Merry Christmas
family
I hope you are all having a wonderful holiday!
Our Romantic Surprise Getaway
Moving to DC, TravelMerry Christmas!
I have a new post, that for some reason, understood only by those people who "improved" Typepad…..any way, who knows why, but my NEW post from Tuesday popped up AFTER this post from Monday night. So, please scroll down if you'd like to see it. And Happy Holidays! May your Christmas be filled with joy and laughter and lots of happy memories to look back on.
We're back from our romantic, surprise getaway! And look at our rustic, cottagey accommodations!
Isn't it adorable??? Actually, this is called Jefferson Pools, it is a hot mineral spring bath house, named after Thomas Jefferson, who used to bathe there. It is part of the resort we stayed at, and I have to say, as lovely as the resort was, I just fell head over heals for this little part of it!
Of course, I didn't realize when the hotel shuttle dropped us off for our one hour dip in the hot springs, that it was going to be quite so… rustic. No heat. No frills. No ROOF. And the day was topping out at about 26 degrees. I'd do it again, it was a fun experience, but I'd do it on a warmer day! And I would bring something warm to wrap up in when I got out of the steamy water. There was actual ice on my sweat pants when I went to get dressed after my dip!!!!!!
This is the resort we stayed at. The Homestead, in Hot Springs, Virginia.
We were lucky enough to have a tower suite.
Of course, with that 26 degree weather, we didn't get to use the balcony, no matter how tempting that beautiful view from it was.
And look— the room was PINK!!!!!!
This little alcove was a cozy , warm, spot to relax and read while sipping wine. I didn't even miss the balcony.
There were lots of old fashioned details that I just loved about the place. I was glad that the bathroom had not been updated to something sleek and trendy. The building was over 200 years old and wasn't trying to pretend to be something it was not.
Everywhere I looked, there was something interesting to see.
With plenty of old photos of the hotel's past on all the walls.
Newspaper clippings and stories about all the presidents who had stayed there.
But the best part was High Tea served in the lobby every day at 3pm while we were serenaded with Christmas music on the piano. Those scones were served warm from the ovens, and the whole hotel smelled heavenly from all the fresh baked goodies.
Imagine my surprise to see so much pink everywhere. The combo of pink cushions, with celedon and aqua walls in this walk way to the spool, spa and gym area was one of my favorite places, too. I guess I had a lot of faves.
The walkway offered a view of the backside of the building, through its old, wavy glass windows.
The swimming pool was filled with natural mineral spring water too. In a slightly more luxurious form than at Jefferson Pools.
Yep, it was kind of schmancy there. Can you see why I was blown away?
She seems to like it there too.
Here is part of the grand lobby where the tea was served. This photo was taken before the party, but by about 2:30 each afternoon, the room would fill up with dozens and dozens of families and couples ready to relax and sip tea. Teams of waitresses and waiters with tray after tray of teapots and treats would file through the room going form table to table passing it all out. I'd go back just for afternoon tea. My husband wasn't as impressed as I was by this, but humored me and sat and sipped along.
He's pretty sweet.
But the poor guy never did get to make it out onto the golf courses. And this place has the oldest first tee still in constant use in the country.
Did I mention the food????? OMG
The BEST. Every bite I ate while there, and I did have more than my share of bites of food, was wonderful. It seemed kind of old fashioned and the menus reminded me of something you would have seen in the 50s or 60s, not in a typical restaurant today. I liked that, and the fact that the building wasn't afraid to show its age. That place had a history to be proud of and didn't feel like everything had to be brand new and shiny. As a person feeling my own age and history, I appreciated its imperfections brought on by age and its time worn loveliness.
In a time when local shopping centers and malls are constantly being abandoned for bigger, better, newer, shinier places, it is wonderful to see a business that has thrived since 1766 and is still going strong. As much as the luxury and beauty of the resort appealed to me, the historical aspect was even more interesting.
Oh, but I did enjoy the luxury!
OK little girl, let’s give someone else a turn!
celebrations, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), family, holiday decor, paintings, Sugarwings, vintage paper/collage art
We took Sugarwings to see Santa today and she wouldn't leave him alone. She sat there on his lap and waited for the Mermaid doll she asked for. Finally, she got down for the bribe of a candy cane, but then went back and got another candy cane to give to Santa. Then went back for another sit on his lap. Then for another hug. It looked like St. Nick was enjoying her visit, I think it might be nice for him to have someone with no fear come to hang out a while.
I think this little one loves Christmas as much as her Grammy does.
She stopped to speak to every single Santa she saw at the mall.
And she didn't think it would hurt to put in a word with the giant cow for that doll she wanted.
When I got back from my trip, there was a stack of packages waiting for me! One was from a sweet reader pal, Jean, who lives in Virginia.
Not only were there surprises for Sugarwings, she sent me some treats too, including a box of these white doves.
I've added the glass doves to the dining room chandelier along with other birdies and some snowflakes I have received this year. They might just all stay there a while after the holidays as more "winter decor" than Christmas decorations.
One of the snowflakes was from Tiffany, a Silver Bella pal. I'd ordered this cute little bottle of Christmas wishes from her shop, and she sent along lots of pretties, including this card. It brings back memories of a class we took together in Omaha, where she was helping me with using hot wax over parts of my project. I really like the way she has applied wax over the scene in the center of the card.
Previously, I had shown you some of my little paintings that I was making into cards. Here are a few (of the dozens) that I made while in the hotel room.
And in case you were feeling sorry for the poor dorkies, at home alone while I was out on a fabulous vacation, they had some fun while I was gone. Twinks was invited over to stay at the farm where her true love, Teddy lives. And the other two dogs were so happy to have Twinkle away and not bothering them, they felt like a queen and king with the whole house to themselves. (Twinks can be a little bossy)
I'm off to go work on my Christmas shopping. Typically, I am not a last minute shopper. When my kids were little, we used to love to go to the mall on Christmas Eve and eat lunch at the food court while we watched all the crazed last minute buying, and I'd bask in a warm glow from the knoweldge that my packages were wrapped and under the tree. Not this year!
I hope all of you are having a lovely holiday week. Merry Christmas to all of you from Sugarwings and I.
Itsy Bitsty Christmas Card paintings and a giveaway reminder
give away, holiday decor, Moving to DC, paintings, vintage paper/collage art
This may be a vacation, but it doesn't mean I can't get some work done!
My husband and I are in Virginia at our cozy little apartment, and while he is at work today, I've been doing some tiny paintings to make Christmas cards from. I guess our vacation hasn't officially started yet, it just kind of feels like it to me, since I am away from home and have been able to sit around in my jammies all day and do what ever I wanted to.
And what is it that I always want to do, when I have my choice of doing any thing at all? Create things, of course!
So, I have been painting away. I packed up enough supplies to make up holiday cards, as well as envelopes and even remembered the printed labels, to get them all into the mail. Today was spent making a couple dozen itsy bitsy pictures (the largest is about 4" tall), and tomorrow, from our hotel room in Richmond, I will make the cards. Hopefully, I will get them all finished by Saturday morning. That is when we leave for our romantic getaway.
And I have a feeling my husband wouldn't appreciate me ruining his surprise get away by cutting and gluing and glittering all weekend. (well, it sounds like fun to me, but I know it wouldn't to him!)
Don't forget that I have a surprise for you guys too. The December Giveaway Secret Gift!! I will be out of town for a few days,and maybe not near a computer after this- but you can still leave a comment to enter the drawing and have a chance to win.
Here is a hint of what the surprise is. Surprises are such a fun part of the season,aren't they?
If I don't "see" you again while I am out of town, I hope that you are all having a good time with your holiday preparations and are getting all glittery too!
Recycled photos
holiday decor, magazine pictures or articles, Moving to DC, vintage paper/collage art
Wasn't Heather's party a fun one? I am looking forward to having time to go through all the links and visit the holiday homes. I've only had a chance to look at a few, and was blown away by the ones I saw! Bloggers know how to do a holiday, that is for sure. There are some beautiful decorations out there and luckily we get to take a peek at them!
Thanks to everyone who came by my shop for my Blog Readers Appreciation Sale. I enjoyed wrapping up packages and getting them out to you all, I hope you enjoy your treats.
Have I ever mentioned Ashwell? My shabby chic colored cat? Actually, he lives in Ryan's apartment,and Ry thinks his name is Ash, from the hero of the Evil Dead trilogy. You might have noticed a few pictures of Dorkies and fairy grand babies around the cottage, but we have a whole menagerie here, lots of people, lots of pets. That makes the home even more special for the holidays.
My husband and I will be out of town for a few days, so I won't be mailing any purchases from my Etsy shop after Tuesday afternoon. Thanks so much for your support of my shop! I do appreciate you coming by to browse. I'll restock after the holidays and will also be opening a new on line store. (Details to come)
Since I have been packing up oodles of items to ship out today, and running last minute errands all over town to get ready for Christmas and my trip, I have NOTHING new to show you.
So here is some stuff from a few years ago. These photos are by the talented Bill Mathews and styled by the skilled Gloria Gale. (who have both given me permission to show photos we worked on together, don't ever show magainze photos on your blog, it is not legal without permission!!!) We did the shoot for Victorian Decorating magazine and they were done in the most elaborate and gorgeous Victorian house. We were lucky to have access to it for the day.
My job was to come up with easy decorating tips and ideas and then display them in the home and write how to's for the magazine.
This photo is of something I didn't do this year, but I really like it and might use it for my table scape during Christmas Eve dinner. I've taken the metal cap off the top of ornaments, filled them with water and used them as vases. To keep the balls from rolling around and the water spilling out, I used a bit of that clay like stuff that you can hold things together with. And of course, I forget what that is called.
The tip for these two pictures, is to use stickers on bottles or ornaments and add glitter over them. The previous pictures showed a garden planter as a buffet server, with glittered and painted terra cotta pots to hold silverware and napkins. I used this idea at a friend's's wedding reception and it was a nice touch.
Lets see, the other one is making place card holders from pictures of Victorian ladies and more stickers. I was on quite the sticker kick that year.
Here is a variation of an idea I also had published in Somerset Life, making a magnetic message board from an old ceiling tin.
This one is about as easy as it can get, punch holes in the top of old Christmas postcards and add a hanger made out of tinsel, and hang the cards on your mantel or tree.
Beth loaned me the birdcage full of ornaments, and that was going to be the picture, but we decided that we needed more, so asked the homeowners if we could borrow some mail, and tucked it in the cage to show it used as a display for Christmas cards. Sometimes, you aren't quite sure what the shots will be till you get into it and see what develops.
This is another quickie, last minute idea. Gloria turned over some stemware and made them into mini cloches.
Well, I am off to pack for my trip to who knows where. It is just killing my husband to keep this secret! He is bursting with wanting to spill the beans. I won't let him, though! I want to be surprised when we get there, wherever it is. Although, not knowing does make packing complicated.
Hopefully, I will get to post from our apartment in Virginia, but I might not. So if I don't talk to you until Christmas, I wish you all the very, very best of holidays!
I’m loving my pretty little Christmas!
Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), Etsy Goodies, fairies, holiday decor, We're having a party
Have yourself a pretty little Christmas!
Heather is having a holiday gathering for us to show our pretties. I had a "What do you LOVE about your Holiday Home?" party last year and am so sorry that there is no time for me to squeeze that in this year. So, I am so glad that Heather is doing this, I love parties, and any party Heather throws, has to be an extra pretty one!
Since time is short with shows I've had, and trips I'm taking and a two year old that I am running after, my decor is about as "edited" as I've ever seen here at my cottage.
Sugarwings has her own little pink tree in the living room, right at her level, so she can foof and refoof it all she wants to. I've kept my hands OFF of her tree, trying to teach her that I won't mess with her stuff if she won't mess with mine. She has been in complete charge of her tree, but does still tend to want to get into my things when she thinks no one will notice.
So, this year, there is no big tree in the living room. A few small, white trees are set out, and kept pretty simple too.
Using what I have and adding some embellishments really appeals to me. For the top of this armoire, I plopped some white trees into urns, and draped them simply with ropes of beads (the beads don't show up as well in the photos, sorry). Then I set out a wintry branch, with a single white ball next to it.
Fast and easy!
Another little tree with beads and no ornaments sits by the sofa. If tiny little fingers decide to explore this one, there is nothing breakable to worry about.
But I was missing the pretty lights that would have gone onto a big tree, so I filled an urn with white lights and topped it with clear, plastic balls. Its not the same, but does have a nice glow.
All of the rest of my pretties went up high, like on this cabinet in the kitchen.
The vintage tree is a music box that plays Jingle Bells. Sugarwings likes for me to wind it up while we visit the reindeer. The deer represent Pop Pop, Grammy and Sugarwings. Hmm, I should add some rhinestone jewelry to the Grammy deer. Or at least a millinery bloom.
Now, I do love snowmen, and Santas, and angels, of course. But my favorite at the holidays is the deer. Oh, and the elves! Santa's little friends and helpers!
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And I am big on using my regular decor and just spiffing it up with a few little additions.
Like filling my kitchen window with pink roses and sweet pixies.
Yes, there were dirty dishes in the sink in the last picture I showed. But look at how pretty they are! Beth got dishes she didn't want in a box at an auction and passed them along to me. Of course, I wanted them!
There are many more pixie pals lurking in the boxes under my stairway. Lots of well loved ornaments and beautiful things, that I just didn't unpack this year. I do miss all the elaborate displays, but on the other hand, I am really enjoying my "Pretty Little Christmas". Heather's title for her party really touched on my feelings for my house this year.
Normally, I am all about being Over the Top. (yes, with capitals)
But this year, my compromise with the fairy grand baby with the the time constraints has made me happy.
There is a little something in every room. Just enough to make me smile and know that Christmas is just around the corner. Not enough to have taken up much time or to have been any trouble at all.
2008's decking of the halls probably took less time to finish the whole house than I usually spend on one tree.
Well, that right there is enough to make me smile!! Is there ever enough time? I might make this year's streamlined Christmas a new tradition!
Remember I was saying how lucky I was to meet so many wonderful friends through blogging? One of them sent this dainty fairy pin to me. Later, she'll go on a jacket, but for now, she perches in the dining room centerpiece. Thanks, Hannah!
And thanks, Heather, for hosting this get together. I look forward to having time to follow the links and visit all the homes participating.
Also, thanks to all of you for your overwhelming shopping spree for my Christmas special on Etsy! The shop is half gone, but there are still some goodies left. Please check for details in the previous post if you'd like a chance to win a present from me, while you are visiting my Etsy store during my "thanks to my readers" sale-a-thon!
Please remember to ASK FOR AN INVOICE FROM ME.
A special thank you
Etsy Goodies
Here is a little fairy in progress. She is a collaboration of items from various friends. Jennifer Hayslip gave me the little doll, the beautiful bronze/brown glitter is fromShawn, and the box I am redoing to make a house for her is from my Silver Bella pal, Julie Baxley.
Some of the wallpaper is from a shared roll Beth and I went in on to purchase (flocked stuff can be expensive, sometimes you need a partner to afford it!!)
All of the gifts from friends has once again made me think how lucky I am to have made such great buddies in the blogworld. And that makes me think about how lucky I am over all, and what a great year I have had. I try to give lots of gifts to my readers, with a minimum of at least one drawing a month, but I wanted to offer a big special thank you for the holidays.
So, from now (Saturday, Dec. 13th) till Monday, Dec. 15th- EVERYTHING in my Etsy shop is HALF OFF. And random shoppers will get extra suprise gifts in their packages.
This is only for my Reader Pals- so these prices will not show up on the Etsy site. What you need to do, is purchase what you want on the site, BUT DO NOT PAY right then. Ask me to sent you an invoice for the sale price.
After Monday, my shop will be closed for the holiday, so this is for a limited time only. I just want you to know that I have appreciated your businessand I am so happy with the great sales I have had all year in Etsy, Silver Bella and Miss Frenchies! All of it, thanks to you.
(please remember to REQUEST and wait for an invoice, or I won't be able to give you the sale price!)
A second sneak peek at the December Giveaway and some tussie mussies to unload. (I mean offer to you at a special price.)
Books, Etsy Goodies, Food and Drink, holiday decor, I do tend to run on, don't I?, Sugarwings, vintage paper/collage art
This is sneak peek number 2 of the December Giveaway– it will stay a surprise until it is sent off in the mail to it's new home on Jan. 1. If you want to enter the drawing, every comment counts, all month long.
Louisa is hosting a Home Sweet Home blog party today, please go to her site and see some of the linked blogs and thier holiday decor!
I've been extremely good about returning comments this month (I hope Santa is watching!) but they are not all going through!! I get about 20% of them bounced back to me as non-deliverable. ( I just made up that percentage, I don't really do math much, this is a guess).
Sugarwings got the sweetest gift in the mail from our pal, Robin in VA. If you'd like to see a couple second video of her hanging it on the tree, click HERE.
The present itself was the cutest Glinda the Good Witch ornament, she is inside the clear ball like it is the bubble she rides down into Munchkindland. And of course, since Sugarwings loves to make things, we saved the box and cut out Glinda's picture to make another ornament from that.
I did the cutting, she did the glue and glitter, then we tied a ribbon and bell to the piece so that the fairy grand baby could hang it on her little pink tree.
You know how kids always loved playing with the box a gift comes in? We have discovered that the boxes always make good project materials. If I cut out the logos, or characters, Sugarwings is happy to get out the glue stick and glitter to turn the packaging into one of her smeary, yet sparkly creations. We even cut the pictures out of cute paper plates we use to eat snacks off of in the studio. Nothing goes to waste around here. (and peanut butter does hold glitter) And as prolific as she is, creating one thing after another and flinging the finished pieces over her head, then calling out "more", we need all the supplies we can get!
Her Grammy tends to be prolific too. Of course, getting the items I make photographed and listed on Etsy, I am maybe NOT so good at. I can crank out the goods, but I can't seem to get them uploaded to sell. You should see the backlog in my studio.
Yesterday, when maybe I should have been trying to clear out some of the junk, I mean trying to sell some things, I took a day off for a fun crafting afternoon with some blog friends. We all worked on books like the project Teresa McFayden had in one of her classes at Silver Bella.
For this, we decorated the covers of old books in pretty papers, then hollowed out the book with an exacto knife, clamped and glued the pages together and filled the scooped out portion with a pretty scene.
I tinted this old sepia toned photo with some pink to go along with my vintage pink wallpaper and this perfectly aged, old Christmas sheet music that is printed with BROWN ink! how pretty is that? I had been using some of this paper as the packaging for the mini dyed trees I was selling on Etsy, then realized it was way too cool to not keep and use a couple pages for myself. I'm glad I did, I think that it was just what I needed for this book.
If you are interested in purchasing this book it is $35 includes shipping (in the US). sold, thanks!
The guests brought goodies and we ate fresh baked Christmas treats all afternoon.(Sugarwing's Daddy was a bit irritated at me for letting her have a chocolate and candy cane free for all in the treat cabinet)
By the way, my treat cabinet is featured in the latest edition of Romantic Country magazine, I'll let you know when I see some copies on the stands. A friend told me she has received hers in the mail already.
Of course, here is just one more thing I didn't get listed on Etsy for this season. Tussie Mussies are so pretty on the tree, or can be filled with treats or small presents and given as gifts.
They are made with vintage materials and decked out with loads of pretties. Maybe I should sell them from the blog instead, because who knows if I will get them onto Etsy?? So, here they are, if you'd like one, I can send you a pay pal invoice for $8 each (half price from what I usually sell Tussie Mussies for) plus postage. They aren't heavy, but require a box. I will ship them Priority Mail for $4.80, as many as you'd like to fit into one box.
Also, thanks so much to those of you who asked about the bird ornament from yesterday, it has been sold and was one of a kind, I can't make another. I appreciate your inquiries, though.
Sugarwing’s Christmas Tree
Etsy Goodies, family, holiday decor, Sugarwings
Things have been busy here at the cottage. I've finally unpacked all my wares from Silver Bella and Miss Frenchie's sales and cleaned up my studio! Wow, it feels good to have the space reclaimed from the piles of junk and boxes and back to usable work space!
Tomorrow, I have a group of blog friends coming over to do Christmas crafts, so got the whole room rearranged and ready to go. But, sadly, half of the group had to cancel for various reasons. Well, we should have plenty of space to spread out at least, but the rest of the group will be missed.
I've gathered bits and pieces of trims and baubles and set them out to use for our projects. Everyone is bringing goodies to share, and I have a feeling there will be lots of glittering and chatting. I can't wait!
Did you notice that I found a spot for the table I bought from Elizabeth? It now sits next to my buffet garden of old hats.
After cleaning the studio today, Sugarwings and I solved the Christmas tree dilemma. We just decided that it was all HERS. Because no matter what else I had tried to do, this is how it would have ended up anyway. I gave her a box of (unbreakable) decorations and let her go. After settting out a selection of small trees, and giving her a choice of which one would become her masterpiece, she immediately went for the pink one. Durn, I wanted that one!!
Of course, holiday decorating is a pretty serious job. Miss Sugarwings put her heart into the work.
Some how, I think the tree decor will be going through a few transformations in the next couple of weeks. It has already been done and redone a few times tonight.
I wonder who she gets that from??
I did manage to get a few things listed on Etsy this week.
And I want to thank all of you who purchased little dyed bottle brush trees. I have a few left, but all are listed, once they are gone, I'm out of the tree game, at least for this season. I think I'll miss them tho. Dying trees reminds me of dipping Easter eggs, so I am considering some little pastel trees covered in eggs this spring….
There is only one putz house left ( out of the 30 or so that I had! That was lucky!). I use the original old houses, then foof and refoof them up. This one has a flocked wallpaper roof.
A couple of boxes got added to the shop, and I hope to add a couple more before I have to close down again. I shut the Etsy shop (there is a handy "vacation mode" you can switch on and off as needed) for Silver Bella, and now I will close next week when I go out of town. My husband says he has a special surprise planned for me, and I have no idea where he is taking me. I was told that I needed a swim suit and a nice dress.
I don't know any more details than that! We'll be in Virginia at the apartment, then down to Richmond for a business trip he has to take. From there, I have not a clue about what or where the surprise is. I was hoping that the surprise present was someone to do my end of the year taxes or to clean my house while I am out of town. But it sounds like he has a romantic getaway planned. So, I'll enjoy being whisked away and will have some fun memories to get me through those horrid tax and housework chores when I get back.
So, the shop will be open until Sunday, all packages sent out on Monday. Be watching for new things added each day until then!
Sneaking a peek at the presents
Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), give away, Miss Frenchie's
What's this?
Your present for December. Well, at least a little peak of it! Isn't the suspense of "what's in the package" one of the exciting things about this time of year? So, I decided not to show you the entire giveaway item. I might have a couple more hints between now and the end of the month, because I know I used to love the hints my Mom would give me about my presents, years ago!
Little bits of Christmas are starting to show up around the cottage. I am supposed to be cleaning up my studio and getting ready for a craft day with friends, but I have been distracting myself with a few minor holiday trimmings. I set a couple of things in the breezeway, and others up high. All out of the reach of Little Miss Grab and Smash,uhm, I mean, sweet little Sugarwings.
And when I say minor, I mean really simple. I was unpacking some displays fromMiss Frenchie's sale and thought I'd redo them a bit to set out around the house. This crate had been full of bottle brush trees, the branches were strewn about my booth for atmosphere, and the silver tree had held tussie mussies.
So, I piled the branches into the crate next to the tree, added the paper stars I'd made at our Thanksgiving craft day, and in a matter of minutes, it was ready to set on the breezeway table.
Filling boxes and baskets with vintage ornaments and branches is one of my favorite holiday tricks. For this tool caddy, I added the branches first, then piled in shiny ornaments, and a few pine cones, tied on a large jingle bell, and topped it off with a glittered dove. Instant sparkle!
Did you notice Twinks in the background of the breezeway photo? She can't believe that I want to point the camera at anything but her. So I indulged her and took a photo of her tummy full of puppies. Yep, she is expanding, we should be having teeny little dorkies sometime between Christmas and New Year. Now, where I will keep their nest is an issue. With a two year old running around, I need to keep the babies safe, but let Twinkle still have access to the doggy door. I don't know, they might all just have to live in the studio, and Twinks will have to give up some of her freedom and ask to be let out.
Motherhood is like that. Sometimes you have to BEG to be let out of the house. She'll be finding out soon enough.
This bit of holiday cheer is thanks to my pal, Carol. She embellished the box with transparencies, isn't it lovely?
Here is a close up. I wish I knew how to do that… its really cool. If you'd like one of your own, I think she has some for sale.
The embellished box Carol gifted me with was from Miss Frenchie's. Where I also got this table, that I haven't made use of yet. I bought it from Elizabeth and it has the most perfect marble top. I paint furniture myself so can appreciate what a good job she did painting the base of this little French piece. It was a total indulgent treat for myself, since like I said, I do paint furniture myself. But there was something about the lines of this one, and the fact that the weekend was such a special time, I wanted to buy something special for myself as a memento.
Plus, you know, when you are at a craft/antique show, the money you make doesn't seem real until you get it all home. Its easier to spend it away while you have cash in your hands and are surrounded by things you love and want! (once again, I'm glad my husband rarely reads this)
And speaking of things that don't seem real- look at the size of these grapes!!!!!!! They remind me of those big, glass globe grapes from the 70's. Didn't every coffee table in the Midwest have a bunch of these sitting on it back then?