Travel – Page 24 – Karla's Cottage

Well, some is better than none, right?

collections, the Boutique at Karla's Cottage, Travel, vintage paper/collage art, wallpaper

By Karla Nathan / March 15, 2011

There were lots of good intentions of getting a ton of wallpaper cut…. but it just didn't happen. But what I did get cut is as pretty as can be.

Sometimes I just have to admit that there is only so much time in a day. Yesterday, Sugarwings and Pixie Pie came to play and I had to chose between getting my work done or being a grammy. I think you know what won!

Oh well, its not like the paper will spoil. I can cut more later when I am not pressed for time.

While I was working, it seemed like I had really cut up a lot, but once it was all ironed and packaged, it was much less than I thought it would be. I guess because I cut such big pieces this time, a hefty 14 x 17".

A lot of people were asking me for larger pieces, and I wanted to do a variety of sizes, but well, I've already mentioned that I was distracted by something shiny- two little sparkly fairies!

For now, I have about a dozen or so packs listed in the Boutique. And I have hopes of making up more packs when I get back from my trip to Moulin Rouge.

All purchases from the Boutique and from Etsy will be shipped a couple of days after I get back. Thanks for being patient!

There is also some other new stuff listed for sale, like this banner made of vintage gift wrap and old game cards (from my friend, Mary)

While I didn't get as much wallpaper packed up as I wanted to, I made up for it by cutting up what felt like a million or so pieces of old gift wrap. While I had it out, getting it ready to sell, I just had to make a few things with it too.

Like this mini notebook.

Its pretty stuff, isn't it?

I'll leave you with some more photos of what is new in the shops. And please check back, even though I'll be away, I'll have some new posts for you.

Now, I'm off to pack for Moulin Rouge. I'm not quite sure what to bring. I think I'd look more than a bit ridiculous as a can can girl. More of a can't can't old lady.

Oh well, I'll throw on one of Sugarwing's feather boas from her dress up pile and go kick my legs up any way. This is one old grammy who doesn't care about looking ridiculous!

At Disney

family, Sugarwings, Travel

By Karla Nathan / January 24, 2011

So much has happened since the new year, that I haven't had a chance to show you our Disney pictures. You didn't think you were going to escape a doting grammie's photos of her baby on vacation did you?

Sugarwings was thrilled to meet some of her favorites, Mirry Pippins (as she calls her) was way up on the top of her list of great movies, so this was a real treat for her.

And of course any one who wants to hear "Alice in Wonderland" read to her over and over can't miss meeting the White Rabbit. We were walking through the park as he was making his way to the spot set up for him to meet kids and when she spied him, she took off following him just like Alice did. Luckily, there were no big holes for her to fall into.

This was a moment when we could have used Mary Poppin's nanny skills, because Sugarwings saw no reason to stand in a line to give this rabbit a hug. She was determined to get right to him.

One character that she really wanted to meet, was not there. But it looks like there are plans for a Little Mermaid attraction to be built soon. And Ariel was featured in a 3D movie that we saw multilple times. At each showing, Sugarwings had to call out, "Hi Ariel!!!!!"

We got to the park early and it wasn't too crowded yet. It was nice to explore a bit and let our fairy princess run about. Once the place filled up, we had to keep her close. She likes to run, though, so we found a playground in Toon Town for her to play in for a while.

She made a few friends there, mostly boys. She was wearing her dress over her head part of the time and asking boys if they would marry her. I think she thought the filmy net of her skirt felt like a bridal veil.

I hope this isn't how she plans on meeting her prince charming someday…

We ended up carrying her through most of the park. She spent a lot of the day on her Pop Pop's shoulders. I took a few turns of holding her too. It made me not feel as bad about missing time at the gym to haul her 30 pounds around for a few hours.

Plus, I love any excuse to cuddle her.

We only spent one day at the Magic Kingdom, and two nights at the hotel. I think that if we go again, we'll take a bit more time to explore. Saying goodbye wasn't easy for me. I had waaaaayyy too much fun!

An odd trip to Nebraska

family, Travel

By Karla Nathan / January 23, 2011

What a relief to be home. And to a clean house. I took time before we left to spic and span up the joint and de-christmas it. There is nothing nicer than coming home from a rough trip to a welcoming, cleaned up house filled with little dogs happy to see you.

Not only did I de-christmas it all, I rearranged all the funeral flowers too. Kind hearted friends had sent a couple of dozen floral baskets to the funeral and all of them got delivered to my house afterward. So, we distributed them between family and the local nursing home (where Ardell used to live until he met and married his wife who worked there-a long, odd story that you probably don't want to hear).

I don't know about you, but if I lived in a nursing home, I'd be depressed when a truckload of flowers left over from a funeral got delivered. Just a reminder that time is short in those places. Kind of a poke saying
"another one bites the dust".

Or maybe they just enjoy having pretty flowers around and don't think about it like that.

I know that I am enjoying the freshly rearranged flowers. I prefer a less formal look, and took all of the stems out of the baskets, trimmed up the ends and plopped the posies into vases and pots to sit all around the house. Many of the flowers had gone brown, and lots had been given away, but I still ended up with at least one vaseful in each room, the dining room and kitchen each got 3 or 4.

Some people had sent baskets of growing plants too. Those all got re-potted. I also rearranged all the furniture in the living room, but am not thrilled with the new look…. It might need a tweaking now that I am back home and have more time.

Our trip was certainly memorable.

We had my father-in-law's coffin loaded into my brother-in-law's truck. Then, a caravan of us followed the body up highway 75 to Nebraska where Ardell wanted to be put to rest next to his parents.

Seemed simple. And his widow wasn't left with a lot of money, so driving the body ourselves was going to save the cost of having it transported.

But not all goes according to plans, does it?

We stopped along the road after my BIL pulled over, thinking he just needed to stretch his legs, only to find out that his truck was as dead as the passenger it was carrying. had broken down.

We were in the middle of nowhere, on back roads with no cell phone reception, so it was lucky that we had kept together. We were able to pull them with our own truck. We were also lucky that the next small town we came to had a Chevy dealership.

The day was snowy and freezing cold, one of those below zero Nebraska days where the wind whips across the corn fields and right into your bones. So, I'm glad no one had to walk, and that we didn't have to pull them far. It could have been much worse.

There was talk of loading the coffin into the back of our truck and leaving the broken down truck behind to be repaired and picked up the next day, but the garage promised it to us by that afternoon, so we stuck around and killed time while waiting.

The first store we went in had a sign that said " Antiques" but I found out that was an old sign that the new owner hadn't taken down yet. She said the town used to be ALL antique shops. Used to be. Now there were none.

We did find a thrift shop where everything was 88 cents. Everything! And with plenty of time, you could really dig through the stuff, not just glance over it and leave. Its easy to overlook some nice things at thrift stores if you don't really take your time to look through it.

I got some shirts, and we found Pixie Pie some books, plus spent some time sitting on the floor of the shop reading them to her. Sugarwings wasn't along on the trip, which turned out to be a good thing, she isn't as patient as her cousin is.

The guys played cards, we explored the town, we had some lunch, and we laughed a lot. The situation was feeling pretty absurd to us. But all worked out well, and we were back on the road in about 4 hours.

Ardell was safely delivered to the funeral home, and had a nice send off the next day in Madison on what had to be the coldest day I've ever vountarily went outside in. Arctic and icy, but the Nebraskans didn't seem to notice. I figured that if little kids and a 90 year old aunt could take the wind chill to be there for the short, graveside service, I should buck up and not complain.

It was an interesting stay in Norfolk. Did you know that hotel rooms start at about $38 a night there? And that you can take a dozen people out to dinner for only $120??? That included appetizers, wine, beer, and ribeye steaks too. (we ate at the Grainery Family Diner) If you ever need a getaway, to somewhere friendly, affordable, and with beautiful snowy scenery, I sure recomend seeing Nebraska. Personal service every where you go too. Everyone we met seemed like a next door neighbor ready to lend a hand or advice or a smile.

But I don't reccommend touring the countryside with a cargo load like ours. Leave the dead relatives at home if you decide to go.

Fairy Friends

Travel

By Karla Nathan / January 8, 2011

Sugarwings is still talking about her visit with Vivvie. When I told her that we were going to see some of my friends and one of them had a little girl who liked fairies, Sugarwings said, "I'm a fairy!"

She was sure that Vivvie would like her, and she was right. They hit it off right away and were immediately busy sharing markers and drawing fairy pictures together.

We met up with Jenn and Suzanne for lunch at Country Club of the South in Atlanta.

One of the many joys of blogging is making friends from one end of the earth to the other. People that I never would have ever met if not for blogs, but that I have so much in common with and who I enjoy tremendously.

And these two belles are a good example of why I love blogland. Not only are they interesting to read, and very talented, each has become a true friend in real life.

Remember the New Years crowns that I made? They were for the two fairy friends to wear for lunch. But in making them, I didn't take into consideration just how dainty thier little heads were and the star I glued to the front was too big for the crown to bend around their heads right.

Sweet little Southern Belle, Vivvie gave it a polite try anyway and modelled for us. Sugarwings just said NO. Maybe Jenn can reuse the tidbits I glued onto the crown to make something else for her little girl. Or she can just soak the glue off the bunny plate and use it for tea parties.

Sometimes a quickie project goes well, other times it just doesn't. This one was something I was happy with. A quickie thank you card for the Gunkles.

I snuck into Randy's studio and made use of his supplies to draw a bird and nest onto two sided scrap book paper to make the card.

I had planned ot leave it on his desk to surprise him next time he sat down to create. But both guys work such long hours, it could have been a while before he had a chance to place in the workroom. I sat it in the kitchen instead. I wanted to be sure they knew I appreciated their hospitality, we enjoyed our stay there so much.

And also, thank you for all the shopping in my Boutique! I'm glad to clear out before my redo. The shop will be closing soon while I have the marvelous HOPE redo it for me into an easier format to shop from.

Don't forget, the sale in the Boutique has been extended. 40% for a while longer! Make sure you use THIS LINK to get to the store for the discount.

At the Gunkles/ 40% off in the Boutique/ and a May Day announcement

celebrations, family, Food and Drink, holiday decor, Sugarwings, Travel

By Karla Nathan / January 7, 2011

Any trip we make to Florida has to include a visit to the Gunkles. (Gay Uncles) They have a home filled with magical decor, vintage treasures, sweet puppies, and lots of love.

Plus great food and laughter!

The guys are such good cooks, we never take them out to dinner as a thanks for having us stay with them. Instead we get fresh seafood for them to fix for us. This time lobster! Last time we were there, we had lobster tail on the grill with some fish too. When Sugarwings saw it cooking, she asked what the fish was and Gunkle Kevin told her it was flounder. So, she looked at the lobster tail and asked if that was Ariel.

Gunkle Randy sets up elegant dining in the back garden. This year, they'd had a freeze and told us that it looked awful. To me, they were wrong, any time there is something blooming and some green left in January, its quite beautiful to me! Plus the layout and design of the yard is so interesting and full of little surprises stashed amidst the plants. Its always a treat to sit out in the gunkle's garden.

Even better when there is a big plate of fresh seafood in front of me.

He makes a mean mac and cheese too. With chopped peppers, onions, white wine and dijon.

This little guy didn't care for Sugarwings, but the other dogs cuddled up to her. Bella, the Bichon especially took a liking to her.

So much so, that the two girls decided to draw with markers on each other's heads. Well, at least that was Sugarwing's story. That Bella drew on her head too. They both did it to each other.

We'd brought WASHABLE markers that were supposed to be invisible unless used on the special Color Wonder paper that came with them, but the Crayola company needs to change the label to say that the colors will show up on dog fur too. And that they don't wash out. At least not all the way.

Just ask Yella Bella.

Ollie managed to avoid any of the marker play. He's not a puppy like Bella, he was interested but kept his distance while the two girls drew on each other.

One of the best things about the garden was the fruit trees.

Nothing tastes better than fresh orange juice and lemon-aide that you get to make yourself.

I ate way too much good stuff while staying there. After the holiday treats and the vacation food, I'm afraid to wash my jeans. You know, how you wear them a couple days and they stretch out to fit nice and comfy, but if you wash them, they shrink up and become way, way too tight? It might be a while before I can wash mine again, if I want them to zip.

Christmas goodies were everywhere we went on the trip. And decorations were still up all over. I was so glad that Randy and Kevin still had theirs up, they have such a flair with decorating, and their house is so festive.

Its extra special to get to be at a family member's home while it is all decked for the season.

Although, I am sick of my own holiday foof and ready to see it go, I loved being at my bro's home and seeing his.

When I got home from the trip, I walked into a house still overflowing with not only my Christmas decor, but the holiday mess from opening gifts and having lots of company. I didn't have a chance to clean before I left, and it was a shock to come home to such clutter after staying at Randy and Kevin's perfectly clean and decorated house.

(all of these photos are from their lovely home)

Not only was my house messy, it was dusty and just felt deserted. I vowed to never go out of town and leave a dirty house behind again. Its worth the extra effort to pick up and spiff a bit before leaving. The end of a vacation is sad enough without being depressed about coming back to an unwelcoming house.

And it hasn't helped that my furnace bit the dust while I was gone. The house was freezing cold too. There is a repairman here now, and I've got my fingers crossed that its a simple repair and that we'll have some heat soon.

Luckily, the studio has a separate furnace, so I'm staying out here till the main part of the house warms up. Its a good excuse to avoid cleaning it or taking down the Christmas decorations too. I'm not ready to face all of that yet.

So,I'm hanign out in the warm and toasty studio and I'm slowly but surely packing up all the purchases made during my BIG clearance sale. Thanks so much for shopping with me!

I'm going to extend the sale for a few more days. If you want anything for 40% off in the Boutique, please use this link to go there to shop.

There are big plans for redoing my Boutique and the less I have in it, the easier it will be to redo. I'll be making new labels and categories, so will be starting from scratch.

I'm also working on setting up the sale site for my "Bird Song" art gathering on May Day weekend. I've had lots of inquiries and promise to have the sign ups ready soon. Sadly, we've lost Dawn of the Feathered Nest, she had to drop out as a teacher.

But, the timing was good for asking my friend, Debbie Dusenberry to join in her place. Her fabulous store, Curious Sofa, is closing this weekend, and she will be branching out into different ventures (and you can still shop online with her). I'm so thrilled that she agreed to do a class at my workshop!!!!

Things are really hectic for her at the moment, so I told her not to worry about photos of her project yet, just a YES was all I needed from her. I have a feeling that anyone who signs up for the classes will agree with me. We'll all be happy to learn from her, no matter what she teaches!

Thanks for all of your interest. Its going to be the BEST, with Lisa and Carol as teachers too, I'm feeling pumped about the weekend!! Plus, Beth and Mary Green will be setting up vintage goodies for sale.

As soon as I get project ideas settled and menus priced, I'll open it up for enrollment.

Hiccups, glitches, and bumps in the road on the way

family, Sugarwings, Travel

By Karla Nathan / January 6, 2011

We're back! What a trip. Not everything went as planned, but all was good. Sometimes you just have to roll with it and let it all turn out which every topsy turvey way it will.

No matter how carefully you plan the details, life happens and changes develop. There is no use pouting or being sad. Instead we looked for the good parts and made the most of them.

On the first leg of our journey, our free hotel room disappeared and we had to stay elsewhere. We found a room nearby at a good price, and it was fine, just not the freebie, 4 bedroom guest house at the ritzy country club we thought we'd have. But the friends we met up with and the fun we had made up for any inconveniences along the way.

Then, in Hilton Head, where these shots were taken, our ocean view room disappeared too. We stayed at a great resort and were able to get a half price room, but we had a roof top view instead. Our plans of tucking the fairy in early and toasting the New Year while sitting on the patio,sipping wine, and watching the ocean didn't happen.

But Sugarwing's comment about the ugly view of hotel roof tops and parking lots as far as the eye could see- "Why would anyone do this to our world??" was so funny and heartfelt that it will be 1,000,000 times more memorable than any glimpse of the ocean that we could have had.

And the hotel was still on the beach. The weather was chilly, but that didn't stop Sugarwings from running headlong right to the waves as soon as she saw the water.

If we'd stayed in a room facing the water instead, I might have missed that awed look on her face as she walked over the hill toward the beach and saw the Atlantic waiting for her.

While the weather wasn't perfect, it was plenty good for a Kansan, and good enough for me to decide that there is no place better to be on New Years Day than a misty beach with my fairy grand baby!

I think this little sprite agreed with me.

We'd packed a portable DVD player and a stack of movies for her to watch during the driving parts of the trip, and it stopped working as soon as we turned it on. So, I pulled out my magic phone, looked up children's DVD players online, and then found the closest place was to buy one, and 15 minutes later, she was engrossed in the adventures of Pooh and Piglet, and we were only out $99.

Which, if you've ever travelled with a 4 year old drama princess, you will understand that is a small price to pay for her entertainment. And the sanity of the adults in the car.

Her only souvenir from Disney World was a balloon, she isn't a child who demands anything or needs to shop. When we took her to the Disney store in our Orlando hotel, she ran straight to the coloring books and crayons set out for kids to play with and was content to make pictures. No thought at all about the merchandise around her.

And one of her favorite things at Disney was chasing bubbles in the dark.

I think she has her priorities straight in life. So, I don't think it hurts to spoil her a bit by treating her to a new pink princess DVD player.

My husband's vacation got cut short and at our Baltimore layover on the flight back, he rented a car to drive to VA to work. I flew the rest of the way with Sugarwings on my own and was so happy to have that "princess computer" as she called it. Although she was perfectly happy pretending that the seat belt was a snake and my fingers were baby snakes, I am old, tired and was ready for a break. The DVD player was much more important to me than to her.

Disney, and all of the rest of the trip was fun, but it was the little things that were the best about the trip. Laughing with family, visiting friends, watching the joy in Sugarwing's face as she fed the seagulls from this restaurant in St. Augustine.

Yep, feeding pigeons and seagulls meant as much or more to her than any ride at Disney. Here is a couple seconds long clip of her laughing at the birds. See what I mean? Kids know that its not what you spend, its what you do that counts.

We believe!

celebrations, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), family, holiday decor, Sugarwings, Travel

By Karla Nathan / December 29, 2010

Was Santa good to you too?

We had the best Christmas morning ever, even though it was a couple of days after Christmas….

Sugarwings and her mommy stayed all night after the big family dinner on Sunday, and Santa came to see us that night. Apparently, he came by my house on Christmas Eve, but Sugarwings was not here, so he came back another day.

Kids are happy with any story that you tell them, as long as it ends in them getting presents.

He brought her a new art table, and lots of supplies. Plus, the little girl who sang "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" a few hundred times a day, got the game, Hungry Hungry Hippos.

I had it when I was a kid, and it is every bit as much fun now as it was then. We sat on the floor and played it for quite a while before even opening the other gifts. She was so sweet and cute with her presents. Just one would have been plenty for her. She was happy to sit and play with the first thing she opened and seemed surprised that there was more.

I think she was more fascinated by Santa's empty cookie plate than by the gifts themselves.

She also got a fairydoll that lights up with a pretty rainbow glow. It will be just perfect to play with on the airplane when we go to DISNEY WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yep, that gift is for me. I get to take my Sugarwings to Disney. She is the perfect age to go, she is in her princess prime. She believes.

Her parents are very anti-commercialism, but love me and indulged my whim to take her there. They know that I love princesses and fairies as much as their little girl does.

We are staying at the park itself for two nights, and I can hardly wait. I've told Sugarwings that we are going, but she doesn't really get it. She does like the idea of taking an airplane trip with us. When I went to DC, she was heartbroken to be left behind. And being 4 years old, plus very dramatic, when she says her heart is broken, she MEANS it.

So, this time, we are cashing in the Southwest airline points and taking her along. One of the great things about SW Airlines is that you can fly into one city, rent a car, travel around and fly home from another city for no extra cost. So, we are hop scotching our way across the South.

We're going to Atlanta first to meet up with friends, then driving to Savanah for cupcakes on our way to stay at Hilton Head for a night. Then on to my baby brother and his husband's house in Jacksonville before our couple of nights in Orlando. Lots of driving time for a 4 year old, but she travels well with us.

Sugarwings is not a low key type kid, but when she gets one on one time, she is a joy to be around. Now, if I try to do something that doesn't involve her, things can get complicated.

We are meeting up with Jenn and her fairy Vivie. I'm hoping that our little Tasmanian Devil won't scare that sweet little Southern Belle away…. We are having lunch with them and with my pal Suzanne who lives in Atlanta too. And my husband has given up a round of golf to come along and help with Sugarwings so I can chat with my friends who I rarely see.

She is a wonderful, sweet, loving, caring child, but she can be a handful. There is just way too much personality to fit in that tiny little body of hers, so sometimes we have to do tag team child care with her. One person can't always manage alone in public. She has a way of going off into a land that only she can see and doesn't hear anything that is said to her.

Sugarwings and I are so close because I understand her and can find her when she goes off into her make believe world. But if I am distracted, she has trouble dealing with it. So, bringing my husband along will help.

A week is a long time to be away from my other babies, all the grand kids and the dorkies. I have a feeling I'll be homesick about half way through the trip. But then, we'll hit Disney World and that will get me over it!

Not only did I get a trip to Disney for Christmas, I also got this pretty pillow/wall hanging.

Beth made it for me. Look at the detail in the embroidery!

My oldest son gave me some candles, which is his standard gift. He keeps me supplied for every holiday and has it timed just right, so that I run out just as the next occasion arrives.

Mr. Zen, Sugarwing's Daddy, found me an old fashioned pop corn popper along with some organic coconut oil and local popcorn for it. I tried some of the corn he makes with his and have not had microwave popcorn once since then. YUM I was thrilled with his gift!

Yep, my family and friends know me well and spoiled me rotten. I know I say it a lot, but its true, I am very lucky!

My talented son, made wire wrapped charms for all the kids in the family, this one went to his brother RyGuy. There was a lot of hand made and heart felt gifting going on around here, the best kind of presents! I hope your Christmas was a jolly one too, with gifts from the heart and lots of family time.

Save room for dessert!

antiques/junking, Food and Drink, Travel

By Karla Nathan / October 5, 2010

The Dorothy tag books have kept me so busy that I almost forgot to show you one of the BEST parts of Roundtop- Royers!

This yellow brick road was right up my alley. And it leads to some great food.

On our first evening at the flea market, a food stand was pointed out to me and people mentioned eating there. Well, I'm not big on fast food, or fair food, and really wanted to sit down with a nice meal and some air conditioning and was glad when my friends agreed, that a cocktail and cool air was tempting. So we went to a steak house instead.

The next day, they wanted to eat at the food stand for lunch, even though the line was a mile long. I'm usually pretty easy going and can fit in with whatever plans everyone has, so I said sure. Thinking that I could always just eat a power bar if the food didn't look all that good.

But DANG! It was amazing. I had a grilled shrimp salad that was so good it could have been served in a fancy dancy restaurant with starched white tablecloths.

Now, I knew why everyone was raving about Royers. They had a shack set up in the midst of the flea market, as well as their main restaurant down town. So, the next day, we decided to try the main diner, and went early before it opened to put our names in. Good thing we did, when it opened, it filled. In a snap.

Its colorful, funky, funny, charming, and delicious. The second lunch was even better than my first. I had the same grilled shrimp, but this time on top of a tender hunk of salmon. With black eyed peas and fresh vegetables. Lunch wasn't cheap, but it was worth it, and the service was great. Happy, smiling people at both establishments.

I want to go back next spring just for another piece of their peach pie….

Gifts for me and gifts for you

antiques/junking, celebrations, Food and Drink, parties, Travel, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / October 1, 2010

As wonderful as the shopping was in Roundtop, the best part was the people. Of course. I just love meeting up with blog buddies, and finding out that they are even more fun in person than I expected.

Lisa and Jodie came with gifts too, that's always a big plus when your buddies are artists!!

And I got to meet the beautiful Elizabeth, who'd I'd heard so much about on her Mom's blog.

Sandy also brought her cute daughter, Jen, who I had wanted to meet. Sandy and I have shared stories and worries about our kids and hate it that we live so far apart. If we didn't, I'd be playing matchmaker for Ryan and Jen!

Lisa and I got into the theme of the night for Sweet T's party. We were supposed to come up with unique serving ideas made from junk.

I brought my crown "cloche" for a plate of crackers to go along with her doll head dip holder. The winner was a pair of mellons in a bra, but there were some great ideas. The lamp shade behind our dishes has a plate of treats on top of it, and there was also a chandelier with the votives filled full of strawberries.

And Yay! I got to meet Cindy. Who is not only talented, she has the prettiest complexion you'll ever see. If I ever get down to her Paper Cowgirls event some day, I'll have to drag her skin care secrets from her.

Sandy made these cheerful booties for my new grandbaby. Tonight we are going to the baby shower, so I'll be bringing them to the expectant mom, she will just love them!

And there were gift bags filled with treats from the French Cupboard. From all the gifties and treats, that everyone was giving out, I could have gotten by without doing any shopping at all. But….

Of course I shopped! At Cole's, Lisa found these French net curtain panels, but didn't get them. I scooped them right up as soon as she turned them down.

Heck 2 years ago, I didn't know what French net was, but now I can't get enough of it. I guess I'd always seen it and loved the look, just didn't know the name. Its a very delicate lace, with flowers over a fine netting.

That kind of lace can run really high, but I've been lucky. These were slightly damaged, but I didn't care. The four panels were $125, which is cheaper than buying lace panels at Target. And these are Victorian. Since they were made for some old, elegant, turn of the century mansion (well, at least that is where I've pictured them) they are LONG. Like 9 feet or so. I've just draped them over a tension rod and clipped them in place with a curtain hook.

There was a tent in the "fields" that had vintage linens in mounds on table tops, for great prices. They also had them for sale by the pound too.

I bought decorated scarves, some as gifts and a chiffony one in gray with rosebuds to use as a runner on my dining table. It was 5 bucks!

I found a few more odds and ends, as I unpack I'll take some photos. But the biggest bargain of them all was this basket of flowers.

I'm choosing two winners from the guesses, no one got it exactly right. There were 89 bundles of flowers, and Sue guessed 88.

But if I count the individual blooms, there were over 250!! Cheryl guessed 135, that is the highest guess I got, so she'll get a corsage too.

Thanks for taking the time to guess. Its surprising to see just how many there were. I was shocked when I actually counted them out.

Wow, is it really October? I have to announce the winner of my September giveaway, one of the projects from Romantic Gothic Ghosts. The tutorial is still up and running, you have time to make some Orange-free, romantically inspired Halloween decor for your own home.

Or if you just want to win something to decorate with, leave a comment any time this month. I'll be giving away another one of my creations for October!

September's winner is: Elaine (Etta Rose)

The Hat Whisperer takes on Texas

antiques/junking, flowers, Travel

By Karla Nathan / September 29, 2010

Roundtop was even better than I had expected, the trip was just the best. Of course, with Jodie hauling us around, it had to be good. That girl knows everyone. And everyone just loves her. I can sure see why.

It was a fun group to be a part of. Beth and I had been wanting to meet Lisa for the longest time, and just knew that she'd be wonderful, and an instant buddy. And yep, she was!

This is Jodie, the Cajun Queen Bee, Lisa, Beth and I. Beth is doing everyone a favor and holding my eyes open because we all get tired of taking photo after photo with my eyes shut.

For some reason, I tend to ruin a LOT of pictures by closing my eyes as the shutter snaps-Beth, Anne, and Jodie both have photos posted of me with my eyes closed!!

We saw some great displays and over the top booths, and we didn't even get to stay for the Marburger show, which is legendary for its originality and showmanship.

One booth that I just fell in love with was Seed Box.

Their style seems so effortless.

Oh, and Miss Sweet T….. so much good stuff to dig through!

Anne of Fiona and Twig joined us for the afternoon, with her charmer of a husband.

Her darling Mr Twig, not only snapped photos of us all together, he watched our shopping carts as we puttered around. Plus entertained us with his sparkling conversation. That guy is a keeper.

Are you wondering why I chose to wear such an unflattering dress ?

(It would be pretty on someone young, tall, and thin, but on me- it looks like a cross between something that Bette Davis wore in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane and an old dress an escapee from a polygamist colony would wear)

I wore it because its made of a gauzy material that was so comfy and cool that I was able to survive the unbearable Texas heat.

The dress is 20 years old and I know I am too old to pull it off, and usually it is only worn during fairy dress up parties with Sugarwings.

But, it is so comfortable, I couldn't help myself.

Beth and I were warned we'd have sticker shock in Texas, just like we were before we went to California. But what I've learned in travelling and shopping around is that prices are unpredictable. They vary so much in booth to booth or mall to mall that it doesn't matter what state you are in, you can find sky high prices and bargains too.

Its all in the digging.

And in asking politely for the best price. These flowers and multi flowered corsages were all marked $5-8 each, which were some of the cheapest ones I'd seen in Texas. When I asked for a "volume price" she sold me the whole bunch for….oh, I'm embarrassed to say…. its such a good deal!

Okay, you drug it out of me.

FIFTY DOLLARS!!!!!!

That is a bargain in any state. I had been happy to find a couple floral hats under ten bucks to start with, but this? The mother lode!

Do I look as gleeful as I feel??????

(and yes, I see that my eyes are closed)

If you can guess how many flowers were in the basket, I'll give you one of the corsages.

Leave your guess on THIS post. I'll announce the winner on Friday, the person closest to the correct amount will win.

You can also win one of my Romantic Gothic Ghost creations by leaving a comment on any post, I'll draw that name on Friday too.

And don't forget that I have a sale in the Boutique. If you use the coupon code " Roundtop " you will get a 20% discount on all of your purchases. The sale ends Thursday.

Here is a clarification: I will count EACH FLOWER. Corsages will be multiple flowers, not count as one.

edit- contest OVER