Christmas is over....

.....and all of the decorations have been tucked away in the attic for another year here at Mourning Dove Cottage.  I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday.   

I'm ready for spring now!  How about you?  Well, it's a nice thought, anyway.  I have been cleaning and rearranging the house and bringing in a few fresh new things.   

 Over the holiday I received a package in the mail.  I love getting packages in the mail!  It was from Deb at Posted-From-Home.  I was the lucky winner of her wonderful give-away a few weeks ago.  Her blog is a lovely place to visit ~ a house of love and spirit and creativity.   

The wrapping was tied with a cute "Christmas Wishes" tag, including a lovely hand written greeting card, and a glittery post card with a bird. 

 She made this salt/flour bird ornament with the December 25th tag. Love it!  

And....this handmade "mug hug" (below) which is perfect for keeping my cup of coffee warm during the next few months of cold weather.   

 It's already hugging my cup of coffee and keeping it nice and warm.  Thank you, Deb, for these wonderful gifts! 

This week will soon be over and a new year will be upon us. 

I hope all of you have a safe and very happy new year! 

Goodwill and the winner

Goodmorning!

Hope everyone had a good weekend.

We enjoyed the cooler temperatures here in the south on Saturday and Sunday, but I'm hearing more hot weather is on the way.

I want to show you this pretty ceramic dish that I found at our local Goodwill store. I love the flowers on the lid. It will be perfect on my bedroom bureau to hold my small pieces of jewelry.

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Soooooooo, today is the day I pick the winner for my 700th post giveaway.

After pouring my cup of coffee this morning,

I put all the names in a basket and pulled one.

And the winner is Angie at the Thread Catcher.

Congratulations, Angie!

Please email me your address and I will put your goodies in the mail.

Thank you, everyone, for participating in my giveaway. I love getting all your sweet comments and I appreciate your friendship.

Enjoy your day!

Donna

Lucky

My good friend, Sherri, over at Sherri's Jubilee recently had her 450th post giveaway and I just happened to be the lucky winner. Oh, the excitement! You'll want to stop by to visit Sherri and see her lovely blog. She makes the most gorgeous jewelry, and has a wonderful etsy shop.


And this is what I won ~ all wrapped up pretty in this polka dot green paper...

A beautiful pair of earrings that she made just for me. I was able to pick my favorite color!

Thank you, Sherri! You're the sweetest. I LOVE my new earrings.

Enjoying the sun, and an award

After days of rain, it's nice to enjoy some sun...

and a few blooms around the garden.

Strawberry blooms!

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And, I received a special award from Rhondi at Rose Colored Glasses. I must confess though, she gave this to me a few weeks ago and I just realized I hadn't posted on it. (I'm sorry, Rhondi ~ sometimes I think I'm losing my mind!) You are the sweetest, and to pass this on to me means alot.

Thank you!

Hope you all have a sunny day today!

Simply delicious

Here is a very easy recipe for a delicious meal. I made this last evening and it was so good.

"Creamy Chicken Enchiladas"

To make the recipe even simpler, I used canned chicken.

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas
Prep: 15 min. Cook: 25 min.

2-1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 can cream of chicken soup (10-3/4oz.)
1 cup sour cream (divided)
2 cups shredded colby & monterey jack cheese (divided)
1/4 cup chopped cilantra (divided)
12 (8-inch) flour tortilllas
1-1/2 cups salsa

Mix chicken, soup, 1/2 cup sour cream, 1 cup cheese, and 3 tbsp. cilantra. Spoon about 1/4 cup chicken mixture down center of each tortilla; roll up. Place seam side down in greased 13x9 inch baking dish. Top with salsa and remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 min. Sprinkle with remaining cilantro, top with remaining sour cream. Makes 6 servings.

I cut the recipe in half, but I added a bit more cheese and sour cream.

I added a chopped lettuce salad on the side with a dab of sour cream and chopped cilantro on top.

And for dessert........

J-e-l-l-o

How simple can that be?

Jello brings back wonderful memories of my childhood. My mom and I would make jello and a cake every Saturday. That way we would have jello for dessert on Saturday and a cake for dessert on Sunday.

I still have one of the old jello paperback cookbooks. Jello is such a fun dessert and it's light, plain and simple.

Simply delicious!

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And I also want to add that I received an award from Deb at Posted from Home. Thank you, Deb, for thinking of me. You're one of my best blogging buddies too!

Enjoy your day everyone!

Making lemonade

I've been given the "lemonade award" by Julie at juliekingart, and I want to thank you Julie for bringing a bit of sunshine to my day! This award is based on displaying great attitude or gratitude and I must say Julie is just that kind of person. Please stop by to see her and check out her fabulous art!

I always try to be positive and upbeat just because it seems to make life a little better. And I am very thankful and content in what I have and try to enjoy the simple things in life. And so I will pass this on.

The rules for this award:

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.

2. Nominate at least 10 blogs which show GREAT ATTITUDE &/or GRATITUDE!

3. Be sure to link your nominees within your post.

4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.

5. Share the love & link to this post & to the person from who you received your award.


I'm going to bend the rules a bit and list three, as it would take forever to add all the blogs that I feel, and that I visit, that have great attitudes and show lots of loving gratitude.


I'd like to pass this award on to:

Jenny at all roads lead home, a delightful person, an artist. She has a big heart and a great sense of humor.

Rhondi at Rhondi's rose colored glasses. Rhondi is an inspiration. She will serve you a cup of tea and share with you her lovely home and garden. She makes beautiful quilts.

Kim at happy at home. And just as the title of her blog says, Happy at Home, she is, and she will share with you her recipes, decorating, thrifting, and gardening.

Enjoy the day!

Thankful for friends

I was recently the lucky winner of Deb's 2 year blog anniversary give-away!

Her beautiful blog, Posted from Home, is a place I visit often to enjoy her stories, her quotes, her garden and home, recipes, and crafts. I know you will enjoy your visit there too!



So today the package came in the mail. I was so excited to open it, but first, grabbed my camera so I could show you too!

It was wrapped beautifully and there was a sweet note inside from Deb.




The first thing I opened were four beautiful hand knitted dish clothes. Aren't they wonderful! I love the colors and the shapes. They're almost too pretty to use.





Then I found these great refrigerator magnets. How fun!

Next, was a lovely delicate button bracelet. Beautiful! I'm wearing it right now, Deb.

A Maya Angelou sun catcher ~ I love the quote.

A mail-a-magnet photo frame. How great! I already have an idea for this.

And, a fabulous Martha Stewart "good things" book. I'm looking forward to sitting down with a cup of coffee and enjoying each and every page!

Oh, but wait...there is something else. It's for Otis and Riley!

Look, Otis and Riley. It's a doggie calender! How cute...and there are doxies just like you.

Otis and Riley would like to thank you.



And I would like to thank you too, Deb. What a very kind and generous giveaway.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

And now, I'd also like to mention two awards I received.



Protege at Life Work and Pleasure gave me the Kreativ Blogger award. Thank you, Protege! She writes about her adventures of life, work and pleasure and has a beautiful blog. Be sure to go and visit her.




And I was given the ~ fabulous fall decor ~ award from Kim at Happy at Home. Thank you, Kim! You'll want to visit Kim's blog where she shares her lovely home, garden, decorating, books and recipes.






"Friends are the sunshine of life." -- John Hay (1871)



Thank you, my dear friends!

Cameron, North Carolina, and an award

The historic town of Cameron, NC had their annual fall Antique Street Fair on Saturday. Hubby and I headed over to my sister's house for the weekend.

First was a stop at Starbucks for a cup of coffee. Otis and Riley love to stop at drive-in windows.

Of course, the guys opted to play golf while my sister and I planned to spend the whole day at the fair. Cameron is just south of Chapel Hill and Raleigh. We cross Lake Jordan.

Cameron is a small village with beautiful historic homes and wonderful antique shops. The fair is held every year ~ spring and fall.

This is the historic Muse Bros. Country Store.

Venders were lined up all along main street and in vacant lots.

Beautiful antique linens.

See these two hurricane lamps with the dangling crystals.........that's right, they came home with me.

This is Miss Belle's Tea Room and Antiques. We were going to have lunch here but the wait was too long so we decided to do it another time.

Isn't Miss Belle's a beautiful place?

More fun things.
The fair ended at 5:00pm and my sister and I were there till the very last minute. What a wonderful day! We met up with the guys, had a nice dinner and headed home the next morning.





This I bought at the fair too. Couldn't resist!

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An Award!

This morning while checking my email, I noticed that sweet Suzanne at painterofthepast gave me an award. The Kreativ Blogger Award. Thank you, Suzanne! I'm honored and delighted that you thought of me. And I will pass this on to everyone, since all of you are creative in different ways and that's what makes visiting each and everyone of one of you such a joy!