Ready For A New Home

A few days ago, I posted on letting go of a few of my long time collections. Here they all are...my collection of posies, washed and ready to be enjoyed by another. My Mother was by to visit and she could not believe I was parting with them. I'll be fine...really, I will. As long as I don't start another collection. :)

Sept 1st Update : 8 of the 16 are spoken for. I may post the ones remaining in a day or so if they are still available. :)

Sept 3 - All of the posies are now spoken for and will be sent off to be enjoyed by others. I have certainly enjoyed them for many years. My cabinet looks so empty but I have no idea what to put in it just yet.

Rooting For The Home Team

I really don't follow sports that closely , but when it's a group of boys from our home town, it's a little hard not to root for them. We had dinner out tonight and everyone was cheering the boys on as they watched at the bar. Even my husband called me and asked if I had heard they are playing for the World Championship. Chula Vista will move on to the Little League World Series to play Chinese Taipei (International Champions) for the Little League World Championship, tomorrow Sunday, August 30.
Luke Ramirez (pictured above) is 13 years old, 6'2" and weighs 200 pounds. Hard to believe, I know! Since he pitched the entire game tonight, the rules state that he won’t be able to pitch at all tomorrow. It will be interesting to see the outcome without him playing, but I wish them the best!

*Update August 30 - The boys are champions! Way to go. :)

Time To Let Go...

I don't know what it is, but it seems that the older I get, the LESS STUFF I want around me. Does anyone else feel this after they hit 50? I mean, really..do we I need all this stuff? All I know is I am tired of dusting it and I'm ready to take a break from roses. I have collected many things over the years... some may be a collection of 3, some may be 10, 15 or more. There are certain things that I think I am ready to part with, and then I take a second look and change my mind. I have gone back and forth with my tole trays and my porcelain posies. I think I am ready to start with the posies next week and here they are, all 17 of them. I have actually downsized these from over 30 so I think I am learning to let go, sloooowly but surely. I may even keep ONE just for the heck of it and it will probably be my very first one that started my obsession over 10 years ago. The antique display cabinet may make it's way into the store to be used as our jewelry display.

I will most likely put them on the website, but I am also contacting a few friends who I know have collected these over the years, just as I have. If anyone reading this post would like to adopt one or more, just contact me through my website here. Barbara.if you are reading this. I have not forgotten you and you will have first dibs. :)



The tole trays are the next item that I will either downsize, or sell the whole bunch, but I am leaning towards keeping just three. The difficulty lies in deciding which three. I cannot part with the one on the bench in the first photo, since it was a gift from a dear friend. :)
There is only one on the wall I would be keeping for sure and that is the oval french one in the center. The third one will probably be a green one that isn't even pictured. So stay tuned and I will have individual photos next week.

The Heart Is A Bloom

Just got home from an early dinner with my girl. It's always nice if we both have the day off and can do something together, even if it's only for a few hours. As we were eating I noticed she was receiving text messages from David and replying numerous times. They have been best friends for 5 years now. I remember her first week of High School as she told me about a boy who would eat lunch at their table and sing "Beautiful Day" by U2. She thought he was a total goofball. :) Well, they have remained close friends ever since, but it's been difficult to tell if they are MORE than friends. We finished our meal and I don't know WHAT came over me, but I looked her square in the face and popped the question " Jenna, are you in love with David?" She started to grin, her eyes welled up and she immediately said YES. Of course, that made me get a little misty, so I guess you could say we shared a little Mother-Daughter moment. We sat there silently, and no words were even exchanged. I sniffed, blotted my eyes and she said to me, " Don't do that..." I already knew the answer to my question, but I never thought it would cause the reaction that it did. It was sweet, it was real, and it took me back in time to when I felt those same feelings for the first time.
It was a beautiful day....Don't let it get away.

Cottage8 Finally Revealed!

I just visited The Old Painted Cottage blog where she has finally revealed the last 12 months of her cottage remodel with before and after photos. I've been anxiously awaiting this day and it's finally arrived! You have to see what Jennifer & Adam took on..they deserve a big round of applause! Just click on the blog link to take a peek for yourself. Congrats to you both. :)

Button, Button, Who Has The BUTTONS?

My friend Pat, that's who!

Have you ever seen so many pretties in all your life? This is just the tip of the iceberg kiddies. I want them all, including the vitrine...okay I'd settle for just the vitrine?



A friend of mine had me over for a visit recently, and she is great at teasing me with things that she might be willing to part with. :) This is one just piece and as any die hard collector knows, it would be difficult to part with all of those buttons. If you think this is her entire collection, think again. She had a coffee table display full of them and a collection stashed in drawers in the closet.( You can click on the images to enlarge)

The Village Theater in Coronado

The Village Theater in Coronado opened it's doors in 1947 and ran movies for 53 years. It is the only movie theater in this small town and has been vacant since the year 2000, so you can imagine the excitement when it was announced that the restoration process is finally moving forward. It is expected to take up to 18 months, but so many have waited this long, that it will be worth the wait!



The facade of the theater will be restored to it's original glory, and the inside will be completely renovated with plans to have a 1940's look and feel.



The entrance


I just love the old ticket booth. Wouldn't it be grand if they handed out vintage Admit One tickets, but I doubt that will happen. I vote for rollback prices at the snack bar... Okay, how about just for opening night or the first week?! :)
I for one, am looking forward to catching a film there.

Feeling A Bit Proud...

When our daughter was invited to a "kick back", I had no clue as to what that really was. I assumed it was simply a gathering of friends at someone's house. You know...kick back, watch tv, play video games, eat some junk food. I was then informed that this kick back may involve alcohol. To be a little more specific...Beer Pong. I didn't say anything,(although I wanted to) but waited a moment before asking "So... what are you going to do?" She gave me the answer that I had hoped for. She didn't want to go because she doesn't drink and would feel out of place. Whew! That was easy.. Some of you reading this must think I live in a cave, but really, I don't. It's just that my girl has grown up and made NEW friends through work and school that I have not personally met. The friends I knew from her High School days, were pretty straight lace. They grow into adults so quickly!

The following week she gets another invite to a different "kick back" but this one is called 420-Friendly. My first thought? 420 Friends? Okay....so enlighten me or do I have to look it up on the Urban Dictionary? She explains that there will be smoking taking place, and I am not talking about the tobacco variety. She then announced, "I don't really want to go." So that's why I am feeling just a bit proud of my grown up girl who is still 8 months away from turning the big 20. She can make up her own mind, without a parent telling her what the right choice would be. She knows what it is. I don't live in fairytale land and don't expect that she will never make a wrong decision in life or attend a party without drugs & alcohol, but I know she will reflect back on these decisions and know in her heart what's right for her, personally.

Anthropologie Love

Like so many others, my daughter is an anthro addict. Why do their clothes have to be so stinkin cute?!!! She's been shopping online lately so the carrier has been delivering a few parcels to the doorstep this week.
This is her latest top..adorable. The vintage straw purse was one of my very first vintage finds at the ripe old age of 16 and now she carries it. I'm thrilled she has inherited the collecting gene since I have plenty to hand down to her.
I keep telling her that she needs to work at Anthro, but I'm afraid she might not have much of a paycheck if she were hired. I wish she would find another online store with clothing like this for half the price...anyone want to share their favorite shopping sites?

A Token Of Love

This has to be one of the dearest treasures we've ever found. I carefully turned each page, eager to read the next inscription to Harriet from her classmates from the years 1881 and 1882. The notes written and the beautiful penmanship are so special and truly a token of love.



Cling to that which is good - 1881






You can click on any image to enlarge.

Second Time Around

This just came into the store last week and I felt it was blog worthy. :)
Tamerie dropped by the store and graciously offered to model it for you. A very creative soul decided to repurpose a dresser scarf into an apron that's almost too pretty to wear. I think it's sweeter the second time around, don't you agree? I think it could go over a plain white dress and be just as sweet. As you can see in the photo, it is not full length on the backside.I hope you can see the detail by clicking on the images to enlarge.

Birthdays Aren't So Bad

Another birthday crept up and bit me in the b*tt 2 days ago. I had a very nice day though, so I guess birthdays aren't ALL that bad. I went to Tartine for lunch,a locals favorite. I ordered the Caprese Panini and Jenna had Ham and Gruyere Quiche. Both delicious! If you ever visit Coronado, be sure to go, but save room for dessert. We ordered two desserts because it was too hard to choose! The Pavlova was mouthwatering and the brownie was so rich that we barely finished half of it. Thank goodness for to-go boxes. :)

Later that evening, the Mr. and I went to Humphrey's By The Bay to see Jim Gaffigan. He's very funny and a good thing I had a hankie in my purse because I laughed so hard the tears were flowing.

Fleur de Sel Caramel

I'm not a huge fan of ice cream, but when I had a taste of this Haagen-Dazs last night, I thought I had died and gone to heaven...wow. I really wish I hadn't tried it. Sweet and salty with caramels covered in chocolate..there are NO words. I am blaming my daughter for the added pounds on the scale this month.