Friendship

Friendship is a sheltering tree.

Don't you just love those words? When I first read them several years ago, I took them immediately to heart and have held them close ever since. How true they are. Life without friends would be very lonely.


This past week was certainly auspicious for meeting friends old and new.
On Wednesday I had a lovely time with Julia. We met for lunch and visited SuzAnna's Antiques and nearby Gresham Lake Antique Mall where Julia has a booth filled with lovely things. We first met in a local grocery store at Christmas, where she recognized me from my blog, which she kindly reads, although she doesn't have one of her own ~ yet. I hope we'll be spending more time together as I really enjoyed her company.


On Saturday, despite pouring rain and falling temps., I was back at SuzAnna's Antiques to meet Suzy of GeorgiaPeachez and her best friend Beth of Elizabeth Holcombe who were heading into Raleigh from Virginia. Those gals shopped for a long time finding SuzAnna's full of great things to haul back over the state line! It was great fun to meet them and see them swoon over the bounty on offer. Susie, Jenny and Linda were, as always, great hostesses. Dressed to the nines, they served hot apple cider and cookies which hit the spot on a cold afternoon. Even sweet Anna, Susie's former business partner, came by - she's always full of fun and it was was good to catch up on her news.

Meanwhile, over on Sam's Country Porch next to SuzAnna's, I met Mary Ann (also her friend Claire and other family members) who had set up her new and exciting venture, a tea room. She was serving coffee, tea and chocolate along with home baked goodies. Her biscotti are the best I've ever had - no jaw breakers here and great choc icing! Hopefully this will become a weekend happening which will be even more fun come Spring when the weather cooperates. Mary Ann is also a gardener and seamstress so you know we had plenty to chat about over hot raspberry chocolate........flowers and fabric really get me going........furniture too of course!


Before heading home I bumped into a fellow countrywoman, Sharon C. who grew up in Bedford, England. I detected her accent and she caught on to mine immediately - that always makes me happy because I think I've lost it! Sharon lives in Rocky Mount, NC and comes to Raleigh often so I'm hoping to meet up with her again. She admitted she loves garage/yard sales, thrift shops....................and even found a real French sofa at a Goodwill store!! I need to tag along with this gal who can unearth French treasures.

All the above beautiful handmade frames with vintage photos I saw for sale in a local shop. I loved the first 'Friends' one, and what about the last one where the groom is actually balancing the wedding cake while being photographed ~ that's too cute.

Here's to friendship ~ perhaps I'll be lucky enough to meet you under that sheltering tree some day.

Getting a handle on things.......

The three plain wooden drawer pulls on the dresser were the original and hardly French looking. I'd ventured out to look at metal pulls but all looked too new, were too expensive, or had to be special ordered. After picking up my lamp on Wednesday, I had to swing by SuzAnna's Antiques again as I'd left something behind. There, in the office, sitting in a box of newspaper, Stacey of Flotsam & Jetsam (who'd stopped by thanks Stacey), spied these pulls tied together with string. Literally, there at my feet, among some newly arrived items, were the perfect metal pulls.........and there were three of them, complete with their old screws...................for just $8 total. Now how serendipitous was that! I knew immediately they were the ones...........the color, worn finish, and the French look was perfect.

Guess what I was doing yesterday while taking a 'paint break' in the afternoon........measuring, drilling and installing these pulls of course.



You have to admit they really finish the piece off. Once again I found exactly what I was searching for, at a great bargain price, and at my favorite shop.




Hung a tassel, now feel this dresser looks just the way I hoped it would when I envisioned my French country dining room.

Chair Update: Have made some changes in the paint color...........no surprise right? Job going slowly as each chair requires three coats to get the desired effect ~ then will need 'aging' and a final waxing, and eventually new fabric on the seats ~ thinking vintage cotton velvet but hard to find in the color I'd love. One of the arm chairs will be a different color paint ~ it sits in a corner of the dining room and will be an accent piece with a really beautiful fabric on the seat. I love painting this furniture but it is going to take time...a lot of it!

Bright lights....good friends

Dear Susie & Jenny, find me a lamp, tiny, pretty, and dripping with crystals....please!!!!!!

That was my request last week when I realized the dark Graphite Grey newly painted entry hall needed *****sparkle*****. Having visionary friends, such as the gals at SuzAnna's Antiques, pays off big time. When you keep a wish list of formerly loved treasures you would like to find, they really look out for you. Before I had time to bat an eyelid, there she was at the shop door, Susie, 'the lady with the lamp'. Only thing was it was a fancy smancy candlestick, and I just knew that my DH would prefer to throw a switch for safety's sake!

It was so pretty, the perfect size for the small table, quite old, but still had all its dangly crystals plus sweet little crystal flowers. The brass base was covered with cut glass, and even the drip pans were cut glass, no plastic on this baby. Before I could bat the other eyelid, I was introduced to Ray, who has a booth at the shop, a magician who promised to wave his wand and, within a week, turn this beauty into an electric lamp. I bought it and sent it home with Ray!


Wednesday I went to collect the lamp, thrilled to see it had turned out fine. Fortunately consignor Sam was hanging out at SuzAnna's ~ it was originally his candlestick. Sam finds the best treasures, many he's shipped back from Europe. As we admired it and debated whether the candle bulbs should have shades, Sam handed me two tiny vintage ones, which fit perfectly, and gave them to me as a gift! Thanks Sam, you are such a generous and fun person.



So here it is, my wished for sparkly lamp in its new home. I'm thrilled with it. Many thanks to all at SuzAnna's Antiques who proved, once again, wishes do come true.

Double your luck!

Can you believe this? While debating whether to move this wonderful old chipped wood frame to the dining room from upstairs in the hallway, I took a few minutes to look through a folder of magazine tear sheets. I like to pick a sheet to stick up on the 'frig ~ changing it every month or so to something seasonal, pretty, or of interest to me at that time. There I found this collage sheet and realized the frame was almost exactly the same as mine! Question was, how to mount it in the frame to display?

Attached old wire to the back with a stapler, wrapped it together in front and 'hung' the page over leaving the ends of the wire twisted in front to hold it more securely. The picture displayed can be changed easily at any time for a new look. Works for me ~ what do you think?

Update on painting chairs ~ One done, five to go!!!

The perfection of imperfection

I found this sweet, somewhat chipped, wood framed picture at SuzAnna's Antiques last week. I almost missed it as it was hanging high on the wall of the little office. I immediately knew it would find a home with me as the colors were just right, and I thought it 'perfectly imperfect' to hang in the corner of the dining room. The flowers, casually arranged in my favorite way, have to be from an English garden - delphiniums, perfumed stocks, daisies, hydrangeas - the blooms and fragrances I love so much. This still life, although just a print, seems at home with my own dried hydrangeas.



I'm usually overcome by mixed feelings when I see something old and loved at one time by someone else. Isn't it a little bit sad that they've let it go for some reason you will never know? But the good feeling of bringing it home, after spending just a few dollars ~ this lovely was $12 ~ placing it in the perfect spot, knowing it's admired once again, makes one's heart sing.

SuzAnna's - still the one.....................

Although SuzAnna's Antiques hours are a little shorter these days - chilly Winter mornings mean opening hours start at noon - this fabulous antiques/vintage/shabby chic haven is still the best in my area. I try to stop by weekly because there are always new things to see and fall in love with......and the prices are right. As for the staff, nowhere, I repeat nowhere, will you find such great gals who will instantly become your friends forever!

My most recent visit was Friday with blog friends Vanessa at Vanilla Lavender and Deborah at Pictures, Pots & Pens. It was fun to have Vanessa back after her six week trip home to Brazil - lots to chat about as we browsed around the ever changing shop, and of course we each bought a treasure to take home. I was so busy talking I forgot to take photos, however here are some of the treasures I spied at the shop over the past several weeks.

The outside area will soon be filling up again when the weather warms - there will be plenty of patio/deck/garden furniture and all those sweet statues, birdhouses, shutters and garden paraphernalia we just can't do without.

A Stroll through Aix-en-Provençe

When you take your trip to Provençe......
.....and I say when not if, because hopefully if you haven't traveled there yet, each of you will go some day to experience this beautiful part of France.............be sure to jot down on your itinerary, in bold letters, Visit Aix-en-Provençe.

This historic city is the region's most cosmopolitan with an international university founded by Louis II in 1409. A wave of prosperity transformed the city in the 17th century, when the ramparts, first raised by the Romans, were pulled down and the grand boulevard, the Cours Mirabeau was built. Lined with beautiful mansions, cafes, and planted with the renowned plane tree allée, the Cours also has many of Aix's exquisite fountains which were added in the 18th century.



Today, I invite you to leave the Cours and the hustle bustle of the market which was in full swing that morning, and take the same stroll around the medieval streets of the old town that I took last October. The early rain soon stopped, leaving the stones and statues washed and water colored. Provençe, known for the brilliant colors of the Mediterranean coast, the sunflower yellow, cobalt blue, rich reds etc. is also blessed with muted shades which I found so beautiful. Around each bend and corner of the cobbled streets, there were faces and beauty everywhere in this lovely place.

La Place de la Mairie ~ Astronomical Clock (1661) on which statues representing the four seasons appear in turn.

Au revoir Aix, your beauty truly shines. I hope to return again some day and I hope each of you will visit also.
All photos taken in October 2008.