fenton shoes.

I have been collecting Fenton glass shoes for about a year. I keep my collection in my dressing room (I will elaborate more on this room when it is really how I want it). My son and I scooped up this old dirty shelf for a dollar at Goodwill. We repainted it, added the striped print as a backdrop and placed all my shoes on it for a beautiful display upstairs. The only problem now is that the shelves are already full...guess we will have to be creative when we add more pieces to our collection...thanks buddy.

cake plate and tea cup stand.

This beautiful cake stand and tea cup stand were found on my trip to Arizona. They coordinate with the chandelier I LOVE in my dining room and display some of my treasured dishes beautifully. My mom bought the tea cup stand (which I believe was intended for candles) as a Christmas gift for me and I found the coordinating cake stand. Neither was fun to travel home with, but totally worth it!

alivia's homemade quilt.

I so enjoy being an Aunt. I have one niece who is 9 months old. She lives close by and I have the opportunity to see her often-equally as important my kids get to play with their cousin frequently. She is a happy, round, bundle of personality and I love her dearly. As you may remember from earlier entries I made my kids each a quilt embroidered with their names Jackson's Quilt and Emilia's Quilt. It is my goal to make these for all of my children, nieces and nephews throughout the years. This entry is all about Miss. Alivia's quilt. The backside of this quilt matches the ruffle and is all purple polka dots. I think the vibrant print and lots of purple suits my niece and I hope she enjoys it for many years and remembers it as a special gift her Aunt Kate made just for her.

new cookware.

My grandma surprised me early in the morning a few weeks ago. She rang my doorbell about 9 a.m. and told me to go open the back door. When I opened the door she had a large box of Paula Deen cookware there in a beautiful turquoise shade. I have really enjoyed the cookware and I love the look and luxury of having a nice new set in my clean, white kitchen. Many more good meals to come...yum! And grandma, you're the best!

to great grandma's house we go.

This past weekend my kids, my mother-in-law, my little sister-in-law and myself made the 2 1/2 hour drive to Northern parts of Michigan to visit my husband's grandma (did you get all that?). It was a great weekend full of shopping, retracing family roots in small town America, eating, visiting and sifting through buried treasures in great grandma's basement. What a treat! My husband stayed at home to hunt while the kids and I rode along and I am so happy we did.

Pictured are a few beautiful items that Great Grandma Roma sent us home with. I especially love the large dressing mirror, old Avon bottles, tea tablecloth and old purses. She even had a Fenton shoe to add to my collection ( I should blog just about that collection one day). It was wonderful! We had a great time and my favorite thing was hearing all the old stories that accompanied where we went, what we did and what we found downstairs. Thanks to my mother-in-law and her mother for sharing so much with me...what a great memory.

cassidy's pillowcases.

My little sister is having her 12th birthday this week and I would like to share a piece of her gift. She picked out this beautiful pale lavender and cream feather fabric this summer that she had hopes of sewing into custom pillowcases for her bed, but we never got to that project so I decided to make them, embroidery her initials to make them extra special and send them to AZ for her special day. Here they are and I really think they will be special for her to lay her sweet little head on at night. She also received an antique necklace, hankie and dessert dish. I love her so very much and I enjoy having so many common interests with my little mini-me.