Riverfront Walk. . .

Oh what gorgeous weather we are having on our vacay here in Napa Valley.  Last night hubby and I took the shuttle into town and walked along the riverfront.

With all of the gorgeous flowers and greenery growing up the buildings I felt as though I was in Italy.

The Agapanthus blooms were huge and they are growing everywhere!

After our stroll we dined at this wonderful restaurant by the river.

This fabulous light hangs outdoors.

Hubby had battered catfish and chips and I had a black (Angus) & blue (cheese) salad.  Both were delicious!

Everywhere we go we see lots of these blooming trees.  Some are white, and others various shades of pink.  Wondering if it’s a Crepe Myrtle?. . .Gorgeous!

Beautiful Strawberry Vanilla Hydrangea.  I have one of these in my garden at home.  It was just in bud when I left.

This monument Is a tribute to 9/11.  The beams are from the twin towers.  Seeing all of the names of those whose lives were sacrificed was a sobering moment!

I love old structures so this bridge caught my eye.

I’ll leave you with this cute little topiary squirrel.

Remember, Share Your Cup will return next week.  Hope to see you then!

hugs,

Jann

Treasures Along the Way. . .

Hello my friends, Just heading out to explore beautiful Napa Valley.

Wanted to hop in and share the treasures that I picked up along the way.

Whenever we go on a road trip hubby is so sweet to humor me.  He’s willing to get off of the freeway, travel roads less traveled, and stop at shops and scenic places.  Saturday morning we headed out and drove as far as Reno, NV.

While driving from Reno to Napa yesterday I found some fun finds!

Driving through one town we saw an ‘estate sale’ sign.  Scored two sweet little hurricane lamps.

And a few old books.  Love the patina on that first one!

This book shows you how to make flowers out of crepe paper.  I thought it might be fun to try making a few.

At a thrift shop I found an old Pioneer cook book, some utensils that look like they came across the plains. lol!, and two mustard colored handmade doilies.

At another thrift I scored some old Monopoly pieces in a small box.  No game board, but I loved that the houses were wooden. I wonder if the board came in a separate box?

As we were driving along we saw a sign that said, ‘Barn Sale’.  I was so excited and could hardly wait!  It brought back memories of a barn sale that my girlfriends  and I found while driving down the freeway in OR a couple years ago.  That one was fabulous!  This one, not so much.  I walked away empty handed.

But a stop into a consignment shop was well worth it.  I picked up a bundle of crochet hot pads and doilies, a cute cherry butter dish (that just happens to match a few other cherry pieces I own), and. . .

a green cheese shaker.  Not vintage, but still that wonderful ‘vintage green’ color that I love!

Hope you have a great week and find a few treasures of your own!

hugs,

Jann

This post was featured at Melissas Antiques for Thrifty Things Friday.  Thanks Melissa!

I will be sharing with these fun parties:

Melissas Antiques for Thrifty Things Friday

From the Garden. . .

Oh my friends, don’t you just love this time of year when you can prepare delicious foods that include a little something from the garden?

The last two evenings we have had garden meals.

Sometimes on a hot summer day a cool salad for dinner is just what the Dr. ordered.  I had a huge cabbage.  I picked it and trimmed it before I thought to take a photo so I just placed it by the next one that will be ready in a couple more weeks.

Gave it a good bath. lol!

Then I plucked one of these beauties.  Sweet Walla Walla Onions.

One of my favorites. . .Oriental Chicken Salad.

I think that most everyone is familiar with this recipe, but just in case:

Oriental Chicken Salad:

2 c. cooked chicken, diced                  1/4 c. vinegar         1/4 c. salad oil

4 c. or or 1 head of cabbage                2 T. sugar               1/2 tsp. salt

1 pkg. chicken flavor Ramon Noodles      1/2 c. slivered Almonds

1-2 bunches gr. onions ( I used my Walla Walla)

Mix chicken and cabbage in bowl.  Set aside.  Combine onions, vinegar, oil, sugar, salt, and flavor packet from Ramen noodles in bowl  Pour this mixture over the chicken and cabbage and mix well.  (Cover and refrigerate).  Just before serving; add almonds and broken Ramen noodles.  Stir until well mixed.  I felt like it needed more oil and vinegar.  Would do 1/2 c. next time. Or use 1/2 head of cabbage.  I used a half, but it was a huge cabbage!

Then last night I was craving a homemade mushroom and Swiss burger.  So I plucked a few more of those wonderful onions and look what I made as a side dish.   YUM-O!

Sharing my pinterest board with some other recipes From the Garden.

hugs,

Jann

p.s. I want to thank KerryAnne from Shabby Art Boutique for featuring my Changes in the Craft Room post at her Shabbilicious Friday party!

Looking Back in the Garden

Last night I was going through my photo folders and deleting ones that I had already used in a post.  You know, cleaning up my laptop.

I came across one of flowers blooming in the garden in June that I had never shared.

The last couple of weeks I have spent lots of time cutting these flowers back since they have already put on a show.

Sweet Rockets

Larkspur and Creeping Jenny

The fun of having perennials in your garden is that it is forever changing.

These blooms have now made way to Hollyhocks, Veronica, Coneflowers, Daisies, Yarrow, and others.

To everything there is a season.

Take time to enjoy each and every one!

hugs,

Jann

I will be sharing with these lovely parties:

Lavender Garden Cottage for Cottage Style Party

Fishtail Cottage for Garden Party

Rooted in Thyme for Simple and Sweet Fridays

The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home

The Dedicated House for Anything Blue Friday

Share Your Cup Thursday #111

Hello and welcome to Share Your Cup, (SYC) for short.  The party where you share the things that make you happy.

Just a quick note:  There will be no SYC next week.  Hubby and I will be off vacationing.  Filling our cup with a week of relaxation and fun!  Share Your Cup will return on July 30th.  Hope to see you then!

I hope that you are all enjoying life and filling your cups!

Let’s look at features from last weeks party:

On July 24th Utah celebrates Pioneer Day.  Debbie Dabble found these dishes that have a very Pioneer feel.

Sandi from Rose Chintz Cottage enjoyed these beautiful Lupines that grow wild on her gorgeous Prince Edwards Island with a wonderful fairy tea.

Tuula from Thrifty Rebel painted her sleigh bed in a gorgeous shade of green.

Pamela from Flower Patch Farm shared all of the gorgeous Black Eyed Susans growing in her gardens.

Trisha from American Honey Home shared her vintage camper.

My Do It Yourself Blog shared this creative cabinet out of pallets he made to store his garden essentials.

Thanks so much everyone and please grab my button if you were featured.

Don’t forget to hop over and see who is featured on my facebook page.
Now let’s get this party started:1. I would love for you to be a follower of Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson.
2. Link up a particular post and not your entire blog. Please limit your links to no more than three and please do not link up the same thing you linked up last week.
3. Please have a link back to this post. That way others will know where the party is. Feel free to grab my button on the sidebar if you’d like. Only those with a link back will be featured.
4. Please find time to visit at least two other participants. It’s a great way to find new friend

After you link up, please come back and leave a comment. They fill my cup!
When pinning, don’t forget to pin from their site and not mine.

I’m SEW Happy. . .Sewing Room Makeover

I am sew happy that I finally gave my sewing room a makeover!

I will be sharing my ‘happy space’ with Karen for her Where Bloggers Create party. Lot’s of inspiration there so please go visit!  I shared my Craft Room also if you’d like to check it out.



Have you ever done something and soon after realized that “you made a big mistake?”  That’s exactly what I did when I painted my sewing room brown a couple years ago. (I’m saving the before picture for the end).



It’s a small room just off of our master bedroom.  On our house plans it’s designated as the nursery/library.  No babies (thank goodness at my age) and not enough books to fill an entire room.  Perfect little sewing retreat!

Don’t you just love vintage sewing graphics?  My cousin gave me the old Butterick pattern book.  So sweet!  I had to display it.  And look at those darling buttons.



I love vintage lace and these are two of my favorite pin cushions.


Why brown?  I’ve never been a chocolate lover.  When it comes to cake and ice cream I’m white and vanilla all the way!  lol!  I know where the idea came from.  My sil, had just painted her craft room brown and I thought it was cute.  Decided it would look nice with all of my blue and pink accessories.  First mistake was that she gave me her color chip.  I thought I went a shade lighter than hers, but went a shade darker instead.
 
It’s much more of a ‘happy’ room now!  Caribbean Breeze by Benjamin Moore.  I also painted the moldings white.  They are a tan color all through our home.  Hope to change that gradually.



I modge podged fabric pieces onto my mannequin last year and gave her a fancy skirt.  The vintage hankies and linens are waiting to be made into a quilt that I pinned.



This cabinet once housed dolls in one of my girls bedrooms.  Perfect for a lot of my sewing necessities.

Let’s take a closer look at the shelves.

The polka dot basket holds my unfinished projects.  (some of them, anyway).  A few small quilts stacked on top. The two aqua containers hold fabrics.  Aunt Gracies, Civil War, etc.
The five white baskets in a row house fabric scraps stored in zip lock bags and alphabetized by color.



Quilt kits in clear containers.



Thread and the little heart holds extra bobbins.  I love boxes with sewing graphics!



A small drawer holds Aunt Gracie fat quarters.  Vintage jars with sewing items.



Charm packs, a sweet vintage sewing caddie, another pin cushion, and tins holding my essentials.





Books, rulers, and more kits.





Tucked inside the basket are a boot  pincushion, a couple of old wooden spools , vintage sewing needles, a little wool sewing kit, a pair of old scissors, buttons, and a little bear given to me by one of my grands.



The crowns remind me that in this room I am queen!  Hee-hee!



This sewing box belonged to my mother.  Either I or my sister, Jeanne made it for her.  We’re not sure which.



An old sewing machine sits on the floor by the white cabinet.  The sewing case was in pretty bad shape so I added bits of bird paper here and there letting some of the original case show through. The suitcase holds fabric.



In the corner hangs a decorative chandy made from old garden wire fencing.  It holds little sewing notions.  When we first moved into our home the door bell rang and hubby answered.  When he came back into the kitchen he brought the little wires holding the buttons and beads hanging in the bottom right photo.  Some neighbor kids were selling them for .25 cents each.  He gave them $1 for the two.  How cute is that?



I love numbers!  The little cubbies are perfect for bits of fabric.



The paper, fabric, and ribbon garland was a gift from my hair dresser.  She just gave it to me one day when I went in for a cut.





A couple of sewing themed wall decorations.  Bought the button heart at T.J. Maxx for $7.99.  I made the canvas one.



A quilt that I recently finished.



This tray holds projects I am (should be) working on.





On another wall I have this ladder shelf with more collections.  You can see that I am still painting the door frame around the closet.  Bye-bye tan!



A couple of vintage aprons. . . polka dots and checks. sigh!



The childs apron was a birthday gift years ago from my friend, Joyce.  The baby shoes wait to be made into a pin cushion.. Yes, I don’t have nearly enough!  The spools were a clearance item I bought a few years ago from Pottery Barn.



A closer look at the ladder.  Love this childs sewing machine!  A $5 yard sale find.



Thimbles in a jar.  I was thinking, bottled tomatoes, but some were too big for the jar., and a pieced watermelon pin cushion.



Lots of food related pin cushions. A cute wool one, and an old sewing basket.



Fun apron books, more needle cases, clips for holding binding, and a flower pot pin cushion.



My inspiration board.



Sweet little poem and some sewing themed jewelry.





This sweet chair  was from Pier 1.  And look at that back.  Swoon!


I have a comfy swivel chair at my sewing table.  The pillows came from a damaged goods store.  I plan on painting the table white, but still painting the closet and my cutting table.  Let’s face it. . .I’m sick of painting! That will be for another day.



The table top lamp came from a thrift shop.  Love the extra lighting!  The wonderful topper was a gift from a friend.



A sweet plate, a notepad for jotting down measurements and a little hobnob shoe holds pickers.  Although I never have to unpick!  (hee-hee)



I painted this sewing box ages ago.



I have to have a few healthy pin cushions to counter act all of the sweet ones!



More pin cushions.  Hate to admit that this is not all of them.  I think some will have to go in the closet.  I love that I can look out into my side garden sitting area while sewing.



Every sewing queen has to have her bling!



Now are you ready for the before ‘brown’ room?



What a difference, right?  This is a small space and really needed to be lightened up!



Now back to painting that closet!  UGH!

hugs,
Jann
I will also be sharing with these fun parties:
Savvy Southern Style for Wow

The Dedicated House for Before and After Wednesday

Lavender Garden Cottage for Cottage Style Party

Rooted in Thyme for Simple and Sweet Fridays

The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home

French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday

Shabby Art Boutique for Shabbilicious Friday

The Dedicated House for Anything Blue Friday