...the spell of the sea

...ahhhhhhh

the salty sea

and all that she offers,

may call to you ~

b

e

c

k

o

n

i

n

g

with all her might

to come sit at her ruffly hem's edge

and just be...

she has cast her spell on me

and this week i found myself creating pretties

inspired by her intoxicating allure...

i very often find that i create ensembles

like this...

a crochet thrift store find,

can become an elegant beach dress in less than an afternoon

with a few snips there and a tuck here

oh!

and let's add some tie straps and a high lo hem there

and voila!

a sea side dress

just perfect for walking on the shore, no?!!

(i bet you'll never pass up a cotton tablecloth again ~ will you?!?)

and i don't know about you,

but my curly locks always end up looking

 w-a-y past windswept on the beach!

so to tame my locks and still feel pretty ~ 

 i created these simple little bobbies

with nothing more

 than a handful of freshwater pearls

and some sterling silver wire

something "washed over" me

when i was designing this tiny, wire wrapped shell rosary

it took me two strait days to wire wrap all those shells

but i simply ADORE how it turned out!!

and least we not forget the lobes...

...as in ear lobe adornments

freshwater pearls in two different shapes,

can become most lovely paired together

and will dangle beautifully

silver, pearls, lace and shells just seem so natural for the sea...

i can't wait to hit the beach in my new beach ensemble:)

now ~

 if i only knew when...

LOL!

not to worry

i will simply leave it on my mannequin until the day i return

to the sea,

the sea,

the beautiful sea...

sharing this post with:

faded charm's: white wednesday

freckled laundry's: air your laundry friday

common ground's: vintage inspiration

french country cottage's: feathered nest friday

romantic home's: show and tell friday

here's to creating pretties, inpsired by the sea!

...lovely laundry

...hello my dears!

i can't believe that summer is almost half over

i start to panic when i see the school supplies appearing on the shelves 

and i'm thinking,

noooo!!

w-a-i-t

i'm just getting into the groove of these lazy, hazy days!

and before you've even gotten around to your pink lemonade slushy

it's fall!!

as i imagine you are all

 SICK

of hearing about my drama

(ME TOO!!)

i thought i'd share a light an airy post today

hahahha

one H~O~T day last week,

i stopped into Target to get my mind off stuffs

and to see what was new

as i hadn't been there for a while

as i was walking back to the yoga ware

(gotta have cute comfiness when pretzel bending!)

 these summertime beachy shorts called out to me instead

yep ~

they called out my name

hey,

hey Rosemary

look at us over here!

as i said,

it was melty HOT

and i may have been delirious

anyhoo,

there were only two lonely pairs dangling there

a white pair

and a stonewashed denim pair

the white pair happened to be my size

(that never happens!) 

((lucky me!!))

i tried them on

and said yes please!

sorry yoga ware,

summer cuteness wins the day 

they were soooo comfy

lightweight and double stretch

perfect for summertime

i searched all the other Target's in my area

to find the blue denim one too

 only to find that they were such a hot item

they were mostly sold out everywhere

but that didn't stop me

i went on line and ordered them!!

now girls

denim never goes out of style

and i'm pretty sure cutoffs have been around for awhile too

and since lace is where it's at for me

ah hello

it's a no brainer here

give me one in every color you have please!

if this is something you'd like too

here's the Target link:

http://www.target.com/p/mossimo-supply-co-juniors-short-assorted-colors/-/A-14093376#?lnk=sc_qi_detaillink

they wash fabulous

fit true to size

and look pretty darn lovely on the laundry line too!

and no worries on ordering them online

if you get them and don't love 'em

simply return them to any Target store for a full refund

easy peasy!

here's the kickers i bought to go with em'

they're pretty darn cute and

believe it or not

comfy too!

it's summertime

we're girls

be happy!!

sorry

no link for the lace up sandals

they were a clearance item from V.S.

a bit of a random post i know,

but

there you are

you just never know what's going on in the land of odds

lol!

sharing this with

faded charm's: white wednesday

here's to lovely laundry!

xoxo

~ message in a bottle ~

...hello my dears

do you find that sometimes in life,

you feel shipwrecked?

 by that i mean ~

you have lost your footing

and things appear so upside down,

you feel as though you have awakened

on some deserted island somewhere...

which wouldn't be bad if J.D. were stranded there too

hee-hee!!!

(OH!)

((and WHO may J.D. be? you are wondering?!))

ahhhh...

JOHNNY DEPP

of course!!

(((i know, i know)))

yah, right!

anyhoo

back on that desert island thought...

 

here you are,

making the best of it,

gathering your sticks to build your beach shack,

and a sand storm blows outta nowhere and

BURIES

you

 

 

darn!

and those were pretty sticks too:)

FINE!

no problem you say

as you brush the sand off

and dig your heels in deeper.

 i'll look for a cave of shells instead...

not quite what you had envisioned

but you can make this work!!

after a long spell of shell cave hunting,

you close one eye for a bit of rest

(you know those starfish are carnivores ~ RIGHT?!?)

as you gaze up to those vultures circling above

 your thinking to yourself,

"self ~ how in the h-e-double-toothpicks did this all happen??)  

self doesn't say nothin'!

self!

SELF!
~ are you listing?!

nope!

~ but listen closely my dears ~

HE is!!

 one random day

you catch a glimpse of a bottle floating towards you

~ glee ~

perhaps a friend sent a "message in a bottle" to your floating island...

(them "c.i.a.gulls" know too much!!)

 

and there is no mistaking it.

a gift from a dear friend

has a message

L-O-U-D and clear...

 

 

your singed eyebrows furrow with disbelief

as a salty tear rolls down your sand stained face

you watch the clouds roll away

 as the SON shines down upon your greasy hair

(who knew travel size shampoos really ARE useful!!)

...grant it

you are still on that island ...

but you know that HE loves you

and He's got your back...

 

 

thank you my sweet friend,

for a most lovely mermaid's purse!

the fairies embellished it a wee bit :)

sharing this fairytale with

faded charm's: white wednesday

here's to those messages in a bottle!

...a white lace swan throw and lilac roses

...hello my dears

i must apologize for my infrequent posts

my desire for this blog

has always been to try and uplift you

and not to bring you

d

o

w

n

(ocean song roses)

i appreciate when you come by for a visit

and leave me your happy little sentiments

but i also feel it's important to be an authentically real girl too...

and let's face it

even in fairytales ~

crap happens!!

 

so here it is

in a nutshell:

things have not been going as we had hoped for our housing search

i will not bore you with the legistics of it all

but sum it up to only say ~

we have hit a snag

and we are on standby.

and quite honestly

i.  am.  depleated.

 

 

i don't know when

i don't know where

i don't know how

but i have taken a few steps back to ponder it all...

hence my absence

 

to keep my sanity,

as i pack it all up

~ AGAIN ~

i have been filling my spare moments with creative things 

...baking

(can we say sand dollar cookies?)

creating...

(lots o' sea earrings!!)

and

~ praying ~

 

everyday elegance is what i have to offer you

they are but pieces of who i am.

struggling to remain graceful and full of hope

i created this throw blanket

with what has become my muse

and constant symbol of

"be still and know that I am"

or

"just keep swimming!"

quiet and graceful is she...

 

 

are you surprised that i made her out of lace?!?

LOL!!

i adored Rachel Ashwell's british flag throw blanket

i had seen in a photo at her b&b

and decided to make one that would make my heart stop

 if i ever spied it a shop somewhere,

and throw up and die if i didn't leave without it!

hahahahhah!!

so i gathered up my pile of pretty laundry

and got to work

the background is a lovely, heavy linen throw made in holland

and the cross bands are from a vintage linen tablecloth

it is hard to see it,

but on all my cross bands

there are ethereal ruffles sewn on top, made out of tulle!!

it is exactly as i envisioned it

~ white on white ~

pure ~ clean ~ lovely!!

after it was all done

i didn't have the heart to use it as a throw

so it will become a wall hanging for now

yep,

no hot chocolate spills for this baby!!!

 

in conclusion,

i just want you all to know that i am grateful to have all of you

a collective group of supportive women,

who stop by every now and again

and leave me some sugar:)

and rest assured,
i'll be back with more pretties to share soon :)

~

sharing my white swan throw and lilac roses with

  faded charm's: white wednesday

freckled laundry's: air your laundry friday

 

here's to fractured fairytales!

...peony princess

hello dearest readers!

and

thank you ~

 for visiting the land of odds...

a place,

where you can come to escape into fairyland

even if only for a moment!!

aren't peonies one of the loveliest of flowers?

their season is but fleeting

they no sooner

 delight us with their elegant blooms,

and almost ~

in the blink of an eye,

they are gone...

this year,

i was fortunate to have 32

pink and white peony bushes!!

(do you think the landlord would notice

if i packed them

and took them with me?!?)

LOL!!

 i desired to capture their beauty to behold

as best as i could

so that long after they were spent,

i could still reflect upon their pure beauty!

here are what peonies look like through my eyes...

~ enjoy ~

~ a peony princess ~

climbing a ladder...

to catch a glimpse...

of the rarely seen...

peony bird!

have you ever seen one?

you would know it if you did,

for their nests are spun out of lace!

and oh!

 

what ethereal delight,

to step upon petals so soft and fragrant 

i should think that we were indeed

in fairyland!

could you imagine the feeling of petals upon your toes?!?

sheer bliss...

i loved how this next image looks fluttery

and  the peony petals are suspended in mid air

f-o-r-e-v-e-r!!

and if we were,

 to perchance

d

  r

    e

      a

    m

         .

       .

   .

upon a bed of peony petals...

do you think,

we'd ever wake?!

dreamy delightfulness!!

and that,

my dears,

is what peonies look like through my eyes:)

sharing this with:

brambleberry cottage's: time travel thursday

common ground's: vintage inspiration

french country cottage's: feathered nest friday

romantic home's: show and tell friday

the charm of home's: home sweet home

rooted in thyme's: simple sweet fridays

 

here's to beautiful peonies!!