~MY BAGS ARE PACKED I'M READY TO GO~

~KISS KISS~

I will be away for a few days!  I'll be back in a week or so and share with you then what I've been up to!

My Mr.AGPMan will be running things alone around at our La Chaumière de Briarwood while I'm gone and my A Gathering Place business, too!  He'll also be taking care of my wee little Yorkie Dog, Miss Mollie.

Hope your week is wonderful!  By the time I get back Easter will almost be here!  Golly...this year is moving right along, isn't it?

Blessings...I'll be missing you!

Love to you...

 

~FRESH WHITES with PINK ROSES~

 ~HANDMADE CHILD'S SHOESHINE BOX~

 I love finding old vintage treasures and every once in awhile I stumble upon something I believe is more than wonderful!

While visiting northern Oklahoma last weekend I found this charming little Shoeshine Box that was obviously handmade for a child.  The little foot stay/rest is small and I just love it's petite size and form!  Originally a soft white it's been lightly washed with a coat of fresh white paint before being hand painted with soft pink roses!

~VINTAGE HARVEY SEWING BASKET~

My next great find was this vintage Sewing Basket by Harvey.  Generally I don't repaint these sweet old finds but someone (I'm hoping it was a child) scribbled all over the top of this one with black marker.  So...it was repainted a fresh white and the top was hand painted with pink roses!

~SWEET LID~

I'm always on the hunt for neat things to repaint.  Old or new if the item is unique or has some great bones then I drag it home with me! :)

 ~VINTAGE REPRODUCTION BASKET~

This Basket is a reproduction of a sweet vintage Basket from the 1930's.   I love the wooden handle in the back!  Great for a bath with rolled up towels or washcloths!

~BASKET CLOSE-UP~

I'm not sure what I'll be working on next!  There are some sweet things base painted just waiting for artwork!

Today I'm linking up with Kathleen over a Faded Charm for White Wednesday!  Be sure to check out all the sweet whites when you have time!  Lots of things to make you swoon!

Hope your day is fabulous!

Love to you...

~SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE~

When I was a teenager growing up in the mid 70's I dreamed of the following things for my wardrobe:

Shoes with clicky heels.

Fashionable jeans with appliques.

Belts with gemstone inlays.

T-shirts with pink, pink, PINK!

Now that I'm all grown up I'm amazed to find I dream of the following things for my wardrobe:

Shoes with clicky heels.

Fashionable jeans with appliques.

Belts with gemstone inlays.

T-shirts with pink, pink, PINK!

Funny how the more I change the more I stay the same!

 

 ~My Family in 1976~

(a bad copy of a great photo-I'm on the right))

~~*~~ 

The funniest thing happened on Monday!

My hubby works for a major copier corporation and yesterday he was at a local account overseeing some network changes when one of the employees (a guy!) came up to him and said:

"Are you Mr. AGPMan???????"

(I've decided blogging has taken over my life!!!!)

~~*~~

 Hope your day is wonderful.

Love to you...

 

~ALL FRAMED UP~

 After enjoying the lovely hospitality of Miss Tammy last Saturday, before returning to Oklahoma City I just had to pay a visit to a couple of junky style haunts her north Oklahoma city had to offer!  I am happy to say I was not disappointed!  Great old finds and neat antiques can be found in almost any town in my great state and Enid, Oklahoma, didn't disappoint!  

 I found these three old Huldah Jeffe (1901-2001) prints in these incredible mid-century Syrocco frames.  I actually love some of Huldah Cherry Jeffe's work and I was surprised to read she had (and still has!) a lot of critics.  Apparently there are people in the art world who don't favor the dark eyes on her subjects.  I happen to like them.

 Anyway...I have a couple of these prints already so I'm sure I'll be reselling them as is!  Simply fabulous old prints.

Aren't they wonderful?  I love each one!  The ones of the children are especially rare!  They are a lot harder to find!

But...the find of the day were the seven bundles of vintage lace one particular booth offered!  The gal had them marked $1.00 each and that was a fabulous price.  Three of the lace bundles were French and that made me very, very happy.  I don't know why but lace just finds ME!  Honest...it does!  It doesn't matter where I go or where I shop but it seems I always uncover the best vintage trims for not a lot of money!  We all know the laces made today can't compare to the fabulous old stuff!

All this great technology out there and yet in some areas we've gone backwards!  Most of the lace made today (except the super-high-end trims) is cheap polyester and it's simply crummy!

 Today I'm back in my studio working on painting things with a ground of WHITE!  So much still to do but I'm loving it!

Hope your Monday is wonderful.  I'm off to paint roses for my newly reopened website!

Love to you...

 

~~~~THOUGHTS ON A SUNDAY MORNING~~~~ Springtime Tea With Friends

"Friends...they cherish one

another's hopes.  They are kind

to one another's dreams."

Henry David Thoreau

~BEAUTIFUL TALENTED TAMMY~ 

On Saturday I joined some of my sweet blogger friends

for an absolutely precious

Springtime Tea.

~TAMMY'S LOVELY HOME~

The Tea was hosted by Tammy from

Tammy's Heart

at her delightfully sweet home

here in Oklahoma.

 ~BEAUTIFUL GINGER~

Both Tammy's Mother, Miss Ginger from

Glitter and Roses

and her lovely Grandmother,
Miss Mary,

were in attendance.

~GINGER'S BEAUTIFUL MOTHER~

I was so honored to be invited!!!

 ~MY SPECIAL PLATE~

When I arrived at Tammy's address I

walked into the most charming

cottage I've ever seen!

Magazine worthy!!!

Tammy's entire home was beautifully

decorated with a a darling Easter-time theme.  

The weather was perfect and the

sun was shinning bright!

We couldn't have asked for a

lovelier day!

~PRECIOUS TABLESCAPE~

And the food!  Well...I was too busy eating it

to take any pictures!  Spinach Salad with 

fresh strawberries, walnuts and raspberry

vinagrette dressing!  We lunched on Chicken

Croissant Sandwiches and sipped on tea and

sweet lemonade.

 ~TAMMY'S FIREPLACE~

Not only was the food scrumptious but

the favors took my breath away!

There were precious cupcakes and sweet

treats made from Marshmallows dipped into

white chocolate.  I couldn't believe it!

Tammy was such a

gracious hostess and her talent is

like nothing I've ever seen.  I've been to many 

parties, showers and teas in my lifetime, but 

never have I seen everything so 

beautifully appointed or so 

lovingly prepared.

I'm still speechless!

(And I am NEVER Speechless!)

 ~HANDMADE BAGS~

 Tammy's gifted ways, no doubt in part, come to her

by way of her mother, Miss Ginger!  Ginger

helped make the most precious little bags

filled with tea and candy and all

sorts of take-home treasures.

 ~HANDMADE BOXES~

She even sent me something home for my

sweet Miss K.

 

 ~PRECIOUS FRIENDS~

Aside from the wonderful food and fellowship

Tammy shared a lovely little devotional

that truly made my heart sing!

I love to hear about the love my 

friends have for our loving Father

and His precious Son.

"Dear Tammy...

Thank you for including me in your

very special day.  I want you to know

how much I loved spending the afternoon

with you, your mother and grandmother

and will remember always your grace 

and beautiful hospitality.  God has

blessed you with the spirit of giving

and again I was honored to be so

welcomed in your home.

Thank you for sharing your

hopes for the future with me!

I'm excited to see how God works out

all the details and for those

dreams of yours to take flight!

I can't wait to watch you soar!

All those special things that God

has placed within your heart will

one day come true!

In His time.

In His time.

He makes all things beautiful

In His time.

I love you, friend. xoxoR"

~~*~~

Blessings to you today as you share life

and fellowship with those you love.

Love to you...

PS:  My Website Reopens SOMETIME today!!!

~A BIT of WEBSITE NEWS~

No time to blog today as I'm working behind the scenes on my A Gathering Place website in hopes of reopening it on Sunday (March 25th).  We are having lots of issues with it and the entire process is making me a tad-bit-nuts.  If we aren't able to iron things out I'll have to push the reopening back a couple of days...

This isn't making me tooooo happy!

:(

I'll share more tomorrow!

Love to you...

~JUST BE HAPPY~

WINTER 1977

Sometimes

life gets really busy

and I forget who I am,

where I am going

and just who it is that's helping me get there.

For over thirty years

my beloved and I 

have journeyed together

down a path towards oneness.

The long, winding roads

have taken us deep into the valley,

directed us towards the highest mountain

and somewhere in between.

On a daily basis the 

husband of my youth

reminds me to live

life to the fullest...

To face each new morning

with renewed hope and purpose

and to never wander far

from the pathway God has prepared for me.

SPRING 2011

"Now and then it's good to pause in our

pursuit of happiness and just be happy."

Guillaume Apollnaire

Love to you...

~MIRROR MIRROR on the WALL~

 ~MY GUY DOING HIS THING~

In April 2009 I shared with you a few pictures of the Stairwell in my La Chaumière de Briarwood.  Nothing has changed over the past few years because I still love the way all the mirrors look and don't have any plans to change them out anytime soon.  I may not ever....

~ANCHORS A MUST~

But, with all the makeover stuff we've been doing of late we've had to move things around quite a bit and that has left several decorative pieces without a home.  Some of those things have been taken out to the storage shed we have on our property and a few things have been propped up in our garage (which I absolutely hate!).

 ~VINTAGE MIRROR~

As my Mr. AGPMan and I have worked to de-clutter our home we've happily donated tons of stuff to Goodwill, but the one thing I just couldn't let go of was a very large mirror that was original to our home.

 

~EXISTING MIRRORS~

The mirror once hung over the very large and dated bathroom counter in our main upstairs bath.  But when we remodeled it in 2005 we changed it out to update the look and feel of the room.  The wooden frame was an antique gold color but it sort of greened-out over the years and it wasn't very appealing.  Still the mirror itself was lovely and even a little bit sentimental.  The manufacturer's date was on the back August 16, 1969.  That means this summer it will be 43 years old...

~DRY BRUSHED~

Instead of parting with the mirror we decided to add it to our stairwell mirrors and hang it on the opposite wall.  I love how it looks coated in my favorite Cottage White Paint (Behr/Home Depot).  Dry brushing allowed lots of the original patina to show through, too!

Hanging this big old thing was a huge hassle, but I was happy to get the chance to really clean the mirrors and remove all the dust brought about with so much remodeling!

Hope you Monday is fab!  I'm off to work...

Love to you...

~~~~THOUGHTS ON A SUNDAY MORNING~~~~ One Single Thought

 ~I NEED THEE~

"I need Thee ev'ry hour, 

Most gracious Lord;

No tender voice like Thine

Can peace afford.

I need Thee,

O I need Thee,

Ev'ry hour I need Thee;

O bless me now, my Savior,

I come to Thee.

I need Thee ev'ry hour,

Stay Thou near by;

Temptations lose their powe'r,

When Thou art nigh.

I need Thee,

O I need Thee,

Ev'ry hour I need Thee;

O bless me now, my Savior,

I come to Thee.

I need Thee ev'ry hour,

In joy or pain;

Come quickly and abide,

Or life is vain.

I need Thee,

O I need Thee,

Ev'ry hour I need Thee;

O bless me now, my Savior,

I come to Thee.

I need Thee ev'ry hour,

Teach me Thy will;

And Thy rich promises

In me fulfill.

I need Thee,

O I need Thee,

Ev'ry hour I need Thee;

O bless me now, my Savior,

I come to Thee.

I need thee ev'ry hour,

Most holy One;

O make me Thine indeed,

Thou blessed Son.

I need Thee,

O I need Thee,

Ev'ry hour I need Thee;

O bless me now, my Savior,

I come to Thee."

 (Annie C. Hawks)

~~*~~

I've shared this beautiful old hymn before but today I couldn't resist writing out the lyrics for you again.  When life gets hectic and sometimes overwhelming I'm reminded, ofttimes by those I love, I am always in need of my Savior.

~~*~~

My daughter, Adrienne, is a sweet soul.  No doubt like Annie C. Hawks.  One day last week I was having a pretty stressful morning when I heard an unexpected knock at my front door.

 

  Nothing major was happening...

(just life-stuff)

My house needed attention.

Laundry in the hamper needed washing.

Letters needed to be written.

Product needed to be mailed.

But...that knock irritated me.

Messed up the flow of my work

and concentration.

I had to get up.

Answer the door.

"Go Away!" was the

one single thought

running through my mind.

 When I opened the door an older gentleman with a smiling face stood in front of me with a gorgeous bouquet of flowers.

"Are you Rebecca?" he said.

My loving, generous, gracious and most beloved daughter sent me beautiful spring blooms...

No reason.

Just because.

  As I closed the door this

one single thought

was running through my mind...

 

 "I need Thee.  O I need Thee."

(Thank you, AdrieGirl. You honor me!)

May your Sunday be blessed.

Love to you...