All iIn A Day's Work & Messages From Heaven

Beautiful day here in Florida today and as always, 

and today I was reminded of how a day can deliver both expected and unexpected challenges as well as joys.

Lots of gardening work being done on the property today and then the phone call comes from outside:  "Miss Ruth, one of my workers tripped over a pipe by your well and it broke.  I'm afraid you'll have to call a plumber.  And we had to shut your water off."

Well, the good news is, I wasn't in the shower or doing laundry at that moment, right?  :)  Was without water for about 5 hours, but no biggie.
The pipes are fixed, well pump working again, and all is well.  :)

After the well workers left and the gardeners left, I sat for a bit on the couch to chill and lo and behold I found almost TEN old messages from my dad on my cell phone.  

Oh my...  To my surprise I did not cry.  

I breathed/sighed deeeeeply, but mostly I smiled.  A lot.  

(Okay... NOW I'm tearing up).  

What a blessing to hear him again saying "Well hello my dear Rootie.  (my nickname from childhood that's stuck through adulthood) 

I'm just calling to see how my baby girl is doing way out there in the country.  Give me a call when you have a minute.  Love you, sweetie and God bless you."

What a blessing to hear that dear man's voice again.  A serendipitous find to say the least.

Unexpected well pipe repair:  $123.00.
Unexpected messages from my sweet (and very missed) dad:  PRICELESS.

Love 'em while you've got 'em, people.  Love 'em while you've got 'em.  

 

House For Sale .... (In The English Countryside)

Ever have a desire to live in the idyllic countryside of England?

CHECK THIS OUT...

I'm pretty much ready to pack a moving van... you?

  

Shop Show & Tell, Part Deux...

More of the new things you may not have seen --

just click the picture and it'll shoot you right over to that 

item on the site.  

Pretty easy, huh?  

Set/3 Zinc/Wicker Planters

Fun Handpainted Wooden "Words of Wisdom"

Vintage-y/Chunky Paper Rolls

(Amazing when displayed en masse!)

Wire Message/Memento Board

Take-your-breath-away fabulous

"Carved Book Words"

Cigar Box Sets & various other yummy miscellany 

found in our "One Of A Kinds & Finds" department

Hope your week has been going well.  :)

  

Show & Tell (part 1?)

Since it's been so long since 

we've had a chance to keep you updated each time we get new "finds" in, 

I thought I'd just do a little "show & tell"

of  just a few of the new things in recently.

Maybe I'll do a few of these posts to really  get you caught up 

(or, you could always just pop over and spend a nice long time

browsing the various departments

to see what's new!  ;)

Wanna start with these guys?

Two dapper men from long ago grace

these fun pillows that add a classic yet

whimsical look that any room 

benefits from.   :)

Love, love, love these

vintage-looking hand painted wooden license plates 

from Jeanne d'Arc Living!!

Even if you favor the white-on-white,

pale-on-pale schemes popular in the

magazine, this is the 

PERFECT POP of color

and has that yummy

vintage-y look we all love!

Look at this fun iron "planter"

centerpiece.

We opted to display it not filled with

various little potted plants

(but wouldn't a bunch of succulents look AWESOME in it?!)

but with various decor items for a 

unique display variation.

Pack it out with pillar candles of varying heights --

so gorgeous in next to a bathtub 

or on a coffee table!

In the kitchen this just screams to be filled with

fresh fruits/vegetables.

Near the front door to catch mail, keys, wallets, etc.

Leave it to nature to create truly

the world's best coaster.

Seriously, forget the tile coasters,

the cork coasters, the knitted coasters

(do they still make those...?).

These gorgeously thick slabs of 

natural, untreated birch wood absorb

whatever you dish out and then 

dry out to practically never even show that they

were ever wet.

SUMMER=iced drinks=you need these!

Another great use for these is one placed

under the spigot of those gorgeous tall 

party drink dispensers.

Those are fabulous for gatherings, but let's face it -- 

their spouts can drip... right on your countertop.

Problem solved.

Ladies, it's a jungle out there!

So our "Jungle First-Aid Kit" is perfect

for holding all your "survival" needs

(aka make-up/beauty essentials)

on the go!

Okay, you could also fill it with the

other

first-aid essentials....

(bandaids, wound cream, alcohol wipes,

aspirin, etc...)

and keep one in the kids' bathroom.

How cute is that?!

Actual military bags repurposed by us

for our own jungle warfare

(aka making it through each day with

our essentials at the ready!)

:)

Vintage architectural blueprints

(though most aren't blue...)

that were just too cool to pass up when

we saw a whole collection of them

for sale.

What can you do with them?

Wrapping paper, party table coverings,

framed or hung au naturel from clips,

or buy a bunch and just fill a vase or

urn with them sort of like

we did!

Obviously so much more to show you,

but this is a start.  :)

Happy Wednesday!

  

We'd Like To Help You Make Mother's Day Special (and effortless)

This week as you ponder what you'd like to shower your mother with 

to show her how much she is appreciated, 

you might enjoy taking a peek at the 

"PERFECT FOR MOTHER'S DAY"

page we created

on the site with some "sure-hits" for her.

If you order by Tuesday or Wednesday

(maybe Thursday)

we can still get something special out 

to her 

from you

in time!

Take a look-see at some of the things we

culled from across the site to whet your creative-thinking

appetite for what you might surprise mommy with this year:

There are hand-carved books

made just for us in these three wise words:

"Be Still"

"Dwell"

"Read" 

and there are hand-painted wooden signs with some of the 

MOST FUN sayings, as well as so many other

must-haves for her.

We have a little perk for YOU, too...

We'll be happy to wrap anything you purchase free of charge

if you'd like us to -- just ask us to in the comments section of the order form

- we'll be happy to!

We'll wrap it in this beautiful gift wrap 

from Jeanne d'Arc Living that will be sure to draw a big smile from mom. 

:)

Click HERE to see what mom might like.  

Love you guys!

  

Jeanne d'Arc Living Magazine May Issue Is HERE!

The brand new May 2014 issue of Jeanne d'Arc Living magazine 

arrived today and if you already ordered a copy, it'll be

arriving in your mailbox within just days!

It is another gorgeous issue, this time with a delightful

feature on weddings, as well as all the beautiful homes 

you love to see, recipes you love to create, and craft ideas

that get you back to your work table!

Pick up your copy HERE.

  

Box-Pocolypse at The Container Store...

Photo courtesy of The Container Store

First thing in the morning shortly after store-opening, there she is... strolling the aisles in glazed-eye wonderment at all that is contained in The Container store, when it happens: Strolling blissfully one second, then the next thing she knows "BOOM" "CRASH!" and the ear-splitting noise that you just can't explain unless you were there. 

Yep... seemed like about 50 really loud, hard plastic shoe boxes are scattered in the middle of the store and allllll eyes are on her. And what's the only thing she can think to say?  "Everyone awake now?" 

Yep... brought to you by your's truly. 

Help comes to begin the "clean up on aisle 3" disaster that I created, and my sweet sister and I also scramble to the floor to be of help (least I can do, right, considering the box carnage before us).

About 1 minute into the project the sweet young man (employee) who was helping in the effort to resurrect the clear acrylic tower of boxes stops what he's doing, looks up at me from the floor and with the most flummoxed look I ever saw just says quietly "How did you do this?" 

Ohhhhh dear... then I involuntarily shot back my most hurt face (and I'm pretty sure my 

bottom lip quivered) as if "How can you even ask that?"

Haha -- he wanted me to recreate what happened for him 1.) because he was just stunned that so much havoc could be wrecked so quickly and 2.) so that they were sure to never stack them like that again. 

So, all that to say, anyone wanna go shopping with me sometime?
I'm a real blast (crash) to be with!  
Haha!