Happy *GASP* Halloween!

I was not raised to observe Halloween. I have never been trick or treating. But that's ok! ALL my life, I have had the most fun dressing up as different things. And even in my adulthood I have continued to love dressing up in costumes and being silly on occasion! Hooray!
I've dressed up Colonial, Antebellum, Victorian, 1940's, 1950's, 1960's, 1970's, 1980's - oh, wait. I lived through those dark ages of fashion that was the 80's.... that wasn't dressing up, that was the real thing - never mind. Even though, I was just a child, and had NO CONTROL over that.....)
As an adult, I have loved dressing up as different people, and I think that Halloween is a great excuse for adults to dress up and act goofy without any remorse about it later.
This year is a little depressing, as I haven't had to dress up as anything. I confess I am extremely disappointed. So to console myself in my grief on this day without a costume, I have been looking at all the photos of my costumes throughout the years and laughing heartily. There are so many good ones; I wish I could share them all, but I picked out a few of my faves to post.

Last year, Kevin and I attended a local Fall Fundraiser as Ellie May and Jeb Clampett. Kevin even wore fake teeth. What a hoot!

 

The year before we were married, the theme for the Fundraiser was Pirates! So, my sister Naomi and I dove into out closets, found a few frilly shirts, and went for it. I wore my Dad's black velvet knee breeches from his Colonial costume, and my brother's waistcoat from his colonial outfit. A Victorian choker, tights, heels, and a ribbon in my hair and poof! I was "Elizabeth Swann"! (Pirates of the Caribbean.)

 

This was not for Halloween, but one of my BFFs Susi and I celebrated our 21st B-Day together, as our respective B-Days are one month apart. She was a respectable Jane Austen lady, and I? I went barefooted to my 21st B-day party as Galadriel from the Lord of the Rings. Mom made the dress, and I love it. The sleeves!

 

 

Wait a second! Hold on! Where did this one come from?! How embarrassing. This is my niece Abi and I in Darth Vader masks watching Star Wars two summers ago at my parent's! What the.............. :)

Another one of my all time favorites was when my sister (Naomi) and I made black robes and dressed as Ring Wraiths on Halloween. We costumed our horses as well, and rode all over the town. Passers by had no clue who we were! We created quite the stir in the town. People still talk about it. Let me tell you, there is nothing like galloping around on a horse in flowing black robes, silently creeping about the little village of Milton, stopping traffic......

Well this is really making me sad! Makes me want to go dig out my Ring Wraith robes and go for a gallop.

Onward to Thanksgiving and Christmas!! Yay!!

Part 2 - The Street Where I Live

In addition to all the wonderful old houses in town, we have a few shops and stores; mostly antiques shops and a great old fashioned themed pizza parlor and ice cream shop.

Occasionally I work at the Milton General Store Antique Shop. Built in 1837, it has been the post office, feed store, and General Store up until the 50's. (I am pretty sure it was the 50's....) My friend Sally's father owned it and ran it throughout the Great Depression. She remembers selling shoes and things as a child. They also had other General store items. She talks about people sitting around on chairs on the front porch of the store.... just like the movies. I love it.



A view of the window displays - by me. I do most all of the window displays for the General Store. I especially love Christmas time!!



"The Shoppes" of Milton. These are Victorian Era. Milton used to be a booming little place; back in the day. This must have been like going to the mall!













Yep, we even have a pretty cool art studio in town with local artist's work! Quilts, paintings, sculpture, pottery, photography, drawings, etc.

This summer the public TV station in NC came up to do a "thing" on Milton. I happened to be working in the store that day, and I got interviewed! I was even on TV. I still haven't seen it. I was so glad I decided to wear a vintage style sundress that day. It just fit.

Well, that's it for now! I sure hope you come visit Milton, NC soon! We'd love to have ya! Plan to spend the day!

Y'all come back now, hear?

Antique and Vintage Handbags - I'm in love!

My friend Ann emailed me the other day. "I have these beaded bags," she says. "Why don't you put them in your Etsy shop?" I agreed. I was thinking your typical 1950's - 60's beaded bags; I have a few, and they are cute.
When I went to Ann's to pick them up, what she brought out was antique bags. I am in love.

Here is a cute little brown satin and glass beads 1940's number:

 

And a copper colored glass beaded one, also 1940's:




This is a 1920's Art Deco beaded bag in unbelievable condition! The satin lining is still perfect. Gold glass beads with a metal frame and chain. I wish it were mine.....





Here is another 1920's "flapper" bag - silver mesh, with a drawstring. UNbelieveable condition! (This one is not going to be for sale, though. I just couldn't resist showing it while I had the chance.)


This is the most rare piece: a turn of the century (or older, in fact) coin purse. It is glass beaded on the bottom, with a silver frame and lid, with some kind of Grecian design on it. This, also, is not for sale. I just wanted to tempt you people......





This one is not actually part of Ann's collection; it is just a random 1940's black crepe handbag on hand. It pales in comparison to Anne's collection - and it is a fraction of the price as well!



I really struggled with taking photos this week - none seemed to turn out right. Or maybe it was just these handbags. I simply cannot do them justice with my meager attempts. They are worthy of a spread in Victoria Magazine.

I am such a handbag fanatic. I just want to sit these somewhere and gaze at them while I can.

On the Street Where I Live

Well, on the street where I lived, actually. I grew up in a small, rural, historical town in North Carolina about 8 miles from where I live now on a farm in Virginia. Milton is an adorable little hamlet set on a hill overlooking the Dan River for which nearby Danville, VA. is named.
I was born a North Carolina girl and I will always be a North Carolina girl; and I will always have a soft spot in my heart for my home in Caswell County, and my hometown of Milton.
I ran for the office of Town Commissioner in the last municipal elections; and lost. Too young and inexperienced, I guess. Although I did have quite a group of supporters who voted for me.
Even though I do not live there anymore, I am still a board member of the Milton Historic Preservation and Beautification Society there.

This will be a 2-part post, as there are faaaaar too many pictures for one post. This leg of the "tour" will cover some of the homes in the township. So, let the tour begin!

 

We members of the Preservation and Beautification sold countless hot dogs, countless pounds of NC BBQ, Thousands of raffle tickets, and lots of baked goods to raise the money to build this rock sign that greets you upon entering our town. As you can see, the town was incorporated in 1796 - in the Colonial Era. Few houses from that time remain. Most you will see are Antebellum and Victorian.


This stone wall is from then, however. It is preserved and maintained by citizens of the town, and is a huge source of pride.


This is the main tourist attraction in Milton: the Thomas Day house. Thomas Day was a free black cabinet and furniture maker in during the time of the War Between the States. This building burned in 1989, when I was 8 years old. I remember watching as multiple fire departments tried to save the historical structure and failed; the only thing they could do was try to save the surrounding historical homes. They succeeded in that. Now it is slowly being restored and is a museum downstairs.




My parents looked at buying/renting this house a few years ago. It cost too much to heat..... I wonder why?....


My friend Sally lives here. The house is three stories and let's see.... 13 rooms, 4 bathrooms, sunroom, etc. etc.... I used to help her clean it. That is a full time job! It was built by her Grandfather in 1917.


This home was ordered out of the Sears Catalog in the early 1900's. And yes, that is a white picket fence and meandering brick pathway leading up to the front door...




These two places are under renovations. It makes me happy when people love those old places and fix them up....




Afew weeks ago, one lovely old place burned down.


The Women's Club of Milton.... these ladies brought in the first telephones to the town - but not till the early 1950's.

Next time I will show all the antique stores and little shops. There are quite a few outlying Grand old homes, also. But that is for another day.

Y'all come back now, hear?

Farmer Boy

 

This is my nephew Brendan. He is completely obsessed with tractors, making hay, wearing his John Deere hat, and squirrel hunting with his Dad and Uncle Kevin.

 

I snapped these the other day as we were picking up yet another load of hay in the field.

 

I have my sights set on a couple of (amateur) Rural photography contests for 2010 and 2011, so I have been taking tons of "country", "farm", "rural", "wildlife", etc. pictures. I love capturing these rural and farm scenes. We shall see what comes of these contests; if the judges think my idea of a captured rural scene jives with their ideas.
Whether they do or not, at least I enjoy them.........

AND the winner IS.......!!!!!!!!!!

......Luanne, from the Mary Jane's Farmgirl Connection! (beekeepersgirl.) Hooray, Luanne! You're the proud new owner of a genuine Virginia Fairy Stone necklace. You will need to contact me with your mailing info so I can send that out to you asap! Congratulations!
I will be doing this again during the holidays. For you local ladies, (are there any?) I am planning a "Trunk Show" and Afternoon Tea at a local antiques store in early December. I just got the ok today so I will have details soon!
In other news, I added a new "section" to my shop - jewelery - just in time for the holidays. I posted some of my earrings and in the next few days some cute pins. (Unfortunately for my customers, I tend to keep most of the vintage jewelery I find, so I won't have a whole lot of jewelry selection. And most are inexpensive costume pieces; but nostalgic and romantic as always.)

Y'all come back now, hear?

How Cool is THAT?!

I saw this advertisement in a magazine for Coldwater Creek's new fall looks:

 

 

The red jacket, white shirt and jeans really caught my eye, as a month ago when I started taking pics of my Autumn Vintage collection for Etsy, I snapped this pic of myself (I use a timer to get the photos) in my own red jacket ensemble:

 

No joke, I took these a month or more ago, before I ever laid eyes on the Coldwater Creek line!

 

My jacket is 1960's, wool, 3/4 length sleeves; and I took off the faded plastic buttons and replaced them with wooden buttons. I decided not to sell my jacket; I liked it too much and cannot part with it.
The Coldwater jacket is lovely, and costs about $60 bucks. It has a cute ruffled collar and two rows of buttons instead of one, but this is a great example of how vintage looks are very current!

My Cup....

 

Recently I find myself lying down in bed at night and saying this little "thank you" to God at the end of the day:

"Thank You for your MERCY......" God has been merciful to us. I survived being kicked in the face by my horse. My husband lived through falling off a 2-storey deck he was building. My niece recently survived being hit by a car. Every day there is no telling what brushes with disaster He spares us from.

"Thank You for your provision....." Money may be tight but we are in no immediate danger of loosing our home, we have food to eat, we have a wonderful place to keep our beloved horses.... and a thousand other little blessings that He has provided for us. In spite of hard times, we are blessed.

"Thank You for your Plan....." I know He has a plan and a purpose. That excites me. God has PLAN! And we're part of it! We are in His Plan. I don't know why but that truly makes me happy, excited, and expectant. He's a Man with a Plan. It helps me to trust, knowing that.

I don't mean to preach, but this was on my heart last night and again this morning. BTW, the photo is mine. One of the views on our farm......
I hope you have a great day and rest assured - there is a plan.
Y'all come back now, hear?

Shop Update: Rosy

I've been adding a few items into my "home and gifts" category. It is hard for me to let my clothes go; but harder for me to allow pieces from my china collection to slip through my fingers. However; I will part with a few.
And while it is very hard for me to let pieces of my china collection go, it is nearly impossible to pry my fingers off my embroidery! But. I have weeded a few pieces out.

 

This is a little mini wreath I created from paper roses. I have more where this one came from so If you want one...

 

This is a vintage style flour sack towel I embroidered with a tea cup. My kitchen is blues and reds; this simply does not fit.

 

I thought these looked dinstinctly Autumn - like.

 

And these as well - very "dusty" rose and end-of-summer.

Trot over to the shop to check it all out!

Ya'll come back now, hear?