Easy as ABC....

In an effort to help my little ones learn their ABC's, I thought it would be cute to embroider pillows with a little personalization.  I highlighted the letters in my oldest son's name with red thread and used white thread for the rest of the alphabet. The raised embroidery on the letters are fun to touch and make for a great teaching tool. I plan to put together one of these for my youngest son as well.  This is just another way to show my little ones how special they are.

 Keeping with the "learning" theme, I used this fun letter/number fabric for the back of the pillow.

Here's to adding a little fun to learning!

-Laura-

Good Food and Atmosphere

There is a new eatery in town called "Wheeler's Bagels".  They serve wonderful New York style bagels and sandwiches.  I highly recommend this locally owned establishment.   Here is a link to their website with all the details on their menu and location:  click here.

All images copyrighted by Beth Duncan

A recent addition to the atmosphere of this restaurant is some work from my favorite photographer, Beth Duncan. She specializes in nature photography as well as architectural photography.  A selection of her photographic works on canvas are currently on display at "Wheeler's Bagels".  Each piece is priced for sale and business cards are on hand for orders.

Image copyrighted Beth Duncan

Image Copyrighted Beth Duncan

Image Copyrighted Beth Duncan

Should you be looking for a good spot to grab a bite and relax, stop in to enjoy the good food and atmosphere at "Wheeler's Bagel's".  My favorite is the "Cinnamon Crunch" bagel.

-Laura-

In Bloom (July) Red, White, & Blue

Wishing everyone a wonderful Independence Day Holiday!  Here are a few of the flowers in bloom around the house right now.  In honor of the 4th, I have highlighted some of the red, white, and blue, blooms first.

New Bedding

Cleaning a king size comforter is a real chore.  They are too big to fit in a standard size washing machine, which leaves you to either make a trip to the laundry mat for an  industrial size washer (inconvenient) or the dry cleaner (expensive).  I have been on the hunt for a duvet cover that I could use to cover my existing comforter and then easily throw in the washing machine when it gets soiled. This is a real convenience with two small children and a dog in the house.  After shopping and watching for sales, I finally found a reasonably priced duvet cover for the master bedroom that I love. My find was on clearance at "West Elm".  I love the stripes of gray, turquoise, and green in this "Playa Stripe" duvet cover.

 As you have heard, "one thing always leads to another".  Once I had the new duvet in place, I needed new pillow shams.  I found some coordinating turquoise and green fabric 40% off at my local "Bernina In Stitches" store.  It took 2 yards of fabric and 40 minutes to make these shams with an envelope closure. I first sewed together my envelope pillows and then top stitched a 1-1/2" border for a "flange edge".

It always nice to switch things up a bit.  The new colors are nice for summer and I am really thrilled that I can just throw this duvet cover in my washing machine whenever it gets dirty.  Here's to hoping it holds up well (a tall order in this house).


-Laura-