Every New Year’s Eve I cut up some vegetables for our after midnight snack, along with the crabmeat and cream cheese dip, with potato chips! Hey, the veggies cancel out the yummy fats, is how I think. Hope you had a wonderful celebration, and the luckiest year to you in 2013.

The carrots and broccoli are from our backyard!

Joining up at Water World Wednesday, Nature’s Footsteps Waters, Ruby Tuesday 2, and Macro Monday. If there’s only the one photo here, please click on Sara’s Fave Photos Blog above for the rest. Thanks for visiting, and come back soon!

I was at the open house at the Volunteer Park Conservatory in Seattle on Friday and it was so cool. That model train they have this year is the neatest thing. I’ll do a photo of that later on, but now I just wanted to share a shot of the prettiest, glitteriest, most festive tree I’ve seen in a long time. Wish this was my tree at home!

Participating in My Romantic Home, Mellow Yellow Monday, Pink Saturday, Weekend Reflections, Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Weekend Flowers, and Ruby Tuesday 2. To see all the recent images, please click on Sara’s Fave Photos Blog above. Thanks for stopping by, and come back soon!

I love this kind of bromeliad flower. My mom used to live in South Florida (today she would have been 96 years old!) and she grew them in her yard. This pretty specimen was grown by the Volunteer Park Conservatory in Seattle, and it was blooming in May. Since this is one of the flowers in my book about the flowers there, I know the name is Silver Vase Bromeliad, Aechmea fasciata.

Visit Macro Monday, Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Weekend Flowers, Wordless Wednesday and Pink Saturday. You might try an odd search like “spiky” or a tag like Volunteer Park Conservatory on the right to see some new photos here. Thank you for stopping by.

Winter in Seattle, so far north, can be challenging when the light is so reduced. But the good part of the low-angled sun is that when it actually is sunny, the light streams in the south windows and makes marvelous shadows. This is my kitchen counter the other day. I love this image and I’m calling it my Best Post of the Week. Thanks for stopping by!

Participating in SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Shadow Shot Sunday 2, My Romantic Home, Mellow Yellow Monday, Macro Monday, and Ruby Tuesday 2.

I feel like we need to see a burst of color. This rainbow orchid cactus or Epiphyllum was blooming its heart out at the Volunteer Park Conservatory in Seattle last May. In the background on the left is a red anthurium, and see the pretty coleus leaves edged with yellow scallops. What a color blast!

You might pay a visit to Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Weekend Flowers, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Wordless Wednesday, Mellow Yellow Monday, and Ruby Tuesday 2. Enjoy!

No, this rose is not still blooming now, but I miss my roses so much. Here is a pretty one that was in the garden in September, a red Snowfire rose, with the outside of each petal in white. The little pocket Canon camera I use (Powershot S95) tends to saturate the colors quite a bit, but it’s still very close to real life. And don’t forget to download the Seven Secrets to Better Photos at right for some simple, no-fuss techniques.

Participating in Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Weekend Flowers, Outdoor Wednesday, Macro Monday, My Romantic Home, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Pink Saturday, and Ruby Tuesday 2. Please click on Sara’s Fave Photos Blog above if you’d like to see all the recent pretty pictures. Thanks for stopping by, and come back soon!

Walking in my South Seattle neighborhood not too long ago, I came across this perfectly red and shiny Fordomatic truck, obviously labored over and loved. I was glad I took photos of it, because an hour later it was gone. Here are two views. Which one do you like better?

Joining up in Skywatch Friday (see it in the top bumper?), A Piece of Heaven. Outdoor Wednesday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, Scenic Sunday, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Wordless Wednesday, Weekend Reflections, and Ruby Tuesday 2. To see all the recent images, mostly scenic and nature, please click on Sara’s Fave Photos Blog above. Thanks for stopping by, and come back soon!

Only a few short weeks ago, it began to rain, and in Seattle, that’s the last we might see of real sunshine until next summer. It doesn’t rain too much in inches, but it sure stays wet. Here is a Peace rose that got drenched, before I cut it to bring inside.

You might enjoy a visit to Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Macro Monday, Weekend Flowers, My Romantic Home, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Outdoor Wednesday, Pink Saturday, Mellow Yellow Monday, Water World Wednesday and Nature’s Footsteps Waters. If you see only one photo below, please click on Sara’s Fave Photos Blog above to see all the recent posts. Thank you so much for visiting!

After all that rain we had, the display of autumn leaves are mostly done here in Seattle, but these golden yellow Japanese maple leaves half in the shadows are still giving us a show. And don’t you love that tiny red stem?

Participating at My Romantic Home, Macro Monday, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Outdoor Wednesday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Pink Saturday, Mellow Yellow Monday and Shadow Shot Sunday 2. Be sure to try a new tag or category while you are here, just for fun, and thanks for visiting.

I don’t know why I haven’t posted much about it, but I’ve been a busy bee with my new business, Love That Image glass tile jewelry. It’s made from the actual pages of my book, Flowers of Volunteer Park Conservatory. How it came about is that last year when I was at a craft fair with my daughter Lila, selling the Flowers book as a holiday gift, she saw all the crowds at neighboring booths selling jewelry and said, “Mom, why don’t we make jewelry from your book? I saw on Pinterest how to do that.” I was amazed at the whole idea and had no clue what she might be talking about.

Next thing I knew, we were in the jewelry business. Pinterest changed my life!

It’s a year later and we’ve learned a lot, experimented, and come up with so many pretty designs that the only problem is choosing. For now, we are selling to stores and in craft fairs only. We just had a spectacular success at the Kent WA Holiday Craft Market and we certainly will do that again next year. Check out the new Jewelry page on the navigation bar above to see other locations where the jewelry is available. Do let us know if there’s a store near you that you think would be a good fit to carry them.

The next time you can see all the pieces in person will be at the Normandy Park, WA Cove Holiday Bazaar on Dec. 1. If you are in the area, we hope you will drop by and say hi. Of course I’ll be signing books there, too!

I’m linking up at My Romantic Home, Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Macro Monday, Weekend Flowers, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Thursday Challenge (Orange), Wordless Wednesday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Pink Saturday, and Mellow Yellow Monday. I really like this photo, set up by Lila, and I’m calling it my Best Post of the Week. Thanks for stopping by!