Pink Roses

Vermont...

Last week I spent 4 gorgeous days and nights in Vermont at the home of my sweet friend Meleen.

The leaves were starting to change colors and the air was crisp...perfect New England fall weather.  By day we toured the countryside, shopped the local farm stands, and stopped at every antique store and tag sale we could find.  At night, there were fires in the fireplace, wine, cheese, delicious food, and even roasted chestnuts!  And there was talking, and stories, and tears and laughter.  Good friends are priceless.

I am so grateful to have spent the weekend with these lovely women: Meleen, Danielle, Charlotte, Hope, and Kana. 

 

Thanks Meleen, for the perfect Fall getaway!

instagram weekend: Nashville...

I spent the weekend in one of my favorite cities...Nashville, and used Instagram to record the memories.  We did a little honky tonkin in the clubs on Broadway...every nightspot had free admission and a live band (some places had 2 bands), and they were all just amazing!  Even if you don't like country music, you can enjoy the energy and the atmosphere and the nicest people around.  Southern hospitality is alive and well in Nashville!

We did some shopping, including a stop at Hatch Show Print, a company that has been making letterpress posters since 1879.  The work and history at Hatch is amazing, and I bought a bunch of letterpress posters for $3.00 each, that I can cut up and use to make a really cool journal!

I also bought a new pair of boots..it seemed like the right thing to do, and these were too cute to pass up :)

I fell in love with Nashville 7 years ago, when my daughter moved there to attend college at Vanderbilt University.  For 4 years I would visit her, and as I drove through town I was reminded of so many good times spent with her there.  Now I have one more great weekend to add to those memories...and ps...Happy Birthday Daddy!

yikes...

It's been a month since I've posted...life got busy for a while! In the past month, I had a birthday...

Elizabeth and Paul came back from a 10 day honeymoon in South America, and are enjoying married life...

Mr. Duda and I went to see Christopher and Katie at college for Homecoming weekend...

I spent a fabulous weekend in Ashville attending Jennifer Hayslip's magical event...

My roommates: Karla Nathan, Lori Oles, and Kana Conger...love you girls!

The setting was breathtaking, the food delicious, the projects amazing, and the friendships...priceless!

Then I spent 5 days at the beach with some old friends...

Sun, sand, shelling, seafood...HEAVEN! I ate honey almond glazed salmon salad with fresh berries for lunch 3 days in a row...

We opened a new exhibit at the High Museum, where I am a volunteer...

Then my parents came for a week long visit, Christopher and Katie came home for Fall break, and now I'm getting back to normal. I'd like to take a deep breath, clean up, catch up, and craft. There's no place like home...

fresh brown eggs...

I hope you all had a Happy Mother's Day yesterday.  Mine was actually more of a Mother's Night, because my children didn't get home until 11:00 last evening.  Better late than never!  The 3 of us began our mornings in 3 different states...Elizabeth was in Florida with Paul, visiting my parents, Christopher was in New Orleans, Louisiana visiting Katie, and I was in North Carolina visiting my brother and his family.  After a day of travel, we ended our day in Atlanta...home sweet home.  I love it when they're both here with me! I had a wonderful visit with my brother, and enjoyed driving on some beautiful country roads.  I didn't buy any fresh brown eggs, but did stop and take a picture.  You just don't see signs like this in the city.  I also stopped a a great yard sale and bought 30 vintage pressed glass punch cups for $5.00.  Elizabeth wants to use those to hold tea lights at her wedding.  It was a great weekend away, and now my kids are home for their final summer...she will be getting married and he will graduate from college, so this will be my last summer with kids at home.  I'm sad, but determined to cherish every moment, and create some memories!    

Kansas City...

I just got back from a Girl's Trip to Kansas with some dear friends of mine : Heather, Lori, Karla, Jennifer, Andrea and Carol.  Spending 4 days with these girls was HEAVEN..laughing, shopping, eating, crafting and talking till the wee hours!  Karla is an AMAZING hostess, and can out-craft anyone on the planet.  Her studio is to-die-for, and I loved being there again. 

Karla taught us a project that she will be teaching at an upcoming event, and we all just LOVED it!

We also had a fabulous evening at Carol's farmhouse and enjoyed the outdoor room and fireplace.  Dinner was delicious, and we had enough wine and desserts to make everyone happy!

 

I visited Carol last year when she had just moved in, and now everything is complete ( and published: Romantic Prairie Style).

I have to be honest, Carol's home is even prettier in real life than it is in the photos!  Such a peaceful, serene, GORGEOUS home.  We all wanted to go home and redecorate...Carol style :)

Seriously...EVERY nook and cranny is photo worthy...even the kitchen sink!

We spent one day antique shopping in the city...

 

And one WHOLE day {I mean a solid 12 HOURS} in the studio, making stuff.  That night we were all tired, except Karla.  She is the energizer bunny and can just keep going... 

Thanks girls for a great weekend...can't wait to see you again soon!

you gotta love a place...

You gotta love a place that has more cows than people...

where the sheriff rides horseback...

where porch ceilings are blue, and so is the sky...

where the trees are big and the churches are small...

where there's BBQ, sweet tea and cupcakes...

and the best vintage around...

you gotta love Antique Week...

in Texas!

texas inspiration: neutrals...

As a die hard fan of Shabby Chic, I am drawn to neutrals. Enjoy...

 

      

 

Don't you love the silverware, knitting needles, and paintbrushes all stuck in urns?  I do!!

texas inspiration: Christmas

I need to do a whole post on Christmas ornaments. I didn't buy a SINGLE one because we were flying, and I didn't have the room to pack them properly.  I knew they would break during travel, so I just took pictures to remember. I wanted them all, especially the tree toppers!! Next time I might drive...

    

 

 

texas inspiration:day1

I have sooo many pictures from Texas...things that inspire me or just make me say...ahhh.  I am going to post them every day this week and post them on Flickr.  They may be kind of random, but I hope they inspire you too.

 

 

more tomorrow...

I’d like to buy a vowel…

The real reason Elizabeth and I went to Texas was to attend the Fall Antique Week held in Warrenton & Roundtop.  We spent days rummaging through miles of treasures…honestly anything you want was there.  A stuffed Ostrich? They had that. From the ordinary to the unusual, it’s all in Texas during Antique week.  Today I’m going to talk about letters.  I have a thing for letters and it seemed that they were everywhere…take a look…from the gigantic {E for Elizabeth}, to the tiniest…

And SOOO much more…my head was spinning with the possibilities of all those letters!  So much potential…what to spell, what to make…I bought a few things, but it was overwhelming.  I have lots more to show you next week, including the stuff we bought…have a great weekend everyone…:)