For White Wednesday...and a mother's moment

I  will get to the photo of a few of the pieces I am working on a little bit later in this post, but if you will let me, I need to take a mother's moment...I hope you can identify with me in this, whether your little ones are learning to take their first steps on their own, or they are grown with children of their own...I think we as mothers always fight the battle of holding our treasures close verses letting them go...letting them spread their wings...
Well, my younger son, my second born, is heading off to Europe with a friend for two months on Friday...

....notice the long pause...         I am (I truly am) so happy for him to have the time, and the means (he saved every penny in order to make this happen) to go on this trip...a once in a lifetime experience...and, after all, I took this same journey when I was his age.   I am equally as sure that my own mother had the same feelings that I am experiencing right at this moment...I would be lying if I said that I did not fear for him...(for who will watch out for him, when I can not?)  But, I can honestly say that I do know the answer for that, and I am trusting in my good heavenly Father, who knows the number of hairs upon my son's dear head, & the entire span of his days, and loves him more than I could ever, possibly, ever....!!

So I am having one of several mother moments, as I help him prepare for the trip...packing, checking off things on his and my many lists, making sure we have ways to stay in touch, praying, and sending him off with JOY, love, tears, and a camera to catch every exciting moment!  

And since I said in an earlier post that I would share a photo of some things I am preparing for the upcoming show...a very quick shot of my screen/headboard with my favourite new chippy chair! 

its Monday and...

I am so happy...(okay, I am happy & excited,& running around a bit like a crazy busy person)...this Saturday, October 2nd!  is the Remnants of the Past Vintage show.  I know many of you, if you are fortunate enough to live within a few hour! drive, mark your calendars twice a year and make the drive to Nipomo, and the beautiful, rustic Dana Powers property...


For those of you looking to come up and join us, I am including  a link to Judy Watkins' (hostess, visionary, creator, dream maker, all around very talented lady, and my good friend) website here...Remnants of the Past
You can wander around her site, check out all the wonderful dealers coming to the show...and they are really, really wonderful!....get directions...and follow Judy's blog...(by the way, Judy is the talented woman who first got me interested in this whole blogging thing...

I am including a few photos from Judy's blog of some of the dealers coming to the show...so many tempting, beautiful lovelies!!!

here is a view inside the barn....so many things...never enough time!

3 fine grains....I adore this chair!

Indulge...need I say more?

I love this little collection...everywhere you look...something yet more wonderful

I love these shaving brushes from the Junk Girls

see that sweet little settee?  that one came home with me!

 I will try to post a few photos of some of the goodies I am bringing later this week...In the meantime...I am heading outside to finish a fabric screen (or will it be a headboard? or a memories board....)
thanks as always for following along!
kate

a white Wednesday...

Isn't the wandering world of blogging amazing!  I just discovered  Faded Charm 

from reading a site I discovered a bit ago...A secret garden cottage
...and  I discovered white Wednesdays...!
...and through White Wednesdays, even more amazing sites...I am feeling a little bit like Alice in Wonderland!

I am SO new at this...and I am having such fun navigating through everyone's amazing sites...thank you all for being so creative, so talented and truly inspiring...

There is something in the air...

Can you feel it?  There is just "something" about the changing of the seasons...even here in Coastal Santa Barbara...the light in the garden starts to change subtly...getting somehow softer around the edges...and there is just a touch of crispness to the air...I can smell the sea salt coming off the ocean...it is as if all my senses attune to the differences...I want to be outside "in it" somehow...just to walk along the beach,  water my fading roses, or watch the robins and rabbits going about their daily chores...I have a list of errands I "MUST" run today, but then I am heading to the farmers market, and after that, outside to work on a few projects...I can not wait!

Taking a deep breath and off I go!

I know it is a cliche but TGIF!

Thank goodness, it is Friday! Once summer is done, and the fall is here, I start a whirlwind of preparations for upcoming shows and events...that means the casual days of summer flea market and estate sales are indeed past, and the scurrying to fill in the gaps between my imagined look for the upcoming shows & REALITY is ON!!!!
First comes Remnants of the Past...for those of you who do not know this show, it is such a beautiful venue, an old barn in the middle of orchards and a picture perfect backdrop of California foothills...

50 dealers from California and Washington and distant parts gather together for an amazing vintage show that is a little bit "Round Top", a little bit Country Living, and SO MUCH MORE! I really feel that I must bring my "A" game to this show...everyone is so creative! WOW!

Anyway...my vision for this show is slowly coming together, but I always try to add something new, to push the envelope a bit, to find that special something that someone out there will think is special too! ...something that takes an everyday item and reshapes it to something fresh and new...I have a few pieces that I am working on right now...and they are a bit challenging...we will see!

Then on top of the work...(well it is fun work!) I have been reinventing my website and blog...hope you are still with me...

and then, finally, today I was hit by a hacker in my Paypal account...YIKES!!! I am usually a calm person, but I think my blood pressure spiked! After hyperventilating, changing passwords, and venting (just a bit and only to my older son (a very sympathetic listener by the way), so that no one's feelings would get hurt!) I think things have settled down, but TGIF!!!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
Kate

Summer is gone and....

Have you ever had days that felt frantic, frenetic and overdone? I feel like the summer was a series of days just like that...I had all the hope in the world that I would be reveling in blissful days of sunshine; evenings on our back patio, grilling something delectable; bright, beachy days surfing with my husband and sons, and fruitful days of work and accomplishments...

Well...some of those wishes did, in fact, come true...but first of all, where WERE those warm sunny days of summer? My vegetable gardens moped and struggled along in our cloudy days...and sitting outside for an evening under the stars? too cool to try it very often I am afraid...(though it was fun to bundle up, get a fire going outside and talk into the night with a good glass of wine, and s'mores for dessert!) And surfing...hmmm...my husband got all of us out surfing all last year, learning how to stand up, catch the rollers, and hang on...and we were truly looking forward to a summer of "hangin ten", only to find that the waves were pretty much non existent here in Santa Barbara...our Pacific Ocean looked much more like a lake this year...
So, we worked on projects all summer long... a new roof here, new stairs there...trimming here, there, and everywhere...and though we accomplished SO MUCH, it started to feel like a marathon, (and one I had not trained for!) My husband is amazing...he stayed with it, ticking things off the list, day by day...and I did my best to keep running along...but, frantic, frenetic and overdone...that is how I felt by the end of August...
And now September is here! I am happily preparing for my upcoming shows...Remnants of the Past, October 2nd...and the CALM show in Mid October...here are a few finds I will be bringing along...I can not wait! Be sure to join me...check out the Remnants show (www.remnantsofthepast.com) It is a wonderful show...great dealers, and a purely magical day... I hope to see you all there!