Vintage Christmas Monday at the Seed Box Open House

Joan at Anything Goes Here is starting a new party this Monday called

"Vintage Christmas Monday".

We are posting vintage Christmas items or anything "Christmas" made with vintage items. This gives me a good opportunity to show you a few photos from "The Seed Box" Christmas Open House that I attended last Friday evening.

Many of you are familiar with "The Seed Box"  that is Brian and Meloney Russell from Chadwick, Missouri. Brian and Meloney had a store in Ozark for several years and now attend as dealers, several of the shows in Texas. Theresa of Garden Antiques Vintage has showcased Brian and Mel many times in her blog. They live in a wonderful old homestead in the hills of southern Missouri. The following are just a few of the Christmas items that they had for sale and display at their Open House.

I fell in love with this very old concrete display of the nativity. Here are several photos of it, which was located on their front porch.

This is their fireplace mantle in the Living Room. Meloney used old bottles with letters wrapped with wire to spell out many Christmas words and phrases. This one is "JOY".

Christmas trees decorated with old paintbrushes

were located on the porch for a really fun touch.

Thank you Joan, for starting this great party.

I'm going to have to get busy, since I don't have any of my Christmas decor out. So by next week I should have a few things within reach.

I'm really looking forward to seeing all the "Vintage Christmas". Be sure and head over to Anything Goes Here and check out the others that are gathering their Vintage Christmas Goodies!

This was just a teaser...

Be sure and come back later today for more photos of

The Seed Box 

 Christmas Open House

Have a great Monday!

Debra

November 1974, Happy Birthday Erin

Long before the days of ultrasounds, trying to discover the gender of a baby was left up to the speed of the baby's heartbeat. The doctor had both of our girls figured as boys. Surprise in both cases. These were the days when Daddy had to wait outside in the "waiting room", with everyone else. So Richard James, named after both of our fathers, had really been Erin Elizabeth all along!

I had been 3 weeks overdue, and had tried all sorts of things to get her here. In a nutshell, I was miserable and so big I could hardly walk. Christmas was coming, and I hadn't done any shopping. I had dreams of an eternal pregnancy!

Erin and I in December 1974, visiting Grandma and Grandpa.

(My one and only time to have frosted hair)

Erin and Keith in October 1997,

one of their engagement photos.

She is one of the few people I have met

that looks good either as a blond or a brunette.

2009 on our recent trip to St. Louis.

Erin, myself, and Alyson, last Christmas.

Just a little trip down memory lane

 to wish my beautiful and loving daughter a

Happy, Happy Birthday, "Beanie"!

Love Mom

A "French-Kissed" Invitation

We have all met or know of people in life who just simply stand out in a crowd. They are the ones with quiet elegance. They exude class and graciousness. They have an innate attitude of charm and mystery. I received an honor and outstretched hand from one such lovely friend this week, Jermaine of French-Kissed.

The first time I set eyes on her blog, I fell in love. I spent an hour there retracing her posts, and lingering over all her breathtaking photos. She is the kind of person that inspires me to come up a little higher, to enjoy my life, and to dream. She will take you with her to far-away places, and then beckon you to join her at her table.

Jermaine has been setting a variety of lovely tablescapes for Thanksgiving, using her wonderful collection of dishes and silver. She decorates with "nature", so feathers, roses, pumpkins and assorted elements find their way to dress her individual place settings. Her table is a reflection of who she is; "distinctively individual"!

I was honored to have my name at her table this week.
What a blessing to be given this invitation.


Please drop by her French-Kissed home and life
and say "Hello".
You will never want to leave!


Thank you, dear Jermaine,
Debra

Vintage Black Friday, Mourning Attire

Vintage Black Friday is here.

What will I do when this party is over?

I have enjoyed it so much.

Thank you Jill, at Gypsy Brocante,

 for hostessing this wonderful opportunity

 to fulfill all my "vintage black" desires.

 

When Queen Victoria of England lost her precious husband Albert, in December of 1861 she went into deep mourning. She took the custom of wearing "mourning black" to a new level. All the Victorian ladies of that time followed her in the custom. It became an outward showing of grief when a loved one passed. Many women created a whole new wardrobe for the now fashionable black attire.

Queen Victoria and daughter

with bust of Albert

another image (unknown) from late 1800's

Two current replicas of mourning attire

Mary Todd Lincoln

Two mourning blouses found at a local flea market

When I was in High School, Gone With the Wind

 was re-released in theatres.

I had read the book twice by then

and fell in love with the movie.

These two images are from the movie scene where Scarlett is attending a ball shortly after the death of her husband. For you not familiar with the story, Scarlett married a man she did not love, trying to invoke jealousy from her beloved Ashley Wilkes. When her husband died in the Civil War, she found herself in a strict code of mourning, but her heart was not in it.

Please click on this

YouTube link to see Scarlett and Rhett

dance the Virginia Reel.

You will love it!!

Have a Wonderful Vintage Black Friday

Do a little dance today!

Debra

"What's In A Name?"

Today I am participating in a "loveleigh" party hosted by Sares. Many of you who know Sares and read her wonderful blog "Loveleigh Treasures" may be like me, wondering where and how she goes by this interesting "Name". I have only heard the name Sares once before, so I am very interested to see her post. To accompany the "unveiling" of her name she has invited us to share something about "names". This could be about our own name, or our children's names, or even why we chose our "blog name". She said, anything to do with names. I have given this a lot of thought, so this will be an intimate post that is about who I am as a person, hopes and dreams, and what God has called me to do. My name holds great significance to me, and I'd like to share it with you.

I am linking to my Bible Study blog also today. If you have not stopped by  "a day in the life..."  I hope that after you read this post that you will. You will also find a permanent link on my side bar.

I think a name can say a lot about a person. I know as a child, there were so many "Debbies" in my elementary school classes that the teachers did not know how to address us, individually. They used nicknames, last names, initials, and all sorts of things, even separating us so we would at least know who they were speaking to. Because of that I always hated my name, and the fact that so many others had it. I longed for a name that was "special", different, and meaningful.

I felt that way until as an adult I read an article by a favorite pastor and author Francis Frangipane. He spoke about how names in the Bible were most often an indicator of who that person would be; that they were a personal "prophecy" for that individual's life. Names in the Bible have "meaning", so I let God lead me as I investigated what my names meant from a Biblical perspective.

My birth certificate reads "Debra Ann", but my mother had told my father Deborah, spelled in the Biblical way. For some reason, it didn't turn out that way. I became "Debra".

God took me to the book of Judges, Chapter 4, in the Old Testament. Here I read about Deborah, a woman who had been a leader of the Jewish people, long before the time of Christ. She took charge of the nation and called them to battle, something the men at that time were not wanting to do. She enlisted "Barak" to fight alongside her and they conquered the enemy.

He then directed me to Luke 2:36-38 in the New Testament. Here I read about a woman named "Anna". She had been widowed as a young woman, and lived in a room at the temple. She had dedicated her life to serving God in prayer. When Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple she stood on the steps and recognized that He was her Savior, tiny baby that He was, she knew in her heart that He would be Messiah.

Reading these accounts of the two women in the Bible changed my mind and changed my life. God showed me through these two women and their names that He was calling me to be involved in His work, and to lead a life following after Him. I realized I need to be proud of my name, and pursue living up to my namesakes. I'm encouraging you to study the origins of your own name, and to see how you can identify with it's meaning.

And lastly I want to say that I chose the name Common Ground for my blog because although we may all be different; having distinct likes and dislikes, tastes, and opinions; if we look inside our hearts, as women, we can all find something that we have "in common". Our hearts reflect our love and need for connection with one another.

Blessings to all of you,

and thank you, Sares, for your "loveleigh" party,

Please click on the above link
to read about other names

Debra

White Wednesday, Shopping for Christmas at Inspirational Home

Inspirational Home here in Springfield, is really the place to take in a "White Christmas". Monday I took you to the Open House, but today you get to see all the wonderful white displays. Charming and welcoming, Inspirational Home always has a wonderful selection of great finds. Debra has a beautiful antiques, but also carries a variety of gift-ables such a jewelry, candles and soaps, gourmet items, and garden goods. Inspirational Home is a great place to spend a few minutes or an afternoon. If you're in the area try to get by during the Christmas season, you will truly enjoy your visit.

Be sure and click on the photo to enjoy the details!

3830 S. Lone Pine, Springfield, MO. 65804

417-823-8493

Hope you enjoyed the visit.

 Be sure and scroll down to the post from November 15.

You can see the rest of the Christmas fun.

Stop by Faded Charm and say Hello to Kathleen, our hostess.

Hope you're having a wonderful week!

Debra

Thanksgiving?, no wait... Christmas?

I think that I'm having symptoms of something that's going around. Are you feelin' it? Confusion, dizziness, listlessness, sweaty-ness, hyperactivity? Yes, you are? You feel "torn" and undecided? A little like Jim Carrey in the movie "Me, Myself and Irene"? ...yes, I'm talking schizophrenia here. Multiple personality disorder.
I'm talking, do I decorate for Christmas early, so I can enjoy it for a little longer, or do I stay true to my traditionalist roots and just hunker down and wait for Thanksgiving to be celebrated in a proper manner?
Ooohhh, I'm just having the worst time trying to decide!

The happy side says, "yes, go on, you know you don't have enough time after Thanksgiving and you are always in a rush." The unhappy side says. "What are you thinking? You have some wonderful vintage Turkeys and Thanksgiving decor. You've never done this before. Snap out of it!!!!"

So to try to alleviate the indecision and tug of war, I have decided to make a little compromise, just a smidgen of a compromise. I'm removing the colorful fall foliage, all the bright neon orange (I love it, but I'm ready to move on) and I'm adding in some faux evergreen, pine cones and hydrangeas. I'm on the edge, but trying to be sensitive to my love of this special holiday, Thanksgiving.

(image Martha Stewart Living)

Why, oh why, couldn't our founding fathers and government officials have realized that the last week in November is just too late for us decor people. Men, they just don't think of these important concepts!!

So I'm working toward making the transition a little easier. Usually I spend a week trying to change it all up, only to be exhausted and cranky, with a million boxes and a big mess. I'm trying to ease into it, so when November 29th gets here (when the kids go back to St. Louis) I can at least have a little "jump" on things!

I will keep the hydrangeas and the winter greenery,

 and just change out the white pumpkins

 for something more Christmas-y.

(more on this little tree later)

Living room mantle with a few vintage turkeys

and new evergreen topiaries bagged in burlap.

(my new "favorite thing")

Now tell me, how could I not give these cute fellas their "moment"?

The turkeys will probably be replaced

with a few of my Christmas churches,

and I will add some tiny twinkle lights.

Sunroom wreath that is my new header photo

Like I have said, the sunroom is the first place

in the house that feels the change of season.

Favorite quilt without the pillow

(usually, there is a cat attached)

Little vintage partridge

Kitchen centerpiece is still filled with fall pumpkins,

 but when November 29 gets here...

...out they go, with a hurricane glass,

 candle, and some holly berries replacing it.

OK, now I'm feeling better that I have opened

 up about my decorating dilemma.

But, I'm still feeling a little like Jim...

Have a great day!

Debra

p.s. No disrespect to the mental health community or anyone suffering from this problem, just a little levity here.

p.p.s. If you haven't seen the previous post on the Christmas Open House at Inspirational Home, be sure and scroll down. I will have more photos of this great store for "White Wednesday"