Gotta Love The Flea

On Sunday my friend Pam and I went to the Todd Farm Flea Market in Rowley, Mass.  It's lots of fun.  Hundreds of outdoor booths and a huge barn filled with dusty treasures.  Whether you go with a little money or a lot there's lots for everyone to see and buy.  My son Ronan loves it.  I throw a $10 spot at him and tell him he can buy whatever he wants.  Keeps him plenty occupied so I can poke around at the things I like.

I was thinking of stretching this coffee bean bag over a canvas, tacking it down and putting on the wall in the kitchen.  Kind of funky.  Got it for a buck!

Not vintage, but you know how you need a bungie cord and can never find one?  Or they are at least $5.99 in the stores?  I scored them for two and three dollars each and 10ft. of rope for $1.00.  Hey, good to leave in the car, I figure. 

and for another two and three bucks, a book of houseplans.  I was drawn to the handpainted touches and plantings and walkways full of curb appeal.  The decorative painting book is a few years old and some of the techniques are a little dated, but many others are classics.  A good library addition!

I can never seem to leave a flea market without a little bit of sparkly something.  It's fairly new costume jewelry but for $15 I thought it would be a pretty way to dress up an outfit.  I love the ruby red color and the nod to the royal jewels.  'Cause that's me, after all ; )

dare you not to smile...

I bought two puppy cookies from Cassis Bakery www.cassisbakery.com on Cabot St. in Beverly yesterday.  What a yummy European Bakery.  A plain and chocolate croissant were also in the bag but there is no longer any evidence of those ; )

Thank You Notes

As I was cleaning off the shelf above my sink this morning to make room for my new Bath and Body Works candle (Spice and it is great), I had to move a big stack of thank you notes.  This was a busy season and things came in and things went out.  Many invitations were extended and there was much celebrating of kids' high school graduations and even a wedding and 50th birthday party tucked in there.

Following right in line with missing my own college kids came the fact that it is now September and I still don't want to throw them away.  It made me think, though, that they do not represent "the leaving" but rather the involvement, the relationships.  I still remember that my Aunt Marie gave me a Nefertiti pin for graduation and that Mr. and Mrs. Ebbeson our older neighbors gave me $30.00.  The honoring of the passage is what resonates with me, that they took the time to do that is still very special.

I didn't give the gifts so they would remember me forever (though my ego would be perfectly happy if they did) but because they all mean a lot to me. 

This was from linen pillowcases I bought from "etsy" for myself and still came with a pretty little card.

I'd be a liar if I didn't tell the truth and say that my own son's thank you cards from his June graduation are sitting on the kitchen table.  He left for school assuring me he mailed them out.  I was looking for paper clips and rummaging through his desk a week ago and found the unmailed cards!  He sounded sincere on the phone after I got done with the interrogation, LOL. He really thought he put them in the mailbox.  Of course his whirlwind of a social calendar last summer would have distracted anyone.

So better late than never, off they will go this week and the continued universal appreciation and thanks will continue.

690 Pages, really?

Ok, so the big beautiful Restoration Hardware catalog came today.  I don't remember signing up for it, but it is the second one I have received of such heft in a year!  It hardly fit in the mailbox.

And just as I am all dismissive of it and muttering about what a waste of paper it is, I take a minute and flip through it's shiny pages.  And all of a sudden a little bit of tranquililty comes over me.

Yes, I could be very happy in this living room with the big windows and linen sofa.  I really should let more light in my living room.  Yes, something green should be in there, too.

This gives me pause.  This is not a work in progress, but a final, completed chair.  With all that stuff sticking out.  And it's a steal at $1,795.00.  Hmmm.  I wonder how many they sell?

Yes.  I say yes to the Italian Vintage Trellis Print Bedding that looks like it's been washed 50 times already and that's why you pay more for it.  Sigh.  So pretty.

And this beautiful pendant orb light probably does just what they want when I see it.  Like I believe my life would be better...nay...I would be a better person if this was in my home.  It's completely lovely!  Hey, my birthday is coming up and if the chair is any indication of the bargains in this 690 page catalog of treasures, it is sure to be in my price range!