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.

Saturday night we were invited to go to the Ft Worth Fat Stock Show Rodeo with our friends Dan & Crystal. They had boxed seats & the seats were great! There is just nothing like going to a Rodeo in good old "Cowtown" I forgot to get a picture of the coliseum. It is a beautiful building so sorry I forgot that little detail.

This is where a lot of the performers, riders, & riding clubs all paraded through to show off their finery. And the flags of different states all lined up & the flag for the singing of the National Anthem on the far side of the arena.They dimmed the lights in the arena after this photo & spotlighted the American flag as everyone sang(that always gives me goose bumps & tears well in my eyes sometimes). After the music faded away... They shot off some beautiful fireworks inside the arena. Some of those horses were not to crazy about that idea.
Here's Crystal & Dan all dolled up.
And this is honey & I. Yep Cowgirl Up! I bought this hat (hats sure don't do much for a girls hair do!) at the Antique Mall I told you about last week. This was another item I left there Thursday but, kept thinking about all day Friday. On Saturday I just NEEDED it for the rodeo. :) That's another reason for a quick run back up there to finish unfinished shopping! I really liked the hat but thought... "No don't spend that much money for a hat you won't wear much". Yet, I know honey really likes me to wear hats (of all kinds) so thought... sure why not! Also, Susan went with me & when she saw it on me she said "Oh you have to get it. No one else could pull that hat off but you" After all I am a little over six foot tall so she had a point. My jacket is one from Double D Outfitters. The embroidery work on it is outstanding & the fringe is real leather. I don't get to wear it often but, it is a great jacket He loved it that I dressed up in all my cowgirl duds! A fun time was had by all & no cowboys were hurt. Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Haw.

These are a couple of closeups of the jacket & "The Hat". Crystal so coveted my hat! :)

I Owe I Owe It's Off To Work I Go!

As I promised today I will showcase SOME (the key word here is some because I went crazy & can't get everything in one post) of my TREASURES from my Antique Store Splurges. Yes, Splurges... I went to two Malls on Thursday with Pat & then on Saturday I went to three. One of the stops was back to Lone Star Antiques on old Hwy 377 in Haltom City (the one I showed you all the cool display ideas from) & why did I go back???? Well, when I got in bed Thursday night & re-thought about my day with Pat & ALL I HAD SEEN... there were a few items I was sorry I didn't buy. So, Susan & I decided on a "Girls Day Out" for Saturday (after all I needed to share my new find with her)

My favorite TREASURE from Thursday's trip was this Shabby Bird Cage. I was so "taken" with the booth this came from. Too many awesome things to tell you about. And I didn't know if I was "allowed" to take photos but, some things I just couldn't resist. And after all I DID BUY THIS! I just loved the way Dorothy (the owner of the booth) had fixed this up. An old ironstone cream pitcher with dried berries, a doily, some old cream colored beads, a butter pat with a candle on it & a vintage add propped up in her version of a card holder (more about that later), all topped off with a glittered vintage bird on the swinging perch. IS THIS TOO CUTE OR WHAT? When I show you the bird cage at my house you will see that I added a few more treasures inside.

And this adorable baby shoe with the toe torn out. Dorothy had stuffed the shoe with moss & a feather & topped it off with another vintage bird along with an little egg. And how about the bling on the throat of this little darling.

On Saturday when I went back to the mall I got to meet Dorothy in person. I was so excited to meet this talented wonderful artist. She is awesome! We talked about all kinds of things we want to do (art wise)together & we want to do a sale, show or something like that. While I was there on Saturday Dorothy gave me some great old lace & I wanted to share this little stash & show it here on one of my new plates.

And this little white enamel tea pot is one of the items that I could not bear to not have & was one of the items I went back for. Saturday it was mine! After taking this photo let me show you where the tea pot landed. In my kitchen/breakfast room area I have a shelf of goodies above my breakfast table. A couple of weeks ago we had the doors open to the garage & the wind was pretty strong. A huge gust of wind came through & knocked that window with the print behind it off the shelf. In the process the little ceramic tea pot (not a favorite one) was broken. This cleared the way for my new treasure to have a perfect home. What do you think?

Back to treasures...

And a little BLING hiding between Dorothy's lace & a sweet doily I picked up.

And on Thursday in another Antique Mall I picked up this wonderful old Hanes Hosiery Box. The box is made of beautiful royal purple velvet. And the top of the box is satin printed with these lovely Victorian Ladies & children.

A close up of the box top. Isn't this fabulous! I am soooooooooo happy it is mine! This is the box open & filled with the bags of lace & tatting that I bought. Some of these beauties will end up on pillow's, altered art & who knows what else.

Look at how tiny this tatting is! And it is in perfect shape.

I bought at couple of these big square chargers at Marshall's (you will see more of these on Tablescape Tuesdays coming up) but, in the mean time they show off the lace so well.

This is some of the lace that Pat http://mytatteredelegance.blogspot.com/ gave me when I went into her house on Thursday. She opened some of her boxes of treasures & I ohhhhhhhhhh'd & ahhhhhhhhhh'd about so many things. The pink is some tatting she had & the little rose is something that she hand dyed herself.
Here is a close up. She took Rit dye & a paint brush & did this. I thought she did a great job. And she was so sweet to share some of these goodies with me. It is amazing that both Pat & Dorothy just gave me something of theirs. I think these amazing women we all meet & create with are some of the most giving, sharing, kind, souls I know. How blessed are we all to have each other.This is a print I bought at the Antique Mall. I loved it! It is named Ladies at Tea. I don't like the frame & matt but, this too can be changed with a little time, $ & treasure! I will take it out of the frame & try to copy it to share (minus the glare from the glass). Come back & I will share.
For now I am sure you are on overload & I am off to wash! YUCK! I work tomorrow & I think it is a good thing after all the $$$$$$$$$$$$ I spent this week. So... I owe I owe it's off to work I go & I will be back later in the week to show you more goodies bought on this little adventure. Come Back!