SHARING A LITTLE UPDATE....Missing You All!

Dear Blogger Friends...

It's been over eight weeks since I last posted an update for you.  Not sure how many of you are still checking in...  I know...it's been a long time.

At PINKS in Cali Last Month

Yesterday, one of my all-time favorite bloggers and friends wrote me the kindest message and I guess it just gave me the needed PUSH to fill you all in on what's been happening.

So...if you are still wondering where I'm at and what I'm doing, keep reading!

I've shared with you about the car accident that my Mr. AGPMan, our daughter, Adrienne, and I were in last May.  Well...for the most part the two of them have healed up and for that I'm so very thankful.  It goes without saying that they were, and remain, my greatest concern.  However...I still have some lingering issues that are proving to make me both overwhelmed, depressed and, well, kinda scared.

I will spare you the details and only say this:

I'm still under a doctor's care.

I'm still in physical therapy.

I'm still TRYING to create and list on my website (although I'm failing miserably at keeping up!)...

I'm still have my Booth at Serendipity Market in Edmond, OK...

and...

I'm still hopeful that I will regain my health and find wellness in my future.

I'm still trusting God for better tomorrows and remain grateful and thankful for my life.

I would be less than honest with you if I told you this entire ordeal hasn't caused me to reflect a great deal on my life.  I understand better just WHAT is important and the things that truly matter.

  At HS Reunion/B-Day

My big sister and I made it to our HS Birthday Party a couple of weeks ago and that brought me great joy.  Wonderful to see old friends and to reconnect.  Above is a photo taken that night.  I removed an old friend from the picture...it's the only decent one taken of me with my eyes OPEN!  (Ugh!)  And in case your wondering...this is what my HS friends remember me looking like!  Sure do miss my young skin!!!

 My Senior Picture 1976

(too funny not to share!)

Very thankful I was able to attend the celebration (it was my school's 50th Birthday and classes from 1966-1976 were invited!).  A big thanks goes out to my brother for putting me up and my sis for traveling with me so I wouldn't have to fly out and back alone.

 

 Our Miss Mollie

(a few years ago!)

Our little Yorkie, Mollie (who will be 14 in January) is ill and probably won't be with us too much longer.  I've been blessed to have this precious doggie in my home since she was just a few weeks old and we love her as any pet-parent loves their animals.  She's seen me through many, many things~both good and not-so-good...  Our prayer is that we will know the best time to say a gentle good-bye. 

Our Son, Brandon

(a few  years ago!)

 

Lastly...I want to share with you that my son, Brandon, will be having major surgery on Tuesday, November 1st.  As a momma probably does, I guess I still look at my grown children as "my babies".  I'm concerned, as any parent would be, but I know he's in capable hands...

Those here on earth and in heaven.

 And so...there you go!  I'm pressing on.  I appreciate any prayers you can offer up in my behalf.  I've missed you all so much.

May God continue to bless you all.

I hope to share more soon.

Love to you~

Rebecca

HEALING SLOWLY...

Dear Friends~

I never thought my wee little blog would be reduced to an occasional update on my health...but I digress...here's the latest news on the aftermath of the car accident my hubby, daughter and I had in late May~

Hubby is doing better and so is our daughter, Adrienne.  I've been in physical therapy for a while now and still struggling to get back to 'normal'.  Finally, today I went back to my orthopedic doctor and I have to have another MRI on my neck before they can proceed with the next plan of action.

I'm beyond anxious and want to get back to work.  I fight off becoming moody every single day, but grateful I'm healing...even though it's taking a lot longer than I would like.

I hope to return to my blog and website work soon.  Fall days are coming...cooler crisp weather...

I can't wait to enjoy it!

Love to you~

Rebecca

~PRESSING ON THROUGH PHYSICAL CHALLENGES~

The healing of my shoulder/right arm has been challenging and sometimes beyond discouraging.  I'm continuing with physical therapy and I hope I will improve as the weeks move on.  I'm only able to do a tiny bit of computer work and no sewing...

Along with my arm, my needle and thread are completely at rest.

Honestly...I'm fighting to not become depressed over not being able to do what I love.  I just recently reopened my website only to have it sit, once again, half-full.  

I hate that.

Still...I'm grateful for the tiny improvements made since our car accident and so happy our injuries weren't life-threatening.  It's caused a lot of chaos and disappointments and even pain in our lives...but we are pressing on!  I'm hoping with the therapy I won't have to have surgery...

Sharing with you today some past photos I hope will make yo smile.

Thank you for your thoughts and any prayers you can send up in my behalf. 

Love to you...

Rebecca

CAR CRASH and HEALING UP!

Pain!

It's part of life.

I sooo wanted to share with you some photos of a sweet antique dresser/chest that my Mr. AGP Man and I recently paired with an vintage oval (cheval) mirror.  A fun project we first completed during the early days summer.  But...I've been sidelined for a bit and an injury has derailed my plans...

I'll save the furniture for another day....

Soo sorry!  

 After an MRI on Wednesday on my right shoulder I found out yesterday I have a torn rotator cuff.  My Mr. AGP Man and I, along with our adult daughter, were in a car accident a few weeks ago and the healing of our bodies has taken a long time.  The "bruised muscles" just weren't returning to normal and that forced me back to the doctor on Monday.  I have no idea what is in store for me...surgery, therapy or a mix of the two  I just don't know.  A holiday weekend is coming up and so I been given some some pretty powerful meds to push back the pain.

I hate medicine.

I whine when it's prescribed for me EVEN though I may need it.

My hopes that Aspercream and would work have been permanently dashed.

Being in the MRI machine made me freak-out.  Took the 4th try before I could do it...

(DON'T OPEN YOUR EYES when inside one of those contraptions!  Please...just don't do it!)  I kicked my legs and feet until they pulled me OUT and SOMEHOW I was able to calm myself down to endure the 55 minute procedure.

I would have GLADLY taken Valium or Xanax if they'd offered it to me.  

Medicine hater or NOT!

All that said the three of us are pressing on with hope...trusting God the damage won't be too terribly bad when I see a specialist next week and that my daughter and Mr. AGP Man will also be good as new before long!

So...if I'm absent for a bit longer than I'd planned on being...well, you will know why~

I have so much I want to share.

Good things.

Only good things.

Love to you~

Rebecca

LOST and FOUND

Today I'm going to tell you a story about loss.

Over the past couple of weeks I've thought a lot about what I was going to share with you after unveiling the photos of our kitchen renovation.  There hasn't been much over the past year or so that has equaled the excitement we felt as we finished that enormous project.

Thank you for the kind comments and emails...I remember all of you.  I feel like I've returned once again to the company of an old friend.   I've been away from HOME for a long, long time.

 

I'm a fairly passionate person...but if you've read my postings over the past several years then you already know that.  You also know I love my family and my Mr. AGP Man, my La Chaumière de Briarwood (that's my home, remember?), my little Yorkie dog named Mollie (who is now 13 1/2 years old), old lace, tag sales...and well, just creating.  

It's in my blood.

Has been for as far back as I can remember.

A couple of years ago I fashioned several vintage style Tote Bags and offered them up for sale.  I sold a couple of the larger ones on Etsy and several of the smaller ones on my website.  The one remaining Bag, a smaller one, I showcased in my local booth.  I had it draped over a mannequin and if you look at the center photo in my header you can see how I had it displayed.

The Tote Bag wasn't very large...but it spurred a great deal of conversation among the shoppers who stopped into my booth.  Unlike my website I don't offer a lot of  handmade lace-based items to customers.  Those types of things sell OK for me locally...but, unless you know firsthand the cost of old trims and lace it's easy to misunderstand the the reasoning behind the asking price of an item.

To some people, lace is lace.

To the keen or trained eye the great vintage stuff can readily be identified.  And it's often costly.

Three weeks ago I was in my booth chatting with a very nice customer (who is now also a friend) when she commented that she was happy to see the Tote Bag had sold.  Immediate panic set in because I knew it wasn't on my sold items report from the store.  From that very moment I knew it my heart it had been shoplifted stolen ripped-off!  I tried to make small-talk with my friend, but my mind was racing.  After she left I did a fairly quick, but detailed, look around the entire store and proved my first suspicion...

The pretty vintage lace Tote Bag, the one that took me hours to create, was gone.

Now...I guess it's important to tell you here that I am very aware that part of selling in retail means accepting the fact there will be loss.  I've had small things taken over the years and I suppose if you add up the value of all of them together the final tally would be fairly substantial.  Years ago when I was in retail management I caught many, many MANY people stealing from the store.  The loss came primarily from young boys who were fascinated with early gaming cards (like Yugioh).  But, we also busted middle-aged women for lifting greeting cards (yeah, I know!) and tiny little stuff that honestly made no sense to me.  By far though, the most difficult loss to swallow was when it came from my employees.  I better understand today the mindset of most shoplifters.  Generally it's isn't about need...it's about the thrill of taking something you don't have to pay for, getting away with a crime, or the false belief you are owed something.

Anyway...back to the missing Tote.

The store has security cameras and I have a couple of great ones pointing directly into my booth.  The eye-in-the-sky rarely disappoints...and we are dealing with it.

It's taken me a few weeks to get over accept this personal loss.  No...my house didn't burn down, my car wasn't stolen and no one I love was hurt. My body wasn't violated.

But, my heart was.

 Anger absolutely engulfed me and every time I thought about the work that went into making that petite little bag I was left feeling sick.  Honestly...I make things by hand because I love to create...the money I earn, although needed and appreciated, is not what drives me.  The actual hourly profit is so incredibly low (especially when making soft-goods) I've sometimes wondered over the years why I've continued.

  

When terrible things happen to us, whether it be something TRULY tragic or something fairly minor, our hearts ache.

Mine aches for fairness...justness...but mostly for healing.

Like I said...I've been pretty angry.

 This morning I picked up a piece of aging lace from an ever growing pile of vintage finds in order to begin again.  I wondered for a moment from whence all the laces, trims and bits of fabric came.  Were they fashioned by hard working hands? And how on earth did they find their way to me?  Most were discovered nestled amidst boxes filled with hoarded mementos, gathered or created over decades by the women who have gone before me.

Years of collecting led me to them. 

I suppose, not unlike the beauty found in the scraps of lace used to create my offerings, I've always believed it's possible for God to take the tiniest of scraps and unworthy pieces of my life and create something lovely from them if only I would allow Him to do so. 

And so, I did what I always do when discouraged and broken.  I returned to the embrace of the Master-Creator of EVERYTHING to trust Him to straighten the narrowed path I've found myself traveling upon...to make right again my journey... to soften my anger, quiet my spirit and restore my floundering faith in others.

 Someday, somewhere, I hope my lost Tote Bag will find it's way to a worthy person's hands...and in turn inspire them to continue on as I am continuing on...

To go where they are led.

Serve where they are called.

And once again be found.

Love to you...

Rebecca

OUR FRENCH FARMHOUSE KITCHEN REVEAL

OUR KITCHEN - JUNE 2016

(View from Entry)

Today is the day!  I'm finally going to share with you the AFTER photos of our complete KITCHEN NIGHTMARE RENOVATION!  Now..before I begin I first want to tell you that the MAJORITY of the makeover was finished last summer.  It's taken my Mr. AGP Man and I nearly twelve months to get our heads back together and recoup from this enormous, do-it-your-selfer project.

THE BEGINNING

(January 2012)

As I go along I'm going to TRY and show the old pictures taken during the process and correlate them with where we are today!

KITCHEN ENTRY 2012

When my Mr. AGP Man opened up this wall and saw all the manifold of pipes I thought he was going to faint (they were in concrete!).  They had to be moved and barely fit in with our plans.  A pocket door was going to be installed to the right of the pipes and once the pipes were in place it ended up being a really tight fit!

KITCHEN ENTRY 2016

KITCHEN ENTRY RIGHT 2016

KITCHEN ENTRY RIGHT 2012

KITCHEN LEFT SIDE 2016

KITCHEN LEFT 2012

ENTRY TO DOWNSTAIRS BATH AND LAUNDRY ROOMS

(This is a painted Pocket Door)

LOVE THIS SINK

LOVE OUR ISLAND

One major change in our plans was NOT using the vintage counter for our island!  After we brought it home from Tennessee we realized that it just wasn't what we were looking for and opted for a change.  Found this amazing one at TJ MAXX for a few hundred dollars.  It's on wheels and can lock in place.  I may paint it one day...and then again...I may not.

I love the contrast! 

 GRANITE COUNTER TOPS and

FARMHOUSE PULLS 

 Choosing our counter tops was challenging.  We had a budget...wanted granite...maybe quartz.  Ended up choosing a granite I didn't feel I would grow tired of...I have to live with it for a long time.  

Found the pulls at Hobby Lobby!  Bought them one-half off and they ended up costing us about one-third of the pulls I first found online.  We bought several extra just in case one breaks...  They are an easy change out if I ever decide on a different look or decor.  

OUR STAINLESS FRIDGE

(Glad the White Monster in the Room is GONE!)

 THIS AREA WAS ONCE MY LAUNDRY ROOM CUBBY)

 POCKET DOORS LEAD TO OFFICE (L) AND PANTRY (R)

CUTTING OUT THE FIRST POCKET DOOR OF THREE (3) (The WORK was HUGE!)

The area my hubby is standing in was once our downstairs bathroom.  It was only a half-bath.  We opted to add a full size bath and a full laundry room once the kitchen was almost done!

STILL A LONG WAY TO GO - 2nd DOOR INSTALLED!

LOTS OF WIRING and RIP-OUTS!

 FACTORY CABINETS MY HUBBY CUSTOMIZED

 EARLY SHOT OF CABINETRY INSTALLED

(Still LOTS to Do!  Headers & Crown Molding Still to Go!)

   

RIP OUT!

When I see this early shot of my Mr. AGP Man working to the bone, it leaves me amazed and so proud of what he was able to do.  Had I truly understood the amount of back-breaking labor that was required, I don't think I would have ever entertained the idea of him doing all the work alone.

MY BELOVED...KILLING HIMSELF! :(

This may sound corny...but, I hope I'm a better wife today after seeing ALL the sacrifices he made to make our dreams of a beautiful new kitchen come true!

CHANGES ALWAYS ONGOING!

An early shot taken before the French pocket door was installed.  It was a HUGE job!

Yes...we lived like this for a long, long time!

MY MISS K and I in 2014

We really did live and work in the kitchen during the construction.  We just made do!

It was hard...but, we did it!

 HYDRANGEAS & A VINTAGE BUTTER MOLD, GRINDER & SCALE!

 THESE VINTAGE FINDS FROM MY MR. AGP MAN'S GRANDMOTHER!

 MY FAVORITE IN THIS BUNCH?

 THE NOODLE CUTTER!

 CANISTERS

I've had this canister set for a few years.  You can actually see them in other photos as the remodel was being done!

 OLD TRAY FROM A TEA CART

I still love white...lacy stuff, French, farmhouse and all things tattered and romantic.  I love the added black touches, even though sometimes I miss the pink rose decor I used (and loved) for years.

 

 OF COURSE I HAVE A TV IN MY KITCHEN!

I thought long and hard about adding a television to my kitchen.  In the end my guy wired for it ahead of time...just in case!  So glad he did.  I listen to music and sometimes watch cooking or taped shows when time permits!

A CRAIGSLIST FIND

Found this antique cabinet on Craigslist for $40 about 18 months ago.  It fits right in between the pantry door and kitchen entry opening.  I store tea-towels in the drawers and all sorts of other kitchen stuff!

 Just so you don't have to scroll up, here are the main pics again!

 I'm linking this post to all of the previous kitchen posts about our remodel if you want to check out the process...

 And so my friends...there you have it!  A beautiful renovation that took more blood, sweat and tears than it did money.  It took my Mr. AGP Man a long time to finish the renovation as he only worked on it all part-time.  When we started the demolition in 2012 he was just getting ready to go back to school to finish up a long-awaited degree in Computer Science...that meant only working on the kitchen on weekends.  In December of that same year he graduated with honors...and we were back on schedule with our big project!

Then...in July of 2013 he was laid-off after 17 years at his IT job at Xerox.

  

Things ground to a halt at that time.  Even with severance, we measured our money carefully.  As a result we lived with (and in!) a mess for quite a while.

That December my Father-in-Love passed away.

In January of 2014 my guy started a wonderful new job and we were so grateful to finally be back on track (again) with our makeover plans.

Then, in February 2014 my own dearly loved Father passed away.

By the time January 2015 was over, we were well on our way to having our dream kitchen completed.

I haven't shared much about the cost...but if our records are even close to being accurate, we believe the final price-tag came in around $10K.  That amount doesn't include the new fridge, microwave or the new dishwasher...but, it does include everything else.  

Customized Cabinets

Wiring and Plumbing

Flooring (Hand Scraped Wood)

Sheet Rock

Paint

Window

Trim (Baseboards, Crown, Molding)

Hardware

Lighting

Sink

Faucet

Granite Counter Tops

and

Incidentals

Would we do it over?  Well, probably.  Monday-morning quarterbacking is easy to do when you're on the other side of victory (or loss!).  

What I know today is that we increased our property value by at least $75K - $85K and that was before adding in the new bathroom and laundry room.  Monetarily is was wonderful.  Physically it was grueling.  

We are glad it's over.

Some things, no, many things didn't go as planned.

I opted to NOT get the expensive stove I dreamed about having.  In the end it wasn't important to me as we just wanted everything done and CLEAN again.  I may still get it later as the stove/oven I have isn't all that great.

I was disappointed about not being able to use the vintage counter as our island.  But, even that little disruption wasn't really upsetting.

  That said...I LOVE LOVE LOVE my new Kitchen and I'm so thankful, grateful and over-the-moon-HAPPY that it's completed.  This summer my hubby and I are going to California for a much deserved vacation.  We haven't really had one since the renovation began. 

On a side note...it's good to be back...taking ownership once again of the life God has blessed me with!

Just so you know...I've missed you all.

Love to you~

Rebecca