~BECAUSE I STILL LOVE PINK~

I know many of you (since I get lots of your emails) think I've abandoned my love for pink!  Truthfully...it's not so!  I love it as much as I ever have...  It's just these days I choose to wear it as clothing verses having so much of it all over my home...  I've opted for meaningful complements showcasing this much beloved color and have found I enjoy PINK (in all her glory) when she's not so overdone.  Still love fluffy pink pillows in natural fabrics...pale cottons, damasks and pastel linen if I can find it.  I love it best when paired with soft whites, creams, vintage laces, and lately...tattered roses!  Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

 

Now that my Booth at Serendipity is fully stocked and holding her own (such WORK I say!) I've turned my attention back to restocking my website shelves.  Poor little thing.  She's looked  so sad since December when I was healing up from hand surgery...  It's been fun to refocus on my first love and so today I'm showing you what's new...  And it's PINK!

 

 Sweet little pink Damask Pillows and French Lavender Sachets showcasing hand fashioned roses, old linen, laces and vintage buttons.

All the pillows (except for one I think) are sold...  You can view them HERE if you'd like to read more about them!  Still, this will at least give you an idea of what I've been up to for the last couple of days.  That is, aside from working in our garden (love it), painting furniture white (love that, too!) and planning for, um (do I say it???)...  Hmmm....I'll just say 'later in the year!' :)

When one is self-employed they have to think ahead...waaaayyyyyyyyyyy ahead!  Otherwise when the year-end excitement hits one has no life! :)

I'll be in and out the rest of the week as my Miss K is with me tomorrow and that means Nana and her favorite girl time.

(Nothing I love bettah!)

Hope your day is blessed.

Love to you...

~MY MR. AGP MAN'S WORKSHOP and a VINTAGE FLOWER...um...BED~

~MY MR. AGP MAN'S WORKSHOP~

Now that ALL our family's college graduations (and parties!) are over my and my new AGP Booth is up and functioning as a business my Mr. AGP Man and I have been able to concentrate on working on the MANY projects around our home.  Our La Chaumière de Briarwood turns forty-three years old this year and her ongoing updates and makeovers have been trying sometimes.  Still...we are hoping by the end of the year most of her kitchen transformation will be done.  This remodel is NOT to be confused with just getting new cabinets and flooring...we are talking about ripping everything out down to the studs, tearing up concrete, running new drain lines, updating to a larger capacity electrical box, etc.  New bathroom and laundry room, too!  Lots of work I can assure you!  I'm anxious to show you everything...

~MY NEW FLOWER BED~

Sweet Vintage Baby Bed

~*Let Her Transformation Begin*~

When my guy decided to return to school that took precedence over anything cosmetic in our home, thus delaying the completion of our kitchen remodel for a LONG TIME!  I'm sparing you pictures of the mess we've lived in for at least eighteen months now and will just say we are happy to be back on track.  Too bad we can't just hire it all done...that would be wonderful I guess.  But, it would also price our home right out of our neighborhood as remodels like this cost more than big bucks!  Best to do what we've always done...a little at a time and pay as we go.  

 

~NEWLY PAINTED TO LOOK WORN and WEATHERED~

This year we've already put in a new backyard and have also been working on our ever changing and growing landscaping projects and gardens.  I do NOT have a green thumb and my guy doesn't either!  So...yard work and planning shrub-work/layout designs is difficult for us!  But...we try!

~SIMILAR BED I FOUND~

(So..this idea what NOT so silly after all!)

Of all the things on our 2013 BUCKET LIST the most important from the outdoor perspective was to get my Mr. AGP Man's  fabulous Workshop in shape...walking into the house from muddy earth causes a huge mes!  With the new grass laid out he was finally able to get back to laying the new decking (sidewalk) that leads to the front door of his workshop.  I thought you'd like to see for yourself where my guy does all of his fabulous work...

A couple of weeks ago our neighbors were moving and had an incredible yard sale and you KNOW I was there!!!  I picked up the sweet old vintage iron baby bed for $10 because I had big plans for her in the landscaping of a new flowerbed (get it...Flower-BED???  I knew you would!) in the backyard.  My entire family rolled their eyes over my plans (so what do THEY KNOW????), but I'm pressing on.  Deep cedar boxes will be placed into the baby bed's decking and after sinking the bed partially into the ground she'll be filled up and overflowing with incredible plants, small shrubs, flowering vines, etc.

The bed itself wasn't too hard to paint.  It had been already painted a dark, dark hunter green and so I just sprayed over it with Rustoleum's Rust Colored Primer Paint.  After that dried I strip painted/mottled it with a mixture of black, cream and white exterior enamel paint.  This gave it a great old rusty and weathered look.  Before placing her back outside she was completely sealed with several coats of protection.  Her legs will be placed in rocks to help keep them from rusting away...good drainage will be needed.  I'm hoping by later this summer she will be dressed to the nines!  Promise to show you more when I can!

Hope your holiday was wonderful.  Much to be thankful for today.

Love to you...

~MY MEMORIAL DAY HEROES~

  

Grandfather:  Philip Webster Martin

Enlisted in the Army Air Corp (before Air Force) after turning 30 years old...because the war needed him!  My Hero!

 

My Father:  William Edgar Elliott

Faithfully served for 10 years in our US Navy

His health issues today and skin cancer are attributed to his years out to sea

witnessing ocean-water/bomb testing and long hours in the sun!  My Hero!

My Brother:  William Philip Elliott

Faithfully served in the US Marines both stateside and overseas!  More than proud

of my only brother!  During his service he saw a friend lose both his legs in a Philippines training accident...and more than I can share.  My Hero!

My Son:  Brandon Kent Nelson

Faithfully served three years in the US Air Force.  Stationed stateside as a computer programmer in Omaha.  His military service and training helped change the course of his life!  My Hero!

My Son-in-Love:  Michael James Weigel

Faithfully served in the US Army during war time, both in Iraq and

Afghanistan.  He's seen it all...and barely escaped with his life.  My Hero!

Today we are honoring the men and women (my Aunt Ethel Elliott Wiser/un-pictured, also served as a Naval Wac in WWII) during both war time and peace.

Thank you for your bravery, service,commitment to our country and for risking your lives for us all.

Each of you have ensured our freedom and the freedom of our nation!

Love You Most...

(Becky)

~TATTERED ROSE PINS and OKLAHOMA GRATEFULNESS~

Yesterday I took a break from watching the new coverage of the recent tornadoes here in Oklahoma.  The media, both local and national, are everywhere and the news-threads have been non-stop since the storms arrived.  I use the plural, storms, because there was more than one...several in fact.  The worst one of course being in Moore.  My heart continues to grow with pride as I watch the incredible men and women of our beautiful red earth state work to clean up as well as grieve.

At present my Mr. AGPMan and I attend a large non-denomination church here in Oklahoma City.  They have pledged 1.2 million dollars to help the displaced...  Such a huge donation from our congregation, but still just a mere drop in the bucket when you think of the 2 billion dollars estimated damage the tornadoes wrought.  Your giving is so needed.  If you plan on giving to the Red Cross don't forget to earmark your contribution "FOR OKLAHOMA".  Otherwise your gift(s) will go into their overall fund.

Thank you so much for your prayers...notes...support and most of all, LOVE!

 I took a break from news watching to work on some things for my booth this morning.  I just finished some new romantic pillows for my website and some sweet sachets, too.  Also worked on some tattered rose pins fashioned with vintage laces and trims. 

 Tattered Roses are all the rage right now and move really well in my new booth at Serendipity Market (Edmond, OK).  Perfect on headbands, clips, used on pillows, etc.  Fun to make, too!

 After sprucing things up yesterday in my booth I stopped by one of my favorite second-hand stores and found three panels of sheer-mist silk (with fabulous stripes) for $6.98 for the lot.

 They came from Charter Club and still had the original $40.00 price tags attached.  That was for EACH ONE...  That's $120.00 worth of silk for $6.98!  Eeeeek!

Can you say SCORE????  I used some of it on one of the pins at the top...  It's the one with the vintage rhinestone button in the center.  If you look closely you can see the silk peeking out in-between the lace-layers!

Many blessings to you all today.  Hope you're planning something memorial for the holiday weekend.  

Love to you...thank you again for your thoughts and prayers for Oklahoma. 

~STAYING STRONG IN OKLAHOMA~

First of all I want to thank all of you who have taken the time to call, email and comment regarding the tornadoes that tore thru Oklahoma on Sunday and Monday.  Small towns and cities across our state have been pummeled to the ground and the loss is beyond devastating.  Your continued prayers for Oklahoma are greatly appreciated and mean more than my collective thoughts can convey.

At present the rains are coming down making rescue and recovery all the more challenging.  As difficult as it is to watch I can't pull myself away from the non-stop coverage on the News.  Seeing our Oklahoma land ripped up only twenty miles from us and knowing people have died is beyond overwhelming.  I watched just this morning as an elderly woman shared how thankful she was to be alive.  It was then her little doggie, no-doubt her trusted companion, crawled out from beneath the rubble.  She was sure he had perished...a precious Schnauzer unbelievably survived her entire home being flattened.  This my friends was a total God-thing.  We are praying for more wonderful stories like this one.

As a result of all of the devastation I'm reminded again at how fragile life is.  How in an instant everything known and loved to us can be gone or changed in the blink of an eye.  I'm beyond grateful our Edmond home missed being hit on Sunday.  But that gratefulness doesn't even compare to how thankful I am that our son and his family, by the grace of God, missed getting any damage from the tornado that tore through Moore yesterday afternoon.  My Miss K attends fourth grade at a local school and her elementary school isn't too terribly far from the two completely destroyed.   I'm overjoyed at her and her family's safety~but my heart is broken over the thought of those who lost their lives.

I do not presume to understand why God allows all He does.  I only know that it is in times like these we are all forced to confront the fragility of life.  What seemed so important a couple of days ago doesn't even register upon our hearts or in our minds today.  Just maybe, just maybe good things will come our way as a result.

One of my beautiful mother's favorite songs came to my mind this morning...  Written my Mosie Lister many years ago, it says what I cannot...

TILL THE STORM PASSES BY

"In the dark of the midnight have I oft hid my face,
While the storm howls above me, and there's no hiding place.
'Mid the crash of the thunder, Precious Lord, hear my cry,
Keep me safe till the storm passes by.

Till the storm passes over, till the thunder sounds no more,
Till the clouds roll forever from the sky;
Hold me fast, let me stand in the hollow of Thy hand,
Keep me safe till the storm passes by.

Many times Satan whispered, "There is no need to try,
For there's no end of sorrow, there's no hope by and by"
But I know Thou art with me, and tomorrow I'll rise
Where the storms never darken the skies.

Till the storm passes over, till the thunder sounds no more,
Till the clouds roll forever from the sky;
Hold me fast, let me stand in the hollow of Thy hand,
Keep me safe till the storm passes by.

When the long night has ended and the storms come no more,
Let me stand in Thy presence on the bright peaceful shore;
In that land where the tempest, never comes, Lord, may I
Dwell with Thee when the storm passes by.

Till the storm passes over, till the thunder sounds no more,
Till the clouds roll forever from the sky;
Hold me fast, let me stand in the hollow of Thy hand,
Keep me safe till the storm passes by."  

Love to you... 

~TORNADO UPDATE~

Thank you for all your emails and comments...

Here's a blanket note to you all about the tornado that hit Oklahoma today

My Mr. AGPMan and I just got word from our son, Brandon, that he and his wife Sarah and our beautiful Miss K are OK.  They live in MOORE, OKLAHOMA, and miraculously their home escaped any damage or injury.

THANK YOU, GOD, FOR ANSWERED PRAYER!

  It isn't lost on me that today could easily have been the worst day of my life.

For many it was.

Still...Oklahoma's people are already doing what they always do...  Coming together to help the displaced and rising up to meet the challenges of life set before them!  Salt of the earth...

Our beautiful State has been through so much over the past few years...now this!  Please pray for us...

May God have mercy on us all...

Thank you all for caring about us.

Love to you...

~WE SURVIVED THE TORNADO...MORE STORMS COMIN'~

Our La Chaumière de Briarwood here in Edmond, Oklahoma, survived yesterday's storms.  The tornado that tore through our State missed hitting our house/neighborhood by about three or four blocks.  Our electricity was knocked out for a while, but strangely the moment the tornado passed over us the sky directly over our home was eerily calm and blue.  Those only a half a mile away were not so fortunate.

This tornado, an F3 or maybe even an F4, has destroyed so much.  My heart goes out to those people who have lost everything...and those who've lost only a little.  

Today we are gearing up for round two.

Hunkering down for the day.

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR COMMENTS, THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS!

Love to you...  

~THOUGHTS ON A SUNDAY MORNING...BAD WEATHER COMIN' DOWN~

We survived last night's storms here in Oklahoma and our La Chaumière de Briarwood escaped any notable damage from the wind and the hail.  But, beginning around 3PM today more distressing weather is supposed to roll in.

I hate it.

It scares me.  I've seen firsthand what storms can do here in the heartland of America.

Comfort for me comes in knowing that God alone knows everything I need.  He is my Protector and friend.

May your Sunday be blessed...

and safe!

Love to you...

~NEW BOOTH REVEAL- A GATHERING PLACE at Serendipity Market~

 Well...I'm finally getting around to showing you some pictures of my new A Gathering Place Booth at Serendipity Market in Edmond, Oklahoma!  With the addition of some amazing pieces of vintage furniture I'm happy to say she's pretty well stocked for now...(we won't talk about my AGP WEBSITE...EEEEK!)!

 Here's a picture again of the space before we moved in!   I know it's really hard to tell (photo at the top) with the light coming through the windows, but the store's windows (above) were accented with vintage doors and lots and lots of vintage shutters to diffuse the light.  My Mr. AGPMan really outdid himself this time.  He worked so hard on everything and somehow created this amazing wall/window area fashioned with only fabulous vintage architectural finds and a few pieces of new wood!  What a man!

WHAT A MAN!

 My guy was able to tie into the existing triangle pergola and thankfully it was possible to use almost all the previous pieces of framework used in my former space!

Here's another picture that shows the vintage crochet lace pieces used to decorate the pergola.  They help to hide the sometimes harsh florescent lighting on the ceiling while also adding a bit of romantic interest.

 This booth space has large terracotta colored tiles for the flooring and I absolutely LOVE how easy it is to move things around.  

 We were so tired after moving in a couple of large pieces today that I only managed to snap a few pictures...I hope to share more with you soon.  I've had the busiest month I think I've ever had since April 1st...at least since my daughter married in 2007!

 Owning a Booth, even a small one, is WORK!

WORK!  WORK!  WORK!  

I'm finding out that I need to have something 'in the wings' at all times to replace large pieces of furniture at any given moment.  

 Since I needed to be out of my previous Booth by April 30th it proved to be difficult to finish the pergola with all my STUFF around...somehow we did it!  Exciting...but tiring!

Here my guy is hard at work!  I'm so blessed to have him as a husband, lover, business-partner and friend.

Here's a better shot of the wall before all the product was put into place!

I was so sick of painting trim-work and slats of wood I could have screamed!  I'm sooo glad it's DONE!

Here's a picture of my first Booth at Serendipity when I opened it March 1st of this year.  A sweet little space but it proved to be wayyyy tooo small!

I hope to show you more photos as the months go along.  Of all the places I've ever had a shoppe (and I've had several!), Serendipity Market in Edmond, Oklahoma, is by far my favorite.  The owners are wonderful (more than I could ask for) and my co-vendors are friendly and hard working!  It's a very eclectic place to visit and a fabulous place to shop for home decor and fashions, too!

Thank you for visiting and hanging with me while I've been MIA!

Storms are ragging here in Oklahoma so I'm off until things clear up and the hail goes away.

Love to you...

~THE MOST AMAZING VINTAGE SHABBY COTTAGE CHIC CHEST EVER~

 

 Way back in February I shared with you all about my fabulous Craigslist find!  Remember this gorgeous vintage chest of drawers?  I fell in love with it even though it had a few minor issues...

 The drawers were all in working order and the entire chest seemed to be sturdy and strong.  Just a wee bit of repair work was needed on some missing carved scroll work, but other than that it was an absolutely stunning piece of furniture!  Not sure I'd have even considered painting it had there not been the missing pieces (you can see some of the missing pieces on drawer #2).

 

 Here she is after her makeover!  Certainly the most beautiful and enchanting vintage chest I've ever given seen.   Hard to let this one go!

  The original handles/pulls were left in place and some creative work clay-work was needed to refashion the missing piece of scroll work.  Not perfect, but you really can't tell unless you are looking!

Isn't the crown on the chest beautiful?

Beautiful detail work!

I love how this vintage 1920's era chest came out...couldn't wait to show you!

Destined for my shoppe/booth today!

Love to you...