Well, the spring articles for Charm & Grace are officially out and ready for your perusal. I must say that this issue is the best yet, and I do hope you agree. There is much beauty awaiting as we travel through gardens of England, the Cotswolds, and visit the home of C.S. Lewis. There are lovely photographs from Paul Noah (you’re getting a sneak peek with the pink dogwood blossoms at left) in our Spring Fling article on organization. Our recipes this season, with a nod to St. Patrick’s Day and Easter, are all about eating those “greens.” And be sure to look at our Featured Finds to see my new “artwork only” website. I’d love to know what you think! All in all, this issue is sure to fill you with thoughts of spring and all its wonders. Come on over to Charm & Grace, and make yourself at home.
As for the archive meme, Bebe from the beautiful and inspiring Peaches and Dreams has tagged me with this interesting challenge. So here goes:
Here are the instructions:
Link 1 must be about family.
Link 2 must be about friends.
Link 3 must be about yourself, who you are… what you’re all about.
Link 4 must be about something you love.
Link 5 can be anything you choose.
I think this is a great way to circulate some of the great older posts everyone has written, return to a few great places in our memories and also learn a little something about ourselves and each other that we may not know.
Post your five links and then tag five other people. At least TWO of the people you tag must be newer acquaintances so that you get to know each other better….and don’t forget to read the archive posts and leave comments!
1. Family: We, as a family, have so much fun traveling together… we really love to go to historical places like battlefields and museums and find ourselves making excuses to go new places just so that we can do that. But, the one place we are absolutely NUTS over is Walt Disney World. We have been every year for the past several years and these past couple of years have spent 10 days soaking in all the pixie dust we could handle. When it comes to Disney, we just lose all sense of moderation. We have found ourselves saying, “There’s no way we’ll go back to WDW this year,” and then around September we begin to eat our words. There are a couple of blog posts that give a hint about that here.
2. Friends: I have some wonderful friends, and a lot of them I have made since I started this blogging thing. I still feel very new at blogging, as I haven’t even been at it a year yet, but I really enjoy the relationships I have made through this crazy e-world. And as it relates to friends, I have recently had the opportunity to draw houses for two very special friends, Valery and Lisa. And that has been an unimaginable blessing! I have shared those two sketches with you here.
3. Myself: This is the hard one, since I really can’t ever think of very much to say about myself (I wonder what that says about me…) Anyway, since I just completed a meme challenge where I told seven random facts about myself… here… I’ll just let that do the talking.
4. Something I love: Well, I love all kinds of things… all the things that are charming and graceful (of course!) And, I love so many people… my hubby, my children, my mom, dad, mom-in-love, dad-in-love, step-dad, extended family, …and my friends. But most of all I love Jesus, and without Him I wouldn’t be where I am right now. I wouldn’t have the family and extended family and wonderful friends… and I wouldn’t have even the “things” that I do. I love Him for loving me first, even when I was unlovable, and for making it easy for me to know Him, even though it meant torture for Him.
5. Anything: This one is easy …for any of you who have been reading here long, you know that one of my favorite things is Victoria Magazine, published initially by Hearst Corp. from 1987 through 2003. Having subscribed to the original from 1987 through 1999, I have kept every one of my original copies through six moves. And, thanks to Ebay, I have even added to the collection some of those I was missing from the years after my subscription ended. It really was and continues to be the inspiration behind the Charm & Grace web magazine. Every month I looked forward to getting my issue because (largely thanks to Nancy Lindemeyer and some of the most excellent photographers in the world) I knew it would be filled with beauty throughout its pages, in both images and words. And now, we are very fortunate that Hoffman Media has given us the gift of bringing Victoria back to us.
And now I must look around and see who I can find to tag. How about….
Lorrie at Fabric, Paper, Thread (getting you back, girlfriend 
)
Rebekka at Maple Sugar (yummy deliciousness …yes, that is a word)
Clare at Vintage Home (because I am fascinated by all things English!)
Just so you know, girls, this is a no obligation tag. Since I just did a meme and tagged others, I am going to leave it at three. But if there are others out there who want to do the meme… please do and leave a comment here. I promise I will come look and read!
Happy spring!!!
April 19th, 2008 by 
Charm & Grace
group of women who are pursuing their dreams (bliss) through their own businesses. This group originally formed in response to Victoria magazine’s The Business of Bliss, a book highlighting women who had taken their passions and turned them into profitable businesses. I joined this group in January of 2007, just after I determined to learn web design and start my own online web magazine called Charm & Grace. Since then I have been pursuing my dreams of doing artwork through web design and, as I have shared with you here, more recently through fine artwork. It is such a blessing to be a part of this wonderful and talented group of women. I have learned so much from so many who are part of the Bliss Guild community, and I am excited to tell you that right now on the Bliss Guild Blog I am the featured member. So, be sure to stop by and read my interview to learn all about my “bliss.” 
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6. I have a bottle of perfume on my dresser, Princess Marcella Borghese’s Giardini di Montecatini XII, which lists on 
Victoria was such a beloved magazine that many of its readers are awaiting the opportunity to subscribe. One group of faithful Victoria followers can be found at