Everyday Beauty

Fun in Leesburg

A couple weeks ago, 11 blog girls met up in Leesburg, VA for a day of antiquing and fun. I was so happy to be one of them! You may have seen this same sort of post on all of their blogs already, as I'm a little late here. But it was great fun, and I didn't want to let the memory pass by without a blog post.

Heather and Stephenie organized the whole adventure, and Lori joined them as they headed east to meet a bunch of us local Virginia and Maryland girls {Hope, Amy, Pam, Robin, Jessica and me}.  Karla and Beth joined us too, all the way from Kansas.

 

Here are some of the girls at On a Whim. {L to R: Karla, Jessica, Lori, Pam, Heather and Stephenie}

On a Whim has an entire small building dedicated to vintage prom dresses and vintage girly accessories. Tulle heaven!

 

We pretty much hit all of the good vintage shopping spots in Lucketts and Leesburg {including The Cottage, The Beekeepers Cottage and The Old Luckett's Store} and then we enjoyed a to-go snack at Lola's {below}, and dinner at Tuskie's later on.

{L to R: Jessica, Beth, Heather, Stephenie, Lori, Karla, and Amy}

Here's Amy posing with a friendly sheep. And there's me carrying one of my purchases down the stairs.

I've been wanting one of these wicker standing sewing organizers for years. I actually saw three of them while we were out that day. One was $86, one was $49 and one was $25. I bought the cheapest one of course, and it's in perfect condition. I'll let you know when I fill it with goodies. I love having a new reason to organize my supplies!

I also found this vintage barkcloth knitting bag. Funny story....Heather had an almost identical one that day that she was carrying as a purse {which I loved}. When I spied this one in one of the shops, I thought she had left hers behind by accident. It was such a coincidence that I found one that same day. I usually see these bags in darker shades with lots of red, which is pretty, but not really my style. These soft pinks and lavenders are so lovely.

And I found another old parasol to hang up or prop up...not sure which yet.

And this hat...

...which I only bought for the flowers. They opened right up after I steamed them a little bit.

I couldn't pass up this old chipped statue of Mary. {it's the small one in the picture.... the larger one was my great grandmother's}

 

It was such a fun day, and I really enjoyed seeing some old friends and meeting some new ones. And we all said ,"We have got to do this again!" Definitely.

{I swiped some of these photos of the group and the shops from Heather's, Hope's and Karla's blogs, by the way. Thanks, girls!}

New England Bound

Today we're headed to New Hampshire for a family vacation with my parents, and then to Massachusetts to visit George's family. Should be lots of fun, and I know I'm ready for a change of scenery and some mindless relaxation. Hopefully the biggest decision I'll have to make is should I get the clams or the scallops tonight?

I plan to do a few blog posts while I'm away, so I'll see ya soon!

Have a wonderful weekend.

Berry Basket Bliss

 

I was just thinking how I haven't shared with you my newest velvet strawberry purses. Wanna take a peek?

This one is my first with multi-colored berries. EEK! I love all those pretty colors together.

The one below was on ebay for $9.99, and I emailed the seller asking if she would consider changing it to a Buy It Now auction for $25. She did. And that is a velvet strawberry bargain these days.

 

Love the aqua berries.

 

And this little garden purse is fun. Found it on etsy last fall.

 

How adorable is the ear of corn, made out of pearls?

 

It would be cute to take to the fair, I think!

These make me wish I wasn't toting around sippy cups and books and snacks and diapers and wipes. These are "date night" purses for sure, perfectly sized just for a wallet, lipstick and sunglasses. I do get to use them occasionally, but they usually sit on shelves in my studio, looking pretty and making me happy as I tap away at the keyboard.

Heartfelt Thanks

Thanks so much, you guys. I really appreciate every one of your heartfelt comments about sweet Phoebe. They made me cry {not a bad thing} and filled my heart. She was the first pet I ever had {if you don't count my childhood goldfish!}, so this was the first time I've had to say goodbye to a beloved furry friend. Like so many things in life, I never knew how it felt until it happened to me. Now, I wish I had been more compassionate when family and friends lost their pets. I didn't know what they were feeling. I do now. Live and learn.

I've been keeping busy this week, and we're getting ready for our upcoming family vacation. Can't wait for that!  It seems quiet in the house, even though it's really not.

As you can see, the Mama Birds in the area must love my hanging ferns, 'cause we've got 2 more nests this year! I took this picture a few weeks ago. They have since hatched, and we're watching them grow. Almost time to fly away on their own.

I'll be back tomorrow.

xo

Saying Goodbye

It's been a sad week around here.

We took Phoebe to the vet on Tuesday to have her little tumor removed. We were surprised to find out the cancer had indeed spread. She had been acting very unusual these past few weeks, and it was her way of telling us she wasn't well. It was her only way of letting us know. Animals know. They're amazing.

I didn't want her to be in anymore pain. I didn't want her to suffer anymore than she already had. It was such a hard decision to make to let her go, but we knew it was the best thing for Phoebe. I've cried a river and can't believe there are any more tears in me.

Today, I held her in my arms and kissed her soft furry little head. Said goodbye. Cried some more. Thanked her for all the years she snuggled with me as I had my morning coffee. Thanked her for her gentleness, never ever hissing, even when the boys pulled her tail and grabbed fists full of fur. Thanked her for making us laugh when she chased her own tail around and around in circles. She and I have been together for many years. She was my girl. I can't believe how much I miss her.

If there's a kitty heaven, surely she's already there.

Sweet Summer Strawberries

 

Mario and I took an afternoon and went strawberry picking together.

 

He picked about 2 berries. I picked the rest. It was much more fun for him to run up and down the rows than to pick berries, I suppose! But, anyway, it's a nice little tradition we started and plan to continue with Sam when he gets bigger.

We picked 12 pounds of these sweet, warm, delicious berries.

 

I had planned on baking a pie or something, but we ate them all.

Every. last. one.

Yum. Love this time of year.

Recent Treasure Hunting

Do you ever start a blog post and save the draft and then foget about it altogether? Well, I do. A lot. I never told you about when Karla was in town and we met up for the day to have lunch and find some good junque.

Here's Karla with her tea at Pinkadilly's in Old Towne Fredericksburg. {And, I get to see her again this Friday for another round of treasure hunting with some other gals as well. Fun!}

And here's what I found that day. This charming little vintage sequined crown was a great find. I probably paid too much for it, but I've never seen anything quite like it and, well, I just loved it.

 

Such soft colors. And how great would this be as a First Communion headpiece?

 

I also found this beautiful old hat with ruched layers of beige Russian veiling. There are little turquoise velvet bows tucked inside here and there.

 

It's presently on a shelf in the kitchen. I know, it's a little strange to keep old hats in the kitchen, but they're all over the house and my family thinks nothing of it anymore. Poor things, they think it's normal.

 

And then there's the amazing crepe paper roses in the very first picture. {Sigh}

I found them when we took a family trip to New Jersey last month. We were driving through some quaint old towns, near the PA border, and I was about to jump out of the window to peek inside the antique shops. One after the other. It was torture that the car kept on moving. I knew George had NO desire to stop. But he did..... and he set his stop watch. "Go look for your junk. Thirty minutes. I mean it."  {sadly, without such time restrictions, I would be gone for hours, completely forgetting I had a family waiting in the car.}

"Yay! Thank you!" {kiss kiss}

And that's when I found the crepe paper roses. They weren't even for sale, but rather they had been stuffed inside an expensive vase, just for decoration. The clerk seemed surprised and amused that I wanted to buy them. For just a few dollars, I walked away one happy girl.

 Look how the pink turns to peach almost. Something only time could produce.

 

And I also picked up this Victorian love letter keeper. Don't you love the whole idea of that? Keeping love letters in such a special place. So, I'm going to use it for it's intended purpose. {Honey, if you're reading this, you better start writing me some love letters! Or I'm gonna die an old lady with an empty love letter keeper, for cryin' out loud!}

 

And that's that. My antiquing loot. Looking for beautiful old things never gets tiring, does it?

Do It Anyway

This year, I was the Room Mom for Mario's pre-school class, and on the last day of school the teacher gave me a framed copy of this poem by Mother Teresa. It totally moved me and made me remember the whole point of everything we do in this life. I thought I'd share it with you....a little thought to carry with you throughout your day, weekend, month, year, life....

Do It Anyway

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered;

Forgive them anyway.

 

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;

Be kind anyway.

 

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;

Succeed anyway.

 

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;

Be honest and frank anyway.

 

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;

Build anyway.

 

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;

Be happy anyway.

 

The good you do today, people will forget tomorrow;

Do good anyway.

 

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;

Give the world the best you've got anyway.

 

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God.

It was never between you and them anyway.

An Expensive Week

 

Look who arrived at my door today. My computer seems to have caught a virus, and I haven't been able to get on-line {or even turn it on} for a few days now. With George out of town, I called The Geek Squad, and let me tell ya, they ROCK. I wanted to hug the guy when he was finished, but he barely made eye contact with me the entire 3 hours he was here trying to cure my sick computer. Super smart but zero personality. In his defense, he was probably a bit overwhelmed. I could tell he was flustered every time he had to lift the ruffled tablecloth to get to the CPU, and was likely wondering, "What is with this woman and why does she keep offering me iced tea and cookies. I wish she'd leave me alone and let me fix her computer and get outta here." But, anyway, I am grateful he was able to fix the computer. $300 later....

So, if I owe you an email, this is why you haven't heard from me in a few days. And also, Sammy has been sick too, so we spent Sunday afternoon in the ER.  He's going to be fine, just had a little scare. ER co-pay: $100

And did I ever tell you about our cat? I'm not sure I have. Her name is Phoebe, and I got her while living in NYC...she was a stray, living in an abandoned warehouse in Brooklyn. Anyway, she's been everywhere with me. I even flew her to Bosnia {I had to buy her a separate pet ticket} and she lived there with us for a year. A few years ago she developed cancer and we had the tumor removed. She's been fine ever since. Well, unfortunately, her cancer has returned and we just scheduled a surgery to remove the new tumor. That will be $550. Yikes. X-rays on Monday were $150. But, luckily, they determined that the cancer hadn't spread.

So, that is....let's see here......an unexpected $1100 in 3 days.  Hold on while I go pluck some money off the tree in the backyard!

All joking aside, I'm so grateful that Sam is ok, Phoebe will hopefully be ok and my computer is ok.

Now, I'm heading up to bed with a cup of tea and a stack of books. There's a big thunderstorm outside, and I so love to read with the rain falling on the window panes. All is well tonight.

Blooming Beauty

If you've been reading this blog for the past couple of years, you may remember my previous "Peony" posts. Every year, they are the flowers I look most forward to.

 

Aren't they just take-your-breath-away beautiful?

 

Mario & I were outside taking pictures, and he took this one of me just before I cut the peonies and took them inside.

 

And I took this one of him watering his beloved carrots. {gosh, I hope they grow! he'll be so disappointed.}

 

I think May blooms are my favorite. Between the Lily of the Valley, Peonies & Roses, I'm in flower paradise for a few weeks at least. As far as roses go, this one is heavenly. It's a David Austin rose called St. Cecilia and it smells incredibly fragrant. My mom had one in her garden and clipped a blossom off for me before George and I flew to Italy on our Honeymoon. I wore it in my hair for the entire flight and still have the dried flower almost 6 years later. It held it's fragrance for a couple of years. I loved it so much she bought me my own plant!

 

Let's see...what else is blooming?...

Well, the Pansies are holding on nicely. Not bad for almost-June. They remind me of my childhood.

 

Clematis growing up the arbor:

 

The Iris' are so delicate, and here today, gone by noon. But very pretty and soft.

 

I should've taken some shots of the Azaleas.The previous owners of our house apparently had a love affair with Azaleas. There are 10 of them. My front yard looked like a sea of shocking pink for a good 10 days. Every year I want to transplant some of them to another part of the yard, but we never do. We're lazy like that. Maybe next year. They are pretty though, just a bit much all together.

I hope you're enjoying the beauty of late Spring too. Summer will be in full swing before we know it.