~MOST EVERYTHING I LOVE~

When I was a young teenager I remember hearing the song "I LOVE" by Tom T. Hall and I've loved it ever since.  I make a habit of listening to it every so often just to remind me that some of the most simple things in my life are FREE...

I hope you'll take a listen!  Just turn your sound on and SMILE BIG!!!

Life is GREAT!

 I love little baby ducks

 Old pick-up trucks

  Slow-moving trains

  And rain!

I love little country streams

    Sleep without dreams

    Sunday School in May

 And hay!

And I love you too.

I love leaves in the wind

Pictures of my friends

 Birds in the world

 And squirrels!

I love coffee in a cup

Little fuzzy pups

Old TV Shows

  And snow!

And I love you too.

I love honest open smiles

 Kisses from a child

 Tomatoes on the vine

And onions!

I love winners when they cry

 Losers when they try

 Music when it's good

and life!

And I love you too!

May you be a blessing to someone in your life today.
You ALL are a blessing to me.  Thank you for always sharing your heart with mine...


Love to you...

~A SHABBY PINK CHRISTMAS TREE and Chic TARJAY?~

~TOTALLY TRANSFORMED PINK TREE~

Yesterday I moseyed my little self down to our local BULLS-EYE store (um...that would be what my once pre-school children called the place with the big red and white sign) to have a look around.  I like calling TARGET by it's snobby sounding counterpart, TARJAY.  Doing so (albeit in a mocking sort of way) helps bring into focus how easy it is for people (and yep, that would be ME!) to get caught up with shopping at big-dollar stores because they have 'rich' sounding titles.

Totally ridiculous! :)

~LOVE THE NEW LOOK...DON'T YOU?~

(Chic Tarjay)

That said...I love Tarjay!

I LOVE TARJAY!

I LOOOOOVE TARJAY!!!!!

(See...I told you that is what I call it!)

Anyway...after carting the things I actually visited the store to purchase (boring food stuff), I decided to BROWSE around a bit just to see what was new.  Now...after hauling a bunch of  worthless pathetic junk no longer needed items to our local charity this past summer I vowed to 'nevah, evah' again allow myself to even get close to the possibility of becoming a hoarder.  So...I planned just to LOOK and maybe DREAM.

I did figure I was fairly safe as my Mr. AGPMan was in tow and us ladies know that when our men are pushing the cart for us it isn't nearly as fun to window shop.

~"SUGAR" COATED and GLITTERED~

As we turned the corner onto the Christmas goodies aisle I just stood there for a second.  The store had many lovely things...some shiny blingish decor (is blingish a word?), glitzy retro stuff and lots of mirrored table-top Trees with a 1960's flair!  I also saw lots of 'lodge looking' stuff that I immediately thought would look lovely in some mountain cabin.  I somewhat expected a big MOOSE HEAD with those gigantic antlers thingies to jump out and attack me  or something, but in the end I felt pretty safe.  Still...all in all I must tell you I was a little bit disappointed by their holiday offerings...no real 2die4 finds if you know what I mean!

As my guy and I headed towards the checkout we passed a crowded end-cap and it was there I saw the PINK TREE you see at the top.  Only it wasn't PINK!  It was RED!

~TOO RED FOR ME~

Well...my mind quickly started to race and so I reached up and grabbed the lacy looking find.  There were actually two sizes of Trees.  One fifteen incher and one that was about a foot tall.  I chose the tallest one and decided right then and there it would be mine.

Now...I truly thought this little sweetie would look charming after her makeover and would be the perfect complement for my romantic cottage home this Christmas.  I already knew I'd paint her a soft, pale pink and quite possibly give her a quick "sugaring" and maybe even a light dusting of sparkling glitter.

 Before long my soon to be PINK TREE was whizzing it's way down to the cashier right next to the latest issue of ROMANTIC HOMES MAGAZINE (which I remembered to grab on my way out).

~EEK!  AS ADVERTISED~

(I'm in Print!)

As my guy paid for our purchases I thumbed through the pages of the Magazines for a quick look inside.  After a few seconds I found it!  Dressed in pink, complete with ribbons and roses was my A Gathering Place Ad!  

"Long time coming" I thought.

Early this morning, hours after the Tree's transformation, I couldn't help but feel so blessed.  The simplest of life's joys continue to make me smile...

Little things like red trees I dream of turning pink...
shopping for groceries with my honey at TARJAY...
finally getting the courage to place an ad for my tiny business...

and sharing my heart (and finds) with you!

Thanks for stopping by again~

Love to you this beautiful Tuesday...

~LOVING LIFE IN SPITE OF THE STORMS~

~JUST OUTSIDE MY FRONT DOOR~
As the Storm Blew In

The Winter Storm of January 2010 hit as expected. There are literally thousands of people in the State of Oklahoma without electricity... Extreme weather conditions as a whole don't usually frighten me. But, after seeing the numerous photos of destruction plastered across our television screen I again have a new-found respect when our local Meteorologists say...

"If you don't have to get out in this mess, then DON'T! STAY HOME!"

Downed power lines and 100 year old trees split into two or three chunks can make you think twice about driving to the grocery store because you're out of Diet Coke...

Truthfully, I hate the mess that Winter sometimes brings...

~THE SPRING RAINS OF 2009~
I'm Longing For GREEN

But...I promised myself this year that I would try the best I could to enjoy every day of the life God has given me. I vowed not to rush through my allotted hours, but rather breathe them in while making each day count. Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall. I'm blessed and I know it. No matter what season I find myself in, life in my La Chaumière de Briarwood is good.

Even so, I can't help but be a bit excited that Spring is just around the corner...

"Look, the winter is past, and the rains are over and gone. The flowers are springing up, the season of singing birds has come, and the cooing of turtledoves fills the air. (Song of Solomon 2:11-12, NLT)"

Blessings...

~WANTING PINK ROSE CHINA CUPS...and Those Timely Life Lessons~

~LOVELY PINK CHINA CUP~

Since it was a tad bit warm yesterday I decided to break free from the confines of my home and do a bit of running around town. Truth said, the walls of my La Chaumière de Briarwood are starting to close in on me. I am, after all, a California native. And all this frosty winter stuff, complete with freezing rain and temps dipping down into the teens, is wearing thin.

I know. I know. It's WINTER!

But, how wonderful that in only a few weeks the birth of a fresh new season will begin. Thank you, God, for change! I"m ready.

So...back to my story!

~I'M IN LOVE WITH CHOCOLATE ~

My travels found me in one of my favorite places to shop! A tattered little JUNK-JOINT nestled on a busy street in my collage town of Bethany, Oklahoma. I wasn't really looking for anything specific...unless you call my desire to unearth a Vintage Pink Rose Chocolate Pot (Nippon 1895) and CUPS as something SPECIFIC!

I didn't score. No aging china pot and certainly no dainty floral cups...nothing my budget could allow anyway. I returned home disappointed for my plans to serve Hot Chocolate in Style to my sweet Miss K on her next visit were dashed. After all, at present she is my only grandchild and it's up to me to teach her about the finer things in life.

Right?

Well... Maybe not.

I turned on my computer this morning and in my IN-BOX was an email from my favorite Auntie, Ms. P. Attached to her sweet sentiment was the following story. Although I've read it before, after my shopping excursion of yesterday it took on fresh meaning.

~PAPER - PLASTIC or CHINA?~

HOT CHOCOLATE STORY

A group of graduates, well established in their careers, were talking at a reunion and decided to go visit their old university professor, now retired. During their visit, the conversation turned to complaints about stress in their work and lives. Offering his guests hot chocolate, the professor went into the kitchen and returned with a large pot of hot chocolate and an assortment of cups - porcelain, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the hot chocolate.

When they all had a cup of hot chocolate in hand, the professor said: "Notice that all the nice looking, expensive cups were taken, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. The cup that you're drinking from adds nothing to the quality of the hot chocolate. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was hot chocolate, not the cup; but you consciously went for the best cups... And then you began eying the cups of others.

Now consider this: Life is the hot chocolate; your job, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life. The cup you have does not define, nor change the quality of life you have. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the hot chocolate God has provided us. God makes the hot chocolate, man chooses the cups.

The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything that they have. Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. And enjoy your hot chocolate.

Blessings to you as you choose wisely the things that truly matter in life...Rebecca