And here's why coming home is good too...

As I said, we felt as though we had been gone so much longer than we had because we got to have so much fun and relax too. It was just a weekend getaway but very refreshing. I'm a real homebody so I'm usually ready to come home after a time anyway but what a treat I was met with when we returned! In the mail was the Bits and Pieces Swap piece that Mizt (Tammy Gilley, sorry Tammy, I have to give everyone my own nickname) made for me. I cannot do this justice but I think you can get the general idea of HOW FAB THIS IS!!!!!! Pink, I mean it's pink and it's spectacular and wonderful and inspiring. It's every wonderful thing! Thank you so much, Tammy, and to Jen for making this happen. Here you see it in its new home, yes superglued, Mellie. I'm lucky!!!!!

What a difference a bay makes...

Someone slipped a mickey in our water recently. That can be the only reasonable explanation for our behavior of late. I read in the paper late last week that Oxford, Maryland was hosting their 4th of July fireworks this last Sunday. Paul had been out of town and so I didn't mention it to him until Friday and Saturday he jumped online and made reservations for us to stay at the Robert Morris Inn where we had visited for the world's best crab cakes last year when we were in Cambridge. I'm totally in love with Oxford, Paul and Matthew like it very much. It's so quiet, really just inns, one little general store, one little antique shop, one little museum, a yacht club, and the ferry to St. Michael's. My favorite spot is the huge grass-covered, huge-tree-shaded, over-looking the bay park. We had our picnic then nap on the blanket on the grass under the huge trees while gazing at the Chesapeake Bay.

The only other things there are one fabulous, adorable, yard-filled-with-flowers-picket-fenced cottage right after another and brick sidewalks.

Just one photo of the many we took while waiting for dark and the fireworks. My camera couldn't get the fireworks but they were wonderful.

Little out of order but below is an image from the Monday morning sailing lessons for the mini-yachters.

My favorite park in the world...

This tree is on the inn property, you can get some sense of how huge it is with Matt standing at the entrance to the inside which is completely cave-like...

..."inside" the tree...

...and the tree plaque.

We took the ferry over to St. Michael's so I could visit my favorite haunt and the boys could fish. I actually made some pretty good casts, it's like riding a bike. Matt, however, outdid us by catching EIGHT fish. Yes, catch and release.

The boy loves water and the beach.

A boy and his dad fishing...

...while the mom sneaks off for my yearly summer sojourn to Coco & Company, a totally wonderful antiques plus the very latest of the very best of home decor. The mix of antiques and reproductions, soaps, even shoes, jammies, jewelry-in a nutshell-a bit of everything at its best.

Here are the interior shots I snagged...

St. Michael's is also a wonderful place but very touristy, lots of shops, tourists, cars, etc. It's a good place to visit for the day but Oxford is where to go to relax.

When we pulled up at home Paul and I had the same thought, it seemed like we had been gone several days instead of a day and a half. It was nothing but perfect. We did and saw so much yet also got to relax a lot too. I'm not sure how it happened in such a short period of time, I guess it was magic, just as it felt.

Ducks in a row, birds are taking flight...

Well just after I was lamenting that I had to keep my nose to the grindstone and get all my ducks in a row, we've decided to take flight for a couple of days. We are headed to Oxford (yes, Oxford, Maryland). Seems that they will be having an early July 4th fireworks show so we're heading out to see what's what and get our fill of crabcakes!!! I shall be taking party pics and posting asap.

Character Constructions and Doojies Collaboration

Well if y'all are just going to continue to barrage me with requests to see the finished piece from the Catherine Moore workshop I attended, all I can do is try to please my public. So here it is. I didn't do too much tweeking after I brought it home but wanted to use real tree branches instead of commercial ones. And I want to have my fave moss and feathers in it. I called it a "collaboration" in the title because it's Catherine's images with with my arrangements. I even used the box that she picked out for me as a special treat to myself. And hey, I spent good money (and by good money I mean money WELL spent!) to get to be in her workshop so I could just be around her and bring home a little piece of "collaboration".

Look away Miz Gilley...Bits and Pieces Swap

Oh my gosh, am I glad I didn't look at the B & P swap group photos on flickr until after I finished? Or not...I started this by telling myself to get out of that f'in fetal position and put my big girl panties on and let it come naturally. Well it did, kind of. This is way more "MacKenzie-Childs-on-acid" than I usually do but all I hope is that Tammy Gilley likes it.

She said she likes fuchsia which, in Doojie's world, means that it must be paired with chartreuse. So that's what I did.

But first I started with my real love and passion which is d-3 collage assemblage using antique figurines and new art papers.

Then I started using some new cool stuff then totally got into using some really great things I've had hanging around that I've never used which I thought was kind of the idea of this, to use BITS AND PIECES left over from other projects And also got into an area where I usually don't go and THE WHOLE THING WAS SO FUN!!!! I love how these swaps challenge us to think outside our own little comfort levels. Thanks so much to Jenny of everyday-is-a-holiday for sponsoring and organizing this!