Collecting Elegance from the Weekend

The days fly when you are preparing for a show...mailing postcards inviting friends to the show, sending out emails to the customer listing, ordering bags and tissue to package items for their journey to their new home, setting up displays, tagging the antiques, cleaning as you go, searching through inventory for the right mix of goods - well, that's a big part of it and then there's the things you want to make for the show that you hope you will find the spare time to create.

It's a whirlwind of activity to pull it all together and it's wonderful to see the space come together.

Lovely Vintage Salt and Pepper Shakers - Purchase Here

Only four days left until the show and still so many things to do...I think it will be a flurry of activity until the first day of the show.  I am really excited to see all of the happy faces grace my shop once more...it's been a long time since I have had the pleasure of entertaining my shopping friends.  I have missed those faces and those smiles ....and especially the laughter.

It was my sweet Mother in Law, Anne's 70th birthday yesterday and her children gathered around her to celebrate her special day with her.  It is always a pleasure for me to see family together in celebration of a birthday or special occassion. 

This year for her birthday, her children decided that landscaping her yard would be a nice treat.  So they rolled up their sleeves and planted trees, shrubs, perennials, pruned trees, cleared beds of weeds, extended some and mulched everything.  It was a full days work, and it looked fantastic when they finished at the end of the day.  Anne was very happy with her beautiful yard and her hard working children.  Two of them traveling from each coast to be there to celebrate with her.

Family - it's a blessing.

 

I took my heart daughter, Erin out shopping on Saturday afternoon to buy the perfect dress for an upcoming wedding that she will be attending later this month.  It was so much fun, seeing how her tastes have evolved as she has gotten older.  Gone was the younger version, who used to wander from store to store unsure of what she liked.  Now there is a young woman who made her selections rather quickly, and after a trip to the dressing room, came out in the most beautiful dress - that took my breath away.  There was my little girl looking so beautiful in the perfect dress in a shade of vivid blue...it brought tears to my eyes.  I had to choke them back...she looked amazing.  Erin has the most lovely shade of coppery red hair and creamy skin so the vivid blue of the dress was perfection.  I will always remember the way she looked in that dress standing in the door of the dressing room asking me what I thought of her choice.

All I could think of was how much I love her and how proud I am of her - so grateful to be a part of her life.

Vintage Silver Gravy - Purchase Here

Her little brother, Ryan worked by his Dad's side all day at Grandma's landscaping her yard.  On the wrong end of a shovel, hauling bags of mulch to the back yard and running branches through the chipper-shredder.  So, I took him with me yesterday when I went out to run errands making a stop at GameCo to see if the headset he wants was available.  He's a Junior in High School and before long he will be off to college as well.  My kids are growing up - he's the baby.

I have the most wonderful Physical Therapists that I work with and we were discussing how important relationships are with other women as you get older - especially older women who offer sage advice.  It's true, our children grow up, our careers peak, illness invades our lives, our bodies begin the aging process and it is our girlfriends of all ages that continue to inspire us, encourage us and console us through the turmoil of children growing up and leaving home for college.

I welcome every comment left on my blog, it's so hard to carve out time to spend with friends, so the friendships made through my blog are precious to me and it's so nice to get the comments of encouragement, praise and a few that just make you giggle as you go about your day.

Little Glass Coal Bucket - Purhase Here

So, I'm off the shop again today to continue the preparations for the upcoming show on Friday.  My partners for the show will be there today....Laurie potting up her remaining vintage containers with flowers and Karen bringing in truck loads of antiques and vintage goodies.  She delivered vintage concrete containers on Friday that were amazing.  I won't comment on how old Karen is....but the fact that this woman still totes concrete containers around is an accomplishment.  I'll leave it at that.

I still have jewelry pieces I want to put together for the show, and I am wondering how many of them I will realistically be able to finish before Friday.  Maybe I can squeeze in one more studio day before the show. 

It's show season afterall, May seems to be the big month in the Midwest.  What shows are you preparing for this month?  What are your favorite shows to attend?  Do you like small boutique style shows or huge venues with 100s of vendors?  Any recommendations for shows that are worth the travel time?  I do love a road trip...

Blue Willow Child's Tea Set in Tin - SOLD

I'd love to hear about shows you have attended and what you like about them and any recommendations you might have.  The only thing better than participating in shows is attending one.  Has anyone been to the Farm Girls show in Washington?

Blessings to you, my friends - Julie