A Little Bit of Red White and Blue.....

I've been decorating my office with a little bit of patriotic red white and blue this week. It's tiny, only about 10 feet wide and not much longer, so I only took pictures of the right side of it...and truth be told, the other half of the room is a total disaster area right now, I can barely get to my book shelves that are on the left side of the room right now, so I'm sparing you the whole room view....(I need to do some organizing over the weekend)...

Anyway, I didn't do a lot of decorating, but my wicker sofa got a change of throw pillows and the seat cushion got wrapped with some red floral fabric (a tablecloth).

There's a story behind my wicker sofa...it was a $40 yard sale find from several years ago and I remember how much I had to have it... even though I didn't even have a way to get it home! My darling husband ended up bringing it home tied to the top of the car. I know he doesn't care to relive that moment in time, so I won't go into much detail, but I will tell you that it did fall off the car, before he got onto the highway with it.... it survived with only some minor scrapes and scratches and thankfully he survived too and he did get home with it. I secretly think, to this day, it's the reason he doesn't care for it that much. But, as you can imagine, I love it and it's one of my favorite pieces of furniture in our home. I don't think I could ever part with it, because of the effort my sweetheart made to get it for me.

 The dark brown on the wicker was dark green when I found it, I eventually painted that area dark brown, so I would be able to use any color of pillows I wanted with it and change things with the seasons. I've had it in my office for a while now, but I don't think I've ever shown it here on the blog. There's just enough space on the right side of the room walking in the door to put it beside my white storage cabinet. I did have a chair and small round table in that space, but I really never used it and I needed a different place to put the wicker, so in here it went. I like it better than the hard chair and table that I had in here...It's comfy and I actually sit in here now and sometimes read and drink my tea or coffee...

I've used my little metal garden gate to display some of my vintage red, white and blue hankies along with an American Flag ....this hangs on the wall behind the sofa...

Have you done any decorating for the 4th of July? Do you have any special plans for the holiday?
I hope you all have a fun and Happy 4th of July!


Linking up with these inspiring places this week:

The Scoop
The Art of Homemaking
Talk of the Town

Collections....Displaying Vintage Brooches....

Today, I'm bringing to you a unique way to display vintage brooches! 

I have a small collection of them that I hold dear to my heart. It hangs over the top of my dresser mirror in my bedroom.  They aren't passed down family heirlooms or anything....I've picked them up at garage sales and thrift stores over the years, with the exception of the red lady bug one, it was a gift from my best friend back when we we teenagers....

 I didn't grow up  at a time when wearing brooches was very popular or trendy, but I guess memories are mostly what drew me to collecting them....

 I remember a beautiful collection that my grandmother had that belonged to her mother, and as a little girl, I remember grandmother opening up the velvet lined two tiered box and showing me all of the sparkly brooches and other pretties inside,.....

 As I look at my small collection that's displayed on my hanging heart pillow, it takes me back to precious memories of that very special lady in my life....my Grandmother....

It's funny how things can take you back to another place in time.....
Have you found any unique ways to display any of your collections? I'd love to hear about it!

Thanks for stopping by today....
I hope you have a great day!

Pretty Platters & Plates...Plus a Silver Plated Tea Set...

Hey there again....I  think old platters make wonderful background pieces for a vignette on a shelf or hutch.....there are so many ways to use old platters and plates, other than for serving...they can be hung and displayed on walls in a collection, for a unique one of a kind look, or use them as stand alone pieces on that kitchen wall that needs a little something.....they are perfect in the cottage chic home or farmhouse styles of decorating and I think they will add a touch of vintage charm to most any home....here's a few I've recently added to my ongoing collection.....

The rose bouquets on both of these platters remind me of a romantic country farmhouse.....I love the pink and yellow rose designs, and the fact that they are aged a bit makes them even better....

These antique flow blue set of 3 plates are perfect for the lover of blue and white dishes....these pair nicely with blue transferware.....

These were a unique and rare antique finds....they are flow blue broth consomme double handled cups and I think they will be pretty displayed with blue transferware....

This brown transferware plate has historical scenes from Oregon on it... with Lewis & Clark, Crater Lake, Bonneville Dam, Oregon City, Celilo Indians and the State Capital Salem....I like how the touches of powder blue and light green softens the brown, my husband has this displayed on the office shelves with some of his collectibles....

This is the cutest demitasse teacup with beautiful roses in shades of pink, it's extra cute because of it's tiny size.....and lastly, I have recently found this F.B. Rogers Silver Plated Tea Set, 4 Pieces include the teapot, sugar dish with lid and creamer....

So, that's this weeks new "old" finds. What have you found lately? Do you like collecting old plates like me....just to display in your home decor? 


Thanks for stopping by!
Have a great day!

Something New For My Bedroom....

I was happy to get a new headboard for my bed back at the end of April, and I've been meaning to share it here on the blog...it's tufted upholstered in a linen ivory color....I love the elegant shape of it!

So anyway, I finally got my bed made up, and took photos, so now I can show it to you! I'm only kidding around...most days I do make my bed up.... the whole room looks like a total disaster with my piles of pillows, if I don't!

There's not much space above the bed for anything, so I've displayed some of my vintage plates above my rustic "Always Kiss Me Goodnight" sign.  I've always loved decorating with vintage china. No room in my home is safe from my hanging up a plate....I've even been thinking of putting a few up in the bathroom over the mirrors! I can't help it....when I'm out junkin', pretty plates are just something I'm always drawn to. I've collected them for many years now and I've got stacks.....all colors and sizes...

As you can tell, I like mixing up my bed linens....the tufted bench at the foot of my bed is full of throws, bed skirts, pillow shams and pillow cases in all colors. I get tired of matching bedding sets too quickly ....so I've found that white works best for me as the base for my bedding....that way I can easily change things up with a different bed skirt and pillows, when I want to.

My white quilt and shams came from T.J. Maxx, the tan and white pillow cases are Country Living, the two white embroidered small accent pillows with the ruffles were thrift store finds, the dust ruffle was a thrift store find, and the old needlepoint rose pillow was an Etsy find! I love old embroidery and anything needlepoint! 

I don't usually go for much of a decorating theme in my rooms, I have more of a collected over time look and feel, but if it had a theme, I guess this room would be all about roses roses and more roses....this hand painted rose picture was a yard sale find a few years ago (I believe it was $3)....and I'm still lovin' my chandelier....it came from Wayfair and it got put up when I painted my room......

Here's another photo with one of my other favorite needlepoint pillows....I couldn't make up my mind which pillow I liked better! So I thought I'd post this other photo too!  

I have a question before I go....maybe someone out there can help me with something. I really do need a new camera.... I've been thinking about getting one for a while now, but to be honest, I am not sure what to buy. The more I research the more confused I get. I want a camera that's easy to use that would give me better quality photos, and for the least amount of money. The camera I'm using is a simple point and shoot Kodak Easy Share. I've had it a several years now and most every photo I take has to be edited to get even a half-way decent picture, and if the room doesn't have much natural lighting, (like the one above and most of my rooms), it's even worse. Many pictures I take do not turn out usable at all. If anyone has any suggestions about a camera that's affordable, that would be better than this one I'm using, please leave me a comment.  I'm hoping I'll get a camera sometime soon, maybe at least by Christmas, fingers crossed!  Or maybe some wonderful company out there will somehow find me and want to donate me a camera to use here on the blog! I'd surely take it!

Well, thanks for stopping by today!
Have a great week!

P.S.  I almost forgot to mention, my headboard came from Walmart.com it was $150 for king size with free shipping.

*(I was not compensated for this post by any of the mentioned corporations)

Linking up with these inspiring places this week:
The Art of Homemaking Mondays
The Scoop
Feathered Nest Friday

Sharing Vacation Photos From Pine Mountain Georgia

There's just something about a beaten pathway that calls me to come and explore... Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain Georgia with all of it's pretty wooded trails to walk through... is a wonderful place to visit and to take in the beauty of nature, everything is so green there.... 

 My husband and I spent several days on a vacation getaway to Pine Mountain recently, so I wanted to share some pictures from our trip! We spent a day of our trip in Callaway Gardens....walking  trails....

This little stone bridge stole my heart....

We found a beautiful stone Chapel with pretty stain glass windows ....

Behind the chapel was a rocky stream ...with a tiny water fall....

Along another trail, we found a primitive cabin in the woods....

This pathway below leads to the Cecil B. Day Butterfly Conservatory...

There were butterflies fluttering around everywhere....even though you wouldn't know any were present from looking at my pictures.... I was lucky enough to capture some on several videos....

These displays of framed butterflies were inside the building....

On our trip to Pine Mountain, we also spent a day in the Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park .....

You can't tell it much from the photos, but there was some elevation here at the pull-off areas where these pictures were taken....we took these as we drove the scenic road through the State Park....

We started the day early with a hike on the Pine Mountain Trail...(we had intentions of going on the 2 mile hike to Cascade Falls, a round trip 4 mile hike)

After a short drive along the scenic road inside the park we found the trail head entrance....

 The trail started out level and wide...

And the further we got in there, it became more and more narrow, winding, and in some places very rocky with a small creek nearby....

We had to cross over a couple of shallow creeks...

 .

We ended up hiking a 2 mile round trip to Csonka Falls, (a smaller waterfall than Cascade Falls, the one we were originally going to hike to). We decided to head on back, after Csonka Falls, because to be honest, the trails were kickin' our, (used to the Florida flat land) booties, and plus we wanted to  have time to still drive to Warm Springs,Ga. to explore, eat lunch and do some shopping there.

 We finished our hike... and got back to the car... where the winding roads of the State Park, took us to the quaint and charming small town of Warm Springs Georgia...I loved this little town!

We ate at the Bulloch House Restaurant (above), they had a buffet, and it was so busy that you had to take a number and wait to be seated. After getting our food, we could see why it was so popular with locals and tourists alike....they had the best country home style food....they even had fried green tomatoes!

Across the street was the Historic Hotel Warm Springs, there was a Candy and Ice Cream Shop inside...we had to get some fudge,  (sorry for the blurry photo,it's the only one I got)...

We walked around the town and went in all of the unique shops that lined the town...we even found an antique store that we plundered around in.....

I almost forgot to share with you a picture that I took in the actual town of Pine Mountain Georgia (below) ....it was the first town we explored, it was small and charming like Warm Springs....there were cute shops with cute names. This gift shop that I did get a picture of was called "Sugah Candy" (and it was meant to be spelled this way). I wish I had taken more pictures of the town...I kept thinking I'd get some later, then I didn't....

Well, it was a nice little getaway for us....it's fun to get away for a few days, to see something new and do something different! It's always nice to come back home too, because after all, you know there really is no place like home, is there?

I hope you enjoyed coming along with us on our trip!