February 25, 2013

It is the time for home...



I did this embroidery on cream linen last year, but never got around to making the pillow.
I stitched it up last night and added a ribbon of torn velvet.
I wish I had trimmed it in this ribbon instead, but oh, well.
It will be put away in a week, so I didn't even stitch the bottom closed.
Nothing will happen, right?

Winter never really arrived this year.
We are enjoying temps in the high 60's today, with a cool front approaching.
Our lows will then dip into the high 30's.
Welcome to winter in south Texas.
I feel bad for my friends up north...even Texas has snow somewhere.

Did you get some up in the Panhandle?


I love these words and so agree.


It is the time for home.



February 24, 2013

I'll get you, my pretty...



I'm guest starring over at Kirb Appeal today.
If you don't know Kirby, come on over and say hello.


Click here to see what I'm up to.

Go on...start clicking!


February 19, 2013

Dear Howard...



I love my painted wood, but some things just need to remain untouched.
(For now, anyway.) 
I'm lucky to have custom cabinets, but with a large puppy in the kitchen, things can get pretty scratched up.
He's doing much better now...or maybe he's just so big that his nails hit the granite instead of the wood!
This hurt to watch.
Luckily, I have a solution.


Years ago, a friend of mine who was refinishing an antique sewing machine case told me about
 Howard Restor-A-Finish.
It's used by antiques dealers and furniture makers.
 I have been using it on these cabinets since we moved in twelve years ago.


Oh, my.


Excuse me, but I'm positive that I was having a nap when that happened!
I do admit that I like to see what's on the counter.  I can usually find a ball or one of my bones up there.
I like to stretch my back at the end of the kitchen island, too.  
I may have done a bit of damage.
Thank goodness for those Howard people.
Mom put on gloves and then used an old sock to apply it...just rub it on, wait a bit and then wipe.
Good as new!
Mom likes the distressed look.
I guess that's lucky for me.



Thank you, Howard...
And if any of you would like help distressing your furniture or cabinetry, give me a call!

Best regards,
Bruce 



***This is my own opinion based solely on my personal use of this product.  
I was not compensated in any way.
If you buy this product and then drink it, you're just a stupid ass.
I'm not responsible for that!
Use as directed.
Open your windows and use only in a well ventilated area.***

Happy Tuesday!


February 14, 2013

Love



Close your eyes and trust it...just trust it.


February 12, 2013

Mamaw's Embroidery


This week I want to showcase some of my Mamaw's keeps.

For you non-southerners, a Mamaw is a grandmother. ;)

My Mamaw's name was Billie Pauline.

Sometime before marrying my Papaw in the summer of 1930, she made this pillowcase.
It sat on my Papaw's bed in their home...my second home.

I spent a large part my childhood there.
I loved to fall down upon the quilts she'd made and
read the books in the shelves.
The breeze blew in thru the open windows and the hours flew by too quickly in that little back bedroom.

I asked a lot of questions.
One particular question raised her eyebrows higher than usual.

It was a hot summer day and I was walking
on the curb in front of the house.
I liked to walk on the curb and see how far I could go before falling.
I stumbled and fell into a sticker patch.
Stickers... nature's revenge against mankind.
While I was squealing and hopping on one foot, Mamaw came outside with the tweezers.
You can't just pull those things out with your bare hands.
Your hands will bleed.
They really hurt.  I mean, seriously.  
Grown men invent new cuss words when impaled by the stickers.

As Mamaw removed the horrible things,
I demanded to know why God made stickers.
I told her that I thought God must be a very mean man to make the world full of stickers.


That's when the eyebrows happened.

She looked at me for a minute and then let out a sigh.
She told me that God had a purpose for everything on earth.
That she'd told me not to walk that curb a million times, because I was going to get run over in the street.
She said I'd best be reminded of that with those big green stickers in my foot.
And I was.

Sometimes we don't understand why we must go thru painful experiences in order to learn.
Stickers are everywhere and they take many forms.
Even human.
I'm just glad to know there's a plan.

Well done, Billie Pauline.
Well done.







February 7, 2013

Hey Girl...

Unless you've been under a rock lately, you know how many 
Ryan Gosling Hey Girl posters are all over the web.


Hey Girl

Some very brave and daring ladies (Bliss, you know those girls are gonna tell!)
thought it would be funny to copy the 'Hey Girl' meme and have a Link Party.
Spoofing our hubbies, movie stars, pets, etc. is fun, right?
I expect that we won't hear from a few of them evah again.
Evah.


My pretend boyfriend. Sigh...

I'm linking up with Bliss and her friends 
@




February 5, 2013

Ooh La La





Just a pretty post today.
Don't you love these vintage gloves with the hand embroidery?
...ooh la la.


I call this style Junky Movie Star.


I dug thru one of my 'keeps' drawers and played dress up for a few minutes.


 My bracelet is called the Royalty Bracelet and it's on sale on the Sorrelli website.
The color is called Concrete Jungle.
The pearls were my MIL's.


Cool cigarette case...it still plays music and the mirror is intact.
It plays Beethoven's Fur Elise.


The  1950's vintage cigarette case was my MIL's. 
It still smells like her perfume, Tigress.
Made by Faberge, it had slogans like
 'are you wild enough to wear it?' and 'because men are such animals!'.
Potent stuff because everything that we have that belonged to her still smells like it.
As a child, Magoo liked playing with the fur bottle top.
Geez, how toxic was it that it still smells so strong after all these years?
Between that stuff and the mosquito spraying truck, my hubby is lucky to remember his name.
I'm just saying...


Miss Lola Falana.
Those 70's.
Meee-ooowww.


I found this wine bottle in an antique mall years ago.
For five bucks.  I love it.


The table was handpainted by the famous J. Phillips.
Let me know if you are ready to go with that shop, JP!
Bruce didn't eat the whole table.


Have a fun week...maybe you want to play Junky Movie Star, too?

February 4, 2013

Lonesome Dove




“I'm sure partial to the evening,' Augustus said. 'The evening and the morning. 
If we just didn't have to have the rest of the dern day I'd be a lot happier.” 



Ah, Monday.
This little mourning dove  watched as the dogs and I walked in the yard.
His friends flew away into the morning gray.
That sky hasn't changed a bit all day.
Rainy days and Mondays...