The weather is delicious!

I step outside this morning to take little Ellie out and what do I feel?? 50 something degrees and I see the bluest of blue skies.

It's going to be a lovely day!

A few great recipes!

This morning I received an email from The Twiggery, a wonderful store filled with beautiful items. They happen to have a recipe page that I thought you would love! The spinach dip recipe sounds just like mine except they've add water chestnuts and a little mayonnaise. But what a wonderful idea to serve it in a hollowed out pumpkin. You could actually leave the dip in a bowl that would drop into the pumpkin.

Such a great idea!

Please stop by ~

I've updated The Plum Tree's blog and would love for you to take a look!

Ellie update!

Here's a photo of Ellie I took today...she's grown a little and is trying so hard to be a big girl with her potty training. She's very bitey but I'm keeping plenty of goodies around to chew on besides my fingers!!

I'm still in such a Victoria kind of mood!

The florals above featured in Victoria are by Charlotte Design Flower Boutique. Look inside the glass containers, just gorgeous!

Beautiful Antoinette Mother of Pearl flatware featured in Victoria magazine and found at Gracious Style!

The Victorian Villa Inn found in Michigan and also previously featured in Victoria magazine.

One of my very favorite pages, being a graphic designer for so many years, the Calling Cards page. Featuring Red Bee Studio!

Beautiful bench found a Fine Garden Products and found previously in Victoria. Can't you just picture this with toile feather & down pillows??

Wishing you all a blissful day!

xxoo, Dawn

What an amazing woman ~

I just wanted say a few words about this incredible woman. I was so impressed by Phyllis Hoffman (the president of Hoffman Media) at the Victoria Bliss weekend. You have to know that she is such an example for all of us. She is so comfortable in front of an audience, speaking smoothly and confidently. She is such a success in so many aspects of her life ~ it just speaks volumes to me.

Phyllis Hoffman is also very REAL. She speaks to you as if you were her friend or neighbor. And if you're concerned about Victoria magazine, this woman LOVED the magazine like you and I did. So I'm sure that she will try her hardest to achieve the look and feel that our wonderful Victoria magazine had.

Thank you, Phyllis. For a lovely weekend and for bringing back our Victoria!!

I just love pretty things!!!

I had to take a photo of the treasures that I brought home from the Victoria Bliss weekend. Why do I love stuff so much?? I just want to surround myself with these beautiful things and remember everything that I experienced. What I purchased from the emporium are the beautiful ribbon floral pin and the sweet friendship kisses balls. Everything else pictured were gifts from Victoria magazine. Oh, and I did not photograph the free lipstick I received!!

They actually had a representative from Crane to speak to us and I must tell you...it made me want to purchase personalized stationery, a wonderful fountain pen and begin to write letters to everyone I love. Because, just think....long after you are gone, you have left a legacy for others to treasure. The written word is so very precious. I still have note cards from my sweet grandmother that I read regularly and I treasure them.

I can't believe they gave us Vintage Linen Soak! Having the antique store, I have so many linens to prepare to sell and I am so very thankful for this!

But I have to tell you, I have ALWAYS loved Grandmothers Buttons and wished that I could carry them in my store....now I have a wonderful bookmark from them thanks to Victoria magazine!

It was such an amazing weekend. I made some sweet new friends and already miss Tracey and Rae. I look forward to the first issue of Victoria magazine and am so very thankful to my son and my sweet friends for helping make this trip possible for me!

Be sure to check out Tracey's blog and also Debi's blog for more incredible photos of our great weekend!

I'm off to the store tomorrow and have to change my focus now....I must gather some new goodies to take in and I can only hope and pray that one day....Victoria magazine will be knocking on The Plum Tree's front door!!

much love to you all, Dawn

It really was a weekend of Bliss!!

OK sweet girls.

I know you're dying to know . . .

IT WAS WONDERFUL!!!!

The weekend was just amazing.
Beautiful hotels, empowering speakers, exquisite food, one-on-one conversations with the managing editor and other staff members, beautiful gifts at every meeting and best of all . . .
enjoying the company of sweet, new friends Tracey of

Notes from A Cottage Industry, her co-worker and best friend Rae, and Deb of Deco Diva Deb.

I believe that you will all be so very pleased with this new staff at Victoria magazine.

They really do have our interests in mind! As I approached the table to receive my name tag and to let them know I had arrived, Katie Hoffman (Phyllis Hoffman's daughter-in-law) mentioned the "notebook" to me, with all of your wonderful comments, first thing!

The cover of the first issue and a few of the inner pages that we were allowed to see, were just beautiful. A lot of the same sections will remain and also women entrepreneurs will be featured on a regular basis. And I know, if you're like me, that was such an important part of the old Victoria to me. To see women doing what they love, what they are the best at, for a living!

I love the fact that they said the website will be growing and be a place where we can visit, be inspired, share our ideas with the staff and possibly be able to share photos with Victoria and with other readers! What a great way for the magazine to find gorgeous homes and wonderful little shops to possibly be featured in their magazine that would normally never be seen.

Now for a few photographs:

This photo looks a little Twilight Zone looking to me!!

(Can you tell I haven't flown in over 26 years!)

The outskirts of Heaven!

Our hotel lobby!

and room with such comfy beds

This was our view outside of our hotel window. You can see an edge of downtown Dallas to the left and the massive building you see in the middle is the Hilton Anatole, where the Bliss meetings and meals were held.

A wonderful tea Saturday afternoon . . . with five courses!!

(Click to enlarge to read the amazing menu)

Alexandra Stoddard was one of our guest speakers. She was absolutely wonderful! I now want to own all of her books ~ this dynamic woman really speaks to your heart.

This photo below is of the beautiful Wedgewood Ballroom at the Hilton where we had an incredible desert reception. We were able to sit and talk at length with the managing editor to really get the feel of her passion and goals for the new Victoria.

Beautiful antique gowns collected by Steven Porterfield, another of the guest speakers . . .

This is one of the breathtaking chandeliers at the Hilton Anatole ~

A beautiful bouquet peppered with tiny crabapples resting in a silver vase on our table ~

Alda's booth at the Shopping Emporium

The first Victoria cover from Hoffman Media!

It's so late but I had to show you a few photos. I will share some tomorrow of the beautiful gifts they gave us also. Well I must go off to sleep . . . I'm beginning to nod off! xxoo, Dawn

Well, tomorrow's the big day!

Thank you all for your sweet words about the little notebook. I do hope I've made you proud!!

My flight leaves around lunchtime tomorrow to head to Dallas, Texas . . . I'm still pulling things together tonight. I'll return Sunday evening sometime as I'm flying standby and can only hope to have a seat on one of the flights home!

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend ~ xxoo, Dawn

My gift to Victoria ~

Here it is sweet friends! Simple, understated but full of each and every one of your fabulous comments . . . Thank you all!

Things I love . . .

My sweet husband and each of my amazing sons . . . (This is an older photo)

(Oh, and that pointy thing that our photo is stuck in is an old flower frog!)

Ellie, Chester and Thelma . . .

Fabric, I so love fabric . . .

Cloches, little birds and my antique china . . .

My framed tapestry and statuary ~ everywhere . . .


Old clocks, clock faces and strange little paper boxes and old paper . . .


Of course, nests and eggs . . .

More birds and dried hydrangeas . . .

The azure sky in the fall . . .

The colors of the turning leaves . . .

(feel free to right click any of these photos to use for a desktop background!)

More dried hydrangeas . . .

Just a glimpse at a few things I love! xxoo Dawn