No Place Like Home

"Home is where your story begins."

Hello dear friends and welcome to No Place Like Home; a blog party where you are invited to share all your home and garden posts. A place to share your imagination, wonderful ideas and gifts with others. 

As I mentioned in my last post, I have been busy preparing for the arrival of my family. I've been baking lots of goodies and trying to get the house in order. We also painted the office and our yellow doors got a refresh. Come on in!

I shared a recipe that you might like to try. It's very easy and everyone likes them unless you're allergic to nuts. You can click here to see the recipe.

Today I will be making strawberry jam. I have a long To Do List but I'm getting there.

Last week's party served up a cornucopia of ideas, home making tips and recipes. They were all splendid and thank you so much for sharing. I am honoured that you linked up to my party. You are a wonderfully talented group of ladies! 

I will share just a few of the posts that caught my eye from last week's party.

Shannon @ Belle Bleu Interiors shared a gorgeous French Country vignette with her French pastry table and beautiful accessories. 

I love how Debbie @ Debbie-Dabble Blog used different plant containers and stands in her back yard garden. 

Thelma @ Thelma's Days set a beautiful tea table outside in her rose garden. Aren't her roses lovely?

Cathy @ My 1929 Charmer took us on a stroll through her beautiful secret garden complete with a pond. So peaceful!

And for a scrumptious recipe, Sherry @ The Charm of Home shared a Caramel Peach Cake with Caramel Topping. I'm going to make this for my family when they get home.

Thank you everyone for participating last week. If you have been featured here at No Place Like Home, feel free to take this button for your blog. Just copy and paste.

As a courtesy, it would be nice if you would have a link back to my party. 

Now let's see what you are creating in your home to make it a cozy place to come home to for your family, your friends, and yourself. 

Please take note: This will be my last No Place Like Home party until August. My hubby is on holidays and I am going to be very busy with no time to blog once my family arrives in a few days. So, thank you for joining me this week and I'll see you when I get back. Please take care and God watch over you and bless you all!

Lord, this humble house we'd keep 
Sweet with play and calm with sleep. 
Help us so that we may give 
Beauty to the lives we live. 
Let Thy love and let Thy grace 
Shine upon our dwelling place. - Edgar A. Guest 

An InLinkz Link-up

Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi

Company's Coming

Family is one of Nature's masterpieces. ~  George Santayana

Hello my lovely friends! I hope this past week brought many blessings your way. This week found me in my kitchen baking up a storm.

My family is coming home for a big Family Reunion. Descendants from Hubby's great- grandfather's line are getting together, many for the very first time, and folks will be coming from all over to attend. They are coming from Colorado, Ireland, BC, Alberta, Ontario, Florida, and New Brunswick as well as all those who are still living on PEI. It is going to be quite a Reunion!

With my own family arriving, my little Rose Chintz Cottage will be very full. There will be six adults, two little ones, and a pup. I mean, who could say no to that sweet little face? Boomer will be a novelty that's for sure because we're not accustomed to having a puppy in the house.

My family is flying in from Colorado and Vancouver. The fur baby in CO. will be staying behind and it's just as well. I'm not sure the pup and the kitty would see eye to eye.
My son who lives here on the Island with his family will be joining us too. So our usually quiet household will soon be bursting with excitement.

I have been busy as a bee getting ready for their arrival. I have been baking and freezing baked goods, cleaning, and we just finished painting the office and purging some stuff. Whew! I really need a break and I will be taking one soon while they are here as there will be no time for me to blog.

So far I have sugar cookies, cinnamon rolls, or Snails as my son always called them, and crispie chocolate squares made and in the deep freeze. I have peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, another batch of cinnamon rolls yet to make, as well as my spaghetti sauce. I must get my strawberry jam made too.

Krispie Chocolate Squares
3/4 cup honey
1 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups crisp rice cereal
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup salted peanuts

Combine honey and peanut butter in a large saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until smoothly combined and mixture just comes to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Add cereal, chocolate chips, and peanuts; stir well. Press lightly into a greased 8 or 9 inch square pan. Chill about one hour. Cut into squares. 

When I need a break from all the busyness, Hubby and I head for the sea shore. The solitude of the waves lapping on the shore calms us down and helps us to relax. 


Why do we love the sea? It is because it has some potent power to make us think things we like to think. ~ Robert Henri

We go there often because there is something healing about being out in the fresh air laden with the smell of salt, the crying of gulls overhead, and the soothing sound of the water gently lapping on the shoreline.  

There are any number of private spots available and that is where we like to go. Just sand and sea and sky. A couple of hours out there and we are refreshed and ready to go again.

As busy as we are right now, I still take time to enjoy those little moments when something special happens or Nature puts on a show for us. Like watching the fire flies dance behind our house at night; tiny specks of light twinkling in the darkness. I enjoy the sound of birds singing and twittering in the early morning hours when all the world is still asleep and I always take time to smell the roses. I don't want to miss a thing!

I have written this post to inform you of the goings on at my house. If I don't visit you it's because I am up to my neck in preparations. I know you will understand as we're all busy this time of year. Have a lovely weekend everyone and I'll see you on Monday for No Place Like Home.

Sharing with these lovely parties:

Bernideen's TTCG Blog Party
The Art of Home-Making Mondays
Home Sweet Home


Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi

No Place Like Home

Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home. ~ John Howard Payne

Hello my lovely friends and welcome to No Place Like Home; a blog party where you are invited to share all your home and garden posts. A place to share your imagination, wonderful ideas and gifts with others. 

The other day I shared one of my new found vintage teacups. If you would like to know more about it, click here.

I've had a very busy week. Hubby and I just finished painting the office and I'm glad that job is done. You wouldn't believe the junk that was in there! At least the painting is done and now it's time to get the house back in order before my family arrives.

As well as getting the painting finished, I have been baking. I got my sugar cookies made and they're in the freezer. I make big ones with raisins in the centre. These were always a favourite with my guys so I always make them when they come home.

There was a kitchen, a parlour, a pantry, and a larder. ~ Beatrix Potter

I love my ceramic topped stove. It's another surface on which to let things cool.

I will be making two other kinds of cookies as well as cinnamon rolls. A big batch of what my kids consider to be the best spaghetti sauce will be made and put in the freezer as well. And once they arrive, I will have to make my potato salad which my youngest claims is the best in the world! He has traveled extensively and enjoyed food in all different countries so I take that as quite a compliment!

So, yes, I'm really busy. Hubby starts his vacation next week and shortly, I will be taking a break but for now, it's on with the party.


Last week's party served up a wonderful variety of ideas and recipes. What a talented group of ladies you are! Everything was splendid and thank you so much for sharing. I am honoured that you linked up to my party. 

I haven't been featuring so many posts lately but I thought I would take the time to share some with you this week. There were so many to choose from but I had to narrow it down to these seven. Hope you enjoy!

Patti @ Embracing Home shared a heartwarming story about her great grandmother and her purple eggs. 

Nancy @ Two Cottages and Tea shared a beautiful tea time out in her garden surrounded by her lovely purple flowers and china.

You all know my adoration of pink/red transferware so Bernideen @ Bernideen's Tea Time, Cottage and Garden  also gets a mention for sharing her stunning collection of china as well as figurines for the July 4th holiday.

Thelma @ Thel's Kitchen shared her recipe for Maple Walnut tarts; yum!

Jocelyn @ Happy Cottage Quilter shared a recipe from Taste of Home for this lovely Strawberry-Blueberry truffle. Perfect for July the 4th!

Ruth @ Antiques and Teacups shared her lovely red, white and blue tea time as well as a delicious recipe for Blueberry Yorkshire Pudding. Oh my, doesn't it look good?

Cindy @ Cloches and Lavender shared a wonderful topiary which she made for her stepmom. Love the box too.

Thank you everyone for joining me last week. I really appreciate it!

It would be lovely if you added a link in your post back to this party so your friends could find their way here.

Now let's see what you are creating in your home to make it a cozy place to come home to for your family, your friends, and yourself. Thank you for adding a link back to this party putting a link to your 


Lord, this humble house we'd keep 
Sweet with play and calm with sleep. 
Help us so that we may give 
Beauty to the lives we live. 
Let Thy love and let Thy grace 
Shine upon our dwelling place. - Edgar A. Guest

An InLinkz Link-up

Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi

A Rose is A Rose is A Rose.....

...t'is my faith that every flower enjoys the air it breathes. ~ William Wordsworth

Hello my lovely friends. I hope your week is going well. 

We have been painting the office so this will be a quick post as I don't always have access to my computer. I have also been busy baking for my company which will be arriving in a couple of weeks.

A pretty bouquet I picked up at the grocery store because my roses aren't doing well this year. I think it's because of the cold wet weather we seem to be having most of the time. 

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that I had found some new teacups. I am sharing another one today.

It's no secret that I adore roses and when I saw this beautiful teacup, it just won my heart, so home it came with me.

The front with a full blown rose.

The back with a tiny rose bud.

Inside and a glimpse of the saucer.

Isn't she a beauty? She is a footed teacup with a gentle scalloping around the rim of both the cup and saucer and the handle is very comfortable. 

She is another Aynsley made in England and I just love the gorgeous pink roses. I honestly couldn't resist her. The number on the bottom of the cup is 1365 but I couldn't find a name for her.

"After all, the only real roses are pink ones. They are the flowers of love and faith." ~ Anne Shirley of Anne of Green Gables

The topper is new which I found at The Anne of Green Gables Store. It is called Ivory Elegance and it is the perfect size for my coffee table. 

I am enjoying English Breakfast tea and a triple decker tea sandwich made with devilled ham and cream cheese on white Tramezzini bread. The plate is Royal Albert Lavender Rose.

Have you treated yourself to something new lately?

Enjoy your cuppa tea today and thank you for visiting. 

Hope you all have a delightful weekend.

There are always flowers for those who want to see them. ~ Henri Matisse

I will link this to the following parties ~

 Tuesday Cuppa Tea
 Bernideen's TTCG Blog Party
 Tea Cup Tuesday



Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi

No Place Like Home

I am grateful for the lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning, and floors that need waxing because it means I have a home. ~ Author unknown

Hello my lovely friends and welcome to No Place Like Home; a blog party where you are invited to share all your home and garden posts. A place to share your imagination, wonderful ideas and gifts with others. 

There is nothing more beautiful than someone who goes out of their way to make life more beautiful for others. ~ Mandy Hale

Happy 4th of July to all my American friends! I hope you enjoy every minute.

We just enjoyed a wonderful long weekend celebrating Canada's birthday. Canada is 149 years old. Next year will be the big one because our glorious country will be 150 years old.

Hubby and I spent Canada Day on the beach. It was such a beautiful day. 

Our beaches stretch for miles and there are any number of spots to relax or take a long walk.

The sand hills are kept roped off to protect our wildlife. Tourists and other folks who pay no attention to signs often climb the hills for a view of the beach. You can get quite the view from up there. When my guys were growing up the sand hills were free to roam and they had a lot of fun playing on them. King of the Mountain was one of the games they played.

Once your feet have touched the warm sun drenched sand of the seashore you will never be the same. ~ Patsy Gant

You all know how much I love the beach. It is one of my happy places and Hubby and I practically live there in the summertime. The Island blesses us with so many splendid beaches and this is yet another one. 

I love how the tide creates warm puddles of water just right for little ones to splash in. A perfect spot for an afternoon of fun! This picture I borrowed from a friend. This is his sweet little family enjoying the day at the beach also on Canada Day. Stunning, isn't it? 


The Beach... the only place where salt lowers the blood pressure.

After our afternoon at the beach we came home and had a barbecue. I made a yummy Strawberry Banana Trifle for dessert. 

If you would like to get the recipe please click here.


Last week's party served up a plethora of ideas and recipes. They were all splendid and thank you so much for sharing. I am honoured that you linked up to my party. What a wonderfully talented group of ladies you are! 

This week I'm sharing the post that received the most clicks from last week's party:

Kitty @ Kitty's Kozy Kitchen  shared her cooking camp with her adorable grandchildren and a recipe for her wonderful Red Velvet Doughnuts with red, white and blue sprinkles. Yum!

Congratulations, Kitty!

Now let's see what you are creating in your home to make it a cozy place to come home to for your family, your friends, and yourself. 

Have a beautiful day everyone!

Lord, this humble house we'd keep 
Sweet with play and calm with sleep. 
Help us so that we may give 
Beauty to the lives we live. 
Let Thy love and let Thy grace 
Shine upon our dwelling place. - Edgar A. Guest 

An InLinkz Link-up

Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi

Red and White for Canada Day!

...God keep our land glorious and free!

Hello my lovely friends and Happy Canada Day to all my Canadian friends!

We are having the most beautiful day and Hubby and I are heading for the beach. Later we will come back for a barbecue and a tasty dessert I made for the holiday. 

It's all red and white today; like our flag. And speaking of flags, those little flags decorating my dessert were a gift from a blogger friend. Aren't they cute?

My china is made by Maxwell and Williams and the pattern is called  Rose Petals. 

The mug rug was also a gift from a blogger friend. A cute maple leaf; very appropriate for Canada Day.

A King's Crown red rimmed sherbet dish holds our trifle and it sits on the matching plate to the teacup. 

Would you like to join me for some tea and trifle?

"Stay" is the most charming word in a friend's vocabulary. ~ Louisa May Alcott

Here is the recipe for the Trifle. I can't remember where I found the recipe so if it's yours, let me know and I will give you credit for it.

Strawberry Banana Trifle

1 container strawberries, sliced
4 bananas, sliced
1 large pkg Vanilla instant pudding
2-1/2 cups milk
1 can Eagle Brand Milk
1 angel food cake- cut up
1 large container Cool whip

Prepare pudding with milk and Eagle Brand Milk. When pudding starts to thicken, add 1/2 the container of Cool Whip.
Layer half the cake cubes, half the pudding, half the bananas, and half the berries. Repeat the layers and top with Cool Whip. Garnish with extra berries. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Thank you for visiting today. I wish you all a lovely and safe weekend. The Lord watch over you and your families! 

courtesy of the Internet

I am joining the following parties as well~

 Tuesday Cuppa Tea
 Bernideen's TTCG Blog Party
 Tea Cup Tuesday
 The Art of Home-Making Mondays
 Share Your Cup Thursday
 Home Sweet Home

 Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi