Wednesday, November 19, 2008

How much is that doggy in the window?

Well girls, I don't treat "myself" often. But sometimes I just have "no" will power. I discovered that Nell Hill's was carrying the cutest Staffordshire Dogs.. Have you ever been to Nell Hill's or heard of her or read her books? Oh my goodness, Mary Carol Garrity is just the sweetest thing. She has 3 stores in Atchinson, Kansas and her latest adventure is in Briarcliff Village which is in Kansas City.. if you get a chance check out her web page at http://www.nellhills.com/.


Anyhoo, while talking with a friend the other day on the phone she was sharing with me that she had stopped by Nell Hill's at the Briarcliff location and had seen the cutest Staffordshire dogs. Now I fell in love with these when I first saw them on Picklepoo's site on RMS, fondly known as Sheila over at Notesongs.blogspot.com . Never in a million years thinking I would ever be able to afford one or have one in my home.


My daughter lives fairly close to the location and I asked her if she wouldn't mind running by and checking them out for me. She was not impressed. :-( Kept saying they weren't me, couldn't see them in my home.. Couldn't believe I would want something as silly looking as this. WELL... I asked her to shoot me a picture via her cell phone..that being said; she did and we waited and waited for the picture to come thru and to no avail..no picture.. She had to leave and go pick up her son.. She no more than hung up the phone and "Bing" the email thingy mabobbie went off and I had mail.. Yep per, there was the picture of the dog in all it's glory. Let that be a lesson my friends, you can't send a picture and have the person on the other end view it until you hang up the phone. :-) I told her YES.. it was exactly what I wanted would she mind going back over to pick it up for me. Well.. I had to wait until the next day, they closed at 6 and it was already after 6. I was really worried they would sell out before I got the dog I was obsessing over. She called the next afternoon and her and the grandson made another "special " trip down to pick up my precious dog. :-) But alas, I had to wait 2 more days until she could deliver it.



Look! Here's the proof!! Nell Hill's right on the front of the bag. :-)


Let me unwrap this ever so carefully. It made it all the way down here in the back seat of a car. I sure don't want to break it now.




Oh my goodness!!! Isn't it just darling? I can barely contain myself.. My daughter and the grand kids stood there stunned shaking their heads at my reaction. OK! So.. maybe I did look a bit on the silly side.. But for crying out loud girls I was "excited" !!





Let's see.. He looks pretty good here on the metal pedestal. However, I can just see the grandson or DH marooning down the hallway and my new little dog falling off and getting broke. So, I believe it would be a good idea to find another place for him.



He does make a statement setting here in all his glory doesn't he? ummmmm



Although I like him on the pedestal I think he'd be better off in another area of our home. So..off I trot around the house. OK girls.. we know I'm new to this blogging thing and I should have taken pictures of the places I thought he might work. lol. So, hang in there with me. You never know where you might see him show up! And for the moment his home is in the toile room. I think he looks great here. What do you think? He likes sharing the spot light with Gloria's lamp. :-)



Now you would think that anybody that loved books as much as I do would have put the new dog on top of Mary Carol's books. Well.... I would have if they weren't packed away. They were down in the office that got flooded in August.. That issue is still not resolved, so once it is, they'll come upstairs and take their place of honor with the dog and Gloria's lamp.



He's such a beauty.. I'm so glad I decided I to ask my daughter to stop by and pick it up for me !!! ..lol.. I hope you enjoyed another look inside our home.. By the way, my daughter admitted that it looks better here than in the store!!! :-) Thanks Pat for the info on finding this beautiful dog!!


Friday, November 14, 2008

Let's shed some light on the subject !!

I'm not sure when this love affair or fetish began. Some may even call it an obsession. My palms get moist, the heart starts skipping beats and the eyes light up. Some may say I need an intervention. Somewhere there's a doctor with the right prescription. Thankfully, I'm not really interested in finding a cure. I'm not sure when the symptoms started. I have no memory of the first time I noticed there was a problem. I just know the problem continues to this day.
The pain seems to go away once I click the switch on and light shines against the wall.. Yes, folks it's my obsession with lamps..and many of you know it's a huge one. I'll try and keep this tour short. I'll show you just a few of them..this post !! :-) I don't want to loose my audience before it grows. lol




This darling lamp sits in the window sill and gets turned on nightly. The glow from outside is wonderful. It fits in beautifully with the rooster fetish I have. Ok.. that's for another post..lol





I'm sure many of you remember this room when I posted it on RMS. I thought it was screaming for a bit of bling. Some crystals, and some eye candy for the eyes. I'm sure you get the picture. I found this beauty at J.C. Penney's and went straight to the website and hit send..naturally they were having free shipping or I would have had to wait for this gorgeous thing to come.. I think it's the perfect finishing touch the room needed. OK.. am I trying to convince myself or you? lol




Again with the roosters? I know, I know.. But I just couldn't resist. This gorgeous specimen is one of a kind in my book. The base is marble and the rooster is a type of metal. The whole lamp is quite heavy. I found him at Hobby Lobby about 4 years ago. Isn't he a beauty? He has a roving fever and moves around the kitchen on a regular basis.





Okay, I get it. You're tired of the roosters that have invaded the kitchen. But again, this lamp is so unique. He has such attitude, and puts off the most wonderful glow. The picture doesn't show the incredible details on the shade. I'm not sure what stole my heart first the shade or the rooster. It just had to come home with me.. :-)




Check these beauties out. The store I work for part time was selling them a couple of years ago. The guys were moving them and dropped them. 'CRASH' down they went and looked beyond repair. I was asked if I wanted them, and with a resounding "yes" ! I brought them home and worked them like a jigsaw puzzle to put them back together. The only thing left was to find the perfect shade. I sell these wonderful sleeves in the shop. And I thought for the shape of the lamp it screamed marble. So, I tried this gold marble sleeve and they fit perfectly. I then thought a bit more bling was needed and added the beads.. these particular beads are in the brown tones, but I carry some pearl, red and two toned brown ones as well. Didn't they turn out great for a trash to treasure find?


Now Miss Scooter had had all the picture taking she could handle. She sat patiently while DH cut up some ham hoping he would "accidentally" drop a piece her way..naturally he did. :-)
I hope you enjoyed this "short" tour of some of my favorite lamps. If you have a favorite or favorites I would love to see them. No.. I promise not to "borrow" them.. :-) Doesn't mean I won't be obsessing over your lamp or lamps though ! :-)

Friday, November 7, 2008

CHRISTMAS COMES EARLY..

11TH HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE EVENT





Baby it's cold outside...a brisk 40 degrees and falling. You can feel the hint of snow in the air..thank goodness it's only a hint.. I'm sure not ready for the white stuff just yet. However, the weather is perfect for our 11Th Holiday Open House Event.. festivities start first thing in the morning. You'll have 3 great shopping days to find something for everyone on your list. I'm extending a personal invitation for all of you to come join us in the magical world of Christmas this Holiday season.








This is the postcard I sent out to my mailing list..I'm so glad that you're on it..
I decided to decorate the shop with a red and white theme this year..all in the spirit of feeling like a kid. Don't you love these great popcorn ball ornaments? I thought they were quite unique. I try to carry things that are different and out of the ordinary.
Here's a close up..aren't they great? I fell in love with the red and white ornaments with snow tipping the ends of them..and then added these great bell picks..
Another close up...can you tell I "really" like them?
This little snowman got stuck out in the ice storm..His little buddy lights up and he sits on a snowball..
For those that like the more primitive look, this little snowman is in an old jar and all decked out with his own Christmas tree...I know Picket would love this. I see I cut part of him off, so will try to get another close up for you and post it on tomorrows update..the other snowman is asking for a magical hat.
This great fireplace mantel my husband and I salvaged from a home that was being torn down. He really had to work to put it back together. Before we could go and pick it up someone came in and stole it out of the house. We finally tracked down who had taken it and brought it home so fast it would make your head spin. The carvings on it are incredible.
I carry a great line of snowmen and snow women..These shoppers are out of a series. And this year they decked the ladies out in their finest. They all have purses with the greatest trims on them. I know Gloria would love all the details.. Sorry I didn't get a better shot..but promise to take some close ups in the morning before the crowd hits..
I bought this great hutch a couple of years ago and each panel was painted a different color. I decided to paint it cream and put a slight glaze of yellow on it.. This is one of the first things you see when you come in the door..
Now, I purposely didn't show the food table.. It is going to knock your socks off, once all the goodies go on it..lol.. Now, I'll take pictures of it in the morning before I open and post those for all to see.. I hope you enjoyed this short tour of the shop..There's more to come..lol..



Thanks so much for stopping by our little corner of the world..stay tuned for part 2