It finally occurred to me on Monday that Christmas was right around the corner.  You’d think with all of the decorating and Christmas music that it would’ve occurred to me sooner, but it still managed to sneak up on me.  I had only purchased a few presents and it was time to get with the program.  I spent Wednesday out and about and was able to check almost everyone off my list.  With a little extra time on my hands, I decided to pop into one of my local antique malls.  I wasn’t there for a big shopping trip…just to poke around a bit and buy a few things that piqued my interest. I started making a pile of some things…a small basket, a couple of ironstone plates, a blue and white cup, a chippy white architectural piece and a nubby linen sheet.  I was just about finished when I heard

I really enjoy reading.  I don’t read novels very often, because I get so engrossed in them that I neglect everything else and stay up until 3:00 in the morning to get to a “good stopping point.”  So, I usually refrain unless I can’t resist or I’m stuck in bed for some reason.  But I enjoy flipping through a good decorating book or reading something that’s inspirational and maybe helps me learning something new about myself. I’m sure some of you would enjoy the books I’ve been reading, so I thought I would share some of them… Creatively Christmas This book is special, because it was written by my friend, Jen Rizzo.   That is how it ended up in my hands, but what I love about it is that it is such a real, approachable book.  It shares lots of simple ideas and very doable (and budget-friendly, kid-friendly) projects.  The grain

When we were in Charlottesville last week, Jeff extended the invitation to me to do a little antique shopping.  He knows this means I will most likely fill our van with a bunch of things he doesn’t really “get.”  It means I’ll buy things that I expect him to fix and it even may mean he gets longing looks from me over a beastly piece of furniture that I want to rearrange everything in our van for.  He knows all of this and still encouraged me to stop at a couple of antique malls.  It hasn’t always been this way.  I swear he used to distract me by pointing out a field of cows and would accelerate as we drove by a sign for an antique mall.  He has finally learned that milling around 25,000 square feet of musty, old stuff is my idea of a very fun afternoon and he