Bright Spot!

Today was a very stressful day. I had to take my 87 year old father in law for a 3 hour physic evaluation. His mind is failing him rapidly & we know it is Alzheimer's I spent a total of 5 LONG hours with him. After dropping him off at his assisted living quarters & going to get his prescriptions I was exhausted mentally & physically. My son suggested we go eat with he & the grandsons. On my drive home I was thinking & dreading the next two days work(12 hour days at that on a Saturday/Sunday). I walked into my kitchen & saw this! Tulips & the sweetest card that said "thought you could use a bright spot in your day today. Love ya Susan Sorry the lighting (it was dark outside& flash washed everything out)was not great when I took these photos & I promise to take another on Monday when the flowers will be more open & there will be better light from the skylight above. These are some spots aren't they? Now, if I used this for coffee WOW that would kick start the day!
And here is the darling card. Aren't girlfriends the best?!?! YES!!!!!! What would we do without our wonderful support system of friends. Thank you Susan you did (& DO) make a bright spot in my day many days! Lesson for all of us: Remember your friends & be that bright spot!

Pink Rose Click to Help

Click to save lives! I don't know if you have noticed on my side bar this beautiful PINK ROSE (the art was a gift from sweet Dawn at http://the-feathered-nest.blogspot.com/). If you click on that it takes you to a link http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=2&link=ctg_bcs_home_from_bcs_home_leftnav_logo that will donate free mammograms with each click to help us in the fight against Breast Cancer. I have not shared the fact that I am a Breast Cancer Survivor. I had double mastectomies in September of 2005. I was very blessed & it was caught early & I chose an aggressive path. Because I caught it early & I did the mastectomies I did not have to endure chemo or radiation. Please take good care of yourselves & do your self exams & mammograms! My dear friends you are so worth the time & effort. Please copy this & add it to your blogs & pass on this plea to do the same. Let's CLICK this monster away. God Bless each of you. Hugs!

Spring is in the air & another Give Away

Another give away you won't want to miss if you love lace! Theresa is having her 100th Post Give Away. Be sure & hop over to http://cottagegardens-theresa-smith.blogspot.com/ to get a chance to enter in this fun event. You never know... Luck may be on your side.

Spring is in the air! Or so it feels today. After a really hard week of work I am off today & am enjoying my time at home. On my way out to the mailbox today I noted the beautiful blue Texas sky! And my Elm Tree is starting to bud out. The air is cool but the sun so warm! How good it is! Can you see the buds?

And a pot full of pansies & violas wink at the sunshine. Like smiling little faces turned up to the warmth.

A close up view just for you.

And the violets are smiling too.
For those of you who still have snow & cold weather enjoy this little glimpse of spring that I send to you. Life is so short in the big picture... ENJOY the little things that make you smile. Hugs.

Happy Valentines Day

Happy Valentine's Day to all my friends. I know this is supposed to be a day celebrated for lovers. But, love takes all forms. I just wanted to say how blessed I feel for having the love of a precious husband of 38 years. Also, blessing my life is the love & support of so many friends. Some old friends of many years & others new. I am so thankful to have all of you in my life & I want to say how much I love each of you. This little beauty of a card was sent to me by my friend JoAnn. She she is such a clever gal & she made this for me. The back part of the card & the envelope was of the most beautiful gold shimmer paper (the envelope had a sweet red heart sealing the point) Then the vintage images were the next layer. On a shopping trip she found a product that is clear & gives depth to the area you cover. JoAnn used this to highlight the headband, rose & writing on the card.

Here is my lunch setting for today with JoAnn's card on the table.
JoAnn sent me this photo of the candy she made for her honey & her friends. She was so funny when she called & told me about it. She said "I made the cutest candy for you but, I don't know when I will see you (after I told her my horrible work schedule for this past week & the next 2 weeks) geeeeeeeez I'll probably end up eating it all" She & I both just howled with laughter over this thought. Here is how to make the candy so if you need a quick desert & want to look very clever give it a try. It is only melted white chocolate poured in a valentine cookie cutter. Sprinkle with red hots and then drizzle with melted semi-sweet chocolate! Or... knowing you crafty girls take this & put your own spin on it! Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Birthday with Oklahoma Flare

I told you I was off to spend the weekend with honey for his birthday. He had been working in Oklahoma City & invited me to meet him up there. When I arrived he had gotten us a room in this wonderful old Victorian home that had been turned into a B&B. It was located very near downtown Oklahoma City. The entrance had stunning beveled glass doors.

A closeup view of the door & side panel.

This is the side of the house showing our room on the second floor. Also notice the beautiful stained glass in the bay window below our room. That is the dinning room window.

Another view of the side showing the swing on the wrap around porch. Honey & I spent a lot of time sitting there enjoying the views.

This is the formal parlor. It was located to the right of the entrance.

And the living room to the left. As you pass through this lovely antique filled room you enter the dinning room. The buffet was decorated for Valentines day with a number of pieces of Cranberry Glass.

The bay window I mentioned before is highlighted here with the morning sun shinning through making the colors shine in all the colors of a rainbow. The woodwork in these old rooms was magnificent. We just don't have the luxury of this in homes today.

Another love of ours is to drive around & look at the architecture of these old neighborhoods & see many of the old homes. This is the Overholser Mansion which is owned by the Oklahoma City Historical Society. Unfortunately it was closed for renovation so we did not get to tour the mansion as we would have liked.

This was a private home located in the Mesta Park area of town. It was my favorite house. I have a lot more photos of it but, must move along. Can you imagine living here?

After all this site seeing we were hungry. We had asked at the B&B for a local place to eat. When we travel we try to find local fare instead of chains. The owner suggested Cheever's Restaurant. It is a little Bistro styled charmer located in an old flower shop.

This is the entrance. We got there at 5:00 & it is a good thing we were early since we had no reservations. We saw MANY people turned away. Honey had scallops with asparagus risotto & I had a lovely salmon in mushroom cream sauce. A must try if you are ever in this area.

Back to the B&B's welcoming sign. You can get the address & name from here.

They left the lights on.

A sweet little cherub to greet us by the steps.

We sat on the porch swing & enjoyed the lovely sky in the sweet dusk of a perfect day. Notice how beautiful the sky is in this photo.

Here is honey just enjoying his swing. Poor thing was so worn out we never made it to the movies as planned. Oh well, that just gives us an excuse to come back so see the new Warren Theater at another time or trip! Yippeeeeeee!After a wonderful breakfast it off to explore again. Susan & I had seen an exhibit of artist Dale Chihuly's work in Atlanta, Georgia a few years ago. That exhibit had been in the Botanical Gardens so most of the features were outside. This artist does the most amazing work in GLASS. I had heard that the Art Museum in downtown Oklahoma City had a lot of his work. We drove down to see the main feature that is in the three story atrium at the entrance. Since the museum was not open I could not get a good shot of the 55 foot centerpiece of the collection. Go to this link http://www.okcmoa.com/exhibitions/dalechihuly-theexhibition/chihulyglass and take a look at a few of these pieces. I think you will enjoy it. And then, do some more searches to see other pieces of his work. Below is a few photos of the chandelier that is outside of the museum cafe. This unbelievable beauty is made of Waterford crystal. All the pieces are etched & sparkle with a diamond like brilliance as the lights hit it.

This is a close up of the whole chandelier from standing on a second floor balcony.

A real CLOSE UP of a few of the individual pieces to show you the etching & detail on this piece.

I hope you enjoyed our little trip & a few of the things we saw & did. I was so glad honey invited me to his party. Are you glad you got to go too? Life is good and adventure feeds my soul. And we saw so many different types of art. All wonderful in their own right yet, so very different from one century to the next... Imagine...

More Treasures & Selia's Give Away

I wanted to finish sharing a few more of my treasures from last weeks shopping spree. My husband has a rule (of course I only observe or listen to rules when they are rules I like) & the rule is; when I find something I need GET IT! He always says "get it because when you go back & it is gone I don't want to hear you whine" GOOD RULE DON'T YOU THINK?

Selia http://downtherabbithole.typepad.com/my_weblog/ is having another wonderful giveaway so be sure & visit her. In her Blog, the music will make you feel like you have entered a dream world while listening & feasting your eyes on all her beautiful images. My beautiful tablecloth. The tag said circa 1930's.

A close up of the center.

And this is the detail on each end. Don't you love the fat little cherubs? Perfect for Valentine's Day, a wedding, or anniversary.

And this little sweetie was too cute to pass up.
This lovely lady will make a wonderful necklace. After I finish my class with Diana Frey I am sure there will be a lot more ideas for beauties like this! Hurry March!
Here is a little vignette with some of the goodies together on the new tablecloth. Also, in front of the black hair baby you can see my little bag of buttons I nabbed for a pittance.

And this is a pretty silver candy dish. Who could resist it so near to Valentine's Day? But, I LOVE HEARTS ALL YEAR LONG!

Isn't the detail pretty! Too pretty to cover up with candy! Have a wonderful weekend. Now I am off to be with Honey for his birthday was Friday & we planned a fun weekend.

Valentine Fun for Tablescape Thursday

Today is the 24th Tablescape that Susan http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/ has put together for all of us. It used to be Tablescape Tuesday but, now has a new name, with the same fun for all. This week I wanted to do a fun Valentine Tablescape in my Breakfast Room. I am tired of the winter dishes with the cabin motif & snowflakes & very happy with the red & pink taking over this area.

I bought a lot of new things (if you look in previous post I had a shopping ATTACK!) so you will see some new additions to this area from past tablescapes. Here is an overview.

Next, you will see the new place mats (Red, White, & Pink stripe) with the cheerful flowered napkins.

This picture shows one of my new finds... the old oil lamp (the lamp dates 1930 & the chimney is circa 1890). I had been looking for this type lamp for one of those nights when the power might go out due to a storm but, for Valentines I thought I would "let my love shine". OK a little corny but, thought the lamp was a nice touch especially sitting on my new lace doily. The lamp is surrounded by a couple of heart shaped dishes & a hand painted china plate.

Here is a close up of the old china plate & one of the heart shaped dishes with a sweet Valentine tucked in behind it.And this adorable little guy was from a Valentine past & is holding the heart shaped lollipop from Sharon http://myvintagestudio.blogspot.com/ that I won in her give away last month. Thanks again Sharon. Also, how cute is that card shown here?

A better shot of the lamp. Don't you love the fluted top on the chimney? I do!

Here is a close up of one place setting. I used my red glass plates & stemmed glasses. I wanted this to be a simple sweet table for a casual breakfast or lunch.

And anyone who has visited before knows this little shelf is always in this corner. But, the items on the shelf change as to the season, holiday or tablescape. This time there is a tea cup & canister, along with a faux chocolate cake & hurricane candle wrapped in a pretty red sheer ribbon. Notice the same red plates show up on the plate rack. Close up of the plate rack.

And remember the birdcage I went CRAZY for on the shopping trip? Well, here she is in all her glory. Not wanting to miss a single moment in this little love nest setting.

This is a metal cone that I decorated for this space on the wall. I love the colors & how they play in with everything else.

This white bird house usually sits in or near this little area & I simply added the pots of cyclamen & the candles in the red hurricanes.

The picture on the wall changed since the last tablescape. This is a picture of The McCharles House Tea Room in Tustin, California. It was painted by Audrey who is one of the owners of this wonderful little peace of heaven. This picture lives in this space most of the year only taking a break for fall & winter. I hope you enjoyed the visit & plan to come back soon to see what will be served up next! I'll finish showing you the rest of the shopping treasures that didn't make it into this or the earlier shopping post. Happy Thursday.