Gratitude

All too often I forget the many blessings that the Lord has brought into my life, and not just into my life but into the people's lives that I love the most.

So many times I get distracted with the little, unimportant things such as worrying about what I am going to wear or worrying about what people think about me. I could pretend that these things don't matter, but let's be honest, they do. So, I want to take a moment to list a few mighty things that God has done for me that I don't deserve. He does them because He loves me.

I am His child.

*Although there was a time this year when my husband's work went through a dry spell and we had no other income, we never went hungry, Amelia always had diapers, our home was still a comfortable place to live (better than many homes when compared to less fortunate countries), we still had gas for our cars; we were even still able to provide food for our cat...

The Lord takes care of us.

*Eventhough my father went through a long spell without work after being laid off (like thousands of other Americans his age), he and my mother were still able to pay off their home and relieve that debt on a 30 year mortgage; they were still able to travel here to visit us; and eventually God provided my father another job.

The Lord is faithful.

*God healed my brother-in-law after he was kicked in the ribs by a steer.

*God is still healing my uncle who had triple bypass surgery two months ago.

The Lord can heal all wounds.

Everyday as we are eating, playing, working, sleeping, God is in control orchestrating our health, our childrens' developing little bodies, our climate, our economy, everything.

How many times do our lives cross through dangers unseen by us that only the Lord knows we escaped through his protecting hand???

The Lord is in control.

I am thankful for all the blessings that I have received but I know that there are thousands that of "unknown" blessings that I have forgotten about or have been unaware of.

If you are reading this post, just think about all of the blessings you have at this very moment by just being able to do this simple act-You are literate; you are healthy enough to be entertaining yourself on the computer; you own a computer; you are alive...

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness (variation), neither shadow of turning." James 1:17

I hope you all have a joyous Thanksgiving with your families.

_{Images of Amelia Thanksgiving 2008}

Fill up a room with wintery snow....

Gorgeous location

plus...

Beautiful architecture

plus...

millions of fluffy snowflakes
plus...

ceiling to floor velvet window treatments

plus...

gilded moulding and a grand chandelier

plus...

ethereal lighting

plus...

tufts of powdery snow

equals a dreamy winter catalogue produced by Anthropologie.

Everything about Anthropologie-its clothing, accessories, window displays, home decor, and catalogues-is saturated with creativity, color, and beauty.

I just wanted to share with you this very inspiring photoshoot.

This year I am using touches of aged gold in my Christmas decorating and gift wrap...for a little bit of glamour.

Now, perhaps, all I need is some feathery snow...

_{Images from Anthropologie November 2009 catalogue}

Parisienne Petal Winner....

This giveaway has been an absolute pleasure to host. I want to thank all of you-old and new friends-for your encouraging words and for visting my Etsy shop. Many of you shared with me your favorite brooch and listening to your favorites is so very helpful.

After assigning each of the participants a number (some participants were assigned multiple numbers), I used a random number picker (much quicker than writing, cutting, and placing names in a hat) to randomly select a number. After the number was selected, I looked on my sheet of paper to find the corresponding participant and the winner of one of my hand-made brooches is....

Stephanie at Bonjour Madame!

Stephanie, a long-time blog friend of mine, has been such a loyal friend to me and to many of you as well. The image above came from her lovely blog. Be sure to pay her a visit!

I hope you all have a great Monday!

A la prochaine!

_{image -Country Living via Bonjourmadamestephanie.blogspot.com}

Giveaway!~Parisienne Petals~a la parisienne's new romantic brooches~

For all of my loyal friends out there, I wanted to share with you some exciting news. A couple of weeks ago, I added a new product to my Etsy store~Parisienne Petals~romantic brooches that have a vintage appeal. As a "grand launching" of this product and a thank you, I want to give one of these brooches to one lucky winner. Winner's choice!

A little bit about my hand-made flowers:

*Each brooch is made of luxurious fabrics-silks, velvets, brocades, taffetas
*All petals are hand-cut by me
(These aren't craft store flowers with a pin glued to the back.)

*The design of these brooches are one of a kind- I created the template for the petals and I select the fabrics.
*Edges of petals are treated to prevent fraying.
*I love using authentic vintage pearls, beads, jewelry and ribbons for the centers of my brooches.

~Le Petit Trianon Brooch~

This flower is my Marie Antoinette inspired brooch. I drew these colors from the gorgeous robin's egg walls in the Petit Trianon at Versailles and sumptuous dresses worn by the actresses in the film Marie Antoinette.

Although the color palette of this flower might be considered more fitting for the spring and summer months, I would still wear it in the winter...but that's just me.


~vintage vanilla cream brooch~

I hand-dyed the fabric used in this brooch to make it a creamier shade of white.


~La Sorbonne~

A charcoal raw silk brooch, with the appearance of linen is a great color for fall yet light weight enough for spring.



~velvet decadance~




This brooch is one of my very first creations. It is fashioned with layers of dusty rose and burgundy velvet. It is ruffled and so very rich.


~Satine~ Inspired by Moulin Rouge

~A scarlet silk and crinkled velvet brooch~a rich, classic, striking

How to enter the parisienne petal giveaway:

You must leave a comment below to enter. Anyone may enter!


If you would like to increase your chances of winning:
(For each of the following, your name will be added once more to the hat.)

*Visit my Etsy store, come back and tell me which brooch is your favorite.

*Become a follower. (Current followers will also be added to the drawing an additional time. Please mention in your comment)

*Become a Facebook fan of a la parisienne

*Do a post over my giveaway. (You must inform me of your post.)

*Purchase a brooch from my Etsy.

If you win, you may select another brooch for free-to keep or give as a gift.

You could have your name added to the "hat" up to six times for this giveaway.

Entry deadline: Saturday PM, November 14th.
Winner will be announced Monday, November 16th.

Throughout the week I will be sharing with you many of my other brooches. I look forward to hearing from you.


Bonne Chance!!!