A Vintage Flower~frog Christmas Tree...

 December 20th, 2012... I first posted this way back in November of  2010...  but I wanted to join in with Debra's last Vintage Christmas Party for the year at Common Ground this week, so I am linking it again...  some of you saw it back in 2010 but most of you did not...  hope you enjoy it!... thanks for hosting the party Debra!...  xoxo  Julie Marie

Have you ever seen a Christmas tree made out of vintage flower frogs?... probably not, I just made it up!... tee hee hee... yes, I am ten years old again at Christmas time... I was stacking some of my vintage flower frogs to dust underneath them, when I thought they looked like a little Christmas tree... (I KNOW what you are thinking... "doesn't take much to amuse HER'")... you are right!... I love being silly sometimes... okay, I love being silly ALOT of times!... (all my laugh lines on my face prove it!)...

  
So, I put my precious little angel with the broken wing (yes, she was a "fallen angel" years ago, but later in life changed her ways)... on the top of the "tree" along with some of my mini vintage ornaments and bells at the bottom of it...


 
My beautiful little "fallen angel" is over fifty years old...her little head is out of spun cotton... she was mine when I was a little girl... I love her so...

  
But sometimes, she says the spikes on the flower frogs are a little hard to sit on... Ouch!...
  
So a little vintage Santa takes over for awhile... and she flies back to my big vintage decorated tree... wishing you a beautiful, whimsical, happy~decorating for Christmas kind of day...okay, I have been having too much fun playing... back to my housework!... (anyone who makes fun of my flower~frog tree will be banned from my blog!... tee hee hee!)... xoxo...

In the Pink...

Hello ladies... today I wanted to share my all~pink tree with you... the tree is not vintage, but the beautiful pale pink balls are all from the '50s... I love how it turned out so pretty with nothing on it but the pretty pink ornaments...

Thank you also for bearing with me yesterday as blogger kept causing me problems... for some reason, a number of my posts went through that weren't supposed to... today I think all is well though!... also, thank you ladies for your kind comments about my favorite photo of my beautiful roses (now my header) being featured in Jo~Anne Coletti's gorgeous new magazine "The Feminine Home"... (see previous post)... I know many of you are often featured in magazines and publications, but this is a first for me and I am quite honored!... wishing you all a beautiful day... it is a winter wonderland here in Centerville as we have had SNOW for the past week, almost non~stop... over ten inches now... time for a hot cup of coffee and a visit to your blogs!... xoxo

Sorry!...

Sorry for the confusion...

Blogger has been giving me problems all day... some old posts of mine are going through the dashboard again...two and three times... comments section disappearing from some...some I had saved to drafts now publishing... lost my weather widget... I'm not really posting all day long!... Maybe someone is trying to tell me to get off the computer now... xoxo

Somewhere in Time... and Jo~Anne Coletti's "The Feminine Home"...

"Deja vu... could it be a dream that I once knew... coming true"...

I have posted so often about a beautiful little abandoned place that draws me to it... an unexplained elusive dream that calls my name time and time again... yet it is not in a dream... it is real... I have shown photos of the little abandoned building... deserted so very long ago... yet the beautiful roses continue to flourish there... as if someone were still tending to them...

There is something so endearing to me about the gorgeous roses... I asked my dear friend Jo~Anne Coletti if she might paint them for me, from the photo I took of them cascading over the old wooden fence... she captured them so beautifully for me in her painting... my painting by Jo~Anne is one of my most prized possessions, and it sits on my dresser in our bedroom... she too loves my roses and she also has felt that certain enchanted spell that can be cast upon us by objects and places from the past...

This past summer, as once again I was drawn to this precious place, my beautiful roses clamboring up the chippy, shabby sides of the building, I snipped some little cuttings and brought them home... first, I let the beautiful roses dry naturally... their Heavenly scent lingers in my home... then I planted three little starts in my garden... covering them with vintage canning jars... just like my mama did when she started all of her beautiful roses from cuttings from my grandmother's garden... the jars soon filled with mist as the roses were protected in their little greenhouses... soon, leaves appeared and my precious little starts had taken root... my thoughts drift to next Spring... and how my beautiful roses will now clambor up my own home... and hopefully flourish like those planted so very long ago...

Just last evening, I changed my header on my blog to my photo of my roses... I wanted my header to reflect something I love dearly, something I want to leave on my blog always... and my beautiful roses just seemed like the photo to use... then today... I received an email from my dear friend Jo~Anne Coletti, letting me know her new magazine is now ready to purchase... Jo~Anne had asked me some time ago if she might use my photo of these most beautiful roses in her beautiful magazine "The Feminine Home"... I was elated and naturally said yes... Jo~Anne is the epitome of loveliness and beauty... and now she has captured my gorgeous roses once again...along with so many other beautiful photos in her magazine... this magazine will be a keeper for always and always... sitting here now, my thoughts drift even more so... picturing in my mind another beautiful lady, who long ago, lovingly planted these roses... is she perhaps watching me from above... gently helping me with my little starts... happy that her roses are continuing to thrive... I love to think so...


I hope you will visit Jo~Anne and order one of her oh so very beautiful magazines... it is a limited special edition that you will want to look through again and again... please tell her Julie Marie sent you... and perhaps another loving soul from "somewhere in time"... xoxo

Un Cadeau de la France...

"A gift from France"...

Do you decorate for Christmas with things around your home that carry precious memories?... I do... today, I shall find a very special spot to place this beautiful cognac bottle... my daddy brought it home from WWII... he and my mama saved it and drank the cognac on their twenty~fifth wedding anniversary many years ago...


A gift from France to my daddy during the War... the label reads "Reserve for French and Allied Troops"... a very special tresor of mine now... xoxo

Christmas Bling... Vintage Style...

So many years have passed, yet it seems like just yesterday... I grew up in a small rural town called Bountiful...which borders the little town of Centerville I live in today, to the south...when we were little girls, my sister and I often went shopping with our mama, and while we shopped, many times we would see two other sisters... these two other sisters were beautiful ladies... their names were Helen and Adele... surely they must have stepped right out of a fairytale... as they shimmered and glittered so... even their hair was a beautiful, soft golden color... they wore beautiful clothes and carried shiny gold purses that sparkled like crazy... on their feet were gorgeous gold ballet type slipper shoes... and their jewelry... oooh!... the most glitzy, glimmery jewelry two little girls had ever seen...these ladies were bling when bling wasn't cool... they invented bling...(even though there was no such word back then!)...

Then the years seemed to fly by... the two little girls grew up, but still loved seeing the beautiful ladies they called "the Sarong Sisters"...(you may click here to read my original post I did about these lovely ladies and see photos of them when I first started my blog)...

Several years ago, yes, it was in 2008, a much, (much) older Julie Marie went to an estate sale in her little home town of Bountiful.... as I walked into the home, my eyes filled with tears... I knew instinctively whose estate it was... beautiful Helen... the last of the two sisters to pass away... she was ninety~one years young...I never knew these ladies personally, but always felt like I did... and I loved them, as they were not only beautiful, but kind and caring... many of the women in our little hometown were jealous of their beauty and treated them unkindly... but not my mama... my mama thought they were very beautiful too and always said hello to these ladies at the market, and was nice to them... and these beautiful ladies were nice back...(because nice matters... one of my favorite sayings)...

Both ladies had married, but neither ever had any children... there was only a distant cousin at the estate sale, and she didn't want any of their "junk" as she called it... only the money... how sad... Helen and Adele had travelled the world with their husbands, and had many exquisite tresors... now being sold to strangers... only I didn't feel like a stranger... I loved these ladies... and knew them well... in my heart...so, I purchased as many of their wonderful tresors as I could afford... I bought my sister a gorgeous vintage gold rhinestone bracelet, and two for myself...I also bought my sister, my nieces and myself some of the beautiful ladies vintage gold shimmery purses...(my purses and bracelets in photos above and below) as well as many pieces of the stunning vintage crystal that was throughout the home... including a complete set of pretty vintage cordial glasses, several of which are in these photos...

So as I get ready for the holidays... I will remember these pretty ladies...and hope they are smiling down at me as I set about their precious crystal... and wear their shimmery gold bracelets... and let my thoughts drift back to a time when two little girls thought surely these ladies must indeed be beautiful princesses and their castles and Prince Charmings must be close by...

I love that these two sisters were so close their entire life... just like my sister and I are... they lived life to the fullest... and enjoyed every single day...they were kind and caring... and they filled their homes and their lives with beauty...but their true beauty came from within... to Helen and Adele... À VOTRE SANTÉ !... xoxo

Thankful...

It is early, early morn here in Centerville... the blizzard that blew in last night was not quite as bad as expected, but nevertheless, our countryside is blanketed in a soft, heavy covering of snow... the chilling winds let up for a bit, but now are back... it is currently 7 degrees... this is how "my" beautiful barn will look this morning when I don my heavy jacket, muffler, hat, boots and gloves and head out for our daily Nature walk...(I took this photo just about a year ago to the date)...

I glance out my window where the streetlamp is casting a soft glow on the newfallen snow, oooh!... the deer have had a party in our backyard... little deer hoof prints everywhere!... as I count my many blessings this Thanksgiving, and all of the things I am so very thankful for, I will include all of God's precious little creatures in my thoughts as well... so many times when life's troubles or cares have gotten me down, I turn to Nature for comfort...

"Study Nature, love Nature,
stay close to Nature,
It will never fail you." ~Frank Lloyd Wright

This Thanksgiving, I hope you too will take time to be thankful for all of the beauty of Nature that surrounds us... Thanksgiving blessings to you... xoxo

Vintage Christmas...

Just those words conjure up beautiful images in my mind of Christmases past... precious people, trees, decorations... memories... simpler, gentler times... do these things call out to you, like they do me?...

If so, then I hope you will join me at Common Ground the entire month of December as Debra hosts "Vintage Inspiration Friday... Vintage Christmas"... the top photo is a little peek into yesterday with part of my vintage Christmas collection... I can't wait to share more with you, and also see what you all have collected over the years... what memories you recall from your childhood, what traditions you carry on... and what you love most about Christmases from days gone by...

I have been collecting vintage Christmas my entire lifetime, starting with my own little Putz houses and villages from my childhood... I have gathered sooo many things over the years and have posted links to my vintage Christmas posts from last year on my sidebar under the pretty little pink deer... I wasn't going to join the party this year since I posted so much last year, but Debra is so sweet and her parties all look like sooo much fun, I signed up afterall... I've been decorating like crazy for the past week, and taking photos and having such a good time getting ready for the party... I hope you join in the fun too!... wishing you all a most beautiful Thanksgiving filled with most abundant blessings... xoxo... ***Tuesday am... today a major winter storm is predicted here, with blizzard conditions and 70 mph winds... the high tomorrow will only be 15 with a low of 3 degrees... could you ladies in Florida and Texas and California please send some warm weather and sunshine my way???... xoxo Julie Marie

HAPPY THANKSGIVING !!!

A Flower Fairy's Home at Christmas...

Oooh... would you like to see a flower fairy's house at Christmas?... shhh... come quietly... we must walk softly... flower fairies love to be inside this time of year... they like to surround themselves with beautiful things they love... and get cozy and comfy 'til Spring comes around once more...

The beautiful fairy has gathered the palest of pink roses to hang above her front door... she reminds us that pale pink roses signify happiness, gentleness and gracefulness...

Ooooh, she has opened her door to welcome us inside...

So very lovely looking in from above...

"Bienvenue chez moi"... oooh, a French fairy... she tells us "welcome to my home"...

Oui, we would love to see all of your favorite things... a beautiful little pink flower~fairy book by Cicely Mary Barker... but of course... a petite pink Christmas tree also adorns her home...

A precious rose~covered teapot that belonged to her grandmother... and a beautiful white dove that gracefully watches over their home...

A yummy pink cupcake to enjoy with her rosehip tea...

Petite pale rosebuds scattered here and there...

Christmas at a fairy's home is truly a beautiful sight to behold...

She tells us there are fairies all around us... beautiful little creatures... who are quite elusive at times...she invites us to come visit her again, soon...but reminds us...

To see a fairy we must believe in them with all our heart... I believe... do you???... xoxo

A Woodland Christmas...

Step into the Christmas woods with me... if you follow my blog at all (thank you!)... then you know what Nature lovers Jack and I are... much of our home is decorated with beautiful treasures from Nature gathered on our daily walks... so, of course we must have a woodland tree... meet a few of my friends... Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf... in my woods, there is no such thing as a big, bad wolf... they are all beautiful and kind...

Little raccoons are a favorite of ours... we often see them as well on our Nature walks...

This little chipmunk is one of my very favorites...

A beautiful woodland Santa from many years ago stands watch over the forest...

One of many little squirrels who call my woodland tree home for the holidays,,,


My little forest is full of so many of God's precious little creatures, I could not possibly show them all... are you like me... I have a hard time photographing the entire tree and having it look right... and getting everything in the picture... besides collecting vintage Christmas over my lifetime, I also have collected beautiful little Nature decorations... many are one of a kind, hand~carved, some by local artists... they make me smile... I hope you enjoyed seeing some of my little critters... back to my decorating... I am a bit overwhelmed with it this year, still low on energy from my surgery I guess... but they all want to come out... I will post them a few at a time... if you would like to see all of my vintage Christmas collection, I have posted the links to my last year's Vintage Christmas Monday posts on my sidebar under the pretty little vintage pink deer... I will show new photos this year as I finish decorating, but last years posts might give you some fun ideas... xoxo

Simply Pink...

In my previous post, I told you how I was starting to decorate our home for the holidays... with boxes and boxes of beautiful vintage tresors I have collected over my lifetime... the little pink tree was purchased several years ago... the tree is not vintage, but the beautiful palest of pale pink ornaments are... circa 1950...

I love how pretty it looked with nothing on it but these pastel tresors from yesteryear... as I decorate, many thoughts and memories drift through my mind... ten years ago this year, my beautiful sister Jo passed away from breast cancer... as I looked at my pink tree, I thought about how much I miss my big sis and love her so... she could light up a room with her smile... meet one hundred new people at a meeting she was speaking at and walk out the door with a hundred new friends... my nieces called her GoGo, as she was always on the go, living each day of her life to the fullest... and is now one of my many guardian angels...

GoGo... this one is for you... xoxo