Everyday Beauty

May Musings

May is wrapping up today and summer is beginning! May, the month of Mother's Day, is also of course the month of Mary for Catholics. This beautiful statue is on my dresser and reminds me daily to try and be the best mother I can be. 

We celebrated Sofia's 2nd birthday last weekend (so hard to believe!) and had a big party with all of our family. She had so much fun being the bella of the ball, playing with her cousins, eating cupcakes and opening gifts. She knew exactly what was going on and that it was all for her. I ordered this dress on etsy from the most adorable shop, Lover Dovers Clothing. I stumbled across the shop by chance and am glad I did. You must go take a peek at all of the adorable designs for children and grown-ups alike!

Isn't this a great time of year as school winds up, and plans are made for the hot days and lazy afternoons of summer? I'm a summer girl and am looking forward to being outside with the kids. We've already broken in the swings at the park.

...and spent many a May day at the baseball field.

I can't wait to head to the beach, the zoo, the amusement park, farmer's markets and flea markets. Naturally, we have to make time to indulge in ice cream cones and frozen treats (with a little help from this book), which I don't think will be a problem.

We've been eating dinners outside under our striped umbrella. Black and cream stripes remind me of Italian cafes, so I close my eyes and pretend I'm there sometimes. It works for a few seconds!

April showers did indeed bring May flowers. These were some of the ones in our yard.

Many a blossom got cut and brought inside.

I think that about sums up the beautiful month of May around here. All of these pictures were taken with my iphone and uploaded to Instagram. It's quick and easy, and I think it's a great way to see what your friends are up to through their photos. I've been using it daily and love it. You can add filters to your photos to make them look old, and quite cool I think. A pile of dirty dishes would probably even look good with Instagram! If you have Instagram and want to follow along with my photo stream, my user name is andreasingarella.

See you in June!

Pink Sky

Oh my goodness, I missed a few days, didn't I!  Lots going on at Villa Singarella, and I figured I'd wait 'til I had a pretty picture to show you. This pink sunrise greeted me the other morning. I sipped coffee and relaxed while I watched the sky. Just for a moment, until the rest of the house woke up. Then it was: pack lunches, make breakfast, dispense vitamins, comb crazy chicken hair, get them all dressed, bundle in coats and hats, and out the door we go! But this one little peaceful moment of quietness was a nice way to start a fresh new day.

Spring on the Sill

Snow might be covering the ground outside, but Spring is here on my kitchen windowsill. There's nothing like a plant or two to brighten a room!

Blessings and Beauty

A warm friendly HELLO and HOW ARE YOU? is the very first order of business, don't you think? So, hello! How have you been? I've missed you, and I've missed this place and all the sharing of friendships and ideas and beauty that used to happen around here. Gosh, it's been moons since I've typed a post, and naturally there is much to catch up on. In the past 7 months, we have moved twice, and been really up and kinda down and high and low and everywhere in between. But, {gigantic exhale} life is good, and my family of 5 is well adjusted here and happy as can be! We're surrounded by extended family and don't take a minute of it for granted. It has enriched our lives beyond words. We love our new Ohio home, and I'm happy to report that about 90% of the boxes are unpacked, which was quite the adventure, let me tell ya.

But, anyway. I have been waiting to begin again with my blog. Waiting until the time felt right, and it finally does. It feels like this is exactly what I should be doing at this moment. My craft room is all {pretty much} set up and I'm eager to start creating ANYTHING. I have been missing this part of myself, this creative part, and haven't felt complete without it. Each new day holds so many possibilities and opportunities if only we are open to them. I have not quite been myself for several months now. But something has changed, and I can feel the shift. A fresh new year will sometimes do that.

As I sit here typing, I am thankful for so many people, experiences, lessons, blessings. I have promised myself to stay nearer to those who are dear to me, and make sure they know how loved they are. Family and friends are everything. So, to all of you reading this, thank you for sharing a bit of your day with me here. Thank you for checking in on me from time to time. Thank you reaching out even when I wasn't. It feels so good to be back, and this would mean nothing without you!

Much love and happiness to you in 2012!

Pretty Pastels

 
Pretty pastels are everywhere in the house today. It seems I have projects happening in every corner. Quite a mess, but a beautiful one I think! There are painted eggs with pearly patinas, ready to be embellished. They will be in the shop in the next few weeks. Is anyone else thrilled that Easter is late this year? It's nice to have a little more time for Springtime projects and decorating.

 
A pile of Bella Notte swatches I got from a shop that closed last year. The colors and fabrics are scrumptious....velvets and linens, laces and damasks. I can just picture a little doll sleeping on top of these, kind of like the Princess and the Pea!

 
 
I can't tell you how much inspiration I get from these vintage Chalkware children. The soft colors, the lines, the patina. Love love love. Chalkware is one of those fairly inexpensive collectibles that really adds a vintage feeling to an area or space. This piece has been all over the house, but now sits on the buffet.

 
More inspiration. An old handmade pin cushion with lovely details, embroidery and soft-as-silk ribbon laced through the edges.

 
 
This rhinestone piece came from a flea market, where the seller told me it was a component for a headpiece that was never finished. I thought that was interesting.

 
And what would a pastel post be without a rumpled gorgeous old rose?

 
Spring is upon us, and I can't wait! Are you feeling the same way?

A Place for Everything

 
I'm not typically a maker of New Year's resolutions.

I guess I figure any day is a good day to make a positive change in my life. And if I'm not ready to do it on January 1st, why try and force it just because the calendar says we should? Well, this year -for some reason- I am really feeling the "fresh start" of a new year, and the one thing I want to do is get ORGANIZED!

 
I used to be incredibly, almost obsessively organized, and I'm not sure what happened. I guess life happened, and before I knew it things were hodge podge, willy nilly, tossed here and there. Making me crazy.

 
So, that's what I've been up to lately. Taking baby steps to getting organized once again. I started in the kitchen. Cleaning out cupboards, organizing my baking supplies, getting rid of old dish towels and buying fresh clean white ones. Straightening up the pantry....such an endless task in our home.

 
Some of these chores are not too pretty, or blog-worthy, in my opinion. But I thought these shiny new glass bottles full of sprinkles were a bit of Everyday Beauty I had to share.

 
I had a case of bottles left over from when I used to sell glass glitter, and had been wanting to fill them with sprinkles for 2 years now. While organizing sprinkles is not exactly a priority, it was a quick little project that I checked off my loooooong "organization" list. Made me happy.

 
I'm off to go find something else to organize, while I've still got the urge!

 

Emerging from Pajama Land

 
Greetings dear readers! I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Christmas with your families. Ours was lovely and cozy and memorable. I like to drag it out as long as possible, but at some point I guess I do have to get out of my pajamas and do something with the old hairdo.

 
I came downstairs with curlers in my hair, and for some reason my boys thought it was the funniest thing in the world. They commenced belly laughing while taking a series of silly photos as you can see.

 
They make me laugh. The sound of their laughter is like medicine.

 
Good thing I don't take myself too seriously!

This morning I woke up and finished packing up the decorations. Farewell 'til next year, my pretties. I will not miss the glitter trail through the house, and my vacuum needs a break.

We consumed pounds of cavatelli and Arancini on Christmas Day. Sadly, the elastic waistband of my pajamas was the only thing that would fit, which is part of the reason I still have them on. I have vowed to eat nothing but lettuce leaves for a few days.....will let you know how that works out for me ;-)

Getting ready to ring in the New Year! Always so hard to believe another one has come and gone.....

Not a Creature was Stirring...

 
...except for a candy cane mouse! Mario and I made 25 of these little cuties for his classmates. I thought they turned out sweet, and those googly eyes really give them a mischievious personality.
The pastel candy canes can be found here. And that's just faux fur from the craft store that I cut into a teardrop shape. Then I cut felt ears in a dumbell shape and threaded them through 2 slots that were snipped in the teardrop. Sounds much more complicated than it is. You can find a pattern for the body & ears here, though I made my mice about twice as big as this pattern. The ears are about right though.

 

I don't know exactly why, but I am SO ridiculously excited for Christmas this year. Like I'm 5. The kids and I have been crafting and baking with no end in sight. Still have 3 kinds of cookies yet to bake today. The dough is made and chilling in the fridge. A few days ago, I made these yummy Angel Macaroons with Necco wafers stuck in the soft chewy coconut mounds.

 
This old Reindeer got a red nose with some nail polish, and voila, he is Rudolph. I swear I could quote the entire script from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer at this point....and the Polar Express....

 
Speaking of reindeer, we mixed up some Reindeer Food {oats & glitter}. I hope Prancer & Donner like steel-cut oats 'cause that's all I had on hand!

 
My sweater is hanging up, ready to wear to Mass on Saturday.

And a little more sparkle with the accessories. Hey, it's Christmas! Gotta have some sparkle, right?

 
Well, readers, I'm going to go finish up the baking now.....and a few other last-minute tasks before the big day arrives!

Foyer Faux Fir

 
Besides decorating the main green tree in the family room, I completely love decorating smaller ivory feather trees all around the house. In the kitchen we have the Sugarpum Tree, all done up in sweets and confections. On the buffet, there is a tree decorated with pastel birds and mercury glass pinecones. There's another little tree of just vintage bells {beaded, glass and metal} in the kitchen area also. And then there's this favorite little tree in the foyer.

 

It's trimmed with little bits and pieces of vintage goodies in a palette of pink, cream, pale green & yellow. It sits on a yard-sale-find chippy old table, and I placed it in an old hatbox which was first filled with yards of lace to cover the tree base.

 

A glass strawberry, milinery fruits, velvet berries and a floppy rose. Favorite things!

 

Some vintage glass here and there amongst ornaments from dear friends.

 

Sugared bells and a mercury glass starburst.

 

My mom came here to stay for a week, and almost every night we stayed up late and worked on a craft project. This pink ornament was one of my projects. She made a pretty red and gold one for her tree.

 

Mary tucked in some vintage pink glass balls. It's fun to discover unexpected things in a Christmas tree.

 

The Mary statue below is special to me because it came from Bosnia, where George and I once lived for a year while he was working there.

 

More random decorations.

 

I'm not sure this tree really has a theme...it's just a bit of a mish mosh of things. But it's a faux fir that I enjoy trimming year after year!
 
 

A Simple Cozy Eggnog Day

 
Got snow.
School's closed.
Still in jammies.
Rudolph's in the DVD player.
I poured us each a  glass of scrumptious eggnog.
Delicious!
Simple things.
Nothing fancy.
Nothing forced.

 
Our Christmas home is all spruced up.
Beautful in all it's imperfections and messes.
The children are checking their Advent calendar daily.
They're ready for Santa.
And we're all ready for that wonderful, magical Christmas Day.

{thank you to the those who purchased the necklaces in my last post. Big Hugs.}