Bringing Love Home {Part 2}

Continuing our journey....

I drove a very different way home that avoided $45.00 worth of tolls (true horror story) and was so much prettier....{West Virginia, we are officially in love}...and with under two hours of sleep apiece, we programmed the GPS on a course to America's largest antique mall, Heart of Ohio Antiques. We made it there with only two hours to look around. SO NOT ENOUGH. The first picture is one side of the first hallway. Basically, take this picture, times ten, and you get the idea of the size and scope of this mall.

You can't even see the end of the hallway...it's that long!

Now, we maybe stopped at only a handful of booths in the mall. There just wasn't enough time. It was quite busy, and we also had a more than a few people stop and thank the sweet hubby for his service (which, by the way, is so incredibly cute and sweet every time it happens), so we just kind of breezed our way through it. I tried to take a few pic of the booths that did catch my eye.

I LOVED the way this dealer made her a booth a rainbow experience!

We did find a couple of resale items, most notably this great set of cuddlecloth barkcloth drapes!

And, before we exited, we stopped for a sweet photo (not so sweet of me). This is what less than two hours of sleep and a fifteen+ hour car ride will do to homegirl....

 

Hubby {looks great}...... Wife {not so much}..... We pulled into our driveway at 12:30 am. We left Virginia at 6:10 am. LONG day. LONG drive. BIG antique mall. LOTS of love.

Bringing Love Home {Part 1}

On the 17th I drove my soldier home for Christmas! What a ride....seven states we visited on the fifteen hour car ride. We saw some of the most scenic beauty this country has on the east coast. Our mountain ride started in Virginia with this spectacular scene:

And as we drove through Virginia it just kept getting more spectacular. We took a bit of a detour through a little mountain town named Longdale, VA, and happened on a beautiful bed & breakfast home called the Firmstone Manor.

The sweet hubby was in full soldier gear when he knocked on the door for directions, and I think the lady of the house was a little surprised to see a soldier on her porch. But she was so nice and pointed us in the direction of the nearest gas station, and then kindly invited us inside for a look around the manor. The house is to-die-for inside. I didn't even think to take some photos of the inside, but here are a couple borrowed from their website.

 

The mansion is huge! And decorated to the hilt in period furniture and decor. We were amazed!

If you would like to visit a B&B in Virginia I highly recommend this lovely home.

http://www.firmstonemanor.com

 

Just a Little Vintage Christmas

It was delightful to be able to display all of our vintage Christmas finds this year! Most of these items were acquired years ago...and have been stored away since.

It's really just a hodge-podge of holiday goodness. And, I started this new PUTZ collection, so next year it will be even better. Hopefully it will fill the whole shelf within a couple of years.

I love this little flocked snowman....he will become part of one of next years ornament wreaths.

Painting & Present Snob

I just finished painting our foyer/stairway. To use the term "finished" would be loosely... Mr. V will still have to put a second coat on the cathedral ceiling portion. But it looks good, and I am pleased with the color. Being pleased with the color is a big bonus....I intended it to be gray, but the actual color turned out to be a grayish-blue, and is quite pretty. If you are interested, it is called "Samovar Silver" by Sherwin Williams.

I purchased a new curtain for the window, painted all the trim/stairs and attempted to do a kick-board stencil. That didn't turn out very nicely, so after 6 days of late night painting, I threw in the towel and put all the paint and supplies away.

I haven't done much Christmas shopping this year. I was waiting on Mr. V to come home to do it with me. Most of my life lately has been in a holding pattern, and Christmas shopping is no exception. I was surprised that I actually went out and bought the tree myself. I am used to putting it up and decorating it myself, but the choosing part by myself was new.

This brings me to the actual gift wrapping. I consider myself a bit of a present snob. I LOVE to find the perfect gift, no matter what the occasion. I pride myself on the perfect purchase. And in the last few years, that has extended into the actual gift wrap. Last year I was a red/white damask/polka dot look. This year I went for the trendy aqua/mustard/tan look.

I went to Hobby Lobby and chose about 8 different cute ribbon spools. I just love the look. It will come together a little nicer when I actually have more gifts....but you get the idea.

I'm sure the sweet lady that receives this gift will know right away who it's for when she reads this blog....

What are your Christmas traditions? The older I get, the more I start getting my own Christmas style.

Just Putzin' Along

It's not often you walk by an antique store window and see a cute little putz village....

With 12 houses, two trees and a reindeer.....

And then you see this sign......

And so you almost trip over your own feet running in the door to snatch up the deal of the season....

And you feel like you just won the putz-house lottery, so you buy the creepy Santa too....

I think it's the eyes....

What I've Been Up To

This is what I've been up to for the last three months.....

Hoarding. Yep. Mantique and vintage ornament hoarding.

I've turned our basement bathroom into storage. Sista calls it the "creepy haunted bathroom." It does remind you of an institutional bathroom with 1950's tiled floor, single sink, toilet and old mirror. A place for a shower, but no shower. And...it's located right next to a room that locks FROM THE OUTSIDE. Like you could lock someone in there and then let them out to use the creepy bathroom next door.

At least that's the story we've made up in our heads....

1970's Owl Tiki Lanterns...SCORE!

Some of the boxes don't look old, but the ornaments inside are surely old!

In other thrifting news....homegirl (me) found a awesome FIESTA vase (12" tall!) yesterday. And it has already sold on ebay!

Honored

I was honored to attend the graduation of Charlie Co. 3/47 at Fort Benning. Let me tell you, it was ICY and slick in the stadium and on the field. When I got to the field the temperature was 31 degrees, and for Georgia, that's pretty low. I had to wipe the ice off the bleacher before sitting down. Luckily, I had gone to K-Mart and gotten a scarf and some gloves beforehand.

Gloves and The Help...great for sitting in 30 degree weather for an hour waiting for the start!

I wore my 1940's sterling heart charm bracelet to honor all that have served before us. It has charms from all the services on it...if you look closely you can see the Army and Navy charms.

The hubby's platoon was on the far right side.

The hubby's platoon marching past.

Proud Army Wife with the sweet Hubby outside the Infantry Museum.

I had a very nice time. It was so great to spend time with Mr. V. before he left for the next phase of training. In 12 days I will be driving to pick him up for Christmas break!!!

Oh, and btw, The Help is GREAT! I can't wait to see the movie!

Practice Makes {ALMOST} Perfect

This cutie is in the mail to a bestie in a (cough) warmer climate.....

With each wreath I make I get a little better.....and I like each one better than the last!

Christmas is about to be in full swing around here. I have had my Christmas cards in hand for a few weeks now....and I'm thinking about heading to the tree lot tomorrow. Oh yes.....it's been raining all day and I sit here making tree plans for tomorrow......

Giving Thanks...

I don't want this blog post to be another Thanksgiving cliche.

About being grateful. Cause this is about much more than that.

The truth is, I feel happier the last two days than I have the last three months. I kinda feel like a new person.

During the last nine weeks I have not been myself. At all. I have struggled with depression. I went 29 straight days without hearing my husbands voice. I worried, agonized and suffered extreme anxiety {almost on a daily basis} about his well being and safety. I doubted our decision. I felt lost, like a part of me was missing. It was very hard to get through some days. I felt that I was just EXISTING.

I was not the best mother, and for that, I feel incredibly bad.

All of this changed on Thanksgiving Day. I woke up to my husbands voice on the phone, and we were able to share our thoughts, feelings, stories and LOVE for almost six hours. There is nothing like being able to reconnect your heart after nine weeks. How someones voice alone can make you feel whole again.

I refuse to forget this feeling.

I am so thankful for everything in my life, I really am. I realize through this process how strong I am as a wife, mother and person. I may have not been at my best, but I know I am capable of managing things. I have a deeper appreciation of what the countless military families before me have been through. And I realize my situation was a far cry from what others have faced, but it was a triumph for me as a woman. On a personal level it showed me a bigger picture of my life. And for that I am so grateful.

I am looking forward to feeling love again. To being myself. To going back to my daily life that I loved so much. To thrifting, blogging, and being a mommy. To being a wife. To being a supporting daughter-in-law to the sweet mother-in-law that shouldered the majority of my troubles the last couple of months. I am so grateful to her. Really.

Mostly, I am grateful to be happy again. To have a bounce in my step and a smile on my face. A little LOVE can do that to ya! Thank you, Mr. V., for what you have helped me bring back the last couple of days. I am so grateful for you.

Graduation is next week! Eeek!

I found out from the sweet hubby that he made all the requirements for Graduation last week!!! I can't even begin to explain how very excited, relieved and happy that news made me. Next week will be a culmination of the last 9 weeks of stress, anxiety, hope, happiness and sadness all being released. As much as I don't deal well with change, I am going to welcome the change this transition will bring. And I am so happy for that.

And, I want the whole world to know how extremely proud I am of Mr. V.

I know I have the very best husband on earth. You can all be jeal of that...... =)

I have the THRIFTING EYE

 Do you have the thrifting eye? The type that can spot what things are upside down, covered in candle wax, dirty with 20 years of dust and otherwise unrecognizable?

I do.

I'm excited to let you all know that this week has been a BANNER thrifting week. Who knew? You would think that with the spring/summer cleaning done that the finds would taper off, but they have actually gotten better! I found something good (really good!) every day. On Monday I found a antique baby plate, on Tuesday I found a butterfly quilt top, on Wednesday I found a whole mess of mantique items and today I found these:

Can you see the gem in this bag?

The above pic was taken as the bag was found at the store. The Salvation Army has a interesting way of placing a bunch of nice breakables haphazardly into bags. Usually at least a few items get broken in the bag.

Maybe this pic will help you better...

See that kitty eye gazing up at you?! It's a pair of HOLT HOWARD KITTY SHAKERS! And they are the squeaker box ones! Yippeeeee! Also in the bag was a Goebel cat figurine and a vintage cat bank. This must've been the cat collection.

Also found:

Awesome Rococo Mirror...I'm thinking it would be great in that trendy aqua blue color...

Huge Gurley Santa candle in box!

I can't wait until next week's thirfting adventures. You never know what you'll find....!!!

The home stretch

I apologize for the lack of blogging. I'm just trying to get through the days. I have a lack of ideas, inspiration and motivation. I suppose I have projects. I bought paint and should be using it for the intended project, but home is the last place I want to be right now. It reminds me of my sweet husband too much, and time drags when I am not out and about, driving every which where.

Every day is one step closer to getting a GIANT hug from my husband.

Until then, I carry on.

And make more SHINY BRITE WREATHS!

This one was made for the antique mall. When I stopped there yesterday someone had taken the wreath down and placed it on a CHAIR! OMG. Sooooo noooootttt cooollll! One tumble and this one would have been quite a mess.

More Sisterly Shopping

The little sis and I spent Veterans Day shopping. Of course we did!

We managed to stroll leisurely through my FAVORITE store, Anthropologie. Not that I can afford to pay their ridiculous prices, but it was fun to look at all the vintagey items. And take some photos.

Anthro, you have some neat, but dusty mirrors.

While we were there, sister found THE BEST owl cami! I am happy to report my first ever Anthro clothing purchase! And, it was of course on sale. And I was able to fit in the cute little shirt! Bonus!

Owl Cami

Sending so many thanks to the veterans out there who serve and have served. A special thanks to my sweet hubby, Mr. V., for making my Anthro shopping trip a reality. Love you bunches!

Retro Couch Heaven

I went thrifting with the Sweet Mother-In-Law today. Our last stop was the Salvation Army and they had the most AWESOME piece of 1960's/1970's fabulousness I have ever found:

Now, Dear Readers, humor me on this one. First, the sweet old lady covered this piece of wonder in plastic from day one. The upholstery is in MINT condition. The lines of this couch are very much in line to what is popular nowadays, that retro-modern look.

Now, look closer at the print...

It looks just like something you could find in the fabric store right now!! And, be still my heart, it had the cutest little wooden legs too!

If that weren't enough, you could be the proud owner of the matching easy chair too!

Ok, so I'm not as smitten with the chair..... but the COUCH! If I had another living room, or a color scheme even close to the pumpkin and green combo, it would be coming home with me. No questions asked. It was only $40.00!!!!

Am I crazy here? Can anyone else see the potential gem?

You could add these pillows.....

Pumpkin pillow

Brown pillow

Then add these lamps to each side and the look would have a great start....

Green lamps