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Hello Friends,

Just a quick check in to say I hope you are enjoying your Sunday.  I bought a pretty white Stock bouquet yesterday at the store just because.  We are not fortunate enough to have a Trader Joe's around here (although I keep hearing rumors that we will get one), so fresh flowers are more of a "treat" than a regular occurrence around my house.  The stock is a flower that I've never had any luck growing in the garden despite repeated attempts, but I love it.  Not only is it a pretty little stalk, but it smells WON-DER-FUL!  Might be too sweet for some folks, but not me.  Anyway, I put it in one of my favorite old transferware pitchers on the center of my dining room table which is transitioning from the Valentine table to a more springy look.  No major decor just yet, but get ready for my big pink clown Easter bunny coming soon.  I'm really excited since I "lost" him in the ruckus that is my house a couple of years ago and only found him this summer, so it has been a while since he's hopped into spring.



Not that I'm dreaming of spring JUST yet when we have some more winter weather in us, but a little touch doesn't hurt.  The photo below shows you how pretty our town looks with some nice winter snow frosting everything.  I should mention that the view is not from my home, but from the Garden of the Gods Club a few miles away.  A good friend belongs to the club and I get to tag along with her to happy hours now and then again.  I never tire of that view, no matter what season it is.


On a different note, I've put a few new things in both Etsy shops, so stop by and take a peek.

This pretty Wedgwood compote is such a mellow creamy color.  I love the embossed edge.  It is here at Elegant Farmhouse. 


This adorable shelf will hopefully be listed on Elegant Farmhouse this week although seeing how cute it looks all styled up, I might have a hard time getting that little listing done!



Check out this amazing 4 inch wide 1920's lace that is here at The French Laundry.


This beauty emerged from the pile of goods destined for The French Laundry.  Swoon...



Well, laid back Sunday or not, I do have to tend to a few things before we jump back into the work week, so have a great week and hopefully, I'll get to stop by and see what you all are up to. 
Until next time,

Happy New Year!  This is a rather random disjointed post, but I hope you'll forgive me.  I've been super busy getting ready to open a second Etsy shop.  I'm very excited about it and I hope you will be as well.  My first shop, Elegant Farmhouse, was opened when I had a plethora of antique grain sack pillows that I made that needed an outlet for sale.  I found that some of the other things I loved, such as white ironstone and zinc items, looked nice with the pillows so a shop was born.  I still love all of those things and have fun hunting and gathering, but something has been missing.  For years, I sold on eBay under the name French Laundry, hence my blog name, and there I had the type of things that probably speak to my heart as much as anything in my many collections...beautiful, feminine boudoir and vanity antiques, fine linens and laces, and pretty china.  I haven't regularly sold on eBay in some years and I have really missed working with the pink girlie stuff.  AND did I mention that I still have a huge backlog of items which were destined for eBay but have just been in a holding pattern since I gave up being a regular seller on that venue?  SO, I hope to be up and running in a week or thereabouts.  You all will be the first to know once that happens.  The shop name is The French Laundry and the picture above and below will give you an idea of the feeling of that shop-fussier than Elegant Farmhouse, but still the same service and variety that you have come to know from me.  If you love 1920's ribbon work, flapper items, and Edwardian perfumes, this is a place you will want to visit often.  Let me clarify, I am NOT closing Elegant Farmhouse, just adding a second shop.

Let me say that I am an avid reader.  Not like I ALWAYS have my nose in a book, but I do belong to a book club and really enjoy reading.  That being said, I can't remember a time that I've EVER read a design or lifestyle book cover to cover.  Maybe it's shallow, but I buy them for the pretty pictures and while I try to read the content, I generally fall short (read "I lose interest").  This one was the exception.  Perhaps because it is more than just a book about designing a warm and welcoming home.  Perhaps it is Marian's down to earth style and way of writing.  Maybe it is because she spoke to my heart on more than one occasion when she reminds us that our goal isn't to live in a magazine photo shoot but to create a comfortable home for our family and friends and to use our God given talents to make that home truly our own.  Maybe it is because she reminded me to be grateful for what I have and not JUST focus on the things I want to change.  Whatever the reason, I loved the book.  It was an uplifting, REAL book for REAL people.  It has a few easy tutorials for projects, some hints on getting low cost and high style, and lots of pretty pictures of MMS's own home.  It is available from the publisher, Thomas Nelson and can also be found on Amazon.  And did I mention, it is VERY reasonably priced?  Well, now I did, so now you know.  I recently met Marian at a workshop she did here in Colorado and she is just as nice as you might think and then some.  I love that.  I purchased some of her new milk paint in Luckett's Green.  I can't wait to try it.  Her color palate is really beautiful and if you haven't checked it, you should.  There are about 100 retailers carrying the line and, if you are fortunate like me to have an Annie Sloan Chalk Paint stockist who also carries Miss Mustard Seed's products, then you really have it made.

Well, I have only tonight and tomorrow off from work, then it is back to the grind for me.  AND there is a good probability that I will be returning to work full time very soon, so I need to get moving while I have the opportunity and finish some listings for The French Laundry and restock Elegant Farmhouse.  Whew!  This Christmas break has certainly gone by fast!  My kids have off until Monday, so they can enjoy hanging out a while longer-they love that and so do I!

I hope you all had a nice Christmas and a good New Year and that 2013 will be happy and prosperous for all of us!

Until next time,

Hello all and happy Sunny Sunday!  We had the most glorious warm June day today.  The kind of day that made you want to go walk barefoot through the garden sipping an iced tea or something like that.  But did I get to do that?  Not really...I have desperately needed to get back to my poor neglected little Etsy shop, Elegant Farmhouse and do some restocking.  I also had a shift at the hospital today (24/7, 365, you know how that goes), giving me limited time to do ANYTHING.  So, instead of whiling away the hours conferring with the flowers (any Wizard of Oz fans out there to get my humor???), I stayed indoors and got some much overdue shop keeping done.  I hope you'll forgive me the shameless self-promotion, but I do have some dandy offerings and they make a pretty picture as well.  That and I don't have much of anything else to blog about.  INSERT SHEEPISH GRIN HERE... Hey, I'm nothing if not honest...

The beautiful clock face above is a recent find.  It is Seth Thomas and get a load of the cool shape.  It is paint over zinc.  LOVE it!