Tragic But True Easter

    I am taking you back to the late 1950's when I was a child growing up in Florida. My dad took me to our local feed store to buy a  Easter chick..


    Oh no, not just any Easter chick.

     
    I chose a pretty pale pink chick!

    Keep in mind this was the late 1950's. Florida even allowed the sale of baby gators back then. That's a story for another time. Back to the chicks...Most states have banned the injecting dye into the eggs just before Easter so that the chicks were born rather colorful.  In my research it appears that a few states and still allow this practice and it appears to be common in other countries. The dye is non-toxic and the color disappears within a couple of weeks.  As an adult I am not advocating dying chicken ...but as a child it was fascinating.

    I so loved that little chick and carried it everywhere with me in a cardboard box. If you have ever raised chickens you know they do not stay small chicks for very long! I agreed to take little chick to live on my grandparents farm since she was getting so big.

    Several days before our trip to the farm mom and I went shopping. I left little chick in her box and sat it on the bathroom floor.  When we returned from shopping I ran into the house to retrieve chick and to my dismay.....she was floating in the toilet.  I was one devastated five year old!

    Years later I married a man that owned a chicken farm.  Yes, 40,000 little chicks were delivered to the farm every few months.  That marriage didn't work out, maybe because subconsciously it wasn't the man I wanted but my little lost chick.

Casual Dinner At The Beach

    Okay you got me!  I am really not at the beach...a girl can dream!  I had to show off my recent wins.  I won this fabulous sand pail from Low Tide High Style, and isn't it just the cutest thing?  I also won these adorable place card bubbles from Maureen at Inglenook Decor. These glass bubbles have a hole to hold flowers and a slot for the place card or pictures. I think this is the greatest idea!  I have never won anything in my life and now I get two wins in one week. Thank you both for these wonderful giveaways.







    Bubble place card holder with photo of hubby in Hilton Head, SC



    Sorry about the poor quality of this picture. but I had to show you a photo of me diving with the stingrays

    My table is set for a casual dinner with a beach theme. My new sand pail is holding a beautiful piece of white coral and the tall glass vase is filled with water and a sea fan. The water magnifies the sea fan and floating candles are also placed in the vase. I have used an antique ships lantern, telescope and large glass float to set the beach mood.











    I absolutely adore these wood charges from Pier One. Hubby bought me these for my recent birthday.  The dishes are from JC Penneys Chris Madden collection.  I love them because they are so versatile and can be mixed with so many of my other dish collections.

    I am linking up with  Marty at  A Stroll Thru Life  for Table Top Tuesday.

We Have A Winner

    We have a winner .....







    The winner is #27

    Congratulations Anita @ IowaJunk Gypsies.   I will be emailing you shortly.



Blue Monday and GIVEAWAY

    Those of you that are regular readers know I have an obsession with transferware. Now when I bring a new piece home my hubby just rolls his eyes.  That okay I do the same thing when he brings a new golf club home.

    This is my latest steal purchase and what a deal I got. I found this bowl at a local antique mall. The dealer was going out of business and had everything marked 70% off.  Now, you all know I love a deal almost as much as I love my transferware! This beauty is a whopping 14" across...and I paid $8.00!!!  I know can you believe it?





    There are no markings and I have not been able to find any info on this pattern.  If anyone has info I would really appreciate it. If you are a lover of transferware you must check out Nancy's daily dish  blog. This gal has over 3000 pieces of the most beautiful transferware I have ever seen. Nancy also has an Etsy shop where she sells these pieces. Drop by and tell Nancy I sent you.

    Today I am linking up with Smiling Sally and her Blue Monday party. Thanks Sally for hosting this great party for all us blue lovers.

    If you missed my GIVEAWAY then click here to enter. Giveaway is open until 3/27/10.

Spring Cloche + GIVEAWAY!

    If you have seen pictures of my home then you know I love cloches. I put this cloche together in celebration of spring. Please continue down for giveaway!





    I am linking up to these great parties. Be sure to stop by and say hello.


    I have met so many amazing women in this universe we call blogging. Never in my wildest imagination did I think that blogging would be such a joy for me. I have all of you to thank for this new joy. I am inspired every day by the talent of my fellow bloggers, your creativity, generosity and kindness.  I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for welcoming me into your community.

    Now for the Giveaway.......

    I found these adorable faux mercury glass birds at a cute boutique while on vacation.  I Loved them so much I went back and bought two more for YOU.  Don't you just adore the crowns they are wearing?  I am gifting two of these birds to a lucky winner.


    Also included in the giveaway is this sweet little bird nest made of lavender with three decoupaged eggs .



    The last gift is a set of three fabulous number tags.


    Here are all the items together.  Sorry, my silver tray is not included,  please don't hate me for this!

    .
    You know the drill:

    Leave a comment on this post for one entry
    Follow me, or tell me you are already a follower, in a separate comment for two additional entries
    Blog about the giveaway or grab my button for an additional three entries. Please leave a separate comment.

    You have until 3/27/10 to enter and I will pick the winner of the giveaway the next day. Giveaway is open to US and Canada participants.

    Good Luck,
    Sherry

Paint or not paint?

    I only brought a few pieces of furniture with me on our recent move. One of those pieces is a 10' tall antique pine armoire. I loved this piece in our beach home but it just doesn't seem to fit in our new traditional Virginia home. I had thought of painting the armoire...maybe a creamy white with smoke glaze.  I could paint it black for a traditional look. I had almost decided to go ahead and paint it when this catalog arrived:






    I am loving all this natural wood











    Thank you Restoration Hardware.  You have made me fall in love again with the unfinished pine armoire.





    This is my armoire in unfinished pine.



    This is the family room and the armoire is on the left wall.

    So, should I paint or not? I would love your suggestions.

Beach House Review

    Hubby and I moved to Virginia 18 months ago leaving our previous life in Florida. In some ways it was very sad to leave the beach home we had designed and had custom built. A lot of love went into designing and decorating that home. The good part of our move is no more hurricanes.  After being hit by two major hurricanes in one year, major renovations both times, huge insurance increases, fighting insurance companies for money owed us and trying to find reputable contractors we decided enough!

    After failed attempts to sale the property we decided to rent it to a nice young couple. They moved in a few weeks ago and seem to love the home.  We rented the home completely furnished which worked out great for us and our renters.

    Below are pictures of the house that we will not be using this summer!  We know we made the right decision to move and we love living in Richmond...and I got to decorate our new home from scratch!  





















    Oh, but I will miss this view!

Transforming a silver meat dome

    First I must make a disclaimer that this is not a thrifty project. Sorry about that gals but I love this so much I still had to include it.  If you are handy and have the right tools this project could be done without breaking the bank.

    We have all seen these vintage silver meat domes and if you are like me I really, really wanted one. They can be pretty expensive, a lot more than  I normally spend on accessories. In good condition the silver plated domes can cost up to $300 or more. I found a cheaper option.


    Finished project


     Any metal will work to create the back.



    Inside of dome.

    The key here is finding a dome with some damage to one side. You can occasionally find these on ebay or in antique shops. I have seen large damaged domes for as cheap as $50.00.  Take the dome to a metal shop, or if you have the right equipment  you can do it yourself, and have the dome cut in half.  Leave the handle attached on the undamaged side of the dome. The metal shop can spot weld a piece of metal to the back and drill holes for hanging. This makes a vase out of the dome. You can also have them add a metal piece to the top for a shelf. To save money you could also leave the dome backless and spot weld  hangers to the top.

    I left my dome as a vase so it could be more versatile. I just added the transferware platter above using a plate hanger.  You can sell the damaged part of the dome for the silver content as scrap to recoup some of the cost.  I hope this inspires you to look at damaged objects differently and know that they can be turned into something beautiful.

    A very special thank you goes out to Regan at  A Day In The Life...  for her generous giveaway. I was the lucky winner of these wonderful candlesticks. If you haven't visited A Day In The Life please drop by this wonderful blog and tell Regan I sent you.


    Thanks again Reagan!

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