~SCRUMPTIOUS PINK COTTAGE ROSES~

~FABULOUS TWENTY YEAR OLD VINES~

Years and years ago when I owned a brick and mortar store I found the most wonderful

vintagey-vineyish-trellisy-scrunchy-worn-looking-roses

 ever on one of my trips to Market.  I was so taken with them and the showroom that sold them they remained on my favorites list for years and years.  The branchy floral vines came in muted pinks and creamy whites and each one equally flew out the door faster than I could get them in.  I distinctly remember the three foot lengths retailed for $36 ($18 wholesale) and the six foot lengths retailed for $48 ($24 wholesale).  That was pricey even for the early 1990's....but they sold like hotcakes anyway!

This was during the Laura Ashley phase of decorating...incredibly no one even knew who Rachel A was...not yet anyway!

 ~ABOVE OUR MIRROR~

As my own personal stash of vines became tattered and worn, little by little they were discarded.  (Boo Hoo!)  The showroom stopped carrying the line, favoring instead silk-type florals which had become very, very popular at the time.  Over the years I managed to hang onto only two six foot garlands...both of them were in the white colorway.

~OUR TINY MASTER BATH~

 

Today I have them twisted up tightly together and wired in place because they are sooo old and fragile!  They proudly hang over the sink/mirror in my master bath and I still love them today just like I did nearly twenty years ago.

~BE STILL MY PINK LOVIN' HEART~

WELL.............

(don't you love it went people say that?...it's like you KNOW something fabulous is coming!...right?)

~WHAT AN INCREDIBLE FIND~

Today I visited one of our town's antique malls and after meandering through each and every space I made my way to the back.  And there, way up high, peeking out from behind a bunch of old industrial type stuff I spied this really, really long rose vine in pink.

Now I've been in this room before and I never once noticed it there.  Well...I climbed up high and after working to de-tangle it I realized it was in two pieces.  One nine foot piece (three 3ft pieces together) and one six foot piece.

SCORE!  SCORE!  SCORE!

Guess how much?

Fifteen sweet little bucks for all of it!

Now comes the fun part....trying to decide just WHERE I'm going to hang them.  If I wasn't afraid the birdies would nest in the vines (they always do!) I'd hang them over the outside of my door.  Hmmm...

Decisions!  Decisions!

Today I'm linking up with Miss Beverly over at

HOW SWEET THE SOUND

for PINK SATURDAY!

~~*~~

Now in case you missed my post about my GIVEAWAY you can read about how you can enter your name into the drawing for the PINK ROSE TATTERED APRON shown below.

Just click HERE for the details!

 Hope your day is fabulous!  I'm off to hang my vines!

Love to you...

~BATHROOM MAKEOVER COUNTDOWN TO COMPLETION~

~MY MR. AGPMan's MUSE~

(He truly THINKS this is artwork!)

When you've been sick for two weeks (and you have a hubbs like mine), you get use to a man BOSSIN' YOU AROUND a bit (especially after 32 years of marriage)!  Since I'm notorious for NOT finishing my prescriptions, the little note you see above (scribbled upon a white paper towel, mind you!) is my guy's way of telling me "TAKE YOUR MEDICATION!"
Gosh...you'd think he loves me or somethin'! :)

OK...on to our TINY MASTER BATH REMODEL!

 ~TEXTURING CLEAN-UP~

A couple of days ago I gave you a little update on the pain in the bumm invigorating bathroom remodel project my hubby and I started last May.  I'm soooo happy to tell you that we've stayed on task this week and EXCEPT for the GLASS SHOWER DOOR I actually think we may be done sometime Sunday!  I'm thinkin' if you LISTEN REALLY CAREFULLY you may even hear me

SQUEAL LIKE A PIG WITH JOY!

 ~LOOKIN' LIKE A FOOL WITH

SOME-PAINT-ON-MY-NOSE~

I can NEVAH paint without getting it everywhere!  ARGH!

 ~PRIME! PRIME! PRIME!~

I get totally JIGGY with makeover projects...especially when I get to wear my guy's old clothes!  Sooooo stylish!

~SOMEBODY HELP ME, PLEASE!~

I have no idea WHAT I'm doing here! 

~TOTALLY DONE~

Whoot!  Whoot!  The texturing, priming and painting is all done!  We chose VALSPAR INTERIOR SATIN FINISH PAINT for the walls and I'm LOVIN' the color!  It's called BUNGALOW WHITE and it's scrumptious!  Not off white...not yellowy white or even cottage white.  It is definitely a neutral color, but with just a twinge of 'blush'.  Yummo!

 

 ~FOUND AT LOWE'S~

 

 ~HERE'S THE PAINT LABEL~

 ~SHOWER HARDWARE INSTALLED~

 

~VINTAGE DOOR INTO BATH~

Man...am Iovin' this!  We primed our bedroom this afternoon and tomorrow it will be painted.  Depending on how much I get done I MIGHT actually show you my TINY MASTER BEDROOM this upcoming week!  :)  In the past I've only shown you bits and pieces of it...

I'm can be sooo SNEAKY sometimes!!! :)

OK Peeps!  This is it soooo far!  Whatever we are able to get done tomorrow I promise to show you soon!  I know for certain our sink/cabinet, toilet, mirror, lights, etc. will be installed in the morning!  EEK!  Can't stand the suspense myself!

Hope you had a great day!  Mine was wonderful!  I can finally SEE all our upstairs construction coming to an end!

Love to you...

LOVING the OVERLOOKED and a Morsel of Kindess

~A MORSEL OF KINDNESS?~

One day last week I visited our local bookseller. If possible I would spend an entire day there wandering through the perfectly aligned rows of beautifully illustrated, well written books. Since I'm not afforded that much idle time I choose instead to visit the store about once every couple of weeks...more if I'm seeking out something special. I love to sit in their comfy chairs and prop my feet up on one of their cushy footstools while relaxing the minutes (if not hours) away! Books comfort me...being around them just makes me feel good...maybe even a tad bit smarter! More often than not I grab myself a cup of Cappuccino before paying for my latest good read and then drive back towards the sanctuary of both hearth and home. This is a sweet part of my life! My good, happy, contented, wonderful LIFE and truthfully~I sorta love it!

It was upon exiting the parking lot of the book shoppe that I saw him. Just to the right of me, he stood there alone while holding a sign that said...

"PLEASE HELP - Will Work For Food - God Bless"

Now~I try to be a nice person! I'm more than benevolent at times. But, I must admit...I WAS perturbed and irritated when I saw the scribbled words sprawled across the dirty cardboard... On the inside I was even thinking...

"Gosh~ Another beggar man!!??? They are everywhere these days! Get a job and quit expecting me to hand over my hard-earned money to you so you can go and drink it away!"

Truthfully I wanted to pull my car into the nearest right hand lane to avoid meeting the beggar eye to eye. But since the shortest drive back to my house was only possible by going left, I had no choice but to steer my car directly in front of the man...

Now...as hard as I tried NOT to look at the wayfaring stranger beside me, I couldn't help it. For, regardless of WHAT it was that brought this fellow human being to this questionable fork in the road, I could be thankful for at least one thing at the moment...I wasn't him! And, his burdens were not mine...

Or were they?

The spirit of God tugged a bit at my heart that afternoon as I patiently waited (begged) for the red light to change to green. I was languishing in my air-conditioned, late model SUV, suffering in silence when I found myself begin to slowly turn my head in his direction.

"Why do you judge him so harshly, Rebecca?" I heard an inner voice say...

The man's face was swollen and his hands were gnarled. Although he looked much older I decided he was probably born not more than a year or two before me. His shoes were ripped and worn and his hat cast only a small shadow over his noticeably blue eyes...

"You can spare a dollar or two, can't you?" the inner voice whispered...

"No, I can't! Not again! Turn GREEN, Light!"

With only a quick glance my way the beggar man offered up what seemed like a sincere smile and then walked directly past my car to the waving hand behind me... Before he could again shuffle by my car's window, I was rescued by the changing signal...

For whatever it is worth I felt terribly guilty during the entire fifteen minute drive back to my home. My shame didn't come from keeping the few dollars safely hidden within my pocket. No...it came from the attitude I'd formed long before I even turned my car onto the busy street...the unspoken words that said "I'm better than you! More of a success! While you beg...I work!"

My thoughts were the shackles...

I heard it said once that servanthood requires little skill and certainly no degree. Regardless of our gifts, strengths, training or church attendance, we all can love the lost.

When we share joy with the lonely child, befriend the foreign student, speak kindly to the welfare mother, minister to the suffering or give alms to the poor, we show our love for the Lord. After all, he dresses in the garb of the forgotten...

"Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me~you did it to me". (Matthew 25-40-MSG).

Blessings to you as you lay your thoughts and attitudes at the feet of the Most High...Rebecca

SHABBY IMPERFECTIONS

My Hubbs simply does not understand “shabby”. Not really. Now, that isn’t to say he doesn’t like the way his beloved has transformed his home, I think he does. I know he appreciates the work behind the changes, he’s seen them firsthand! But like I said, he just doesn’t understand it...

Take this for example…

Over the weekend I went shopping and uncovered a treasure trove of simply amazing finds. The best purchase of the day was a charming old Lap Desk found at a local Thrift Shoppe. I believe it hails from around the 40’s to 50’s!

Despite having graceful, clean lines, the Box showed some wear…little imperfections brought on by age and obvious use. I envisioned the Box as once being dearly loved and value. Maybe it was made by a young boy in shop class as a gift for his Momma. Maybe during a lean Christmas a young husband made it for his new bride? I don’t know. I let my imagination lead me in such things. I could go on, but I’m sure you get the picture…

Anyway, back to my story…

With great pride I carried my treasures inside for my Hubbs to inspect. He quickly gazed over a few familiar looking finds, but paid the most attention to the Box.

“Did you actually BUY this thing? It needs a lot of work!” he said

He picked up the vintage beauty and turned it over, lifting and closing the angled lid at least three times (he is, after all, a craftsman, a deep lover of all things wood). With an especially wide grin he continued…

“With some serious attention you might be able to make it work!”

Now, I’ve been married to this man for 30 years and in this business for over 20. He KNOWS what I like and what I don’t want messed with. Trying not to act insulted or perturbed, I responded with only

“No! I think it’s fine! I like the Box the way it is!”

Which of course he had to add…

“I think I might have passed on that one!”

Undeterred, I couldn’t wait to begin transforming the Box. Within a few hours it was painted, lightly distressed with the artwork in place. I was so excited, even proud! “This might me one I keep” I silently thought! I then set the Box aside and began working on another website project. I worked deep into the night and fell into bed long after my man had called it a day…

This morning I walked into my studio, albeit a bit later than usual. I was over an hour behind schedule, even skipping my coffee to make up for sleeping through the Cock’s Crow. Things looked different…strangely out of place…and then I saw it. There, in the middle of my worktable sat the newly hand painted Box. Attached to the top was this note:

“To My Shabby Girl…

I’m amazed at your vision. I saw only an ugly old Box, pitted and scared. You saw something of beauty… You inspire me to look past surface imperfections and consider what something (or someone) can one day be…xo”

Remember this…

“People harvest only what they plant” Galatians 6:7

Blessings…Rebecca