"My Andrew"......

 

 It has been 9 years ago today that my grandson Andrew made me a "grandma"......From a tiny baby back in New York, to our So. Cal boy now, each & every year has been such a priviledge to be part of. 

 

 

 From a baby, to a toddler, small boy & now a 9 year old.... each stage has been so exciting! Who knew how this little person would have taken over our lives & hearts!

 

 

 Our family has become much larger with Andrew in the middle of it all!....Between family activities, weekly baseball games & the everyday, this sweet boy connects us all with love & enthusiasm...& reminds us daily what strong "family ties" we all are a part of.....

   I asked Andrew a few weeks ago, if he would like to come down & stay with us a few times over this coming summer?....reminding him that I would understand  if he wanted to spend more time with his own friends. He didn't miss a beat!..."Nini!...I NEVER feel like that! You're my family!"

....O.K. did I mention I love this kid!

 

 

 So Andrew....on this day, May 18th, 2013, I want to thank you for being my grandson...for making me a grandmother......for being sweet & kind & funny & smart. For being a great reader, mathematician, baseball player & friend .... For being a great kid!

 

And now being a big brother..... you & I can show Declan how special it is to be a "grandma & grandson"!

I love you beyond words Andrew!.........

Nini

xo

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"The Great Gatsby"......

 

 

 My one Mother's Day request was to go see the movie, "The Great Gatsby". I had adored the version with Mia Farrow & Robert Redford when I was in my teens, in the late 70's, so I was so excited to see how this new version was!

 Well it didn't disappoint!.....The movie is spectacular!....Leonardo De Caprio & Carrie Mulligan  are fantastic, as well as Toby McGuire!.....It is a visual delight, being transported to another time of opulence & beauty!....And the clothes!!! The glorious clothes!!

 I highly recommend reading about the world that F. Scott Fitzgerald created in the pages of "The Great Gatsby",.....

or better yet, spending an afternoon at the movie, allowing his world to envelope you!

 

Enjoy!

 

Heidi

xo

 

" pale & ethereal"...

 

 

"the lovely Daisy"....

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"Mother's Day".....

Over the years, Mother's Day has been celebrated in a variety of ways. As a child, it was presenting my mother with a hand crafted card made at school.....Then in my teen age years, it was finding a sweet affordable gift I knew my mother would love. After I was married, Mother's Day became one where the entire day was devoted entirely to my own mother & my mother-in-law, brunch with one & dinner with the other. Then soon, I too joined the motherhood club, so the day became even busier, hosting celebrations for the matriarchs of our family, mothers, grandmothers, aunts, etc.

   A few years later my husband & I moved from Washington State to Southern California, where all of a sudden the day was all about me!....Of course gifts were sent to our mothers, but the day was very much my own...which selfishly I quite enjoyed! This is how the holiday remained, until my own daughter Holly, had my first grandson...& so the day was shared happily together.

   When Holly was married a little over a year ago, & since living over an hour away, I was remembered generously with a lovely gift, card & phone call on the special day!.....However she spent the day with her husband & children, last year with one son, this year with two.

    With just three of us at home now, my younger daughter Mallory & my sweet husband have made sure that Mother's Day has remained a thoughtful & memorable day.

    My message is this.....Mother's Day is a very important day. It can take many forms. It can be enjoyed many ways, with lots of people or just a few....a large celebration or a quiet one. From one year to the next, this day's celebration may change,.... but no matter how you choose to spend it, Mother's Day is special,.... & one that every mother truly appreciates.

Thank you to my family for making me always feel loved...

Love you bunches...

mom

 xo

 

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"Strawberries/Rhubarb/Pie".......

 

 With Mother's Day in just a few days, I am seriously "hoping & hinting" that come Sunday, this incredible strawberry-rhubarb pie will be lurking around somewhere in my house.....

 

 

And if you would like to take it one step further, ( I always love taking things one-step-further!)....

Serve your pie in these very charming pie-shaped boxes!.....AMAZING!

 And the spoons??...Really?....Can't get much cute-er!

 

Happy Pies!

Heidi

xo

 

Note: Photos from Pinterest/Dine & Dash & Etsy/ALAMODO

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"A Garden"......"A Library"

 

We are planning to move into our new house in just a few weeks.....

    I have room for a very large garden, which I am mentally imagining to include raised beds, berry supports & lots of trellises for climbing veggies, as well as a couple rambling roses!.....So the "garden" is a very realistic goal...

  As far as the "library" reference.....I believe for now, a couple bookshelves we have had for years may have to do!.....However, when our budget catches up with our wish list...built-in library shelves will be first on my list!

Happy decorating!

Heidi

xo

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"The List Writing has Begun".....

I have news.....We have purchased a house!.....After 4 years of renting, we will once again be homeowners....& it feels great!

Now keep in mind, my husband & I like "projects" & believe me we will have plenty!....The new house is very dated, circa. 1988.....it is very plain....& quite worn.

On the flip side....

 it sits on a 1/2 acre,

 is out in the country,

 has a small barn,

 large pool ( with slide...can't get more dated than that!...but grandsons LOVE slides!),

 old antique-y gazebo,

 3 prolific orange trees,

 a courtyard

 & a terrifically large area for a garden!.....

If you can tell, I am beyond excited!....I have purchased at least a couple notebooks where the list making has begun!...Lists of paint colors, fabric swatches, indoor tasks, outdoor tasks, etc. etc.

We will be moving in late May/early June & I plan on blogging about our progress, our mishaps & everything in between!

Hope you'll join me!

heidi

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"The Winners"!!......

Good Morning!.....

The last few days have been busy ones for me.....so am just now posting the winners of my

"Glittered Ragball Easter Egg" giveaway!!.....

Please forgive my tardiness!

Thank you so much to all of you who left a comment here on my blog! If you are one of the lucky winners, please write me at heididevlin@gmail.com & give me your address, so I can send off your darling eggs!...just in time for Easter!!!

Here are the winners!!......Enjoy!!.....

Your friend,

 heidi XO

Wendy......the Large Eggs

Dorinne, Kathy R. & Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions...the smaller eggs

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"Glittered Ragball Easter Eggs".....a Fabulous Giveway!!!

 Happy Sunday to you all!.....

With Easter right around the corner, I have been busy creating lots & lots of my

"Ragball Easter Eggs"!...It seems many of us are filling pretty baskets with these amazing beauties!.....giving them as "favors"!.....or hanging them from bare branches, creating old fashioned egg trees!...

These sparkling eggs are always a favorite seasonal item in my etsy shop, Heidi Devlin Design,.....

 However today I thought a giveway might be in order!......

Just leave a comment here letting me know that you are interested!.....

I will collect all of them & announce right here on my blog on Tuesday the lucky winners!!....

( Three giveaways!....1 set of large eggs....& 2 sets of  smaller eggs!)

Good Luck to you!!

heidi

xo

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"I Miss Martha!"....

Am I the only one that misses Martha Stewart?

.....I so miss her daily television shows, not the most recent one with the live audience, but the ones from her home & her garden.

( although I would take that one in a pinch!)

I miss the days when late morning rolled around,.... after spending time cleaning the house & throwing in some laundry,.... I could turn on Martha & see her planting a bed of yellow roses....or showing how to properly paint kitchen chairs, her signature green...

or decorating a beautiful cake with edible flowers!

 It was all so inspiring!

After spending an hour with Martha, I remember allowing myself just enough time before driving carpool, to stop & pick up ingredients for a delicious new recipe, or a darling craft project!

She was simply that good!....

Her home, her garden, her kitchen, her recipes, her decorating!

It has to be almost 30 years when her "Entertaining" book first came out. My husband & I were visiting my mother in law in Palm Springs. Everyone had gone golfing...except me. I chose to spend the day wandering the mall, a treat without children, just me. I wandered into a bookstore & saw this amazing book. At the time it was a bit price-y, but I bought it anyway.

That book changed my life.

For the rest of that trip, I devoured each & every page of "Entertaining"...laying by the pool, relaxing on the patio & in bed before turning off the light.

Martha taught me so much!!....Of course that book was her life at Turkey Hill, which I thought was amazing!...Country life at it's elegant best!

Through the years I have enjoyed everything she has offered!

She took "homemaking" to a whole new level, & for many of us,... taught us that staying home & creating the most incredible environment for our families could be as important as any career!....

that our homes were the canvas & we could create anything!

Thank you Martha!

(but I am still crossing my fingers that another show is in our future!!?)

heidi

xo

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"French Enamelware"...my new obsession!

 French Enamelware is my newest obsession!

.....I don't own a single piece, but I am very willing to change that...

I remember years ago being at an antique show here in San Diego, & being drawn to a booth that was filled to the brim with the most amazing French enamelware. I was simply captivated...

the lovely colors... French blue, a gorgeous pink & the white, the glorious white.

I loved the shapes, the irregularities & the charm each piece offered.....

 Now years later, I have many collections..... earthenware bowls, lots & lots of white ironstone & a hutch filled with brown & white transferware, but somehow the enamelware has eluded me?...

So I am asking for advice from all of you.....What do I look for?....What should I pay?....& where are some great sources?....

I know all this could be googled over the internet, but asking real friends is sometimes a much better way....I am open to any information you may have!....I know there is great knowledge among us!

 French enamelware is in my future!

Thank you for putting up with me!

heidi

xo



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"My Darling Boys"....

This evening begins a new year of baseball for my oldest grandson Andrew.....& this year he will have a brand new,.... & fairly small, new "fan",.... his 8 week old brother Declan.

My husband will be taking in the game, but alas I have the ladies coming over for an evening of quilting.....not great planning?

Even though tiny pieces of fabric will be keeping me from attending the game tonight, my heart will be there in spirit,...

beating quickly for my darling boys....

heidi

xo

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"A Taste of Spring".....

I realize that winter still has a hold on many areas throughout the country,...however there is no reason what-so-ever that you can't create a bit of "Spring" in your own kitchen.....here's how....

STEP 1: Make a batch of these amazing "Coconut Lemon Bars". A friend brought these, along with the recipe to my Christmas Cookie Party over 35 years ago....( oh my I feel old?) They are incredibly delicious & a cookie that seems to be much better suited to springtime, than the winter holidays. I have made them over & over through the years & they still are one of our families favorites.

Coconut Lemon Bars

Ingredients:
Crust: 3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cup flour

3/4 cup powdered sugar

Filling: 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup flaked coconut

Orange/Lemon Glaze:

1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

3 tablespoons orange juice

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Directions:Cream butter and powdered sugar. Blend in 1-1/2 cup flour. Press mixture into bottom of ungreased 13x9x2" baking pan. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes. Mix remaining ingredients; spread over hot baked layer. Bake 20 minutes longer. While warm, spread with Orange-Lemon Icing.

Cool; cut into bars about 3x1".

Yield: 32 bars.

STEP 2: Open your cupboards & take out any little flowered dessert plates or saucers...you know the ones....those that just begged you to buy them the last time you were out antiquing. (or any pretty plates that look like Spring will do)....Add a generous square of the cookie bars on each person's plate.....

Now close your eyes, take a bite & think Spring!.....

Enjoy.

heidi

xo



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"My Very Favorite Blog".....

 I love visiting other blogs. I gravitate to those that inspire me, & allow me to take a glimpse into the "everyday" of other homes & families. This is where true inspiration thrives, in normal homes, with normal families, enjoying the normal activities that make up all the months of the year. I love old homes, wild gardens, an occasional recipe & antiquing.....all photographed in the most lovely way.

 With that said, I have to say that my favorite blog is one that fits all this criteria. The blog I am referring to is Sharon Santori's "My French Country Home". It is where I go first when browsing my blog list. Sharon writes about her life in Normandy.....her family, her friends & her day to day observations, which very much appeal to me....& I'm sure to many, many others as well!

                        Whether it is Spring, Summer, Fall or Winter, Sharon's daily entries are ones you simply need to experience yourself!.....

Her thoughts are honest & simple & incredibly beautiful....and may I say today's post is one of her best!.....

You must go visit "My French Country Home".....

I believe you will find it to be one of your favorite blogs as well!

Happy Sunday.

heidi

xo

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"Saturday".....

Greetings Friends!.....

You would think that living in Southern California would give you Februarys filled with warm, balmy days?.....but that it not entirely true, expecially this year!....It has been blustry, windy & cold!...until today.....Today is mild, sunny & completely feeling like Spring!....& I am loving it!

After a morning walk, we had an al fresco lunch on the patio of a neighborhood Mexican restaurant & it was lovely...so lovely....

Now home with a cake in the oven & the project of glittering of Easter eggs on the coffee table, it looks like the perfect Saturday afternoon.

I hope you are enjoying yours as well!

Thank you for stopping by.....

heidi

xo

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"The New Year is here....."

The New Year is here.... 

and with it all sorts of "beginnings"....or resolutions, however you would like to phrase it.  ( I prefer the former! )

Of course there are the predictable ones...lose weight, exercise more, clean out all your closets, etc. etc.

....but along with those, I like a few long term, more creative ideas as well.....

So here is my list....

No. 1- Begin writing/sending my on-line newsletter, "Living Little with Heidi" consistently.

( happy to report that No. 1 is in process & will be sent in a few days!)

No. 2- Begin writing my "Living Little with Heidi" book...same format as the newsletter, but in a "real, page-turning book", available late Fall/Christmas,... for purchase through my blog.

( thrilled about No. 2, & very happy I have a few months to work on it!)

No. 3- Plant a small organic garden, in my suburban yard

( would much rather say "country/farmhouse" organic garden, but "suburban" is the reality)

No. 4- Teach myself to cook "healthy & super delicious" Mexican food.

( I attempted this last year, was semi-successful,... & then became lazy, returning to the rather "unhealthy", but extremely delicious variety)

No. 5- Finish what I begin.

( first heard this saying in "Campfire Girls" many, many years ago....and have struggled with it for years...hopefully this year it will take hold...at least long enough to finish pajama pants for my grandson, Andrew)

O.K. so here it is...my 2013 "beginnings".....I know you have a similar list, right?

Together we can do it!...I know we can.

Good Luck to you...& me!

Your friend, Heidi.....

P.S. if you would like to receive my free, on-line newsletter, please write me at heididevlin@gmail.com

 



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"It's Time!....Time to Sign Up for my Very Vintage Christmas Swap"!!

   It is that time of year again when we all are beginning to think about the holidays!.....& for me part of that is hostessing a Christmas swap!...This year, I am bringing back the "Very Vintage" theme, with my swap being entitled.....Heidi's "Very Vintage Christmas Swap"!!.....and oh! how I would love to have you join me!
   For this swap, I am asking each of you to put together a delightful box of goodies that include the following.....(which will be made for your assigned partner!)

* a holiday recipe....
* something "vintage",... or "vintage in feel"
* something homemade....
* something  "new"...
* something "edible".....

   I am also asking each of you to make your box as exquisite as possible, keeping your partner's tastes in mind!.....Create a box you would love to receive yourself!!....With the economy the way it is, please try & be very creative, trying to keep cost at a minimum! :)....We're all talented women, so I know we can do it!
   I will be keeping this swap open for signing up from now through November 18th...will assign partners on November 19th & will need all your boxes sent by November 26th.

• If you are interested in joining me, please feel out the information sheet & e-mail it back to me at heididevlin@gmail.com!.... I so hope you will want to join me in this holiday tradition!! :)

Information Sheet:
Name:
Address:
E-mail address:
Blog:
Favorite holiday colors?
Style: (contemporary, primitive, cottage, mid-century, traditional, etc.)?
Do you like glitter? or prefer a more natural look?
Favorite scents for candles?
Favorite holiday treats?
Hobbies/pastimes?



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"it's getting to look a lot like christmas".....

"snow dusted candy canes/$18/pair"

with halloween over, thanksgiving on the horizon... & christmas right around the corner....we are all on the lookout for a few charming additions to our own collections of holiday decorations!

please come visit me at my etsy shop "heidi devlin design", where i have some of the most amazing handmade treasures!....all looking for a new home at your house!

all my items are handmade, hand painted & hand embellished & ever so sweet!

hope to see you soon!

your friend.....heidi xo

                                                      "ragball snowballs"......$18/5 balls

                                    "snow dusted candy canes"...in tan/white...$42/5 canes

                                                      "cozy winter pillow"....$34/pillow

                                                "fanciful santa claus pillow".....$38/pillow

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"Hopefully Tomorrow".....

Good Morning Friends, I am feeling very patriotic....Just filled out my ballot, along with my daughter & husband,... & am off to drop them off.

Hopefully tomorrow will be a turning point in this country.

Hopefully tomorrow real change will begin.

Hopefully tomorrow America will soon be on the road to recovery.

God bless America!

heidi

XO

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"November".....

Good Morning Friends! Thank you so much for stopping by.... & let me say "Happy November" to you all!....October was a lovely month here at our house, but a month that was so full of commitments, activities, birthdays & such that it seemed I was continually preparing for the next event!?....I know many of you have times like that as well,...& even though you enjoy it all, it is a bit difficult to catch your breath!
   So needless to say, I am tickled pink to welcome in November.....for me a month of busy, but slightly calmer weeks ahead.....or at least that is what I am hoping for!....Afterall,...we all know how quickly "nothing planned" evolves into " too much"!
   Off to cleaning up the remnants of Halloween & then onto a quietly busy day of pillow making.
    Wishing you all a lovely beginning to November.....Your friend, Heidi XO

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"Halloween Has Arrived"..... at Heidi Devlin Design!

 Good Morning!....
 Happy weekend to everyone!.....Well it appears that Halloween has truly arrived in my etsy shop "Heidi Devlin Designs"!!.....I have something for each of you!! The most charmingly "spooky designs ever!!! These are the most recent additions, but I invite you to visit my shop for even more!

The above pillow is my new "Halloween Subway Art" pillow....measuring 20"x20" it is simply the only pillow needed to welcome in October's favorite holiday!

My "Spider" pillow is very "creepy"..... but may I say in a very sweet way!!

And of course my "Skeleton Hand" pillow needs no introduction...simple, graphic & completely Halloween!....I would love for you to stop by & see what is in store for you this Autumn at Heidi Devlin Designs! See you soon!...Happy haunting!......Heidi XO

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