F is for FRIENDS and I have some of the best!

F is for fantastic friends!

On February 6, several friends met at an Italian restaurant to celebrate their friendship and to enjoy the frivolity of the afternoon. My dear friend, Robin Fritz, organized the entire event, did all the decorating, supplied the favors and even paid for the luncheon! She has the most creative ideas, and she holds our group together with her love, humor, and the biggest heart on the planet! You all need a "Robin" to be friends with!

Flowers were used as centerpieces along with the cutest garland and display of cupcakes.

Each place setting had a cute, frilly doily, a bottle of red nail polish, notes and chocolate heart candy.

From the back~~my sister-in-law Joanne, Linda, Tracy, Dana and Melinda
~~notice the mirror that is adorned with red hearts and cute garland~~

From the front~~Beth, Robin, Toni and Suzanne
~~notice the full tablescape decor~~

Another photo of the table and Toni chatting with Tracy
not pictured: myself (taking pictures) Andrea and Heather

Our friendship table where 12 friends came together to dine, laugh, cry and share.
We have quite a diverse group with some ladies as new moms and some of us have grandchildren! Most of us are involved in education ranging from early childhood daycare to an assistant principal! Actually 10 out of 12 of us are/were teachers and 2 work at our local library.

I hope today's letter "F" inspires you to love your friends and celebrate your friendships quite often.

Mrs. Matlock, our teacher, has her class do a different letter of the alphabet every Thursday-Friday, so join in on the fun or just visit other students who participate in the letter jamboree.

This links back to Alphabe-Thursday for the letter "F"

E is for Eyes

Well school is in session again and Mrs. Matlock, our teacher, has chosen the Letter E for our assignment this week. I almost didn't make it to school today because I have to have surgery on my knee tomorrow (torn meniscus) and I wanted to rest up for the occasion...actually I couldn't think of anything for the letter E !!!!! Alas, I thought long and hard and I finally came up with "eyes" because my grandchildren have big, beautiful blue eyes.

Here is 3 month old Lillian Sarah with annoyed eyes because the cat is bothering her!

Here is Brandt Joseph with snotty nose eyes after playing in the back yard.

Brandt wasn't feeling well so this photo is of his sleeping eyes.
Brandt tends to be shy around people so this is a photo of his shy eyes.

Brandt loves watermelon so this shows his very satisfied eyes.

Brandt was much younger in this picture and his cute eyes sort of take over the entire image.

My mother is 95 and she lives with us. You can see eyes of wisdom in this photo.

Goodness...look at the mischief in these eyes!

Brandt and his friend, Lauren, share eyes of love!

Eyes of pure happiness!!!

Lucy, our lab, displays eyes of protectiveness for her family.

Lucy with her forever loyal eyes.

Eyes of pure wonder!

Eyes of summer fun.

Brandt had so much fun on Christmas Eve that he has tired eyes.

Stop by Mrs. Matlock's class to see other students share their images and thoughts of the Letter "E."
This is linked back to Alphabe-Thursday for the Letter "E".

Pink Saturday and Vintage Valentine Party

Welcome to a special Pink Saturday hosted by Beverly at How Sweet the Sound and a Vintage Valentine Card Party hosted by Joan at Anything Goes Here. For our Pink Saturday celebration we have a slight departure from posting "pink" only, and we can post anything related to Valentine's Day.

My first photo is of a darling vintage Valentine card that I purchased at a flea market. This little girl has white netting as part of her cute bow.

Here is a vintage pink Valentine card with a dark-haired beauty.

Two happy and cute sweethearts share Valentine's day with hearts and roses.

So coy and cute.

A vintage 1947 Valentine card from my father to my mother.

A pink and pretty vintage Valentine card for my dad from my mom in 1946.

Apparently I gave this vintage Valentine card to my father in 1949 when I wasn't even a year old yet!

A vintage card from my parents.

A special Valentine card from my precious grandson.

They just don't make cards like this anymore!

A Valentine book at the base of my decorated feather tree.

******A Valentine estate sale find******

~~~~~~Lacey and cute~~~~~~

******From an estate sale******

Valentine horses and a cute little lass!

Couples in hearts celebrate Valentine's Day

Visit all the participants for Pink Saturday and the Vintage Valentine Party to see pretty cards and lovely Valentine decor.

~~~~~~Have a LOVE-ly weekend~~~~~~

D is for DOLLS

Welcome to Mrs. Matlock's class and her study of the letter D. Please join me on a journey that will take you to a bazillion photos of Dolls and more Dolls. You may recognize some and some may be new to you. Enjoy the ride and I hope some of the photos bring back happy memories for all you doll-lovers.....

This first photo is of two porcelain dolls that I bought at a doll show. One is named "Sarah" (my mother's name and my granddaughter's middle name). The doll on the left was naked but my mom made the pink dress, added the pearls, the ribbon and the flower to make this doll a proper lady!

Stamps of "Classic American Dolls".

Shirley Temple with messy hair.

My mother made this doll dress and hat. She used to knit or crochet every day, but her eyesight isn't what it used to be because she is now 95 years old.

The next four dolls all belong to the same series. Each bride doll has on a variation of the same dress. The first photo shows the 1990 interpretation of the dress. You can also see a picture of my mother taken in the early 1920's when she made her Confirmation.

1930 dress along with my grandparent's wedding photo from 1913. The photo on the right shows my mother as a bridesmaid.

1900 version of the dress along with a photo of my husband's grandparents.

1960 bride in the dress with a photo of my mother and father on their wedding day, September 12, 1943.

A beautiful doll with lots of lace!

My first walking doll from the 1950's. Everything on her is original except for her wig.

Three Vogue dolls from the 50's. There are two Ginny dolls in complete original outfits including the pink headband. One is a straight-leg walker and the other Ginny is a bent-knee walker. Their older sister, Jill, is in a dress that was made by my mother. I have Jill's original clothing saved. All three dolls have new wigs which need to be styled again.
I'm not sure if this doll is a Toni, Sweet Sue or whatever???? She is from the 50's and she still has gorgeous coloring on her face.
"Shea" from a doll show.
Old and new dolls in my daughter's baby cradle taken years ago in our former house.

Pink Vogue Ginny from the 50's

American Character Tiny Tears from the 50's...I loved playing with this baby doll. Everything on this doll is original except her shoes.

A vignette with a reproduction doll taken in my former house. Most of my dolls were packed for our move almost 6 years ago and I never bothered to unpack many of them.

My display of Christmas dolls on a sideboard in my kitchen. I pack and unpack them every Christmas!!!

Close-up of some ballerinas and some Apple Cheek dolls.

More ballerinas and Apple Cheek dolls.

Clara from The Nutcracker.

Two "Little Women" dolls in my curio cabinet.

An assortment of dolls along with another doll from "The Little Women" series.

More dolls with the last "Little Women" doll.

This concludes my presentation of some of my dolls. I still have many that are packed away and I'm not sure I'll unpack them any time soon. The letter D was a neat letter to study and I want to thank our "teacher", Mrs. Matlock, for the opportunity to share photos of dolls that have brought many smiles to my face throughout the years. Mrs. Matlock is a wonderful "teacher" and you would really enjoy being in her letter class. Please join us for loads of fun~~~~~~~~
This is linked to Alphabe-Thursday.