Friends ~ Gifts - Homes

My beautiful blank book with silk ribbon, now my decor 'wish list' book, from Penny.

Also the lovely 'friendship card'.

Meeting at the fabulous ScreenDoor in Asheville, NC

Last Friday I had such a pleasant visit with Penny of The Comforts of Home and Lavender Hill Studio. Even though she and her husband were in the throes of moving house, she kindly took a break knowing we were in town. We went treasure hunting together first, then met up with our husbands for lunch at a great bistro in Biltmore Village.

In upcoming posts I'll share the treasures of Screendoor. I loved browsing through there with Penny.........she certainly understood my quirky cravings and shared the sighs when my eyes lit up at chipped paint finishes, French lighting, classic concrete busts, wire things with numbers, and anything with writing!

Penny's new house, quickly becoming a beautiful home.

'Biltmore' ~ that name conjures up the beautiful house and estate which Asheville is known for. We have visited there many times in all seasons and it is magnificent. This trip however, we skipped the Biltmore House and instead were given the grand tour of Penny's gorgeous new house, and what fun that was. If you visit The Comforts of Home, Penny has shared many pics of what she and her husband are doing to make this house a beautiful home.

Penny's other fabulous gift to me ~ a generous bar of Marseille kitchen soap.

The day with Penny was truly special and hopefully we can do it again soon. Thanks for making us so welcome, we certainly enjoyed every minute with you both.

Penny for your thoughts............

Prettiest license plate ever!

Yes, this is the delightful lady I met in the mountains last Friday! Many of you already visit Penny's blogs, The Comforts of Home and Lavender Hill Studio, know her amazing work making mosaics, and have followed her recent move to a beautiful house.

More on our fun visit which included treasure hunting in

Asheville, NC...............soon!

Heading Home

Just a little filler as I wend my way home along the wet highway later today. More on my mountain weekend coming later. Let's just say the people were great, the food delicious, the treasure hunting successful................but the mountains almost invisible through the rain and fog.

Top of a beautiful mirror.

These pics are from a recent visit to Suzanna's Antiques in Raleigh.....you know by now that this is my favorite place!

Love to take a trip.....................love to get home again!

Pale Pink Saturday

During last weekend's visit to SuzAnna's Antiques I captured some very pale pink pretties to share with you today.

These delicate, really beautiful rose painted plates ~ inexpensive, but how many plates can I collect when storage is becoming a problem. So I left them just for you!

This unusual wicker chair with pink floral upholstery on seat and back ~ in Jeannie's Uniquitiques booth.

Back at Tracy's Little Shabby Shack, great painted pale pink furniture. Nice dresser with hutch ~ where the rose plates would look divine.......

...........table (on left) with drawer and lower shelf which would be useful just about anywhere. These pieces were a very wispy pink, so pretty. Then the deeper pink shutter on the wall.......love that one!

Now hop on over to How Sweet The Sound to visit with Beverly who has an ever growing list of Pink Saturday blog friends just waiting to share their pink finds. Have a great weekend.

TODAY was a memorable day long ago

As you read this today I will be away from home in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Circled on the calendar, this date is always special to me. It was just a week before I turned 19, the year was 1962........and yes, I am that old! I kissed my family goodbye, boarded a plane at London's Heathrow Airport - my first time flying - and crossed the pond to work for one year in Washington, D.C. I was not a gutsy girl who had traveled much. After the war people in England didn't have money for holidays and traveling to foreign lands. I did have a sense of adventure though. I knew I was meant to go places. I also had a serious boyfriend. My parents liked him but didn't want us to get married at such a young age, so encouraged me to spread my wings and fly away for a while.

Here it is, forty seven years later. I'm still not far from Washington but I've covered an awful lot of ground in that time. Water has run under many bridges, life has been full of ups and downs, but I never returned to England to live.

I've crossed the pond numerous times during the years. I kissed my mother, father, brother, entire family, and a hoard of much loved friends, hello and goodbye over and over again. I kept coming back to my adopted country, my very special husband, my American family and friends. I could say I have no regrets but that might be stretching the truth a bit. There are always regrets, whether one moves just a few miles down the road, or a few thousand miles across an ocean, when it means leaving home and loved ones behind.

It's said "you can't go home again". I'm inclined to say, "home is where you make it". With modern transportation it's not so difficult to drive a smooth highway for a few hours, or settle down in a seat for a night flight across the water. Your loved ones are always waiting for you.........so go while you can.

................and what about that boyfriend you ask. We are still in touch. He's still the nicest guy, and we meet up now and then when I'm home, across the pond.

*********
While in the mountains today I'll be meeting a very special blog friend for the first time - more on that later.

Stackin' them up

I seem to be collecting stacks of things lately........not like in tons and big loads, just small things in multiples that become stacks.

The two small stacks of different shaped handled bowls were from Homegoods. These appealed to me for several reasons ~ they look French, they look old due to the slightly yellowed edges, they are cute shapes, and of course they were very inexpensive, as in cheap!

The lovely fluted latte bowls, at least that's what I use them for mostly, my morning coffee. As the mornings start off cooler I enjoy wrapping my hands around a bowl of hot coffee. They can also be useful for soup, cereal, fruit, ice cream, even storing leftovers. I waited for Anthropologie to open their first shop in this area (in Durham, NC) recently because I like their bowls which are made in Portugal. They come in a myriad of colors, are sturdy, and can go in the microwave. Of course mine are white and French blue..........and they stack up very nicely thank you.

My new stack of tiny butter pats ~ old, slightly worn on some edges, French style decoration in gold, perfect. My friend Vanessa spotted these when we were treasure hunting a couple of weeks ago. She always finds things I love......and doesn't try to sneak off with them to her house! You're the best friend ever Vanessa. The six were just $10.00, a real deal.

Friendship flowers.....

A sweet friend came to visit last week. She brought flowers from her garden. Just how I love them..........loose and unstructured, as if picked in the wild from a rolling field. Placed effortlessly in simple glass. Tied with perfect garden string. I could smell perfume mixed with green tones, ozone and earth. Mary Ann, you made me happy with the late season bounty from your beautiful garden. Thank you for being my friend.