Well, hello friends! It’s been quite a while hasn’t it? I wish I could tell you that I was off sailing the seven seas. Or I'd moved to a tropical island where I've been enjoying sun, sand and spectacular views….but the truth is I’ve just been home. Spring outside my kitchen window. And the only views I’ve been enjoying are the ones around my tiny cottage. It’s actually pretty funny. When I started blogging, 12 years ago, I was in the thick of raising children and taking care of my mother. It was a very busy season of life .

When I was little, I loved anything that was small and had to do with animals. I had a dollhouse filled with miniature mice, dressed in ruffled aprons and bows. I had a collection of pocket size horses. And I had a boxed set of tiny books all about Peter Rabbit and his friends. That was my favorite.

Thrift store shopping is one of my favorite past times. I love meandering through the aisles to see what treasure is hiding on the shelves. However, recently, I've been in a major decluttering phase and collecting and purging don't pair very well. So I've been trying to stay out of the stores. Of course, quitting any habit cold turkey is tough. Understandably, I've slipped a few times and popped into some of my favorite shops.

Winter is a really long season around here, so once spring rolls around, I'm all about bright colors and whimsical decor. Especially when it comes to my front door. It's painted black, and I love drama in my decorating. So when I get a chance to add a colorful pop to it, I jump at the chance. Of course, I also enjoy mixing it up a bit. That means traditional floral wreaths aren't always my first choice .

Crafting for Easter was never in my repertoire, until I started blogging. Oh sure, I colored eggs, however, when it came to Easter projects, in our house, it was all about the kids. And their crafts. It never dawned on me to decorate the house with anything other than a few vinyl clings. Or cotton ball bunnies. Then I fell into the world of blogging and my love of all things Easter was born. Over the past decade, I've made so many darling Easter decor  crafts, that I never thought I'd be able to pick a favorite. Until now.

I'm always in awe of people who start decorating projects with a vision board and end up with completed room in one fell swoop. That's never been my style. Oh, I've tried it, several times in fact. My most recent attempt was when I renovated our small sitting room . I began with a few scraps of wallpaper and fabric. I carefully laid it all out, added paint chips and flooring samples, until I was certain it was perfect. Then I actually got it all in the room. Where it was a big flop .

Who's in the mood for a blog hop? Oh goody, me too. And today, it's a fun one. It's got a theme. Our assignment was to do something over with paper. To be honest, at first I was perplexed, but once I found my groove, I ended up giving new life to some leftover wallpaper and a thrifted find. Let's talk about the wallpaper first, shall we?