graceful words...

"Thank God, 


O women,

 for the quietude of your home,

and 

that you are queen it it.

Men come at eventide to the home;

 but all day long you are there , 

beautifying it, sanctifying it, 

adorning it, blessing it.

 Better be there than wear a queen's coronet. 

Better be there 


than carry the purse of a princess.

 It may be a very humble home. 

There may be no carpet on the floor. 

There may be no pictures on the wall. 

There may be no silks in the wardrobe;

 but, 

by your faith in God,

and your cheerful demeanor,

 you may garniture that place 

with more splendor than the 

upholsterer's hand ever kindled."

 ---Reverend T. DeWitt Talmage, D.D.

This

 ( found at  A Wise Woman Builds her Home)

really spoke to my heart this week

as I wade through *stuff*

May I keep  perspective.

what caught my eye...

I really did have a great time 

searching 

for treasures in Portland.

I came home with lots.

Some  were great prices

and

some called to me.

like this tiny little dolly

 Have you ever seen 

a more adorable baby dress?

Think 

of all the love

in each little stitch and tuck.

I love this brown transferware shaving mug.

I've wanted a  plateau mirror 

so I snatched this one right up.

I've been watching them on ebay 

and  

this was priced waaay better.

So now, I'm busy creating new vignettes...

mainly in my bedroom.

I'm trying to decide 

what's for me 

and 

what's for sale.

I have to sell 

something 

to make it a buying trip 

for Miss Gracie's,

 right?

check out more... 

*Show and Tell* with Cindy

at My Romantic Home

presenting white...

If you know me...

you know...

I *love* presentation.

Presentation is everything.

Presentation is what makes my heart go pitter-patter.

Presentation is what makes my family  crazy.

or think I'm crazy.

In my opinion the Pacific Northwest 

has some serious junkin' style going on...

We went to the Portland Antique Expo, 

my all-time favorite antique mall Monticello, 

and a few other shops.

I'm showing you some of my favorites ...

some of these girls know presentation.

I had the opportunity to meet Julie 
from Kindred Roses

Her darling farmhouse style 

was an example in presentation:

Less is more 

if 

done excellently!

One of the highlights of my trip

(now don't be jealous)

was meeting, none other than

our Kathleen!

We chatted for over an hour

My husband  was like

"You talked to her for an hour?!"

Yep we did!

It just goes to show...how sweet and easy she was to talk to...

We talked antiques, family, business, antiques, selling, decorating...and even what kind of cars we drive 

 for junkin', selling, and family.

No pictures...we don't like pictures and we were busy!

I can't believe she was selling this:

It came home with me

I've got just the place in mind for it...

and it will remind me of our visit!

I'm just going to give you a sneak peek 

of the treasures I uncovered.

I'll be linking up with 

My Romantic Home 

on Friday ...

So come on back!

THANK YOU 

all so much for the well-wishes 

for our anniversary...

we had a wonderful time.  

today's the day...

I celebrate  29  30 years

with my best friend.

It has been fun~ it has been hard~ 

~it has been full of adventure~

~it has been full of grief~it has been full of joy~ 

~it has been a learning experience~ it has been humbling~ 

~it has exasperated me to tears~it has been a revelation in the

 character of God~it has revealed the character of me~

~it has been rewarding~

It has been perfect!

He is my other half~he completes me~ he balances me~ he

 bails me out and He loves me.~He thinks I'm funny.~He

 makes me breakfast on Sunday's.~

 He serves me with all of 

his heart.

How thankful I am

for this wonderful, mysterious plan of God...

when two become one.

~

~

~

I posted this last year and it is still so true...

it has been a year of me walking beside him 


in his time of grief...God is so faithful.

I'll be back to show you some of our get-away trip

but 

let me tell ya

these  Portland gals rock!

vintage black...

I thought a little emphasis on BLACK

would make for a fun change.

In keeping with my theme of late

I'm going to show you more of my bedroom project.

Remember my tub?
It sits in the bedroom
so 

I'm wanting something to help create its own  little space.

Hmm...what to  use...I want different...vintage...

Back to the chicken coop.

(where I found the beadboard)

To look around

HOW about this?

The tub will be working soon!

There is still tons to do

 and fill in 

but 

I like it!

Friday treasures...

Sweet vintage...

Pretty RoSeS

to be listed at my Etsy shoppe

here

too white?

Can I say that here?

I've been busy, busy working on my bedroom.

I'm going for a soft, romantic, vintage look.

I love a warm white.

THINK: whipped cream with a drop of vanilla.

My new duvet cover is from Simply Shabby.

I love the gathers 

but it was a blueish white~white.

I've had this print for a long time 

but never hung it...

it was too white.

My bed was painted off-white

 all one color 

but lacked dimension.

So, what to do?

Tea-stain.

Yep.

First, I dyed the duvet with the tea-stain 

from  Victorian Trading Co.

It came out peach...

not what I was looking for.

Back to the washing machine

for a coffee-bath.

That's better.

But not dark enough, yet.

One more time.

Just right.

Next, the print.

I put  leftover morning coffee into a spritz bottle. 

(I think I spray more coffee than I drink)

and

go at it.

Blot here and there.

Let dry.

Much better...it's even wrinkled.

Definitely got the water-stained, old look.

I was on a roll by now.

Let's work on the bed.

I got out my can of stain

and started wiping...isn't that better?

It really brings out the details of the iron

and adds a new warm color.

Here's a sneak peek of my wall and bed covers..

...it's definitely still a work

in progress.

Remember to check out
all of the rest of the whites for the week...
Thanks, Kathleen!

kids say the darndest things...

I was poking around the other day 
looking for something 
and came across this

circa 1990

How sweet, 
funny, 
pull at your heart 

is that?

Here's my Kate now...
she  is still
sweet, 
funny 
and pulls at my heart.