Taking a Spring Break

Hi Friends,

I'm taking a little Spring Break

the next few weeks.

But I wanted to stop in and wish everyone

a

Very Happy Spring

and glad you all enjoyed a

Happy Easter.

You are all the best

and

I hope you enjoy the new season filled with many blessings.

See you some time in April!

XO

Celestina Marie

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Hope you enjoy a special day if  you're Irish

or

Like the old saying goes,

"Everyone's Irish Today"

My father was Irish 

and

growing up we always celebrated this day

with a meal of corned beef and cabbage or Irish stew.

I can still recall the cozy aroma of those meals in my memories.

Wonderful preparations made by my mother,

who was an awesome cook!!

Ireland is about the size of West Virginia,

 and this tiny island has some of the richest history of the Western world.

Some important dates are 600 B.C. when the Celtic arrived on Irish soil.

 In A.D. 432 St. Patrick brought Christianity to Ireland. 

During the time from 500- 800 known as the Golden Age of Ireland, 

great music, literary creativity made Ireland the most accomplished in Europe

 When the Vikings invaded Ireland in 800,

 they founded the first towns including Dublin in 988.

 In 1002 Ireland is united for the first time under one leader

 and by 1801 Ireland is part of the United Kingdom. 

1845 saw a million and a half Irish starve to death due to the Great Potato Famine

 and a million more people emigrate to avoid the same fate. 

By 1922 Ireland becomes a free state within the British Commonwealth

 except for six counties of Northern Ireland

 which still remain part of the United Kingdom.

 Leaving the year of 1949 to see the twenty six counties of Ireland become an independent republic.

St. Patrick is the man who converted the Irish to Christianity 

and is the most famous Irishman of all time.

 No one is sure where exactly the patron saint was born or buried,

 but they do know when he died, which is March 17Th.

 So on this day, the Irish worldwide celebrate the holiday in honor of his name. 

The shamrock is the symbol of Ireland and comes from Gaelic Seamrog, 

which refers to the plant's three leaves. 

As the story goes, 

It was in a heated debate with a Druid priest that St. Patrick bent down,

 picked a shamrock 

and used it to demonstrate the Christian trinity 

using the three leaves held together by one single stem.

 We don't really know for sure if the story is true or not, but still regarded today as the national plant of Ireland and worn in many forms on St. Patrick's Day.

William Churchill once said," We have always found the Irish a bit odd. They refuse to be English"

My grandfather was from Dublin and came to this country residing in Pennsylvania in 1921.

Here is a picture of Dublin today overlooking the River Liffey.

 Shown is a portion of the Ha'penny Bridge.

 The Dome building in the background is the Custom House.

Some of my favorite books!

Some pictures from these book are among my favorites.

 Pottery and shamrock bowls, ending with spring roses!

I hope you enjoy a bit of the Irish on St. Patrick's Day

 and may your day be filled with blessings and good cheer!

 The following pictures are a bit of Irish in my home.

Vintage porcelain bells from Ireland.

Thank you for stopping by,

 ERIN GO BRAGH "Ireland Forever"

 Smiles,

 Celestina Marie~


joining
Thoughts of Home on Thursday

Let's Talk Vintage

You Know You're In Texas

When you see a gate entrance with

The flag of Texas

and

The shape of the state.

I drove upon this great entrance gate in the country

a few weeks ago.

I love the rustic charm of the rusty flag and state shape.

These details in the center,

really give the gate some interest and character.

Just down the road a bit more

is a beautiful wood split rail that seemed to run for miles.

So serene, peaceful and calm.

Look how green the grass is getting.

The trees were budding here but hard to see in the photo.

Hope to take photos of Bluebonnets soon.

Thanks for stopping by

Good Fences

See you next time!

xo

Celestina Marie

New Spring Treasures

It' been a busy time in my studio this spring

and

I have been having lots of fun.

Feeling refreshed and inspired to bring new pretties to my shop.

Here are just a few completed and on the shelves

at

Rose Garden Market 

on Etsy

~Roses and aqua filler flowers~

~ Simply Blessed Hydrangea~

~Faux Chocolate Bunnies~

~Vintage shoe mold~

~Aqua and rose eggs~

~ Porcelain keepsake trinket box~

~Happy Easter Crowned Birdie~

~Roses and springtime birds~

Blue bird and roses tray~

All the  new pink creations are apart of my new design collection

called,

"Keep It Pink"

All inspired for my customers who will always love pink!

Of course it's time for me to paint

Texas Bluebonnets.

and

for those cool spring days,

my signature crocheted lace lap throw in springtime light pink.

Thank you for stopping by and your welcomed comments.

Wishing you all a wonderful week.

xo

Celestina Marie

Texas Bluebonnet Blog Hop

Hi Friends!

So glad you stopped by for a visit today.

It's springtime in Texas

and

the Texas bloggers are welcoming the new season in with a little inspiration

from the Texas Bluebonnet Blog Hop.

Stacey 

from

Poofing the Pillows

is our creator for today's blog hop.

and 

I hope you will stop over and say hello

and visit the many participating today too.

************************

When I begin to style for a new season,

it usually means, cleaning and rearranging.

This spring finds me doing that and more

in my sitting room.

I first begin by taking everything away

and doing a good cleaning.

I remove all the accessories, wall art and more.

Notice the dust mop to the right?

It's my pride and joy and was my grandmother's from the 40's 

or maybe even earlier.

It's a work horse to reach those areas a vacuum can't.

If I had to run out of my house in a hurry, 

this is something I'd take with me.

Next, 

I completely empty and clean the mantel and fireplace.

Once the cleaning is done,

I gather my inspirational pieces from around the house 

and in my prop closet.

Here are some of those piece

 and 

I must confess, a few new goodies this year too.

I found this HOME pillow last year and love it.

As you can see, I'm going a bit pastel this season.

S

Some new art work this year.

This piece is a Texas treasure and I love it.

The artist is Paul Valencay.

Horses in a watercolor wash of aqua shades of blue.

Love it!!

Then I got busy and

 created this new banner for the mantel.

I simply stenciled SPRING

on cardboard banner shapes atop

pretty scrapbook papers.

I can turn it around and stencil summer in the future.

So now let's put it all together and see the before and after for spring.

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

Now you know me~ 

I make furniture switches all the time.

If you remember,

the red plaid chair that I placed here after Christmas~ still love it 

but, it went to the master bedroom where I have touches of red

and

 these vintage wicker chairs came from that space.

Perfect for spring!

Love them here better.

Lots of light streaming in makes this the sunniest room in my home.

I left the black and neutral design rug for an anchor piece

and

to balance off the darker pieces in the room.

So this is the beginning of spring inside my Texas cottage.

Here are a few little views from around the room.

Thank you for visiting today.

Before I go I'll leave you with one of my favorite Texas wildflowers to paint.

The 

Bluebonnet!

Come join the fun and visit the Texas Bloggers sharing springtime.

Have a great weekend.

xo

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