What a wonderful trip! Lots of friends, lots of fun, and I've been to visit two of my grand dogs.
Yesterday, I took a trip to Fredericksburg to meet Andrea Singerella for some junking downtown. I would have been happy just spending the entire day in her perfectly pretty studio and watching her cute kids play, but downtown sure wasn't bad.
Did you see the decorated eggs she had in her shop for such a BRIEF time? Those eggs flew out within minutes of her listing them. She mentioned in her blog that they would go on sale at 4pm, and when I went to look at them about 5:30, they were long gone. But when I got to her home yesterday, look what was waiting for me! A little treasure egg of my own.
I'd brought her a wallpaper journal ready for her to fill with pictures and some homemade, organic granola for the boys. Then, I realized that in today's day and age, you don't just hand someone a bag full of nut goodies, there are so many people allergic to nuts anymore. Luckily, she said nuts were fine in her family, so I didn't cause any anaphalactic shock, because that isn't the best way to start a good junking day.
Shopping in Virginia is different than in Kansas. The buildings in downtowns here are so old, that it is fun to simply walk the sidewalks and enjoy the views even if you don't have any thing to buy. Fredericksburg was every bit as quaint and inviting as Leesburg, where I had gone on previous trips out this way.
This sign is above the oldest soda fountain still in service in the US. I fell for it, because the bright red of the Coke sign had faded out to such a nice pink.
And while I am mentioning pink- look at this lady! 
She had lavender and green sisters too. Sorry, I don't even remember what store this window display was in, but I love the mannequins and will probably stealuse this idea! It is similar, but not quite what I had in mind for my new dress form. Miss Ta Ta (yes that name stuck!)is headless, and neutral toned, but I have big plans for an exciting floral display in place of her head. Now, maybe, I'll drape her in tulles too.
Andrea treated me to a tea party luncheon at Pinkadillies. I didn't even care what the food was, I loved the name of the place so much, the meal wouldn't have mattered. But it was really tasty and the place was cute as a bug. We shared a pot of Peaches and Cream tea and had a good meal.
We weren't the only ones having a good time there. These ladies had no idea how near they were sitting to an obsessed millinery collector or they would have been holding onto their hats! Luckily, my hat whispering skills were in fine form and I was able to find a few good deals this trip, so didn't have to resort to mugging little old ladies.
And did I mention grand dogs?! Here is Lola. She goes to the office everyday with Mary, who works with my husband.
Doesn't she have quite the set up? Here she is in her box, with a stack of mail on top of it. I wonder if it is her job to lick the stamps? From all the kisses she gave me, I'd say it would be a good career move for her.
Lola's big sister lives nearby and we saw her last night. She seems like she could get a part time job as a stamp licker too.
This little one is twice the size of her baby sister! She is growing like a weed and is sweet as can be. Both recognized me (I'm positive) and seemed to be as happy to see me as I was to see them.
Today, I've taken a day off to stay in the apartment and work. Mostly paperwork for tax preparing when I get back home, but I also brought along these gloves to paint on. They started out way too vibrantly colored, so I soaked them in bleach for a day, then tea dyed them before I packed them up for the trip. Today, I drew vines on them with a fabric marker, then painted in the leaves. I've got a few pair of them, I thought they'd be a nice accent to the gardening display I am doing for my Miss Frenchie's booth in a couple of weeks.
I'd love to do some pairs with some real embellishment, but seriously, that wouldn't be feasible for using them. Rhinestones and millinery blooms would sure be pretty, but not useful if someone actually wanted to garden in them. At least not the way I garden, I get filthy when I work outside.
Oh- before I go and tackle that horrid paperwork waiting for me- here is the winner of the MARCH GIVEAWAY:
And remembber, the APRIL GIVEAWAY started yesterday! All comments, all month count toward the drawing. I'll let you know what the prize is, as soon as I come up with something good!
Looks like you’ve been having a wonderful time! I’m glad to hear that you restrained yourself from snatching those hats right off the ladies’ heads!
Enjoy your day!
Lorrie
I got two of those egss and I am so excited!! Yours is just gorgeous. Lucky lady!!! I got one of them as a gift for a good friend whose birthday falls on Easter this year. I think she will love it:) Have fun with your taxes. I took my son who is 18 now to do his for the first time yesterday, $86 back from the feds and $4 that’s right $4 back from the state! He said that’s it?? I told him get you used to it;)
Those pups sure look happy to see you! I bet you and Andrea had loads of fun, she is also a very talented artist.
Have Fun, Diane
Hello Love! Are you going to Jenn’s event! JEALOUS!!! I am dying I want to go so bad! PLEASE take lots of pix and post them! Other will want to live vicariously thru you…others meaning ME! Love love love!
xooxo
Dollybelle
oh, it looks like you girls had a blast ! I am so glad you didn’t have to mug one of those sweet old ladies! And that puppy….so CUTE!!
xoxo, Tiffany
Oh~Karla,
What a WONDERFUL post! So many GREAT photo’s! I love the possible new look for Miss Ta Ta…the headress was heavenly. I am glad you showed so much restraint with the old ladies hats….I collect the hats and have to wince everytime you talk about ripping the flowers off of them. You do turn them into some sweet treasures though. The grandpuppies are adorable and so are you accepting all that puppy love!
Blessings- LillySue
Karla, Karla, Karla….
I wanted to tell you how uplifting your blog is for me…
So you’ll feel ever so sorry for me, I’ll give you some background… : )
I’m recently divorced from a deadbeat dad of an ex-husband, and I have 2 wonderful little girls….the economy has hit me hard, just as it has for so many people. But since finding your blog, I have been making some of the things that you’ve shared with all of us…I do have a little etsy shop now, but I’m too embarrassed to share which one it is, I have a lot of growing to do before I’m willing to admit it’s me! LOL! But it’s fun for me. : )
With that little tid-bit of a dreary tale, I wanted to tell you, because you probably didn’t realize, that your blog is more than just a display of your incredible talent…it’s a peaceful place of pretty things. I always look forward to your new posts and pictures, and it inspires me and gives me permission to allow myself an hour to just immerse myself in a little indulgent creativity -which I find so distracting and a relief.
I am sure I can’t be the only one who finds a quieted mind in those moments of just sitting back and reading your blog…I just can’t be.
I’m sure you’re just doing what you love, but it’s a wonderful gift when you find out that what you’ve created is so much more than your pictures ever revealed.
I just thought you should know,
and I wanted to thank you so much
for the gift of all of those “moments”.
Kelly
Karla, you stinker…i am so jealous that you got one of Andrea’s eggs…and you got to go shopping with her…how fun is that…i bet you had a blast…good thing you had all that self control about grabbing the hats off of the cute ladies having lunch…that could have been ugly…hee hee…your grandbabies are just as cute as can be, what sweet little things they are, those faces kill me!!! so you liked your apron peek huh? well, i know we had discussed foofy, but the theme is more sweet instead…i think it turned out really cute…just don’t inspect it too closely when it gets to you!!! i mean it too:)
Karla,
I am so excited to see that I won!! Thanks! I love this post and laughed out loud about the hats and your hat whispering abilities. Sounds like you are having fun. I love the egg!
That egg is darling~!! Can I have it???? He! 🙂 All this talk about shopping, I am planning my spending for this weekend already , a few shops I haven’t visited in awhile!!
Karla, LOVE your sweet pink weekend!
Now, those gloves… You need to really foof a pair up and then turn them into the sweetest gardening gloves ever. I bought a regular old brown one a couple years ago that was stuffed in the fingers with fluff, had the sweetest faux flowers and ivy trailing out of the top, had a little garden rope hanger attached and it looks so sweet hanging inside a grapevine wreath. I put it out every year near my gardening spot (out of the weather). I can only imagine what you could do to one! A little lady here created it and I loved the idea.
Be sure to post a pic if you make one!
Karla, You really had a great weekend, all the pictures are so lovely, especially the ladies with their vintage hats on….that egg is beautiful…
I bet Miss Sugarwings really misses you when you go on these trips….
Brenda
Well I want to go to Pinkadilly’s. What a perfect name. Looks like a fun day and that puppy is just the cutest.
Have a happy day
Kris
Love that you are having a great time!! The pups are sure cute!! Enjoy!!!!
It sounds like you had a great time. I wanted to go to the tea party with you though!
Blessings,
Christine
Oh Karla….Twinks HAS to have another litter because I just NEED one of those adorable pups! How lucky is she to get to bring Lola to work. So pleased that Andrea gifted you one of her fabulous eggs…I was about 45 minutes late getting on her website and ended up without one. Happy Easter!
XOXO
Cheryl
The egg is really pretty. Seems like you had a wonderful time. I was chuckling with your remark about the ladies holding on to their hats. And oh!! The pretty puppies, so good to see them doing so well!!!
Hugs
Kelly, you very eloquently said what I would like to. May I just ‘ditto’ what you said? Or at least about the site. I hope that you do meet a wonderful man who will be a great husband to you and daddy to your little girls. I wish you a man like mine. Your attitude is lovely and you will go uphill from here. Can’t wait to see your shop.
Karla, what she said. 😀 And the pic of the manne in the shop window is wonderful, thanks for sharing. And I can’t wait to see Lady Tata…what adorable grandpuppies.
Hello from rainy BC
ooohh, those puppies are looking really adorable! I am a real sucker for yorkies…..but, I think 2 are enough for this gal!
Hope you are having fun in Virginia!
Rochelle
What a lovely trip for you! To see old friends and your puppies. Hopefully you escaped the gloomy weather we are getting in the Kansas City are right now. Have fun!
Looks like you ladies had a wonderful time…I love that name Pinkadilly. That picture of all those ladies, put a smile on my face…They look so lovely in their hats…That little Lola is adorable…
STephenie
Oh, Karla!! I don’t know how you resisted not swiping those beautiful hats from those lovely ladies!! I bet you had itchy fingers! Looks like you are having a great time.
I love to see the puppies again, I missed them too! You cracked me up with that photo of the ladies with the hats. Of course taking a photo was the only way to keep of the hats I suppose. Great to hear that you and Andrea had a lovely time. Congrats to the winner of the March give away! My suggestion would be the same necklace for the April give away! Have a nice day!
Oh, as soon as I saw those old ladies in their hats I was worried, but I was relieved to see that you restrained yourself. (They look like such easy marks though, don’t they?) I can’t believe the puppies have gotten even cuter.
How gorgeous are those ladies having tea with their hats on? I’m surprised you didn’t swipe a stray flowere or two… LOL.
Lovey to see the pups again too.
Hugs ~ Kerryanne
That picture of all those ladies having tea is so cute! The pups are adorable of course too! I SO WISH I could have gone junking with you this week…but that pesky little thing that I have to do for 8 hours every day seems to ALWAYS get in the way!
I hope to get together with you next time! Maybe a Lucketts Trip!
It’s fun to see the puppies…and, awwhhh, puppy kisses! Looks like they’ve grown quite a bit too.
Hi Karla~
I had a lot of fun yesterday! Thanks so much for driving down to spend the afternoon with me. And thank you for the sweet wallpaper book. I’m looking forward to filling it’s pages.
xo andrea
p.s. the granola is already gone. 🙂 YUM.
Andrea’s eggs are so pretty and the puppies are so adorable. It’s nice that you get to see them still. Oh happy days.
Karla… SO fun that you got to meet up with Andrea!! I bet you chatted up a storm. It would be fun if we could all get together sometime this summer… maybe I can make the drive? I am not sure how far DC is for me…
Your little granddoggies are SO sweet!
xo Heather
p.s.- I got a little eggie too from andreas shop… so so so cute they are! So nice of her to give you one as a treat. ;))
Karla,
Next time you are in that area you should check out Old Town Warrenton. You can take route 15 to route 17 and it will take you right to it. If you stay on 17 it takes you all the way to Fredericksburg. It is the back way so you avoid the interstate.
http://www.geocities.com/Wellesley/Garden/1077/bus-shopping.html
KARLA!! You have all the fun!!! What a fabulous post! I would have loved to have been there :):)
Love ya,
Amy
Thanks for the pictures of the puppies. They are so cute. It is fun to hear about them. Glad to her you had a nice time with Andrea.
Love the painted gloves! They’re such fun and so cheery! Sounds like you are having a fabulous time — beautiful photos! And what cute granddoggies. Love ’em!
It looks like you guys had so much fun!! Andrea is a sweetie. I have not met her in person, but I mentioned I liked something in the background of one of her pics and she sent me a whole stack of the cards for free!! How sweet is that?
Looks like it was so lovely!
-c
Thanks for the “pufik” post and pictures. It was a real treat.
Maybe you should take a hint from the ladies and start wearing some of those fanciful flower filled hats. Okay , maybe not. lol You are not quite ready for the Red Hat Ladies.
Those puppies are adorable. I know Sugarwings will love to see the pictures.
I am glad that you had a good visit.
I love the gardening gloves.
What a smart idea!
Have a good weekend.
Lois
Awww..looks like you had a lovely visit with Miss Andrea! You CRACK ME UP with your comments about the old ladies wearing their millinery hats! hee! hee! “Hold onto your hat’s ladies!” OMG!! LOLA is ADORABLE!!! What cutie patootie!!! 🙂 How many yorkies to you have now? Well, you’ll soon see my two sweet pups soon. 🙂 XO,Jenn
It sounds like you had a perfectly wonderful day of antiquing!
I just loved Virginia when I was there last September. Can’t wait to go back.
Kimberly 🙂
Hi Karla, sounds like your having a great time in Virginia. I love what you have done with the gardening gloves.
Hugs karen
Oh, Karla! It is a good thing that you share with us, as you have TOO MUCH FUN for just one person.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the grandpuppies! (and PINKADILLY!) Thanks for taking us with you.
Betty 🙂
Yorkie pups are so darn cute! have a great time on your trip!
What a wonderful shot of the ladies in their hats…..so cute. Love the mannequins draped in tulle, but my favorite pictures are the ones of you and the puppies. I see genuine love in your smile. My, how they have grown!
Best Wishes,
Kay
Stamp licker, that is a use I had not thought of for my doggie! Looks like you’re having a good trip!
Our two puppies are not as “youthful” as they used to be – I love seeing yours (especially when all the babies came). I’d love to be entered in the draw! Jewels
Love the ladies in the hats; what a fun photo! We used to have a place like that near me … I boo hoo’d when they moved out of town. Looks like there was lots of fun made.
I have a little yorkie girl named Lulu. She is a year and a half old. I got her soon after my beloved chihauha died, and Lulu was so small and required so much attention, I didn’t have much free time to be sad. She is a cute little girl and I still haven’t decided whether to let her have puppies or not. I enjoyed seeing pictures of your dogs and also the tutorial on painting a nest. Thank you