Back Soon!

Hello friends!  I am going to take a blog brake.  

That marks the Lenten Season, a time of deep prayer, reflection and much more.

1 Peter 2:12 

"Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation."

Hello October!

It's the beginning of a new season, a season of harvest celebration, of gathering seeds for sowing in the spring, it's a month of scented spices that are warmed on the stove, a month of watching the leaves paint a colorful canvas in nature, a month of piling the fallen leaves on the ground for the children to jump on a cool brisk day, a month of warm apple pies, a time of flannel blankets, plaid, coziness, apple cider, hay rides, fall decorating, gathering, gratefulness, forgiveness... and pumpkins.  Speaking of  pumpkins, below are a couple of pumpkin items I found on Etsy.

pumpkingarland

felt wool pumpkins

pumpkin soap

Gather some Fall inspirations from my Harvest board on Pinterest and follow along for more to come.  What are your favorite pass times during Fall?

Random Finds

via

Today I am sharing some lovely inspirational finds from this past weekend.

via

I am in love with everything in this foyer, the door, the dresser, 

and the colors.  Simple and yet beautiful, this little entry nook is perfect for
 spring & summer.  Ways to obtain this design without breaking the bank is
taking an old dresser and painting it with chalk paint to recreate the 

distressed look.  Use an old mirror and paint empty bottles with a bold accent color.  

via

I am dreaming of a farm table like this one.  It's on the project list, but all
in due time.  I love to dress my tables with flowers, it makes everything look
classy, beautiful and inviting.  Recreate this look by using old posters as
place mats and fresh flowers.

via

 Enjoy your day!

Meet Queenie

This is my stepdaughter's dog Queenie, she's a tiny little thing.  She is 16 years old,
but has the energy of a two year old dog.  She is sweet as can be and very loving at that.
Notice that she is missing an eye, poor thing had been attacked by a larger dog in
her previous home, but that doesn't stop her from having fun and enjoying herself.

I took these photos while she was waiting anxiously for her mommy to come

 home from school.  She misses her so much that she lays on her shoes to feel close.  

That is what I call loyalty.  

What Have I Done?

This is a brief post only because I am so upset at myself right now.

Have you noticed something different?  I can kick myself for this!

I accidentally deleted my template.  Who does that?  Me!

I worked so hard to get it just right and it is all gone, poof just like that.

I had no intention of changing it, now I am forced to.  Is this a sign?

You guys, I am so...ugh...right now.  I cannot focus!

So here is the thing.  I want to fix this problem,  but I can't today

because it's my son's Birthday, so bear with me with this temporary template.

Ahhh!  I can't look at it!  Oh dear friends I will work on this later.

New Year Inspiration from LMM

Lemonademakinmama

Hello friends, I'm squeezing in this lovely inspiration from Sasha at
LemonadeMakinMama, love her to death, have I mentioned that?
She writes about her family and shares creative ideas on her blog.
Sasha is the friend next door that you want to hang out with to exchange daily stories.  
There is a lot of creativity in this momma and her photos prove it.
She is one of the gals that really inspire me and I wanted to share a Giveaway that
she is hosting over at her beautiful blog.

Included are some silver and gold dessert plates, some coordinating napkins, a box of rock candy swizzle sticks, 20 gray stripey straws, a teeny white candle, a great sample of lotion that will make your hands feel like silk, and some sparkly little ear bobs.  
If you are interested in entering to win this New Years' Giveaway,
head on over to her blog to enter.
I hope that you have a Blessed and Happy New Year!

Hurricane Sandy

We will like to take a moment to extend our thoughts and support to everyone that was impacted by Hurricane Sandy in the North East.  We are from New York and have many family and friends there.  We understand the difficulties and frustrations associated with cleaning up, rebuilding homes, businesses, and lives.  

Many are still without power and many have lost everything.  Our hearts and prayers are with them.  Like many people, if you are wondering how to help those who have been unfortunate in this disaster, you can donate to the American Red Cross or check out Charity Navigator for other charities that are accepting donations to assist victims of Hurricane Sandy.

We will continue to keep everyone that was impacted by this storm in our prayers and hope for the safety of all.  A big thank you for all those that help each other there during this time.

Nuvia Cafe

Hello, hello friends!  Hope you'll all having a wonderful and blessed day.

Today I want to share with you something that I came across a few weeks ago.

Have you ever heard of Nuvia Coffee?  

No?  

I had never heard of it either, but I came across it by an email that I received a few weeks back.

Nuvia Cafe, wanted me to try their coffee and let them know what I thought about it.  

No compensation, no promotion, nothing.  They just wanted an honest opinion,

so I agreed.  

Nuvia is Sumatran Arabica coffee infused with a trifecta of legendary ingredients; the extracts of 100% certified organic Ganoderma, African Mango Seed and Pomegranate. The Sumatran coffee beans are roasted to perfection yielding a superior flavor that is rustic, yet rich and full bodied.

 I received my coffee in the mail and along with it a newspaper article with testimonials of 

people who had tried it.  As I proceeded to read the the articles, I realized that the testimonials

were all about getting energy back, healed from minor aches and pains and even healed from bigger ailments.

At that point I thought, well this is not just any coffee, it's goodness in a cup with healing properties.

I am always feeling tired, fatigued and nothing seems to help, so I decided to give it a try.
I am about done with the box and I actually feel more energized than I did before, not sure
if it's a coincidence or what.  Now for real coffee drinkers, it does not taste like coffee.
remember, it is made with another kind of bean, so it has a different flavor.

I like their product. I'm feeling better and I will continue to drink it.
If you are interested in trying Nuvia Healthy Gourmet Coffee you may read more about them on
www.nuviacafe.com or www.facebook.com/nuviacafe.

 Enjoy your day!

Spring Tables

via: bhg.com

A Spring celebration is the perfect way to welcome

sunshine, blue skies and beautiful blooms.

Here are a couple of ideas to inspire us.

via:dreamy whites

via:revel

Decorating tables with flowers and spring colors brings the beauty of nature in and what a
lovely way to celebrate it with friends. Host a lunch and share in the delight
and warmth of the season ahead.

Be inspired!

My Random Weekend

Hey everyone!  It's been a while since I've written a random post.
 I hope that you had a wonderful and fun St. Patrick's Day.
We had a beautiful, bright and warm weekend in these parts, perhaps a little too warm.
And although the weekend was gorgeous, I wasn't able to enjoy it much.
You see, I was feeling ill this weekend; drained, in pain and just...not myself.
I was feeling like this nest, pretty empty, sickly and unmotivated.

The hubs has been super sweet, comforting me and taking care of things around the house
while I tried to rest, but I just couldn't rest.  I didn't want to miss a thing with my two boys.
So while they had some fun, I finished my little can container to store my camera wires
 and fabric roses.

For St. Patrick's Day, I made my little family a quick and delicious meal,
since I wasn't feeling well, I decided to make something easy.
I made creamy pasta with carrots and beef tips in gravy.
The easy part was that the only thing I made from scratch, was the pasta sauce.
The meat was already cooked and it only needed to be defrosted.
I added the carrots to the gravy and beef.
It pays off when you cook in advance and freeze food for times like this.

Craft Easter Garden: Colleen Hammond
I am loving this lovely Easter Garden by Colleen Hammond.
What a great way to teach our children about the real meaning of Easter,
by planting a little garden using potting soil, a very small flower pot for the tomb,
shade grass seeds, and crosses made of twigs.
All you do is sprinkle the seeds and keep soil moist for about 7- 10 days.
Do this at least 12 days before Easter and watch your garden grow,

Source: Google
This is my new love!
I was visiting several Volkswagen sites and came across this beauty.
Oh, how I wish to have a little camper like this.
Can you picture this?
Candy apple red with a white roof,
interior little kitchenette, camping bed, comfy seats, cute drapery on the windows,
adorable crochet or knitted blankets lots of love and travel.
I have a VW Golf
which I love, but this little baby would add so many wonderful
family memories if we had one.
Many camping weekends, road trips and so much more.

How did you spend our weekend?

A New Way to Connect with Bloggers

Hello and Happy Monday!  This morning I have something really cool to share with you. 

As you are all well aware, a few weeks ago, Google announced they would discontinue Google Friend Connect (GFC) for non-Blogger blogs, since I've seen quite an amount of worrying among our dear fellow bloggers, I decided to share with you my new favorite place!  I pondered my new little hangout, but it’s time to share the goodies with you. It's Hellocotton.  Have you heard of it?

This wonderful place allows you to follow for free the most talented bloggers out there, 
mostly women.  Why do I love it?  It is an easy way to discover the latest on trends 
and to take on a daily dose of inspiration.  

Hellocotton allows you to comment, vote and share it all with your friends.

Another great thing is that Hellocotton allows you to set up a Hellocotton mini-profile on your blog, displaying your followers/followings and allowing for newcomers to follow you easily and, in the process, keep up with your updates? So if you are losing your Google friend connect box, guess what, now you can have one with Hellocotton!

Yes, you read right, it's exactly along the lines of Google Friend Connect but works just fine regardless of your blogging platform. Since Google's decision will be effective as of March 1, 2012 why not plan ahead and warm up your readers to the use of Hellocotton!

Of course, hellocotton is there to help and answer any of your questions about, 
either the mini-profile, or Hellocotton on the whole.

Now isn’t that something worth looking into? 

I hope that this news helps you stay connected with your fellow readers.

If you do check it out, let me know what you think?

Thank you for stopping by today!

Facebook Fan Page Launch!

{via}

Happy Monday! I hope that you have had a great weekend!

We spent our weekend with sniffles, coughing and just feeling icky. 

It started with my little one who passed it on to

Mr. M and now I'm sick as well, so the whole family is sick.

While we were feeling icky,  we kept ourselves busy at home.

Mr. M worked on the car for a bit,
little man got creative drawing pictures,

and I worked on the new Facebook Fan page.

It is now live and I will be adding more to it as we go along.

Please join Inspirations by D on Facebook by clicking on the following image
or on the Facebook link on the sidebar of this blog.-->

Thank you and hope to see you there!

My Stache and MOVEMBER (guest post)

Happy November everyone.  Today we have a special guest post by my husband Mr. M.

Please make him feel at home and enjoy!

My wife has been asking me for some time now to write about my moustache growing, in what she calls, a "phase".  Little does she know, well she'll know now, is that I have grown very fond of the growth under my nose.  The caterpillar that once was is now, and still becoming, a thing of beauty.  All the men at work, and even a few ladies, who make fun of it and/or me for having grown it, have secretly told me they love it and only wish they could grow one as grand as I have, and yes, that includes the ladies.

I started growing "The Stache" after seeing a Heineken Light commercial (great commercial by the way), whereby the guy is out of place in the "normal" world because of his moustache, but is at home when it came to the ol' bare knuckle fight scene of yore.

I immediately shaved the beard I was sprouting and left behind its counterpart. 

 The Wife asked: "What are you doing?"

Me:  "I'm gonna grow THAT!" (pointing to the guy in the commercial) 

source: YouTube

The Wife:  "No you're not!"

Me:  "Ooooh yes I AM!"

Two months later "The Stache" lives and she loves it.  She might not admit it, but I see the way she looks at it...and me. ;)

I visited YouTube and several other sites with regards on caring and grooming for "The Stache" and then by accident or fate, I stumbled on this site called Movember.com.  Movember is the month formerly known as November, and is a moustache growing charity event held during November each year that raises funds and awareness for men's health especially prostate cancer and other cancers that affect men.

  I immediately became a member, made a donation, having nothing to do about the moustache thing...ok, ok, a  little to do with the moustache thing, but also because as men, we have to pay more attention to our health and well-being; not let our pride and machismo get in the way of living longer, healthier lives.  Plus the bonus of growing a moustache.

My plan though is to continue growing it until it has fully blossomed to what?, I have no idea.  But when it does blossom, as it has done in my mind a thousand times, I will know.

All joking aside, please go to www.movember.com, see what it has done in the years past.  Let your love ones be aware that there is something out there for us, to not only be a part of as guys (which is waaaay fun and creates a stir, in a good way) but participate in something that can make a difference in everyone's lives.

So, to those whose want to and will, can't but tries, bad or good, make it happen.  Grow that THING, donate and become a Mo' Bro and ladies, you can partake as well.  Become a Mo' Sista!  Support your man, brother, father, uncle and/or friend.  My 'sweets' has and will continue to.  She has supported me in everything that I have done and has enjoyed this ride as well.  No pun intended. :)  Seriously, it just came out that way.  :)

I love her to death and I always will.

My father-in-law was diagnosed with prostate cancer but has been cleared for the time being.  Let's hope and pray it stays that way.

Let "The Stache" grow and flow.  Never look back.

God Bless and be safe!  

Mr. M

Fun Mustache Products

                                                   

Random Ramblings

ONE

Hello all, I hope that you had a wonderful weekend.  I had a productive one myself.  My husband and I have been working on our little hallway nook project and I cannot wait to add the finishing touches.  There are a few things that I need to get before it's complete.  I will post all about it once we are done.  Do you have any projects that you are working on?

TWO

As for the photo above, do you like it?  It is a Chalkboard Pendant Necklace.  I just had to make it, I couldn't resist.  It is certainly a conversational piece.  I will be adding this piece to my shop later on today.  If you like it, drop by the shop where you will see more photos.  I may be be adding more, in silver and other finished materials later this month and the key word is may because I'm not quite sure yet.

I mentioned that I was closing the shop, but until everything is gone, it will continue to remain open.  I have been digging around my craft closet and have found a few things that I need to post in the shop so stay tuned.

THREE

My little one will begin kindergarten in only a few weeks.  We are all excited about it.  I have to admit, I'm a bit nervous about the whole thing, but that will be another post.

Enjoy your week!

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Sweet Temptations

Note to Self:

If you wish to stop eating sweets, then keep them away.

This is what happens when you desire to eat healthier and perhaps lose weight, you find donuts in the house.

Mmmmmmm.......donuts!!!!

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NieNie's New Life

A couple of months after I joined the world of blogging, I noticed an image of a bright turquoise typewriter that read "I read NieNie" on several blogs.  

At first I ignored the image, but as I came across more blogs with the same image, I started to wonder, what is this "I read NieNie" image?  Then one day I clicked on it.  There is was, Stephanie's story.  I was so inspired by her as a person, a mother and a wife, that I became a regular reader.  We are different in many ways, but the same in others. 

She is one of the most beautiful women I know in the world of blogging and she is strong, real, honest and a great inspiration.

Watch the video and let me know your thoughts.

 Don't forget to Rate My Blog @ Top Mommy Blogs

Random Musings

A random day filled with nothing but beauty.

1- Signs of Spring

The work of our creator....

Lovely Daffodil.

His favorite collection.

It is a delight exploring the first signs of spring with my little one and scouting all the new colors that it brings.
I know that some places are still getting snow, but for the warmer areas, hope that you can find signs of spring in your location.

2- Healthy Eating

 I have a love for greens and I have been enjoying so many wonderful salads recently.  We enjoy this one at home; greens, a splash of color with tasty strawberries, grilled chicken strips, some crunch with almonds and baby carrots and a bit of goat cheese.  You need an acquired taste for this particular cheese:-)  It is such a mix of flavor when you combine fruits and greens in a salad.  Tasty!

3-  The Red Balloon

If you were born in the early 70s, then perhaps you may remember watching The Red Balloon in school.  It is one of our favorites here at home.  I remember how captivating it was;  It moved every sense of feeling inside, happiness, laughter, sadness and so much more.  This 1956 short film was directed by  Albert Lamorisse

and filmed in Paris, France.  It won numerous awards including an Oscar for best original screenplay. This film is only 34 minutes long and follows the adventure of a boy who finds a sentient, mute red balloon.  If you haven't seen this beautiful film, then I recommend it!  

4- Blog Book

Do you remember when I wrote to you about turning your blog into a memory book on a previous Miscellany Monday?  Well I tried it!  I think that they should give us better choices for the layout of pictures and posts in the book, but perhaps that is something they are working on, who knows.  Never the less, I was pretty happy with my memory book, it'll be something I'll treasure for a long time.

Happy Monday!

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Random Musings

A collection of random musings to help make interesting the mundane.
Here's my random mini posts for the day.

1. Giveaway Reminder!

There is a Day Spring GIVEAWAY going on right now, if you scroll down this post you'll see it.  I'm giving away a set of Mugs from the online Day Spring  store from the Mr. and Mrs. collection.  For more information click here or scroll down, it ends on Wednesday February 9, 2011 so hurry up and enter!

2. Going Vintage

This weekend I ran out of coffee filters and I had to pull out the old coffee maker that I received as a gift a few years ago.  These are considered vintage, but they are still available in stores.  It does not make 4 cups of coffee, this particular one makes two cups, but it did the job.

3. Wall of Books

I saw this picture on the Internet and loved it.  Now I want to set up a wall like this one in my son's play room.  Can't wait to get started.

4. Shop Opening This Week

I have been working on some new items for my Etsy shop and I am almost done. It took longer than planned only because my supplies had been mailed to another state, whoops!  It took a month to receive them, it usually takes a week.

Thank you for stopping by and Happy Monday!

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