COTE DE TEXAS: The First Day

The First Day

 

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The first day of the year, the rain is finally gone and the sun is out –  a perfect start to the decade, beautiful enough to make one forget economic woes and other bothersome worries.   

It seems almost that spring is around the corner instead of the lurking dead of a February winter.   The sun’s warmth and the lack of wind calls for open windows that welcome the fresh, crisp air inside.

 

 

 

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A wayward branch of a potted orchid becomes a blooming flower in a majolica swan (Objects Lost and Found.)

 

 

 

NewYearsDay 001Though there was a rare, early snow, the roses continue to bloom…

 

 

 

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….as if they too are defying the date.

 

 

 

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And although the pink and white cyclamens prefer the frigid air,  their bright blooms fool the eye into thinking it must be some other day than the first one of the year.

 

 

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The birds that winter here, like to linger and bathe in the same chilly water that the dogs will later claim in the summer heat.

 

 

 

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Squirrels hide their acorns in pots where in the spring, forgotten, tiny oaks will emerge among the ivy. 

 

 

 

 

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The shells are the promise of the coming summer – closer now that the winter solstice has passed and each day is slightly longer than the last.

 

 

 

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Later, as the light starts its inevitable march into dusk – a decision must be made.

 

 

 

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Should you stay, in the open, drinking up the last warm rays before dark?

 

 

 

 

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Or, better, here, sheltered from the cold night air that is sure to come, nestled up against welcoming arms and soft pillows, a perfect perch to bid goodbye to the first day.

84 comments :

  1. Lovely post :0) Now that the holidays are over I yearn for spring! Everything looks lovely in your backyard..I love the iron table and chairs -they are sooo cute!

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  2. I always felt ready for spring as soon as the holidays were over...Now, that we live in Brazil, where December marks the near-peak of Summer, I almost immediately get that warm-weather "fix."

    Lovely and perfect little getaway you have there!

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  3. What a serene, beautiful post Joni!
    Excellent start to the new year -
    love the orchid and the swan photo~
    Jackie

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  4. Joni, Happy New Year, nothing at my house ( plants) looks like yours.

    I too am ready for late spring.

    Barbara

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  5. Lovely poetic post! Here on St. Simons we are about to undergo frigid weather - the natives make a big fuss - thanks for the charming look at blue and white on the patio with the cyclamen pinks against the variegated greens and white so lovely and full of promise.

    Suzanne on St. Simons

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  6. Roses still blooming in Stone Mtn., GA too.

    I could smell your garden and hear the water in your urn. You're having fun with the still life's & it shows. Delicious.

    Garden & Be Well, XO Tara

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  7. How wonderful to see a touch of spring. The ground is completely covered with snow here. The snow is pretty but there is something so special about the hope that spring and flowers bring.

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  8. Now that's a garden I could get some blogging done in. Isn't the new Year in Texas wonderful?

    Happy new year!

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  9. Beautiful inspiring post. I do see a book in the makings? The images of your garden are so beautiful, I can imagine Spring poking its head through all of the beauty. Thanks for making me take a deep breath.
    Blessings for 2010. Mary

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  10. As i look out my window at the whipping winds, freshly fallen snow and watch a "couple" of cardinals sway on the feeder...I would say... stay out as long as possible and smell the roses and then nestle up in the eve...and reflect...

    Happy New Year!

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  11. Ahh; sounds good, we are expecting more of the white stuff this evening. Well, it is white; at least it works!!!
    Have a good weekend Joni;
    Leslie

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  12. Very nice post. You painted a beautiful picture with your words.
    Enjoyed the photos also.Loved the kitchen window scene.
    Looking forward to all your wonderful posts this new year.

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  13. Lovely! And your faucet. Oh, my. Your faucet. Happy 2010!

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  14. Joni - you've got a courtyard that any New Orleanian would covet (speaking as one, I certainly do!)

    What a lovely spot to work and spend the first day of the new year.

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  15. Very poetic! Beautiful post.

    I fear for your laptop, though...in my house, a big golden retriever (or a little girt) would knock it right off the perch!

    Happy New Year, Joni!

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  16. Happy New Year Joni and thank you for all the inspiration you provide in posts like this one. Your blog is one of my frequent stops online.

    Wonderful photography today. I enjoyed it immensely.

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  17. Very pretty and reflective post. Your images have certainly improved, and I don't mean just the new equipment either. Nice job Joni. Maryanne:)

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  18. What a charming garden. It is a place for us here in the cold north to dream of. I could wile away the hours...

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  19. I do envy you, Joni! I'm looking at your lovely pictures as I sit here watching snow come down - yet again - here on Long Island. What was supposed to be "snow showers" is apparently sticking and starting to accumulate.

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  20. Great poetic post Joni. And of course, you know how much I love your backyard! I am oh so jealous of the Houston winters. The snow has blanketed everything here and there is absolutely no sign of plant life to be found, accept of course the evergreens. Soon enough though we'll have tulips and daffodils - that is if those effin' squirrels haven't dug up all of my bulbs! Happy 2010!~

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  21. Happy New Year, Joni! Oh what a lovely post! No better way to start the new year than with a post about your lovely home! I love it! Love that beautiful sink area and covet your windows - they're so clean too! :) Your garden is so nice and I love your fountain. I just love a lot, don't I? :) Wishing you the best for 2010!
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia ;)

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  22. Lovely post. I always love to see photos of your courtyard and what a surprise to see flowers in bloom right now! We are receiving the second snow fall of the season as I type...spring is a long way off for Boston!

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  23. Much needed post since I have been enduring dreary, gloomy, snowy Indiana weather.

    I'd love to see you post photos of the exterior of your house to get a sense of how your interior photos relate. I am also anxiously awaiting the continuation of your Top Ten Design Elements list. Then I think you should publish a book with your Top Ten list.

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  24. Beautiful! I am so yearning for those days of relaxing in the sun, and playing outdoors with my family. They're coming!
    Hope you have a great day, and Happy New Year! Beth.

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  25. This is why we live in Texas!! While much of the country is frozen and bleak, we are enjoying spectacular winter days. We do have our miserable months for sure, when we suffer through the withering heat, but winter can be absolutely glorious. One of our favorite things to do this season is put a fire in the fire pit in the courtyard at dusk and take a cigar and a glass of cognac outside and just talk forever. The smell of the pinon wood is so cozy. Sometimes it'll even get cold enough to drag a throw from the den outside to wrap around our legs.

    Joni, thanks for reminding us to savor these beautiful Texas winter days!

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  26. I love the "aged and weathered" look of your brick flooring out there. Such a wonderful place to relax and reflect on the past year and the one ahead. Can't believe you still have roses! Not in Tyler!
    Brenda

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  27. What a great first day of the new year post! Thank you for sharing your beautiful winter oasis.

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  28. I am coveting that majolica vase! YOu ahve me yearning for Spring as I see your yard and lanterns and shells. But the CYCLAMENS!!!! Oh, to be able to grow them in pots outdoors!!!! This is torture as the winds are HOWLING right now here in Pa.!!!! Happy New Year, Joni and thanks for your blog. It is a "gift I give myself". Pinky

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  29. OMG I want to have coffee in that garden right now. Instead it's snowing outside! Happy New Year!

    xo
    Eddie + Jaithan

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  30. Joni, what a lovely way to start my day. Both your prose and photos are beautiful! I love the first few photographs... just beautiful. Did you get a new camera? If so, may we know what it is? :) It has gorgeous resolution. All the better to see the details in your postings!
    Where we are it is a bracing -17 degree below zero. Even my darling dog refuses to go outside! So enjoy your lovely weather in TX and I will enjoy it vicariously through you!
    Happy New Year,
    Kathy from MN

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  31. Roses and open windows. Goodness, we really do live in different parts of the country, don't we? As I type this, I am swaddled in red pashmina with Edward on my feet. And still freezing!

    Wishing you a wonderfully happy new year, Joni!

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  32. Flowers in the garden, wow
    I look out onto snow and more snow, and the weather man says we will get more tomorrow...
    Happy New Year, Joni
    Enjoy your roses

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  33. Cold and gray here and a bit nostalgic that all the children and grandchildren are back to their real lives. As soon as the last decoration is repacked today I will head to the nursery for pots of blooms to create our own glimpse of spring. Happy 2010 to all

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  34. I love your garden courtyard! My roses have not done so well this winter...but at least spring comes early in the Texas hill country

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  35. I was so, so happy to see wonderful sun light again. It really was a perfect first day, wasn't it?
    Happy New Year, Joni:)

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  36. Joni
    As I said before I know you run on Starbucks, and no sleep the way you keep pumping out these wonderful posts.
    And I'd do my blogging/reading right in that wicker chair on your back porch. Beautiful to look at those flowers and the rose, as we are freezing here in VA.
    Thanks for the beauty this morning.
    And I still haven't figured out when/if you sleep! Amazing.

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  37. Joni,
    How wonderful to find myself again standing at your kitchen sink...one of my favorite places in bloggyland. Just wanted to wish you a happy new year and congrats on the mention "Go-To Blogs" in House Beautiful. I picked up the issue while at the airport in Houston. I hope my voicemail that I left wasn't to intrusive, but from one Texan to another, I just had to say "Howdy"...xo Lisa

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  38. Happy New Year to you and yours. thank you for the beautiful, thoughtful post.

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  39. Joni, As soon as I started reading and viewing the pictures I took a deep sigh and became so relaxed. I swear you are a natural born writer. You need to write a book!!! Your courtyard looks lovely and welcoming whether it is sunny or wet and cold out,everything looks so lush and inviting. Love the blue and white with the pink, my favorite combination outside. It looks as if you had a day of pondering on the first day of the year and what a pleasand day at that, Hugs Kathysue

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  40. Why does it make my heart leap
    just to know that there are
    roses blooming SOMEWHERE!??

    And
    in your garden ... .
    makes it a double treat.

    Perhaps that's why we love to share the good stuff with one another
    here in bloglandia ... .
    it takes us away from the
    yucky stuff.

    Thanks, Joni -

    Jjj

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  41. Lovely, reflective post. Speaks of a calm mind...good for you.

    I think I need me some Texas!

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  42. Thank you so much for your sweet comment! Your blog is a continuous source of inspiration for me! I can't wait to see what 2010 brings! Happy New Year!

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  43. what a lovely place to spend you first day of the year. Happy New Year too.
    debbie

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  44. Wait - you can't have cyclamens? really ?????????? wow. that's out cold flower. We would die without our cyclamens and pansies! I guess you can't grow pansies outside either??

    And I use a nikon d90. love it! I got it early last year and wrote about it actually.

    http://cotedetexas.blogspot.com/2009/06/photography-101.html

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  45. dude, you're killing me. We're having sleeting snow, again!!! This was a lovely post and it is nice to know that the weather is nice somewhere. Well, off to shovel.

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  46. I love when I open my email for work and there's a new Cote de Texas posting! I iive in San Diego and it's been about 70 degrees the last few days - what a glorious way to start the new year.

    I am looking for new faucets today and love the one in your kitchen. Do you know the style and brand? I'm looking at Grohe since I've heard the are well made.

    Thank you!
    Bridget

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  47. Heading to Texas very soon. Yeah....good weather there. I like that. Happy New Year! cheers, -s

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  48. Perfect post for the first beautiful and telling day!

    To an amazing 2010 Joni...looking sooo forward to your inspirational and beautiful posts!

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  49. Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!

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  50. Oh, yea thanks Joni! It was 2 degrees this morning with plenty of snow still on the ground! More to come.

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  51. Joni,
    Sweet sentiments for the new year. I too just love being at your kitchen sink...so beautiful and gazing out getting lost in thought.
    It's a wee bit too cold here in GA to open the windows just yet, but I do love Spring and will be waiting for it to come soon. Blessings to you for the new year, I look forward to seeing where you will take us next!
    xo

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  52. It is hard to believe it is winter in your garden. Great pictures--gave me spring fever. I still have roses too and the gardener says it's time to cut them back. Happy New Year! --Delores

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  53. Am so glad seeing these wonderful photos your shared to us. Rather all the snow shots, I seen this past weeks now.

    Loving every angle, Lady.

    Blessings,
    /R

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  54. Thanks for getting me ready for Spring! Now that the holidays are gone, I look forward to my first bud in the garden.

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  55. Where did the lovely lantern come from? We live in midwest and are covered in snow!! I love the curtains for Elizabeths room. Have you shared the name of the fabric? We just built a french inspired home and your site has been an amazing resource! Will send photos soon if you would like.

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  56. As I type, the temperature here, in Northeast MO is 5 degrees(F). I don't want to even think about what the wind chill factor is.

    Joni, this post is beautiful! It warms me inside and out! Thank you!

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  57. Joni these photos certainly warm this Canadian's soul. :) Very delightful! -Brenda-

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  58. Beautiful post. What a wonderful way to start the New Year. Thank-you - Laura

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  59. Hi Joni,
    Beautiful post! I so wish it was warm enough to be outside here on the first...but we are having weather with lows in the 20's right now...awful! I'm soooooo happy each day has a bit more light now...I always think about that on December 21st. :-) Your gardens are soooo lovely...thanks for that little break from Old Man Winter.
    Susan

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  60. Beautiful photography of the roses and plants! Thank you for such a cozy warm post.

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  61. Joni,
    Thank you so much for the email and the comments on my little post. I really appreciate it more than you can know. Yes, my computer is in for repairs. HP is backed up 3 wks. on repairs due to the holidys, yuck! I am using my grandaughter's comp. today. Your post is beautiful and you do have a poetic way with words. Please never stop.
    love to you,
    nancy

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  62. So jealous that you still can sit outside and enjoy the fresh air- here in Boston is is about 10 degrees and we have LOTS of snow on the ground. Now that the holidays are over its time for Spring to come already :)

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  63. oh joni, i can't go here right now- if i start wishing for spring, i'll never make it through winter!! :)

    i'm so jealous of your perfect blog spot!! it's gorgeous and i'd be out there ever day too.

    love it.

    xoxoxox

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  64. What a beautiful, beautiful post. You bring so much joy and beauty to bloggy blog land... don't ever forget that. A-M xx

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  65. Lovely post. You are loved and appreciated by so many. Happy New Year.

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  66. It seems the more I read your Blog, the more I want to read your Blog...great stuff!

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  67. So beautiful and such a nice post. Thanks.

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  68. Happy New Year Joni! Your home looks simply devine! Tracey xx

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  69. Absolutely lovely. It's bitter cold here and Virginia is the South! Happy New Year to you and your family.

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  70. Fun post. Love the swan vase. I envy your mild winter/year-round growing. My backyard is buried in four inches of snow...the evergreens are the only sign of life. I do love winter, but for about four weeks, then I'm ready for gardening.

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  71. Can I come sit with you? It is brutal cold everywhere I go these days?!

    Anyway, this post rings with hope and promise. I am with you.

    Here is to the brightest and most hopeful of decades. Happy New Year, Joni!

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  72. I covet that courtyard :)!

    Happy New Year, Joni!

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  73. Joni;
    A little story on it's complicated garden,..... I know you luv the movie....
    la maison fou blog,
    Leslie

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  74. Love your courtyard blog spot. Inspirational!

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  75. Why don't you open up a B & B or a Coffee House...
    I would be there lots!
    pve

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  76. Happy New Year, Joni! I feel like I just spent the morning with you. You home is GoRgEoUs!

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  77. Joni, these pictures are surely from your archives, right? It isn't that beautiful in Tex. now, is it? No wonder Tex. are so proud of their state. I can't believe the flowers, the sunshine, the foliage, your patio. You make me think it may be spring in Tex. Beautiful post. laurie

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  78. Love your garden stool! So gorgeous. I'm a Houstonian too! Love your blog.

    www.agnesandco.com

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  79. Lovely post, Joni! Happy New Year!

    On my blog I don't know how much you can see of my friend's house where we celebrated New Year's, but you would love it. If you ever come to Dallas, I'll take you there for a tour and also to another friend's turn-of-the-last-century mansion that is a work in progress but to die for.

    Did I mention Happy New Year?!

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  80. Open kitchen window, garden in bloom, comfy wicker chair and a computer...all I'd need more would be a mug of tea. I froze to the bone on the playground after school today.

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  81. * YES, Joni, I REALIZE I've said it~~~ maybe EVEN about a gazillion times!~~~ but IT'S T*R*U*E... everything here is BEAUTIOUS!!!! Thank ye, thank ye, thank ye!!!

    XO,
    LInda in AZ *
    bellesmom1234@comcast.net

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  82. Oh so lovely! Photos and your poetic words...beautiful way to start the new year! xoxo

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  83. I LOVE your photos! Do you take them yourself? Beautiful blog.

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  84. CDT,,,, W would love it if you would show on your website again BEFORE AND AFTER photos of your recent design redo's !!! LOVED REDO IN TANGLEWOOD, PART ONE AND TWO !!!!

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