Saturday, October 8, 2011

2011 Halloween & Autumn decorating

Did a little bit of Halloween & Autumn decorating....


























Laurie's sweet thank you gift... you gotta see this!

Not that it is ever necessary or expected, but you gotta love a 'thank you' gift especially when it is as sweet as the gift Laurie sent me!

She layered various fabrics and sewed them to create a cuff bracelet and adorned it with lace ties and buttons.... C U T E !

I tried wrapping the lace around the buttons on the edge like an inter-office envelope, but that did not hold.  Then I attempted to wrap the lace around my wrist & tie it, but the strips of lace were not long enough to reach.

I was so embarrassed to ask, but I had to ask Laurie how to wear it.  Her reply was to 'tie' the lace around each of the edge buttons.  How silly of me not to realize that I could tie them.

(Too bad there is a pile of shirts in the background of this photo - cleaning out closets)

Laurie you are a sweetheart - thank you so much for my darling cuff!


 

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Thank you Linda!

I have always admired my friend Linda Kelly's Glue Books.  Recently Linda created a glue book just for me.  It is too wonderful to keep all to myself, so I am sharing it with you

     Front cover


  I love the saying on the left page "Write injuries in dust; kindness in marble"
The elephant is in memory of my mother
The hand-written recipe is from Linda's grandmother

 
The hand-written note of prayer on the left page is also from her grandmother
She knows I rely on God for my strength
We both love kitties


On the left page are description tags on how Linda sees me... I am honored!
The little girl, dress & well are too cute for words
Notice how Linda on the right page and other pages in the book has circled specific words that are meaningful
I just adore the singing birds with my initials 'th'


We both love black & white
 And of course, we both love our Button collections - we met through buttons and are forever friends!


Oh, Oh! A Bunny
The Easter basket represents years ago when Linda surprised me with a Easter Egg hunt hidden in my yard


Both pages are precious - the hand-colored children at Mollie's Lawn Party Two-Step... and the sweet vintage hankie trim page
You'll notice a lot of Frenchy things as I am a Frenchy girl


All the images, text, poetry, colors, etc. in this book mean something to me or Linda... Linda admires Abraham Lincoln.  Her tag here is a reminder... "Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be."  Abraham Lincoln


We both collect star buttons - notice the star paper on the left and the star tag on the bottom right page
William Henry Channing's My Symphony - how wonderful it is!


It is a blessing when a friend gives you a gift like this!
Thank you my Apple Tree friend, I love my glue book!

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Remembering England & France 2010 - The Final Leg of Our Vacation

 To regress a few days  - I mentioned on Day 2 about meeting Nancy at the Port de Vanves flea market and said I would mention more later.... Well, we knew there would be other Americans attending FIBULE in Paris, but not sure who they were.  Tara & I were browsing at the market and noticed a lady bent down looking into a basket of buttons.  The lady stood up facing the opposite direction of us.  Tara began asking me questions about the buttons and this lady slightly turned and spoke about the buttons.  As she turned towards us we realized it was Nancy, the Show Chairman for the USA National Button Society.  Pretty awesome to run into someone you know 4000 miles away from home in a flea market!

The last leg our our journey...



A beautiful pyramid-shaped memorial holds the wine glass still smudged with (Princess) Diana's lipstick from her last dinner as well as the engagement ring Dodi al-Fayed had purchased for her the day before their tragic accident - display at Harrods.  


Within walking distance from Tara's family was The Warrington Pub & Restaurant owned by Gordon Ramsey Holdings.  We walked there for drinks.



Abbey Road Studio 



It is said this wall is frequently repainted



Familiar?
Abbey Road -
I walked the crosswalk where the Beatles walked. I wanted to remove my shoes for the photo, but felt it wasn't safe.  The road is rather narrow and busy with traffic.  It took me several attempts dodging vehicles for Tara to snap this photo of me.


The entrance to the amazing Victoria & Albert museum - known as the greatest museum of art and design.  Worth the visit!



"This stone was laid by the Majesty Queen Victoria, Empress of India..." click to enlarge photo



Stunning crystal chandeliers and mosaic walls inside the cafe at the V & A museum


The famous Portobello Road flea market located in Notting Hill, London - where the movie Notting Hill was filmed



We arrived early before most vendors were open.  We walked the length of the market.  On one end were the tag/garage sale vendors, then new item vendors, then scrumptious food vendors and finally antique & vintage item vendors.


It did not take long for the crowds to arrive.  At times the crowds were so massive you simply moved like cog wheels.















OK, do you think I a lot that day???



St. Paul's Covent Church 
Sometimes the Pearly Kings & Queens meet here


The Pearly Kings & Queens of England

Yes, those are pearl buttons sewn as designs on their clothes, why? Who are the Pearly Kings & Queens?
 1960s reproduction postcard I purchased in the gift shop of the Victoria & Albert Museum - The Pearly King & Queen of London in the 1960s and years later in 2010
The Pearly King & Queen of London in 2010




















This probably once-in-a-lifetime trip for me was unbelievable... I really enjoyed time with my dear friend Tara as we visited with family & friends & gallivanted across Briare, Paris & London.  We saw the Eiffel Tower - We saw history - The weather was nearly perfect - We attended FIBULE - We met the Pearly Kings & Queens - We shopped till we dropped at Clignancourt, Port de Vanves, Kempton & Portobello flea markets - I crossed Abbey Road just like the Beatles - Shopped and ate at Harrods - Visited the amazing Victoria & Albert Museum and..... I got to dig in the Briare button dump!!

A truly incredible vacation!

Thanks for taking the journey down memory lane with us.