Heading to the cottage for Easter

Heading out to the cottage on Good Friday

for the whole Easter weekend...

My sweet girl and I are going together :)

Joining our family

for

times of quiet reflection

and celebration

Even the 3 hour trip is so scenic and serene...

heading into cottage country...

for a time away

from the busyness of life in the city..

Time to put feet up and heads back

and soak in the suns healing rays

And to go down to waters edge,

lounge on the deck

and dream while looking out on the lake

Then head on inside

for intimate talks

and laughter

By the warmth of the fireplace,

and the warmth of family & friends

And cuddly cats

loving the laps

and lingering with contented purrrrrs :)

Fresh country air

and walks down winding roads

filled with natures joys...

and the presence of two of the sweetest parents..

My Momma & Dad

And where nature steps indoors...

the beauty of wood throughout...

and the sounds...

The loons ...

and their haunting call

Hopefully an opportunity for a country drive

to visit this lovely store

we adored last time...

The Old Tin Shed...

Perhaps on Saturday afternoon...

treasure-hunting :)

and contemplating

Easter

together with loved ones

through

The Passion of the Christ

(the movie)

My dear friends..

Hope your Easter is filled with the love of God

and the warmth of family & friends

God loves you so...

just look at the cross

and you'll see... just how much... xo

And then be amazed and in awe...

at you gaze into

the

empty tomb.

He is risen...

He is risen indeed!

In His Love,

Deborah xoxo

Good morning and the winner is.....

Good morning!!!

The Winner of my Giveaway

of

Romantic Prairie Style

is....

Congratulations!!!

Susan

  from

 A Life of Grace

Susan is a beautiful, gentle lady whom I have been so

blessed to get to know here.

She is a lover of God,

 her family

and friends

and this life He has given her,

and she lives a life that

is fragrant

and filled with love....

Visit this lovely lady...

you'll be the richer for having met her

My friend Susan,

I know you are going to love this book

and glean lots from the beauty within...

If you could please send me your mailing information by email Susan, I'll get it off to you after the Easter weekend

Thanks!! :)  xoxo

Thanks to all who entered..

it was a joy for me

and I'm so glad to meet some sweet girls...

I'd love to have you continue in friendship,

and I with you...

Blessings to each and every one of you xoxo

With all my heart...Deborah xoxo

Winter Whites & Lovely Blacks

Snow visited us last night and is still here with us today

Pretty....but I thought we had said our farewells

Okay, okay, we know that you are gorgeous in your whites

and you stand out so beautifully

among the trees and the elements,

but Im kind of excited to see

the

greens again,

and the lilac coloured crocuses I just saw last week on our lawn...

peeking their heads up and delighting me so... :)

Speaking of delight... :)

Yesterday and today was filled with

befores and afters

I have to show off my sweeties!!

Here's our sweet Kenzie...

the father of all our puppies.

Isn't he a darlin"?

A darlin' in need of a groom....

He's a little shy

 but I'm sure he won't mind me showing him off a little 

Our son borrowed my car to go out of town so I have his for a few days...

I hope he doesn't mind..I had 2 of our dogs in here on trips to the groomers :)

They are non-shedding so thats a bonus!

Are you ready? He he comes...

Nows that better..nice and clean

and look at those eyes, would you!

He is so full of love & affection..

he'd lick you to death :)

And wait...here comes his son,

from Bellas first litter (a year ago)

We kept him and he is a treasure..

sweetest little guy,

affectionate and sweet-tempered,

solid, muscular,

and a talker...

no kidding..he talks!

Melts my heart every time he trys to tell me a story...:)

And here they are together...

They just melt our hearts!!!

Bella & Willow do too!

Next time Ill try to get all four in the photo shoot!!

Their fur is so soft right now

and I love to touch it...

and they don't mind either :)

They both even got the same bandanas from the groomers!

Cute, cute, cute!!!

Okay my sweet peeps,

tonight Im tallying up the ballots,

getting a little post ready,

and drawing the name out of a basket at 9.00 p.m....

(cus I have to go to bed early)

and I'll announce my giveaway winner in the morning before I go off to work.

I wish I could give one to each one of you...

Love to you all xoxoxo

With all my heart...Deborah xo

Dining Room Reveal and a reminder xo

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

I am,

 although as I write

and look out my window,

I see..

s n o w

Yes, blowing snow!!!

I can't believe it!!

Hopefully it will just pass right through and leave nothing behind

Anyway..on a happier note..

it's

time

for my promised reveal :)

I was home today and so I am ready to show you

my freshly painted

white dining room

Isn't the dining room

the place where your family gathers,

and where the heart of your home is?

An intimate place

to

E a t,

P r a y,

L o v e

I am delighted to take you on a little tour of my dining room...

I've found that

painting it white

was the perfect way

to bring the

 light

in..

First of all,

I have black furniture in here,

and may I add that my hubby made the two benches that are on both sides of our table.

He then stained them black..we've had those for a few years now,

but I just wanted to give him the thanks for making those for us :)

We bought the chairs in Mennonite Country around St. Jacobs, Ontario...

love, love, love that place

and I could talk about it foreva!! :)

But I won't right now ok...

Our wood floors were also cut and put in,

  stained and sealed

 by my hubby too.

Its not new though..we've had that floor for at least 4 or 5 years..

I'm still, as much, if not more in love with them as I was then.

He also cut the baseboards and put those in back then too,

and made them nice and high just because I liked the higher ones :)

Sweet eh? :)

They just received a coat of fresh white paint.

The only cost to re-do my dining room

was the paint and paint supplies.

Now that gals..makes me smile. :)

I did splurge on 2 new items,

and by splurging I mean I spent $25.00 total

on a new rustic-looking watering can

and a picket fence that I picked up at Winners...

which Ill show you later in my post :)

If you recognize this ladder which my hubby made a long time ago,

you are perceptive..

because I brought it over from our living room

and decided that its new home is here :)

Em (my hubby) said he can make me another one for the living room...

Y E S !!

Do any of you sweet gals do that?

Shop for things right in your own home and change things from room to room?

I always have!

And its fun..changes things up and freshens it up.

I also took my dried "thing-a-ma-bobbers" (not sure what this plant is)

and put them into the ceramic boots that I have in my dining room.

I got the dried plants from my sister-in-law a few years ago

when we were down in her area on holidays..she has a fantastic garden!

I also  l o v e 

 having decor at floor level..

it just adds something unexpected..

like this too, was unexpected..

our westie named Willow got in on the photo.

Since I was aiming at floor level,

he saw his chance..lol

Little sneaker he is..

white ball of fluff... :)

Textures add so much too...

loving the aged wood and the roughness of this

dried plant,

and the simple earthy colours here.

As much as I love coastal, I also adore

everything about the country,

the raw outdoors...

the beauty

 of the natural elements

in nature..

and bringing them indoors to enjoy.

As much as I love white, I also love colour.

I kept my curtains the same, although I may make white ones at some point :)

Dried flowers are extra beautiful to me...

these ones were my daughter Caras' given  from her boyfriend,

and she gave them to me for hanging..sweet girl xo

And underneath is a precious framed heart

from a precious friend

God has given me...

Thank you sweet Michelle xo

The gift of your friendship means more than you know to me xo

Now this, my sweet girls,

is a new item I made with the help of my hubby.

I know, its very simple but I really love it!

I just took three different lengths of barnboard type wood

and I painted them white...not all over,

but leaving some of the wood showing,

and then my hubby linked them together for me with brown chain

and these white nail thingys... :)

I stapled some twine on the back of the top one to enable me to hang it on the wall.

I attached a pretty white hook that I've had around the house for quite some time,

and then hung a litle pail on the hook.

I added dried lavender into the pail..

and I have ..

romance on wood  :)

I few months ago while visiting my parents,

I spotted an old, old little chair in their basement

and asked if they still wanted it..

they generously gave it to me!

It was white and chippy,

but also had green paint on it

similar to painters tape (yuck).

Well, I had it in the living room just as it was,

but decided it was going to make its debut

in the dining room..

so I painted the green part of it white,

just like my walls,

and left it shabby...just as she came to me.

I sat a gorgeous tin basket on it,

which I had purchased a few years ago

while on holidays,

and that I had filled with seashells.

Then leaned a favourite white starfish up against it.

I'm telling you..I love her in white..all white,

except for a few spots I left a bit of bare wood.

What do you think of her new coat? (of paint :)  )

She's old but she's purdy  :)

I know Im too chatty tonight..are you still with me?

Ok Ill try to hurry it along...

This is the picket fence I picked at Winners..

I loved it and thought it would add something I was looking for in my dining room..

I've added some of the beach here....

remnants of summer breezes,

and some rocks,

sea grasses, and some shells

(all of which I had on hand)

Heres the rusric-looking watering can....

for moments taken from the busyness of life,

and given to the joy of gardening...

even in a ..little secret garden   :)

This is a wire basket that I've had for a few years

that usually holds fruit...

but now holds treasures..

our wedding ring carrier which I made,

 a new-born baby hat,

and littliest of baby booties,

and a few delicate shells

A wall-hanging I made from a weathered piece of board

that I painted white

and added spanish moss

which I formed into a nest with some

delicate buds,

glued  it on the board

and then hung some tender ribbon ..

and then adding  tiny candles...

bringing

 softness and gentleness...

and adding the

beautiful

fragrance

of

k i n d n e s s

Thank you so much for sharing my dining room reveal...

I'm enjoying the whites

and

the beauty

of

keeping it simple

I love you girls..each and every one xoxo

With all my heart...Deborah xo

Reminder: Giveaway closes on evening of April 20th my sweeties!

xo