mary...mary...

 

My namesake.

A beautiful dresser with curves and carvings...and she is painted the most beautiful shades of gray and white!

My friend Michelle...from Vintage Junky...gave new life to this antique beauty. One day last week she posted a note on Twitter saying she needed to come up with a name for a piece she was finishing. (She names all the pieces she paints, isn't that the coolest thing? Why don't I ever think of things like that??)

 Anyway, I of course responded that "Mary" sounded like a nice simple, yet vintage name. Hee....hee!

Wow. As I just typed that I realized even my first name is considered 'vintage'. My Mom knew what she was doing!

Anyway, that crazy girl Michelle did name her Mary!! And I love her. Every inch of gray paint and chippy-ness is just so "me", so I would say the name fits perfectly!

I love how she lined the drawers...

The contrast of the gray and the white is so beautiful...and those handles??...beyond fabulous!

Now, who lives in Tennessee and wants to adopt me...I mean 'Mary'??

I wish I lived closer, because I would scoop her up for my guest bedroom. I hear she is waiting patiently at her new home at Winchester Antiques in Franklin, TN so if someone makes the drive to take her home, I want to hear about it! And just so you know, I will be jealous.

Oh, and did you all know Michelle has an incredible Etsy shop, too!? Well she does...so click over and take a look at the goodies she has to offer. I've got my eye on a couple of things myself! She has an amazing collection of milk glass and tarnished silver that makes my little heart go pitter-patter!

Ok, I am off for another day at my warehouse. I have 2 huge trucks that need to be loaded with furniture on Thursday, so I have to get the finishing touches done today! I hope to have a photo preview of what I am bringing to the show on the blog by Friday.

Wish me luck!

a big thank you!

I am doing cartwheels...over-the-moon happy to be featured over here today!

The super sweet Kristin was kind enough to spread the love today with my little ol' blog as her 'Friday Feature'

THANK YOU KRISTIN..what a good friend you are!

(Photos via Flickr...for no reason other than I love each and every one of them.)

Happy Weekend, girls!

giveaway alert...hurry the clock it ticking!

Only hours left to get in on this giveaway, girls!

My friend Anita, from the Iowa Junk Gypsies, is doing a fabulous giveaway!

For the love of all things French...get over there and leave your comment to enter!

The lucky winner will receive:

one. Entre Nous - A Woman's Guide to Finding Her Inner French Girl

two. Wandering Paris- vocab and guide book in one

three. TheLittle French ABC Coloring Book (training them young is best:)

four. Say it in French - a travel phrase book

five. Madeleine Peyroux- The Perfect World CD

six. Lu Petit Beurre notepad ( these butter cookies are awesome)

seven. Sabre bottle opener and cheese knife

Did you know Anita is fluent in French....and she lived in France...and she teaches French, too! She is hosting a trip to Paris in April! I am hoping to tag along with her...but if you want in, click on the link under her header for more info!

Now click on over and check out her blog...leave a comment and you just might win her bag of goodies!

it's a Lola B's giveaway!

I was sad to hear Kasey is bidding her online store, Lola B's Boutique adieux.

Kasey and I met a couple of years ago at the show where I sell in the summer months. She has a good soul. And there is nothing better than a girl that has a sharp eye for all things vintage!

So pay her a little visit, leave her a kind word or two...and you may even be one of 3 lucky people to win some of her gorgeous boutique goodies!

As a business owner, I know how hard it can be to keep up with...well...everything! To constantly stay fresh, and on top of what is new and exciting. That is a full time job itself. So I cannot help but applaud her. This door is closing, at least for a little while, but I know many more are going to open up for her.

She is amazingly talented...so I know wonderful things are just around the corner for her!

Wish her well...and good luck...if you win...let me know what loveliness was in the box!

I've never been happier...

I've never been happier than I am right now...that I am a coupon clipper.

That's right girls...I am no longer ashamed to admit it.

I.use.coupons.

Right now you may be asking yourself why this makes me so happy...

So let me tell you...

It involves my friend Anita...you know...Iowa Junk Gypsies...yes, that Anita. We both sell at the same show in the summer months, and I just love her and her 'junking partner' Judy. Afterall, they are Iowa girls, and anyone that knows an Iowa girl knows they are good people.

I was over the moon to hear Anita is hosting a trip to take a group of girls here...in April...

But a second later...when I realized I would actually have to pay for this trip...I was sad.

I was telling my husband about it...about how much I would like to see Paris again...and the fact that I would be traveling with Anita...and this is what he says..."so, go." Simple as that. No questions asked...no hesitation. God I love this man. Never in my life has he thought one of my crazy ideas was a bad one. He should have a time or two, trust me on that one.

Then it dawned on me. I have been clipping coupons like a crazy woman this year! I gave myself the challenge in December of 2008 to see how much money I could save in 2009 with using coupons. I was just curious. I just had a couple of rules...I never bought anything just because I had a coupon - it had to be something we actually used and would have bought anyway...and I had to keep a log of how much I saved as I went.

So I did it...restaurants...grocery store...Target...even my plumber had a coupon in the phone book! If you put fourth a little effort, there is a coupon out there for everything, I swear.

So here is it...the grand total...to this minute...what I have saved this year...

$1,756.75.

Seriously.

Paris...here I come!

my friend Anne...

I am lucky a lucky girl. I have wonderful friends in my life.

One of those friends is Anne. I met her last year when she came to a show I was selling at. You see, Anne loooooves painted furniture. She is changing over everthing in her home...she wants a softer look. Out with the Oak...in with the paint! She quickly became one of my best customers, but I had no idea she would become a friend. We ended up seeing each other so often during our "furniture exchange rendevous" that we did just that.

Anne is so easy going. And real. A genuine, honest person. Those are hard to come by. She doesn't pretend on any level. She is up front, and you can feel the "take me as I am" feeling in the air when you talk to her. She doesn't pretend to be anything more than herself. I love that about her. She is not pretentious. She is not interested in the label that is in my shirt or what kind of car I drive. She is simple. She is real. And I need more people in my life like her.

I am so very sad because my friend has recently learned she has Breast Cancer.

She was shocked. And so was I. I have never had someone close to me have cancer. She had no family history, had her exams regularly...how could this happen?? Her doctor told her only 8% of Breast Cancer comes from family history...I had no idea! The rest of the statistic is what he called "environmental". The foods we eat, the air we breath. I was stunned!

I don't mean this to be a sad post, really. I am not into dwelling on the sad moments, and neither is Anne. She is treating this as a minor speedbump in her life. Like it will be over soon, and we will move on. The day before she was to have surgery she insisted on bringing me a load of furniture to paint for her. I couldn't believe it. One would think you would have so many other things on your mind, but Anne has plans. Cancer is NOT going to get in her way of a beautiful dining room!

I was thinking of her all day yesterday while I painted her chairs. It got me thinking about the time we have and how we need to do the very best with it.

So that brings me to the reason for this long, some-what sad post. I want to send my friend a care-package. Just something to let her know I am thinking of her. But I am at a loss. I don't know what do send. That is where you girls come in. I want ideas. I want to send fun things. Things to lift her spirits and make her laugh. Things that will comfort her after Chemo.

Please...take a second to leave me a note. Let me know what you would send a dear friend going through a rough time. I want to make her smile.

(lovely photos from Kristybee...)