~PRESSING ONWARD~

 Because of God's immeasurable grace and goodness, somehow my Mr. AGP Man and I, along with everyone we love, escaped the latest round of storms that ravaged Oklahoma last Friday.  Aside from our son's fence being knocked down and power outages, everyone is safe.  

I can't begin to tell you how devastated I feel when just driving around Oklahoma City.  Our beautiful Red Earth State is battered and bruised and now she is also flooded.  People are hurting...some have lost everything...their homes and their lives.

Even though I'm not a native of Oklahoma I've grown to love her deeply over the past twenty-five plus years.  My children live here...my parents are here...my heart is here...most of my adult memories were created here.  The thought of everything we hold dear in this life being ripped up and blown away in the twinkling of an eye is almost more than I can personally comprehend.  And so...I don't try to understand it because it is beyond me~

Right now we are all trying to heal.  Trying to find strength to move beyond the rubble and trust God with our tomorrows.  Easier to say than to do sometimes.  Still...like our friends on the East Coast who have survived the worst of the worst, we will too.   God has promised to never leave or forsake us and I am trusting in His Word.

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers for Oklahoma.  We need them.  We need you.

Love,

~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...