Top Secret

Just a quickie today.  Every time I post my thrift store finds, lots of you ask where the store is located.  Now this is privileged information;  I can't just tell anybody.  Because then I'd have to kill them. 

 You understand, right? 

 But because you guys are the best, I'm going to let you in on the secret.  Ready?  Come closer, because I have to whisper...

It's called Second Chance, and is located in Gladstone, NJ.  Here is a super-duper secret map of the location. 

Guard this information with your life.  Seriously. 

And have a nice weekend.  :)

Thrift Store Jones

I've got a monkey on my back.  I don't really know what to say about this except that I just cannot pass by a pretty piece of china in the thrift store.  Do I need it?  No.  Do I have space to store it?  No.  But in my defense, it's Minton.  Minton!  For $2.  Isn't it pretty?

And while this plate is not the same manufacturer or pattern, it does match nicely, doesn't it?  So that had to come home with me, too.  Right?

Lastly, here is a small soup tureen -- maybe for an individual serving?  You know I love dishes with lids on them...  Besides, it's creamware, and I'm sort of collecting that for my kitchen.

OK, so I may have a slight problem.  But you love reading about it.  You know you do.

Bear-ly Funny, and a Contest!

I forgot to show you these beeswax candles I found at a Christmas bazaar.  Are they not darling?  The only problem --  I don't think I could bear to actually burn them.

"Bear" to burn them -- get it? 

 "Bear?"

Sorry.

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And now for something really fun:  Better Homes and Gardens magazine has just opened a "Save My Room" contest.  Enter a photo of a room in your home that needs some decorating help, and get a chance to win a room makeover by master decorator, Stephen Saint-Onge.  The makeover will include painting, furniture and accessories, and the winner's room will be featured in the November issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine and on their website as well.  Wouldn't that be fun?!  Go on over and enter, and tell them Mary sent you.  :)

Goodbye, Country Home

Did you get this issue?  The last issue of Country Home magazine?  How sad is that?  This magazine has been such a great part of my life.  Here are a few pages from the final issue:

Isn't this beautiful?  I love that the very symmetrical and proper Georgian house is made of logs!  And the garden?  Gorgeous!

How cute is this wreath?  I may try to make this one.  It would look wonderful on our front door.  :)

And of course, I adore these wonderful red fabrics.  So pretty!

Goodbye, Country Home!

A Celebration of Roses

Are you in the mood for some roses today?  Because I gathered some for you here.  (The things I do for my readers!)  The real, live flowers were a Valentine's Day gift from my daughter.

And the plates were a thrift store find -- Homer Laughlin.  You know that I can't pass by pretty china, right?

The tablecloth is actually a curtain.  Hey, if the fabric is pretty, why not?

The silver-plated flatware is also from the thrift store.  I really don't care if it matches or not.  I just love the flower designs on the knife and, of course, the monogram.  :)

Some Waterford crystal, which were gifts from my mother and my in-laws when we were first married.  Did you know that Waterford recently went out of business?  So sad!

So, what do you think?  Shall we celebrate roses today?

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I recently completed an interview at BlogInterviewer.com.  If you get a chance, could you go and vote for Little Red House?  Many thanks!

Weekend Wandering

Wishing you all a very happy weekend.  We're doing the college tour thing again.  In Philadelphia again.  Boston and D.C. will be later in the year.  It will be very quiet here when the Freckled One goes off to college.  :(

The Best Medicine

I've been feeling a little blue lately.  Does anyone else feel this way?  Winter is seeming way too long this year.  Oh, who am I kidding?  Winter seems too long every year.  But sometimes a girl just needs some pink, right?  Besides, I just love making mosaics.  ;)

If you want to make your own mosaic, you can do it at Big Huge Labs.

My Memories

I'm sure most of you already know this, but some of you who are new to my blog may not realize that Little Red House is my childhood home.  My father built it, and I grew up in it, learning my love of antiques and decorating from my mother, who gathered many of the pieces I still cherish today.  

I wanted to show you two pieces that were among my parent's favorites.  The pitcher pictured above was one of my mother's most cherished pieces.  It is tall, about 12 inches in height, and is decorated with bas relief swans in flight.  The marking on the bottom says "Hand Painted Nippon."  I'm not sure how old it is, or what it was for.  I just know that my mother loved it.  :)

The second piece I wanted to show you was my father's favorite.  It is a piece of hand carved soapstone.  This always fascinated me as a child, I think because of it's softness and intricate carving.  Again, I'm not sure how old it is, although I have seen other soapstone pieces from the nineteenth century.  The little urn shapes are actually hollow, and could be filled with water to hold blossoms.  

I am so blessed to have these and other tangible memories of my parents around me every day.  They are not, perhaps, the most beautiful things, but they speak to me.  I cannot imagine living with all new things; I would feel as though I had lost my moorings.  Does that make sense?  Or do I need to tweak my meds?  (Gosh, I haven't said that in a long time.  It feels good.)       ;)

What's Your Favorite Flower?

My husband brought me tulips for Valentine's Day.  Four bunches of them, including these beautiful white ones.  

I love having fresh flowers in the house in winter.  The funny thing is, I think my husband does, too.  Isn't that great?

My daughter gave me pink roses for Valentine's Day.  Isn't that cute?  I love pink roses, and white roses.  Oddly enough, red roses just don't float my boat.

So tell me, what is your favorite cut flower?

White Linen

Oh, I am finding it really hard to come up with posts lately.  I guess that is what happens when you are at 427 posts and counting...

So forgive me, but I'm just going to leave you with some embroidered white linen today.  Think of it as a decorating classic.  :)

Only This Moment

"We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand...and melting like a snowflake.  Let us use it before it is too late."

                                                                                             Marie Beynon Ray

Have a wonderful weekend, dear bloggers!

How Now...

How Now...

...Staffordshire Cow?

It's actually a pitcher.  As you can see, $6. at the thrift store.  I'm not sure if I think it is cute or creepy.  But that did not stop me from bringing it home.  Do you think I need a 12-step program?  ;)

A Little Treat

So, the first thing you need to know is that I'm a coward about going to the dentist.  Which I had to do yesterday.   So on the way home, as a little treat, I stopped at a thrift store.

They had mostly clothes, but on a small shelf in the corner, I spied this piece of Wedgwood Jasperware.  It's a tiny dish, about four inches across.  Maybe to put on a dressing table?

Don't you love the little figures?

It was $5.  I'm not sure if that is a good price, but I just fell in love with the little dish.  And after all, it was a nice little treat.  ;)

Down the Road

I've been doing some more drive-by shooting -- photographing houses and barns in the area.  This farm is actually right down the road from my house.  There are open fields across the road.  Unfortunately, there are plans to build houses there, although I'm not sure when.  Perhaps the economic downturn has delayed building.  In a way, this could be viewed as a small silver lining, although with so many people out of work I think it's hard to justify saving open spaces right now.  

OK, enough serious stuff.  It's a beautiful sight, and let's just enjoy.  :)

I Am An Internet Junkie

I thought I would post about trying to make a flower arrangement on Friday, but we had a few electrical and internet issues here.  Earlier in the week, the power company replaced an electrical meter, which was the beginning of our problems.

Every time the water pump for the well ran, our lights dimmed.  On Thursday night, our three-year-old microwave sounded like it was on it's deathbed.  Power surges were putting our electrical appliances in danger.  We called the power company, who sent out a man to replace the meter for the second time.

Soon after he left, however, we realized that the problems were still with us.  Friday morning, our cable service died.  The power company came at one o'clock.  They were still here at 2:30 when the cable guy came.  We had the power turned off at that point, so we had to live without TV, phone and internet service for another day.  Aaaaarrrrgh!

It was finally determined that the service line into the house had to be replaced.  Luckily, my friend Robin's husband is an electrician, and he came to our rescue.  Our power was restored by 3:30pm.  But we had to wait another 24 hours for the cable service to be repaired.  I swear it was the longest 24 hours of my life!  LOL

Anyway, I'm so glad to be back online, and able to visit all my bloggy friends.  So these flowers are for you.  Happy Monday!  :)

A Little Color

Yes, all the winter white has been getting to me.  So I made a mosaic of really colorful tulips that my husband gave me for my birthday last week.  (Actually, there's one daffodil in there, too, but who's keeping track?)  I think tulips have got to be one of my favorite flowers, even though we can't grow them at our Little Red House, because they always end up being very expensive deer food.  I should probably try to grow some in pots on the deck, which seems to work for lilies, another deer favorite.  Maybe next year.  :)

Winter White

Are you getting tired of white yet?  

Do you feel as though you need a little color?

Maybe you need to wake up a little?

Are you just plain tired of snow and ice?

I'm trying to find something to smile about in all this white.  Can you help me out here?  ;)