Happiness Is...............

"Happiness is something that comes into our lives through doors we don't even remember leaving open."

Rose Wilder Lane

Four more days and I'm off to France with two girlfriends. It is the first trip there for each of us so what an adventure lies ahead!.I started planning and saving money in 2008 and it is finally here!

My stomach is doing somersaults with excitement. We are staying for 12 days in an apartment in the 7th arrondisement just 5 minutes from the Eiffel Tower.

We have day trips planned to Versailles, Giverny, Avignon, and Amsterdam. I'm so excited to see the Provence lavender fields in bloom and be surrounded by the fragrant blooms.

Flicker.com

We will also be shopping the Paris flea markets and I am taking an extra suitcase to fill with treasures!I can't wait to share stories with you when I get back.

Bon Voyage!

A Bear of a Wedding Weekend

This past weekend hubby and I went to Gatlinburg TN for his nephews wedding. We stayed in a really nice Chalet up in the mountains. There were three chalets all together as the wedding party stayed in one, the bride's family in one, and the groom's family (us) in another. We had a super fun time. Here is one of the living rooms in the chalet

It was way too hot for a fire in the fireplace as it got up to 97 degrees!

Something always goes wrong when there is a wedding...right? The groom is in this vehicle that ended up with a tire off the roadside. There's hubby and some other guys trying to get the tires back on the road. They finally managed and the other front tire was smoking as the driver put the pedal to the metal!

The groom made it in time and the wedding was super pretty in a mountainside chapel.

The excitement of the weekend was when this black bear came right up in the yard of our chalet..........

We could not believe how close it came.

Lucky for us, we were on the second level deck instead of the first level one or we could have been eaten alive!

It was a bear of a wedding weekend!

Pink FireWorks

I've been watching the tiny buds as they develop on my climbing rose growing along the fence. All the recent rains kept me from photographing the buds and that's OK as they were nothing compared to this.............

PINK FIREWORKS

I have no idea what variety of climbing rose this is as I bought a tiny start at a yard sale a few years ago.

Last year I whacked the rose canes way back and cleaned out all the dead ones and this year it is thanking me with this beauteous show.

I must admit though that every year I get really upset with this climbing rose...............upset that the blooms don't last nearly long enough!!!!

Yummo....

I've so enjoyed the fresh asparagus this year and never tire of those delicious green stalks. I don't have a favorite asparagus cooking method...........................any way is OK with me.

YUMMO

Creative Garden Ideas PARTY!!!!

I'm really excited to see all the creative gardening ideas. Mine involves decorating with plates and shells. Both are super cheap to find at yard sales, flea markets, and of course, Goodwill.

I go straight to the 'dishes' isle when I 'm at Goodwill as I have found all sorts of cute plates. The plates have to have a floral design to go in the garden. I've also decorated potted plants with broken plate pieces. As for seashells, they are a super way to fill space in a garden. This year I filled my birdbath with shells as I never seem to be able to keep the water clean for the birds.

Now I'm outta here to check everyone else's party post.

HAPPY GARDENING!!!!

I can't wait for this! What fun in blogland!

Click on the pic to join in!

My Front Door

When you come to visit you will be greeted by this beautiful front door.

I believe it to be the original door from this house built in 1900.

I love the window panes with the wood trim.

When I yell, "Come on in...the door is open" you'll reach for this lovely ornate door knob surrounded by the prettiest metal backplate.I'm glad the wood door has never been painted. I'm not sure what type of metal the knob and backplate are and can't even tell if it was ever painted or has just aged to this beauteous patina.

How perfect it is that there is even a flower on this backplate.

Does anyone still use a skeleton key?

We do!

I'm feeling some Front Door Love!

The Color Purple

Purple flowers are what's blooming here at Calendula Court so I wanted to share them with you.

Iris and chives which look like blue and pink in the pic but they are really purple.

The False Blue Indigo is ready to burst with color and more irises.

I'm thinking of making some chive blossom vinegar. It always turns out to be the loveliest shade of pink and looks so pretty in the bottles.

More iris and allium.

I go for the romantic color scheme in the garden and use mostly purple and pinks with splashes of white and a little yellow. Those orange poppies in the background were a gift and they are the only bloomin orange in the garden! I've planted pink poppy seeds several years in a row now but they always come up orange!

I so love this time of year!

The Vintage Key

Another girls day out this past Saturday to Zionsville, Indiana, to the Country Market Festival.

I left my camera at home as rain was the forecast and rain it did so I didn't get any pics of this charming little town.

Here is a link to the pics I took there last year. Anyway, my favorite purchase of the day is this so adorable vintage key necklace. I got to chatting with Kama,the designer/jewelry artist and discovered she has a blog too!

Please stop by and see her and the awesome jewelry she creates.

I just love my new 'B'!

Trying on...........

I've slowly been trying to frou-frou my blog and have been trying different backgrounds from The Background Fairy. I've tried on almost all of them and have decided to stick with this one for awhile. There are so many pretty ones to pick from!

Don't be surprised if there is a different look when you come to visit.

I may just change my mind again.

As I woman, I can do that, Right?!?!

Goodwill...Good News...Great Score

Can you believe that I saw this creamy white soup tureen, picked it up, put it down, and walked on!?!? I came to my senses an isle over and back-tracked to grap it up!

Yes, the price sticker says $3.99.I love the way it looks against the red toile in the kitchen.Also found out the local Goodwill is expanding........

......Good News about Goodwill

Another Auction Score

Hubby and I had not been to the Sunday auction for a while and decided to check it out this weekend. It was a gorgeous sunny day and I really wanted to work in the gardens, however, I know he is about to die of boredom as he is layed off from his job so I caved and went with him.

I'm sooooooooooo glad I did. I saw this box and spotted something pink under the carhart hat and the childrens wall hanger. SO I dug deeper in the box and look what was there..................Large vintage prints of art

A very old book.....Stories of the Bible.

The first few pages are missing so I am unable to find a print date.

Another very vintage print

A pristine poster advertisement for the City Market in Indianapolis

More vintage prints and postcards.

The postcards actually match the larger art prints in the picture above.

Oh yeah, and guess what was hidden underneath that hat and hanger?

Can you believe your eyes? Look at these vintage linens!!!!

Two pink tablecloths, an unopened box of 4 pink and white hand towels, a white embroidered linen tablecloth, 3 smaller lace and linen doilies and 'His' & 'Hers' hand towels.

What a score!!!!!

Would you believe all this for $5?!?!?!

Thanks hubby for making me go

TableScapes

Yesterday it was girls day out as three of my good friends and I went to Indianapolis to

The Orchard and Bloom Garden Show. This year for the first time they featured Parties In Bloom that showcased four themed party vignettes designed with a table, seating, linens and tabletop features.

After checking them all out you voted for your favorite.

This had a too much black for my tastes......just love the hot pink roses though. Love the color scheme here...white, black and yellow........kinda retro modern

LOVE this one..................very chic elegant

LOVE the pearls on the chairs, and the square plates, and the dreamy layers of fabric

This is the one I voted for.

Wouldn't it be awesome to go out your back door and find this beauteous table waiting for you!

Blog Party!!! BLOG PARTY!!! Blog Party!!!

I'm getting an early start on Joy's blog party on May 1. She is featured in the soon-to-be-released issue of Artful Blogging magazine.....how special is that?

Her blog party is about 'Why I Love Blogging" so make sure to visit her site and check out all the participants and see why each loves blogging.

Now to answer that question myself......I LOVE Blogging because I get to share my passions with others that are passionate about the same things.

I live in such a tiny mid-western town and don't get much exposure to others that love sparkly, vintage, rusty, chippy, flea-market finds. All I have to do is click on the many blogs I have found and feel I am surrounded by friends who love those things too.

I just checked the number of blogs I subscribe to on Google Reader and found out that 143 blogs friends are just a click away......and I know there are many more to yet be discovered!

I must admit I am so envious of my blog friends that have lots of time to craft and shop for vintage treasures. What fun to shop and make things and then resale like several do!

I also love seeing pics of bloggers homes. I get all kinds of decorating ideas.

Such beauteous and creative people these bloggers!!!!!

Any Paris info? Please do share

All I can think about it seems is my trip to Paris this July. Have I mentioned it is a dream come true for me? Oui.....I know...a thousand times already!

Here are a couple books I've been using to get info.

If you have ever been there and have any ideas or info please do share them with me!

I've received a few gifts from coworkers recently and I'm sure they are thinking if they just give me a little something for my trip I will shut up already!

First sweet Megan thought of me when she spotted these Fleur-de-lis so she picked them up for me. I hung them on the bedroom armoire and now the gold knobs I wanted to replace don't look so bad.

Then Rita found this luggage tag that says Paris, France, and New York so I found it on my desk one morning.

She knows that I also love New York City and the times I've traveled there that is all I could talk about then!

Please let me know if there is some place in Paris that we must see or any info I can not get from a book!

I had a lot of dried herb and flower bundles that I hadn't done anything with so I decided to frou-frou up this left-over Christmas wreath. The wreath was made with pine and boxwood and had been hanging in the 'manwood' room since the holidays.I used lavender, marjoram, and a few hydrangea blooms...all dried from last years garden. I didn't realize the wreath was actually a teardrop shape until I hung it in the kitchen.

Oh well, it had dried into this shape and things from nature are perfect in their own way, right?

Candalabra Deal

Found this goldplated candelabra at Goodwill the other day. Isn't it pretty? It was only $4.99 and is really heavy and of good quality. I stuck it in my craft room, the 'B'Hive,' until I find a spot for it....probably in the master bedroom. I may use it to hold some jewelry or I may just put some candles in it...not sure yet. I'm thinking it would look really cute with necklaces and bracelets hanging from the arms.

The straw hat with the pink roses was purchased at Sal Gilbertie's Herbs in Connecticut several years ago. Sal's is where Martha Stewart shops for herbs and has often featured him on her TV show.
I'm over the hearts on the hanging rack and am sure I will be replacing it after returning from France and being inspired by all the beauteous decor there.

My HomeTown

Hartford City, Indiana is my hometown...

...it's where I've always lived and probably always will.

I found these old postcards featuring my town and love the history I see in them. This is the grand courthouse and is the most beauteous one in this part of the state. Since I only live a block away from it, I hear the clock bell in the tower ring. The bell rings one tone for every hour {one tone for one o'clock, two tones for two o 'clock, etc} so I especially love it when working out in the gardens as it helps me keep my time.

This is the old City Hall and Fire Station.

I remember this old brick building from my childhood. Unfortunately it is no longer standing and has been replaced with a modern structure. How sad is that.......


Here is the prettiest church in town.

It is now called The Trinity United Methodist Church.

My parents were married in this church 50 years ago

and our family have been members here forever.

Hartford City, Indiana, USA

What history!

Back in Action.....

Just as my hectic work schedule is calming and I am feeling inspired to blog again.........ye ole computer decided to get sick. Not a virus that I could remove but several viruses and also a part replacement was required. EEEEEECCCCKKKKK! So after finally getting a call from the computer fixer dude I'm finally back at it. Did not realize how much I depend on my computer and am so happy to finally have her back.

Here's another box I decorated and am getting hooked on this decoupage thing. I've always loved reading magazines and now end up tearing out many of the pages to have pics to decorate more boxes.
Also this week I found a couple treasures at Goodwill, which is about a block away from my new office location. That means weekly lunch break visits to treasure hunt. What fun!

I promise more frequent posting on my blog now as time should be more available for it. I envy those that blog almost daily...both the time and the inspiration involved.

I've been in a Mod Podge mood and making some boxes. Right now I'm in the process of covering a peanut butter cracker box that is the perfect size to hold CD's. Seems like I have piles of CD's around that could use a home and I also have piles of magazines around so what a perfect recycling project!

Of course there are pink roses and gardeny pics............................................

And also pics of crowns and royalty.................

And of course some Tiffany blue

Here's another tiny little box I just finished that will be perfect for traveling and holding earrings......like when I go to Paris in July!!!!!

Ohio River and the Eagle

Over New Year's weekend, hubby and me and five friends headed to a cabin on the Ohio River. It was so fun and relaxing. The only time we left the cabin was to check out the local antique shop...........which was closed so we ended up just riding around the river when we spotted this Eagle. He (or she?) enjoyed posing for us.




Beautiful Eagle

Lazy long weekend on the river with friends.......

the perfect way to start 2009!

Crowning New Year

Look what I found!

I am so excited I found this set of Canadian 'Crown' jars............right here in a little seasonal craft shop in my own county! Who would have thought.

A total of 8 jars in graduated sizes..........just perfect for all the dried herbs I have still in plastic bags from last summer's harvest.

Mary over at Across The Pond is the winner of my give-away!

You must go visit her and hear about her recent trip to France.

Her blog pictures are awesome too!

Way to go, Mary!!!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

It is my favorite holiday so I'm really looking forward to it. I love having it at my house as the leftovers are so yummy. I cleaned, shopped, and cooked today so I'm ready to put the turkey in in the morning and enjoy!!

Here's some cute vintage postcards found on Flicker.com

It's Finally a Give Away!!!!..................

Rachel Ashwell is smiling as she is wondering where she will end up when she is shipped to the winner of this giveaway. Win her book 'The Gift of Giving,' as well as the items pictured below......................

a vintage silver plate dish, a Vera Bradley cosmetics bag, a ceramic piece that reads "A garden of friends is always in bloom," and some cottage garden potpourri made from herbs and flowers from my gardens.

Please leave me a comment on this post

and also put a link on your blog back to mine.

I will draw the winner on Monday Dec 1 so please enter by Sunday November 30.