Out and About...at Inspirational Home

Friday afternoon I ran by Inspirational Home to find a few more things for the give-away. I can always count on Debra having some wonderful "gifty" items. This is where I found the great turkey kitchen towel with the cake mix, and soap, among a few other items I picked up. She had totally re-arranged the store and I found this really fun Halloween display upstairs. It reminds me of something from the 1920's with it's vintage feel.

Here is her garden room, decked out

 for a Spooky Halloween.

The front room display is loaded with

great baskets

 and some fabulous furniture.

Love this chair!

Grrrr, Leopard! (sorry)

Wonderful topiaries

Amazing icons and Santos.

Back in the garden room you can find bulbs

 of all varieties for fall planting.

Great urns and garden elements

 Inspirational Home is located on South Lone Pine

in Springfield, Missouri.

Hope you enjoyed seeing what's new.

Have a great week!

Debra

3 Little Punkins

My sweet friend Cindy, at The Yapping Cat Studio, is an amazingly talented woman. She is one of the organizers of Paper Cowgirl, and so very creative and whimsical in her art. You can also read about her here. She is a constant inspiration to me. About two months ago she had some teeny tiny paintings of cherries, pears, nests, etc. on her blog and then casually mentioned maybe painting some pumpkins for fall. Well, 'nough said, cause I jumped on that idea and ordered these. I like to do a "goodie" bag up for my girls for every holiday, and these are for their fall gift. (Oh yea, one's for moi!)
So Friday when I checked the mail, here they were. Well, I tore into them in the car, cause I just couldn't wait, and here's what I found!

Oh, so very CUTE!

And a sweet note from my Friend with tootsie rolls

 and Lollia, whoops, forgot to show those!

Oh, And I can't forget to show the backs...love them!

ALMOST as cute as the fronts!

Thank you Cindy, Love ya!

Debra

I stayed up way too late....and the winner is!!!!

Here's the Hatbox, or "wig" box as in this case.

You like my cute PJ's?

Getting ready to pick the names....

 Here they are: Donna of Brynwood Needleworks

 and Deb of Talking Trash!

(the number is to tell me which post this particular comment entry came from.)

I did this the old fashioned way, (writing your names on paper) and I'll tell you why. You guys are more than a number to me. It's nice to hit a milestone and celebrate with a give-away. But it meant more to me than that. Blogging has been a Lifeline, that I needed to grab onto, as I've gone thru a time in my life that has been really hard. My health was shaken, but not my faith in God.

I'm a big journal-er. I do it every day, and have for the last at least 10 years. The last five years, since I have been antiquing and junking, have been busy, productive and so much fun. So when I had to re-arrange my life last January, I felt lost and disconnected. Having lost my daily connection with my shop friends when I had to leave a great store, and just generally feeling lousy due to medication and limits on what I could do, I was miserable and in the pit. It was clear I needed to re-focus and change up my life. BUT IT WAS SO HARD!

That's where you all came in. This last 4 months I have felt purpose, friendship and connection again. I wanted to expand my horizon and you all have helped me do that. During this give-away I have visited each site, and tried to learn a little about you. I couldn't leave comments on everyone's blog, but I think I have been there. And I'm hoping to have the time now for a proper visit.

So even though this give-away has been a long one, there has been a purpose for it. I've been excited for each new follower, and look at you as a friend, not just a number to reach a goal. This give-away has been for you, but in reality, it was for me.

Love you all bunches!

Debra

200th follower Give-Away at the Stroke of Midnight!

Calling all Bloggy Buds!

Tonight at Midnight I'll pull 2 rabbits out of the Hat,

(I'll make that Midnight Pacific

time for all you California Gals)

well, maybe just 2 names out of a vintage hatbox!

If you haven't left a comment or signed on as a follower,

You still have a few hours.

Today I ran out and found a few other goodies,

for the 2nd. Giveaway.

Here they are!

Another of the 2010 Birds of a Feather Journals

The Somerset Publications Holiday and Celebrations 

 Primo Edition.

A red toile fabric tote bag.

Yummy Herbal Soap

And a cabinet card of two kiddies,

 that I am wiring up a hanger for as we speak.

And a great Turkey Dish Towel with a package

 of Cranberry Walnut Cake Mix  inside!

 So join in the fun!

 I'll add your name to the hat!

Debra

Vintage Black Friday

Vintage Black Friday is Here.

I feel like Boris Karloff when I say that.

Que the creepy organ music.

Don't you just adore this logo for Vintage Black Friday?

Now, don't go yet, but when you're finished here take a look at all the other gypsies over at Gypsy Brocante. Jill is hostessing such a fun party, and with Halloween coming, you can bet it will only get better and better!

image from country living magazine

Several years ago I found this piece; I'm not sure what to call it... a conservatory, mirrored, glass, lantern, sconce. (?) There were two of them, and I sold one. This one has set on my Entry dresser since. It houses whatever the seasonal soup de jour decor may be.

At the moment my favorite squirrel lives happily inside among some fall leaves, a gift from Alyson several years ago. He's a paper mache box.

This 1940's child's rocker was purchased from a neighbor's yard sale. I paid "retail" for it. She had never had a garage sale before. Her husband had just passed away, and she was moving back to Chicago to be with her family. So I just paid the price. I know it was worth it, but, well, we've all been there. You just buy it and don't say a word...just something I needed to do.

It's an original Nichols and Stone Company "Windsor Chair". The company was started in 1857 and they were the original manufacturers of Windsor chairs here in the U.S. It has it's original black stenciled finish.

I have two black benches. This one is in my hallway that goes into the kitchen. It's hard to get a good shot of it because of the stair railing.

I fell in love with the black Country French fruit motif of the material. My husband has complained about it being there because it is in the traffic lane, but sometimes you just have to put up with inconvenience for the sake of decor. Right?

A long time ago a friend had a collection of black tole trays that I was enamored with. I would love to find more. A couple are reproductions from England, but for now these are all I have room for. They are along the backsplash on the counter in my kitchen.

Ohhhh, I just love all this black

that we're getting to see.

 Have a Wonderful Day,

and remember there are two names

for the 200th Follower Give-Away

to be pulled out of the hatbox tonight at Midnight!

Debra

Ozark Festival Goodies And 200th Give-Away!

Today here in Southwest MO it is raining cats and dogs. I love an afternoon like this, but I had planned to get a few errands ran. When it's like this, sorry, I just don't get out. So before too much time had passed from last weedend's Fall Festival, I thought I'd share a few of the things that my sister and I nabbed.

These were in several booths, and I thought they were so cute. Since I have more vintage suitcases than I can shake a paintbrush at, I let her have the honors, but I really had to think twice. So "stinkin" cute!

You remember Chelsea's and Stacey's booth, "Glamour Girls", this is the darling little Owl necklace that I bought. I have already worn it so many times! (ok, everyday) They had so many darling designs I could hardly pick just one.

Here's my "Scardy Cat on a Stick".

This is my old Pepper Shaker that has been electrified. It has one of those "old timey" look flickering bulbs in it. My sis bought one that was an old mustard tin. I thought they were really unique.

Harvest Pumpkin Sign.

Bittersweet and Scardy Cat Hanger.

 I love initial charms, I found this and the silver earrings in separate places, but just love them!

This has been a great week with the Give-Away. I just kept going for 200, so I'm in the process of putting another bunch of fun items together for the second give-away! I'll anounce the two winners sometime Saturday, So be on the lookout! Remember, it doesn't close until Friday at midnight! There's still time!