(Big sigh!!!)... what a week!

This picture is of nothing that pertains to this post, but I think posts are sometimes really boring without a picture... so here's a picture!

I sure haven't been a very good blogger these past few weeks. I saw a fun gal named Shirley, who follows my blog, at the Anamosa show today and she said she didn't expect to see me there, because she hadn't read about it on my blog. I can't believe I didn't get around to putting a post on about the show I was doing today! What an air-head I am!!! So, I did the show in Anamosa today. I have to be honest, I didn't put my best foot forward for this show. I've done it a few times in the past and had a lot of fun at it, but it was always just a convenient show to do... not one that I saw a lot of monetary potential in. Boy was that a stupid way for me to be thinking. The show was fantastic and there was a TON of traffic. I, on the other hand, was unprepared. I didn't bring anything great (other than the two wonderful pine tables my honey got ready for this show). I just took "stuff"... some fun stuff, but mostly just stuff. I've been really distracted this past week and simply didn't give it enough time or effort. I apologize to those of you that saw my "stuff" at the show. It looked cute and all, but it just wasn't what I should have done. My apologies to all who attended.
BUT... there was a good reason for my distraction, I assure you! I started a new book early last week. My sister loaned it to me and had told me little of nothing other than there was a tough part I would have to get through and that it was very much worth reading. Well... she was right! The name of the book is "The Shack" and it was INCREDIBLE to say the least. I was completely distracted by reading it and more often, contemplating it. I finished it Friday night and have continued mulling it all over in my mind ever since. I don't want to tell anyone anything about it other than what my sister told me. There is a tough part you have to get through and that it is a really great book. You all MUST read it!
So, that is my excuse for being a bad blogger this past week. I will do my best to be better this week! I have much to share, so stay tuned!

Fun was had by all!!!

Barb and I had a great time on our little {14 hour!} road trip yesterday. I told her that if she could survive a 12+ hour day with me, she could do just about anything. We found some fun things at a tag sale in Davenport... when they made announcements before the sale, the sale staff apologized for the condition of the house and said that they had at least upgraded it from "disgusting to EEEWWW!" They weren't kidding... it was EEEWWW!
We stopped at several antique shops and consignment stores and went to Coal Valley and then up to the new shop in Parkview called the Junk Asylum. We had a lot of fun there! You can check that out on Sharon from Sweet Repose's blog at {sweetrepose}

We had dinner in DeWitt and sweet Sarah joined us for a cocktail and took us on a wonderful tour of her home. She and Matt are so sweet and have so many wonderful treasures. I even recognized a few things she got from me. I walked in the door and the smell of Polly Anns' Signature Scent candles tickled my nose and brought a huge smile to my face. It makes all the difference to someone like me to know that someone appreciates something they purchased from me or my store. Thanks for loving my candles, Sarah!

It's off to another basketball game for me and mine tonight (hubby coaches my son's freshman ball team). Wish us luck!!! Go Mustangs!!!

Excited for a day trip with Barb!

I'm so excited! Tomorrow morning Barb {simplyiowa} is picking me up to head out for a little day trip... just the two of us. I am a lucky gal to get to have her all to myself for the day! I'll let you know what we find!

Valentine's Day is fast approaching...

I modified my red and jade-ite green Christmas cupboard display for Valentine's. Red is such a motivating color for me... always happy, always energizing. Between getting to play with my beloved pink things and this lively red display last week, I felt a new energy that I'm hoping will help push me through until spring. This week I'm making it a goal to weed through my vintage Valentine collection. I absolutely love the colors and sweet little characters that enliven the adorable valentines of the 1930's through the 1950's. There seems to be something about almost all of them that speaks to me enough that I just can't part with many of them. I'll try to pick out a few of my favorites to share with you this week... but there are so many favorites I may just have to pick some random ones to share.
I hope you enjoy the pictures...

Quotable plates...

I love making these plates. A fun way to take a plain little plate and make it something special.



"love"... "create"



"my favorite place is in your hug"



"you never really leave a place you love- you take a part of it with you, leaving a part of you behind"



"Love is not two people gazing at each other, but rather two people looking in the same direction."..."Grandma's are just antique little girls"



"There's no place like home"

My "tickled pink" pictures...

I promised pictures of my pink display... I had sooooo much fun playing with the pink stuff again. I need pink to keep me motivated. I love so many colors, but the dark colors of fall just don't make me sing. Pink and all the colors of spring make me so much happier and I have so much more fun playing with those colors. I seem to surround myself with pastels and primary colors.

Tickled PINK!

Phew! We had a wonderful holiday, but I am so glad to be getting things back to "normal" in my world. After Christmas the family spent three nights at a local hotel celebrating family and birthdays, swimming, lounging, hot tubbing, eating, drinking and playing euchre. We had so much fun. Then it was back to work for me. We had a fantastic Christmas season at the shop {thank you to all my customers reading this!} I spent the day on Thursday, New Year's Eve, "de-Christmas-izing" the shop. I sold a lot this year, but bought a lot, too so I had some serious work to do. Got 'er done and then went out for an amazing dinner at Granite City with my honey and our kids. I decided to open New Year's Day, yesterday. We haven't been open for New Year's Day for several years, but I wanted to get the shop spruced up for Saturday, so I decided to open as long as I was there working. People had to put up with my messes, but I had a wonderful group come in... a couple from Mount Vernon brought in some visiting friends from California. The young lady is a photographer and has two little ones, a girl and a boy, both toddlers, and she appreciates vintage children's things... she came to the right place. I think they had a good time. They made the day worth while by themselves, but we had other brave solds weathering the cold temperatures (today it was -15 when I took my husband and son to their basketball scrimmage... the car started, then died and I was needing the Jeep so I had to take them out early in the cold... aargh!!!) The day ended up fantastic and I got so much done at the shop. I think it looks great... got some Valentines Day decorating done and am SO INCREDIBLY HAPPY to be playing with pink things again!!! I even stopped a customer and told them just how happy I was to be doing a PINK display. I'll be good from here on out... I get to look forward to spring and working with the colors and textures I love. Fall and DARK are so hard for me... I don't do so well with that look. The shop feels HAPPY to me again and that makes all the differerence for me.
I'll try to get pictures posted tomorrow or Monday {kids go back to school on Monday and I'll have a much better shot}! Until then... HERE'S TO PINK! Cheers!

Trio of Treasures!

I couldn't believe my luck when I found this little stuffed doll! She has the most angelic little face and has her original tag. She is a music box, but she got wound a little too tight somewhere along the line as she just clicks when I turn the base. I had a similar doll in pink {pictured below} that was not a music box. I had her in the shop FOREVER and she sold about a month ago... bummer, I would have loved to have had the pair of them. I will certainly have to keep this little sweetheart for a while. She's just so, well, "Polly"!





This old bear is a true gem. I just want to sit and listen to all the stories he could tell. He has obviously been well loved by all of his previous owners and I must admit... I priced him so that he and I might have a chance to get to know each other better. I'm still trying to decide if there might be a place for him to hang out at my house. For now, he'll greet you when you walk in the door at the shop. I'm smitten with him!





This Santa is so sweet. He stand about 30" tall and was screaming for me to take him home. His beard is starting to crumble a bit {I wonder if I couldn't try hairspraying it?} but he still has a lot of life left in him. As a kid we had one of these a couple feet taller when my parents ran our local grocery store. My dad says it was from the 60's and was part of a 7-up promotion. When my sister walked into the shop the other day, she instantly was drawn to this Santa and said "Why is he so familiar?" She and another sister came over tonight and dad told us that we indeed did have one of these growing up. Happy memories...




My dad and two of my sisters came over tonight. My dad had brought a batch of homemade caramel corn with him to the shop for our open house last week and we all went ga ga over it. I invited them all over for dinner and asked him if he would show us how to make it. Well, four hours later, we have these three HUGE bowls of homemade caramel corn to show for our labors. I was pouring the caramel over the popcorn on the first batch and bumped my arm into a wooden spoon full of some very HOT caramel. I couldn't drop the pan, so I just stood there going "hot, hot, hot!" My sister grabbed a towel to at least wipe the boiling semi-liquid off. I have a nice little blister on my arm, but it will be just fine. Well worth it! It is sooooo yummy.

Two of my very favorite artists...

Charles Twelvetrees! His work is amazing. My little "Pudgy Polly" girl I use in most of my logo artwork is a Twelvetrees character. His characters scream to me and in my head each of them are a character in a story. I have an entire room in my store that I call "Pudgy's Place"... I like to imagine that Pudgy lives there. This little guy reminds me of a kid who lives on a farm and doesn't have friends close by, but loves music so much that he will do whatever it takes to make music. Isn't he sweet?




Chiara Ann Blythe! Her work is amazing, too. Don't you love the little beard she put on Santa? She's six and a half now and never ceases to amaze me with her talents. I have piles and piles of my kids' artwork. I wish I was better at letting it go so my kids could create all the time. I am always more concerned with the mess they are going to make, so I say no far more often than I say yes when they want to do a project. Maybe that should be one of my resolutions for next year... to let them create and just close my eyes 'til it's over and then clean up the mess. They always make such wonderful things.

The anniversary sale was a success!!!

A huge thank you to everyone who came to support us during our anniversary sale. We had a wonderful few days and I feel so blessed to have such wonderful customers. I didn't get to be there for the whole things, but I need to thank Sarah and Matt {especially for the great hug, Sarah}, Daryl and Colleen {I didn't get to see these two wonderful people, but they came, they shopped and most importantly, they brought me chocolate truffles!!!}, Cindy {sorry I missed you}, Kathy {who stopped and shopped twice!}, Dorothy and her family who I was so very excited to see... there are so many more, but these I can recall off the top of my head.
My daddy was such a huge help and is such a wonderful guy. He's my biggest fan and I am so very blessed that he and I got a second chance as adults to be the wonderful friends that we are today.



I love my daddy so much!!!