KEEPING CALM!

Okay, so it's three days until the Fall Barn Show and I'm feeling a little stressed! Not so much about the show, because the other barn girls and I have been kicking it into high gear to get everything ready. And we're in pretty good shape.

It's all of the other stuff that needs to get done. The normal every day life stuff.
Laundry, helping my kids with homework, providing balanced meals.
(The food pyramid is so over rated!)
It doesn't help that my husband left yesterday on a three week military deployment to the other side of the world!

So, my motto this week?


Need your own Keep Calm and Carry On Sign?

Stop by the show this weekend and pick one up; we'll have a few to choose from!

Just curious though, does cereal for dinner count as a nutritional meal?

I'm in Love

Every now and then I fall in love at first sight.

Madly, deeply, passionately!

I can't help myself,

I'm a hopeless romantic.

But, sadly, it never lasts.

My heart's desire always leaves me

And finds its way to another.

But, until then, I savor the time we have together.

Dreaming of how we'd live forever

In a pretty little house with shutters by the sea.

But, knowing, forever never comes.

And I have to let go.

It's always hard to say goodbye.............

Meet the new love of my life:

I spotted it in an Ohio field.

And my heart leapt!

Who could blame me for falling in love?

Have you ever seen a more amazing apothecary chest?

36 drawers!

And those numbers!!


It came from an old country store in Indiana.

It came home to Maryland with me.

And it will be stealing more hearts

at my next barn show on

October 2nd, 3rd and 4th

in Gambrills, Maryland.

But, until then, this love is mine!

I'M "HOME"

I drove to northeastern Ohio today to meet up with my mom and sister to go to the Country Living Fair. We'll drive to Columbus in the morning.

But tonight, I'm "home".

My mom has lived in this house for 47 years.
I'm in the room I slept in for 20 years of my life.
So much has changed since then.

It's hard to believe six of us lived in this house.
Now it's just my mom.
Sometimes it makes me sad to be here because it feels too quiet.
So different from when I was a child.
But tonight, it feels good.
Safe, comforting, and familiar.

I live 325 miles from here.

I don't see my family as much as I would like because life just gets in the way.

My mom and I sat in her living room looking at old photos of my babies, of happy times and relatives that were still with us, vibrant and alive.

And I'm keenly aware of the passage of time.

Again.

It seems to be a constant on my mind these day.

I think about that and wonder why.

Alot.

I don't know if it's melancholy or worry.

My dad passed away six years ago. My mom is getting older.

My kids are pulling away from me as preteen and teenagers tend to do.

My life has become so busy lately.

That's why I'm so happy to be home.

To reconnect with my family.

To strengthen that bond.

To create new memories.

To remind myself of who I am.

Where I came from.

And how I got to be the person I am today.

I feel so happy!

To be home.

OFF TO THE COUNTRY LIVING FAIR

My suitcase is packed.

I'm leaving Maryland.

I'm leaving my kids.

I'm leaving my husband.

I'm off to Ohio (which also happens to be the "MOTHERLAND" for this native Buckeye) to go to the Country Living Fair in Columbus.

The rest of my family still lives in Ohio so I'm picking up my mother and sister and we're driving to Columbus for the show!

I can't wait!

Don't worry, I plan to take lots of pictures and will post them when I get back!

(You didn't think I was leaving forever did you?)

I'm so excited!

Fall is in the Air (at least the barn)!

Chartreuse and Co.,'s monthly barn sale is this weekend and Molly and I decked out our space in fall style. The funny thing is before the barn was a fabulous venue for monthly tag sales, it was a working dairy farm. So, the second floor of the barn was loaded with hay for over 40 years! It took a ton of work to clear the hay and get the 2nd story ready for us and the other dealers to move in.

So, what did we do? We loaded our space up with hay for this month's sale!

It's a barn!

Fall is definitely in the air and hay is all over the floors to prove it!

So, if you live in the Maryland/D.C./Virginia area you definitely need to check out this sale!

It's Just Not Me

Yesterday morning, I set out all by myself, excited to go to an annual antiques market in the rolling, country side of northern Virginia. I had never been to the show before and was excited to shop a new venue because I'm gearing up for both of my barn sales this month and need some pieces to fill in what I already have. So I set out looking for things that appeal to me.

I didn't have a plan for what I was looking for - I never do. I guess it's the auction girl in me; you just never know what you'll find so you can't go intent on finding something in particular.

Well the antique market was down a gravel road, in a beautiful field, and surrounded by mature oak trees. As soon as I drove in, and took in the scene, my heart started racing because I was so excited to embark on the hunt. Once the gates opened, I ran in and beelined it to a tent that looked promising. And that's when the disappointment set in. The prices were outrageous! Sky-high, ridiculous! But that didn't deter me, I just moved on to the next row of tents, but quickly discovered the prices were the same.

I'm not kidding when I tell you a small painted step stool was $125. A gilded mirror was $6,000. A feedsack covered chair was $1,250!!! A gilded birdcage was $7,500!! Don't get me wrong, there were absolutely beautiful things there. Fine, heirloom quality antiques. The kind of pieces you see in museums and homes like the DuPont mansion.

It's just not me. Maybe I like my "antiques" like I like my friends. A little less pedigreed, chippy, time-worn, but still full of life, well loved and with a deep soul that speaks to me. Nothing spoke to me yesterday. It was all spit and polished. Beautiful condition. Gleaming like they've never seen the inside of a real home. Because the stuff inside "real" homes, at least in my world, gets used, loved and treasured.

What I saw yesterday was only what you look at. Not to be touched. How can you love something like that?

Take me to a junk sale, flea market or country auction. That's where I feel at home.