delicious!

The birthday girl:

And the birthday boy:

Overall, it turned out to be a fun party, the kids got to play outside, they sprayed each other with fun string, some of the girls made a craft.

Good food, great friends, loads of fun, lots of candy, many presents... what more can two birthday kids wish for?

I hope you enjoyed the pictures, and thanks for stopping by!

Hugs,

Rosa

Happy St. Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T12:33:00.006-05:00

Some of the greater things

in life are unseen
that's why you close your eyes

when you kiss, cry, or dream...~Unknown

Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays of the year. I love the colors associated with it, the decorations, the cards! Love it all!!

I wish all of you a very happy Valentine's Day, shared with those you love!

I'll leave you with some images of my Valentine's decor...enjoy!!

Valentine's treat bags for my son's Jeremy's class.

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy a fabulous day!

XOXO

Rosa

"Mommy, I don't Wanna Be A Cowboy!"

2010-01-27T14:53:00.014-05:00

Our little guy turned 5, on January 13th. Where does the time go?. Every birthday, I try to come up with a theme appropriate to the age, and design the invites, decor, and favor around the chosen theme. I told Jason that the theme for his birthday this year was going to be "a cowboy". As soon as the words left my mouth, he told me: " I don't wanna be a cowboy!"..".but look, I have this adorable cowboy stamp" from http://www.pinkcatstudio.com/. " And...it's only a theme, you're not a real cowboy...." . Needless to say, I had some convincing to do, I didn't think a 5 y/o was so opinionated, was I wrong!

The cowboy theme it was!. Here's a sample of the invitation I made:

The "Wanted" and the star are stamps from http://www.purpleoniondesigns.com. I am really happy with how it turned out.

On the day of the party, my little "cowboy" didn't want to dress the part. I bought him the gingham shirt from Target, got him a red bandanna, a sheriff's badge...no cowboy hat!

He's lost that baby face! Sniff, sniff!!!

We had a few friends over for pizza, cupcakes, ice cream cake. We had a pinata from http://www.birthdayexpress.com, the kids had a blast pulling the strings.

The birthday boy pulling the first string:

For the favors, I used a stamp from http://www.thegreetingfarm.com, and made tags and attached them to a "Reward" goodie bag:

After the party, he opened the gifts he received, and the cowboy issue was forgotten. I asked Jason if he had a good time, he said "Yes, I don't have to be a cowboy anymore, right mom?".

Kids are so funny!

Hugs,

Rosa

Happy New Year!

2010-01-02T13:06:00.003-05:00

Just wanted to pop in and wish everyone a very happy , healthy and prosperous 2010!

May peace prevail on Earth.

Road Trip Part 2

2008-10-07T10:06:00.017-04:00

It's been a while since my last post, but you know how it is, sometimes you have to take care of people and stuff in our lives. I miss blogging, so here I am.

Continuing with our Summer vacation....

We went to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. I love this area, so rich in history, so beautifully

preserved!

It's also part of the Appalachian Trail

The Shenandoah River runs on one side:

And the Potomac River meets the Shenandoah on another side:

We ate at the Secret Six Tavern on High Street, the food was delicious and reasonably priced.

Vince and I, had the Southwestern Shrimp Salad:

YUMMY!

It we ever go back, we'll definitely eat there again!

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We were also in Leesburg, Virginia. I remembered from reading The Cottage G als' blog about the store they run in Leesburg. Vince took me there so I could check out the store in person. If you love the cottage style, this store will make you love it even more.

I adore the aqua color of the entrance door:

They were so gracious in allowing me to take pictures inside, thank you so much ladies!

I loved so many things in that store, now as I look at other pictures I took, I wonder why I didn't buy certain things in those pictures. Quite simple, we didn't have room in the van for more things. However, I did buy a big tin star, which I love!. And believe me, it was quite the adventure driving around with it!!

This store is on the top of my list for when we go back to this area again.

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We also took the kids to Dinosaur Land in Winchester, VA. They have these concrete replicas of different dinosaurs, along with some information pertainig to them. My kids had a lot of fun there!

There are many other dinosaur sculptures, you'd think that you have stepped back in time!. Great place for kids and dinosaur lovers.

I have one more post about our vacation, and then I'll post about stuff I've made and apple picking, Halloween around the house etc.
Check back for those, and I'll try not to be away too long!

A big Hello to Grace, and to Sarah.

Take care of yourselves and hold your loved ones near!

Hugs,

Rosa

First Day of School/ Road Trip Part 1

2008-09-03T19:23:00.011-04:00

It seems like it was yesterday my kids had their last day of school, yet here we go again with the start of a brand new school year. Every September, I take a picture by our front door just to see how they have grown from year to year. Let's see how much longer I can get them to pose for this . Hayley is in 6th grade, and Jeremy is in 3rd grade, Oh my, where have my little babies gone?

I wish them a very happy and successful school year!

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Road Trip Part 1

We started off our road trip in Strasburg, PA. We visited the Pennsylvania Railroad Museum.

Inside, there are numerous locomotives, and different train cars, that have been beautifully restored by volunteers.

Even if you're not a train fan, this is an incredible experience!

Across from the museum, is the Strasburg Railroad Company. You can take a ride in beautifully restored coaches, and dining cars, pulled by an authentic steam locomotive. The ride takes you through corn fields, and by Amish farms. It's very relaxing riding on this train.

An Amish farm:

I love the Amish Country!

And if you feel that you'd like to sleep in a caboose, you can always stay at the Red Caboose Motel in Strasburg:

These are really awesome in person!. We didn't stay in one of these. Instead, we headed to visit some good friends in Germantown, Maryland.

I'll continue with our trip next time.

Take good care,

Hugs,

Rosa

I'm Back...And A Winner

2008-09-01T13:04:00.007-04:00

Hello there,

We're back from our road trip, and after driving (actually, Vince did the driving) 1,358 miles, I feel like a pooped chic(ken)!

We visited many areas, I'll post pictures over the next few days. But I wanted to thank the lovely ladies who left me birthday wishes, thank you for making me feel very special. All were entered to win a birthday crown similar to this one:

I had two helpful assistants pick out a winner...

And without further ado, the winner is....

Congratulations, Maria Elena!

I'll create a crown for you with the colors of your choice.

Once again, thank you all so much!!

Big hugs,

Rosa

It's My Birthday !!

2008-08-18T08:10:00.010-04:00

Yes siree Bob, all day long today!

I always feel extra special on my birthday. Thank God for gifting me with another year, and I wish for many more to celebrate with my loved ones!

Yesterday, we went to The Cheesecake Factory. I love the food in that restaurant, and the great variety of cheesecakes to choose from!. I had to bring my little slice of heaven home with me, as I was so full, I couldn't eat it there... sorry no pictures.

Our tradition for every member of the family is, that, after eating at the restaurant of their choice, we go back to the house for ice cream cake.

That's right, this is how old I am today. What a beautiful number!. I made my own special crown to celebrate!

Some of us were really in a party mood!!

I wanted a picture with all of us, but Mr. Jason... was sound asleep!

But then, he woke up... and the party got started!!

Oh, everybody seems to be having such a great time!

I received wonderful gifts from family and friends. Actually, $$ from the family ( I want a white Brocade Home mirror, unfortunately they are not taking any orders at this time...sniff, sniff).

On the bright side, I received a beautiful tag from Scrappy Jessi, thank you, I love it!!

And from Sarah, a beautiful paper cupcake. So yummy lookin' !!

And to celebrate even more, if you leave me a happy birthday wish on this post, you'll be entered to win a birthday paper crown similar to mine, handmade by me, in the winner's choice of colors!. I'll announce the winner when I return from vacation on August 31st!!

P.S. You can click on the photos to enlarge them to view the crown's details!

Go ahead, make my day even more special!!!

Hugs to all,

Rosa

Show Me Your Form!

2008-08-01T08:18:00.014-04:00

Tiffany at ShabbyScraps is hosting this fabulous dress form party!. When I read her post about how her husband feels about her forms, I had to participate and give her support!!. {Some} men just "don't get" certain items women need to have in our lives.

I don't own a full size form, yet...but it's calling my name from somewhere. I do have a small collection of mini ones, and here they are. I haven't given them names but I love them all.

This one is about 24'' tall. I love the blue flowery dress with the ruffled ribbon collar and hem:

The next one is 21", she used to have a brown and white painted dress, obviously I had to give her a makeover. I painted her blue and decoupaged roses, and painted the pink polka dots, much better!. This is one of my favorite ones!

I had to have this one when I saw it in the PBTeen catalog a while back. They had a full size version, which I was tempted to buy, but didn't. I wish I had though, I love the roses on it... oh, well!

Whenever I can, I buy unfinished ones. I'm hoping to make beautiful paper dresses for them...when I find the time. This one I kept it as is, only added the pink netted skirt, and a beautiful necklace (bracelet) by Sarah.

This one, many of you may remember her from Target:

This pink beauty was bought at Bombay Kids (out of business):

And last but not least, the next two are 12" tall, both were purchased at TJ Maxx, a few moons ago. The black and white one is sporting a bracelet from GAP Kids.

I have a couple of others that didn't make it to the photo shoot!

The funny thing is, yesterday afternoon as I was setting up my makeshift background for the photos outside, I was having a bit of a hard time propping up my background. My husband was in the pool`and I was telling him that I was shooting my mini dress forms to post on the blog in support of a fellow blogger. He's like," oh brother, is there like a $50 thousand prize for showing these around?". I replied, "No...why don't you get out of the pool, and help me by holding the background up for me?". To my surprise, he did!!. After a few minutes of him stading there, he said: " Are you done yet?, it feels cold out here!". I thanked him for helping me and off he went!!

Well, I hope you all enjoy my collection. Thank you so much for stopping by!

And, Thank You, Tiffany for hosting such a beautiful party!!

Take care and have fun,

Rosa

And The Award Goes to... Part One

2008-07-14T10:05:00.005-04:00

I feel more than honored to have been nominated for two awards lately. It really touches my heart when someone feels my blog means something to them ,or that what I have to say or show contributes to the blogging community.

Personally, I love blogs that make you feel welcome, their authors make you feel that you are part of their world. They also do their part to "make the world a cuter place".

I was nominated twice for this award by two very lovely and talented bloggers: Fitty and Betty.
My heartfelt gratitude to you both!

And without further ado, I nominate the following ladies to receive this award:

I hope you ladies accept this award and pass it on to those you feel deserve it. And now for the rules:

Put the logo on your blog
Add a link to the person who awarded you
Nominate at least 7 other blogs
Add links to those blogs on yours
Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs

Next time I'll post about the Arte y Pico Award, given to me by Sandy.

Till then, stay happy and healthy.

Hugs,

Rosa

A Makeover Story

2008-07-03T11:31:00.015-04:00

Inspiration comes from anywhere and everywhere!. I've seen so many beautiful inspiration boards, in blogs and in magazines. I wanted one of my own, so the other day, I went over to my trusty Target store and bought one. The only problem...it was black!. I do love black, but I don't want black in my happy-go-lucky craftroom!. So I decided a little paint here and there never hurt anything or anyone!, or has it?

The black beast:

I sanded it well, painted two coats of primer on:

A couple of coats of pink acrylic paint:

The pink beauty:

But that wasn't enough for my board, I had to pretty it up some more. I found a wooden applique, and a few wooden knobs:

Selected a few colors that would complement the pink ,and here they are:

A few dabs of glue here and there:

I added a few items to it so you can see the final result!

The gilded lily:

I'll be adding other items to it, I'm inspired by so many things and so many people!

INSPIRE ME!

"Look for a lovely thing and you will find it."-Sarah Teasdale

*****************************

Since tomorrow is Independence Day, I just want to wish you all a

Happy 4th of July!

Take care and have fun!

Hugs,

Rosa

Coming Up For Air

2008-06-23T10:14:00.023-04:00

I've been busy... very busy!. It's so nice to be able to take a little break and share some things with you.

Shannon's swap was really fun to participate in, my partner was Linda. And how generous she is!. Look at all the pretty and fun things she sent me, even the kids got some goodies from her. Thank you so much, Linda.

And for the kids:

My kids loved everything, Linda. Those koalas are just too cute!

And these are the parasol items I sent her:

This parasol is double-sided, so all she has to do is turn it over for a different look!

And a wall hanging, isn't this just darling! ( I know, self praise stinks!! lol)

Like I mentioned on a previous post, I think these are the prettiest items I've created so far. i hope Linda enjoys them for a very long time!
I also sent her gift wrap from the Simply Shabby Chic line, and a pearl beaded "L". I didn't take pictures of those.

*****************************

June 19th was the last day of school. You could hear the excited screaming all the way to the moon!

Ah, those school days!

I wish all kids and parents a very happy and safe Summer vacation!

I made two last banners for Jeremy's teacher:

They look a lot nicer in real life!. These were my way of thanking his teacher for a wonderful 2nd grade experience! (If you'd like to see the other banners, they're in my Flickr).

This is it for now, time to get busy again. It's all for a good cause!

Big hugs to all!

Rosa

Happiness Is...

2008-06-13T12:30:00.012-04:00

1. Having a professional gardener to take good care of your garden:

The other day, as I was getting ready to water the plants, Jason said: " I want to do it, mommy", so I said, " go ahead, you can do it". He was so happy, and he really did a great job!

2. Finding the metal dress form I've been looking all over the place for!

Actually, I had seen another one at TJ Maxx about a couple of weeks ago. My friend, Gloria, told me to buy it, but I said I wasn't. Needless to say, I went back a few days later, and surprise!, it was gone. I went on a hunting mission to no avail, no dress form!. Then yesterday, I went to Marshall's and as soon as I spotted it, I made a mad rush toward it! God forbid somebody else was eyeing too!. They had it hanging from a hook, the form wouldn't separate from it without a fight, but alas, it was free at last!

My plan is to hang tags and small collages on it.

3. Receiving my beautiful screen from the Birds and Bonnets Vintage Workshop swap

These panels are truly beautiful works of art. I don't know how Karla and Beth pulled it off but they did a fabulous job at setting these up and and sending them off. Thank you ladies!

From left to right the panels are by:

Sandra Feazel { www.Warehouseartchix.com }
Heather Simpson Bluhm {boobyfish.blogspot.com}

Debra Schoch {hophopjingleboo.blogspot.com}

Jennifer A. Lee

The other side:

From left to right:

Jennifer A. Lee, Debra Schoch, H. Simpson Bluhm and Sandra Feazel.

I love my panels, thank you all so much!!

"We love the things we love for what they are." -Robert Frost

I wish you all a fabulous weekend!

Hugs,

Rosa

Happy Birthday Vincent

2008-06-10T10:22:00.020-04:00

Happy Birthday to our daddy!

Today is my husband's birthday. I hope he celebrates many more happy and healthy ones. I had purchased a birthday banner kit from Candice a couple of months ago. This past weekend I decided to put it together, just in time for hubby's big day. It is so cute, I love how it looks. From now on, I'll hang up this banner in honor of all family members' birthdays.

Have a great one sweetheart!

I hope you all are having a terrific day!

Hugs,

Rosa

Bloom Where You're Planted

2008-06-03T19:31:00.011-04:00

Hello everyone ,

I've been busy with stuff around the house, the kids, finishing up the items for Shannon's Parasol and Paper Swap. I can't show you what I created yet, because I want my partner in the swap to see the items first. All I can say is, these are the prettiest things I've created!, at least I think so. Soon you'll be able to see the pictures, so stay tuned!!

I have been trying to organize my craftroom, this is taking me an eternity, but when I finish, it'll look so pretty... my crafty haven. We had a leak in one of the corners, so I had to repaint that area of the ceiling:

I had painted the faux sky about 8 years ago, this area had the leak, so my hubby patched it up.

Now I'm repainting the sky and the clouds, I will show you the final result when I'm done. This painted sky, will make me feel like I'm creating outdoors.

I love watching real clouds, so this is my indoor version of them.

*****************************

A couple of weeks ago, I received some awesome gifts from my friend, Fitty. These are the lovely items:

She had purchased the same one for herself a while back, and I commented that it's like my living room made into a clock, so being the sweet person that she is, she sent me my own!. Thank you so much Fitty!!. She also sent me a beautiful handmade card, and a felt dress ornament, and a cute notecard:

Thank you again for your generosity Fitty!

*****************************

My favorite flowers are in full bloom, so I'm enjoying these gifts from Mother Nature. I just wish they would last the whole Summer...

Pink roses, my favorite color.

Lupines

The foxgloves

I love tall, spiky flowers. Hollyhocks top my list, but I didn't plant any. I love the double ones especially, I'll try to plant some for next year.

In a couple of weeks, the kids will begin their Summer vacation. I love the warm, long and lazy Summer days !. Let's see what adventures this time of year will bring!

That's all for now. Take care and thank you for stopping by.

Hugs,

Rosa

A Time To Remember

2008-05-27T11:02:00.016-04:00

Hello lovely blogging friends and visitors,

Yesterday , was Memorial Day. As most of us know, this is the day we say thank you to all the men and women ,who have given up their lives and who continue to do so, so that we and our children enjoy the freedom we have!. I'm so grateful to all of them, and may God bless them for what they've done.

We got up early since Jeremy wanted to march in the parade in our town. It was a gorgeous sunny day, and all the people lined up along the parade route to salute the Veterans and all those marching. Here's Jeremy marching with the town's Little League:

By the end of the parade, the boy was exhausted. We finished at Memorial Park. Everyone was treated to hot dogs, sodas and water. Then they had the ceremonies, and the dedication of the wreaths. It's all beautifully done!

Thank you again to all our veterans!

***************************************************

I participated in Karla and Beth's Birds and Bonnets Vintage Workshop swap. We were provided a beautiful collection of printable wallpaper and images by The Vintage Workshop. We had to create four panels decorated on both sides using the images provided, but we could also use our own collage materials and embellishments. I had so much fun creating these! So thank you so much to Karla, Beth and Amy (The Vintage Workshop) for this fabulous swap. We sent our four panels in, and we'll receive four different panels by different swappers, which will be set up to look like a screen. I'm so looking forward to receiving mine!.

Here are the panels I created, the images are the front and back:

I wanted to create something fun and whimsical, I'm happy with how they turned out. I hope whoever gets them we'll love them!

***************************************************

My goddaughter, Caitlin, just turned One. I created a birthday hat just for her. Every year for her birthdays, I'm going to create a hat, it'll be fun to see how they'll look together down the road. I want her to know that I love her!

I hope everyone has a fantastic day. If you can, do something creative!

Hugs,

Rosa

Time to Celebrate and Rejoice

2008-05-19T09:21:00.017-04:00

Good Monday morning to all,

Yesterday we celebrated Jeremy's First Holy Communion. The ceremony took place at the 12 noon Mass . There were approximately 20 kids altogether, taking part in this important sacrament. Here's the handsome young man himself,

We had to help the kids make a banner for their pew, so this is Jeremy's:

It was a beautiful ceremony, and the church was packed.

Afterwards, we went to a local restaurant to celebrate the occasion. The food was delicious!. I made up a menu for the guests, so here it is:

And for the favors, I wrapped store bought chocolate bars with Jeremy's silhouette image. I love how they turned out.

It was a wonderful day for my son and all those involved.

----------------------------------------------------------

I participated in Genevieve's Mermaid Swap. We had to create a mermaid using whatever we wanted to use.

My partner was Sammy @ www.sammystuff.blogspot.com, and she sent me two mermaids with gorgeous beadwork, really amazing work, thank you Sammy!

And I sent her a mixed media Mermaid wallhanging:

This was truly another wonderful swap to participate in!

This is all for now, I hope everybody has a fabulous day.

Till next time,

Hugs,

Rosa

To Be Tagged And To Tag

2008-05-12T11:02:00.005-04:00

Happy Monday everyone,

I hope all the mothers had a fantastic Mother's Day yesterday. My family (in-laws) and I celebrate the day before just to avoid the long wait at most restaurants. So Saturday, we went to Charlie Brown's ( a steakhouse) and we had a wonderful time together. On Sunday, I decided to go to the mall, and do a little shopping. I also treated myself to a nice meal at The Cheesecake Factory. My husband and the kids wanted to go to the park since it was a nice day. I had a very nice and quiet time, and got my shopping done!

A few weeks ago, I was tagged by Irma to list six quirks, habits etc. about me, so here are mine:

I only eat the bottom part of Thomas' English muffins, I find the tops not to be as tasty!
I love eating McDonald's french fries with ketchup, and apple pie at the same time, I like how sweet and salty things taste together.
During the Winter, I need to wear socks, in order to fall asleep
I love the smell of gasoline
I can never have too many pens and pencils
I love to eat, but I hate to cook

Here are the rules of the Tag:

Link to the person that tagged you
Post the rules on your blog
Share 6 weird things/habits/quirks about yourself
Tag six others and let them know they've been tagged

So, I'm tagging six friends whom I think may not have been tagged before!

Ladies get ready and post your six things so we can get to know you better!

Have a beautiful day!

Hugs,

Rosa

The Hurrier I Go, The Behinder I Get

2008-05-08T09:42:00.017-04:00

The title of this post is from a Peanuts card I bought when I was in Jr. High, I always remember it because I find myself doing too much at once, and if I try to make myself go faster, many times I have to start all over again!. There's so much on my plate right now, that's really overwhelming. However, as frazzled as I may become, I just say to myself, take things one at a time.

So I'm running behind saying thanks publicly to Miss Sandy. I won her 100th post giveaway a few weeks back. And let me tell you, everything she sent, was all a treasure!

She placed everything inside a beautiful box:

Here are my fabulous goodies, I felt and I am, so lucky to have won all of these!

As soon as I can I'll be using these to create all sorts of things, so THANK YOU, Miss Sandy!

On a sad note, Sandy's grandmother, Lucille, just passed away on May 5th. Please stop by her blog to offer your sympathy, she'll appreciate it!

And for the Enchanted Swap, hosted by Sarah, these are the beautiful items I received from Jillian, thank you so much. EVERYTHING is amazing, I love all of it!!

Gorgeous treat cone with one of my favorite candies:

She sent beautifully wrapped chocolates for my kids:

I also received her gorgeous rose paper, and pretty ribbons:

All accompanied by a lovely handwritten note:

You're a fantastic swap partner Jillian, thanks again!

This week is teacher appreciation, today's theme was a handwritten note, letter or card for the teachers. I sent this Thank You banner to Jeremy's teacher:

And thank you to all the wonderful teachers out there!

I was tagged by Irma, to list some quirky things, or habits of mine. I haven't forgotten about it Irma, I'll write about them in my next post. Thanks for tagging me!

Well, now it's time to get off the computer and work on things!

Have a great Thursday my friends,

Hugs and kisses,

Rosa

Happy 16th Wedding Anniversary

2008-05-02T10:49:00.009-04:00

Hello lovely friends in blogland,

Today my hubby and I, are celebrating our 16th wedding anniversary. We met during our senior year in High School. We didn't attend school together, he went to an all boys catholic high school (Cardinal Hayes), and I went to an all girls catholic high school (Mother Cabrini). But as fate would have it, we met because of a ball going over a parking lot fence!. My brother and Vincent used to play with other kids from the neighborhood on this parking lot in front of our building in NYC. One day, I was coming home from a part time job, and the boys were playing baseball. Just as I was passing by, somebody hit the ball out of the lot and I went and got it. Being the tomboy I was, I threw the ball back with all I had. Needless to say, Vince noticed me. I happened to stop to say hello to my brother who was by the fence. After I proceeded on my way home, Vince asked my brother if he knew that girl. My brother said " sure I know her, she's my sister!". Lo and behold, after that Mr. Vincent would try to find any excuse to visit my brother at our apartment. Little by little, we started talking and YADA, YADA,YADA, here we are 26 years later: 16 years married and three cutie pies!

This photo was taken the day of my graduation, we went to dinner with my family to celebrate.

(June, 1983 )

On our wedding day, Saturday (May 2, 1992)

Expecting our daughter (September, 1996)

With our daughter, Hayley ( August, 1997 )

With our middle son, Jeremy ( June, 2000)

With our three cutie pies! February 2006.

We've had happy times, sad times. We've had laughter, and tears. We had a miscarriage ( a little angel in heaven), but through it all, we've been together. May we continue this way for the rest of our lives.

I LOVE YOU, VINCENT, WITH ALL MY HEART!

Happy Anniversary to us!!

Thank you for sharing this special occasion!

Take care and enjoy your loved ones.

Hugs,

Rosa

Jessi's Childhood Toys Party

2008-05-01T08:54:00.005-04:00

Good morning, buenos dias, if this is your first time visiting my blog: Welcome, bienvenida, bienvenue, I'm so excited you're here!. If you have visited me before, thank you so much, feel right at home!
WELCOME ALL!!

Leave it up to Jessi to come up with something fun to blog about!. At first, I thought what a great idea, but then I realized, I don't have any pictures of me as a child with toys. So I just wrote to her and said I would visit the links of the participants. She is such a doll, she said to me you don't have to have pictures of you as a child with toys. Just google some!

I thought and I thought some more. I used to play with Midge, so I looked up some websites, but I couldn't borrow the pictures because they are copyrighted. I looked on Ebay, but I didn't want to post pictures of a naked Midge, so I discarded that idea.

I loved coloring books as a child, but I couldn't find a picture of a coloring book that I would paint, so that was the end of that!

I was also a bit of a tomboy, I used to play with marbles, homemade kites, baseball, etc.

But then I remembered, I have my mom's old albums and guess what?. I found a picture of me when I was 4 years old with a stuffed poodle, I am so thrilled!. So here it is:

I think this is when my love for french things must have started!

Thank you Jessi, for making me think and remember some things about my childhood that I hadn't thought about in years. But I do remember, I was a very happy child!

Take care, and I'm off to visit the links after all!

Hugs to all,

Rosa

Good And Plenty

2008-04-27T15:26:00.020-04:00

Sunday greetings to all,

I'm posting today since I have a few minutes to spare. The kids go back to school tomorrow, now it's my hubby's turn for time off. He teaches at a technical college in NYC, so he has a week and a half off, until next trimester starts. I'll take advantage of this and finish setting up my craftroom, once and for all!. Finish a couple of swaps, and get ready for our son's First Communion, etc.

I have a few pictures to share, so here they are...

My partner for this swap was the lovely and talented, Jillian. I wanted to create something really special for her. One of my favorite parts in the movie is when Giselle makes a dress out of Robert's living room curtains. I wanted to recreate that dress and voila!...

I had a challenging adventure trying to fold the paper, but I succeeded, and I am very happy with how it turned out!. And being the daughter of a talented seamstress, rubbed off on me!

I also felt I needed to make her a crown, we girls can never, ever have too many of these...

And I thought, why not make a mini album depicting the items, so here's what I made...

I adore this little album, It turned out super cute!

And for her daughter, Kayla, I made this banner:

This was definitely a very fun swap!. Thank you Sarah for coming up with this one!!

I've also been busy creating my son Jeremy's First Communion invitations, I tried to make it as cute as possible, but what is it with boys' things?

I love silhouettes, so I took his profile picture, and created one of the communion boy himself ,it turned out pretty cool!. I printed the ceremony info on the back, I normally make my invites this way. I'll be wrapping them up with aqua colored tissue paper, and I'm using white ribbon to tie them up. These are going to be hand delivered, that's why I'm using tissue paper.

Next, I'll be doing the favors, I'll post a picture of those soon.

In my next post, I'll be showing you the wonderful items Miss Sandy sent me for winning her 100th post Giveaway! Lots of terrific goodies!!

Until next time, stay healthy and happy!

Big Hugs,

Rosa

Blogging Goodness

2008-04-23T11:32:00.017-04:00

Hello my lovelies,

I'm just a tid bit busy with a few things around the house, and the kids are on Spring break!. I do try and visit your blogs and leave comments, I don't want to be forgotten!!

I'm signed up for two lovely swaps. Sonya told me about Karla and Beth's Birds & Bonnets Vintage Workshop Swap:

This is going to be lots of fun. We have to create four panels, and decorate both sides with images provided to us.

The second swap is a Mermaid Swap, this one is hosted by Genevieve. We are to create a mermaid using any media we like. My partner for this swap is Sammy, who by the way creates beautiful dolls, I'm very excited to see what she comes up with!

I contacted Sarah to create a custom bracelet for my husband's goddaughter, who'll be making her First Communion on May 4th. She created a beautiful bracelet, very girly by the way. Thank you Sarah.

She also sent me the prettiest wall hanging surprise, that really touched my heart!

Every time I see it, it brings a smile to my face!

And she also made a beautiful card, and everything was beautifully packaged, I almost didn't want to open them.

This is why I love blogging so much... the opportunity to meet so many wonderful people, whom I would have never met, otherwise!

Thank you all so much.

Hugs,

Rosa

Mouse In The House

2008-04-17T10:00:00.010-04:00

Our 3 year old, Jason, has a hereditary fascination with trains. So does his brother, Jeremy. My husband being the railroad fanatic that he is, has exposed our children from the day we've brought them home from the hospital, to this hobby of his. It's a good thing, we all have our hobbies in this house. Anyway, when we started house hunting 10 years ago, one of the items on my husband's wish list was, a house with a big basement. It's been his childhood dream to have a permanent model train layout. We found the house with the basement, and he has slowly but surely, finished the basement and has set up his railroad...it's a work in progress.
Any opportunity Mr. Jason gets to go to the basement...he heads to the layout. The problem is, he's always breaking something, moves trains from one place to another, looses something my hubby needs, etc. So dear husband decided to put up a gate so when he's not home, Mr. Jason has no access to the train area. But lo and behold, he still gets in there!

"Oh no, I've been caught red handed!"

The "little mouse", has been sneaking in through another side, mind you, he has to go through a stack of paint cans, a small hamper, a portable plastic rolling cart, and through a space that's about 6 inches wide

But the look on his face says it all!

Since the benchwork where the tracks are is so high, that's no deterrent

He'll move this stool all around the layout!

Here are a few more pictures of our "mouse" in action

And a few more shots of the layout

At least he is enjoying himself, that's all that really matters!

Have a great day.

Huggies,

Rosa

All So Pretty

2008-04-15T16:50:00.011-04:00

Good afternoon mis amigas (my friends),

Didn't have time till this afternoon to post the cuties I have to show you, but here they are. So sit back, and enjoy...

First off , last Tuesday, we went to my son Jeremy's class for some activities in his classroom. The kids get to read books they've written and illustrated to their families, they really do a good job and feel so proud

Remember a couple of banners or pennants I've shown before and I mentioned they're for my son's second grade teacher? Well, here they are hanging in the classroom. What do you think?

They look really nice in person!

If you are a Cath Kidston fan like I am, Barnes and Noble carries her stationery line, notebooks,stickers, recipe holder. Simply gorgeous!

I'm planning on using the paper for some projects, never mind writing on them!

And I received my "Celebrate" banner from Bristol. When I opened up the package and saw the banner, I became speechless. It is so beautiful, I love it!!

On the back, she decoupaged the poem, "Our Playhouse". It's a beautiful poem written by her great-grandfather, this really took my breath away! Thanks again Bristol.

She also sent me many wonderful little extras, I'll be creating with these for sure!!

And speaking of Bristol, she is opening her website store, Honey Bend Vintage on May 2nd ( this is also my 16th wedding anniversary!). Mark it on your calendars, she'll have many fun things!

I love anything France or french related, so when I saw this paper Eiffel Tower on Krisl Hurst'sEtsy store, I knew I had to get one!

OOH LA LA, tres magnifique!

Did you all enjoy all these pretties? I hope so!

Till next time.

Big hugs,

Rosa

Make Time To Play

2008-04-14T16:24:00.008-04:00

Hi my darling friends,

This is going to be short and sweet, and no photos for today. Tomorrow I'll be back with pretty things to show you. I just need to get caught up with some things that require my time today.
My sweet friend, Sarah has invited me to play the "Six Words Mermoir" game. So here it goes:

Write your own six words Memoir
Post it on your blog
Link to the person who tagged you (see above)
Tag 5 more blogs with links ( Leave a comment on their blog with an invitation to play)

Here's my Memoir: Make Time to Love and Create

Yeap! That sums me up alright!

I wish I could tag more than five people but I'll go by the game rules. I'd like to extend this invitation to:

Hopefully, these lovely ladies will accept my invite and play along!

I'll be back tomorrow with a picture of the BEAUTIFUL banner I received from Bristol, and other lovelies.

Till then, take good care and be happy!

Huggies,

Rosa

Lovely Bits

2008-04-10T13:46:00.014-04:00

Hello dear friends,

This is my idea of a good breakfast: Portuguese Roll with cheddar cheese Panini, and a good cup of coffee. If I don't eat breakfast, I can't function!

I have a few things to share with you today; now that I'm ready!

I participated in Tamy's Celebrate Banner Swap. My partner for this swap is Bristol.

Based on her color choices, this is the banner I created for her. I hope she likes it!

I also sent her some goodies along to help her "celebrate".

I had a great time creating these items for her. I'll post a picture of the banner she created for me as soon as I receive it.

And I placed an order from Tiffany, and she wrapped them up so beautifully! She sells many vintage items, like, the sweetest Mother Goose pages, flash cards, pom pom ribbons etc. Go check out her website : Shabby Scraps Boutique. Her blog is full of eye candy!

And this is a peek for the "Enchanted Swap". My partner is the lovely and very talented Jillian,I don't want to show too much, because she reads my blog and I don't want to spoil the surprise for her! ( Hi Jillian!)

I'm hoping this turns out as pretty as I envision it in my head. Don't worry, I'll post pictures when I'm done and after she receives it!

In my next post, I'll be sharing some other cute things, I've gotten lately.

So, until next time...

Huggies,

Rosa

Good Things

2008-04-07T14:21:00.010-04:00

Hi sweet blogging friends,

Above, is one of a few sap buckets I own, I'll post pictures of the other ones over time. Can't show everything at once, right?. I have this one in my craft room, it's one of my favorite ones.

Today I received the sweetest gifts from Sonya, she was the first person to leave a comment on my blog, and that meant a lot to me. Every time I have a comment from her, it brings a smile to my face. She is also very creative, so go check her blog and say hi to her. She is lovely! These are the items she sent me:

A beautiful journal (looks like my living room!), a sweet friends tag, pen and sticky notes with pink roses all over , very Shabby Chic!

Three unfinished wood cutouts, I will have fun creating with these:

And the cutest and sweetest birdhouse ( I'm in love with it!), I've ever seen!

It's beyond CUTE!

Thank you so much Sonya, I'll treasure these gifts forever. Above all, thank you for your friendship!!

And speaking of friendship, I'm also getting to know, Jessi. I love that she is always doing something fun, she's creative, energetic and she makes time for people. I'm sure many of you know who she is. Jessi and I, are exchanging seasonal tags. We just received each other's Spring tags.

She sent me this beautiful tag:

Thank you Jessi, I'm looking forward to the Summer tag!!

This is the one I sent her:

I have something special planned for the Summer tag, so stay tuned!

And the following is the Spring banner/pennant I created for my son's second grade teacher:

Tomorrow we have activities in his classroom, I'll take a picture of all the banners together for you to see.

That's it for now. Till next time.

Hugs, Rosa

An American Girl in New York city- Part 3

2008-04-06T17:24:00.011-04:00

Hello Everyone,

This the the final entry about our trip to NYC (The Big Apple). I suppose some of you have had the opportunity to visit New York City, and for those of you who have not, I truly hope you will some day. For now, I'd like to share a few photos of three places in the city.

The following shows the south side of St. Patrick's Cathedral. It's beautiful inside and out!

Next, are the Channel Gardens in Rockefeller Plaza. Depending on the time of year, they have beautiful displays that represent the season

This the famous Rockefeller Ice Skating Rink

This area is beautiful in person, and there's always something fun and interesting to see. This is where the Christmas Tree is placed during the Chritmas season. At this particular time, there is an Electric Fountain on display

And the next picture shows where the Today Show takes place

And finally, on our way home, we walked through Times Square. This area is gorgeous at night with all the billboards, and the lights

I hope you enjoy this little glimpse of NYC, there's a lot more to see. Next time we go to New York, we'll go see "The Little Mermaid" on Broadway.

I'll be back soon. Until then, take care and be well.

Hugs,

Rosa

An American Girl in New York City- Part2

2008-04-02T10:58:00.015-04:00

Hello everyone, how are you today?

This is the second entry about our recent visit to the American Girl Place in NYC. I'll continue with our entree selections.

My mom and I had Tuscan Chicken Salad (VERY GOOD, VERY FILLING!):

Katarina (AKA Kathy), had Chicken Tenders:

And Nellie (Hayley's special guest) only had tea:

The girls can sit their doll(s) at the table.

We accompanied our meals with Pink Lemonade ( VERY LEMONY!!):

CHEERS!

And for dessert, we had Chocolate Mousse Flowerpot, Festive Heart Cake and Seasonal Sugar Cookie ( YUM, YUM...YUMMY!), delicious and pretty!!. My mom and I had cappuccinos, Kathy had green tea. The waiter put a birthday candle on Kathy's ( she turned 24 on March 25th), and on Hayley's heart cakes, and we sang Happy Birthday to them.

Here we are enjoying our time together:

This is my mom, Luz

Hayley and her doll Nellie( top photo)

And yours truly... this is ME!

Kathy and Hayley

Hayley and I

After our lunch, it was time for some shopping, something that some of us do too much of!

Miss Hayley bought the new Girl of The Year: Mia. She also bought some outfits for her dolls; and Kathy bought Hayley another outfit as her birthday gift- Thank you Kathy

We had a wonderful time ! . One of these days, we'll go back there for Tea.

I'll post part 3 , the final installment in this series as soon as I can.

Take care and big hugs,

Rosa

Enchanted Swap

2008-04-01T10:22:00.003-04:00

Signed up for another fun swap hosted by the lovely Sarah, please go check it out. She was inspired by Disney's "Enchanted" movie, I personally love this movie!. It'll be interesting to see what the swap participants come up with.

Have a truly beautiful Tuesday!

Hugs,

Rosa

An American Girl in New York City- Part 1

2008-03-31T08:42:00.010-04:00

Buenos dias, good morning, Bonjour, to my lovely blogland friends!

Yesterday, Hayley, my mom (Luz), my cousin (Katarina), and I went to have lunch at the

American Girl Place in NYC (Manhattan, The Big Apple). This was part of Hayley's birthday present. If you have a little girl in your life, it's definitely worth visiting. I love seeing all the girls walking around with their dolls in their arms, the excitement on their faces as they spot an outfit for their dolls. I love it when girls act their age, there's a sense of innocence to them, that only childhood provides.The AGP Cafe is beautifully decorated, there are painted flowers on the walls, dramatic black and white stripes, scalloped mirrors, lots of different shades of pink all over, everything screams out "GIRLY". The food is delicious, and the service is superb!. I love all the little details!

This is the sign at the entrance to the cafe:

And inside (actually we were in one of their private rooms, the main dining area is decorated differently, unfortunately I didn't take a picture of it)

On the table:

The girls get to keep the napkin ring ( a pony tail holder, CLEVER!)

The polka dot box has conversation prompts inside, CUTE!!

And a Warm Welcome: ( Cinnamon Buns, DELICIOSO) Oops, didn't take a picture of those!.

This was followed by the First Course: Pretzel bread with honey mustard, fresh fruit, cheese triangles, vegetable crudites and chicken salad boats, YUMMY!!

Our Entree Selections:

Hayley: Tic-Tac-Toe Pizza (she didn't like it),

So our waiter brought her instead, Bitty Bites:

I'll continue this post next time. But I thought that some of you may be wondering what I look like, here I am....

Oh well, close enough, lol!

I'll post a picture of what I really look like, next time!!

Have a great Monday.

Hugs, Rosa

To Be Continued...

Hanging Up Springtime Swap

2008-03-28T09:56:00.011-04:00

I've been wanting to post pictures of the swap items I received for Sarah's Hanging Up Springtime Swap. She did a wonderful job putting all the items on a clothesline for all the participants. Aren't those tiny clothespins the cutest?!. I love everything!!

Here are the items I received:

Bird, from Priscilla:

Gloves are from Jessi:

The dress is from Linda:

The bloomers are from Vivian (http://vivs-whimsy.blogspot.com/)

The butterfly is from Nancy:

And last but not least, the hat is from Patricia (http://theunfinishedflower.blogspot.com/)

Here they are, hanging in my living room:

Aren't they adorable?

I hope you like them too!

Have a great day.

Hugs,

Rosa

Happy Birthday Hayley and Jeremy

2008-03-27T15:46:00.006-04:00

Today my daughter, Hayley, is turning 11; and my son, Jeremy, is turning 8. Yes, they were born on the same day, three years apart. It's hard to believe these two munchkins are growing up too fast.

This is Hayley at two days old:

Here she is at 11 years old:

And here is Mr. Jeremy at two days old:

And 8 years later...

I want to wish them both many happy and healthy birthdays!

I'll be back later to post about the Hanging Up Springtime Swap!

Hugs,

Rosa

It's All In The Details!

2008-03-26T14:26:00.010-04:00

Detail... when I think about it, it's the reason why I do the things I do; it's what makes me buy magazines, hold on to catalogs, read blogs, even buy some movies on DVD. I'm always looking for that "special" little touch.

Recently, I picked up the recent issue of Home & Heart magazine

If you haven't seen it yet, go ahead and check it out. It's loaded with beautiful details to make any party, one that your guests are sure to remember. It has ideas for a Fairy Party, a tea party, an adorable diaper cake and so on.

I also love it when, I open up a package, and the presentation takes my breath away. It could something as simple as a pretty ribbon wrapped around the item. It can also be a handwritten thank you. To me these little details say " I put a great deal of care doing this", or " I value you as a customer". I buy many things online, these are some of the details that I've received with the items:

From One Hundred Wishes

Andrea sends her items beautifully packaged, and inside she places the heart shaped lollipop, and a handwritten postcard, no matter how many times I've ordered from her.

I also buy from Peacoats and Party Hats, Candice Carpenter's new website. I love this plastic balloon bouquet she sent!

Isn't this cute?

That's me, always weak at the knees when it comes to details!

That's all for now. Tomorrow I'll show you the beautiful swap items I received today for Sarah's

Hanging Up Springtime Swap.

Hugs, Rosa

A Little Bit of This...And A Little Bit of That

2008-03-25T09:32:00.006-04:00

Bit #1

I'm going to post a few tidbits along with their respective photos for your enjoyment. On Good Friday, my hubby and I, went to IKEA to buy a sofa bed for my craft room. We need it in case we have any guest sleep over. Since it is in the craft room, it'll be up to them if they want to sleep or craft/scrapbook all night(lol)!.

Anybody wants to come visit?. So here it is:

Bit#2

On Saturday, my In-Laws came over to go out to eat an early Easter dinner. We do this every year in order to avoid waiting too long to be seated to eat. After dinner we returned to our house, the kids received their Easter bags and birthday gifts from them, and we also had an ice cream cake to sing an early Happy Birthday to them. I am blessed with the greatest in-laws you can ever wish for!. I love them!!.We have this cute little sign in the bathroom, and my mother-in law is the only person that takes it seriously( she even gives more than what it says):

Bit#3

Ever since the start of the school year, I've been making banners about different holidays and such for my son Jeremy's Second Grade teacher ( he's the kind of teacher I would've love to have had!). If you want to check the other banners I've made for him, they are in my Flickr. I'm running behind schedule with the banners, on Monday this is the one I sent him:

Bit#4

I e-mailed Jessi, to ask her if she was interested in a tag for her TAG GATE, she's so energetic and fun and it comes through in her blog. So go visit her if you haven't done so already. Yesterday, I received a few tags from her. Thank you Jessi, you are sweet!. I mailed her tags today, I won't show them now, so I don't spoil her surprise!!. These are the ones she sent me:

Bit#5

Thank you for stopping by, and for your lovely comments. I treasure each very much!

For those who don't like to leave comments, don't be shy, and say hello!. I'd like to get to know you too.

I'll be back tomorrow with a post about DETAILS.

Have a Terrific Tuesday,

Hugs,

Rosa

Happy Easter!

2008-03-23T14:33:00.006-04:00

We are having one gorgeous Easter Sunday. It's sunny and not too cold... just perfect!. I took the kids outside to snap a picture, and you know how it is when there's more than one child involved, so and so look at the camera, then to the other one: "stop making funny faces!", well here they are

They were a bit upset earlier, the Easter Bunny didn't leave eggs outside this year. But once inside, their Easter baskets were on the table awaiting the lucky recipients

They were happy to find different goodies in their baskets

So, from our family to yours: "Have a very Happy Easter with the ones you love".

Hugs,

Rosa

Le Printemps

2008-03-20T12:48:00.006-04:00

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SPRING...the thought of it makes me want to learn to speak French, hence the title!. I love Spring, I can put away the heavy coat!!. Soon, the birds will start chirping, the tulips will bloom...warmer weather is on its way... I took a picture of some crocuses (or croci) by our fence. To me, they officially say: "Spring is here".

It also means, I have some major Spring cleaning and organizing to do. I finally organized "a closet" in our spare bedroom. This is now my craft/scraproom. I'll just show you this area for now. The rest of the room looks like a ' before' scene from TLC's "Clean Sweep", so I'm not going to show that today, but soon, I promise!. Last weekend, we went to Lowe's to pick up the wire shelves, brackets and paint ( I used Laura Ashley's Jade Bath).

No wonder I feel so tired today!!!

Take care, I'll be back soon.

Hugs, Rosa

Edit: The boxes on the second shelf from the top were bought at The Rag Shop(unfortunately, they went out of business). Everything else, except for the pink organizer at the end of the fourth shelf from the top, was bought at Target.

Getting Ready for Easter

2008-03-18T14:11:00.005-04:00

Since Easter is around the corner, I thought i'd better start decorating. Sometimes I feel a certain lack of " wall real estate" to display the items, don't you feel that way?. Here's a sampling of Easter items in our home:

Oh well, time to get my kids' Easter baskets ready!

Be well and happy until next time.

Hugs,

Rosa

TARGET finds #1

2008-03-17T13:07:00.008-04:00

First off, happy Monday!. Hi, my name is Rosa...and I am a Target shop-a-holic. I remember the first time I went to one of these stores ( about 13 years ago ), I thought, what's the big deal?. I didn't care too much about it, I wasn't impressed at all. It all started when we moved to our house, about 10 years now. We needed some things for our new place, so there I was back at Target. It was like instant love!!. To make my story short, I shop at Target at least once a week. Do you think I need help?

My husband definetly thinks so!. From now on, I'll post pictures of my finds in case anybody sees something...and wants to go and buy it. So these are my latest acquisitions:

On top, are storage bins. I'll use these to store my scrapbook kits. On the bottom, a shower curtain, and bath rug.

Top picture, some cute pails I found on the Easter aisle. In these, I'll store paper clips, rubber bands, push pins... you get the picture. The bottom picture, a beautiful Scrapbook kit( georgeous

pattern paper included), a binder, address book, and tissue paper.

So if you've seen anything you like, go get it before it's gone!

Hugs, Rosa

Signed Up for New Swap

2008-03-14T09:13:00.000-04:00

It's being hosted by Tamy over at GaGaforGarlands. We'll be assigned a partner, and using our

partner's two chosen color combos, we'll create a rectangular banner with the word "celebrate"
incorporated somewhere on it. I love banners, so I'm looking forward to getting started!

This is our youngest son, Jason. He keeps mommy on the go all day long, so when he naps, it's like winning the lottery!. We were getting ready to go to the post office, so I said to him, "let me take a couple of pictures of mommy's little helper", I must say he's very cooperative when it comes to letting me take pictures of him. I adore this little guy!

Till next time,

Hugs, Rosa

Daffodils For Moi

2008-03-13T15:53:00.000-04:00

On Monday, my hubby comes home from work and I see him pulling out a bouquet out of his backpack. Suspiciously I asked: " You got me flowers?", he had this little smirck on his face, so I immediately said, "A student gave you those, right?!, to which he nodded and then exclaimed,

"I don't know why..." Nonetheless, I thanked him for being "so thoughtful". What's a wife to do?... I grabbed one of my vases, filled it water, added some sugar and voila', they haven't withered!. I love Spring so it's nice to have a small part of it inside the house, before it's officially here.

Stripes Here...Stripes There

2008-03-10T14:10:00.000-04:00

Everywhere Stripes... This is one of my favorite wall treatments. The first stripes I painted were in my daughter's former bedroom. I changed it from pink, to white and yellow stripes; she was going to be sharing her room with a baby brother, and I wanted the room to be gender neutral. I painted this room about 7 years ago, and I still love it to this day. It's going to be my crafts/scrapbooking room now. I'll post pictures of it when I finish setting it up.

This is how our living room looks now. It used to be painted yellow, I had a French Country look for a while but I grew tired of it

This is our daughter's present bedroom. Our princess is growing up so she needs a room of her

own. The mermaid on the wall was painted by her, when she was 9 years old ( she's turning 11 on March 27th)

Our only bathroom also gets the stripes treatment!

To sum it up, I paint stripes all over the place: my sister's apartment, my mother's apartment, my brother's house, and at a friend's also.

So I guess you can call me stripes happy!

Untill next time,

Hugs, Rosa

A Rose...Is A Rose

2008-03-07T15:04:00.000-05:00

I love roses, all kinds and all colors. I'm in awe of artists who capture their beauty. One such artist is Jill Serrao (talk about talent!). For the last couple of years I've acquired a few of her rose paintings. She paints her roses on wooden plaques, old windows, cabinet panels, and furniture to name a few. So go check out her website www.rosecottagechic.com, you won't be dissapointed. And above all, she is as lovely as can be. These are some of the pieces of her art I have in my home, enjoy!

The following piece I bought from Jo-Anne Coletti, about 2 or 3 years ago. I cherish this piece very much.

Another love of mine are rose plates. I'm hoping to get some more in the future.

Till next time, Rosa

My First Swap Ever

2008-02-28T18:25:00.000-05:00

These are the items I created for Sarah's Hanging Up Springtime Swap. I had so much fun creating them, and I hope whoever ends up receiving these will really like them. I had them on display in my daughter's room, so now I'm going to create one for her to keep. So, thanks Sarah for hosting such a fun swap!

Take care, Rosa

Testing ...Testing

2008-02-19T19:06:00.000-05:00

This is my very first post. It took me an eternity to choose a name for my blog, but the one I chose pretty much reflects a little bit of me. As I get better at this, I'll write about my home, my family, and the things that I enjoy. So will you join me on this adventure?. I hope so!

Be well,

Rosa