Happy Easter

I "hop" everybody had a happy day!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year Everybody. I wish all of you the best year ever. I think I might like to turn over a new leaf. How about you?

Happy Holidays

I'm wishing all of you happy holidays and big hugs.

Happy Holiday Weekend

Dream Within A Dream

I hope all of you are enjoying a long and love filled holiday weekend. Thanks to my guests yesterday, you made it a really lovely day for me.

Meatless Monday - Happy 4th Of July

Summer Watermelon Photo Available Here

Happy 4th Of July Everybody! I hope you are all having a good one. I just sliced open a nice juicy watermelon. Nothing says summer like a watermelon. I bought some El Mexicano Pico Limon Hot Seasoning For Fruits at the Mexican food store. It's made of mixed hot peppers, salt, and lime juice. It adds a brightness and a little kick to the flavor to the watermelon. 

Have fun! 

Meatless Monday - Kombu

First of all, let me say Happy Valentines Day! I hope you are having a good one! Are you feelin' the love today? I hope so.
And now, onto the Meatless Monday part. How was that for an abrupt segue?

Today, the featured food is Kombu. I'm going to suggest that everybody gets a package of this super sea veggie, and keep it in a jar in your cupboard, and start enjoying it regularly. Why? Because I love you, and it's Valentines Day (see how I turned that around, and made it all come together?) It is a wonderful thing to drop a piece of kombu in any pot of soup, grains, or beans. It has glutamic acid which will tenderize, add  rich flavor, and thicken bean broth. Most importantly, it will make things, like beans, easier to digest - if you know what I mean!
It cuts down on the salt that you need to add to things. And get this, it has algins that have been shown to remove heavy metals from the digestive tract. Kombu is a good source of vitamin C, B-complex, carotene, minerals, trace elements, enzymes, and fiber. What more could you want from a sea veggie that you can easily just throw in a pot?
Aren't you feelin' the love now? Hugs for everybody, and thanks for being my Valentines.

Valentines Day Is Just Around The Corner

Valentines Day, aka Single Awareness Day, is just around the corner. So, for those of you that are looking for a little something special, I thought I would let you know about some goodies that I have over in the Gilding Lilies Shop . These images are offered as digital downloads, for only $1.50 (two per page), so you can print them out, fold them up and give them to your peeps. For those of you that feel the urge to channel Martha, they look super sweet dolled-up with a sprinkle of glitter (and it's a really fun project for kids too).


My Love Valentine Available Here



Kisses Valentine Available Here



Love Valentine Available Here



Rose Valentine Available Here

Happy New Year

DOWNLOAD 1280x800 pixel version here

DOWNLOAD 1024x768 pixel version here

Happy New Year everyone. I wanted to thank you for all your kindness and support, it means so much to me. I'm wishing all of us a happy, healthy, successful, and bliss filled 2011.

I hope you enjoy the desktop.

Flowers On A Friday - Celebration Style

"Celebrate Life" for sale on Etsy - click here

Well Kids, it's almost here, a brand new year. Are you ready for it? Are you doing the whole resolution thing? I have a few things that I hope to do, and not do, next year. Before midnight I hope to decide on my word for next year. You know, a single word that sort of sums-up the theme that I hope to live by, and focus on. I'll let you know what I come up with. How about you, what would your word be?

I feel really ready to make some changes in my life, and I'm really looking forward to getting started. I choose not to think of them as resolutions, because historically I've not done well with resolutions, I just want to make some improvements, and try some fresh approaches to things. I promise to share some of this with you, as I get going.

I'm wishing all of you big sweet kisses, fireworks, and beverages that tickle your noses. Happy Almost New Year!

Happy Holidays

Thank you for all your support, kind comments, and general wonderfulness throughout this past year, it means so much to me. The love out there in the blog world is amazing, and I feel so lucky to have made so many wonderful friends. Thank you, thank you loyal readers you truly brighten my days. Happy Holidays.

Hugs, Jennifer

Pay It Backwards

It's time for a little more Guerrilla Holiday fun! You've heard of pay it forward, right? Well this time I paid it backwards. I went through my local coffee drive-thru and paid for the car behind me. Which was fun, but it gets even better. The next morning when I went back, the barista told me that I had started a chain of pay it backwards. Twenty one cars had carried on the kindness, and paid for the car behind them! How cool is that?! Yahoo, I'm feelin' the Guerrilla love! Makes me want to go hug a stranger. XOXO

Festival Of Lights Mini Movie And More Guerrilla Love

My dear buddy, Nat Montoya, created this pretty little movie of The Festive Of Lights. If it doesn't get you into a holiday frame of mind nothing will. Enjoy. Thanks Nat for sharing.
I'm so excited, the Guerrilla Love is spreading! Many folks have posted it on their blogs and people are giving in small and sweet ways. Hooray! It totally warms my heart! Sparkle The Cat did a really sweet thing, she knew that a fellow blogger was going through a tough time so she bought them something off of their Amazon wish list. K Spinning has put a group of Girl Scouts up too the challenge, I can't wait to see what they do. My buddy Jamie, from Lyrical Journey, is helping to spread the word, and the chocolate chip cookies.  Fin is meowing it out, over at Housecat Confidential, and Tammy Lee gave it a shout out, over on Bliss And Folly. Penelope is giving out Merry Christmoose Postcards to clerks that seem to be having a rough day. GiGi and Larry, over in Veganville, were kind enough to give some of their yummy baked goodies to a young, hungry, fella, in need.  And this is just a small sampling of the Guerrilla Kindness. How about you? Have you done any random acts of Guerrilla Kindness that you would like to share. I think it makes us all feel a bit more jolly, so feel free to join in, it's fun!

There Is A Guerrilla In Your Mailbox!

Time for a little more Guerrilla Holiday action. I tied Gilding Lilies Friendship greeting cards to a few mailboxes.

Flowers On A Friday - Guerrilla Style

This is how you do Flowers On A Friday- Guerrilla Style. I gathered a small bunch of wildflowers, tied them together with a velvet ribbon, and left them on a random car. I was thinking about how happy it would make me to receive such a gift, so I made a second tiny bundle for myself, and put it in a bud vase beside my bed. This is the sweet stuff!

Guerrilla Holiday

Last year I decided to do a Guerrilla Holiday, and I want to do it again this year, and I'm hoping you will want to join me. Here is the big idea. Have you ever heard of Guerrilla Artist's? Basically, they are artists that make art and install, preform, or attach it to public spaces, with the intention of affecting the world in a creative and thought provoking way (to paraphrase Keri Smith). These installations are often anonymous, and very unique. Do a web search for "guerrilla art" and you will see many wonderful examples. My idea is to remove some of the hype from the holiday and remind people of the simple joy of kindness. I think we all get so wrapped up in the stress of the season, we sometimes forget about small ways we can feel, and spread joy.  I'm talking about some random acts of giving. Tiny stuff, sweet stuff, unexpected stuff. Here are some ideas to get your creative juices flowing. Decorate a public and unexpected object. Put a handmade greeting card on a strangers windshield. If you're a crafter, make something small, and stick it in a neighbors mailbox. Go for a walk and stick a single shiny ornament on every tree that you pass. Tie a pretty tag, with a few kind words, on somebodies trash can (won't that just freak them out!). One of my readers tucked handmade beaded bookmarks in library books. There are a million possibilities. Make a sticker or a sign. Do you have something to say about the holiday season? Well, this is your chance! Won't you join me? I am really excited to see what you do. Send me some pictures, or tell me some stories, and I will try to post as many of them as I can. Spread the word, and take a Guerrilla Holiday Button. Let's see what we can do. I believe this could be something special, don't you?!

Cyber Monday - Coupon Code

To show my appreciation to all my readers I wanted to give you something on this Cyber Monday. This is supposed to be the busiest shopping day of the year, online. Are any of you doing any cyber purchasing today? I think I might partake a bit. It is so much easier than struggling with the crowds, and I love to support the little guys, like the folks on Etsy.
To say thank you for all your support, I give you, my readers, this special savings coupon. When making a purchase at the Gilding Lilies Etsy Store enter the coupon code HAPPYHOLIDAYS2010 and receive 10% off your purchase. The code will be good through the end of the year.
Enjoy, happy holidays, and thanks for your support and patronage, it really means so much to me!

Happy Thanksgiving

I wish you a silly, happy, and love filled holiday! 

Happy Halloween

Queen Of The Night



A 4th Of July Story

My baby sister Meg (OK, she's not quite a baby anymore, but she'll always be my Baby Sister) wrote this beautiful story about our childhood 4th of July experiences. Just tuggin' at those old heart strings, it makes me cry everytime I read it. I hope you enjoy it too.
I don’t remember the first time that I participated in my Mom’s Fourth of July Parade. There is a picture though… I'm young, perhaps two or three years old, and I'm perched on top of a pony with my mother by my side. A small crowd is gathered around us and we all smile and wave for the camera, taken on a rural road outside my grandparent’s home.
The summer when I was six, our family moved to our new home in Studio City, California. By the Fourth of July my sister and I had only had time to make one new friend, Darren, a boy who lived four houses down from us. We had already bored of the summertime activities.
We begged my mom to think of something to entertain us. She suggested we have a Fourth of July Parade, like she the one she started back home. Often she told us the story of how she started the parade, how each year the number of participants grew, and how fun it could be if we started the tradition in our new neighborhood.
Naturally we fought the idea initially as there were only three of us (Mom suggested we take the dog too). Eventually we dressed up in red, white and blue outfits, we found flags, we decorated our dog in crepe paper streamers, and we carried pots and wooden spoons to create marching music.
Mom cheered from the front lawn as we marched down the sidewalk from the front of our home down to Darren’s. We waved our flags proudly and tried to bang out “The Star-Spangled Banner” on pots, although it frightened the heck out of the dog (and any other hearing being).
It was not long before we began to gain the attention of the other neighbors (I don’t wonder why) who stoically watched our determined route back and forth. Passing cars honked appreciatively. We grew tired of parading pretty quickly and we were sure the new neighbors thought we were nuts.
The following year in June my Mom again suggested the parade. I complained bitterly that I didn’t want to do it because we looked foolish (a parade of three), I didn’t like the cars honking at us, and the pot banging simply had to go. I felt certain, at age seven, this reasoning would get me out of it. Instead she conceded to gathering additional resources to join us, changing the parade route to the quieter side street, and following in a car with the radio blaring marching music.
The parade was on. I was doubtful, but true to her word she invited all the families we knew and lured them with the promise of free lemonade and spaghetti dinner at the end of the parade.
We started about six blocks from our house with about ten to fifteen people. We picked up anyone willing to join us along the way and ended with about twenty people at my house, with the free lemonade and spaghetti promised for participation.
Each year the participants swelled. Mom’s parade discouraged no one from participation. This is no formal affair as you can see… if you want to lead the parade, you just move to the front… if you want to be in the drum line, you bring your pot and spoon…. if you want to ride in a float, you make your own.
As we grew older, my sister and I began to spend the summer away with my dad. My Mom continued the tradition without us for a time, but eventually it became too much for her to manage. She decided she could not host the parade. Luckily the new guard of neighborhood mothers took up the cause and the tradition continued (without the free spaghetti).
About five years ago my Mom decided to sell her home, and follow her heart to the Napa Valley. Before she moved, we decided to go back and see the parade one last time. We watched with amazement at all the people gathered. Someone in the crowd recognized my mother and pulled her into the gorgeous red convertible that was leading the parade. Her face was flushed with joy as she looked at the “little” parade she started so long ago.
Does the parade still continue? I really hope so, because when I think of the “Spirit of America”, I think of that parade… of kids on their bikes and pulled in red wagons waving the flag, of dogs decorated in crepe paper steamers, but most of all… I think of my Mom, who always encouraged us to take the single step from the curb into the street and not just watch the parade go by, but to risk looking like a fool and make one of our own.

Happy 4th Of July

Happy 4th Of July everybody. Anybody up to anything fun? I went to a little BBQ last night and sat (in a car, it was cold) on the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean and watched the fireworks in the distance. Good times! Kathryn pulled out all the stops, and truly hooked-up the vegan girl. She grilled eggplant, mushrooms, zucchini, and tofu for me. She also made a really yummy white bean soup, which was so comforting while sitting outside. Did I mention, good times? Thanks Kathryn. Well, I hope all of you have a great day, and a beautiful night filled with big kabooms and lots of those pretty twinkly ones (those are my favorite)!