The Adventures of Elizabeth

A Moment in Time

2009-12-28T18:53:00.063-06:00

Hello My Friends!

I hope this past weekend was a good one for you. Christmas over here in St. Louis turned out to be a white one! As 2009 winds down and while it seems impossible that 2010 is just around the corner, I would like to invite you to find a moment and a special place to celebrate this last year whether it was a good year or a year that you are happy to see come to an end. Either way, if you are reading this, then you have reason to celebrate because you are still with us and a future is waiting for you.

As promised, I am posting a feature I wrote, photographed and produced that was published in Romantic Homes' January 2008 issue. I think it is worth repeating and I am including some extra photos and tips that were not included in the published piece for those of you who may have read that magazine copy. Basically, it is a feature on how even the tiniest room and the tiniest budget can ring in the new year with a lot of style, romance, and cheer. Not all of us can run out to Times Square to celebrate. And with the recession, loss of jobs, and tighter budgets, staying home on New Year's Eve is not so much an option but a requirement for many of us.

Enjoy the article and photos! As always, at the end of the article, I will include the "behind the scenes" photos and design tips. I will then end the post with some parting thoughts and well wishes for the new year.

Below is my original article, unedited, and written (and photographed) late summer of 2007 for Jan 2008 issue.

A Moment Time

A New Year’s Eve for Two

I always enjoy the last week of the year. You know, the one right after Christmas but before New Year’s Eve? Out-of-town visitors are usually on their way home; leftovers fill the fridge; and obligatory visits are completed. The last week of the year is a time for reflection as well as celebration of what’s to come. While New Year’s Eve celebrations traditionally ring in with large parties, balls, or maybe a trip to Times Square; there is something to be said for quietly clinking in the New Year with a private party for two.

I always enjoy a large gathering filled with laughter, chatting, and visiting with friends that I haven’t seen in a while. But sometimes, giving your loved one all of your attention for a quiet evening is a gift from the spirit. Sometimes, finances (especially after the holidays) are tight and an expensive party is not feasible. Then there are times that a new infant steals much needed sleep and the parents are just too pooped to party. Maybe, a loved one is ill or housebound, and staying in on New Year’s Eve is necessary. Or better yet, you just simply decide that you and your loved one deserve a special, quiet night for two.

While most of us don’t live in a large, old French home, filled with opulence, there is no reason why we can’t carve out a corner of a room for New Year’s Eve. We make room for the Christmas tree, don’t we? We dress up our homes inside and out for the holidays, do we not? Then why not designate a corner of a room to New Year’s Eve? Take time and use the last week of the year to design your little couple’s corner. I took this corner of a room and designed an intimate setting in a space of merely six feet by seven feet.

Time is the theme of my little party. Clocks, pocket watches, watch faces, and watch parts represent the time we spent last year. Time is a word used so very often in so many ways. We all take our time, yet we ask others to give us a moment of their time. We try things time and time again, but we soon find that our time is too valuable to waste. We all have moments in time that we remember, and yet we hurry to our next adventure before time runs out. And if time were to stand still, we would discover that if we take the time to slow down, we would really enjoy the moment. And that is what my little New Year’s Eve party for two is all about: Enjoying a moment in time.

Texture, texture, texture is the name of the game. Burlap, tin, marble, silver, wood, lace, and glass all play a role in this romantic scene. You can’t have too much texture.

Think architectural – I flanked the door way with old blue-gray shutters. This instantly gave the room a different feel. A header over the door way could do the same.

Go ahead and create a scene set for romance. Think of your corner as a set in which you are the set designer and you are creating a romantic scene in which you and your loved one will star. I used wintry colors of cool creams, tans, blues, and grays, and incorporated warmth with textures. I love mixing elegance with tattered and smooth with rough.

I gave the two well-worn chairs an even more worn look by roughly stapling burlap over its worn green velvet upholstery. The color of burlap fits perfectly in this wintry wonderland. Find a couple of old chairs around your home or at a flea-market and then just crudely staple burlap right over the existing fabric. This is not a time to be neat or careful. In fact, I purposely use my fingernails and scratched at the burlap edges to fray them for a tattered look. Go borrow your coffee table and cover it with fabric. I chose a simple cheese cloth and again, I was not careful in cutting the cloth; ragged edges complete the tattered look.

Covering chairs in burlap is easier than you think if you remember that neatness is not necessary. Remember, these chairs are only needed for a week, so a true upholstery job is not necessary. Think of them as props to your set.

Then layer your table with your best dishes, glassware, and flatware. Indulge in some wonderful chocolates (we don’t start our diet until after the first of January anyway), fruit, and of course, champagne. I found some old watch faces and watch parts and sprinkled them on the table instead of using confetti. The champagne glasses are adorned with vintage watch faces and old wire. Tarnished silver is reflective of the gray, wintry days ahead. If you feel really indulgent, have your dinner catered. Just remember to call ahead, as the holidays are caterers’ busiest season.

Wire an old watch face to the stem of the champagne glass to toast a time to remember.

My little corner did not have a fireplace and so an old French mantel was used instead. A collection of old alarm clocks carry out the theme. Simple silver painted leaves, pinecones, candles, and old books complete the look. I will admit, my French gum drop fringe is to die for (I found it at a flea-market in Brussels), however, cheese cloth draped lightly over the mantel would be lovely as well. And being only a mantel, I have no place to build a romantic fire. No worries. I took several tin sap buckets (found in your hobby stores) and turned them upside down and placed candles on top of them.

For height, use tin sap buckets, or French flower buckets (found at your local hobby store) and place candles on them. Be sure to house the candle in a glass holder for safety.

Candles are a very inexpensive way to dress up a room.

Many stores put candles on sale right after Christmas.

If your sofa doesn’t work with your new theme, then simply cover it! Not all of us can afford custom slip covers. The slipcovers available in stores can be expensive (and plain) as well. And slip covers can only be used as slipcovers. I used a king sized bed cover from Target to cover this sofa instead of a slipcover. The two shams worked out well and the toss pillows were off the shelf as well. Once you are done using it as a slip cover, you now may use it on your bed as your winter bedcover. It’s like getting two for one!

Sofa: Use a king sized bed cover and gently tuck in the edges. Use bolster pillows at the ends to hide any size deficiency.

This is the time to change out your shelves and pull your little room together with texture and items that flow together. Better even, use the items for your special evening!

It is now New Year’s Eve, and the table is dressed, the mantel is magnificent, candles are lit, and champaign is chilling. The children are at grandma’s and you and your loved one are dressed up (or maybe dressed in just pajamas?) for a long, quiet evening. But wait. What are those little tins on the plates for? Sometimes, after a couple has been together a long time, especially if they are parents, they find themselves not having much to talk about except their work or their children. If there was ever a time to reflect on the past, present, or wish for the future, New Year’s Eve is that time. I like to play an endearing game I made up called Remember That Time…

Simple candle sticks placed in a silver tea pot creates instant romance. Remember to use dripless candles.

These little gift tins are filled by each partner with items that represent a special moment that occurred within the last year. Then, each partner trades their tin with the other and they then try to guess what the little enclosed item means. Maybe it is a piece of string that was used to fly a kite on that wonderful spring day. Or a part of the Opera ticket that your husband surprised you with several months earlier. The little bit of sheet music may represent the time you both laughed and laughed as you sang in the shower together while the kids were at summer camp.

Whatever the memories, it is a joy to relive them and to share with each other. You may also learn something about your loved one as well. Maybe you had no idea that you taking the time to put the morning paper in your husband’s briefcase meant so much to him. Maybe he will be surprised to know that you remembered the joke he told that made you laugh so hard that the waiter asked you to please keep it down. And who knows? Maybe this special evening will be represented in next year’s little gift tin box. You may want to keep and store the little tins and list what each tin means and note the year. As we mature, reliving memories not only reminds us that we were once younger but our children will learn something about their parents as well. But one thing is for sure, this evening will be a moment to remember.

Sticks, branches and frosty pine cones says “winter” and not “holidays”. These items may be displayed for several months during the winter.

A water-stained chair from the attic lends a sense of old-world feel. Tying cheese cloth over the seat adds a little mystery while providing a clean place to sit.

Use old books to stack on the mantel for height. The older and more worn the better.

Old metal frogs make wonderful candle stick holders.

Simply melt the end and lit it drip into the frog and the firmly place the candle in the hot wax.

And New Year’s resolutions? I don’t really believe in them – except for one. Each year, I try to love even more than the prior year. They say time heals all wounds. I say love is good preventive medicine. And there is no time like the present to love more. Every moment counts.

From my house to your house,

Elizabeth

Design Tips from Elizabeth:

If you don't think you have the space, think again. And if you think it is too much trouble, think that one again too. Remember, these photos were for a photo shoot...to give readers lots of ideas. It doesn't mean you have to pull out all the bells and whistles if you don't have the time or energy. But if you have a garage, basement or attic, then you can move out a piece of furniture or two into those spaces and make room in a little corner for you and your honey for New Year's Eve. The corner can be just simple little floor pillows with candles...the point is, make time to do this a few days early and admire your work and anticipate it for a few days before the big event. You won't be sorry. :-)

Candles add instance romance. If you have a lot of old used candles and want to save money, then just bury all the miss-matched candles in rice or beans that fill ironstone cups or small jars. This helps hide any differences and gives them texture.

Burlap and cheese cloth cost about $3 a yard at any hobby or fabric store. Use generously!

Tarnished silver not only has great patina, but the texture compliments any room. Pull it out and show it.

Think of a simple theme. Something as simple as clocks will provide you with many ideas. Music is a good theme for music lovers. Nature for gardeners. Or even a beach theme for beach lovers. Just keep it simple, but more importantly, let its meaning speak to your soul.

Sources:

Walls faux finished by Elizabeth Maxson

Sofa cover (Bed spread) and pillows, dishes, plate chargers, chocolates, candles, gift tins– Target! Yes, Target. I wanted to show that regular people can have fab spaces with little budgets. Expensive silver and china aren't needed. If you have them, great! But if not, Target to the rescue!

Burlap and cheese cloth – Hancock Fabrics or local hobby or crafts stores. Usually $3 - $5 per yard.

Wine glasses by Pottery Barn.

Behind the scenes photos!

Yes, if you have read this far, then you are like me and want to see "how did she do that" type of photos. I am always the one that goes in the "do not enter door" that is left unlock in a museum, theater, or show home. I always want to know what is going on that I am not suppose to see. So for all you curious kitties that have used up your nine lives, exploring "do not enter" areas, I am willingly allow you to "enter" freely! :-)

The before shot, above was taken after I brought in some things and realized I hadn't taken any photos. I brought in the marbled shelf and all the props you see below. The fireplace is from France which I sold to the owners. My two chairs are from France that I am someday going to redo "for real" but I just love using them for whatever I need them for. For now, they are in my family room. The walls you see are aged with my faux finish technique that I had done about a year before this shoot. The two old prints are family heirlooms that I grew up with and hung simply with cheese cloth. The "frame" on the mantle is actually the back of a settee that owner had in her barn.It was so cool and I thought it would make a great mirror someday. The marbled shelf is now in my office is a "marriage." The marble top is American and the shelf is from Sweden. But as you can plainly see, the area is very tiny and I really did measure it. It measures only 6' by 7'. One could easily move around a corner of their room and set up a little yucky table and cover it with a cool cover and glam it up with candles...it doesn't take much. I think it is the aged walls and wooden floor that makes this area extra cool, but anyone can have a romantic corner for two!

For a glam, New Year's Eve look and in keeping with the color and texture, I covered the owner's pretty sofa with a King size bedcover from Target. It fit nicely and looked beautiful. I just tucked it in the corners and put inexpensive bolster pillows at the ends to hide the tucks. I put tarnished silver on the shelves and brought in a little cottage table with candles and lined the window sill with more candles as well. The sofa is ready for summer and spring again simply by removing the cover and now you may use the cover on the guest bed, if you wish.

As you can see below, I flanked the doorway with a pair of old door shutters. I just simple leaned them against the wall. But what a difference!

The magic of candles and lots of fabric still continues to amaze me. Old clocks, old books, candles, and what else you can find and just pile it all up. The little coffee table is really crappy and in need of painting. But covered up, you'd never know!

Just by removing the summery chair and replacing it with my old stained chair and stacking old papers on it, extends my little corner out a little further and adds a little more texture. Remember, this is just for a little while.

When covering your table with cheese cloth, remember, neatness does not count. Cut the edges unevenly and quickly. Layer your look until you like what you see. Then slowly add your items in stages as you go. Remember to have fun and not to stress out about it! :-)

Remember: uneven edges look best with cheese cloth - and it is the quickest method too. Below are the props, hard work, and mess that it takes to make a photo shoot turn out:

I tried to take photos as I put the mantle clock theme together. Here is how I constructed it:

I always like starting with a blank slate and standing back to get a good look first. Then I start with the layering of books for height.

Now I must fill in the frames with more books on wire and start that process.

I now step back and decide my next move which will be leaves and then the clocks.

I now work on the opening area before I move the table into place.

I add the basket of branches to the left and will adjust everything once I set up and get out my camera for the shoot. But for now I am satisfied. This entire sequence took about 30 minutes to do, including wiring up the books. But, I have been wiring up books for years, so that is easy for me. The hardest part for me was scale and height. I wish I stood next to the mantel and took a photo. My head only comes to where the book is on the left. It is very tall and I had to step back a lot to see what I was doing up there. And I am not short either.

Well, this photo shoot took several days and below is my beloved's old truck that is loaded up to take my props home after a lot of hard work. When I get home, I will unload the truck and then I will down load about 300 photos, crop, edit, color fix and then write my story for the feature. So there you have the behind the scenes look. Hope you enjoyed the tour.

And if you are hanging in there and are still reading, then I would like to close this current year with my current thoughts. I hope you enjoyed my Moment in Time feature for those of you who have never seen it and for those who have, I hope I showed you some photos you haven't seen before and hopefully you found it worthwhile to read/view again.

But for now, I would like to end this year, 2009 with these thoughts:

The end of a year usually places we humans in one of two categories: we are either very happy to finally have the year end, or we are so surprised that the year has come to an end so soon. We are either looking forward to a new year for a fresh start, or we are looking back with many fond memories, not wanting to let go. No matter which group we may fall in, we all have one thing in common: We can't change the past year, no matter what it held for us.

But we can have hope for a new year with new beginnings. A lot of people have lost hope over time. Some feel like hoping is like wishing...it is something children do. Adults don't hope, they don't wish, they just do and they just accept whatever comes their way. That is the adult thing to do, right? I can understand these people. Life has been a hard for them (sometimes, very hard) and they didn't just give up hope on their own. They had help. Through illnesses, injustices, brokeness, hurts, disappointments, and more. Their hope has been chiseled down to what they feel is just acceptance of what life dishes out. If you don't hope, then you can't be disappointed.

For those of you who may be reading this, who feel that hope is no longer a part of your thinking, please think again. 2010 can be the year that hope reenters your life in all kinds of forms. Accepting what life has to offer is just surviving. Asking for your heart to be filled with your dreams again is not child's play. It 's not wishing. It's hoping. It's living. And where does this thing "hope" come from? Let me quote the answer I can find:

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

So, if you find yourself feeling so tired of just surviving and if you miss the feeling of having hope for your future, then take heart. You are not alone. Someone much greater, much more powerful than anything we could ever imagine, already has it all figured out. And He loves us more than we could ever imagine. When I first discovered God's love for me, a friend used my dogs, Monty and Lulu as examples. Being a huge, huge dog lover, she asked me if I would ever turn away Monty or Lulu (I don't have children, so my dogs are the best example I have) for having torn up a favorite shirt, or spitting up on the sofa, or for barking all night long. Of course not, I love them and would never abandoned them! She then said to take my love for them and times it by a 1000 and that is God's love for me. No matter what, He would never turn me away and I would never be alone.

God has plans for me and He plans to give me hope and a future. And He is planning the same thing for you as well. It is comforting to know that His plans never fail and He is always on time, never late. (That's a relief, I am hardly ever on time!) But having faith that whatever it is that He is going to give me is going to be just perfect for me is the part I am working on. I am working on having faith that in 2010, His plans will continue to work in me because He "declared" it and He says what He means.

If you are having trouble finding Christ and you want to, or maybe you aren't sure, just know this. He already found you. He has plans for you. And He loves you. Just talk to Him and thank Him for all that He has given you and have faith that He will come through for you. He will lead you where you need to go if you just let Him.

Remember when we were really little kids and we would just hold onto our parent's hand when we were in a crowded mall or amusement park? We would just put our little hand into our parent's big hand and they would just lead us around. We really couldn't see anything but kneecaps and for all we knew, our parents could have been leading us in circles, but we didn't pull away, nor want to. We held tight because we didn't want to get lost and we had full trust and faith that mom or dad would lead us to the right spot and get us there safely. We never doubted it. We just went along for the ride. Hey, they loved us and protected us, so why would we doubt them?

Christ is exactly the same way. He just wants us to hold His hand and let Him take over for a while - isn't that great? He will help us go where we need to and we just need to have faith and trust in Him. The better we get to know Him, the easier it is to trust Him too. So, I am trying to learn about Him. We are taught not to get into cars with strangers. Well, same thing here. It is hard to ride along with Christ if He is a stranger, so I am trying to get to know Him through bible study or through my husband, Randy, or on my own through reading. But bottom line is this: I am not special. God didn't make plans just for me....He has made plans for everyone! We all have plans! And it is my greatest hope (there is that word again) that you allow God to give you hope, a future, and to show you His wonderful plans for you this 2010. May you find immense joy in His plans for you! It is okay, you know, to ask Him for your dreams. He wants so badly to see you joyful.

Many good plans, blessings, hopes and dreams for 2010!

Thank you God for all that you gave me and my readers this past year.
From my house to your house,

I'm Afraid to "Go Sissy"

2009-12-15T12:07:00.034-06:00

Okay, I am sitting here in my office eating Oreo cookies (come on January diet...get the holidays over...geesh!!!), all set to get down to work, but I am still giddy and high from my birthday weekend (or is it the sugar high from the friggin cookies?). Either way, I just wanted to share it with you and then I promise I will send you the New Year's Eve photo shoot feature that I promised two postings ago.....I know, I know....

Well, my birthday was last Friday, December 11th. Two years ago, my birthday was spent upside down, screaming in my car that had been flipped twice and would have gone over the bridge had it not been for a light post. I was hit by a drunk driver and my birthday was basically spent in the the emergency room with me shaking and crying in my then fiance's arms who also happened to hear the entire ordeal over his cell phone. The following year, we decided not to celebrate my birthday on the 11th. I stayed in not wanting to go out. We decided my "new" birthday was going to be on the 10th. Well, this year, I took my birthday back. That drunk already took so much away from me, she wasn't going to take my birthday too.

My birthday was last Friday and it was suppose to be my "field trip" day with a good friend Paul. We are going to look at one of his homes for a possible photo shoot, then look at some buildings and spend the day together. We have done show homes together in the past and we like to work together. So, I get up and start to get ready but my phone is ringing nonstop from my family and friends wishing me happy birthday. Paul calls and we arrange to meet at the Walgreens up the street and take off from there in about thirty minutes. I jump in the shower and as soon as I get out, my phone rings again. My good friend Debbie calls me and asks me what I am up to and I say that I just got out of the shower and I ask her what she is up to and she said she has been knocking on my door and that she and Gretchen are on my front porch with cheesecake!

I throw on a robe and greet them with a hug (anyone with cheesecake gets hugs in my book) and I welcome them in and we all go to the kitchen and they make themselves at home and the yakking starts, the dishes come out, and they tell me they took off work for a bit to wish me happy birthday! I was so touched! So, there I am, no clothes on except a robe and flannel pants, wet hair, eating cheesecake with my buds and just yakking, and then my phone rings again! It is Paul wondering where I am....oh Paul! I totally forgot about him! Put two good gabbing girlfriends and cheesecake in front of me, and all else is lost. So I laugh and told him what's what and he offered to just come on over (he likes cheesecake too).

Debbie (left) and Gretchen (right). Now, I tell you, am I blessed with such beautiful friends? And aren't friends even more beautiful when they are presenting little cheesecakes to you??? :-) Beauty comes in all forms...

Okay, I would like you take note how devoted I am to you to put these photos up for you - not my best by any means. But I am all about trying to keep it "real" even if that means real bad. But the good thing about real friends that really do love each other is that we not only compliment each other when we are looking hot...well at our age...luke warm...we also breath a sigh of relief to know that no matter what the friggin %$#&* commericals say, there is no such thing as a "natural beauty" once you are past 45. Hence the word "plastic." The last time I checked, plastic doesn't grow on trees and isn't organic. But for now, I will sincerely concentrate on my inners and hope as my outers age, so will Randy's eyes! :-) God sort had it all planned out, now didn't He? He's kinda smart...

So Gretchen and Debbie have to get back to work and they leave and I rush back to get ready and blow dry my hair. But my phone rings first...it is Randy. He asks what I am doing and I am telling I am trying to get ready and so on and he says he is on the way home so he can spend the day with me. He let his other barber take over for the day. I explain how happy I am about that, but Paul is coming over for our field trip day but that is fine with me that I get to spend a whole day with my husband too! So now Randy is on his way home. So back to the bathroom again to get ready. As soon as I dry my hair, my phone rings again! This time, it is Paul telling me he is at the front door. He knocked while I was using the dryer. I go let him and he notices immediately my new Mac computer and both of us have a tendency to be just a tad A.D.D. (shocking, I know), so we plop down on the sofa and I start showing him all sorts of goodies. Randy finally comes home and I go let them eat the rest of the cheesecake (and listen to them tell each other how cool my friends are to bring it over) while I FINALLY get out of my robe and put on my face. (It's alright to shock you, but can't do that to the locals...)

But isn't it great to have so many friends who call or visit that you can't even get out of your robe until almost noon? I am very blessed.

Okay, so my day is spent with two wonderful men...filled with laughter. At one point in the car, Paul and I were talking about car wrecks (of course...my birthday). Paul and I can gab and gab and gab. Okay, don't take this wrong Paul, but you are like a girl when it comes to gabbing - maybe that is why we can work so well together. :-) Well anyway as we are gabbing in the car, and you have to picture Randy just sitting in silence, taking this all in. At one point, Paul and I were discussing a wreck I witness while living in NJ that had two green lights at the same time and it went like this after much discussion of the wreck, the green lights, and how it all happened, our conversation still continues like this:

Me: ...and so the car went flying through the intersection and smashed into the other car without even stopping!

Paul: Wow! Both had green lights?

Me: Yeah! I later found out that the city had worked on those lights earlier that morning.

Paul: And they malfunctioned again?

Me: Yeah, but that was the only time. Just once!

Paul: I wonder how they knew it malfunctioned only once?

Me: Must have some sort of mechanism...

Paul: You'd think it would time it out?

Me: But how would two green lights happen when it is all electronic?

Paul: And how do you think they knew it was only once and not twice and they just got lucky?

Me: What I don't get is how...

Finally Randy interrupts calmly and says:

Randy: What I don't get is how you two don't know how to end a story! To me, the story of the wreck ended a long time ago. You said you saw a car fly through the street. Another car came and hit it. They both had green lights. Then later a report came out that they both had green lights and the lights had been worked on earlier that morning. Done. End of story. But you two keep on talking about how did light do that? Why did it do that? What was wrong? How did the mechanism fail? Are they sure it was only once?...

Paul and I just sat there a little stunned and listened to Randy go on because we hadn't really heard him talk all day. We suddenly burst out laughing and Paul yelled (jokingly) to Randy: WE ARE PROBLEM SOLVERS, MAN! THAT'S WHAT CREATIVE PEOPLE DO! I think Randy is very happy when I spend a day with Paul because I am all wound down when I get home, and Paul's wife is all happy when he gets home as well....can't imagine why.... :-)

My husband and I were then invited to attend a beautiful church Christmas performance by our new and very loving friends, Danita and Russ that evening. (No not Cornelia yet, you will meet her in a minute.) We had a great time. Randy wanted to take me out Saturday night, so going to the church event on my birthday was perfect and I love spending time with them.

Saturday morning I felt like a call center again. I was getting birthday wishes on Friday but mostly on Saturday. Which was great, but Randy had reminded me several times to make sure I was at the barber shop at 10:30 because Bob (my friend from NYC) has friends who just moved to St. Louis who are coming in for haircuts and they really want to meet me. I then get texts all morning from Bob about how I am to call him after I meet Jimmy and Keith. (No, not Cornelia, yet.) Every time I go to get ready, I either get a phone call or text and I can't get ready. So, I am running late, and never eat anything so I leave to make it there on time. I arrive at the shop and they aren't there yet, and I am starving. I plop down in a chair and chat with Clifford, my favorite barber in the world over the age of 41. I tell Randy I am starving and I will be back, but he stops me and says to just wait and I tell him I will be only a minute. Well, Randy stops cutting hair and rushes to the fridge in the back and grabs something out of the fridge and rushes over to me and shoves out a stick of string cheese and a Hershey's chocolate bar in my face and says, "Here, have this!" I stare at the weird combo and wrinkle my nose and say, "But I don't want string cheese and chocolate..." I said it sort of like the way Jerry Seinfeld said, "But I don't want to be a pirate..." Those who are Seinfeld fans will know what I am talking about. But I take the cheese anyway, looking at him weird, and just as I open it, a big guy walks in introduces himself as Jim and I stand up to hug him and I turn to meet Keith...but it isn't Keith, it is Bob!!! My friend from NYC. He flew in to surprise me for my birthday!

Randy has a look of relief, as he is NOT good at keeping secrets, and he was just about to crack under the pressure at having an "uncooperative participant" as he later called me. What a great surprise!

Jim (left) and Bob. Is it hard to guess that Bob is from NYC and in Theatre? Just wondering... :-)

So Bob and I had the whole weekend together as my present. I give Randy a big hug and Jim has to get to work and so I whisk Bob off for some food (I really was starving as was Bob) and so my present begins. Bob and I go way back to our college and theatre days and we can just pick up wherever we left off the last time we saw each other. However, I have an appointment with my friend/client to take some photos of some pillows and drapes (yes, the beautiful home I have shown you before!) and I am excited for Bob to see some of my work. So off we drive out to her house. And then Bob and I go to some antique malls, where we meet.....

Miss Cornelia W. Heess! Yes, I meet her and instantly, I am curious about her and want to get to know her and have a secret "girl crush" on her. I find "her" in a little booth, just waiting to be chosen. She is a dainty little purse. I show Bob this fabulous little leather purse that feels so good to the touch, but wait, oh! Oh, how cool! When you open it, it is embossed with someone's name! Well, Miss Cornelia must have been special. Oh! I squeal...look! Look! She had calling cards too! And even a matching calling card holder! And what's this? OMG...is this what I think it is? It is! It is! It is a vintage version of a day planner (sort of). She has her shopping list with her! And I do believe she has an important event coming up by the looks of her list. And as I dig around more....wait, I didn't see that at first, the card holder has pockets! And what is this? A gentleman's card? Well, now, who is the Mr.Waldemar F. Wehrli? He is the only other card in the holder. He must be special. As I ooh, and ahh, there is something about it that I just love. But I finally put the purse back. I just usually don't buy that stuff for myself and it is out of habit not to spend money on myself, especially since I don't have the store. Well, Bob picks it up and hands it to me and says, "Happy Birthday. We can't leave Miss Cornelia behind, now can we? Everyone should have a Cornelia." I give him a hug and thank him and I "pet" my purse as we continue to shop. He finds some really nice art for his new NYC apartment and we head home to change. You can "meet" Miss Cornelia for yourself in the photos below:

I just love this little Art Deco snap.

This is like a vintage day planner - right up my alley!

To me, this was the show-stopper. This card is made of some very sturdy, slick card-type paper. One can write on it in pencil, and erase the list and use it over and over again. I love that it has a list on it.

The list says: Hat, gloves, Ra...fer, Hose, Stocking. I wish I could figure out the "R" word. I think I have those letters correct. Any guesses?

Look how the leather piece matches the purse. This is attached to the note card.

Card Holder with pockets.

Did they live happily ever after?

That evening, Randy takes us all out to a very nice dinner on The Hill (Italian section of St. Louis) and I decide to take Miss Cornelia with me. She is the perfect accessory. Not too flashy, but just cute enough to stand out. Some would say she is a little "worn" but I prefer to say she has lived a really good life so it shows a little. And when you are that cute, you get to go to all the best places and see all the good stuff. So, of course you'd expect a little living to show.

We get home and I find a package waiting for me! The surprises never stop. I open the little parcel that is neatly wrapped in brown paper and out comes what I recognize immediately, is a custom-made apron from my ever-so talented friend and seamstress, Maureen! I love, love, love it! I immediately go and hang it up in my kitchen. I have THE perfect spot for it. I always wanted a personalized apron and I always told myself I would get one, but just never have. She got the fabric just perfect. Of course, it is the details that make it perfect. The pocket, the edging, the monogram, the size, and color. But what really makes it perfect? Is that every single morning when I go in to make breakfast and a big pot of coffee for my handsome husband, I will see it and think of her. And when I start my holiday baking (no, I haven't started!) I will be wearing it. It is just perfect. See for yourself below:

Is this a great place to hang it or what?

I love the color and fabric, of course!

The next day we three all go to Art Museum for brunch. (Can you just hear Weight Watchers calling??) I take my new friend with me and she stays on the table next to me (no floor sitting for her). If ever in town, you must have brunch at the museum. But, I did learn that the expansion of the museum will close the brunch off for some time until the expansion is completed! :-(

Miss Cornelia spent the entire day with us. You see her on the table?

We then head out and do a little vintage shopping and by the looks of it, you can see we had a little fun. If you don't keep an eye on Randy, you would think he is the one who is the theatre major.

I turn my back for one minute and I hear: "Hey honey...." And this is what I see.

And what was even more funny was when I put on the wig, it was actually hard to put on and I couldn't see, and when I got it on, with no mirror, I asked Randy, "Is it on right?" And he turned and said, "Oh, yeah...!" But he caught himself off guard and said it very...very...well...in a way he didn't expect to come out and I think he actually blushed with the tone of his voice because he didn't catch himself in time to stop which made it funnier!

But our main purpose was to get our Christmas tree and we took Bob to Ted Drews, a St. Louis tradition where they sell custard and sell trees at Christmas. Bob and Randy were busy making fun of me as I looked around. I am not sure what they were saying, but all I know was that every time I made a comment about a tree or whatever, it would crack them up. Not sure what that was about, but I seemed to keep them entertained...sort of like have a couple of giddy six year-olds all excited for Christmas with me.

Randy and Bob saw this huge stack of unopened trees and were making fun of me (below) of how I would go ecstatic over it and how I would insist that the "perfect" tree would be amongst them and how I would have the employee pull them all out for me to review one by one....yes, they are so funny...see, I told you they made fun of me the whole time, but I laughed along with them because they are goofy.

And as you can see, I found the perfect tree as "Vanna" is pointing out for all to see...and no, do not believe them when they tell you it took three days....

Well, that was my birthday weekend. Actually, I am closing this post at this time because the centers of my Oreo's are now gone, and if I want to eat the outsides, that means I have to get up and get milk. And if I have to get up, that means I will have to go "sissy" (as Bob likes to say) and I am afraid if I go "sissy" then I will notice we need clean towels, so I better go get fresh towels...so on the way to get fresh towels, I will be chilly, so I will stop and change the thermostat which will remind me that I need to get that sweater out that needs to be dry cleaned, so I will then head to my bedroom to get the sweater out so I don't forget, but when I get to the bedroom, I will see that I still need to make the bed, but then remember I didn't make it on purpose as a reminder that I need to change the sheets so I will then start the laundry and forget the sweater, forget the towels, forget the milk and forget to come back to the computer to finish this post. So, this is a good stopping point. Someone out there please tell me that I am not the only one like this...please...lie to me if you have to....lie dammit lie! :-)

Okay, in my defense, a lot of these cookie centers were eaten last night. (That doesn't sound so great now that I type it out.) But, I have a good reason for eating the centers at my desk. I don't need milk when I eat the centers and I don't want liquids around my computer, or crumbs....so as you can see, I am Computer-Cautious-Cookie-Connaisseur! :-)

Sorry this is not an exciting post or "eye candy" (only cookies) but when it comes to birthdays, I have a new perspective on my birthdays and on life and I am so very happy to have another one. And I am so blessed to have so many loving and thoughtful people in my life who wish to share the joy of living life with me. Life can be so filled with pain, resentment, unfairness, injustices, and anger. I know. But I also know the joy of life, happiness, laughter, sharing, love, and friends too.

Thank you for allowing me to share my life with you. I never take you for granted and I really hope you know that - well the best you can through a computer screen, that is.

May you be lucky enough to have a good friend with you the next time you meet your "Miss Cornelia" to remind you not to leave her behind either. Sometimes, we forget to treat ourselves now and again. And we shouldn't forget to do that.

From my house to your house,

Elizabeth

Shoppin' Gabbin' Drivin' and Laughin'

2009-12-07T21:57:00.045-06:00

Hello my friends!

There is something about a pair of hanging ice-skates that just screams Christmas to me. I grew up in Texas and remember wearing a pair of shorts, not ice-skates one Christmas and the only ice that I saw that year was in my mother's ice tea she was drinking as she basted the Christmas ham. I didn't wear a pair of ice-skates until I was almost 43 years old...I always wanted to learn to skate and finally one brave soul took mercy on me and tried to teach me. While I am sure I looked liked a middle-aged toddler taking her first steps; in my mind, was gliding gracefully over the ice. When you have a creative mind, you can do that sort of thing...pretend you are doing one thing when in fact you are not. It's wonderful! However, in 25 years they will call it dementia. But let's stick with the present and leave the future to take care of itself, shall we?

I saw this pair hanging in the Miss Frenchie's show in Carol's booth, Raised in Cotton. I know I promised in my last post that I would show you a New Years shoot that I did two years ago that I felt my new readers would enjoy (along with some photos that my long-devoted readers have never seen), but I promise that post is coming soon. Instead, I had a quick trip to Kansas City with my good friend, Debbie (from St. Louis) that I thought I would share with you instead....you know how I like to share my travel adventures with you.

Debbie always wanted to go to the Miss Frenchie's show in KS City and never got a chance to see me as a vendor there. So since I wasn't doing the show this Christmas, she asked if I wanted to go with her and do some antique hunting in KS City as well. Besides that, her neighbor (and my friend as well), Renee, was going to be in KS City with her sister and how fun it would be if we all could meet up at the show. So, I am all for a quick trip and we agreed we could do all this in a day.

Now, let me explain the geography a bit in case you haven't driven this part of the country. St. Louis is a solid four-hour drive to KS City. Debbie and I are wanting to drive there, shop around town, go to the infamous Curious Sofa, eat some lunch, and go to an antique mall. Then I want to take some photos of the Miss Frenchie's show, then we want shop the show when it opens at 5PM, visit with friends, and then drive home after the show...another four-hour drive. What are we? Twenty? No, we are just two giddy middle-aged (okay, maybe we are beyond middle age, but who is counting), friends who will yak non-stop for four hours, drink gas station coffee, eat crispy creme doughnuts and get lost once we arrive in town, but find the best time while being lost.

Our morning starts out early at 6AM where Debbie picks me at my home and we take off. She is the driver and I am the lucky passenger. We talk non-stop (hard to believe, I know) and cover all topics imaginable in a four-hour drive that two women could cover: men, food, weight, decorating, family, shopping, food, vacations, sex, health, aches, pains, food, fabric, getting old, buttons, linen, food, how we must go to Paris together, food, how we must go antiquing in Belgium together, food, getting a turkey neck (what is that all about?), food, food....did I say we talked about food? Getting up so early and so much talking can create a huge hunger pang. So we stop at a big truck stop for breakfast. It is one of those cool, old vintage eateries with the old booths complete with the old men drinking coffee and smoking. We are the only women when we arrive and we are starving and yakking. A big plate of pancakes and several cups of coffee later (and a box of fudge to go), we are on our way again.

As we approach KS City, I whip out my Garmon (GPS system) and I have saved Curious Sofa's address from a long ago visit and we decide we are going to go there first. Soon, we discover that we are no where near the right location....we are at the old location. I still had the old address in my Garmon which led us downtown...but no matter. We found a fantastic architectural salvage store that was calling our name. Below are some photos that I took. The lighting selection is fantastic. The location is on the corner of Southwest and Broadway. 2045 Broadway is the address.

I just loved this wall of sconces. This is just one wall of many!

Debbie is in light heaven and appears to be gasping for air as she clutches her chest after each "OMG! Elizabeth, get over here and look at this one!" :-)

The above photo looks upside down, but the chandeliers make you look twice to see that it isn't. This photo doesn't do the lighting justice. It was such a pretty room.

I have a thing for "piles" of stuff. Whether it is door knobs, hardware, fabric, thread, your name it. If there is a pile of it, I will usually think it looks cool. Junk, trash, crap....it can all be cool...however, being a Texan, a "pile of crap" has a whole different meaning that isn't so cool.

We then discover that Curious Sofa is not that far after all and we head over there. If you ever get a chance to visit Debbie Dusenberry's store, Curious Sofa, you must! But, you should also know that the little "strip mall" (which isn't really a strip mall at all, but rather a beautiful little "village" of stores) is easy to miss if you aren't paying attention...so keep an eye out for the busy intersection of streets that surround the area. Below are a few photos that I took while on my visit. Debbie Dusenberry (from here on out, I will call her Deb to avoid confusion with my St. Louis friend, Debbie) was not in, but busy setting up at Miss Frenchies.

Only Deb could roll out the red carpet so well....her store never disappoints!

Simple ornaments always quietly say "Christmas" and that never grows old.

Is this fantastic or what? Love the crochet balls hanging off the chandelier.

I love bedding...and this little setup is so pleasing to the eye that it took all my will not to crawl in it for a nap. Don't you just love the snowy light above and the tree behind it? The colors are so soothing and yet rich at the same moment.

Now is this a kicker or what? I was walking through the store snapping my photos while my friend was shopping away and I come across this vase (above). Upon closer inspection (below) I see that Deb has taken sweater parts and covered her urns! Now I know what to do with all those old sweaters - cut off the arms and stick urns in them. I am dressing mine up! I later met with Deb at the show and we laughed how we could take old tube socks and make beer cozies or a wine gift bags. But what a brilliant idea, with the vase, don't you think?

After shopping Curious Sofa, I then ask Debbie if she would like to squeeze in some time to go to an antique mall before we head out to Miss Frenchies...of course she isn't going to pass this up. But it has been hours since we had our pancakes and as we drive towards the mall, we pass the Salty Eguana and decide that Mexican food would do the trick. After a quick lunch we head to the Mission Road Antique Mall, which is very deceiving. It looks normal on the outside, but inside, it is a friggin maze. Hallways that turn this way and that are everywhere that lead to no where and in circles. Debbie and I were inside, I swear, not more than five minutes, and I lost her. I mean, she literally disappeared. I came across a booth that had such great stuff that I thought she would love and I turned around and she was gone. So I called out her name, and no answer. I walked down several hallways, and again called out her name...no answer. I mean, how fast can someone get away? And the mall was quiet, surely she could hear me...An employee was looking at me as I raised my voice and sort of called out, "Debbbiieeee!!!" I am not joking, I really did that, my hand cupped to my mouth and everything...the employee gave me "the look" and then she told me they had an electronic intercom system at the front desk. I know, I know, but all because I want to live an elegant life, doesn't always mean I am elegant...I shouldn't admit that now that I see it in print. Oh well. But seriously, I have never seen anyone disappear so fast in my life. Right at that moment, I get a text from my friend Gretchen, who is doing her jewelry show back in St. Louis. She texts me: "What have you found? Anything good yet?" So I text her back, "I lost Debbie in the antique mall..."

Several minutes later, I call Debbie on my cell phone, and we are on two different floors and we finally find each other. We laugh and then we put out heads together as I snap a photo on my camera and send our photo back to Gretchen with the words: "I found something great!" At that moment, the employee walks past us and tells me she is glad we found each other, and gives me a smile as well as "the look." Debbie leaves with a fabulous vintage cream Christmas tree in an urn that we both fell in love with. I told her I want to use for a photo shoot after the holidays...she bought it for only $28! I didn't buy anything, but I did see a few goodies I may go back and get on my next visit if they are still available.

We are now heading to Miss Frenchies and get there early so I can take photos before it gets too crowded. The vendors are pretty much set up and ready, but look pooped and I know exactly how they feel. Having done this show, I know all too well the amount of work that goes into it and for that reason, I passed this show. Late last spring my health was "interrupted" once again and not knowing exactly what to expect, I notified Deb of Curious Sofa to let her know to make plans for another vendor. I wanted to give her plenty of notice. It was a difficult decision, as I love the create my space and participate in such a lovely show, but I didn't want to have to pull out at the last moment and put Deb in a spot of having to fill my space. However, it was great to be able to attend and relax and visit with the vendors and see all the beautiful merchandise that I never had a chance to as a vendor.

Below are some photos of the fun event and if you ever get the chance to attend, you should. Everyone has a great time and it is an exciting way to jumpstart your holiday shopping. Enjoy the photos:

Willow's Nest had the most beautiful tree - little vintage coin purses clipped to the tree with small roses in side - so lovely!

Karla's Cottage always has the best "little stuff" that anyone would want to dig around for. The prices are great and the goodies are even better!

Carol with Raised in Cotton and Willow's Nest were "neighbors" and their styles went together so well. It was soothing, and yet so lively. I loved the looks and the creativity of the two being next to each other.

Above is my friend Renee (right) from St. Louis and her sister Wendy, from Wisconsin. They met us at the show and I met Wendy only once before. I could have listened to her all night long. Renee is so vibrant and fun beyond belief and her sister is the same WITH the Wisconsin accent which is hilarious! If you have ever seen the movie, Fargo, then you have just heard Wendy. (By the way, I love the movie's character, Marge. She is one of my favorite characters ever written.) I just kept laughing and I finally had to answer her back in her "lingo." I know I must have been so rude, but she was just a doll. Our conversation went something like this with a VERY heavy northern (think Fargo) accent, lots of smiling expressions and gestures:

Wendy: Ah!! Now! It is so gud to see ya, Elizabeth!!

Me: Laughing

Wendy: I follow yor blog all the time, don't cha know!

Me: Laughing

Wendy: Oh! The way ya write! Oh.... Now! I'm serious now....

Me: (trying to do an accent) You are, are you? Well now... You don't say?!

Wendy: Ah! Yes! I do! Don't cha know I read cha all the time! All the time, mind cha!

Me: Laughing (can't stop)

And so it went. I just loved listening to her. She was the sweetest and most sincere person I've ever met. What I really, really found hilarious is that later, when I was alone with Renee, I told Renee how much I loved her sister and Renee said that she loved her as well, but it is hard to get a word in to which I really BURST out laughing because if you have had the privilege of knowing Renee, you will definitely know that is the kettle calling the pot black, don't you know! :-) Sisters!

They are the best because we blame them when it is convenient and we take credit when we shouldn't and they never let us get away with either.

I should know - I have one.

It was nice to see that other shoppers were as busy as I was!

Look what I scored! (Below) I bought this fab sink from Curious Sofa's booth. It is just tiny enough for me to squeeze in the corner of our tiny bathroom next to our claw foot tub to hold all our soaps and sponges. I love the shaving mug - which is so fitting for a barber husband!

Love this giant ball of string (don't know why, I just do), and I love the simplicity of the little tree under the cloche. Sometimes, we just love what we love and that is all there is to it.

Beautiful felted pins (above) created by Julie Reed that my photo does not come close to doing them justice. And what is a show without the ever-so-sought baby head? Creepy, funny, however you view it, a show isn't a show without at least one.

Deb of Curious Sofa is busy checking out customers, which she does all night long. The show was busy and the shoppers kept coming. No sign of the recession in this barn....

I ran into many friends, customers, readers and other dealers in the biz. It was so nice to see everyone. I met, Jan, one of Leola's owners (below) and I hope she forgives me if I got her name wrong. I am horrible at remembering names, but in my defense, there are several dealers at Leola's (Springfield, MO) which is a wonderful shop that is worth a stop if you are in the area.

Deb of Curious Sofa managed to stop for a sec to snap a pic, but she was back to her customers right after this photo. As always, she works hard, and does a great job.

Carol of Raised in Cotton, is the woman of my kindred spirit. I feel as though I have known her my entire life. She and I were next to each other at the last show. Her stuff is great and her sense of style is very creative, fun and elegant all at once. If I lived in KS City, I would be glued to her side (and probably have her glitter on me).

And here is my lovely Debbie who did all the driving. She was my Louise and I was her Thelma...except we had a better ending. We had such a fun day (and night). We managed to get back to my home by midnight. She drove safely (she avoided all cliffs), we talked about all the treasures we found, how there wasn't enough time and how we must "do" Paris, Belgium, or London.... Or maybe we can just meet up next week for an estate sale...and pretend we are in Paris. I don't speak French, but we could eat chic croissants while waiting in line for the sale to open. And if it is cold, we could even wear chic berets.

Or better yet, we could just wear our chic berets and eat our chic croissants in a warm, chic cafe and get out our datebooks and start planning our trip abroad for some serious flea-marketing! Who knows? Plenty of fun plans have been made while munching on a croissant and looking chic in a beret.

Beret, no beret. Flea-marketing awaits which means treasures to be found and I considered myself one keen explorer. While in Curious Sofa, I caught up with my friend Debbie, who was shopping and after I snapped some pics I went over to her and she was looking for some things for her kitchen. I knew her style and so I looked down, under a table, on a shelf and I pointed and said that a basket under there would be perfect for her kitchen. She bent down and looked and gasped and asked me how in the world did I see it and find it so quickly? I held up my arm and made a muscle and told l her I am "one keen explorer." She loved the basket and bought it.

And I once again proved my hunting skills - Ta Da! :-)

And I wasn't even wearing a beret.

I hope you enjoy my little visit to Miss Frenchies - please visit the site to see all the vendors and their websites. There are many more worth visiting. May these next few weeks of shopping be a fun hunting expedition rather than a chore. For it is the laughter and friendship that is created along the way that is the true gift that lasts. Take a friend with you and laugh, eat, shop, and eat some more. (The diets start in January anyway, so who are we kidding?)

Thank you for taking time out of your very busy day to visit with me...I hope I made you laugh a little and if I did, then go get a piece of fudge and call a friend and go shopping. Really, go do it. Stop reading and call her....go call...she is waiting... :-)

From my house to your house

Elizabeth

Free-lancing Doesn't Mean Working for Free...

2009-12-02T01:05:00.023-06:00

Hello!

I hope this posting finds you all well. I have been receiving emails and questions regarding my column, Ta Da! in Romantic Homes magazine, or rather, my lack of articles for my column, and I wasn't sure how to broach the subject until this timely letter to the editor appeared in the current issue of Romantic Home's Jan 2010 issue. A reader wrote stating that she visited the St. Louis area, looking for my store and was disappointed to find that I had closed it and wanted to know how to get in touch with me. (Thank you Roseanne Lange of Eldon, MO for the lovely letter to the editor.) The editors of the magazine were kind of enough to print the letter as well as my blog address for the readers to find me so they can keep up with my adventures. The editors also mentioned that I have an upcoming article in a future issue...

...which leads me to the reason of this posting. I have always tried to be open and honest with you with all my writings whether it was with a design project, Shop Talk, a fashion foible, or a personal issue I was experiencing - divorce, marriage, car wrecks, you name it, I always tried to be true. So in keeping with my mode of operation, I will explain how it came to be that I am no longer a contributing editor for Romantic Homes.

Jan 2010 Issue

For those of you who may not be familiar with the publishing world, let me explain that just about any Christmas article you may be reading in any current magazine today was photographed and written at least six to seven months ago, but even more likely it was written a year ago. Articles, especially seasonal ones, are usually completed six months to a year in advance for publication. So, last summer the editor of Romantic Homes contacted me wanting me to come up with a list of suggested features and ideas for my next year's (2010) articles for my column, Ta Da!.

I was very excited (and flattered) to be asked again to write for them another year. The first issue I appeared in was their November 2005 issue. Geesh! I can't believe it has been fours years that I have been working with them in one capacity or another. I so enjoy the creative process of creating a feature. It is such a joy to be given such creative license to come up with a list of story ideas and basically just go out and do them...

But that is the problem. I just don't "just go out and do them..." Doing a feature is a lot of work and a lot of time. Over the years of writing for RH, my average feature is anywhere from 6 to 12 pages. That is a huge article by industry standards and it takes a lot of work to fill those pages. Also, for those of you who aren't part of the publishing world, there are several different jobs in creating a feature in the industry that are usually held by different professionals in which I combined into one. Usually there is a person who is paid to scout out a story, then a photographer is paid, and then a stylist is on the shoot to help the photographer, then a writer is given some pics so she can formulate the story and call up the designer or home owner to ask questions to complete the story. Those four positions (scouting, stylist, photographer, writer) were all done by me in addition to my creating the rooms themselves (designer) and coming up with the idea in the first place. Please don't misunderstand me, I absolutely love the creative process, and I do mean that very much. But...

...I was going to do a post for my blog sometime down the road about my photo shoots and what is done behind the scenes, and I was saving these photos for that article, but I will share some with you now to better explain you what goes into a shoot. This particular shoot (see below) took three days. I actually spent the night at the home owner's home because it was over an hour drive and the work day was so long. Below are some photos of a shoot that I will share with you in the next posting. It was an article I did last year that I think is worth repeating for new readers about taking a tiny space and making it special for New Years. I will include a lot of photos that weren't in the magazine and also some tips that weren't included as well. Below are some photos to just give you an idea of the set up that is involved in a photo shoot:

I love Randy's old truck - everyone needs an old truck that you can count on to haul your goodies. Plus, don't you just love the color? But, I digress..as you can see by the weather and sky...it isn't no where near winter or looking like it will snow. But yet, this is a shoot for Christmas and New Years. The truck is loaded with props that I gathered, found, shopped, and loaded up and now have to unload and get into the home without breaking them or scratching the walls in the process.

All this mess is just props, materials, and stuff to get the room ready for the shoot. All the stuff you see below are things I brought in. Believe it or not, it is all used. It takes a lot of planning to get it done right and not have to drive back an hour to Target to get more candles or napkins or whatever you need. Once you are out in the country, you don't have time to go back.

Below are some French chairs that I own that I brought in to "re-do" on the spot with some burlap. I spent the evening putting burlap over the upholstery for the shoot. As you can see by the window, it is late into the evening.

This is a little table that I am fixing up for two. The above is when I just started and below is the finished product with all the goodies. Just getting it all set out took a day. Now I have to shoot it and I use only natural light, so my daylight is running out and I must rush.

Above and below is the mantel before and after. It takes a lot of time to tie up wire and books and place out a dozen or so clocks and candles...more detail photos on my next posting...and yes, that is my faux finishing technique on the wall... more on that in my next posting :-)

I could show you a lot more "in the process" photos, but you get the idea. What a lot of people don't realize is the stuff you don't see. Like hauling in the tool box, the ladders, the material, staple gun, wire, and all the shopping I did at all the stores to get just the right stuff I needed for the story. Then I had to go through my inventory for antiques or go to antique malls or flea-markets to find the perfect whatever to make the story really interesting or special for my readers. Once I find all those goodies (and it can take days), buy them, and load them in the truck. I now get to drive over an hour and unload them all again. As I work, I am formulating the story in my head, even though I have a good idea about it already, I am writing it in my head as I work into the night.

Once the "set" is done, I now must shoot it and style it. I must make sure that no camera bag is left in the background (I do it all the time!!) and all extension cords are hidden and price tags are taken off. That is why having a stylist is so nice to have on a shoot. I need to make sure all my batteries are charged and I have both my tripods. I must wipe off all the glass because dust is a pain to photo shop out and to make sure my reflection of myself behind the camera isn't in the window, mirror, shiny dish, or glass. I must check and recheck all the photos to make sure all is well because once I tear down the set, and I leave, that is it. And I am on a deadline, no second chances. I go about and probably shoot about 350 photos. Wide shots, and detail shots. My back is aching from a long night and from bending over so much with the camera. I squat on my knees a lot because I am determined to get certain angles. I work quickly with the natural light....the sun is now setting.

I then pack up the props, load the truck, put the house back in order, and head home, unpack the truck and down load all 350 photos onto my computer. I crop, correct and work on them until they are ready to download to a disk. This can take an entire day or even two. I then ship it off to RH and write my story and edit it many times before I email the story out to them as well. So there you have it. As you can see, I really just don't "go out and just do" my photo shoots. I put a lot of thought, care and love into them and I always keep the reader in mind and what I think you would want to know and see in an article. I don't have control over what actually goes into the magazine, but I always put the readers first when it comes to my writing articles.

Below is the end result that landed in the Romantic Homes January 2008 Issue:

So, back to my original reason for writing this post. When the editor asked me to come up with a list of story ideas for next year's issues, while excited, I knew I could no longer continue to do all the work it requires at the pay rate I was receiving. After all the features I have produced over the years, I had never asked for a raise and I really had to come to terms with how much I valued my time, effort and experience. So, with great thought, and with a heavy heart, I politely (and gratefully) expressed my gratitude to the RH editor for the opportunity to write and produce for them, and I expressed my desire to continue to do so, but I could not continue without a raise. Unfortunately, RH stated they did not have the budget and that was that. I sort of felt like not much consideration was given in trying find other budget options in keeping me on board, but business is business and magazines are closing up left and right, so I shouldn't take it personal.

I offered the option of my writing fewer articles to meet their budget requirements, but my offer has not been taken. I knew in my heart that when I wrote my email requesting a rate increase, I was basically writing my resignation. If a raise had not been offered to me by now, after all the articles I have produced, I knew that realistically, a raise would not be coming my way and that my email would be my resignation in a way. I was hoping otherwise, but unfortunately I was right. See, it isn't always good to be right. :-)

Basically, I had to ask myself some hard questions. The same tough questions I ask my readers that read my Shop Talk blog. I had to ask myself how much do I value my talent? I can only be taken advantage of (or feel as though) if I allow it. And even though I was passionate about those photo shoots and my producing them, at what point do I decide that my passion is worth more to me than just basically praise? When do I decide that I have "paid my dues" and now I am due for some real pay? Obviously my passion was worth something to the RH editors and publishers...at least worthy enough to print on paper and distribute. But if I don't value myself, or value my experience, or what I bring to the table, then who will? I had to remind myself it was the magazine who called me, not the other way around. But sometimes it is hard to feel valuable when I feel like I am only "fabulous" when I am "free."

I know there are so many others out there who would love to be in my shoes and do what I do with the magazine...I would love to be in my shoes too (as long as they match....see prior posting). But my shoes weren't feeling so good this last year, having worked so hard to produce articles like the New Year's Eve article or my Kitchen make-over and not be fairly compensated within the publishing standards....my shoes felt pretty tight...they just weren't feeling good anymore, even with a lot of praise about my work. But it is my fault if I don't speak up, because if I don't, then I can't complain. So I spoke up. And I didn't get the answer I hoped for. But as much as I will miss writing my features, and even with some doubts in wondering if I did the right thing, I know in my heart I did do the right thing because you know, my shoes are feeling a little better already. They ain't so darn uncomfortable because I know I will go further without the hindrance of uncomfortable shoes holding me back. You know how after walking all day in really uncomfortable shoes you begin to slow your pace and after a while your gait is even off a bit? That can happen professionally when one side of the equation is feeling shorted - the gait is off - and that doesn't feel good. With better fitting shoes, the pace is better, the stride is cleaner, and the gait is even, as it should be.

I offered RH my services should they need special feature and they were more than happy to keep that option open, which I appreciate. I have a feature coming out in the future, not sure which month. I believe it will be my bathroom from my apartment from over my store which features a baptismal font as a sink. That will be my last feature for them, unless they decide they want to hire me again for another story. I am so happy to have had the experience and opportunity to have worked with them. I learned a lot and challenged myself. The editors gave me a lot of freedom with my articles and they were always so excited when they received my disk of photos. Magazines are very expensive to produce and budgets are slashed. And I, like millions of others in America, can now say that the recession has now hit home with me. Until now, I have been very lucky and have not been too affected by it.

In the words of the late Paul Harvey, "Now you know the rest of the story." Should you feel the need to politely let the editor know how much you will miss my articles, feel free to let her know that you will miss my Ta Da! column and RH should reconsider their budget! :-) But seriously, please know that I am very grateful for the experience I received and I would welcome the opportunity to work with them again should it arise. They are a quality magazine that I was proud to be a part of for four years.

So, I am officially a free-agent...a free-lance writer...there seems to be a lot of "free" in those titles. Maybe that is the problem? How about the terms "Money-seeking Agent" or "Cash-Advance Writer"? I think those terms better define the reality of the situation anyway. :-) Any editors out there needing a feature writer? I produce great work for great pay....that seems fair, now doesn't it?

I hope by sharing my experiences with you it helps shed some light and answer some questions. I love to style, write, design and so on...but I think I paid my dues and it is time to earn a real living in the publishing world. So many other people earn a good living at it, why not me as well? And that is what you can ask yourself when you are feeling like your talent or passion is "just a hobby" or you feel like you are always "doing favors" but not getting paid for your talent. If someone is asking you for something...then you have something of worth. And if you don't put a price on it, then they will. And sometimes, just to get a foot in the door, we may have to pay our dues. But once both feet are firmly inside, and we have proven ourselves, unless we step out and speak up, then the price we pay will be much bigger than we bargained for: our sense of self-worth. And that, my dear readers, is priceless.

I will close with these quotes that I feel sum it all up nicely:

"The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself." Mark Twain

"I think somehow we learn who we really are and then live with that decision." Eleanor Roosevelt

And my favorite:

"Always remember to stand up for yourself because nobody will if you don't." Alfred Maxson

(My late loving father said that to me when I was only 10 years old when he tucked me into bed one night after I got into an argument with my mother. He wanted me to apologize to her, but said he was proud of me for standing up to her for what I believed in...I just needed to do it more respectfully...but he wanted me to remember to always stand up for myself. I will never forget that.)

From my house to your house,

Elizabeth

Looking Good Ain't So Pretty

2009-11-27T11:51:00.023-06:00

Hello!

Well, just in case you are feeling old, fat, or like your are losing it, I got a story for you that will either make you feel like you are not alone, or you will be thinking, well at least I'm not that bad!

It all started out so innocently and yet so badly....

In my last posting I was telling you about my Big Ass Button Trip (aka NYC) and how I found this fabulous dress - I mean couture chiffon with black roses (see above). Well, I found a chance to wear it recently on a beautiful fall day. I had loads of errands to do, a computer class to take and I was meeting some girlfriends for lunch. I put on said couture, black tights, boots, vintage 1950's short sweater that belonged to my mother and the brooch that I also bought on my trip.

I was stylin!

I was in a rush (I am always running late) so I grab my computer and head out for my class - I am trying to learn some new skills as I build my new website and I meet my teacher in a one on one class and a bunch of other students and while a zillion customers mill around the store. I then run to the bank and a few other errands and then I meet my girlfriends, Debbie and Gretchen for lunch. As I enter the lunch place, my girlfriends are already there and as I walk in they squeal with delight and ask me to twirl for them to see the dress. They ooh and aaah over the black roses....it seems no matter who old we women get, we still like to play dress up and we still squeal. It makes me feel young though when that happens because it is all so sincere. My friend comments on the brooch and sweater and then we sit and gab and gab and finally go the counter to order. (I order dessert first and bring back a big piece of cake with three forks...gotta try the cake while we wait for our lunch...it will be a long gabbing session, must have strength!) We all catch up on what's what and the place is getting crowded but we just gab, laugh (howl actually) and hours later, we must depart.

My two friends are heading to flower row (a cool place here in St. Louis to get wholesale flowers and floral supplies) and I am headed over another friend's home, Karen for a visit. I drive to Karen's home and as I walk up her sidewalk to her glass door, she is waiting for me and she is already oohhing and aaahhing my dress and says for me to "come in! come in" and as I enter her home, she asks me to take off my little sweater so she can get a look at me and here is how the 30 second conversation goes as I stand there for her to admire my dress:

Me: Don't you just love it? I can't believe I got it for only $40!

Karen (aka Miss Fashion Plate): Oh! It's beautiful!

(I do the mandatory twirl for her..)

Me: I love the color...

Karen: Me too! But why do you have on one black boot and one brown boot?

(My twirls come to an immediate halt needless to say...)

Me: What??!!! (As I glance down at my feet in horror...)

Karen: Yeah...? You have one brown boot on and one black boot..?

Me: What??!!

Karen (now laughing): Don't they feel different? Couldn't you tell how they feel?

Me (now laughing): OMG!

Karen (matter of fact tone): Oh, I see, (she studies my boots closely) they have the same heel....but one is brown and the other is black...you know one is black and the other...

Me: I heard you....man the bad thing is (as I look down at my boots) the bad thing is, is that one boot toe is pointy and the other boot toe is rounded! (And I just give up and laugh with her.)

But in my defense, they had the same leather feel, same heel height, and same squished look. You can judge for yourself....see below.....

(I know...pretty bad, isn't it?)

We both crack up laughing so hard...I mean, I am with Karen 30 seconds max, and she spots it, and I am with Debbie and Gretchen for hours and nothing....so I tell Karen to wait a second, I MUST make a call. I pick up my cell phone and call Gretchen. She and Debbie are still in the car driving. I don't say "hello" I don't say anything when she answers, I just say:

"Do you think you can help out a girlfriend???!!"

I proceed to tell Gretchen what Karen and I discovered and I hear loud gasps over the phone and then I hear Debbie in the background saying that she did later noticed I had two different boots on, but when I came back from the restroom and sat down and we started gabbing all over again, she forgot all about it. I proceed to tell Gretchen about all my morning errands and class and so on (more gasps over the phone) and how I thought I looked so cute....we laughed and laughed and then Gretchen, trying to comfort me, told me about her fashion faux pas just the week before.

She told me that she went all day long wearing two different shoes. They were both black and one shoe had SILVER RIVETS on them and the other shoe was like a loafer! She went all day long and even at one point during the day, she looked down at her loafer and said to herself, oh no! I lost some rivets! I laughed and laughed and felt better. But at the same time, I thinking, what is wrong with us? We are both only 45 years old....what are we going to be like in 20 years?

So, then Karen tells me about a time she was at a public pool (recently) with a friend and they came out of the dressing room and walked all the around the pool finding a spot. They stayed at the pool laying out and Karen has a great figure so she has a two piece on. So they are chatting and talking and Karen goes back into the dressing room (after she walk all the way around the pool again - a very crowded pool at that) and discovers that she had her bottoms on inside out! Her tag was hanging out on the outside on the back and LUCKILY the crotch area, didn't have that white panel - you know what I talking about, it had a brown one that matched her suit, but all the stitching was showing, and it was very obvious. Well she goes back and tells her friend, and her friend said she noticed it but didn't want to say anything because she was from the south and people from the south don't point things out like that. Karen made it very clear that girlfriends do not let other girlfriends parade around a public pool with their suits inside out whether they are from the south, north, east, west, Mars, Venus, or wherever, hahahaha...and I agree!

Fashion faux pas isn't just for women - men are victims too (as we all know too well). Just two days before my boot disaster, I went to bible study with my husband and he put on his new jacket as we were leaving the class and saying our good-byes. Out in the parking lot I noticed a HUGE tag hanging under his arm! I chastised him because I asked him that morning if he got all the tags off (he rarely, if ever, gets all tags off his clothes...he is a walking advertisement) and he told me just a tad sarcastically that of course he got all the tags off and now, here we are, in the middle of a parking lot, with this huge tag swinging in the wind just after he put on his coat in front of the bible study class....oh, I couldn't resist and rolled my eyes in sheer frustration! After my boot incident, I tried very hard to convince him that his hanging coat tag was a much more serious faux pas, but that didn't fly nearly as high as his tag did on that windy day....

But this wearing different colored boot thing has got me really thinking...while I find it really funny (and it was) it does say a lot about human nature in general. Most of us just handle life day by day and do our best to plan for the future. Some years are good years and some years are extremely challenging. But for the most part, all humans want the same thing. To be safe, happy, and to feel accepted. And in striving for those very simple things we can get so caught up in the everyday stuff, and so caught up in our culture and what others are doing, or we start thinking that we need this or that to make us feel safe, happy or accepted when actually we just think we need those things to be happy. We can lose sight of what is really important in life.

Then we one day we wear one brown boot and black boot. All day long.

And at the end of the day, someone points out your one brown and your one black boot and you both have a good laugh. You laugh because most likely, people have been laughing at you all day long and you never even knew it. That's the beauty of it. People laughed, judged, and maybe even commented, and you didn't even care. You still went on being you - the real you. Granted, you didn't know you had on two different color boots, but how great it would be if we could really go through life like that. We could be who we really are, enjoy our friends, life, feel pretty all day, eat cheesecake, and just be who we are and truly not care what anyone else thought, said, or did? Wouldn't that be great? Because in the end, when all is said and done, what we all really want anyway is just to feel safe, happy, and to be accepted.

While I may roll my eyes in exasperation at my husband with his huge tag under his arm, he wasn't about to pass up his chance when we were leaving for church and I came out of the bedroom into the living room, in a nice dress, and yes, wearing boots. He got his car keys, and I was grabbing my purse and just as he was opening the front door, he stopped short and turned and grabbed my shoulders and pushed me back a bit and looked down and "studied" my outfit for a second. Then very officially said, "Good, both boots black...it's safe to go out now..."

I laughed and yes, I felt very safe, happy, and most definitely accepted.

Hopefully you don't have two wear two different color boots, or two completely different shoes, or have a giant tag hanging out or even parade around in public with your swimsuit inside out to feel like it is okay to be you no matter what others or saying or thinking about you. It was a freeing moment though, when I was standing there, looking down at my different colored boots, thinking how clueless I was all day, and yet, I didn't even care...now that is freedom...not stylish mind you....but still freedom.

May your stylish moments truly be stylish and may your moments of freedom be faux pas-free.

Here's to putting your best foot forward in life...and may the other foot match.

From my house to your house,

Elizabeth

P.S.....Okay, I have been getting some great fashion faux pas stories that I had to pass on:

My brother, Bill, is in chemical engineering sales and he finally had a huge appointment with a big-time possible customer that took almost a year and a half to snag. Bill flies out of town to meet this customer and as he waits in the airport for this customer to pick him up, Bill decides to do a "fashion check." Now, when my brother is telling me this story, you have to know that 1. My brother is not into fashion, so when he told me he was checking anything, I was very surprised since dressing up to him usually means wearing a shirt that has buttons. And 2. Bill is not a morning person is this was a very early flight. He has two very small children, a wife, 3 dogs, 1 cat, and for him to dress nicely is a challenge in of itself.

So my brother is sitting in the airport, trying to keep his eyes open (he is not the nervous type at all, very calm) and decides to do this "fashion check." He tells me he feels his collar...good...it is down...tie is straight...jacket lapel is flat....he feels around his waist...yup all belt loops are looped, and yes, he isn't flashing anyone, he is zipped up, and he stands up and yes, his pockets are tucked in, and pats his butt, yes, wallet in place, and looks down the front of his pants, and the creases are still crisp with a crisp line....all the way down to his bright white socks and white running shoes!

He tells me he is wearing this very nice suit with the biggest, clunkiest running shoes he owns...he was in a rush that morning and wasn't thinking and he just now noticed. Never mind he had to take them off to get through security at the airport AND put them on again...never mind he sat on the plane and crossed his legs. Never mind he sat in the airport waiting for his very important customer, and it is only when he is doing this very last minute "check" does he notice....just in time to look up and see his customer approach him.

I gasp and say my usual OMG!!! I ask him what did you do??? He said (so typically calm of him) "What can you do?" He said as the customer approached and they shook hands, the customer looked down at the shoes and Bill just shrugged his shoulders and said, "It was an early flight..." And they went on their way...nothing more! End of story! No frantic phone calls to friends, no rehashing his plight, no photos of shoes and then blogging about it, no gasping...nope that is it.

Men!

Okay, one more short story....I got an email from my friend Gary. He said that once he had his collar up, missed belt loops, and one sock was inside out..all in front of an important meeting with clients...I am starting to feel better and better.... :-)

Visiting The Big-Ass Button

2009-11-05T12:25:00.052-06:00

Hello! Hello! Hello!

Yes, it has been a while since my last posting, and I have missed you, but you haven't been far from my mind. And to prove it, I want to share with you my latest adventure. In fact, because I was thinking of you, I purposely took along my little pocket camera when in all honesty, on this adventure, I wouldn't have stopped long enough to snap photos....and what exactly was I doing that I didn't want to stop and take any photos?

I was in the Garment District of NYC exploring (okay, touching, grabbing, oohing, and aaahhing) all the fabrics and buttons and trims and laces and ribbons and tassels and baubles and bears oh my!! You know how they say NYC is the "Big Apple"? When I came across this sculpture (photo left) I actually squealed in delight and really said aloud to myself, "Now, that, is one big-ass button!" So, to me, NYC, is no longer the "The Big Apple" but rather "The Big-Ass Button," well, at least to me.

So, let me back up a bit and begin my story from the beginning and catch you all up some. I have been on the run a lot lately. From my last post, I am still working on that lovely home and completed the bedding and the sofa pillows. I just haven't had time yet to shoot the photos, but I will! I am now working on her hearth room. I have since began another bedroom project for another client that is still in the design stage and has a way to go yet, but it is very exciting as well and very detailed.

It seems I have been here, there, and everywhere lately. Randy and I flew to Dallas, Texas recently to visit my brother and his family and while there we went to the Cotton Bowl to watch the OU and UT football game. Randy's cousin, Tyler Evans (number 75) plays for OU and he got us tickets to watch. OU didn't win, but they played very well, and the day was just beautiful!! If you are a football fan, you must look up Tyler - he is headed for the NFL, and he is only a freshman - but he is very talented and a really good kid (well, not really a kid anymore).

While in Dallas we went to the Texas State Fair where everything is fried: I heard of fried Twinkies before and even fried Oreos...but have you heard of fried guacamole? Fried butter? Fried cookie dough? Fried snickers bars? And they had the usual fried cheese, fried onions, fried ice-cream, fried pickles, fried gum - just kidding, no fried gum. Just checking to see if you are really reading this, or if you are skipping down to the NYC story :-)

Here are some family photos of my visit:

Randy and my nephew Broderick, were always together. It was funny how Broderick used Randy as a piece of furniture...sort of like his own personal lazy boy chair that would rub his head now and then.

My beautiful niece, Mackenzi, always smiling and always gabbing and gabbing and gabbing....can't imagine where she gets that from?

I don't like rides and my brother, Bill knows it. He talked me into this "glider ride" which wasn't suppose to be a big deal....which of course turned into a big deal which I unfortunately did not realize as you can see by my big pre-ride smile. You can see the look on my brother's face that basically says "I got her" and after the ride, I got him.

I came back from Dallas with a cold and cough that lasts a week and the following weekend Randy and I go to our place at the lake of the Ozarks to close it up for the season. I then get notice that my friend, Bob, who lives in NYC, has the opportunity to have his play "workshopped." Bob and I were college theater majors and we studied theater together. And once upon a time, I performed on stage and directed while living in Germany and I was the director of performing arts at a private school in Princeton, NJ. My love and appreciation for the performing arts has never left me. Getting a play "workshopped" on off-off Broadway is a very, very big deal and I wasn't about to miss it. Basically, before a play is produced, it must be rewritten many times and worked out professionally which is very expensive and very competitive and an honor to get selected to have this done.

Three days after coming back from the lake, I leave for NYC to see Bob and his play. One of Randy's clients is a pilot and he gave me a round plane trip ticket for $45 on stand-by. While trying to find a room in NYC I discovered there were no rooms - little did I know it was the weekend of the NYC Marathon - and Halloween. So, I go on a great website called airbnb and I rent a living room with a sofa bed from a total stranger in NYC. This site is a place where people rent out their entire apartment, or just a bedroom, or in my case, a sofa bed, to guests. It was SUPER cheap - a typical, decent hotel room is going to cost at least $200 a night. You can find rooms for $75 on airbnb. I got an entire living room for $100 a night.

So as Randy summed it up, he basically said the day before I left, "So, you don't know which flight you are leaving on, or which day, and you don't know the person you are staying with or how to get there either, is that right?" And as I packed and tossed in my google map of the garment district, I replied, "That is about right." And he just shrugged and smiled and said, "Better you, than me..." I just laughed and told him not to worry.

For those of you that have never been to NYC, this story is for you. For those of you who have been to NYC many times, you can either pretend not to be interested or excited like a lot of people who go to NYC often do, or, you can be honest with yourself and admit that you too, get giddy with the energy, the lights, the buildings, the 100's of coffee shops, the endless sidewalks that lead to zillions of adventures and read this story as well. And by the way....I lived in NJ for four years and have been to NYC at least 20 times, and to this day, I am still amazed by the city, and I don't hide it either. It is a great city...so here we go...

I left on Wednesday, got on the first flight out, and had a voice message waiting for me from the apartment owner, took a bus from NJ airport into NYC, met Miriam (hostess) at her apartment, got the keys, called Randy, and went on my way. It was so simple and trouble-free. The apartment was great, very clean, safe, and you get to feel like a real New Yorker, "living" in an apartment verses "staying" in at a hotel. And it is way cheaper!

It is still pretty early so I head out for the Antique Cafe, for a coffee and lemon bar (I googled it) and while walking I spot a glass store window filled with vintage clothes - well, I just have to pop in and see what's what. But I had the hardest time finding my way in...I had to go around the street corner, up some marble steps and inside was a giant foyer with a security guard. What kind of special vintage store was this anyway? The guard asks me if he could help me and I tell him I was just trying to get into the "vintage store" and I point to it, and he looks at me with a puzzled look but lets me in.
I cross this huge lobby and go into the store and was so disappointed that it was so small, but the stuff seemed so cool. But the clothes didn't look old and the young girls working the counter looked so trendy...what kind of store was this anyway? I am informed that I am in the NY school of Fashion Institute of Technology and the clothes I am looking at were designed by the senior designers that were in previous fashion shows! Well now that explains the fancy-schmancy lobby and security guard for such a little "vintage store" and why I had to make my way around an entire block and up huge steps to just get in....my street view of the store was only a tiny window of the clothes housed by a huge block-sized building! Well, if you ever traveled or even walked with me, this would not surprise you that I was so oblivious....I tend to be caught in the moment and see what I want to see in the moment.

I turn my attention back to the clothes and think, "Shoot, these clothes are only going to fit those food-deprived-pseudo-women-that-get-air-brushed-anyway" and I won't find a thing that will even go over my ankle much less my butt.....but wait! What is this I see? It is a beautiful, beautiful baby-doll chiffon dress! Never mind that I always hated baby-doll dresses and never mind that I had no interest (until this moment) to even own one. But this one has beautiful elastic all across the back (beautifully stitched I must say)and elastic is a middle-aged woman's best friend! This baby-doll dress is looking better and better. The chest area is covered is tattered chiffon black roses sewn all over it and the bodice is drapey gray/slight plumb chiffon hanging to right above the knee. It has two simple black shoulder straps.

I go try it on and it fits! Being not so well for months did have an upside and having lost a little weight paid off :-) I think how I would wear black tights with it and my black boots and a black short jacket and hopefully not look too stupid. But I don't care. It was only $40 bucks! I think it was the idea of owning couture, having a one-of-a-kind, getting it from (I am sure) a very soon-to-be famous designer, and getting it from FIT in NYC made this dress, ahem, I mean, couture, so special.

I go back to my apartment and drop off my couture (when you acquire couture, something prevents you from just calling it a "dress" I discovered), and I finally head to the Antique Cafe once again. The coffee shop is long and narrow with a fabulous bar and a cute guy behind it whipping up coffees and serving all sorts of pastries. Interestingly, no one is on a lap top. Comfy over-stuffed chairs are in the front, and people are chatting. Small, tiny chairs and tables line the long wall and hip people (old and young) sip, chat, clink, and chat some more - but all at a low murmur which is really nice. The wood floors are dark, and the guy behind the counter is very polite. Rude service is only a rumor in my opinion when it comes to New York. I always get polite service.

Perfect timing - the woman at the huge window gets up and I grab her table and watch people pass on the street and listen to the couple next to me. Apparently they are just friends having a visit. The guy had his girlfriend spend the night with him the night before, and they slept together, but he isn't serious about the woman anymore and he feels really bad. His coffee companion is very sympathetic and offers support and comfort and advice. He rattles on and on about what he should do and how to break up. She comforts him some more but then tells him to spend the night with her while he works it out. Not sure what that was all about. Very Seinfeld in a way.

But I digress. I love being in NYC alone. I have been alone in NYC only one time before and you don't need company in NYC....the city is great company on its own. the Garment District awaits!

As I walk towards the district I practically spend all day Wednesday and Thursday in a two block radius of 39th and 38th. I am a big walker. If you visit NYC, be in good health, be willing to walk, and wear comfy shoes. I wore boots because it was raining and wet most of the time and nothing is worse than walking in wet shoes. Big puddles are everywhere and boots take care of that issue. And forget the tiny, cute purse. I wear a satchel. EVERYONE carries a satchel, or a backpack of some sort. New Yorkers don't drive anywhere - they walk. And when one stops to get the newspaper, or a bottle of water or stop on the way home to pick up a can of cat food or a pair of socks, you can't be carrying a lot of bags around while trying to hold your umbrella, answer your cell phone and hold onto the rail on the subway all at once. That is where the satchel comes in handy.

The Garment District...it was love at first sight. At first I couldn't figure out why I loved this dingy, dark street with really no personality or color or anything really exciting about the buildings. Then it struck me after a while. It reminds me of a street I would shop on when I would go to Brussels. There is a street in Brussels, Belgium that has a lot of lace and lace factories that isn't too exciting, but has signage everywhere, it is narrow, and a little dark. I realized that the Garment District reminded me of that street in Brussels and I felt so at home and a little homesick at the same time.

I took photos of the street signage to give you an idea of what I saw. It was rainy and busy, so excuse the low quality. I snapped them quickly and stuck the camera back into my pocket. This is an area of NYC that I have been wanting to visit and believe it or not, I have never made it here! I am either too busy, or on another mission, or with someone who would just not get why I could stand in a store for three hours staring at trim or buttons. This trip was best done alone and I loved it.

I love this sign: "Fabric Czar" It was the first sign I saw and I knew I was home! :-)

This is what I mean when I say that the street of the Garment District is nothing to write home about. It is dingy and the buildings aren't special....but it reminded me so much of a particular street in Brussels that I felt right at home.

I just love all the signage along the buildings:

I didn't just stick to the streets...the alley proved to be interesting too. I saw these steps and they called my name. I poked around and snapped a photo and discovered more fabrics.

I had seen so many signs and store fronts, I couldn't decide which to visit first, so I just started to go in stores and found it so hard to go out. But in and out I did! And I did all day long....

I realized after I took this photo that it would have been smarter to have taken it BEFORE I got my hands on it and turned the once neat row of trim into a row of tormented pile. Photographing the aftermath isn't nearly as pretty as the "before." But I did have fun, fun, fun!

This is just one giant wall of many giant walls of many giant stores that houses 1000's of buttons just waiting to be discovered and sewn on projects that are housed in one little head....mine :-)

When I saw this huge wall of rolls and rolls of white lace trim, I just about experienced the big "O" right there in the aisle, and I'm not talking about Oprah!

I came across this vintage brooch in one of the trim stores and fell in love with it. The irregular shape and size caught my attention and the price kept my attention - it was only $15!

The exciting street scene makes up for the lack of exciting buildings in the district. As I rounded the corner, I almost got ran down by a rack of beautiful wedding dresses. If it was my time to go, it wouldn't had been so bad to have been smothered in satin....I whipped out my camera to snap the beauty of the dresses against the grime of the streets.

Just as I turned, a factory employee pushing a beat up cart of fabric, passed the wedding dresses and again I snapped a quick photo and loved the extremes between the two. The street scene continued to be entertaining and I was so glad to be a part of it.

What is it about seeing fabric on a rack on the street that makes me convinced that whatever it is that is being unloaded has got to be ten times better than what is waiting for me on the shelves inside? Of course I ran across the street, felt up the fabric, slowed down the delivery a bit and thanked the man for tolerating my mania for material...I think he was use to it :-)

After all the activities of hunting down buttons, snapping photos, copped a feel of fabric from the street, buying a brooch, almost smoothered by satin wedding dresses, that is when I saw this sign of ribbons and a coffee shop in the same building...well...I would swear I saw the sun come out and heard angles sing. What more could a girl want?? A bakery and buttons under one roof? So, after eating a huge chunk of NY cheesecake and a real coke (really now, would a diet coke make a real difference?), I head out on my hunt again. You know how sometimes you feel like the universe is trying to tell you something? Well, when I left the coffee shop and turned the corner, the universe had a friggin megaphone yelling out to me with some signage staring at me right in the face (see below):

Okay, maybe I should have had the diet coke.

Damn universe.

My adventure led me to another exciting discovery. I learned where a lot of "my girls" are "born" and how nice to know that as much as I love my European gals, my American gals are chic New Yorkers. In this district, mannequins are manufactured, sewing essentials, tools, and other garment gadgets. I found it all so very interesting and never really gave it much thought until I ran across it.

Seeing my "girls" lined up got me a little choked up - it seemed like they were all headed out to wonderful adventures and I wish I could have taken them all home with me. In case you haven't noticed, mannequines are the chic girlfriends that always make you feel in style :-)

While in the Garment District, I wanted so much to spend, spend, spend, but the reality of the situation was, I looked, drooled, and fantasized.....but darn it, I had to get something...and then...just down the sidewalk, I see a table full of wonderful colorful scarves (I LOVE scarves)!

Upon closer inspection, these super soft scarves were Pashmina! Well, I just had to have one - and to say I got them in the Garment District made them even more special. They all have a very elegant slight embossed print on them that you can't see in the photo.

Well, the more I looked the more I loved. And when I went around to the other side of the table and saw the price....$5 dollars each - well - let the Christmas shopping begin! I got all my Christmas shopping done in stop - so I shopped and shopped.....

So to those of you who may find a pashmina scarf waiting for you under your tree, don't think of it as a $5 dollar scarf...think of it as it a gift that was bought on FIFTH AVENUE in the Big-Ass Button (aka NYC) in the Garment District and I have proof, below:

But then again, I got some really cool colors....they may be hard to give up.... ;-)

I hope you enjoyed my adventure to The Big-Ass Button City. I flew back 4 days later. My visit with Bob went well. We visited the Whitney museum and saw the Georgia Okeffe exhibit - which was great. His workshop was fantastic and I am so proud of him. My apartment was super and the location wonderful. Every evening was spent in Times Square and Off Off Broadway. Drinking lattes in coffee shops, reading the paper with my cheesecake, and people watching are all wonderful...but the time alone surrounded by millions of people is really a special thing to experience.

This Sunday we will be celebrating our first year of marriage by flying to Marco Island, Florida for a week. Having a loving husband who takes such good care of me, protects me and supports me through so much is something so few wives really get to experience. While sitting alone in a cafe, sipping coffee and people watching, I was thinking about my Randy, who happened to be on the lake fishing while I was in NYC. I was thinking how he was quietly fishing while I was in a noisy cafe in a very noisy city. How funny our chosen weekend locations exemplifies our very distinct personalities.

But yet, I was quiet in my thoughts while surrounded by so much activity and I was thinking how very blessed I am to be so loved and cared for. I felt so content and so comfortable in the giant city with the hustle and bustle but what a comfort to feel my heart wanting to be with Randy and feeling so sure that it belonged next to him and wanting to be next to him. I think when one is truly loved, it is then that one can truly feel free to be oneself and independent.

The freedom that comes when one is "freed" only increases closeness and trust. Having a husband who joyfully gives me the gift of being alone only increases my love of wanting to be closer to him. I too often see people cling in fear of losing. And it isn't clinging only with a relationship, but it can be with your ownself, your passions, your business, your decisions. Sometimes, joyfully "letting loose" a little gives you the room you may need to reconnect with what you may be fearing all along: your job, a major decision, a career, a relationship, your children, whatever it may be....

Just know that "letting loose" is just another way of saying "having trust." Trust a little more in yourself, others, and in God, and just see what happens. Sitting in that little coffee shop, watching all the people rush by, listening to all the sounds, enjoying my own thoughts....I felt so independent and happily alone and very, very happily connected to the one who let me alone - and I couldn't wait to get home to share my adventures with him.....but not until I really scoped out the Big-Ass Button City first though!!

May your trust and faith allow your next adventure discover a big-ass connection that brings you a joy of independence in which you can't wait to share with a loved one.

Now that is a true adventure!

From my house to your house,

Elizabeth

P.S. I have received several emails regarding the chiffon dress - I mean courture :-) And many of you wanted to see a photo of it. So....just for you...I took a few photos in my dressing room for you with my little camera so please excuse the low quality. But isn't it pretty? I forgot the straps had roses on them too! Enjoy!

My Latest Cyber "Refrigerator" Creation!

2009-07-29T15:21:00.019-05:00

Welcome back to the "after" photos of the gorgeous home that I showed you a little earlier. If you remember, I showed you a home with huge windows in need of a little dressing. The owner (and friend) is a true romantic who wanted opulence without stuffiness and her request to me was, "Elizabeth, I want my bedding to remind me of a wedding dress and the drapes to feel like ball gowns...."

When this project began, the home had some construction issues that required the owner to vacate and move out while the floors were being completely replaced along with all the trim around the windows! Many months later, we finally got to install the drapes. These "after photos" show the drapes, but note the home is not completely unpacked yet. Shelves are still empty, walls still bare and the owner is still unpacking her boxes....but once we put up the drapes, she immediately said so happily, "Now finally, it is feeling like home!"

Nothing makes me happier than to see a house turn into a home. And even though this owner has many boxes to unpack and lots of shelves and walls to fill, the softness of the silky fabrics that hang so casually instantly provide what I like to call "livable elegance."

Please enjoy the photos and while most of us don't (well, at least I don't ) get to live in such a lavish home; this home, I assure you, is filled with the kind of love and friendliness that the little ole' cottage homes we so often think of when we think of "comforts of home." This lavished home is lavished with love!

Before: The family room while unpacking

After: The family room:

These drapes are actually two panels. The top is tied to the bottom. I had lots and lots of inter lining sewn in to produced a heavy, lush feel to such a fine fabrics. I love the height of the windows! The challenge was to design a drape that would only soften the edges of the windows, compliment them, and allow the windows to remain the centerpiece.

The above photo you can see how the two drapes are tied together. Below is a photo taken from the balcony. I am designing pillows for the sofas and once she is unpacked and art is on the wall....the room will be spectacular!

I love puddling. I like this view because it does remind me of "Gone With the Wind" ball gowns of ladies dancing in a row in a ballroom. This design is not practical if you have pets or small children (the owner has neither). For those who do have children or pets, I would design it similar, but have a few tricks that make it more practical.

Before: Hallway window

After: Window with silk drapes and tiebacks

I love the photo below. The puddling reminds me of a beautiful ball gown skirt.

Below is the hallway that has the beautiful window above. And at the end of the hallway is the master bathroom. I am standing in the bedroom taking this photo. Can you imagine getting out of bed and looking down this hallway every morning and passing the beautiful window on the left as you make your way down to take a bath?

Below: The before photo of the main window in the bath

After: I designed Austrian shades for the master bath. Doesn't it look like whipped cream on a wedding cake? My friend Debbie, who came with me on a visit to this home, is the one who said, "Oh, that shade looks like frosting on a wedding cake!" And now, every time I see it, I do get a sugar craving, and that isn't a joke! So the wedding and ballroom theme continues even into the bathroom... :-)

Before: The bedroom window and study:

After: More silk, more Austrian shades, more elegance!

Now you may notice that you can see the corner of the bed, but no bedding....that is because I am saving it for another post! Yes, you will have to wait. Actually, we are making a few adjustments to it and I was excited to get the photos out and I didn't want to wait for the adjustments. So, I will have them out later. Maybe I will have the pillows for the sofa done by then as well and you can see those if finished. I hope you enjoyed the peek. Once the home is completed I will be taking more professional shots of the complete home - you should see the kitchen, the upstairs bath, and the sitting room! I will be taking lots of photos of this home in the future. You haven't even seen the study yet.

And now I save the best for last....I want to thank Maureen - the miracle seamstress who can take my designs and figure out all my drawings and my math and make it all work out. She is truly talented and patient and a joy to work with. Her son, Andrew, helped her install the drapes and he is definitely a pro as well. Can you even begin to imagine how many yards and yards of material that was required? I am talking about the fabric you see, the fabric inside to fill it out and the lining behind the fabric. Anyone want to guess?

(If you guessed less than 175 yards you guessed too little.)

Thank you for allowing me to put my art on the "cyber refrigerator" as I like to say. I think that is what we artist use blogs for anyway. I mean, think about it. As a child, what do we do when we create a drawing? We show it to mom or dad and they show it off by putting it on the fridge with a magnet. Now, we are all grown up and no longer do we really hand our "art" over to mom to hang on the fridge and unless we have a gallery (which is just another giant refrigerator), we now post our art in cyber space on our own refrigerator, aka "blog." And our magnet is our posting for all the "moms and dads" out there to see our work and clap for us! And actually, there is nothing wrong with that. I hope we adults never grow too old to clap for one another. And I definitely hope we never grow too old (or too proud) to be willing to put something out there for someone else to clap for in the first place. You know why?

It's called encouragement. And it is called inspiration.

Too often we are so quick to evaluate, criticize, and basically shrug off others' endeavors especially when they have no particular meaning to our own lives. Sometimes we don't even realize we are doing it. And sometimes, our society is very purposeful and mean in doing it. Just pick up a Hollywood tabloid and read who gained 10 pounds (gasp!) or who wore the wrong shoes to an event, or who "needs" an eye job?

Our culture takes great, great joy in knocking down others and seeing others fail...why else would the ratings for American Idol's early season shows be so high? We love to see (unfortunately) which poor slob is going to get slammed by Simon. Or other "reality" shows that vote "losers" off the show...our culture gets great pleasure at the expense of other people's pain. I seriously doubt there would be a reality show that would make it past one season with the theme of encouraging others to excel and exceed, now would there? I kind of like that theme for show: Encourage! Excel! Exceed! The show would have teams in which life tasks are to be performed and there are no losers - the teams are assigned to shelters and which ever team can encourage a member from the shelter to excel and exceed at life and get that person's life back on track again - that team is the winner. And actually - everyone is a winner.

And that is how I see all of our "refrigerator" blogs out there. We all like to show what we are doing and if we feel like "clapping" for the other, then we do and we offer encouragement. And it always feels good to be encouraged. It always feels good to feel like you have someone on your side. And what a bonus when you find out that what you put up on your refrigerator becomes an inspiration for someone else as well!

So, thank you for visiting with me and I do so much enjoy sharing with you. Because there are so many others that have such wiser things to say than I, I like to usually close with a quote from one of those wiser folks:

"We are what we believe we are" Benjamin N. Cardozo

From my house to your house,

Elizabeth

"I am on my way...!"

2009-07-21T16:14:00.010-05:00

Hello! I would like to welcome you to my blog if you are new and thank those of you who are visiting again. As many of you know, I got married last November and now I am happy to say that our wedding is featured in a little 2-page spread in St. Louis Bride magazine's Fall/Winter 2009 issue in their feature "Real Moments" where they feature real weddings around the area. I also wanted to let you know that I finally updated my blog that features photos from My Carriage House Wedding which shows photos of not only the day's events, but also the "behind the scenes" events that so many of you seem to enjoy. As I like to call them: the "not-so-pretty shots that make the event pretty." You may click on the right of this page where it says "Carriage House Wedding" at any time to see any updating that I may add as I add more photos over time.

I had to smile at the cover of this beautiful, ethereal shot of the ballerina bride - and to know that I and Randy are the first couple to be featured inside this graceful cover. While most brides probably feel ethereal and even are seen as such....well, I think I had too much fun to come off as ethereal. I know I didn't feel ethereal, but I do I know I felt extremely happy and while my boisterous-mouth-wide-open-laughter and my shenanigans with an old French sink, may not be country club etiquette, they are perfectly suitable for an old carriage house filled with friends, family, lots of candles, a Tuscan feast, burlap (yes burlap), cheesecloth, and most of all, love.

The writer for the article asked me to give a tip for any bride who is in the throws of planning her wedding and here is the advice I gave:

"The best advice I can give a bride who is planning a wedding is to remember that all the effort, focus, and energy she spends on the wedding should be very little in comparison to all the effort, focus, and energy she spends on her marriage."

Sometimes, I have to remember to take my own advice....isn't it funny how easy it is to give advice but harder to take it?? :-) I can get wrapped up in my projects so easily and quickly and before I know it, I have my groom calling me on the cell phone saying, "Hey, remember me, the handsome barber who is waiting on you so we can go eat? Have you left yet?" And as I quickly close down the computer and rush out the door, I don't really answer him until I am in the car and I say, "Of course, I am on the way! I wouldn't forget you!" And so now, to my own demise, my advice is now in print for all the world to see; but that I don't mind. What I do mind is that my lovely husband can point to it now and again with a raised eyebrow and a slight (grin?) on his face while looking at his watch.

Maybe, I should have just advised brides not to show their grooms any possible wedding articles that may be published about their wedding. That would have saved me at least, one less point in his favor when he is trying to win.....oh wait....marriage isn't about keeping score, now is it? Now that is a whole new topic that I won't even debate...I mean start...."debating" means there is a winner and loser...and we're not about winning or losing, right? Right? Right? I am right, aren't I? ;-)

Okay, I am done having fun about that - but I do want to thank you so much for visiting with me. And please stop by the Carriage House Wedding and see all those wonderful people I thanked for making my day so special.

And I want to thank St. Louis Bride Magazine and Atia Thurman, our photographer, who submitted the photographs to the magazine and I got a surprise email from the editor asking for an interview. It was fun going through the photos and finally getting them sorted for the blog - they brought back a lot of smiles. :-))

From my (carriage)house to your (carriage)house,

Elizabeth

Updates and Happenings

2009-07-10T12:58:00.020-05:00

Hello!

Well, I certainly have missed you all and I have some wonderful emails and blog comments to catch up on. Please know that if you commented on any of my postings in the recent past and you haven't seen it yet or seen a response yet, know that I haven't forgotten you and I will respond and I appreciate you taking time to write me:-)

I am wondering if I should catch you all up with a few fun things first and then end my post with a few not so fun things or the other way around? Fun first? Or, not so fun first? Hmmmm....

I think I will start with fun first. We all have our own life's ups and downs and sometimes, we just don't really want to hear (read) about one more problem (well, at least I feel that way sometimes). It doesn't mean we don't care or have concern for others; but sometimes, when we click on our computer, and after we get past all those news ads, pop ups, more ads, and other Internet things we must sift through in hopes to get to some eye candy or fun reading, it can be a little disappointing to be faced with yet another life issue, that well, frankly, we just may not be in the mood to read at that very moment. With that in mind, I will start with fun things first!

So, having said all that, let me say how nice it is to have you pop on by and visit with me again and how I so much love hearing from you all.

I know how much you love (and me too) "before's and after's" and below I wanted to show you some before pictures of some windows that are about to be covered with some drapes that I designed. The home owner wanted everything to be light and sweet and yet have a luxurious feel. She also stated that she wanted her bedding to look like "a wedding dress." And she wanted some of her curtains to remind her of elegant "ball gowns." She is a true romantic. Just about all the fabric used was silk and my seamstress, Maureen, used a lot of interlining and backing to really make the delicate silk very opulent and full. Not an easy feat.

Below is a photo of the living room and the windows. This is before she really moved in. And right after she moved in, she had to move out again due to some builder's mistakes in installing the woodwork and flooring. However, the finished product is beautiful with all the finishing wood touches that you will see a bit later. For now - look at how high the ceilings are! And no, we did not cover all the windows! In fact, we covered very little in this room....

Just look at the scale by studying the size of the french door and where the door knob on the door is compared to the height of the chandelier (which is changed in the "after" photo)!

Her bedroom is very sweet and romantic. The bed, she got from England and she wanted it to feel like a wedding dress. She has a long hallway (2 photos above) that leads to the master bath that is to die for.

The room you see at the foot of the bed is a room she is using as an office, but it could be a sitting room, dressing room or whatever - but wait until you see the fireplace!

Don't you just hate it when your windows are just so large that they make your beautiful European armoire look like a little toy that belongs in a doll house? I hate when that happens! :-)

Okay, back to reality - well, my reality at least. That is her dream home that she worked very hard for and saved for over the years. And while her dream has finally come true, someone else's dream has come true as well....

...While not nearly as glamorous, or large, or breathtaking (but you will gasp at the sight - but not in a good way...), my handsome barber of a husband had his dream come true when he bought his own business, a barbershop, a little over a year ago. Randy has been cutting hair for about 23 years now and is a licensed cosmetologist (he cuts and colors my hair - sleeping with your stylist is one way not to lose them) and he now "barbers," as he calls it, and so he also a business owner!

He bought Big Bend Barber Shop, from a gentleman named Clifford, who had owned the shop for 35 years. But the shop has been around for about 45 years, so Randy is the third owner. Clifford now works for Randy two days a week (Friday and Saturday) and it turned out to be a beautiful relationship. But it didn't start that way. Clifford (everyone calls him Cliff except for me, I love calling him Clifford) pretends to be a gruffy kind of guy who is short on words and smiles. He did NOT like the idea of "retiring" at all and certainly did not like the "young" guy taking over his shop. His children had been asking him to retire for years due to his health and age. He is 72, I believe.

When I first met Clifford, he would barely look up when I walked in the shop. He was not happy that someone else was cutting "his" clients' hair - who could blame him? But, Randy did pay for the shop after all, and it was bound to happen some day, and he knew it, but it still was a bitter pill to swallow. So, I made my way over to the shop a lot in the beginning and I would head straight for Clifford and give him a big hug every time. I could feel him bracing up for the embrace and the more he braced up, the longer I embraced. He lived on peanut M&M's and diet Pepsi and nothing much more. He is single and has his truck, and his TV, his buddies, and he cuts hair. So, I would bring him in cooked meals in Tupperware and put it on the back bar by his chair and tell him to eat it or give it to Randy and I would walk to the back and have lunch with Randy. He always grumbled that he wouldn't be eating it. But, sooner or later, he would hobble to the back (he had a foot problem) and place the empty Tupperware on the desk and mumble "that was good" and go back to his chair and read the paper.

His foot problem needed surgery and he finally gave in and had surgery. He was out for six weeks. He was worried that all his customers "forgot him" and no one would need him. The day he got back from his surgery, I swung the door open wide and stood there with a big smile on my face and said loudly, "There he is!!!! NOW we can finally get down to business!! Finally!! Someone who knows what is going on around here!! Clifford, I am counting on you to keep Randy in line for me, you know. He got out of hand while you were gone. Do you realize how hard it has been on me not having you around to keep him in line???" I went and gave him a hug and he seemed to slowly over time warm up to the idea of retirement.

How is he now? Well, let's just say that if it is too cold for him, he has no trouble taking off for Florida. And when I come in now, he actually opens his arms just slightly, because he knows he can't get away from me, and he actually makes me laugh with some of the stuff he comes up with. Randy is such a character he had Clifford almost falling out of the chair with laughter just last week. Clifford now volunteers at the hospital, takes off early on most Friday's and Saturday's and retirement isn't so bad after all. He fills in for Randy when we go to the lake and that helps Randy get some much needed time off. I hope we get to have Clifford around for a long time. I might even get a photo of him smiling for the "after" shots that I post!

This past year, we have slowly been making improvements to the shop. We have painted, put in new floors, and we finally just ordered two new barber chairs. We would love a new back bar, but that will have to wait, so, I am hoping I can do my "magic" and paint it - my next project. I have never done a back bar so this will be interesting. I am not sure about the sinks either. We have no budget after getting the chairs - have you ever priced barber chairs? Geesh!

You can take a gander (and a gasp) at the before photos below on the day Randy bought the shop and our friend, Debbie, stopped by to congratulate him:

Our friend Debbie - she is the one who had the cute, cute living room and dining room that I did for Romantic Homes (and bedding) with the hose nozzles garden theme table....her daughter, Caitlin (sorry if I misspelled that) just bought a home - that will be a big "before" and "after"... but I digress...this is suppose to be about Randy's shop...

Notice the yucky floor and old chairs. These chairs are old, but not in a good way. They are too big in the back which makes Randy lean just slightly forward all day while cutting hair. This gives him a horrible backache. Hopefully the new chairs will help because they will be smaller.

Also, notice the back bar - it is such a mess - it will be a real challenge for me to paint this with all the cords and the all the equipment that is needed daily....the sinks may have to stay - not sure yet. But all of this will be done very soon...so you will get "after" photos soon!

Here is my business owner of a husband who is just too happy for words to be sitting in his very own shop after 23 years of cutting hair for someone else - now - he cuts for himself. You know, when it comes down to it, even though most of you who read this blog, are boutique owners, or use to own shops, or want to own shops, or just like to shop....the pride in owning and running a business crosses all trades and even a barber shop, even an old, dated barber shop, still has a very happy and proud barber sitting inside thinking: "I did it!"

But Randy is no different than most of the rest of us. He didn't do it alone and he is very grateful. While he is the one that studied and had to pass his exams and get his permits and work all these years he always credits his paternal grandmother that put him through his tech school. He hunted for several years to buy a shop and almost gave up on this shop until I suggested he write a letter to Clifford. I drafted a letter for him and he sent it without much hope and to his much surprise he got a positive response. His mother graciously and lovingly assisted with the sudden financing needed and lent help when Clifford suddenly decided to sell his shop to Randy. And now, the very unexpected passing of his (step)father's (Jim) mother, Mary Benitz, he now is able to purchase two new barber chairs.

These past two months have been less than productive or happy. First, Randy's grandmother, Mary Benitz, very unexpectedly passed away recently. It was a shock to us all. She is pictured below. She attended our wedding, and I am so grateful that I had a chance to get to know her. Knowing her such a short time only makes it all the harder to say good-bye because I was so looking forward to finally having a "grandmother" in my life for once. I never had a grandma. And she was the perfect one. And I mean perfect. She made me feel like I have been a part of the family all along. And obviously, she loved Randy and felt he was her grandchild as well because she loved him enough to think of him and because of her loving and giving nature, he is now able to purchase two, very good chairs, that will hopefully save his back from aching so much.

So, when Randy cuts his father's hair (Jim), Jim will be sitting in the chair that his mother bought while his son cuts his hair. Mary will be a part of the barbershop - which I find so wonderful. A day won't go by that she won't be thought of and when the chairs finally arrive and when the customers comment on them, Randy will get the honor of telling customers who bought them for him. Mary will be missed and I am grateful to have known her. Her funeral was a testimony of how a life well-lived is rewarded in the end. She lived for others and not herself. The love she showed others is an example for us all.

I have one private and special memory of Mary that took place at my wedding. We were about to have our picture taken and she and I were alone together. She was holding on to my arm while someone was finding Randy for the photo. She patted my arm and looked up at me and just simply smiled and said, "You are a beautiful bride, Elizabeth." And she patted my arm again. What was so nice about that moment was that she said it with her eyes, not just with words. With all the bustle, the laughter, the noise, the people, and activity all around me, when I looked down into her eyes, I could see so much love in them. I never had that given to me before. I never had a grandma and now I finally did. It was a really nice moment. And how lucky I was to have it captured. The photo of that very moment is below. No one knew about that moment until now. And if you look closely at my eyes, you can just tell by my eyes and by my smile that her words and her look just touched my heart so deeply. It was such a simple little moment, but it meant the world to me. I am so glad the photographer just happened to snap that moment.

She was my grandma for a moment.

(I love you, grandma.)

Also, this past past month or so, my health isn't what it should be for now. My headaches are back and I am tired a lot. I am having some complicated female matters that are being looked into that are causing a lot of other issues that I won't go into. Tests are being ran and I am taking care of myself, but it is tiring and at times, I will admit, a little scary. Nothing conclusive at this point, but sometimes, you just want to get on with life, you know what I mean? It seems if it isn't one thing, it is another. But, I will keep you posted. Some days I feel just fine and dandy, and other days not so much so. That is what is so tiring - the up and down of it all. That and the headaches.

Also, I have decided to take somewhat of a sabbatical. What is a sabbatical exactly? Well, the college professors take them and researchers take them, and even pastors take them. It is suppose to be a time of renewal and exploration. Actually, I think it is just a fancy word for, "I aint' working for a while." Call it what you will, but what I am really doing is what a friend of mine called: mining for new gold. I really liked that when she said it. Because that is what I am really doing. I am "mining." But I am doing it slower until I feel better. Actually, I have been mining slowly on something new for some time now, and I can't wait to share it with you all. I am very excited about it, but not feeling up to par lately and have put that little gold mine on hold for a bit. But it is a fun gold mine. :-)

My other news is that I will not be participating in the December Miss Frenchie Show as a vendor. If I am up to it, I may help out in other avenues, if needed, but for now, my sabbitical or rather, my mining is taking priority. I will certainly miss it though! I love, love, love putting my little booth together - but, if the ladies need any help, and if able, I hope I can help them in some way. I do hope to attend one way or another, those vendors have lots of goodies that I never get to shop!!

However, I do plan on writing (sans deaths, illnesses...who knows what lies ahead lately, geesh!), I do plan writing a shop talk, I will be adding more wedding photos - more news on that to come...and more photos on "before" and after" projects. I hope to offer encouragement when I can and inspiration as well. You inspire me, you know! The things I read, see, and hear about are just wonderful and I am so honored that you share your accomplishments with me.

Also, one last thing, and I will let you go - and kudos to you for reading this far down - I am not sure I would and I am the one doing the writing! But, if you have any particular subject, or idea, or project, or topic, or theme that you wish I would write about or address (design wise or not, it can be anything), feel free to drop me a line. I am not saying I will address it, but I have been getting some interesting emails lately requesting some topics that I never would have thought of.

For example, do you have any interest at all in my thoughts or opinions on how to live simply but elegantly and on a budget? I had a reader ask my opinion on bed making. She (or he) didn't specify exactly about bed making she wanted to know. I had another reader, inspired by my kitchen, ask me what I cook and how I serve it (she liked my ironstone...).

If you have a thought or two, please feel free to pass them along. I hope your summer is safe, fun, and happy. And I will leave you with this:

"No matter what you do in life, stand up for yourself because no one can do it for you." Alfred Maxson (as said to me at age 10 by my father)

From my house to your house,

Elizabeth