Being Grateful...

Some say being thankful is a feeling, being grateful is an action.

Are you grateful? 

What are you grateful for? 

 

Each day I make a mental list of what I am grateful for - there are always a few things to add to the prior list! 

Grateful is showing an appreciation of kindness.

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Studies have linked gratitude with increased satisfaction, motivation, and energy; better sleep and health; and reduced stress and sadness. 

Grateful people are much more engaged with their environment, leading to greater personal growth and self-acceptance, and stronger feelings of purpose, meaning, and specialness. (Psychology Today)

So find reasons to be grateful!

My Easter Table Settings....

My Easter dinner table is set up in the dining room for two, as we continue to shelter in place in Central New York:

I am using 2 of my MacKenzie-Childs dinner dishes (King Ferry and Stoke Gabriel)  and bowls (Rose Cottage and Aurora)....

...and hand painted candlesticks and a cute little chick are decorating the center of the table!

The floppy-eared bunny napkins hold a hand painted wooden egg:

The dinner plates.... 

are placed on chargers that were purchased many years ago from the Christmas Tree shops"

The flatware is from Pottery Barn

The side plates are little pates purchased from Marshalls a few years ago:

I painted the wine glasses last year and are used often!!

We will have a traditional ham dinner, but it will certainly be a quiet day without family with us!

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I also set the table for breakfast:

I placed my cute bunny dishes..

...on top of majolica dishes.  These dishes coordinate well with my MacKenzie-Childs dishes, however I have never been able to figure out the artist who painted this set of dishes:

Breakfast will be simply eggs and muffins!

I hope you have a safe and healthy Easter holiday, a beautiful spring and hope for a better world when this is all over!

So far the snow storm has missed us.......

Tea for me....

I had a little tea party this afternoon at three.

’Twas very small, three guests in all,

Just I, myself and me.

Myself ate all the sandwiches, 

while I drank up the tea;

’twas also I who ate the pie and 

passed the cake to me!

J.N.North

A Baby Shower to Top all Baby Showers!!

It's always exciting to welcome babies into the world with celebrations and gifts, BUT this baby shower was not only special, it felt like a festival!

Tom and Sean will be welcoming twins in the near future and invited me to share in their joy.  The guests parked in the town center and we were picked up by horse and wagon to transport us to their home:

The horses were embellished with pink and blue hoof polish....

...and their tails sported frilly ribbons:

Deb (and her husband), from Mountains Breath, and I met in the parking lot and giggled all the way to the home:

We were welcomed by this cute themed entryway:

Prior to the Gender Reveal, we could choose 2 stickers....girl/boy, girl/girl or boy/boy.....I chose 2 "Team Stashes", with the thought they would have 2 little boys.....

The REVEAL was exciting, announcing there will be two little boys coming soon!  I guessed correctly!

The home was filled with balloons and there were presents galore.  These little boys will be welcomed with lots of love and many treasures!  Each guest brought a book to build the babies' library!

It was fun to visit with Blogging and Instagram friends:

There were so many special touches and tasty treats!

The food and drink was plentiful and displayed with such festivity:

I don't know where to begin to describe the cake  - We watched the assembly and the cake filled the kitchen island.  The 'tree' was a "Rice Crispie" creation and one end of the huge log was a vanilla cake, the other end was chocolate - it was stunning and tasty!

The Nursery is ready to welcome the babies:

The Winnie the Pooh theme was carried throughout the party:

We share a love for MacKenzie-Childs and I was in awe of the special pieces of furniture, tableware,  and home decor.  The vignettes and creative displays were flowing, each room more exciting than the next.....enjoy these photos that they are generously letting me share with you:

We all look forward to doting on these two lucky baby boys!