Blessed!!

Texas is having the most Wonderful Weather!  Just wish it would last....

This is what you see if you get to Marburger early enough to get a parking place right behind the show.  I mean right behind so you pass the lovely (& much needed but slightly upscale) port-a-potties directly into the grounds!  Friday was a stunning day & even better when vendors could open the back of their tent flaps so the breeze could flow through...

Amazingly, I did get a press pass...

which was really cool even though I didn't really do anything but walk around with it...but thanks to Fancy at Cactus Creek Daily for this thrill.  Did get a cool t-shirt.  The pass will hang proudly in my craft room!

My BFF Cindy & BFFD Vanessa & I had a wonderful day & always enjoy ourselves tremendously!  My daughter didn't get to come back with us....she is a StuCo advisor at CyLakes HS & it was Homecoming weekend!  She was very busy....we missed her!

The vendors at Marburger work so hard to set up the most inviting booths.  One of my favorites is Judy Hill's...

It is always amazing to see what she uses as the main display in her booth!  This year it was a boat!!

These two girls at Judy's express all of your emotions at Marburger!  Thrilled to be there & what is that????

I can't recall which booth this was in but this is how you USED to get permanents!  Can you imagine having your hair hooked up to this?  It was sometime around this point that we HAD to stop for lunch.  That is a point of contention for our group sometimes...I hate to stop but They insist on nourishment!

We Always eat here!  They have the very best fajitas!  I highly recommend it...you should see how long that line was!  After that, the need to visit those upscale port-a.....  There is an old (non-working!!) outhouse right in front of the port-a & guess who seems to be a permanent resident at Marburger!!

This Guy!!  Cindy almost backed right into him!  Yikes!

We did have a lovely day....

don't remember the name of this booth but it was full of goodies.  Like I said...some of these booths are just things of beauty to look at....

Judith McClellan, a Houston dealer, look at that!

& this...

Then I found one of the nicest people to come to Marburger....

Gwen McClure of French by Design.  (I should have taken a picture of her!!)  She comes to Marburger from Kansas City.  I met  her at my first Silver Bella & we sat next to each other in a Kaari Meng class.  I didn't realize then that she leads a dream life.  Goes to France to shop....isn't that a dream life?  She is a doll & I so enjoyed visiting with her.  Sadly what I bought at her booth is the sum total of my purchases at the show.

I collect 1s & 4s & I have a friend who wanted a 3 & I have an old thread holder so I needed a spool of French thread. Gwen didn't have a 1!!  My whole problem when going to Marburger is that I really have no room for anything else in this house & the things I really want require $$$ to buy. The most fun is in the looking & dreaming....sometimes you do bring home more....If I got rid of some of this...I could do more of that!

There was a beautiful door from a hotel in Indianapolis...

Lincoln stayed in this hotel on his way to his inaugration...took this for my history teaching daughter.  Someone had just bought this door & the other TWO that matched along with another beautiful huge door frame.  I would love to know what they were going to do with those....

THEN, we finally made it to tent F & found the booth Corey Amaro of Tongue in Cheek was helping her friend with.  If you read Corey's blog, you would know she lives a dream life in France with an equally or more so, dreamy French Husband....  Corey was off & about....but guess who was in the booth!!

French Husband!!  Poor guy, I went up & asked him if that was who he was.  He gallantly jumped up & shook my hand as I explained why I was so excited to meet Him!  He explained (in that lovely French accent) that Corey would be back in 20 minutes.  We all walked away in deep fantasy....he was such a gentleman!  Now that I look at that picture...why oh why didn't I see that little round table when I was there....well, we all know why!  Wish I had that!!  The table...FH belongs totally to Corey...read her blog...sigh****

We enjoyed the day so very much.  None of us bought much...I did go into Leftovers in Brenham two times to get these luscious pumpkins...once each trip up.  They sold out of these once (& they had a bunch) & then got a second shipment. Yummy.

but that about sums up my purchases this year.  Going is enough.  I always ponder the things I wish I had bought.  Next year, we hope to be able to find a room up there so we can stay over & go back the next day.

I was tempted to get back into the car Saturday & dash back up but I didn't.  My Sweet Husband did take me out to dinner last night & we sat outside.  He usually hates that in the humidity we normally have but as I said, we are having the most wonderful weather right now.  We went to Hubbell & Hudson, sat on their patio & had the most delicious dinner....

it was a blissful evening & another great memory of the fall Antique Week.  Now I am looking forward to going back to Dallas & The Gilded Life in a couple of weeks....never finished my blog about that.  Guess I will combine the two...  It was a great weekend!!

SO Excited!!

In my last post, I mentioned Theresa at Garden Antiques Vintage had steered me to a new friend, Fancy, at Cactus Creek Daily who had a great offer for bloggers going to Marburger Farm Antique Show.  Well...I hopped on over & partook of her offer!! (Kinda like partaking of hats at Target..guess that is where I got that word).

 

THIS came in the mail today.  I never win/enter anything on time!!  Yeah, two passes to Marburger & if you look closely....it says PRESS CREDENTIALS!!!  Nevah thought I would be called Press!  & Fancy said there would be a gift....

And there WAS a little bag inside with the ticket card tied on with cute black ribbon....



It's a Marburger t-shirt!!!! which does have a little note on it to stop in & exchange for another size which this girl will have to do!  I am just really excited because truly I never am anywhere in time for anything so I really appreciate Fancy & Marburger Farms for this opportunity.  Now if I can only find my battery changer for my camera that I put in a REALLY safe place when we remodeled our bathroom & I cleaned out my closet, I will be acting like the Press & showing ya'll Marburger! 

On another exciting note....went to Peggy's last weekend for a play date!!  The delightful Ms. Julia of Mizjuney came & showed us how to make her photo blocks!  What fun!  I did manage to take a couple of pictures....

I have a friend at work who just had a Grandbaby.  I made this for her to display his pictures in her office.  Just loved making this & plan to make more!  Julia also makes a cute little photo block that is on my list of to-dos also.

You can tell by the background....there was some eating going on too!  Of course, duh!!

And then we also worked on these cuties!

Julia made this one but that  to-do list will get going soon on this one too.  I do have time!  Peggy had the cutest vintage Halloween paper that she had in her hoarding box that I wish I had.  I did find some posts cards with the same image online & ordered them.  As soon as they get here, Mod Podge will fly!  We had a great day.  My best friend, Cindy & her daughter, Vanessa went with me & it just doesn't get any better!  Crafting with friends!  I first met Peggy & Julia the first year I went to Silver Bella so it was a re-connecting day too.  She has some of the coolest stuff!  Loved just looking at her stash.  Julia had great pics of Peggy's "stuff" on her blog not too long ago at the 1st play date.

So plans for Marburger are shaping up & it is coming fast...September 28 to October 2nd!!  I have to get busy & find a pull cart that I can fancy up like the one Ms Debbie had at Canton the weekend I was at the Gilded Nest.  I thought I took a picture of it but guess I didn't...  I still need to finish my post about our bath remodel & THAT weekend as a "Gilded Girl".  Can't wait till October 22nd when I go back...

Antique Week A-Comin'

Once school starts, you know fun is on the way!  Antique Week in Round Top, Marburger and Warrenton.  The last few years my favorite has been Marburger!! My BFF Cindy, her DD and my DD all attend together.  Last year....we thought we saw Rachel Ashwell who had been talking about Texas...

Not sure who this lady is but we really thought for awhile that we were in a "Presence". 

Amazing what the adrenaline can do to you! 

Also the things you miss haunt you....

The chair there on the left has been something I wish I had moved on for several years. 

Judy Hill has a wonderful booth at Marburger, stunning displays.

Garden Antiques Vintage blog steered me over to a new friend:  Cactus Creek Daily who has a great offer for Marburger fans!  Theresa at GAV knows EVERYTHING going on in the antiques world in Texas.

Let's count down the days till we all meet again in Antique Fantasy Land!   Sept 22nd to Oct 3rd!!!

See You There!

I am still trying to get my post together about my remodeling adventure &*&*& the adventure I had in Dallas with A Gilded Life Queens, Debbie & Shea.  So much to tell!!  Coming soon....

Sad..Happy, More Happy than Sad!

 

See that....that right there.....that black thing inside the other black thing!!

Do you see that?  What is that?  What could it possibly be???  I pulled a stupid the morning I left for St Louis and the Mary Englebreit Home Companion Workshop.  I bought a new purse and was leisurely moving things from the old one to the new one.  Glanced at my boarding pass and saw 10:05.  OMG, I thought the plane left at 10:37!!  Grabbing and loading, I rapidly got on my way.  After several other Stupids that will go unmentioned, I met up with friend Peggy and new friend Pam and got on the plane.  Flying merrily to Mary, I think....do I remember moving my camera into the new purse...it is always in my purse!!  Looking frantically....NO CAMERA!!!  I  just deflated...going to see Mary & her STUDIO....no camera.....I did have my Flip Camera and Iphone so I would make do!  It was a wonderful event!  All I can do is show what I brought home...

My sweet Travel Tray from Charlotte Lyon's class.  I still have to tweak it but I will make this again!

My Wendy Addison Shell & Mossy Victorian Whimsy!  Wendy is a tiny talented thing.  Really enjoyed her class.  I still have to tweak this lady too.  Didn't want her to really look like a bride.  You can see her back in the mirror where she also sports shells.

I also took a class from Linda Solovic (who was new to me) which I enjoyed and learned alot.  Took my first Claudine Hellmuth class.  She is a total hoot!!  I have to finish up details on both of these projects.

Mary, Barbara & Co prepared the most wonderful event for us with lots of great details.  Mary was everywhere which made us all so happy.  She is just so NORMAL!  How refreshing that was.

My roommate Carolyn from Atlanta (who does not blog!) decided it would be wise for us to buy the print that was the graphic for the workshop.  Graciously Mary & all the artists signed their books, prints, etc...  We were asked to make name tags using our imagination and prizes were awarded at the reception Thursday night.  Carolyn won a prize for hers but since I had no camera, no pictures...bummer.  But Mary did sign my nametag with my white gel pen that seemed to have lost its verve.  I know what it says though!!  See the tiny squiggle in the top right corner??

 Close up of the squiggle!

We had a wonderful luncheon with panelists Mary, Marcia Ceppos of Tinsel Trading in NYC, Amy Butler and Dena Fishbein (she was new to me...must investigate) led by MargoTantau of Hallmark who also seeks out new talent & then they gave away loads of door prizes!  The gift bags were fabulous too!  I didn't win anything at the lunch but they discovered more prizes & came by our classes to gift us.  My luck changed as I won 4 adorable little Jennifer Murphy creatures!!

Aren't they adorable??

Peggy had arranged for a tag swap with some of the ladies coming to the Workshops and boy, did we get some beautiful tags!  Everyone is thinking about doing another one.  Even the little cuties are amazed!

Peggy did August & put it all together along with running our Yahoo Group for the Workshop.  Below hers, the adorable girl with the glasses is Carolyn's tag.  She had layers and layers on that one tag.  You should see the back.  Mine is peeking from under hers.  There were so many great tags!

Other than forgetting my camera, it was a great time.  Wish I could have seen more of St Louis.  Learned about Provel cheese which is tasty, Maryland Street has great shops & look forward to sitting out there with these great MEHC pals again next year.  Carolyn & I were walking after our last class to find an antique store we had been told about....Carolyn said, "Look up there!"

See that open window over there....in the right one there is a little frame...a stained glass ME.  Guess whose office that is?  Isn't that just TOO COOL!!!

Lesson learned....if you go somewhere really, really special....make sure you have your damn camera!!  Can't wait to check the blogs of the ladies who shared this weekend, they HAD their cameras!!

Seeking Antiques & Bluebonnets

My BFF & The Daughters went to Marburger on Good Friday.  Lovely drive through the bluebonnets...
We go every time the last few years.  Sometimes we find lots of goodies, sometimes not...
This was a not so much time.  Didn't take any pictures but this is what I bought...

Two vintage dishtowels from Ludmil at Willow Nest...didn't see Linda.  And...a little letter holder that I thought was too cute to pass up.  Really enjoy Marburger, saw friends & a Silver Bella pal who was a vendor but wish I had fallen "in love" with more things.

But back home & enjoyed a lovely Easter Day with family & friends.  Think I made my son happy by doing Easter baskets one more time.

Promised I wouldn't post this but aren't they cute?  Same baskets they have had since they were tiny kiddos except my son had to share his with his bride.  He looks for the paper mache egg with $ in it, my daughter loves the chocolate.  Both learned well from their mom, right? 

Hope everyone had a blessed Easter.

Missing In Action

I haven't been here for awhile...think of things to say, take pictures and then where does time go?  Right now I am working on a tag swap for the Mary Englebreit Workshop I am going to this time next month!  Twelve of us are doing a tag for one month of the year, I am October (birth month).  Got to get them to Peggy in less than two weeks.  Think I will be ok.

The Mary Ann Moss online class I took a couple of months ago has really stuck with me...love sewing on paper!  Just a sneak peak of what I have planned....

Hosted our Supper Club group in February....intended to share the table setting I did.  Good food and good friends....

Loved the roses I found.

Got a wonderful Christmas present from my kids, they sent me to the Houston Adorn Me workshop for the one class I really wanted!!  Amy Hanna!  Got a wonderful surprise when I walked in and found out who her TA was!

PAM GARRISON!!!!!

I had just watched Pam's video so she had to listen to me gush about how inspiring she is.  She is totally one of the nicest ladies I have ever met.  Amy was just as sweet too.  It was a great day spent with two extremely talented souls.  Such fun.

Lastly...I went to the Houston Azalea Trail a couple of weekends ago with my BFF Cindy, her daughter and my dear daughter.  Weather was grand and we got peeks into some lovely homes. There was one home that was absolutely amazing. The azaleas weren't quite in bloom yet but we had fun.

Had never seen this before....but with Easter coming soon, the bunny needed some way to get around!  The River Oaks Garden Club does a lovely job.

Well, need to get back to work on those tags.  There are still some classes open at Mary's workshop in St. Louis.  Check it out!!  Loving this weather and go Baylor Bears!!  Hope it is this nice next weekend when our foursome plus my DIL go to Marburger--Antique Week in Round Top!  Yummy, can't wait!

Better Late than Never??

I am only two weeks late posting about our Valentine weekend excursion....

My daughter has wanted to run a marathon for years. She registered for the Houston Half-Marathon several times over the years and when the event rolled around, injuries kept her from running. She has been a runner since high school and a marathon has been the carrot out there. She started training last summer with a marathon group...and when it was time to register for the Houston Marathon....another injury made her doubt her ability. The Houston one fills up literally in hours (what is wrong with these people??), so she missed signing up. Not one to take no for an answer when she makes up her mind...she registered for the Austin Marathon. So....Valentine weekend we all made the trip to Austin.

Can't go to Austin without stopping into Uncommon Objects, can you? Course my hubby was with me as we ducked into there late Saturday afternoon, so I didn't buy a thing. But this one booth really caught my eye....the owner grouped vignettes by color, it was striking....

The green bottle is really the standout and the walls are green but everything else has little bits of the color so it really appears very green. I would love to have that bottle but put it where???


This blue grouping was just lovely. Those hanging letters, the fabric...just really pretty. Next time, I need to be able to really browse.

We caught my daughter and her friend from San Francisco at the 14 mile and 20 mile points to cheer them on and offer orange slices and encouragement. Then it was off to downtown to see them finish!! As we walked from our car, we passed this beautiful house. The grillwork was incredible! All wrought iron....and look at those blue skies. It was a perfect day for a marathon especially with all the rain we have had lately.

And......... as we rounded the corner.....

Look who occupies the building!! Texas Teachers! My daughter is a teacher so I was glad to see such an honorable group spends their days in that beautiful Texas landmark house. Good for them!

Then as you look down onto Congress, there is a party going on!!








Of course, if there is anything going on in Austin, let's make it a party!! Thousands ran the event and if everyone had a cheering section, there were LOTS of people there!









Here they come!!

It was really exciting to watch all the runners come in and know that they were finishing something most of us cannot imagine. I can't run one mile, let alone 26.2!
The Capital is in the background but doesn't show in this picture. It is a great way to finish such a grueling race.

There is the FINISH LINE!!

Which they did cross and I did not get a picture!! As they passed us, we hauled off to get to them on the end. So no pics of the actual crossing! We are very proud of our runners and by the next morning, she was really feeling those Austin hills. She hopes to run in a Texas Independence Relay next weekend IF the knee will recover from the marathon. Our bodies are amazing at what they can do and how they remind you of it afterward! We had a great weekend, ate at Kerby Lane (one of her favs) that afternoon after they recovered a bit and then meandered home on Monday. A great adventure and a nice way to spend Valentine's Day.

Gray & Grey

Twice a year there is a wonderful antique show in Houston, Urban Market. It is a really small version of Antique Week in Round Top. My BFF Cindy & I almost always go & sometimes one or both of our daughters will go with us. It is only open Sunday from 9 until 4. We have gone in the middle of the day & first thing when they open enjoying ourselves at all times. There are some wonderful dealers, even some that are also at Antique Week. One year it had rained & mud was everywhere but we still had fun. Saturday in Houston was one of two sunny days we have had in about a week. They had a lovely day to set up. Sunday dawns Gray or Grey, however you want to spell it! We met up & hurried down in great spirits with an eye on the sky. It was chilly but the day usually warms up. This Super Bowl Sunday it did not!! We were chilled when we got there but by the time we left we were numb. It is a lovely show, but we were not expecting it to stay 50 degrees with no sun.

See that sky? See the mud ruts? See the cedar chips to absorb the water? See those cold people? Some of the vendors were wearing their wares around their waists to keep warm. Bless their hearts!

Had we dressed better, we would have been okay but we didn’t. I know some parts of the country had inches of snow. Sorry but we are spoiled! Only one purchase was made…. Not to go home empty handed, we ventured off to lunch in The Heights at our favorite sandwich shop there, Carter & Cooley. Yummy & warm inside. We did find the cutest new shop, Sew Crafty. I found some great fabrics, even some Amy Butler & some felting wool & needles. Don’t know how to felt but now I can learn! Then we tucked into Jubilee which is always an interesting browse.

Bingo again, I found some of the wrapping paper that Pam Garrison licenses through Papaya! Don’t have immediate plans for it but I love Pam’s drawing so I was tickled pink to have it. All in all, sad that Urban Market wasn’t warmer so we could stay longer but the day turned out successful! Time with a good friend & the Saints won the Super Bowl so it wasn’t all so Gray after all!! Dat is dat!!

& so I launch myself into the Blog world! I have been *Lurking* around so many blogs the last couple of years that sometimes I can’t remember where I started. I read my first blog when I started stamping and making cards. Wow, have I gone a long way from there! & that brings me here, now. Recently I came across Dispatch From LA….& her online class, Remains of the Day Journal. I have always tucked away bits & pieces of paper that I did not want to throw away, too pretty. Well she showed a bunch of us what to do with ‘em! & that brought me to today, when I launch my blog. I just had to join the other videoers (word?) and show mine. So in the hope that I don’t bore anyone too much (in case anyone actually reads), here is my Journal! This class was so much fun and brought me to places I didn’t expect to go. Don’t ya just love life sometimes??

http://vimeo.com/9258588

I am not sure if this will work but that is how you learn! Thanks for dropping by!