More Craigslist Treasures

I am a firm believer that one can never have too many armoires, especially if they cost under $200! Sorry for the blurry image.  It is the Craigslist photograph.

I don't think I will paint this one but you never know!

Three foot tall, brass lanterns for...$15!  I will remove the lacquer and age the metal with apple cider vinegar.  These will be hung either over the island in the kitchen or from the 18 foot ceiling in the family room.

Similar lantern from Brooke Giannetti's blog, Velvet and Linen.

Antique French cane chairs for $50 each!  The cane is still intact!  These are currently flanking Narnia.

Love this!  I saved the Craigslist photo to show you how large it is compared to the gentleman holding it! It will go in the foyer or the family room.

Original Craigslist photo of a matching pair of Italianate column side tables.  I removed the tops and will be painting them in Annie Sloan Old White with Dark Wax.  I have a pair of iron urns to place atop each pedestal.

Restoration Hardware Architectural Side Table, retails for $1095.  I bought my pair for $100!

Pair of urns for pedestal tables. Purchased on ebay.

Original Craigslist photo of armoire, almost eight feet high, from the Chicago Hilton.  It was very heavy...very, very heavy!  It is over 8 feet tall!  I will tell you the story of how the delivery person started it on fire...but you will have to wait! This piece was $100!

You will be seeing more of these items as I paint, hang, arrange fuss over them!

Stay tuned!

Ornaments By Pink

I had to share this with my blog friends.

Photo of my angel, Shenanigan, on the left.  Spun cotton ornament, created by Maryann, of ornamentsbypink, on etsy.  Mary also has a blog, Ornaments by Pink.

Shenanigan will be living in Gracie's French Manor Dollhouse.

When the package arrived, I panicked and shoved the box into a cabinet. 

 I know how talented Maryann is and I knew her ornament of Shenanigan would be realistic and beautiful...that it would bring the memories flooding in.

Three days later I gathered the courage to allow Gracie to open it. She is far braver than I.  I burst into tears at the sight of it and I cried uncontrollably for fifteen minutes!  It was her! Maryann sent me a photo before she mailed the package and she kindly fluffed Shenanigan up a bit at my request,  (after this photo was taken).  It bears such a strong resemblance to my Shenanigan.

I cannot begin to explain the tremendous peace I feel when I look at it.  It takes the sting away, to a degree. A coil in my heart that was so tightly wound seems to have sprung, releasing some of the pain and grief.

I am busy gathering photos of Frannie to send Maryann's way. My heart is still so heavy with missing her.

 Maryann truly is a magician. There is more to her art than mere cotton, I tell you.  Her work has a soul.

Thank you, Maryann.  I don't think you will ever know just how much this means to me!

xo

Andie

The Empty Cage

If you will permit me, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for the kindness and patience you have shown in the last year.  After the losses of our two unborn children, the passing of a very dear friend and the unexpected deaths of two of my beloved cats I was lost in grief.  I admit it. I was like a ghost in my own life.
I know that many, many people are suffering beyond anything I will ever know.  It feels so very selfish to grieve my own losses.
I could count my blessings into infinity and am sometimes overwhelmed by the gifts the Lord has given me .  From being a frightened orphaned child to now having the constant love of a family, I wouldn't trade my circumstances for the world!  From my experience I have learned to hold on to love with both hands...and I do!  As a child I dreamed of this life, something that seemed so unattainable;  Love.  Family.  Home.
Nonetheless, with great joy comes great sorrow.  There is no way around it.
So it is with these thoughts that I come to you.  The friends with whom I share a common bond.  Love of home.  The joy of creating peace and comfort and beauty to be shared with those you love. Is there no greater  medicine?
I look forward to sharing my passion with you. I choose to step away from my grief, to cling to the blessings that made the grief worthwhile. No longer imprisoned by my grief and sadness,
 At first, I tentatively test the cage door...I discover it has been open all along.  I fling the doors wide open and allow the light to come streaming in...

Aviary found on Craigsist for a song!  (See what I did there?)

It is old but I cannot discern as to whether or not it is an antique. It stands 5' 4" tall! 

It will most likely be painted.  Dove grey, perhaps?

Inspiration: Aviary at Waddesdon Manor, England. It is in the Palladian style, as is the Craigslist aviary.

                                        Close up of the Aviary at Waddesdon Manor.






xoxo
Andie

To Narnia

“all worlds draw to an end and that noble death is a treasure which no one is too poor to buy.” 
― C.S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia

Goodbye, Dearest Frannie.  I'll see you in Narnia, my beautiful, brave girl.  I shall miss you every second of every day until then. I will recognize you by your kind heart. My Bravest. My hero.

Twelfth Night

Twelfth Night is a festival in some branches of Christianity marking the coming of the Epiphany and concluding the Twelve Days of Christmas.

A recent belief in some English-speaking countries holds that it is unlucky to leave Christmas decorations hanging after Twelfth Night, a belief originally attached to the festival of Candlemas which celebrates the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple (2 February).

From Wikipedia:

In colonial America, a Christmas wreath was always left up on the front door of each home, and when taken down at the end of the Twelve Days of Christmas, any edible portions would be consumed with the other foods of the feast. The same held true in the 19th-20th centuries with fruits adorning Christmas trees. Fresh fruits were hard to come by, and were therefore considered fine and proper gifts and decorations for the tree, wreaths, and home. Again, the tree would be taken down on Twelfth Night, and such fruits, along with nuts and other local produce used, would then be consumed.

Let the Feast of Fools begin!

A celebration marked by much license and buffoonery, which in many parts of Europe, and particularly in France, during the later middle ages took place every year on or about the feast of the Circumcision (1 Jan.). It was known by many names — festum fatuorum, festum stultorum, festum hypodiaconorum, to notice only some Latin variants — and it is difficult, if not quite impossible, to distinguish it from certain other similar celebrations, such, for example, as the Feast of Asses, and theFeast of the Boy Bishop.