Big pots of PINK!

Happy PINK Saturday everyone! 
Please stop by How Sweet The Sound where Beverly has lots of pretty PINK posts waiting for you. 
This past weekend I planted the two large pots that sit on either side of my front door. Last year I went with a bright, hot color scheme of  PINK and orange but decided to change it up this year and went with a more subtle color scheme of white, purple and PINK. 

 In the back of the pot is a Dwarf Banana Tree. I love using these in pots and this variety with it's burgundy splotches is quite dramatic.  Just to the side of it, I planted a Persian Shield. I love the iridescent, purple leaves of this plant. Just in front of this, I planted a Soprano White Osteospermum. The dark purple centers pick up the same shades of purple in the Persian Shield. 

 On the opposite side of the pot I planted a Gingerland Caladium. I love the big white leaves with the splotches of PINK and Burgundy. The next layer in front contains a hot PINK Geranium and a Leather Leaf Sedge. This little flashy grass is a new one for me and I really like the way the wispy silver blades stand out against the showier big leaved plants in the pot.

  Finally in the front of the pot I placed a Phlox Intensia PINK on one side. 

 On the other side I placed a Petunia Pretty Much Picasso. I have looked for this plant for two years now and finally scored two at Lowes! The outside edges of the flower are lime green, then turning to hot PINK and finally dark purple in the throat. I had a hard time getting a good shot of it so the pic is a little blurry. 

 Then this morning I had this litghtbulb moment, I took all the little markers that came in the pots and put them in a ziplock bag marked with the year and where the plants were planted. DUH! Why haven't I ever done this before?  

 I usually place the pots at the front edge of  the porch, right at the top of the steps but last year I had a deer walk right up the steps and onto the porch so he could have a yummy breakfast consisting of the Hibiscus and other flowers I had planted in these big pots. This year I've moved the pots all the way back, right up to the door in hopes it will deter the deer from devouring what I have planted, I'll keep y'all posted!
I have one last picture to share with you. I found this on Pinterest and since many of us are going to have a rainy weekend, I thought it appropriate! Have a wonderful weekend, filled with Bubbles of JOY, xxoo Nan

(source:http://www.flickriver.com/photos/tags/lukejerram/interesting/)

Pink Saturday Easter Decor

Happy PINK Saturday everyone!

 I feel so honored that Beverly has chosen Moi, to be the featured blog this week for 
PINK Saturday. Please stop by How Sweet the Sound and say HI to Beverly and check out all the other PINK Chicks! 
This week I thought I would share a few more of my PINK Easter Decorations. First, this PINK fuzzy wreath greets you at my front door. 

 I made it last year and it was super easy. I took a straw wreath form, wrapped in PINK feather boas, then added some white polka dotted PINK grosgrain ribbon, then hot glued on lots of little chenille  chicks and  glittery eggs. 

Next, this little vignette greets you just inside the door.

 I've had the PINK tree for several years now and it gets decorated with different themes for Christmas, Valentines Day and Easter.  And this sweet little bunny ornament was made by Cyndi Lachance of Holiday Sparkle.

 If you've never stopped by Cyndi's blog, you must do yourself a favor and pay Cyndi a visit, you won't be disappointed! The little bunny family I've had for about ten years, I love their soft little clothes and sweet faces. 

 And finally, my mantle with strings of Jelly beans, PINK feather boas, more bunnies and some trees that have color changing lights.

  I tried something different this year and I'm not really thrilled with it. I wanted to make a cute vintage looking banner and just didn't find the time. Oh well, maybe next year. 

That's it for my PINK Easter decor this year. Thanks for stopping by today and have a wonderful Easter! Hugs and Blessings, Nan

Good Friday

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Most pictures depicting Good Friday and the Crucifixion, portray Jesus on the Cross. This picture however; is fascinating because it portrays what Jesus might have seen from The Cross, thus the title "As Seen From the Cross" by James Tissot. I think it is the perfect picture to use with this particular Scripture. May each of you have a blessed Good Friday as we await the resurrection and the promise of Easter. Nan

Kitchen Window Easter Display

Happy PINK Saturday everyone!

Please stop by How Sweet the Sound for more inspiring PINK posts! 

Last year I decorated my kitchen window for Christmas, Valentines Day 

and St. Patrick's Day but I never got around to decorating it for Easter. This is my first attempt at an Easter display and I'm tickled PINK with it, if I do say so myself! Last week I showed you the sugary PINK carrots and the sparkly egg garland and now, you can see what I did with them. I put the sunny Yellow feather boa up first, then added the eggs and carrots.

 At first I thought the yellow was a little too bright but once I added everything else to the window, I decided it was perfect! 

I purchased the large totem with the egg shaped bunnies and chicks at Pier 1 last year.

This year I added the short chubby bunny, 

 

 and the sunny flower. I just love their happy faces!

 And do you see that sweet little chick at the base of the flower? Come closer, closer, closer, there you go!

That precious little chick was made by the uber talented Viv at Viv's Whimsy and I just happened to be lucky enough to win it last year in a giveaway!

I've had the little white tree and ornaments for a couple of years but it needed something to stand out with all the other things going on, so I added the PINK feather boa. Don't you love the fluffy little chick at the top?! 

Well that's it for my little tour of my kitchen window. Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend, filled with Bubbles of JOY! Nan

S is for Sorrow, The Sorrow of the Dogwood

S is for Sorrow
The Sorrow of the Dogwood

I don't know where or when this story first originated but I first read it twenty years ago in a book titled "One Minute Easter Stories" by Sherry Lewis and Lan O'Kun. I did a little research before writing this post but couldn't find any more information. If any of you know it's origins, I would love to know!

 Have you ever noticed that Dogwood trees always seem to bloom at Easter? Well, it is no coincidence, in fact,  it is one more miracle of Easter. You see the Dogwood tree once grew in Jerusalem but back then it grew quite tall, straight and strong. One particular tree grew so tall it reached straight toward the Heavens! This was a very proud tree and he thought to himself, "I'm the tallest and strongest tree in the forest, surely I will serve a great purpose. Maybe I will be the mast on a ship, or the beam in a temple". 

 One dark gloomy day, some men came and cut the tree down. With a thud so hard it shook the earth, the big tree fell to the ground. The men cut the mighty tree into two strong boards and lashed them together, it was then that the tree realized the purpose it would serve and it was filled with sorrow. The mighty tree would become the cross on to which Jesus would be nailed. 

 As Jesus felt the weight of the cross on his shoulder, so too did he feel it's sorrow and he promised the tree that never again would the Dogwood tree be used for such a terrible purpose. From that day forward, the Dogwood would grow willowy with spreading branches and each year at Easter the tree would be filled with beautiful blooms. But not just any blooms, there would be four petals formed in the shape of a cross. At the tip of each petal would be a notch to symbolize where Jesus' hands and feet were nailed to the cross and each petal would be tinged scarlet to symbolize the blood Jesus shed for our sins. And finally, the center of each flower would resemble the crown of thorns placed on Jesus' head. 

 So forevermore, when you see a Dogwood, you will be reminded that the Dogwood and Jesus spent their last moments together. 
I'm linking today's post to:
Alphabe Thursday and the letter S at Jenny Matlocks
and 
Vintage Thingie Thursday at The Colorado Lady

A PINK Easter sneak Peek!

Happy PINK Saturday Everyone! Thank you Miss Beverly for hosting every week. Please stop by How Sweet The Sound for more scrumptious PINK posts!
I think I like decorating for Easter as much as I love decorating for Christmas! Who can resist bunnies, chicks and ducks or pastel PINKS, yellows and greens? I'm getting a late start this year with my Easter decorating but I have a few new additions I wanted to share with you. First, this sparkly little Church that I picked up a Marshalls.

It lights up and I think it looks perfect with this little PINK house I bought a few years ago.

Next these sugary, sparkly PINK Carrots. I bought these cuties at Michael's and they were dirt cheap too!

Then there is this sweet garland with all these yummy eggs, another Michael's find!

I think I'm going to hang the PINK carrots from the egg garland and combine both with a bright yellow feather boa to make a swag to hang over my kitchen window.

The weatherman is forecasting torrential rain for our area tomorrow so it sounds like a good day to stay inside and decorate. Hopefully I'll have some pics to share with you next week! 
Have a wonderful weekend filled with Bubbles of JOY, Nan

R for Rabbit

R is for Rabbit!

 It seems everywhere you go this time of year, Rabbits are taking over! Now it doesn't take too much imagination to figure out why the prolific breeders are a symbol of Spring but have you ever thought about when and why they became associated with Easter? I have to be honest and confess, I never gave it much thought.

 I guess even as a child, I always knew there was no Biblical connection between the rabbit, colored eggs and Easter but just how did they become so ingrained with this most sacred of holidays?  I went to Church every Sunday and knew the truth of Jesus' death and Resurrection as the reason for celebrating Easter but the Easter bunny always paid a visit to our house as well. Imagine my surprise when I started researching the topic for this post and discovered so much controversy swirling around this beloved furry little creature! I found some very hostile reports that ran the gamut from pagans protesting the use of "their" symbols, to Christians who believe the very celebration of Easter itself is devil worship. 

 So exactly how did this all come about? Well, in pre-Christian Europe, pagans held celebrations of Spring and re-birth and the Hare and eggs were both symbols of fertility during these festivities. In an ancient Anglo-Saxon myth, the goddess Eostre was associated with Spring and fertility and her symbols were the hare and eggs. An old tale says that one Winter day Eostre was walking through a forest when she came upon a small bird, nearly starved to death and freezing. She turned the small bird into a Rabbit so it could survive the winter. When the Spring came around, the rabbit started laying eggs because it was once a bird. The Rabbit then decorated the eggs to show it's gratitude to Eostre.

 OK, I know I still haven't answered the question, well I'm getting to that! This part of the story begins in the year 325 A.D. when emperor Constantine I, convened the council in Nicaea where early Christian dignitaries decided that from then on The Resurrection of Christ (Easter) would be celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon in spring. 

 

 In pre-Christian Northern Europe, England was populated by Anglo-Saxon pagans and had not been converted to  Catholicism. Gregory the Great who was pope from 590 to 604 felt the conversion would be more easily accomplished if the pagans were allowed to keep their pagan traditions along with Christians traditions and observations. Since The Resurrection now coincided with the Pagan's Spring festivities, the traditions of the Rabbit and the egg became part of the Easter traditions. When the conversion spread to Germany and other parts of Northern Europe, their Pagan traditions were also "absorbed" into religious observations.

 However; the first recorded references of the Easter Rabbit would not come until 1682 in Germany when  Professor Georg Franck von Frankenau mentioned eggs and rabbits in relation to Easter in his book "De ovis paschalibus", (About Easter Eggs). German immigrants who settled in the Pennsylvania Dutch areas of America would bring the tradition of coloring and hiding eggs and the Easter Rabbit to this country. So there you have it! Do you decorate with Rabbits and colored eggs at this time of year? I find them irresistible and if seeing a Rabbit or a colored egg reminds you of Easter and the Resurrection of Christ, then who am I to say they should have no part in our Easter observances, as long as they don't become the focus! Have a great weekend, Nan
I'm linking this to:
Alphabe Thursday and the Letter R at Jenny Matlocks
and
Vintage Thingie Thursday at Colorado Lady