Thursday, May 6, 2010

Vintage Botanicals and a Garden Table

This little metal outdoor table
at one time was in my booth space at the antique mall,

funny thing...

it never sold.

And you know what happens when things sit too long,

yeah...

they come to live at my house.

So now it sets right under
my kitchen window on the deck.

You can see it from the sunroom,
 so I really enjoy decorating it with my vintage
garden thingys.




A black birdcage covering some hearty ivy and my "Collegian" botanical notebook that I found several weeks ago at Spring Creek, are sharing the table with some silver of the galvanized zinc kind. I have several old watering cans, but this was a Birthday present a few years ago from my older daughter from Restoration Hardware, one of my favorite stores.





 Marion Bradway (lady or gentleman?)
must have had a Botanical assignment
to catalog wildflowers back in their college days.
My best guess is from the 1940's.


I thought about dismantling the pages and framing them out.
And I still may do that, but for now,
they are all together.



My kitties were very interested in the old pressed flowers,
but every time they went near them they started sneezing!
Funny how after so many years there is still pollen of some sort.
...choo!






I love the typewritten pages and the aged tape.


You can see my white garden gate behind the table.
 I have two of them.
Can someone say ...selfish...?
And my old hose hanger.
Just gotta love that color of blue!



I'm linking up with these wonderful parties.
If you have time go visit and say Hello.













Have a Wonderful Weekend everyone!
This Mommie has some fun time planned,
with her big kids.

And if you have a few mintues and you'd like to know me better,
and you can read what I've learned by being a mother.
love you all,
Debra

Did I hear you correctly...?


Just taking care of a few leftover Easter items...



Why do my kids buy me this stuff?

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Mother's Day Blessings

With Mother's Day this Sunday
it was about time to put away Easter
and pay tribute to all the Mothers in our lives.

My hall sideboard is my favorite to decorate
 because each month it is wiped clean
and I start from "scratch".


This area is hard to photo
since there is no direct lighting,
and the stairway is immediately in front.
(think...hanging from a chandelier)



But it is one of my favorites to view
because I see it from my kitchen.
So, like the sunroom, it's changed up frequently.


 I have a collection of Mother's Day framed verses,
(yes, I know, another collection)
but most special are my prints
 from the artist Mary Gold,
which signed her work "marygold".




Roses, flower bouquets, ironstone, and old linens,
 bring the nostalgia of Mother's Day past to life.








This little lady reminds me of the print.

Broken but not discarded...
like so many of us,
we find a place of joy and redemption
with our children.






I'll be sharing more of this wonderful
vintage flower album later.


And if you look closely
your will see the word "Mother"
embroidered on this lovely linen towel.


I'll leave you with this passage from Proverbs.



Proverbs 31:25-30


25. Strength and dignity are her clothing, And she smiles at the future. 26. She opens her mouth in wisdom, And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. 27. She looks well to the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness. 28. Her children rise up and bless her; Her husband [also], and he praises her, [saying]: 29. "Many daughters have done nobly, But you excel them all." 30. Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, [But] a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.


I'm linking to Kathleen from Faded Charm
today for White Wednesday!


And a small note about my mysterious news.
I can't wait any longer...

Sunday evening I will be introducing
The Seed Box "Shop Blog"
that I will be doing for Brian and Meloney Russell.

(remember the wonderful Garden House)

Please come back Sunday Evening
 as I link up and publish our first post.

Love and blessings for all the Mothers.
Have a beautiful week!
 
Debra

Monday, May 3, 2010

Thank you!... thank you very much.

As "the king" used to say...

This post is long overdue.
Do you ever have weeks that just fly by
and you don't know where it all went?
That's the way these last couple of weeks have been.



 I want to thank three lovely ladies
 for a couple of great giveaways,
and another for a sweet surprise!



Beth from Old Tyme Market Place had this
nifty and "oh so cool" tape measurer
from Pottery Barn
as her give away a few weeks ago.
Wow, do I love this handy little gadget.
So classy.
You have to go by Beth's
and check out her latest post,
oh my gosh! you will love all her shop photos!
(wait, not yet!)






Then another lovely Beth
had a giveaway of these gorgeous earrings
from her wonderful jewelry website.
Guess what?
They now reside on these little lobes!
Thank you Beth!








And if you haven't visited Julie, from Junkin'Julie,
then you need to go by and say Hi.

She and I have the "white ironstone gene"!
I recently purchased a couple of gorgeous
 rosary and crucifixes
from her and look what she did!
She blessed me with the most amazing
little English creamer!
(plus some vintage goodies and photos)

It has a special place on my counter in the kitchen.
I adore it!
Thank you, sweet Julie!










Life has been really busy this last couple of weeks.
I've missed checkin' in with you all!

I have some fun news coming in the next few days!
(can't tell yet. I know, I'm so mean!)
and I've attended some really wonderful Barn sales,
so I have bunches of wonderful things to show you.

AND, I'm on a mission to lighten up my world,
so...
stay tuned!

Hope you're off to a great week!
love,
Debra

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Cottage Teapot Love


A few weeks ago I shared my vintage
 English Cottage Prints.
Well, my love of "cottage" doesn't stop there.
I have a little collection of Cottage teapots,
 sugars and creamers,
candle holders and cookie jars,
that I've been collecting for about 20 years.




Some are vintage and some are newer.
Most of them are on my baker's rack in my
Cottage Garden sunroom.






The vintage ones are all made
in Japan before World War II.
The newer ones are imports,
but I just love their look.


























I'm linking with
"Show and Tell Friday"





And "My Favorite Things" with




Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Love,
Debra