Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers) – Page 33

REDRUM

antiques/junking, Books, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), Etsy Goodies, Food and Drink, jewelry, Travel

By Karla Nathan / June 24, 2007

What a perfect Garage Sailing Saturday! Good weather, lots of sales, good prices, it was just right.

I love the $1 robin’s egg blue frame. I might just put it on the wall and hang plates inside it. I found many 10 cent pieces of glassware, a old pin cushion (with a crown pin!) for 50 cents, a made in Japan pink fish from an aquarium -50 cents, another old floral tray- $1, a solid old chair to paint- $4, a box of Italian framed prints to fix up and add new paintings to- $5,

a bagful of vintage seed packets- $2, 2 dozen old postcards for $1, a beaded purse- $1 and a McCoy pink pot that I splurged on for $20.

I also broke one of my Garage Sailing rules. I usually don’t go to the 2nd day of a sale, but I did to this one, and hit the jackpot. Barkcloth, old table clothes and vintage trim!

I will need some of this silver/grey trim for some Silver Bella projects (and the tiny pin crown too). But I got YARDS of it and will be selling it by the yard at my Etsy shop.

I found old lace too! This crocheted table cloth with fringe will be perfect for my dining room during the Christmas Home Tour. Can’t you just picture the table set up with all white and cream? I have some old white Wedgewood (big stack at an auction for $11), some Ironstone, and crystal. I know it is only June, but I have my Holiday Table all planned!!

Love this trim too. I will be selling it on Etsy, the butterflies are adorable, so I’ll have to keep some. Probably will make an art journal page for Sugarwings with it.

For all that fabric, trim, and a few very old books to cut up, I spent $17 at that sale!!!! I don’t even want to think about the barkcloth I missed by not going on the first day. Oh well, I am happy to just enjoy what I did find, never does you any good at all to be greedy about junk. It comes and goes, I am thrilled when I find goodies, but can’t fret about what I missed.

As if my day wasn’t good enough already, we went to a wedding in Kansas City and stayed over night at the Savoy, where the wedding was held.

This place is a pure faded elegance. It has a run down neglected feel in many parts of it, like this entryway.

And these long, dark hallways make you think that you will meet up with those twin ghostie girls from the Shining around the corner. but around the corner, is- nothing. Empty halls with walls ripped out and doors bolted shut. Very little of the hotel is operational and in use.

The rooms are cozy, and furnished with antiques.

I’d say the bathroom fixtures are original.

It is all decorated in a bare bones way. I think they do the best with the budget they have and let the old architecture speak for itself. There is a lot of charm there, but it is a bit neglected and has the feeling of an old bouquet left in a vase to droop.

There was some fantastic wallpaper in the spooky halls.

And the lobby was pretty much original too.

Since they only have part of the hotel in use, the front desk becomes the bar and the lobby is where the wedding cake was set up.

The cake was delicious, a fudge marble swirl.

The entire front of the old building is stained glass, done by Frank Lloyd Wright himself.

Harry Truman and Harry Houdini used to be regulars here. And the place feels like you could walk up to either one of their ghosts at any time.

I actually had to buy a dress for the occasion. Didn’t care for that. But found this nice, stretchy black one at TJMaxx for $32. Not bad, it was comfy and I didn’t need a new bra or shoes, or have to wear panty hose! What more can you ask for in a dress? I did make a necklace to wear with it.

What the Savoy saved on in renovations, they spent on FOOD AND SERVICE. Oh my god, it was better than being on a cruise ship. We were catered to every second. Great staff, some of them have been there for over 25 years. Our water glasses and coffee cups stayed filled to the brim and we had 2 waiters fluttering about.

Starched white linens, heavy silver, great food. And coffee made just for them from the Roasterie (best coffee in KC), called "Savoy Blend". They give you a bag of it in your room! Along with a plate full of fresh cookies, and a gift bag of sample sizes of toothpastes, and toiletries and candy bars. All complementary.

These are the breakfast choices. Notice my husband chose boring old Bacon and Eggs?? What was he thinking?? I got the Lobster Bisque and Coquille Saint Jacques. and it was wonderful.

Breakfast is included in the room price of only $99.

Amazing. I’ve paid more than that to stay at a Holiday Inn Express.

If you are ever in Kansas City, you have to stay here, it is quite an experience, a one of a kind hotel.

And of course, if you are in KC, you have to promise to call me too. I’d meet you there for a cup of that coffee in the morning!

my Brother from another Mother, a Fairy Princess, and a purple haze

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), flowers, how to's, paintings, Sugarwings, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / June 18, 2007

I just found out that my tiara swap partner

http://www.123lavenderlollipoplane.blogspot.com/

and I have the same birthday, 5-5-58! Now I am curious to find out how close horoscopes actually are. I want to quiz her to see how Taurus-ey we match up.

I wrapped her tiara up like a birthday present with some sparkling tissue and a dangling purple crystal. And of course a flower, us May girls love flowers–"April showers bring May flowers". My mother always used to tell me that meant me, I was her May flower.

Barb’s address is 123 Lavender Lollipop Lane, so I made a tag for the package with a hand painted purple lollipop all glittered up and tied with a bow.

I like to mix collage work with hand painting. I am such a quick painter that it is actually faster for me to paint something than to dither through all the boxes and shelves of papers I collect to decide what to add next. But, then half the fun of doing any collage work is playing with all that gorgeous paper you collect!

And of course, the lollipop had to have a crown too.

I painted the lollipop on watercolor paper, cut it out and glued it to the tag that I had attached pretty scrapbook paper to (on sale at Michaels for 10 CENTS a sheet). Then, the crown was cut out of gold holographic mylar paper, that I glittered up and added crystals to.

I wrote the address directly onto the tag and screwed it up (I have notoriously bad handwriting). So I re-wrote it (more carefully this time, I do tend to scribble) onto a snip of matching scrapbook paper and glued it over the screwed up writing and outlined it in marker. Sometimes, messing up a project makes it better, I like the added layer of the striped paper on the tag.

Next, I glued a border of sparkling trim (used on the tiara) to the edges and tied a bunch of ribbons to the top. Then of course, the ribbons were in the way when I went to glue down paper to the back of the tag. I do get ahead of myself.

Sugarwings tried on the tiara before she went home after our Father’s Day Extravaganza Brunch.

I should make her a princess crown of her own. But she’d eat it.

More purple! A verbena started up between the bricks at my garden entry. Last year, I had planted some in the hanging baskets above the bricks.

Don’t those pavers look like they have been there forever? Actually, it is just simply bad installation. I did it myself and they are all settling in and sagging. I like that look, though.

I accomplished lots of yard work yesterday, was spreading mulch and trimming up. When I went to the garden center for a few bags of Cyprus, I found this table and chair set for 75% off.

And since my husband shared his big casino jackpot winnings, not only with his son and dad- but with me! I treated myself to something new. I usually just buy garage sale furniture, but couldn’t pass this set up. It was $79 for all three pieces. Not a bad deal for such a heavy, well made set, and its very Frenchy looking, isn’t it?

(and look- purple in this shot too)

Dads, Fish, Pop Pops, and Jackpots

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), paintings, Sugarwings, tributes, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / June 17, 2007

Happy Fathers Day!

My dad was an avid fisherman.

His favorite spot was at his brother’s place. He also loved trips to the lake with the guys or to Florida with his wife and another brother.

My friends and family often roll their eyes or tease me about how much scrap booking I do. But having these pages done is more than just a hobby or a project. I love to look back and reminisce about the pictures.

This photo might mean the most to me. I visited my Dad in Indiana a few months before he was diagnosed with cancer. I didn’t see him again until the night before he died. This is our last photo together.

Man, I am crying right now as I look at it.

Ok, then, happier things!

My art journal/scrap book is filled with pages of Sugarwings (here with her Pop Pop), of course. I add a quick page or two every week.

By not fussing over it, or spending too much time worrying about it being ‘just right’, I can keep the book up to date. I leave the journal sitting out, so it is easy to pick up and flip through at any time. And I do look through it a lot.

By now the book is too full to close, I think that by the time I fill it up, it will be shaped like a full circle!

My husband is every bit as smitten with the fairy grand baby as I am.

You can see that my pages can be quite simple. Only a background sheet, a photo and some stickers on this one. Its more about being able to get them glued down into a book where they can be enjoyed, and doing it quickly and efficiently so that I can do it for fun, not as a chore.

I hear people moaning about boxes or drawers full of photos that they can’t face. But I have discovered that only printing what you want to add to an album (isn’t digital great??) and adding them right away solves that issue of all the pictures building up and overtaking a closet!

For Father’s Day, my husband took his dad (in a wheel chair now), and my oldest son (Sugarwing’s dad couldn’t go, he has a toothache, poor guy) to the casino. Rich, (my husband) put $100 in a machine to play as a group, and they hit an $8,000 jackpot! And I am always telling you that I am lucky- maybe he is even luckier!!

So, he gave his dad half, then split the other half with our son, Ryan. (named after RYAN STREET in Lake Charles, LA— NOT Ryan’s HOPE!!! I had been living in Germany for 2 years before he was born and had never heard of the soap opera Ryan’s Hope, but apparently, thousands of other mothers had, because it is a very popular name for his age group). My sweet son promptly went out and bought his dad the best grill that he could find for Fathers Day. I think someone raised that boy right. Maybe it is the influence of his generous and kind father?

I know I usually try to show pretty things on my blog, but don’t you think Ryan counts??

This watercolor is one that I did of my dad’s father. I never knew him, but think I might have liked him. He was a park ranger as well as a farmer.

Sugarwings is lucky to be growing up with a grandfather that loves her so much, wish I had that in my life.

My mother’s dad and I were never close, but he was ill most of the time I knew him. She loved him immensely and talked about him often.

And wasn’t my great grandfather a hunk?

While I am honoring all the fathers and grandfathers in my life, I can’t forget the most cuddly one of them all, Bookie! He has fathered litter after litter of SEVEN little Dorkie babies at a time. He’s an old guy now and kind of smells, but he still has my heart.

whoops I did it again

a lapse of memory again, or am I just careless?, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers)

By Karla Nathan / June 16, 2007

I am feeling sheepish. I mixed up the name of the person who sent me the lovely card. I cannot be trusted to get names and sites right because I don’t have anything book marked in a readable manner. And did I mention I have no memory?

And this is a person I enjoy emailing and "talking" to, I just lost her in the shuffle. Hopefully she reads this sometimes and will let me know so I can show you HER site. Not that Sonias’s isn’t wonderful too, I hope you took a look and enjoyed it!

See how cute it is? I think the artist deserves credit and once again I feel bad for screwing up where I got what. (Yes I have done this before). I need to find a way to organize all these blogs I look at, so they are easier to keep straight. I can’t keep everyone straight.

By the way, I am every bit as bad in person, I never remember names and half the time don’t even bother to listen to a name when I am introduced to someone at a party because I know I’ll forget it. I call people ‘bud’, ‘dear’, ‘honey’, or even ‘buster’ until I can get them memorized. Everyonce in a while I do call someone ‘snickerdoodle’. Probably shouldn’t.

Later– I figured it out!!!!! All on my own, before Cheryl even had to write to me about it. I am not as bad as I thought I was. Well, maybe I am. Geez, I feel bad about doing that. But anyway, the card maker is Cheryl Sims!!!! http://www.cheryl-weightymatters.blogspot.com/

(By the way, I can’t take credit for being smart and figuring it out, she signed the back)

Bargain Flowers, Rosey Lamps, and Lurking Fairies

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), fairies, flowers, how to's, paintings

By Karla Nathan / June 6, 2007

More flowers from the $1.99 clearance bundles! I bought these two days ago, and they still look fresh and pretty. I think I’ll get the better part of a week out of them, what a deal.

These are in the guest bathroom, ready for company. And I even made time to clean the shower after all!

I placed the large bunch in a jug I made YEARS ago at one of those paint it yourself ceramic places. Probably 25 years ago?? Maybe I can call it vintage??? The little kitty planter is definitely vintage, and just big enough for 2 rose buds.

Bookie, my dorkie, is on the wall in a frame my friend made. She thought he was so cute, he was her picture that she displayed in the frames to sell them! I loved it that way, just as she had them on display and kept her photo in it.

One last bouquet of pink roses by the door in my kitchen. I certainly feel like I got my money’s worth from the clearance flowers. There are vases with fresh blossoms in every room of the house now.

Tonight, I made a lampshade to fit this light in the guest room. Actually, I didn’t make it, I embellished it. A plain white shade came with this shiny brass lamp.

I primed and painted the lamp sagey-pale green and wired a sparkly bird to the base.

Then, I took pads of distress ink in pink and ‘old paper’ and rubbed the white shade down to age it a bit and take the bite out of the glaring white.

Next, I painted teeny roses in soft pink with minty green leaves scattered around the shade. All were simply done, the roses are barely a twist of the brush, one color, no detail. Almost like drawing a cinnamon roll. but pink.

After using a hair dryer on the paint, I coated the entire shade with clear acrylic top coat, and sprinkled sheer glitter all over it. Then dried it with the hair dryer again, and glued white fringe to the bottom and beaded fringe to the top with "The Ultimate" my favorite glue.

Hot glue would have been easier, but I always burn my fingers with it. So I used clamps to hold the fringe down as it dried and saved the skin of my finger tips.

The lamp is in place upstairs in Sugarwing’s room. I have it behind a big comfy chair perfect for us to cuddle up in and read together.

Her story books are in an old doll house that I found at a garage sale and painted white. It opens from the top instead of the back like most doll houses. I placed a pot of colorful silk flowers in the back and keep Sugarwing’s books in the front.

Next to our cozy reading chair, we have a bigger doll house to fix up together as my fairy grand baby grows older and wants to work on it with me. Right now, it is merely painted a blush pink with a green roof. I have fairies peeking out of the door and windows watching and waiting for Sugarwings be big enough to come and play.

My guests will be arriving soon, they are driving in from Indiana where we all grew up together. This weekend will be like the slumber parties we used to have through Jr high and High School! Except with alcohol. Well, I hate to admit it, but there might have been some of that in high school too.

Sisters Junking Day in Indy and MORE $1.99 roses!

antiques/junking, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), fairies, flowers, Travel, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / May 29, 2007

What’s one good thing about being back a day early from vacation? Being at the local grocery store for the Monday markdowns on flowers! $1.99 bundles of roses are almost enough to come home early for. (But I also got a day with Sugarwings!)

I bought the roses in a lavender pink color, and got a $1.99 bundle of snap dragons to match. Then it just so happened that the color of the flowers looked so beautiful with the mail I happened to be opening- look at my presents!! I received a bundle of pretty cards and papers from Vickie at Stampin’ Up and a dainty little rose scented candle that came all the way from Norway and http://brittarnhildshouseinthewoods.typepad.com/brittarnhilds_house_in_th/. She gave the candle as a prize for her Caring Bloggers Rose Day and I was lucky enough to win it. But, I think I have mentioned before that I am a lucky person. Thanks to you both for the pretties!!

Here is a pile of the loot I found on my Sisters Junking Day in Indy.

Southport Antique Mall was HUGE, it had wings, upstairs, downstairs, back alleys, hidden rooms, and felt like a maze that went on forever. Why aren’t all antique malls built that way????

I accidentally left with the clothespin that was used to mark my pile of purchases. It said "Carolina" on it, and I had just been in N. Carolina a couple days ago, seemed fitting. My niece was given a clothes pin that said Loo Loo, but she insisted it was 007 007. Bobbie Sue had one that was just a number 3, so I asked if they would trade it in for a pretty name. She got "Peace" in place of #3, much better!

A favorite find was the cute jar with the pink lid, that was full of rhinestone buttons for $6.

I found 2 of these albums, for $12 each. Both in decent shape, but one a bit better than the other. I will probably make one into an art journal and use the 2nd for parts.

The dish with pink flowers is actually tin! very pretty. I also got a big bundle of china flowers for $12. I never really like the plastic stems on these things, and often just use the buds in mosaics. Not sure what this bunch will be yet.

We had a mini shopping trip the day before, a stop at Goodwill and a spin through TJMaxx. I found new towels at the Maxx, Sissy found the new sheets and the chocolate bars wrapped in pretty papers, as well as the 3 sisters mug.

She found the blue skirt with pink roses (a Ralph Lauren) at the Goodwill along with the pink basket. I got the soap dish at the thrift and plan on painting it ivory to use in my kitchen to hold the sponge by the sink.

I’m jealous about the basket Sissy bought, it was just the right size to fit 3 Dorkies in. I loved the skirt too, but my sis is about a size minus zero and that skirt would have ripped in half just holding it up to my hips.

Tonight I started working on my vacation scrapbook. (Walgreens has a special now for 15 cent prints by email, ready in an hour). I thought I’d turn some little nieces into fairies, this first one is Hannah. I was lucky enough to be in Indiana while she was having her nursery school graduation and got to attend. Hannah and her friends sang and danced for the crowd and it was so cute, I laughed till I cried.

Her cousin, Mikaela is a couple years older and loves pink and princesses and fairies. She makes an elegant little flying sprite. Their grandparent’s last name is Valentine, so I added some hearts in the pictures.

Home again Home again, Jiggitty Jog- I ate too much on vacation and now I’m a fat hog

Chandeliers, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), fairies, flowers, paintings, Travel

By Karla Nathan / May 28, 2007

It feels so good to be back in Kansas!! The trip was great, but of course, when you live here, there is no place like home!

Twinkle was worn out by the end of the trip, so many new toes to nibble and new yards to explore.

I’ll miss having my morning coffee on Sissy’s porch. She has such unique features in her garden. The morning sun sparkled through the crystals she draped over this candle holder hanging by the deck.

This white flower at the corner of the deck would open up wide every morning, then close throughout the middle of the day. It would reopen in the evenings while we were outside sipping our wine. Does anyone know what kind of flower it might be??? She says it just came up, she didn’t plant it, but that if it is a weed, she doesn’t care.

Last time I visited her, I brought one of my "Magic Mirrors". It is an old frame (whitewashed) that held a curved glass. I had a mirror cut and placed under the glass for a magical effect.

Reflected is one of her many angel collections on top of an antique wardrobe. You can also see a fairy watercolor I did for her a few years ago.

Here is a close up of the watercolor. I guess it would be more accurate to call it a mixed media piece, I used a shimmering, white metallic acrylic paint to make the fairies glow and there is glitter sprinkled over the page too.

My sister also had a copy of a watercolor I did of the barn my grandparents owned.

I am always flattered when I go to visit and see my work hanging on the walls of relatives. It is nice to know they have enjoyed the gifts. (unless they only hang them while I am visiting, and take them down as soon as I leave??)

This monochromatic watercolor is hanging in my brother-in-law’s home up in the North Carolina hills. It is a painting I did of the home his dad grew up in.

And at my sister-in-law’s home on the river in Tennessee, she had this yellow iris hanging in her kitchen. Both of these were done so many years ago, I had completely forgotten them.

My sister-in-law, Sandy has a fantastic home too! She lives out in the middle of nowhere, in a home nestled into a valley. It is built on the river and has a wrap around porch where we spent much of our time.

I could have sat and watched the river from her porch all week. But we did take time to eat loads of fresh veggies right from their garden, go into town to antique, visit a local winery and do some mega wine tasting, visit a Mennonite farmer’s market, and then race around on their 4 wheeler through the woods.

Sparkle enjoyed the view off the deck too, but didn’t care for the 4 wheeler.

The town that Sandy lived in was full of cute shops, but I just didn’t have much luck in shopping that day. Some days are good for shopping, others are made for just going "feeling" (as my mother used to call it when she went shopping but didn’t buy anything.)

Sandy has a doll collection that her son has always hated, he says that they ‘freak him out’. She was kind enough to start to pack them up before he arrived for the weekend from Charlotte where he is starting a new job.

I told her she couldn’t pack them up, he’s a grown man and if he was scared of dolls, then that was just a good excuse for us to mess with him. I arranged all the dolls on top of the cabinet and had them staring down at his bed in the guest room. That wasn’t quite enough, so I gave them some knives. One doll was hidden under the pillows of the bed, and another stared up from underneath the bed on the floor. He was properly freaked, I think. And Sandy and I giggled like little girls.

The entire trip was fun. In N. Carolina we hiked in the Grandfather Mountain area. Notice how far back I am with my camera taking this shot? That is as close as I ever get to the edge of anything up that high! I hate heights. I was comfortable back on the trail looking out through the trees at the view, but wouldn’t venture out any closer.

My brother-in-law has a house he built himself up on a mountainside. It was a house full of happy kids, animals, and laughter. Our time there was rustic and beautiful and full of life.

I can’t imagine a better trip. It was like a sampling of 3 different styles of B&Bs. First, Sandy’s river side ranch in the valley with its grand porches. Then, Mark’s cabin up on the mountain with its rustic charm. After that was Sissy’s magical cottage full of glitter and flowers. But best of all, was that these weren’t really B&Bs, but family homes full of our loved ones. It was a special treat to be able to go and stay with all of them.

But as wonderful as it all was, we had to cut the trip short a day to get home and see Sugarwings. We missed her too much.

There is just no place like home. Especially when you have a tiny little fairy girl waiting there for you!

And The Winner Is……..

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), flowers, Food and Drink, give away, Travel

By Karla Nathan / May 27, 2007

Just a quick note to announce the Cottage Charm Giveaway WINNER– I’ve been busy smooshing as much as I can into my last day of vacation, and here it is almost midnight and I want to get the winner named before the next day begins. So, congratulations to:

Niki at http://nostalgiaatthestonehouse.blogspot.com/

Thank you everyone for all the kind comments and for entering. I promise to have many more give aways, these have been a lot of fun for me, and I make a lot of crap (I mean arty stuff) so will always have something to give as a present!! So keep checking back, I’ll start another contest soon.

Today is the last day of my trip, tomorrow will be spent in the car all day. Hopefully, not too much of it will be spent stuck in Indy 500 traffic as we try to leave this town….. My day started with a special brunch by Sissy.

Fresh fruit salad, homemade bread, cherry jam that I bought in the mountains, vanilla yogurt, and wait, what is in the chickie?

A boiled egg!

We’ll all miss staying at Sis’s enchanted cottage. Sparkle and the other dorkies were treated like treasured family members and were spoiled rotten. But, that is how every guest is treated here.

(Even though Twinkle pooped on Sis’s rug and it had to be taken outside to be washed. That is why it is on the ground behind Sparkle)

Well, I’m off to pack, then get a bit of sleep before we fight the race crowd traffic tomorrow and head home!

Last Chance to enter the Drawing, Peacocks, and Petunias

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), give away, Travel

By Karla Nathan / May 26, 2007

Twinks is enjoying her vacation too, and has been playing with her Aunt Sissy’s petunias.

We’re off to a big old antique mall south of Indy to shop. Hopefully, I’ll have photos when I get back.

In the meantime, I wanted to remind everyone that it is not too late to enter the COTTAGE CHARM GIVEAWAY.

I will pick a winner tonight after I bask in the glory of playing all the treasures I find on my junking day today. My sis is going to help with the drawing tonight, so keep entering, you have the rest of the day to EMAIL OR LEAVE A COMMENT to win.

One more photo from Sissy’s magical cottage. Here is a table with a blue mirrored top that I painted and gave to her. On it, sits a Goodwill vase and Capademonte angels she also scoured from Goodwill.

Our Grandma did the needlepoint peacock picture in the back, and the peacock feathers in the vase were from Percy, my pet peacock.

I know, I know, I already said, One More Picture- but while I was talking about peacock, I had to show you what we found yesterday, so here is another One More Picture.

Sis bought this pretty peacock purse at Goodwill yesterday, along with the etched wine glass. (yes, I know it is a clutch, not a purse, but I was in the mood for alliteration). The purple perfume is vanilla violet, and I splurged on that for myself at Sephora. My sisters, niece and I were all spritzed in multiple vanilla scents and I tried on every single color of eye shadow in the store. One was accidentally a lip gloss, so my eyelids got a bit goopy.

Underneath the peacock purse is a gaudy, frilly, bathing suit with sequins that I found at TJMaxx for myself. It was supposed to have a skirt, but that was missing, so they sold it to me for less. And I will keep a pair of shorts over my big butt the whole time unless I am under water any way. The skirt wouldn’t have covered enough, so I was happy with the discount and leaving the skirt behind, where ever it is lurking at TJMax.

On the Road

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), give away, Travel

By Karla Nathan / May 17, 2007

We’re leaving on our trip, driving from KS to North Carolina with a stop in Tennessee on the way there and Indiana on the way back. Family visits, hiking, rafting and junking are what we have planned (well, my husband didn’t hear about the junking part yet!).

My bags are packed and I am ready to go. Now, if I could just get Twinkle to throw her toys in the bag, we’re set.

I will try to check email from the road, so go ahead and keep entering for the Cottage Charm giveaway! Here is the charm that will be the gift from me. If you have trouble leaving a comment, just Email me, and that will count too. I don’t know why it can be hard to comment sometimes.

I have to extend the deadline for my part of the contest, I am afraid. More chances to enter!! I will be back Memorial Day. See you then, and please don’t forget about me, I’ll be back soon and posting ridiculously long and meandering things like I usually do.