RJ Treleaven

Showing posts with label Snail Mail. Show all posts

Happy Saturday, My Lovelies! I wanted to share a little bit of our Christmas decor, and a few ways we're getting cozy this Christmas season.

We've bought several types of hot cocoa, and some Christmas teas and coffees. We love Taylor's spiced Christmas tea and O'Henry's Christmas blend coffee. There's nothing better than starting the day with a warm beverage when the sun is barely over the horizon.

I usually make tea every afternoon. I've received lots of wonderful cards, Christmas letters, and treats via mail. I've spent a couple of afternoons in my cozy art studio drinking tea and reading Christmas letters.

I want to thank all of you for your cards, letters, and treats.

They have meant the world to me this year. I am so sorry I have not reciprocated, but next year I am determined to send Christmas letters and cards.

Here are some of the goodies I received via mail. Thank-you Linda, Patti, Kitty, Kris, and Rita. Y'all have truly blessed me!

The socks are the coziest, and I love them!

I've already shared our poinsettias in this post, and I'm happy to report they are doing remarkably well so far.

I also placed several cyclamen and African violets around.

Another cozy tip for these dark, short days: add fairy lights to bowls of glass ornaments.

They're fun at night!

We also love burning candles at night. The fairy lights are fun, but candles flicker.

I like to change what I display in the middle of our Advent wreath.

Red votives on our mantel

We have several displays of ornaments (NOT on a Christmas tree).

These chartreuse ornaments are new this year.

The ornaments liven up the ivy topiary in our dining room.

Pink wreath ornaments hang in front of our MacKenzie-Childs dinner plates.

I placed faux flowers and evergreens in wall pockets.

I hope you enjoyed seeing some of our Christmas decor and strategies for getting cozy. How do you make your home cozy for Christmas?

Until next time...

Blessings!
Ricki Jill

Christmas Cozy

Saturday, December 17, 2022

Happy Monday, My Lovelies! Have you missed me? I've missed y'all!!! Shelley is back at work, and our staycation is over. The house seems so quiet!

I wanted to share a few highlights with you. Honestly we didn't do much, we just watched movies, read books (especially library books), cooked, played on Pinterest and Instagram, and finished a few art/creative projects. We also took the pups on walks and visited a few parks.

Our goal everyday was to find a little joy. For example, the Lenten roses, above and below.

I love the mixture of greens, pinks, and purples.

I'm on the Mediterranean Diet, but we did cook a few fun recipes, especially on weekends. One I'd like to share is a Blueberry Oat Mug Muffin. I found it on the Farmhouse Pottery website. I subscribe to them because Shanley Belle and Christopher registered for Farmhouse Pottery when they married, and I love their products. Use the link above to see the recipe.

I've tried many "muffin in a mug" recipes over the years, but this is the first one we've loved!

I'll be making one for my afternoon snacky-snack today.

I cooked mine in a really large mug so it would cool faster, but if you want a nice rounded top on it, use a smaller mug.

There's one art project I want to share. This was a project started several years ago when Shelley was in high school, and for some reason we never finished it. It's a little book from her Auburn University Art Exposure art class, and while I was cleaning out the art studio I found it. We didn't need to do too much work on it, just bind it. It's nice to complete unfinished projects!

I store projects like this in craft boxes to protect them.

Sometimes I'll take them out for display.

These paintings are a combination silverpoint and oil paint by Victor Koulbak.

There were so many lovely exhibits while Shelley studied there, including John James Audubon and Thomas Gainsborough.

We read. A lot. Especially in the afternoons...

We made several trips to our local library. We love our librarians! They are the best. Our library is tiny, but we can place books on reserve from the countywide system and pick them up at our local library. I've read so many books that there's no way I can possibly blog about all of them. Below is the shortest book review ever on my blog:

These are my favorites!

I will review the first seven books in the Bakeshop Murder Mystery Series in a separate post soon (probably early next week).

I have received some nice and thoughtful presents via snail mail. I am so blessed!

Did you know that MacKenzie-Childs is making pretty camouflage mugs? Well they are. At least they're camouflaged in my art studio! Check it out:

Patti from Pandora's Box sent me this beautiful mug from Aurora, and as you can see she knows me very well! It is my new favorite mug because I love the size, and it makes me smile to take it into the art studio. Some days I only sit in there, drink tea, and look at art books.

Jeanie from The Marmalade Gypsy sent me this care package:

I love the purple she wrapped everything in, and I also LOVE the pink ribbon :D Let's take a look at my loot:

I've enjoyed reading the tea book because it focuses on the history of tea and some of the traditions for serving tea.

When I changed my winter tray filled with all things hot cocoa for a spring tea tray, I decided to display the book because I can grab it easily when I'm on the sofa and read it. I also put out a nice assortment of teas for spring from Stash Teas.

The prayer books for cancer and breast cancer are both special, and Jeanie was a featured poet in each. This one, above, made me cry. Jeanie has many talents: she's and artist and a writer. She even made the purple felted hearts. I don't know anything about felting, but I see it a lot on IG and Pinterest. It's a neat craft!

Tomorrow, please join me and other bloggers for an Easter/Spring Tablescape Blog Hop hosted by Sweet Rita at Panoply.

I have also decorated other areas of our home (not just the dining room). I'll post about it on Thursday.

On Friday, I'll return with a Literary Friday post about this library book recommended by my librarian. Sometimes she'll read a book and text me to come pick it up because she knows what I like. I was blown away about this one!

Shelley and I did a little online retail therapy I'll also share at a later date.

Thanks so much for reading my blog. I can't wait to get caught up with a few of my favorite blogs this week.

Until next time...

Blessings!
Ricki Jill

Random Staycation Post

Monday, March 28, 2022

Happy Wednesday, My Lovelies! Wow, I can't believe how quickly this week is passing by, but I've accomplished several things that really aren't "blog worthy" but necessary, like completely cleaning and disinfecting our trashcan ;P

I've received some lovely things via snail mail lately, and I do think they're blog worthy.

This is Shanley Belle's birthday present from one of my favorite Etsy Stores, Sleightholm Folk Art. I really do love Heather Sleightholm's style, and she has some lovely autumn art and other items in her shop currently. She wrapped Shanley Belle's present so prettily, and she even included a beautiful bookmark, perfect for a bookworm like Shanley. Shanley Belle's birthday isn't until Mid-October, but I will post a photo of the art once she's opened it.

Lately, I've been a crazy spendthrift with books: I bought a few in Michigan, at our local Indie bookshop, and from Victoria Magazine. These beauties were part of a sale not too long ago, and they were only $5.00 each. {So I don't feel as badly as I should.} Our daughter Shelley and I are hosting a Bridal Tea for one of her best friends, and these books are inspiring us. We are truly looking forward to it!

Sweet Kris from Junk Chic Cottage sent me this beautiful devotional book written by artist Anne Neilson. I love Anne's art: she uses a palette knife to give it interest, depth, and texture. I can't wait to start this devotion (I literally have two days left on the one I'm currently reading): the timing couldn't be more perfect.

The book was wrapped, and the wrapping secured with the Psalm 91 sticker, above. Kris is a Happy Warrior, and we've talked about this Psalm several times in the past several months.

Psalm 91

1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”

3 Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.

9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

14 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”

Until next time...

Blessings!

Ricki Jill

Snail Mail Is Fun!

Wednesday, September 15, 2021

Happy Thursday, My Lovelies! Today I'm sharing our upgrades in the entry, and sharing what's in my mailbox! :D Snail mail is the best, isn't it!

First, I received a couple of books to review, and these two I'm VERY happy about:

I will review these books here on the blog soon.

Next, check out what Patti sent me:

Isn't she the best! These earrings match my tote named Le Countess de Monet!

We lover Courtly Check!

I also received the latest edition of Daphne's Diary. It's my favorite magazine!

Now I have a little story to tell you. We had a warm day not too long ago, and I got the bright idea to power wash the front of our house, just to get by until we have it painted in the spring. Our gables are very white, and our shutters and front door are black. The power washer is new, and apparently industrial strength because...

I literally destroyed our front door. I did that. It was not a pretty picture; I washed the paint right off. I also committed other damage we won't mention because I'm too embarrassed, and you will unfollow me and not be my friend.

I cried. Mr. Sketchy Reader laughed. Luckily for me, he knew about someone who special ordered a new front door that he thought was beautiful, but the persnickety homeowners were not having it. He loved it because it had fleur de lis in the leaded glass. He wanted to take a chance with the door.

Although it was custom, it almost fit. We hired a couple of carpenters to help install it because some of the trim had to be custom made for our home. Not a big fix at all, really. It was installed on the coldest day we've had so far this winter, of course! Why wouldn't it be? ;P But who am I to complain because Mr. Sketchy Reader saved the day as always.

Let's take a look:

The front door was a custom order by Feather River Doors.

We chose our full plate set from Rocky Mountain Hardware.

The Westies like patrolling the neighborhood for stranger danger, so they like that they can see out the front door now.

This is Finlay on Neighborhood Watch Patrol!

I was so relieved to replace the door, I gave our foyer plants haircuts...

...and I replanted one of my plant babies and added a couple of friends for him.

I also wanted to share something fun with you I saw in my inbox. Y'all know how much I love my SipsBy tea subscription box. Speaking of snail mail, it is my one consistent treat each month. They sent me a fun quiz today! Check it out:

You must take the quiz and report which heroine you're the most like.

I'm Elizabeth Bennett...I'm SHOCKED, I tell ya!

What have you been up to lately? I'm working on making a few changes in the art studio. I will share my progress with you soon!

Until next time...

Blessings!

Ricki Jill

RJ Treleaven

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