Normalcy...........

has seem to sweep right by me...my my how time changes and takes us into a new year and new endings....new beginnings....which I try to keep the endings close to heart.....but cherish the new beginnings....after all......if we are allowed new beginnings.....we need to except them, breathe deep and run with them.
As all of you have experienced.....loss has been a part of my 2017. My beloved little Bentley died in September...only a few days away from his tenth birthday. He was such a sweet, dear soul.....I had to make the decision to allow him over the bridge....was the hardest thing to do ever.....but he needed to be out of pain and at peace....I have missed him so.

My mother who was 85 fell and was in ICU for several days and I was so tired after dealing with this, which was my own fault......just spent a lot of time there and did not take care of myself, came home and slipped and fell in my home that weekend and broke my hip. But had a wonderful surgeon and am feeling great days after surgery. Truly, I’ll be riding bikes and walking as soon as the weather breaks.....I have a sweet hubby, he stayed with me for a week after I got released from the hospital.

My mother died of the complications of her fall on December 14th. I had just spent time with her at rehab and we laughed, had a few tears of frustration on her part and had just left her when I had gotten home and they asked me to return. 

She died peacefully and quickly and that is what she would have wanted.....she was just getting into Alzheimer’s. So although it was a hard time for me, for her and myself, her wish had come true. We should all be so lucky, I was truly glad she did not suffer.
When all this was going on.....we chose to get another sweet baby that was being nannied to us from Oregon a week later. Already committed, Brinkley arrived scared to death of everything and everyone. We had the best lap nanny ever.....and he arrived in her arms safe and sound. He’s been a challenge to get to trust us but after him being with me for a week more of recovery and exercising around the house.....he is my constant companion and I adore this little guy. He is mellow and very different from our sweet Bentley.....but he is loved and so cherished. I am soooooo glad we have him.


Christmas went well....my Gbabies had a great time this year....they are 5 and 1/2 and Christmas was way fun. It is amazing how fast they grow but then again so did my daughter. All parents think that. Where does time go in those very early years. Next year kindergarten....whew!

Life is good at the Squires house hold. The hubby continues to work hard but he loves his job and I am forever grateful for that. Brinkley is asleep on my lap as I post and the day is warming up with the brilliance of the sun. I have had the “crud” for about a month but actually today feel quite a bit better.
I would like to leave 2017 behind me.....but I also know that life gives us all kinds of advantages and challenges. My dear friend Donna lost her beloved hubby that when she met at 14 she knew she would marry and they did. Right after she graduated HS. They had been married 41 years and she’s 58. He was a gentle soul and so loved her, told the world he did before he passed. It was so hard to loose him but his legacy lives on in such a gallant way of gentlemanship, of how he loved his wife so much and respected her so much. I was honored to call him a friend.

So life changes quickly around us everyday and it is how we except and go forward with those changes and challenges that make us the person we are. I am blessed by nearly three years being cancer free. I will be creating and leaving things here as I do. Life is settling down and I am ready to be so much more creative. I hope you have found whatever give you passionate and clearness of your days. Laugh, giggle sit down and have a cup of something you love. Enjoy the sun, the upcoming spring and the colors the earth will turn. Be creative, scower Pinterest....LOL and paint some furniture! Be happy and healthy of body, mind and spirit.

Thanks for stopping by......

Life goes up and life goes down.......

and I between the hecticness......we all try to find some creative time.....some time of our own......and through the last few months....I have not had much of any........
I moved my 85 year old mother out of a house she has lived in for 53 years. It sold fairly easily, closed quickly, got her a very nice assisted living....independent living facility very near my home......and she hates it.....change is hard....and I totally understand that.....but blaming someone all the time for your own life changes and abilities to handle those changes .....and live on your own.....has been.shall we just say......an adjustment for her. She seems to be settling in a bit after three months of blame and shame.....I have always said....change happens all around us everyday of our lives.....it is how we deal with those changes that makes us the person that we are.....so after many hospital ER stays in a short time.....making her try to feel welcomed and adjusted.....the past few months have been crazy and hectic to say the least.......BUT........
Today....I have received a cold.....and I have slowed down.....coughing, hacking....just a cold...it just hit me hard.....
I have stayed down today......curled up watching the tube.....gosh do people still call it that...LOLOLOL....and sipping something hot and steamy.....my sweet hubby brought me lunch.....and I have done nothing!.....but I have been on Pinterest......what a shocker!...LOLOL....how better else to spend the day....curled up in a soft blanket with my IPad......so hang I there for me....I'll be posting soon!
Stay safe and warm........and thanks for stopping by.......
Jann

Dragon Slayer.......

Recently my Daughter took her two kiddo's to the Oregon Coast.....just like she and I did when she was at that age........and came back with some fabulous photos for me to scrap layouts with.

So adding that I vowed to use "scraps" this week while designing anything and everything....I used a ton of bits and pieces on this layout.....enjoy the week coming.....and make something to add smiles to ones that you love........scrapping is such a genuine memory that will linger for many, many years to come.....they grow so fast and stay little for only a short time......capture those simple moments just like I did.....on my Gbabies very first Carousel ride.....he will never have another first to "Slay a Dragon"....enjoy the colors of your life. Thanks for stopping by.........

Scrappin the afternoon away.......

It's always nice to spend time in my room scrapping my favorite subjects.....my Grandbabies!
They are twins but very opposite in personalities.....they show lovingness and companionship with each other often.

So yesterday and today I got to take advantage of some beautifully taken photo's of my little sweeties for their Fourth Birthday shoot.

With my Grandson being still very young I decided to add some florals to his layout but did so with a mesh ribbon of open burlap, died green to make his a bit "less" flowery and added a few buttons.

Then adding more blues and greens it all came together well and ended up a sweet layout for our little guy. He is a sweetheart of a kiddo....with such a personality of gentleness and yet there are "snips and snails and puppy dog tails." in his life.

On my Granddaughter's I added a few more flowers and girlie things.....and it was fun and colorful but all blended together.

It's always fun to scrap these two........I look forward to catching up on some layouts of these little guys with their 5th birthday right around the corner!

Scrap those photos.......dedicated to those of a generation that will simply remember that we cared so much to take time to do so. It's such a pleasure to be able to do this........remember how much fun they will find in looking at them and passing them down from generation to generation.....life left behind......... tailored to bring them smiles........ with remembering great times..........that come and go so quickly.

Enjoy your week.....treasure the ones you love and cherish the memories you are making for them.

Still in search.......

for the perfect Settee......I have went around and around thinking to myself what if.....no that's not quite right......but I LOVE the look of this....the fabric is fabulous....but not my color.....but the "frame".....OHMYSTARS....the frame is delicious! Recovered in my blacks, red and wood tones....it would be just plain yummy and would fit right in to my home. I could imagine my friends sitting here having an iced tea and we plotting out next adventure.

Then I think....no no no.....I need a bench....a real bench....but a warm and inviting one.

But the only place I have ever come across anything like this was at "Sweet Salvage" in Phoenix, AZ. And just how I would get it home....ummm...no there's another problem.

Sooooooooo..........something simple like this could work.....great lines....great seating.....comfy. I know where to get this and I love the "wing back" appearance....but no....its just not "right."

But then I always go back to something less "structured".........ah yes...the first one.

I think when you design and play and except change with validly....it is hard to make a decision on a specific style. Although my home blends and sees suttle changes in simple things as small tables, chairs , florals, pillows, fabrics and antiquities.....my basic pieces have stayed them same.

But what I tell my clients most often is to "play" and look for those small changes that can give your home a complimentary "adjustment.". Mix up your art, prints or collections. Gather them into a new surrounding.....a new cabinet you've had your eye on....a piece long overdue for a change of color.....a taste of paint. Mix it up...."un-match" it up....move it around....color up for accents....breathe in calmness with blending your colors....all is acceptable.....all is just plain good.

Whatever makes your home.....warm and inviting to you.....your friends and family. I think it should always give you warmth and comfort and allow you laughter and loudness.... peace, quietness and solace......now there my friends.....is good design.

Enjoy whatever you are doing today.....and remember to think "outside" the box.....you might just surprise yourself. Thanks for stopping by and sharing your time with me.

Gardening.......

it is a love/hate relationship.

This spring however.....we have loved it.
And mostly every year.....being only in our home for three years...and two of them blocked out with  something that kept us from doing as we have wanted......did not allow us to tend our flower beds and gardens the way we would have liked.

But this year......oh my stars......it is surely very different! Thank you Mother Nature for a beautiful spring!

I was so happy to have had our stream beds in for a couple years and just fine tuned them last year....made all the difference....this year! Things have grown and crowned and fallen over the edges and its so pleasing to our eyes.

It is nice how the walkway beds have filled in.

Our Azaleas have bloomed well this year.

And our "creepers" are creeping and our simple flowers are dancing!

The hub and I really wanted to do an "English Garden" setting for everything.....and it's finally filling in to give us that look.

So this "Love/Hate" relationship I have had trying to get these plants to fill in and grow....just needed me to be more patient and understanding that soil and sun.....work well together....and gathered together with some TLC works wonders........it is so fun to have so much color to gaze upon everyday.

Enjoy your weekend all...be ever so careful if traveling and enjoy your "three-dayer."

Tuesday's RED......

I have had quite a few clients approach me to "add" some spring color to their homes. I truly think the long spring we have had here in Idaho has given everyone a "spring-fever-bug" to get their homes changed up a bit with some added color...and most requested seems to be red.

This is one of my most favorite dining niche's. I love the wings....the dining chairs and the settee near the windows. Look at how this brightens up the area.....and still soothes the eye and mind. It's a bit of color I have to admit....but still with all the patterns and textures it is fabulous but look at the "tones"...they are so similar. This whole house from what you can see in this photo is beautiful. I am sure the owner is a happy camper living here.

This bedroom expressed the same...different patterns in red. But its a warm and comfy mix. I love this as well. Who wouldn't love a bedroom that encases you and offers you calmness yet gives you such fluid design and calmness.....And....BTW....get a load of that mirror!

And once again....here's just a hint of red. Faded stripes and florals adding so much awareness to this soft porch and wicker settee. I love tulips that bend and bow in their container. Isn't this beautiful how the greens and white and red all blend in together?

But let's not forget just the "hint" of red to make this entry table seem dramatic and of depth.
Seeing.....red....it can be "outstanding and brilliant" or just as suttle as faded stripe and tulips past their prime. Whatever part of red you prefer.....add some to your spring and brighten up your home from this long awaited summer. Idaho is beautiful right now....with this long spring we have had.....the earth is bursting with color.....add a bit to your home and "feel" the change from seasons.