I met a new Blogland Friend for Lunch!

A few weeks back I met new Blogland Friend named Candy http://rockcandy56.blogspot.com/

We visited back & forth & laughed about finding a fellow Texan here in Blogland. A few days later Candy sent me a message & said "you need to meet this other gal I have gotten to know, I think she lives near you". Well, I visited Pat http://mytatteredelegance.blogspot.com/ & found out that we do indeed live close by. Yesterday we met & had lunch. We went to eat Mexican Food & when we walked inside we couldn't help but love all the colorful bottles they had displayed on this HUGE window. I wanted to share the colors & thought it might give one of you an IDEA! Imagine that!

Isn't this prettier than a big old blank window? And the food was yummy! Pat & I just chatted up a storm. In all this chatting we found out that we had both had a shop in the same Antique Mall years ago but, had never met. Small world isn't it? We went down the street & into a Antique Mall on old Hwy 377. In one of the booths I fell in love with the little display of LIDS that this dealer had hung so cleverly. As you can see from the nails with missing lids... this is a successful way to display these little beauties. So often the handles on sugar bowl or tureens are broken. But, the lids are often charming. Again I hope this gives someone an idea!

The owner of this Mall had done a lot of little store fronts to dress up the shops showcased in his mall. This is one that I thought was really clever. Don't you love the fake windows up above the shop? Simply old windows set in the wall to look like a second story.

Inside this fun green building the dealer had some BRIGHT PINK furniture. A bed, armour, dressing table you know the typical. The pink was a little tooooooo Bright/Pepto for me (& I like pink) but, they were show stopping. She had also made a puppet theater that was so clever. It is a little difficult to see with the sign on it & all the other stuff but look closely & maybe you can see some of the details.

It was made using vintage doors. The glass is out of the front one (& that tacky tray is hanging in the middle) the sides are two solid doors with hinges so that they can move & be positioned. Then there were corbels (turned upside down)used for flair & drama as well as posts or table legs underneath the corbels. A wonderful old finial on top finishes it off. I don't think I would use this as a puppet theater but can't you see it a shop as a dressing room (stained glass window installed).

And in the middle of one of the isles he had this wonderful old truck. I have always loved these old trucks with the wooden beds. They had a really cute display set up in the back.Here is another store front to make a booth/shop look cute. I just love the way he did the bay window. There was no glass in it but, the look was adorable. Come back Sunday for a few more cute shops full of display ideas. Also, I want to share with you some of the goodies I bought. I'm soooooooooooooo not telling my honey how much I spent. Have a great Saturday.

ICE! Both the Weather kind & some ICE ART

JACK FROST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Shows his UGLY Face here in Texas this morning. I know many you have had cold miserable weather a lot this winter. We have had some cold snaps but nothing much to complain about. I did post about a little ice a few weeks ago & it looks like we will get another helping of this tricky stuff today. We woke to temperatures hovering around the freezing mark with rain, sleet, & fog. The temperature is supposed to continue dropping all morning & more sleet & rain is due to move in this afternoon. That should make for a lousy commute home for lots of folks. I am so happy to be snug indoors with my furry baby snoring at my feet. I WILL CLEAN MY WORK TABLE TODAY! That is a promise! I haven't been able to create anything due to bags stacked on top of each other all over my work surface. But, treasures reside in the bags :)

Now, for Jack Frost of another kind... In December we took the family to see ICE at the Gaylord Texan. I had posted previously of a past visit but, wanted to share some of the wonderful Frozen art from this year. This chilly guy was at the entrance. Imagine this HUGE Jack Frost greeting you. He was probably a story & half tall.Each October, 40 artisans from the city of Harbin China, arrive in Grapevine to begin sculpting the two million pounds of ice in this walk through display. It is located in 14,000 square feet of theater space chilled to a teeth-chattering 9 degrees Fahrenheit. The artist freeze thousands of LED lights in ice, building a three story slide of ice, craft hundreds of ice sculptures & install dramatic lighting. This chilly little fellow is holding onto his icicle & enjoying lots of the fun.

This is a close up shot of the large pond with an ice bridge that you can go on for photo shoots. Notice the LED lights built into the ice.

Here is a photo of my honey & I to give you a perspective of the size of this bridge. Note: they give you those big blue parka's at the door. They don't do a thing for a hair do!
This is my grandson entering the large ice gingerbread house. He is 8 years old so you can again judge size by comparison to his body in the doorway. Overview of the outside of the gingerbread house from a distance.
Huge sweet treats are carved from colored ice.
Here is honey amazed by the wonder of all these treats. Again, using him for size comparison you can see these sculptures were no small feat to create.
Sweets!

This is an overview of the three story slide. There were three separate slide coming off the top floor. You can see Rudolph & all his friends are flying off the top level. My grandson is coming down the middle slide. This again shows size comparison. The walls of ice in between the slides were huge thick light filled blocks. I hope you have enjoyed my frosty presentation on this chilly (COLD) Texas Day. I hope that each of you/my friends are warm, safe, & happy. Thanks for stopping by. Please leave me a comment for I always love to know who has visited. Hugs.

Bass Hall in Fort Worth Texas

Angels in the sky! Yes, in Fort Worth, Texas that is what you will find. Last night was a cold clear night & my friend Susan & I went to Bass Hall to see Kenny Rogers perform. When we crossed the street I was struck by the beauty of these glorious angels.

The angels are carved on the face of the building. Each soaring many stories high & blowing magnificent brass horns.

These beauties could be called nothing but ART! They are carved out of white limestone. The detail work is unbelievable! Their beauty simply shines.

Here you can see how the arms stand away from the building & the trumpet is held out over the sidewalk. There are beautiful windows with balconies & people could be seen having cocktails & waiting in different lobbies for the show to begin.

Kenny Rogers put on a good show. He certainly doesn't look like "The Gambler" we all remember from his movie days. He is now 69 years old & seemed to not be in good health. He walked & moved as though he had a problem with his back. Very stiff & each step seemed to be thought out & careful. Band members moved his stool around the stage & he would prop himself up & sing his heart out. His voice is still good but, not what it was before. Again, I really think he has been ill. Outside of Bass Hall were 3 huge Prevost Motor Coaches that were obviously his & the bands transportation. Up on stage Kenny shared with us that he has identical twin 4 year old sons. He did a touching song & photo tribute to his wife Wanda & the boys. So sweet. I don't keep up with the magazines so don't know the scoop (if you do share it with us) but... good luck Kenny (he'll need it... he'll be 83 years old when the boys graduate High School). I hope you enjoy the photos of Bass Hall & my little trivia on Kenny. He did sound wonderful with the band playing & backed up by the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra.

Bottles & Treasures

In a corner of my Breakfast Room, I have a small white metal shelf that I have made a little vignette of a few of my current favorites treasures. It is just a little thing stuck there to fill that empty corner. I have a plate rack on one wall & I like to change out the plates as per the season or my mood.So, I thought I would share this little glimpse into a few of my whimsey's.

This shows a beautiful cut glass plate that has a few of my shaker bottles that I have collected. The tall dark blue with silver overlay (in the back center) was a gift from my friend JoAnn. To the right of that is an embellished bottle I bought from Tiffany http://wwwbeyondthevintagepath.blogspot.com/ when I went to her Holiday Sale in December.

And to the far right is another bottle with a tag filled with sparkle that was another Tiffany find as well. And the same for the two on the left of the blue & silver bottle. The one is kind of cloudy & is filled with glitter. Kind of a different look from the others. The little tiny one to the far left is part of a set of four that I found at an Antique Store & will share all four later. This one just seemed at home here with the others.

And this little treasure was something that brought back childhood memories. When I was little my precious Grandmother gave me an entire set of the Blue Willow Child's Tea Set. I have a cousin 2 years younger & that evening after playing Tea Party all day we were washing up the dishes as we had seen Grandma do a million times. Much FUN we were having until... DISASTER STRUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Jane dropped the tea pot & broke many of the pieces. We both cried!

I happened upon this plate just like the plate from my original set in another Antique & Gift Mall. Not only was there the plate but a beautiful glass dome that fit over it. And sprinkled on the plate was the most beautiful glitter. IT HAD TO COME HOME WITH ME! And I know I will enjoy it for a long time to come.
And speaking of the much loved Grandmother... her every day dishes were none other than Blue Willow (I suppose that is why that Tea Set of all the tea sets I had was the most special). In dividing up Grandmothers dishes I am not sure who got hers. I did not. So, last week when I was out junking & came across the plate, tea cup & saucer in Blue Willow pattern, I knew it was meant for my little shelf.
Hope you enjoyed seeing my new goodies & hope you don't mind my ramblings as I walked down memory lane. But, isn't that what we should do... remember those we love & surround ourselves with things that bring us pleasure & happy thoughts. Have a happy Saturday. xoxo

Twenty Second Tablescape Tuesday

It's time for Tablescape Tuesday again! Susan http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/ is our wonderful hostess! With all the "WINTRY Weather" abounding everywhere, I took liberty with the snowflake theme. We had invited our French neighbors over for a big pot of homemade beef stew & I thought this was an inviting winter table scape. I didn't want a formal feel so instead of the dinning room we used the kitchen/breakfast room. Daniel is always so amazed with all the "things" we have available in the stores & our homes. She says in France there is not near the amount of choices for items to purchase & that the items they do have are so much more expensive. With this thought in mind I urge all of us to enjoy the beautiful things we have around us.

My dishes are a fun pattern featuring dinner plates with snowflake, trees, a cabin ski's, a moose & a pine cone. The salad/bread plates feature the same items in a larger scale. All of these were placed on my snowflake place mats that have a silver thread running through them to make them shimmer.

In this picture you can see the little white metal shelf that sits in the corner. I love to change out the items on this. For this scene I had a beautiful bag left from Christmas that had glittery trees that just made it feel like snow was swirling. Since I just wasn't ready to put that away I decided to place it on the top shelf. Also, there is a cute tin with a snowman sitting on the shelf too. On

the wall (wear Santa was in a previous post) you can see my Thomas Kincade painting named "Sunday Evening Snow Ride". My husband & I were very lucky to have found this retired picture on a trip to San Antonio. I just love to move my art around to suit the season. I will tell you that this sometimes causes a lot of stress for my honey. He loves the seasonal decorating & humors me but, moving the art... that is serious stuff in his book. :)

Also in the previous Tablescape post I had red beaded covers on the light fixture for Christmas. That wouldn't do for this so off the red went & I found some pretty white ones. I added the crystal snowflakes along with the crystal's that always are on this fixture. I liked the result.

These cute little snow guys & the bucket of snowballs are just hanging out on the table with some flakes! This is the largest snow guy dressed in blue.

And his goofy friend in green!

And the tiny guy is my favorite. All covered in glitter. I thought I had better enjoy the snowy scape before it is time to pack them up as we all know that Valentines Day is right around the corner!

This is a little bit closer view of my picture. Don't you just love the lights of the town that twinkle in the valley. And wouldn't it be charming to be riding in a sleigh warm under the blankets & snuggled with the love of our life as we watch the snow sparkle like diamonds in the moonlight. And yet, seeing the church being reminded of the warmth of our Fathers love casting its golden glow into our hearts just as the light of the church is cast on the snow.

And last but, not least... the swirling snow on my glittery bag. I hope you enjoyed you wintry visit & feel the warmth of my home in yours. I hope that you are all warm & happy this January night. Hugs xoxoxo

Baby Boys

Today's post is a little different for me. I have indulged myself with wanderings of the mind. Yesterday was a hard day because my son had to put his Dalmatian "Taz" to sleep. He is 32 years old but, when he called me yesterday & had that crack in his voice when he said Mama, I KNEW something was wrong. He said "Mama please help me do the right thing... I need to put Taz down but, I just don't want to have to do it... Don't let me chicken out & not do this" He proceeded to tell me all the things that had happened that day to make him decide that today was the day this had to be done. I had been telling him that this was needed for some time but, this must be a decision one must make for himself. I called the vet & made the appointment & went with him. IT BROKE MY HEART! To see that big o'le boy holding, petting & loving that poor old spotted dog with tears rolling down his cheeks. It just goes to show you that Mama will always be Mama & baby boys will always be their Mama's baby boys. No matter the age, distance apart, life, time... Until the end of time they are indeed your baby boys. Above you will see a photo of my sweet boy & his little ones.

And then this morning I was visiting some different blogs & got such a chuckle out of one by Alisa http://lifeisabeautifulplacetobe.blogspot.com/ which shows yet another side of this Mother/Son relationship so many of us have. Alisa has a lovely Blog & she is very creative. She lives near me (if you call 100 miles near...) & I hope to someday meet her. Hope you enjoy her post for today & that it brings a smile to you as it did to me. I did reply to her & told her who I thought won that tug of war she was having with herself. As I told her from a quote that I had heard but can not remember by whom... "Children are your heart, walking around outside of your body" Oh how true that is.

Sorry if you were not looking for this kind of a post but, these type days happen to all of us I guess & I just felt like sharing some of the thoughts rambling around in my head. So now I am off to mail baby shower goodies to Dawn http://the-feathered-nest.blogspot.com/ & hope all of you have a wonderful Thursday.

Winter Greetings Serving Platter

Last week on Tablescape Tuesday Susan http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/2009/01/blog-post.htmlhad the photos of her beautiful Lenox China called Winter Greetings. I had seen some of the pieces but, had not seen the serving platter & accent plates with the close up scenes of the snow & birds. I HAD TO HAVE THIS TREASURE! I went to Ebay & saw two of them. One from an individual & one from Replacements, Ltd. I wanted to be sure I got this little treasure & did not want to miss it in last minute bidding wars. So, Buy It Now! And it came yesterday. I made a little vignette on top of my refrigerator using a wonderful bird feeder I have, my new platter, & a little ceramic cardinal sitting in the snow.

This is my bird feeder. I got it in an Antique shop in Salado, Texas. I have never put it outside because I do not want it to get weathered or ruined. It usually sits on my mantle in the Great Room. But, for now... it has a new home.

And here is the beautiful Platter. I just love birds & this platter spoke to my heart. I have the sweetest pair of Cardinals (maybe Red Birds I'm not sure) that come to the bird bath in my back garden. I love to watch them while I sit in my chaise lounge & read my magazines while drinking my morning CUPS of coffee. Life is GOOD! I hope you enjoyed my little treasure as much as I do. And thank you Susan for sharing. Next... the four accent plates of course. :)

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Goodies From Yesterday!

I HIT THE JACK POT AT THE ANTIQUE MALL!

All these goodies for $35.00! WOW!


Look at the sweet old photos of the children. They have a few damage spots that I am going to work on with Photoshop Elements. And the print of the little girl with the bird is in a damaged mat but, a little bit of dental floss & I can fix that.





These two photos are of an OLD post card. The front is in black & white. The first photo shows them with two fans I found on clearance at Garden Acres. I think they will look great together on some project. ???? Who knows where that will go but, I loved the vintage print.

This is a little pansy spoon that I found & hope it will clean up well. There was a set of 5 of these & if this one cleans up well the whole set will be mine. For a big $2.20 I could hardly go wrong. Below is a close up of the detail of the spoon while placed on that nasty mat from the print of the little girl & bird.

Two Heisey juice tumblers. These little beauties are small but so cute. A steal for $3.50 each. Heisey glass ware has such a great color & weight to the glass.
And this darling little doll head was a GREAT FIND. I will use it to make another necklace like I am going to make in Diana's http://dianafrey.blogspot.com/ class. And speaking of that subject... I went shopping this week for all of my supplies for that class. OH MY! Overload!!! I have so much to learn on that subject...That is another whole post. Chasing hammers, blocks, anvils, size/types of beads & wire. I am excited & inspired but OVER WHELMED!
On another note, I am very excited because I won the drawing from Sharon! See the post below. THANK YOU SO MUCH SHARON! This is the first time I have ever won a Blog drawing. I can't wait to receive my Sommerset Magazine. It inspires me so! As Dawn says "you have to get up from the computer to create". Have a great weekend my friends.