New Year Greetings

I want to take this opportunity to Thank you all....

Blogging has changed my life.... in so many ways!!

I have met some many wonderful gals here and I treausre each and everyone of yous!

I look forward to shareing the New Year with you all...

shareing our ups and downs,

holding your hand and picking you up when you fall,

laughing and crying with you,

helping each other to grow!

Hubby and I will be spending this new years eve in our jammies snuggled on the couch watching the ball drop, wishing we were in New York {Time Square} {every year we say we are going to spend the next new years eve in new york!

We will toast the new year with sparkeling grape juice, and a big smooch!

Our kids will each call from wherever they are, hubbys' sis will call from whatever concert she is at, intoxicated and screaming Happy New Year Bro.....then around 1:30 hubbys' cousin will realize he had'nt called yet and he will call and wake us up to wish us happy new year and tell us how much he loves us and wishes we were there with him! Overly intoxicated as well!

Gotta love family! :-)

I hope whatever you are doing tonight that you are safe and surrounded by those you love!

Happy New Year all of you dear sweet friends, from our family to yours

Hugz and Luv, Dolly

P.S. do read my post below...

I am hosting a Vintage Heart Swap...

I'd love for you to join the fun!

God has blessed us with a new year... I hope that we serve him well!

My Vintage Heart Swap

I have been wanting to do a swap for awhile now and I think this one best fits me and my personality!

I am a february baby .... born February 27th!

Valentines day is one of my favorite holidays!

I am romantic at heart!

I love pink, red and white!!!!

I love hearts and anything heart shaped.

I collect heart shaped rocks and just about anything heart shaped that crys out to me!

When I think valentines day I think hearts, romance, roses, and chocolates!

Mmmmmm.....

Here is the swap scoop.....

You will be paired with one partner.....

for your partner you will fill a container with hearts

The container can be of your choice, store bought or handmade...

ideas... heart shaped basket, bowl, box, stocking, bucket, etc
Fill it with anything with hearts on it or heart shaped!

examples, hankys, chocolates, vintage valentines, note pads, plate, bowl, candy dish, linens, laces, ribbon, scrapbooking goodies, candles, soaps, confetti, stickers, barrettes, etc.

My five simple requests are...

1. keep the color scheme pink, red and white

2. include at least one vintage heart item

3. all of the items have to be heart shaped or have hearts on them!

4. make sure your partner receives their goodies before valentines day February 14th!

5. please please please communicate with your partner!

I am suprised how many swaps I have done and not had my partner even say hi!

If you are interested.... email me your name, addy, and blog link,

also let me know what your style is... vintage, shabby chic, retro or I'm not fussy!

sign ups taken until january 9th,

I will send you your partner the 10th,

and your Fill my Vintage Heart Swap goodies should be sent by February 4th!

Please don't sign up unless you can commit to following thru...

I don't want anyone disappointed!

International friends you are very welcome to join!

Lets start 2008 with a fun loving heart filled swap!

Hugz, Dolly

P.S. I would love it if you copy and post the swap picture at the right on your blog!

Let's spread the word!

Thank You

I did'nt set a price limit but I'd suggest between $15 and $20...

use your best judgement.... give your partner things you would love to receive!

You can even make everything... which is always fun!

IMPORTANT NOTE>>>>> Please....don't just leave a coment here to join...YOU MUST email me your snail mail addy and link to your blog so your partner has a way to contact you!
A few of yous left comments but I cannot get into your blog to ask for your address so I cannot include you until I have that info!
Also... YES.. you can join even if you don't have a blog!
:-)

Long Pause

I know I know what a loooong pause!

I have been a busy lil bee around here lately! Our daughter and her friend are going to be here until after christmas so we have been baking, cleaning, making lists, crafting, packing, shopping, shopping and moooooooore shopping!

Two days till christmas and guess what....

I am still not done shopping!

I swear every year I will start my shopping in august so I am not doing this every year!

The thing is.... I really don't like shopping! Weird I know..... I am a woman!!!

10 years ago I lived in the malls now I don't even like being near the malls!

Hubby is happy! :-)

I promise to continue our christmas cottage tour after christmas!

Te-hee...... look my bird bath looks like a mushroom!

Poor birdies the only thing they can do now is make birdie snow angels! Look at this precious face.... Does she melt your heart?

I wanted to share with you what I did today that made my heart sing! I called every shelter and vet and pet store in our area to find a kitten to adopt! You see when our daughter, grandson Ty and Miss Emma {our grandbaby} lived with us they all got attached to our kitten, Kitten and Miss Emma were unseperable! Kitten napped next to Miss Emma and they played together all day! Kitten slept next to our daughter every night! When they moved they wanted to take Kitten with them but it broke my heart and I could not give up my kitten. I was too attached to her! Plus she is a mommas girl!

To make a long story short today I found the perfect kitten for them for a christmas surprise! We picked her up, put a red bow around her neck and delivered her to our daughter, grandson and Miss Emma!

She is 4 months old..... {we did'nt want a tiny kitten because we were affraid Miss Emma might hurt her!} She purred almost instantly and is very cuddley and loveable! The perfect lil angel kitty! Her birth name is Cookie but I think she may get a name change!

Miss Emma loved her instantly! Her eyes lite up and she pointed saying hi hiii!

Ty loved her too and wants her to sleep in his bed tonight! Our daughter loves her and is glad to have a kitten again!

I have to tell you that made my day! It filled my heart with joy!

Look at this precious face smiling.... Miss Emma is so happy!

Thank you all for reading my blog and taking the time to leave a comment!

I would have never imagined that blogging would be such a life changeing wonderful experience! I am so glad to have met you all and call you my friends! You are such a blessing to me!

I wish you all a blessed christmas filled with love, family, and many memorable moments!

Merry Christmas from my heart to yours!

Hugz, Dolly

See you all after christmas!

Pause.....

Yes darlings I am still here!

I have to take a break from our Christmas cottage tour for a few days!

We have been christmas shopping..... {No I am not finished yet}

our daughter and her friend are coming for the weekend to make cookies and help with the rest of the decorating!

I still have so much more to show you but will have to pause this tour for now!

I want to THANK Karla Cottage for being the bestest hostess!

Thank you Miss Karla... this is so fun!

I have only been to visit half of the homes, I do plan to visit them all!

wow you girls are amazing.... you all have such pretty homes and I jotted down a few good ideas too! :-)

So girly girls... enjoy your weekend!

Stay warm and safe!

Be sure to come back for the rest of our christmas cottage tour!

still to come........

Our cherry kitchen

Santas, Santas and more Santas

Dinning room jewels,

Snowmen

Our fireplace

glittered goodies and fun treasures galore!

and more!!!!!

Warm Hugz, Dolly

P.S. the santa box I painted many years ago...... too cute huh!

Part 2 ... Welcome to the party

Karlas Cottage What I love about my Holiday Home party Part 2.

Be sure to visit all the other beautiful homes opened for your viewing pleasure!

I have so much to show you I have broke it down into several posts!

This is part two....

My mum gave us this nativity this year!

It is beautiful, big and very detailed!

We have several nativity sets so we switch every year.

One year I'd love to set them all up, and enjoy each of them as they are each different and unique!

Until the kitties get older and less mischevious I have to be selective on what I display and where I display things!

I love love love all these wonderful vintage ornies....
Steph we do need to get our ornie wreaths made soon!

I think I have enough ornies to make several!

Hubby bought me the larger ornies at a yard sale for 25cents each...

I know..... he is good!

I trained him well! :-)

La Toilette

This is one of my favorite rooms in our home!

Our guest bath!

I love the red walls and Framed Vintage perfume ads

I used a panel of toile to hide the shower stall and add french foof to the room!

This mirror really helps make the room look bigger then it is! Love the red beaded garland across the top, accented with red bulbs, and glass icicles

{yep more icicles}

Lori at Vintage Flair made the sweet santa banner! Thank you Lori I LOVE it!!!

I framed this vintage mirror with an icy wreath.... I wish you could see the detail... it really sparkles!

More sparkle and glam! Love this vintage crystal vase filled with tiny silver ornies! And the tiny ruby glass ashtray makes a sweet candle holder

I found this cute ruby red compote at a tag sale for pennies! Yoohooo......

{it has a heart shaped stem}

Grandmother..... ears to listen, arms to hold, love never ending, heart of gold!

My dear friend Barb gave me this plate for my birthday! I love it!

I hope you enjoyed your visit..... Come back tomorrow to see more of our christmas cottage!

Merry Christmas,

Hugz, Dolly

P.S. part one of our christmas cottage tour is below this one !

Welcome to the party

Welcome

Come along and I will share with you what I love about our Snow covered Christmas cottage....

Our front porch

The wreath is accented with white pearl clusters, red berries, pinecones, gold glittered twigs, a white bow, and white lights!

This cute lil vignette was on my summer porch and I liked it so much I thought I'd use it for christmas too! Don't you love these vintage skates? I think I will paint some pinecones and glitter them for around the candle!

Pink lights, pink & white bulbs, crystal swags, berries and pinecones accent the garland around the door way!

One of my favorite fairies here to greet you!

As you walk thru the door you see Our white feather tree....

my very very favorite christmas decoration!

I just love haveing a white tree!

I love putting it up, I love all of the ornies and the feel it gives the house!

{hubby says its very elegant Chick}{he means elegant chic}

Although I miss cutting down a real tree, the smell that fills the house, and the needles stuck in the carpet for months... yep I miss that!

Sorry for the not so great picture.... its really hard to get a good picture of a white tree, with white ornies against a white background!
I use a white chenille bedspread for the tree skirt! In past years I have used a vintage quilt... Since the kitties think under the tree is their new bed, I have to use something I don't have to worry about them ruining!

My shabby sweet angel tree top!

I think she needs a crown.... don't you!

Here are a few of my favorite ornaments!

This one reminds me of baubles from grammas jewelry box!

I have quit a few white birds here and there.... sprinkled with glitter!

Love their curled tail feathers!

Pink blown glass icicles, glittery snowflakes, pink and white pearl garland, and white satin ornaments!

Hubby bought me this blown glass pink ornament for one of our anniversarys!

More pearl clusters, and pink glittered ornies and pink and clear blown glass icicles! I love icicles!

I collect miniature snowbaby ornaments for my smaller feather tree but hubby bought me a few bigger ones. Are'nt they precious!

This handpainted cherry heart ornie was a gift from my sweet friend Celeste!

It's perfect.... cherries, heart, pink... definitely Dollyish!

Thank you my sweet PRH sister Celeste!

Seraphim angels grace our tree as well!

This one I received when our first grandbaby was born!

More sweet faced snowbabies! This one clips on a branch and you can stick a light up its bottom and it glows

hmm..... I'd glow too if someone did that to me! :-0

One of three pretty pink rose stocking ornies that my sis made for me!

Those are just a few of my favorite ornies that I love to unwrap every year, I get tears in my eyes remembering the family and friends whom gave them to me!

The special occassions they commemorate!

I have alot more to show you.....

Our new nativity

My vintage ornament collection

Our french chic guest bath

Our Cherry Kitchen

And many more vignettes

Please come back tomorrow evening to tour more of our Christmas cottage!

Enjoy the other homes at Karlas Cottage What I love about my Holiday Home Party! Click here!

Warm hugz, Dolly

Look who came for dinner....

Marz and kitten have been glued to the door for a few days now!
Hubby set up the deer feeder and it seems the turkeys have come to share the feast!

We have about 12 turkeys in the yard at any given time during the day and the kitties just love to watch them and talk to them!

Its too cute!

Gobble Gobble.... yum yum

Oh yes I am feeling much better!

Thank you all my dear friensds for your sweet words and concern, also the warm hugz,

and get well packages!

I am back on my feet and going like the energizer bunny!

I run out of energy alot quicker but am pluggin right along!

The tree is up and looks wonderful, { hubby says it is very "elegant -chick"}the guest bath is decorated and I love how that looks, I did get some outside lights up but gosh darn why it is every year we must fuss with the lights, half the strand lights or, you get them hung and half the strand goes out? Grrrr.....

I still have to decorate the cherry kitchen... then you are all invited over!

I am excited to show you all our little christmas cottage!

Lots of thank yous and goodies to share with you next post!

{this is post number 94}

HUGZzzzzzz, Dolly

P.S. if you are waiting on swaps or goodies from me... thank you for being patient!

I am waiting on my boxs to be delivered that I ordered from the po!

Be sure to see the new treasures I listed in etsy Cherry Heart Boutique

and on my E-Bay

Itchy and Scratchy.....

Guess who has Tonsillitis????

What is Tonsillitis?
Tonsillitis (ton-sil-lie-tiss) is an inflammation of the tonsils caused by an infection. In tonsillitis, the tonsils are enlarged, red, and often coated (either partly or entirely) by a substance that is yellow, gray, or white. Tonsillitis usually occurs as part of a pharyngitis (throat infection). Tonsilitis usually begins with sudden sore throat and painful swallowing.
Sometimes, tonsillitis reoccurs, and may cause difficulty breathing. If this occurs, your doctor may recommend taking them out. This procedure of removing tonsils from the throat is called a tonsillectomy.
What are Tonsils?
The tonsils are fleshy clusters of tissue that lie in bands on both sides of the back of the throat, above and behind the tongue. The tonsils' major function is to catch incoming germs before the germs cause infections in the throat, mouth, or sinuses. Tonsils contain infection-fighting cells and antibodies that stop the spread of the germs further into the body.
If the tonsils are taken out, the individual will not suffer from more infections than they did when they had their tonsils. There are other tissues in the body that will produce antibodies to fight infection.
What are the symptoms of Tonsillitis?
Each person with tonsillitis may not experience all of the symptoms. Some of the major symptoms of tonsillitis are:
a very sore throat,fever, redder-than-normal tonsilschillsa yellow or white coating on the tonsilsa funny-sounding voices, wollen glands in the neck, bad breath

How is Tonsillitis diagnosed?
Tonsillitis can be diagnosed by performing a rapid strep test, also called a throat culture. To perform the throat culture, the doctor will use a long cotton swab to swipe off some of the stuff on the surface of the back of your throat. The doctor will then test the "stuff" on the cotton swab. This test will determine whether you have tonsillitis and whether it is caused by a bacteria or a virus.
Is Tonsillitis Contagious?
Yes. Tonsillitis usually spreads from person to person by contact with the throat or nasal fluids of someone who is already infected.
How Is Tonsillitis Treated?
Treatment for tonsillitis depends on whether it was caused by a virus or bacteria. If the tonsillitis was caused by strep bacteria (streptococci), the doctor will prescribe antibiotics. If the tonsillitis was caused by a virus, your body will fight off the infection on its own. However, medication can be prescribed to alleviate the symptoms.

How long does Tonsillitis Last?
If tonsillitis is caused by bacteria, with antibiotic treatment, the illness is usually cured within 1 week. However, it may take several weeks for the tonsils and swollen glands to return to normal size.
When tonsillitis is caused by viruses, the length of illness depends on which virus is involved. Usually, people are almost completely recovered within 1 week.

I am off to Gargle, Gargle, Swish, Swish with warm salty water!

Yummm.....

Hugz, but no kisses,

Dolly