Happy New Year!

The holidays are always a whirlwind and this year has been no exception. I hope that each of you had a blessed Christmas with family and that the New Year is filled with love and happiness!

New Year's Day will find us setting up the booth in Canton, if you make it out to First Monday this month, please drop by and see us at the booth or the store! Both locations will be open Thursday - Sunday and most items will be 20% - 50% off!

Happy New Year!

LaurieAnna

In the click

It's been a long while in the making, but our on-line store is officially on the map! I've been packing into the wee hours this week and loving every minute of it! Oh the joys of this "click and buy" world! Gift certificates have been a huge hit!

For those of you that still love to shop in traditional manner, stop by and see us at the store tomorrow, (Saturday, Dec 20) 10am - 5pm. We've got lots of great items for last minute gifts. And, since this will be our last day of operation for 2008, I'm offering a "Pre-First Monday" sale.....50% off of all Christmas decor and trees!!

If you miss us tomorrow, the store will re-open January 1, 2009 during First Monday weekend!

Merry Christmas!

LaurieAnna

Simplicity

I was thumbing through mags last night and was really inspired by the simplicity of this photo.



If someone told us that the Christmas decor in their foyer consisted of bright orange ribbon, tangerine colored pottery and a bowl of oranges, we'd most likely think, JEEPERS!

But check it out...it really works!

Simply brilliant! Love the plaid boots by the stairs!

~LaurieAnna~

Loosen up your collar

Check out this cool recent find...an antique Arrow Collar display; all glass with the original advertising.


Arrow’s been around since 1851 and this appears to be one of the earlier displays.

I'm loving it! Now, where to put it??...

LaurieAnna

YEEHAW!!

I’m pretty selective with projects these days, but this late 1800s rocking horse was worthy. He's the real McCoy and is quite large. You can tell that lots of tots have enjoyed him over the years.

From the looks of him, someone gave him a new paint job, probably in the 90s when sponge painting was so popular. It looks as if they also added a striped riding blanket.



Hubby and I took turns sanding off the paint; I trimmed off the blanket; and VOILA, he’s good as new! Or should I say, good as old!?



Time to complete....an hour and half. Now, that's my kind of project!

LaurieAnna

Spotlight on Unique!

It was right after the opening of my store that I first met Marcie and Mayron of Unique Unique Designs. They visited the store and I had the opportunity to chat at length with these delightful, charming, and extremely talented women!

Quite the characters, and perfectly matched friends, it is always such fun to get a visit from them whether it's at the store or the booth. I’m hoping to attend their next home show and see their display talent up close and personal!

These ladies are charming, they make you feel as if you're the most important person on earth! When you get a chance, stop by and enjoy their sweet spirit and their creativity for yourself!



Marcie and Mayron recognized me with a blog award, although I am much delayed in posting. Thank you ladies for thinking of me, it is an honor and means so much! You are such dolls!

So, here's what I'm supposed to do. Tell you 6 things that make me happy…and nominate 6 other blogs. So, here goes....

6 things that make me happy

1) My faith in God. He's in every detail of every day, and He guides our footsteps if we seek Him. His unconditional love in the midst of our flaws brings comfort and peace no matter the situation. He's the reason that I know there are no accidents in life, only Divine Intervention.

2) My family and my new grand baby!! Her name is Ryleigh Elizabeth and she is the most precious thing my eyes have ever seen! My heart soars when I see her!



3) My wonderful hubby of 13 years that has the patience of Job and the heart of an angel. He's my best friend and biggest encourager!

4) My friends: Everything means so much more when you can share it with friends. I've been blessed with many, old and new, and they are my biggest encouragers and a great source of my inspiration!

5) Nature and my furry babies: I love animals so much, my babies bring so much joy into my everyday life.....they love us unconditionally! Nothing lifts my spirit like nature, hubby and I take a trip every year to the Rockies and it refreshes my spirit like nothing else can.

6) My store and my customers: I work most of the time and love it so much, I truly am happy when I'm working....it's a very large part of my identity. I feel so very blessed to have found my niche and can't wait to see what God has planned next! I have made some of the sweetest, life-long friends that began as customers.

6 Blogs I Love, some are new, some are newly found!

1. Delightful Heart
2. Sweet Finds
3. Katie's Rose Cottage
4. The Journey Ahead
5. Tatting Chic
6. Blessings and Baubles

Napkin play....

I love these napkins that you can find on our on-line store, they are oversized, large enough to double as tea towels.

With a little bit of playful folding, I created a little pocket just perfect to tuck inside the silverware...and how about a twine tied paperback layered underneath!

Or, tuck in surprise favor for your guests, any ideas?

Have a blessed Sunday,

LaurieAnna

Great fishing spot!

One of my long-time favorite places to scout for display pieces is a great antique mall smack dab in the middle of Sulpher Springs.



Town Square Antique Mall, owned by Tony and Marjorie Martin, is just brimming with cool stuff!!



Tony has a great eye for selecting fantastic architectural pieces, I bought this cool piece!



He’s also got a boatload of talented vendors with a lot of cool offerings, one of my favorites booths belongs to A Junk Queen....very talented dealer with a great eye! I bought some great things from her!







They are located at 102 College, stop by and visit the next time your in Sulpher Springs!

LaurieAnna

Rusty urns and metal cloches

Aren't these rusty urns with trelliswire cloches great? They are great for gardening, I filled them with green ferns this summer, but they are also great for Christmas decorating. Look at the little loofah Christmas tree nestled inside. And yes, I did say loofah Christmas tree...isn't that a riot! They were a big hit at the Nutcracker Market!

Stop by and see us tomorrow and Saturday at the store....all our Christmas decor is on sale!

~Smiles~

LaurieAnna

Peace be with you

Hubby and I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary during the Nutcracker show. Let me rephrase that, hubby and I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary during a 15 hour set-up day for the Nutcracker gift market. We had agreed to postpone our celebration until after the show, but he couldn't help himself and broke the rules. I was unaware that he was paying attention as I visited with my good friend Annette of Annette's Touch of Class that was setting up directly across from us. She was wearing a ring that I fell in love with....it was beautiful! He surprised me with it the following day. What can I say? He's a keeper!

These San Benito rings are incredible, the medallions are from the Vatican in Rome and are believed to be a ticket into heaven, the symbol means "peace be with you". You can find them on her site.

It's truly a work of art and I will treasure it always.

Peace be with you,

LaurieAnna

Sweet serendipity again and again

No doubt about it, the recent economy has many of us stepping back and assessing situations. For some that means changing plans in mid-stream in an effort to work with the problem. As for us, it has resulted in delayed construction of our new home at Serendipity Farm. That construction was contingent upon selling our historic home that we moved out of last summer. Alas the current housing market has dashed that plan unless we are open to "giving it away”.

So, as it has always been in my life, the turn in the road provides a wonderful serendipitous opportunity. We’ve decided to undertake a second renovation on the 128 year old historic home. Remember, we did a complete historic restoration on the house in 2004 in keeping with a Victorian color palette. For the upcoming redo, I’ve decided to give the color palette a facelift that reflects a modern lifestyle but respects the historical integrity of the house...what an exciting project! I longed to do this last year, but didn't dare scare hubby with the notion given the new construction that was planned. Be careful what you wish for!

Now that the new path lay ahead, I must confess that I am anxious to get started and am looking forward to sharing our progress with you. And then, sometime in 2009- hopefully around Spring/Summer, I will host a show/sale event at the home for those on my mailing list. More to come about that later.

So, now it’s time to start planning…..what room first?

They grow up so fast!

Remember these lil guys from my post back in May? The two lil gray girls were adopted quickly, but the two lil guys that we named Doc and Sam, stayed just long enough to forever creep inside my heart and our home. These brothers really love each other.



Of course, they're not lil anymore. I couldn't resist snapping these pics tonight when I came in....oh what a life!



Don't ya just want to curl up with them? That's just what I did!! I just love 'em to pieces!

Smiles,

LaurieAnna