Come along with me...

...once again to the Memories Antique Mall in Michigan. I promise you will love your visit just
 as much as I do. There are three booths that capture my attention every time and if those were
 the only  three in the whole mall that would be fine with me. :)

I love the corbels in this photo! Kinda wishing I had bought a pair of them, but I am sure
there will be another time when I find some and actually purchase them. :)

Notice all the white? Just perfect for White Wednesday!

This person has a knack for beautiful displays and they always catch my eye. Many times I
get so caught up in taking photos that I don't really notice the things that I am actually
looking for until I get home and view the pictures and then it is too late! Anyone else
ever have that happen to them? 

This booth is Fragments and I could spend  hours in here!! This is how full my house would be if
I didn't restrain myself because I love it all!! But alas, a person can only have so much stuff before
the stuff takes over the house and there is no longer room for the people. I don't want that to
happen! lol

This is what we woke up to at my daughter's house the day we went to the antique mall.
Sandi does not let a little snow stop her!! {At least not very often} I stood in her kitchen and
opened her sliding glass door at the back of her house to get this shot. I think they got about
four inches or so. Hubby and I set out for the antique mall in the morning and when we arrived
they weren't open yet. I was afraid they might not be opening because of the snow, but we
only sat there a couple minutes and someone inside flipped the sign to OPEN and I jumped
out of the car. {ha ha} I had the place all to myself except for one other person who came
a little later. 

Front of daughter's home...so pretty with the freshly fallen snow. Do you see icicle lights?? I just
noticed them!! :)

I really restrained myself and only purchased two items on this trip and they were both in the
Fragments booth. This tiny clock face was one of them.

My other purchase was this larger metal clock face. I have a thing for clock faces. I think
 my husband thinks I have gone over the edge, but we all have our "loves". He loves RC
truck racing and that does absolutely nothing for me, but it is okay because he loves it.
 So he does his thing and I do mine. I will say that he is always a trooper to go along with
me on some of my antiquing trips. Once in awhile {ahem} he sits in the car and snoozes,
but again...that is okay!

{I also took some photos in Leslie's french booth, but that post is for another day. I can 
only upload so many photos with dial up internet before I have all kinds of trouble}

I will be linking up with Kathleen for White Wednesday again this week.  I was able to comment
on more WW posts last week than ever because I was on my daughters high speed computer.
If only mine ran that fast. I am just amazed that I can get to about 15 blogs and comment on hers
 in the time it takes me to do ONE here. :) someday...

The French Laundry

We spent the weekend with our daughter and her family at their home in Burton, Michigan.
We heard that our area could possibly get four to six inches of heavy , wet snow so we
opted to leave after hubby got home from work on Thursday instead of waiting until Friday
evening.  When Friday rolled around she took us to a charming little place called
THE FRENCH LAUNDRY
in Fenton, Michigan for lunch.

We got there at the perfect time, before the place was all filled up so I was able to sit at my table
and capture the wonderful atmosphere with my camera.

I loved all the chalkboards that they used and thought the "Headlines" was a unique feature on one of the
boards.

This was MY lunch and I am here to tell you that this was the most delicious salad ever!!
I think it was called "the Bohemian". It has lettuce, chicken salad, mandarin oranges, strawberries and
cashews along with a raspberry vinaigrette dressing. As you can see they did not skimp on anything! I
ordered a small size and I am sure my mouth dropped open when the waiter handed it to me.
It was huge! :) 

This was my 12 year old granddaughters lunch. Not exactly what kind of soup or sandwich , but she
loved it!

They also had quite an extensive wine list...

...but being a non alcoholic drinker , I opted for water with
fresh lemon which is what I get most of the time.
I also purchased two of these glasses for moi. :)
 I figure it I can't get to France, I will bring it home with me.

I took this photo right before we stepped inside and it was really snowing and blowing. Big huge
snowflakes. :) I am sure glad we got there when we did because when we left there were gobs of
people waiting for tables.  Obviously it is "the place to be". :)

I snagged this photo and the one below off of their facebook site so you could get a much better view of this
wonderful place. We left here and walked to a little chocolate store and indulged in a few sweet treats.
All in all it was a great day. :)

Here is the addy in case you are interested:

The French Laundry Café and Market
125 West Shiawassee Avenue
Fenton, MI 48430-2005
(810) 629-8852

You're Already Amazing!

"Psst...pull up a chair and I'll tell you a secret. You'd better lean in close for this one.
Ready?
You don't have to do more, be more, have more.
I'm sure there are security alarms going off somewhere. You should probably hide this book
when your in-laws come over.
But it's true.
It's the kind of true that will change your life, set you free, and make you wake up
smiling for the first time in a long time. I know because that's what it did for me...
So watch out , sister. If you keep reading you just might be next."
-by Holley Gerth

"With this heart-to-heart message, Holley Gerth invites  you to embrace one very
important truth-that you truly are already amazing. Like a trusted friend, Holley gently
shows you how to forget the lies and expectations the world feeds you and instead believe
that God loves you and has bigger plans for your life then you've even imagined."

{Keep reading giveaway of this book below!!}

This is such a random post again today. One of these days I will get my act together and actually
post something worth reading. lol 

My flowers that hubby gave me for Valentines day all opened up so I had to share them
even though they are not white.

I found this on Pinterest and thought it was so cute! What a great idea!! 

This is what it was doing yesterday in Michigan...snowing big huge flakes , but then it all left as quick as it came.
Rain, rain , rain again, but I leaned out my back door and snapped this pic before it all disappeared.

Well today started out interesting. I thought I may never be able to blog again...ever! That was an
overwhelming thought and one that really had me in the dumps.  The way I usually post was not working
for me and I had no clue what to do so I clicked on the "try out the new version of blogger" or something
like that and guess what it said?? Your browser no longer supports blogger and some parts of it will
not work. Please download Google chrome or some other browser"...EEK!!

So, I started downloading google chrome and then took off for town. You k now what is supposed to take a
couple minutes takes this internet over two hours so I might as well be productive while it is doing it's thing.
Got back from town and I am trying this new browser. I will let you know how I like it. We tried this before  and
it really slowed down the computer so time will tell.  But, I really don't have a choice anymore if I want to
continue blogging and I DO...I DO!! :)

{I was afraid this might be my first missed White Wednesday and I was bummed, but I was
able to post after all...happy WW everyone!}

NOW for the giveaway...I am giving away a copy of this brand new book titled,
You're Already Amazing by Holley Gerth
"Embracing Who You Are, Becoming All God Created You to Be".
Please leave a comment telling me if you would like this book for yourself or for
a friend and tell me why you want it. That's all there is to it.
I will pick a winner in a week or so.
Blessings~

Salut D'Amour

I had a wonderful day out with my bff last week and after we ate lunch we stopped a
local antique mall. My lone purchase was this beautiful piano roll.  I have a few other
piano rolls that I have picked up in the past, but none that had any kind of graphics.
As soon as I opened this box I knew it would be going home with me so I happily
 paid the $2.50 for this beauty.

Doesn't it have amazing graphics?

I laid the roll on top of my window to take a photo , but it will not be staying here
because I have a feeling that it would fall off and get ruined.

Look at the amazing graphics. It really doesn't look like it was ever used, but I suppose it was.
I don't think many people back then purchased anything that they didn't use.  That being said,
someone took very good care of it and I am happy to be the new owner.

I looked Salut D'Amour up on Wikipedia and found this to be very interesting:

"Elgar finished the piece in July 1888, when he was engaged to be married to Caroline Alice Roberts,
and he called it "Liebesgruss" ('Love’s Greeting') because of Miss Roberts’ fluency in German.
When he returned home to London on 22 September from a holiday at the house of his friend
Dr. Charles Buck, in Settle, he presented it to her as an engagement present. Alice, for her part,
offered him a poem called "The Wind at Dawn" which she had written years before and which
 he soon set to music.



The dedication was in French: "à Carice". "Carice" was a combination of his wife's names
 Caroline Alice, and was the name to be given to their daughter born two years later.


It was not published (by Schott & Co.) until a year later, and the first editions were for violin
and piano, piano solo, cello and piano, and for small orchestra. Few copies were sold until
Schott changed the title to "Salut d’Amour" with Liebesgruss as a sub-title, and the composer's
 name as 'Ed. Elgar'. The French title, Elgar realised, would help the work to be sold not only
  in France but in other European countries: Schott was a German publisher, with offices
 in Mainz, London, Paris and Brussels.


The first public performance was of the orchestral version, at a Crystal Palace concert on
11 November 1889, conducted by August Manns."


Once again, the photos are not the best today with the bad lighting , but I wanted to share
it anyways.   Hope you all are having a wonderful day!

A special day ~

 I made these luscious cupcakes for Valentine's Day and shared some with my son and
 his family .  That is the advantage of living close to your mother...you get goodies on
 holidays!!
He has jokingly said that they can never move for this reason alone. :)

I added cake sparkles and little heart picks to make them extra pretty.
White chocolate cupcakes with raspberry frosting. I am bummed though because
I also bought fresh raspberries to add to the top for garnish and I totally forgot!!
That happens when you get older...the forgetting I mean. :)

Hubby brought these flowers to me along with chocolate truffles for the big day.
We ended up going out to eat at Applebees and it was soooo good! We have never
ate out on *the day of love* because I figure it is always too busy and we would have
to wait an hour. We only had to wait maybe 20 minutes. The decor was so pretty.
A huge pink and red balloon arch when you walked in,  light pink tulle strung with
lights inside up near the ceiling, candles, hearts hanging down from the ceiling on ribbon.
 It was really very nice!


{I had three cheese bruschetta penne pasta with grilled chicken and hubby indulged in
bourbon steak with blackened shrimp}

A little tidbit to share...
My son and his wife were going to eat at Red Lobster in the same town as us
 but we arrived much sooner than they did. We ate our meal and then went to Hobby
Lobby. When we got out of the store I noticed I had five or six missed text messages on
 my phone.
{I had put it on silent mode while in the restaurant and forgot to change it back}

Son had wanted to know if we could put their name in at Red Lobster because there
was an hour wait. So we went to Red Lobster and did that for them and when they arrived
we pulled out of the parking space and they pulled in.
That is family teamwork!! lol {they also got their cupcakes from me then}


We shopped at Sears and walked the mall and then headed home. I then
texted him and asked how the lovebirds were doing and he said
"We just got our food"...that was about 8:45 pm or so.


All in all though it was a wonderful evening .

I hope you all had a wonderful time celebrating with the ones you love.

If we had more love in this world wouldn't things be so much better? :)

{In looking back over these photos I do believe that the outside of my window

needs washed. Sorry 'bout that! I will get right on it. *smile*}

Update:Blog break...not by choice!

Hello everyone. I just want you to know that I will be away from blogland for an unknown amount of time. Our internet is down and they have no clue why. It will connect just fine {remember we are on dial-up), but it will not send or receive anything. We even brough our Imac downstairs to try it and it does the same thing so the problem is not on our end.
Hubby was on the phone with our ISP last night for over an hour and it did the same thing when they tried to duplicate it in their "war" room. Supposed to call them back today and let them know if it is still not working.  I hope it isn't down long as I miss it already. Funny how we get attached to things huh? Wish us luck!

PS I AM BACK already! I really thought it might be a good long time, but came home from town today and tried it and it worked fine so who knows what the problem was. Just glad it is fixed!! :)

Flat for rent and a WINNER!

First of all I HAVE to add a disclaimer. The lighting here was so awful when I took these pictures,
but I didn't have a choice so I had to settle.  Whew...got that out of the way. Now on to fun stuff. :)

I decided it was time for a major redo on my long kitchen shelf and this is what I came up with.
I would love your opinions. Sometimes when I get something finished I really like it until I
look at the pictures over and over and then I wonder. ha!!

zinc pots from Belgium aren't just for planting anymore...

I always have to add candles in some form because I love candles.

This is on the other side of the window. {the long shelf is on the left hand side
and this is on the right. I know kinda lopsided, but is is what it is}
I added these towels to a candle sconce.   Guess what Sandi managed to do after this
photo was taken?? Yep , that's right. Can't leave well enough alone. I was messing
around with the sconce and some of the melted wax dripped down on my towel.
I was not a happy camper, but not surprised at all that I did that. :)

I found the flat for rent sign when I went antiquing last week. Love it!
So is this display a keeper or is the window too long for the shelf??

I bet you are wondering what this is all about?? No??  You scrolled clear down to the bottom before you
even read the post, didn't you?? I know !! I have done that before too and then went back up and read the
whole post. It is okay...you are forgiven. lol.

Julie of eab designs
  you are the winner of the Shabby Apple dress so contact me with your info and I will get
the ball rolling so to speak.

Hoping you all had a wonderful Valentines day. I sure did and I am very thankful for a hubby who
adores and spoiles me. Yes, he does spoil me. I know that and I am very blessed!!