Great Movie Find!

Yesterday I took my mother & a friend to see the movie Amelia. There are a lot of movies a girl CAN NOT take her 80 year old mother to these days! But, this was a good one. Hillary Swank did a great job portraying Amelia Earhart. I remembered things about her from history class but, this is a great Chick Flick for sure. If you have a chance take a favorite Chick & go see this movie. Have a great weekend & Happy Halloween. Gonna play with all 5 of the Grands tonight. "Honey" wanted the 4 oldest to spend the night after Trick or Treating... I said "Are you outta your mind????? Jacked up on all that candy & all that excitement.... do you see STUPID written on my forehead"? Heck NO! Enjoy!

Trade Days Over

Trade Days at Collected Treasures has come & gone. After all the rain last week Saturday morning dawned clear & cold (45 degrees when I left at 6 AM). We set up in the dark & when the sun came out it was a beautiful day indeed. What could be more beautiful than a day of friends? I did not bring my new camera so I have borrowed a few photos from my friends(Lisa & Joanna) that took pictures & here we are: Lisa, JoAnn(no blog yet but, we're working on her), Carolyn, & Pat (of course I always get to stand in the back because I'm the tallest one in the group). I took a lot of the things I had left from closing my shop at Antiques & Moore but, one fun thing I did was make caramel apples & caramel chocolate apples. Just can't have a Fall Festival without carmel apples don't you think? You should have seen Lisa's triplets sitting at the table eating apples as Mom & Dad packed up the remains of the day. Soooooooooo cute!

And here is Joanna & I (yes, the sun was a little bright as you can see us squinting) we had met over a year ago at a class we took & just had a chance to reunite a few weeks back(in yet another class). Joanna was so sweet to loan us a tent for the show. Thanks girl it was a life saver! Joanna is a talented gal & just finished teaching a class at Paper Cowgirls the wonderful paper art & mixed media event held in Waxahachie Texas.

Joanna & Cami posing in front of Joanna's booth. Cami came to visit & be moral support for all of us.

And this is Joanna's friend & partner Angela. I had never met Angela before but, she was a sweetheart. She hates to have her picture taken but, Joanna forced her to do one! Angela hope we see you again at one of our classes or at some event.

And Jana of Collected Treasures with the new trike she bought her 8 week old grand baby Sterling. Kristi brought Sterling up for the Trade Days & she is such a little doll. We never heard a peep from her. All in all my sore feet aside it was a fun day with friends & I am glad that I now can look forward to getting ready to have all 5 of my GRANDS here for Halloween.
And yes, I have apples left for them. I will get photos of a few of the goodies I bought but, I was very good & restrained myself. Are you shocked? I was!

Have a great week!

Show & Tell Friday Cut Crystal

Cindy thank you for hosting Show & Tell Friday (Click on side bar to visit others) for us again. I wanted to share a few of my treasures. Cindy shared the beautiful cut crystal shaker with sterling lid that her Mom gave her & I commented that I LOVED IT! Well, you see I have an addiction to cut crystal & also shakers. Above is a couple of the ones I have out on my counter. I just love to look at them while I do the dishes. One of them has a dark lid that hasn't seen polish in who knows how long. It was like that when I got it. The other one is just as I found it to. I love the cut of this crystal shaker (click on the photo to get better detail). This treasure was purchased from my friend Carolyn. She has a number of this type in her shop. The little container next to my "Carolyn shaker" is supposed to hold toothpicks (I think but, if you know I am wrong please correct me... I just knew I loved it). Next to the dark lidded shaker is a small salt that has wonderful cut work. And the last container in top left is a small condiment container. Which is your favorite? Leave me a comment & let me know.

A little more broad look includes a small cream pitcher in Blossom Time by Royal Albert. I shared the tea pot for Pink Saturday HERE. Also, the two leaves are rooting African Violets from my friend Judy who owns the B&B I stay in when we visit Arroyo Grand, California. The beautiful little vase is Juliska. Have you seen Juliska items? AMAZING! The little jar at the top left is a Juliska Jam Jar with one of my sterling spoons that has the most amazing flower design... I'll share those another Friday. And last but not least is my little birdbath with the beautiful eggs I bought in Carmel, CA in a wonderful boutique back in April. The eggs have a GLOW of gold shot through them. I hope you enjoyed my treasures this week. HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND!!!!!

Workshops & Classes for Jewelry Design That I have Signed Up For

Art Unraveled is a wonderful venue that many of you have been to in the past. I have never gone but, have wanted to. In 2010 they are doing ADORN ME a Jewelry Only Event in Houston, Texas! Imagine that.... something so close that doesn't involve air travel for me. I am so excited. Hurry over & check out all of the FAMOUS folks that will be instructing at this wonderful event. Hope you will sign up & join me. If you do be sure & drop me a note so I know to look for you there.

My friend & mentor Diana Frey will again be teaching & I am blessed to have gotten into her class called TWISTED SISTAH CHOKER I am very excited to take this class. Just look at the beauty of this piece. I took her Secret Shaker Doll Necklace class in Spring 2009 & loved it. This is the next class I have chosen for Adorn Me. It is taught by Diane Cook & is called Crystal Princess. Isn't this piece marvelous? I can't wait to have this treasure in my collection. The third class I will be taking is by Deryn Mentock but, I have no photo for this class. If you go to the Adorn Me site click on "Artists" you can see the photos for each class being given by that instructor. Also teaching will be another buddy of ours Riki Shumacher. Come Join us for a lot of fun in March 2010.

And last but, not least there is one more class I just signed up for & it is Resolutions of the Heart taught by Diane Cook in Round Top, Texas on January 16, 2010. (Yes, the same place that Lisa & I just went to the HUGE Antique Fair in late September) In this class we will be learning many basic skills as well as engraving which was what set the final hook for me on this class. Diane I am so excited about this class too & thank you for getting us some other venues for such wonderful things. Hope some of you might want to go for this goody since it is also close by for those of us in Texas & it is a perfect cure for after Christmas BLAHS. We could share a ride & a great time if you are from my area. Let me know if you are interested. Hope I shared some information with you that will wet your Creative Side & challenge you to TRY SOMETHING NEW! Stretch to grow! Hugs!

Fall Decor Outside My Door

Welcome to Outdoor Wednesday & to my home. Last week if you were here for Outdoor Wednesday you know that "Honey" & I went to Farmers Market to look for pumpkins. For those of you who know the story of "The Door" you know "Honey" has a competition going with the neighbor next door. Well, every year she buys a few pumpkins at Walmart & puts them under her trees. No putting a cute vignette together, no groupings, nothing but a few small pumpkins scattered under pretty good sized trees. "Honey" looks for the coolest pumpkins he can find & does all sorts of things with them. Well, this year was the BIGGEST PUMPKIN he could find. The guys that loaded it guessed it to be about 160 pounds.

As he was proudly driving home with his purchase he got this funny look on his face & he said "hmmm I wonder how I'm gonna get that bad boy out of the back of the van without those 2 little guys at the Market"? Well, our son came over to help but, let me tell you that was an ordeal. What he hasn't thought of... is when that pumpkin has seen it's better days it will have to be taken out of the flowerbeds & put SOMEWHERE! I don't know where that somewhere is but, I'm glad it won't be my problem & NOPE I'm not busting his bubble yet. Another day for that!

Here IT sits in all IT'S glory with a few other pumpkin cousins & a little witch. Notice sweet Ms Reba in the background.

Loved the color of this orange & white long pumpkin. Also has just a touch of green running around the back of it.

And this beauty is called a Cinderella Pumpkin. Often they are all green but, this one is a mix. This little darling is sitting next to my Bat Faced Plant. Yes, you heard me right Bat Face.

When you pull the flower up to look at it... a little face with ears. And I LOVE the color don't you?

And here's Ms Reba. She rules this roost for sure! She is twelve & a half years old & starting to slow down just a bit. But, she has been a joy in our life for sure. She is a Shetland Sheep Dog (known as a Sheltie & yes, they come from the same place as the Shetland Ponies). She loves to sit here in the bend of the sidewalk to the door & watch the world go by her kingdom.

A little WITCHY WONDER!

And last but, not least are a few flowers we thought were very pretty.

Hope you enjoyed the Outdoor tour & be sure & go visit Susan & the other girls playing (just click) Outdoor Wednesday!

Fall Colors in Tulsa Oklahome & New Sonny Camera

As many of you know from my post last week my Kodak Easy Share camera went on the fritz. Many of you were so kind in sending me ideas & suggestions on cameras to purchase. Some were easy share types that just drop in your purse. Others were SLR type cameras. When looking at many of the "Easy" type the prices were within $200 of the entry level SLR & the clerk helping me said "if you want to work up to an SLR but don't know how to use all the extra bells & whistles... look at it this way the SLR on AUTO will be a much better picture than one of the EASY types". So, we bought the Sonny (Hubby has always thought highly of Sonny products so that part was an easy sell) a230 as a gift to ourselves. Leigh sent me a great site that compares different models against each other & it might help others when making these decisions. Thanks Leigh!!!! A little larger than an "Easy" but, I do like the fact that I can "move up" as I take some photography classes or just have more options as I practice with different settings. Wish me luck!!!! But, I thought I would share some of my first photos using it since this past weekend was our 39th Anniversary. Where does time go????? THIRTY NINE YEARS!!!!! WOW. Anyway, Friday was our Anniversary & we wanted to go for a ride & just share some time together. We went down to our property to check on the stock ponds. Since our dry summer they had been totally empty. But, with the past months rain many are looking better. We also checked on the water level of Lake Whitney which is nearby to see if it would be safe to launch our new platoon boat for a ride soon. The laked looked better but, not ready for boat launching by newbies. I thought this would be the extent of the Annv. with dinner concluding the day. BUT, he got a phone call to cancel his job on Saturday & he surprised me by saying... "PACK YOUR OVERNIGHT BAG WE'RE LEAVING ON A LITTLE GET AWAY".

He took me for a ride through the Arbuckle Mountains into Oklahoma & up to Tulsa. For a fall foliage hunt. We stayed at the Ambassador Hotel (click on the photo to enlarge so you can see the fretwork on this building... lovely) in downtown Tulsa. We had stayed here 5 years ago on an Annv. trip we took. It is a very old, upscale property & he booked us a corner suite which makes for a beautiful view.

As you can see in this photo, for a downtown hotel this one is not HUGE. It's just charming. Darn, I wish I had taken inside photos of the lobby area. But, the new camera had to have the battery charge overnight & I didn't think of it the next morning.

Here's what we were after.... Leaf color changes!!!!! Here in Texas it is cooler but, our leaves aren't/don't really change a lot. Looking for RED!

We found some pretty leaves on our drive through the old beautiful neighborhoods of Tulsa.

Some YELLOW & ORANGE!

Beautiful BLUE skies made for some pretty photos don't you think? And what do you think of the photos using the new camera? I think they are pretty. Thank you to all of you who sent me camera information.

Now, Thursday was a class at Jana's for rusche (Jana says that is French for ruffled) roses (yes, I'll show the end product soon in another post), Friday spent with "Honey at the property, Saturday & Sunday in Tulsa... when am I going to get ready for TRADE DAYS which is Saturday?????? I'm off to try to work on my stuff. Have a great week my friends.

Pink Staurday & Blossom Time Tea Pot

Welcome once again to PINK Saturday hosted by Beverly (click to visit). Today my house is decorated for fall & it is cool & feels like fall. But, I snuck into my china hutch to bring out a touch of PINK to share with you. I have been collecting the china pattern named Blossom Time for a long time now. Above you will see the sweet tea pot & a beautiful PINK cup & saucer(which are not Blossom Time but, I think it looks pretty with this pattern).

The photo above is the lid to the tea pot. Do you love the detail as much as I do? The whole pattern is based on a lane winding through a field of trees in full bloom. PINK BLOOMS!!!!

A close up of the side of the pot along with the sweetest flowers that Lisa & I found while at Round Top. They actually came off of a vintage hat that Lisa bought & cut apart(I later found a different hat in a different color scheme so we traded some of the flowers with each other).

Another view of these precious flowers. I'm sorry my photos are not wonderful but, as many of you know my camera is on the blink. The button is stuck down for no flash & won't come back up... I'm camera shopping & making due.

Both the Blossom Time (made by Royal Albert) & this sweet little PINK tea cup are made in England. The pink set has a very slight crazing starting on all four cups, saucers, & tea plates but, I think that just adds charm. Hope you have a wonderful PINK Saturday & be sure to visit the other girls playing today.

Pretty Petals Journal Workshop & A Giveaway

I found out about Heather's Beautiful Life Journal Workshop way too late to join it & I was so disappointed! Then, I found out that it was open through October but, I found that out about mid October. Knowing my schedule I resisted... NOW she is leaving it online through November! I couldn't resist it & I signed up today. These two photos are of Heather's Journal & I just had to share them with you to see what you have in store for you if you sign up & join the fun. If you have missed signing up or thought the old dates didn't work for you THINK AGAIN! This is an amazing opportunity for a wonderful workshop at a very affordable price!!!!!!! Come join me. Just look at the BEAUTY of this journal. How can a girl resist?

This is a view of the side of the journal with all the finished pages. And in the workshop she has instructions for a beautiful box to store your journal in. Believe me the box is as magical as the journal.

And here is the giveaway that I found yesterday at Sara's. It would be wonderful to use during the holidays. I signed up for some other great things I will share with you soon. See what happens when you spend a day at home while the new shingles are being put on your roof (thanks to wind & hail damage from a Texas Storm that came through a few weeks back). Have a great Thursday!

Fall at Dallas Farmers Market goes to Outdoor Wednesday

Welcome to another Outdoor Wednesday hosted by Susan. Be sure to visit some of the others playing today. Thanks for hosting us again Susan. Here's the entrance of the Dallas Farmer's Market. Loved all of the mums planted in front of the very old tractor.

And my niece Mandy(How can she already be 24?). She was down for a visit this past weekend & we had such a great time running around. We went out to eat in many favorite places & after lunch at Burger House (YUM... the best burgers & fries in Dallas) we went to Farmers Market to see the flowers & pumpkins. Be sure to look at the post just prior to this one to see some amazing pumpkins.

Here is some of the MUMS all lined up by color. Don't you love the Dallas skyline in the back? I DO!

The way they had these staged by colors were so breathtaking!

I want about ten of everything. And the garden fairies to come & plant them. Well, we did buy a few pots of Mums & some pumpkins. Hope you'll stop by in a day or so to see what we bought & how they looked in our yard. HINT: We got one really BIG pumpkin! But, the darn rain has to stop before we can do our thing in the yard. Have a wonderful OUTDOOR WEDNESDAY!

The Pumpkin Patch!!!!!

Well FALL IS IN THE AIR for sure. And this past weekend we went to Farmers Market in downtown Dallas (I will post a second part of this on Wednesday for Outdoor Wednesday) and PUMPKINS were the item of the day.

Isn't this the PERFECT PUNKIN?

These don't look like much just laying there.

I put my BIG foot (yes, I have a BIG foot) up next to one of these... & now you can get an idea of the size of these bad boys! HUGE!

And there are LOTS of these!!!!!! You can see my "Honey" checking these out.

I love this photo with the Dallas skyline behind him!

These were so different. Orange & Green!

Mottled!

And I LOVE the color of this beauty that my "Honey" is holding. YES, it's now ours.

A whole pile of these... intoxicating for someone who loves FALL as much as I do!