Cookbooks & 100th post Giveaway

I can't believe I finally reached my 100th post! And to celebrate I am having first giveaway!

But first I wanted to show y'all some of my cookbooks. I love cookbooks! I have some that my mom gave me, a few from a nice Polish lady that does some of my husbands beadwork.




I even have some from my 7th grade Home Ec class!



This is the cabinet above my stove and you can see it's overflowing! These are two of my favorite...



The book on the left is one oft newer ones. It's full of recipes donated by the ladies if this Deerfield Club. There are some great ones! especially the marinades and salads! The book on the right was purchases from eBay and us signed by Elvis' uncle.



Elvis' personal cook helped create these recipes.

You would not believe the fat some of them contain. But we've used it many times and CC makes Lena Elvis' favorite banana and peanut butter sandwich and Lena loves it!
And if you've read my blog, you know how much I love to make sushi. Last night I bought this cookbook.




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Totally off the subject, last Saturday CC texted
E and told me her Dr. Pepper ran away. Where do u think we just found it?



Under the kitchen sink of course!
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Now for the giveaway.... I wanted to giveaway things that represent things I like and enjoy doing....
My mom says I have too many pictures of food on my blog. Well I love to cook and obviously I love to eat. Seriously I think I could spend the whole day in the kitchen.... So my first item is...... An "I Love Lucy" apron.



Under the writing is a cute photo of Lucy. Usually my phone corrects the picture but this time it didn't! So she's sideways!




Another thing I love, love, love is red velvet cupcakes. So the next item us a Rich Red Velvet Cupcake Mix!




I have so many pictures on my computer and my phone...it's like digital photos have taken over. I actually forgot how fun it is to print out pictures and put them in an album. Just recently I made a calender for my desk and I had to print our photos to put in it.


It was so fun selecting the photos and exciting picking them up! So my next item(s) is a set of photo albums.


Each book holds 200 4x6 photos.



So all you have to do is leave a comment and you will be entered. I'm not going to ask you to post it on your blog... It's up to you to do that if you want. You certainly don't have to! Lol!



I will pick the winner next Wednesday.
Thank you for stopping by and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

*** I just might be adding more items over the weekend so check back! ***

***NEW ITEMS ADDED***





And this Italian soap ... In such a cute box










- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Show and Tell Friday - Russian Picture

I am finally participating in Cindy's Show and Tell Friday at her beautiful blog, My Romantic Home. It feels sooooo nice to be back at it. I can't wait to look in on everyone else's blogs and see what treasures they are showing!

I have showed you some of my many Russian items here....and I am going to show you another treasure of mine. I have always been fascinated with Russia and read many books on Russia. When I was very young, like nine or ten years old, I would make my mother take me to the library in my little bitty country town and I would check out what few books on Russia they had. I would read them over and over and over! One of the books had photos of old farm houses and dachas. I found one that I really fell in love it! And then I did something really bad.... I tore the picture out of the book and I swore that when I was old enough to have my own home I was going to frame this picture and put in somewhere in my home!

And I did.... here it is. I love the dark, old withered wood. I love the snow on the rood and the tall beautiful fir trees. I love everything about this picture and I just look at the windows and try to imagine the parties that went on there.... the good food that was made and the stories that were told. I would love to be able to go back and spend just one day in that house. I wonder if this house is still there.

This is the back of the picture. It has a description of what would have been on the opposite back page. In my mothers handwriting in pencil at the bottom is written' "The tales the old dachas have to tell invite attention from every window. This one near Leningrad, Old house at Lisy Nos (Fox's Nose)"

A close up for you.

So now my Russian picture sits on my fireplace mantle.

And I love it there. Do you think I should put it in a darker frame or is this light wood ok?

I often think about how my life turned out. I am now married to a Russian man, I didn't know that he was Russian when I met him because he is shorter and darker than what you would expect a Russian to look like. He is actually an Armenian Russian. I have learned to cook their food, I love their music, I know most of their language.... I still have issues with some parts of their culture, but after 15 years we've worked through about 90% of it!

I thank you so much for stopping by my blog and seeing my Show and Tell. Don't forget to stop by and see everyone else's show and tell! I hope you all have a wonderful three-day weekend!

Do you have anything special planned? Saturday we are going to a jewelry and bead show. Sunday I'm going to get my painting framed that I purchased at an art show last Sunday. So look forward to those posts!

Show and Tell Friday - Eddie Ross Pillow

Today Cindy is hosting Show and Tell Friday. This is always a favorite of mine. I haven't been able to participate the past few weeks, too much going on at home, but I couldn't pass up posting today! I am showing the beautiful pillow I won from Eddie Ross' give-away. Imagine my suprise when I clicked on Cindy's blog and saw his picture there!
I entered the give-away on a whim..never expecting to win. When I checked my email and saw the title "Congratulations" from the sender "Eddie Ross" I nearly died! I did start crying! This pillow is truly the most beautiful things I have ever seen....and definately one of the most beautiful items I own.

The pillow was handmade from a vintage dress Eddie found at a NYC flea market. It was for a story in Country Home about turning vintage dresses into throw pillows. The pillow also appears in the online magazine Lonny on Eddie's guest bed!

The beading and detail is just amazing!

The pillow is such a soft, almost dusty lavender. This is EXACTLY the color I want to use in my comforter. I have been looking and looking but still haven't found it. I was an almost cream color comforter, plush and soft, with this color accented flowers in tucks. Haven't found it yet.. I am thinking about hitting some fabric stores or something to try to find it.

I LOVE this pillow! NO ONE is allowed to touch it!

Eventually, this pillow will live on my bed. But.. I need that comforter. Ok, I want that comforter. So, for now it lives on my chest of drawers. I think this shade of lavender compliments my bedroom wall color nicely.

This is my first time uploading a video to blogger, so I don't know if it will work. If it does, it's just a better look at my beautiful pillow. That's my youngest in the background talking away.

I hope you enjoyed my pillow pictures. Don't forget to stop by Cindy's beautiful blog for more wonderful show and tell postings. I love coming home on Friday's, making a cup of coffee and looking at each and every show and tell link!

Show and Tell Friday - Bohemian Vase

Cindy is hosting another week of Show and Tell and I have decided to show my bohemian vase. My cousin-in-law's mother had a boutique in Los Angeles selling these. One year when we went to visit them in Vegas her mother, Suzanne, gave me this as a gift. She has whole tea sets, vases, pitchers, you name it. I picked this cobalt blue vase. I love the cobalt blue. She also had red, green, and this blue. This particular one stands about ten inches high and is about eight inches in diameter.
I keep this baby put up... way up... because it is super expensive (this one around $500) and I don't have a china cabinet or curio yet. So for now... this is it!
Here we go....
It's home for now....
Lid off... turned upside down..
You ready for the rest?

My beautful blue baby!!

This bohemian vase has 24K gold overlay and floral detail...

A close-up...

It's so delicate and elegant. All the details are handpainted!

Inside...

Another full view. The white background makes it more visible.

I love this vase.. or bowl... I love this piece!

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog to see my show and tell. I always look forward to posting and seeing everyone else's show and tell. Don't forget to stop by here and see what everyone else is showing!

Three or More Tuesday - Lacquer Boxes

Cindy at My Romantic Home is hosting another Show and Tell Friday. I have been so busy this week I had to double up on my postings and I also entered this post at.....

Tam at The Gypsy's Corner is hosting Three or More Tuesday. This is my first time entering.

I thought I would show my Russian Lacquer boxes. I have many, many Russin trinkets large and small all over my house.
These Russian boxes are intricately handpainted and can cost several hundred of dollars. These are those....lol. However I think they are all pretty and I love collecting them.
This one depicts Snegurochka, the SnowMaiden. You can't really tell from the photo but the bottom of her dress and the snow is a glittery white.
My goodies inside the box...

This is a landscape box. It measures about 3x2x1 inches.

It has a beautiful delicate gold scolling along all four sides and sits on four little feet. The goodies inside this box. That is a Russian ring in there that is also handpainted and has the same gold scroll painting all over it.

This box shows a couple. They are dressed in very traditionaly Russian folk clothing.

I love the gold work on this one. I don't know if you can tell but it's tiny leaves on that vine.

The goodies inside this box.

Another box with young lovers painted on it.

This one does not have any gold painting on the sides. And I have nothing inside it. It just sits on my dresser with the other ones.

Thank you so much for stopping by my first Three or More Tuesday entry. I hope you enjoyed it! Stop by The Gypsy's Corner to see everyone elses trios!

Also, stop by and see Cindy's Show and Tell Friday here. You won't be sorry. Cindy always has the most beautiful decorations and everyone that joins Show and Tell Friday always have the most unique and cutest posts. It's always a real treasure and you never know what you will find!

I have been wanting to update my mantle with fall decorations. I looked at many different sytles online and found pretty much what I was looking for.

This is the before... just a combination of candles, matryoshkas, vases and a Russian doll.
A view from the right side...

New decorations....

The middle...

This set of candlesticks was given to me by my MIL.

I love hiding pinecones in my arrangements.

The finished product...

I still think something is missing. I can't figure out what it is. Do you have any ideas?

Thanks so much for visiting my show and tell. I can't wait to hear your suggestions !

I can't wait to stop by your blogs and see your wonderful things!