A "Spooky" Show and Tell

I had a special delivery yesterday - oh goodie!! Would you like to see what is in the box?


Yeah, it's my order from D. Blumchen & Co.!



Look at the adorable party favor baskets!



Retro Halloween Cutouts -






Some decorative festooning and garland - oh, I can't wait to decorate - do you think it's too early for Halloween???



I also got an adorable book of Halloween Stickers.



I wonder what Ron has up his sleeve for our outdoor decorations this year. Here's a post from last Halloween. 2007 Halloween


I can't wait to visit Visit Kelli's Kelli's Place for more wonderful SNT posts! Have a wonderful day and weekend, everyone!

Show & Tell Friday - Still Life

Happy Friday! This week's post is a short & sweet one. We have guests coming this weekend so I'm getting ready for their arrival. This is a painting that my Mother painted about a year before she became ill. She took beginning art classes and created some very lovely oil paintings. I recently had this one re-framed and it now hangs proudly in our family room.

Visit Kelli's Kelli's Place for more wonderful SNT posts! I have really enjoyed contributing and reading other's, its a lot of fun!

Tuesday's With Michael - Photographs and Memories

I was down in the basement this morning doing a little cleaning while waiting for Michael to get home from Kindergarten and I ran across a storage bin of Michael's old clothes. In this bin was this cute onesie that he wore during his first Christmas. Also in there was the adorable Santa suit that I dressed him in to take his first Christmas photo. I can't bear the thought of donating them so they will go into my cedar chest for safe keeping.

Also this morning, I had an email that the photography studio we went to a couple of times, Sadies, is closing. :( The photos they took were outstanding and I have uploaded a few from his "first professional shoot". I hope you enjoy looking at our little one. The past five years have just flown by. Now, he's a big Kindergartener, can you believe it?

Here he is in a big pile of Bears! He loved it!



I had this one made into a black and white photo, it looks like it could have been taken in the 50's or 60's.



This is a close up - these photos have not been retouched - don't you love those cheeks?



Here we are, one happy and blessed family. What fun we had that!

Show and Tell Friday - Crocks and Stuff

Happy Friday to everyone!

I wanted to show you some crocks that I have gathered on my travels. A friend of mine gave me this before she moved to Arizona. It's in my guest bedroom and has a basket of flowers on it usually, but I'm in the middle of putting in the fall flowers.



This one is in my foyer and I change the flowers with the seasons. I love this bunch of "faux" hydrangeas!


One of my dearest friends had this crock made of our house. We were married in 2000 and bought this house that same year. It sits on a cute table in my foyer.





Here is a photo of that table in the little nook. The clock was made for my Mom from the Bradford Exchange some time in the 70's. I love it! The little photo of Michael is one my most favorites.


I hope you enjoyed my little post. Wishing you all a wonderful weekend. Visit Kelli's Place Kelli's Place for more wonderful SNT posts!

Old Friends

A few weeks ago, a friend and I decided to go visit some old friends - of the Equine variety. We used to go to a local stable and groom and take a few school horses out on the trails in the forest preserves. The stable we went to was sold and the land re-developed. The farm/stable relocated about 20 miles from the original place and we wondered if any of our friends made the journey.

We were happy to find out that many of them did! Here is my friend with a cute Appy named Ticker. He's in his 20's now but still in good shape. His owner just uses him for walk/trot lessons.





This is C.G. He used to be a barrel racer. What a nice horse, fun to ride.



It was nice to see them again and smell the barn smells - I miss it. In fact, this has spurred me on to find a local stable so I can start lessons again this fall!

Show and Tell Friday - My Kinda Town

Chicago Is! For this week's Show and Tell, I have decided to show you around the great town of Chicago! I moved here in 1986 and have loved every minute of it! Though we now live about 60 miles northwest of the city, it's an easy commute by train.

This past Sunday we decided to take the Metra train to the city. It was a beautiful, no humidity day. Michael got a kick out of the train ride.


We stopped for a photo op at the river near Monroe Street.



Look up, waaaay up....(gulp)



After 9/11, I can't say that I've been too keen on going to the top of the Sears Tower, but I'm sure glad that I did...what a view!

I'm on the top of the world, looking down on creation...



Michael had a blast!



This photo is from a side of the building where you can look straight down to the river.


We took a water taxi to Navy Pier. This is a great way to see the wonderful architectural buildings here.



I worked in this building for 8 years, boy, those were the days! I worked for two awesome companies and am very grateful for the opportunity to learn from the best and to explore this wonderful city on a daily basis.


Love the name of this boat! Remember the Seinfeld episode?? Makes me laugh to this day!






This is the new Trump Tower that is going up. Some people have already moved into it. It's across from the Tribune Tower.



When we got to Navy Pier, we took a ride on the Ferris Wheel, it takes 7 minutes to go around once, nice and slow so you can enjoy the sites from on top.








Beautiful skyline. I hope you have enjoyed my little tour of Chicago.



Visit Kelli's Place Kelli's Place for more wonderful SNT posts and have a great long Labor Day weekend!

Walking With Dinosaurs

We took Michael to see Walking With Dinosaurs at the United Center. It was a pretty cool production, especially if you are a 5 year old boy!

The show was narrated by a Paleontologist and we got to see 15 different species of Dinosaurs.

We saw Utah Raptors...


Braciosaurus...


Sometimes the noise was deafening!


Torosaurus...


And the Grand Daddy of them all...

Show and Tell Friday - August 15, 2008

For today's Show and Tell Friday, I'd like to introduce you to a little gem of a place here in the Chicagoland area - The Chicago Botanic Garden. This past Saturday we went to the Kite Festival at the Garden. We went to our first kite festival two years ago and had so much fun - I'm glad that we were able to go again this year.

Let's Go Fly A Kite!



You are encouraged to bring (or buy) a kite and fly it during breaks between the demonstrations.



The Chicago Fire is a sychronized kite flying drill team. The music they coordinate their routines to is wonderful and they are amazing! It was a beautiful day.


After the demonstrations we strolled through the gardens and took a few photos.


Isn't this rose lovely?



This makes me think that it belongs somewhere in France.



Another grouping of beautiful roses.




Pretty water lily.


I hope you enjoyed your visit to the garden. Please visit Kelli's Place Kelli's Place for more wonderful SNT posts and have a great weekend!

Show and Tell Friday

I'm a day late and a dollar short on my post this week. I was having computer problems yesterday but all is fine now.

I would like to show you some more treasures that I have displayed in my china cabinet. Most of the treasures were collected by my Mom.

This adorable, hand painted little bud vase is just precious.





I don't know where/when my Mom found this, it is "signed" on the bottom. Could it really be almost 90 years old?!?



I have always liked this cream and sugar set. It was made for the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. Has anyone ever stayed at the Waldorf Astoria? I have never been to NYC but would love to go one day.








Visit Kelli's Place Kelli's Place for more wonderful SNT posts and have a great weekend!