Sometimes it is all about the shoes

We had a picnic to go to today and I wore a particular pair of sandals because I thought a vintage partner in crime - Holly - was going to be there. I wanted her to see me wearing them - because these were her Mom's.

 I saw both pairs in her space at the Loyalty Red Barn Tag Sale - yes there were two different pairs - the other ones are white - lucky me!! And of course I had to have both pairs.
Oh anyway... so, I picked my outfit by starting with these fabulous sandals.

I was recently in New York City and just down the street from the job I was working on is the Lexington Saree Palace. Suffice it to say, I did not stop with the tunic above...
I know, my daughter would say "But mom, it's not the same color purple - The sandals have more blue in them and the tunic has more red" - I hear ya honey - but do you see me with my fingers in my ears - "lalallalala I can't HEAR you". Besides - the two were separated by a pair of off white linen pants. So. There.
Of course then I had to accessorize - out comes my new pile of arm candy - some of my latest bracelet designs AKA Bohemian Bling.

L to R: Rhinestone bracelet made with silk Sari yarn, Serene Buddha stretch bracelet is made with amazonite beads, purple quartz toggle bracelet with a few small charms - yes that top charm does say "I love shoes". The Sari yarn bracelet ends with two heavy silver beads and closes by twisting around the opposite braided strand. I am having a blast making all of these and adding styles as I go.

I found the Sari yarn in an antique mall and I could not pass it up - it was just too gorgeous!
The beauty about these bracelets is that you can just keep adding more. 

On my other wrist - L to R: dark pink vintage rhinestone bracelet I found at It's Bazaar, a linen cord and silver nugget bracelet - thrifting in NYC, and the braided curb chain/Sari silk bracelet, Pier One. 

The food and company at the picnic was great - my husband said that the grabber was the invite - Pig Roast and Meatfest - a sure way to get guys to come. Unfortunately Holly couldn't make it - but I wanted her to see - that sometimes it really is all about the shoes!

Sweet!
until later, xo, Liz

All over for another year Lucketts Spring Market Day 2

All buttoned up - fortunate that I only live miles away from Lucketts - we closed up the tent and will pack out tomorrow. After a long weekend - this is a wonderful thing, not having to deal with all the very tired vendors, the  to-ing and fro-ing of trucks, etc...

 Unfortunately, threatening weather, gray and gloomy, kept the crowds down. I will have to say I would have better enjoyed music that was 'sunny' and upbeat today - but the music the band played was more suited to a 10pm quiet bar crowd - or even a spa - I could have fallen asleep getting a massage...
Lucky for me - my friend Joanie brightened the day! She stopped by and we wandered and shopped while Lauren watched the booth.

Some goodies under my tent - my new line of jewelry - Bohemian Bling and the clothing rounder overflowing with fabulous vintage clothing. Sales today consisted entirely of jewelry and vintage clothing.

A sweet side chair and the 'Princess' settee. I created these pieces for 'myself ', then for the Gateway Gallery, then for Lucketts. 

My mannequin family - staying out of the rain today. Berthe on the left, Shirley in the red violet gown, and Bob in front. Elmira is hiding behind Shirley - I didn't realize she was camera shy!

Our favorite plant guys - Steve Ritz is along for the 'fun'... Paul Roomsburg is head plant guy at Valley View Greenhouses. When it's quiet at Lucketts, Steve takes out his guitar and Paul takes out his fiddle and they treat us to some great old time music. Bob comes under guise of helping me - but he really just wants to hang with Paul and Steve.

Suzanne and I got to visit two different times today - in the morning and then at the end of the day. Here we are clowning with my vintage umbrellas. 

 We were both thinking dueling Magritte here...

Touche! 
I always have a great time at this market - and even manage to find some fun goodies. I'll blog about them in the next few days. For now - it's time for my weekend to start! Oh wait - that'll be late Monday afternoon - after we pack out of here...

Glad I can tuck this one under my belt for the year. 
Yes, I am already planning for the next show -  the White Elephant in Purcellville - June 7,8 & 9.
Hope to see you there!
xo, Liz

Lucketts Spring Market Day One

Just a quick post...

These ladies made the end of our day! 

The shoppers seemed lighter than normal this year - perhaps it was the hint of rainy weather to come? The day started with rain - but cleared up enough to get things set out - later than I would have liked - but what's a girl to do??

The rain came in around 2:30/3:00 and pretty much cleared the fields - to be expected, but much to our disappointment - but what's a girl to do? We took some time to better organize the rounder of vintage clothing - as well as try to get some of the pieces priced. 

My pitch for the day had been "The good news is - all of the clothing is clean and here - the bad news is that most of it is un-priced - so you will have to ask". 

The ladies above stuck it out through the rain and came shopping at our booth as we were closing up. I wouldn't have thought of turning them away - we had a great time - they had fun trying on hats and a few pieces of clothing - and even went away with some goodies. Thank you for ending the day on a high note ladies! 

Bittersweet Design Studio at Lucketts Spring Market

It's here again - where did the year go?!

 Getting ready for the show this year held a new twist for me. Instead of redoing tons of furniture

 we were hand washing tons of vintage clothing!

 After we solved the usual ?what piece goes where? the tent went up (I wrote the instructions down this time...) Lots of goodies are now

 all buttoned up inside and await our touch tomorrow.

The Mannequin family came along - that's Bob snuggling Shirley - Berthe and Elmira are just out of the picture to the right - as is Matilda.

 an entire rounder *squee* of vintage clothing - so much - that the lingerie had to move to a T rack!

My fabulous crew - Kristen English, my hubby Bob, Lauren Hunt, Kenny Kopp, and Sydney Francis.

Wanna see me??? The Spring Market runs from 10 - 5 both Saturday and Sunday. I will have my new pile o' arm candy - Bohemian Bling

A fabulous combination of Uptown/Downtown Friendship bracelets, Beaded bracelets, and Vintage bracelets

Just in time for all those arm baring styles of summer - but also my favorite sleeve length - the bracelet length!

Bare it all - but accessorize with Bohemian Bling - Vintage funk with an Uptown flair!

I wished I had gotten help sooner

You know how some blogs have a day where they just post pictures? Well this isn't one of those days, nor is it one of those blogs. This one is all words. As soon as I am done here - I hope to go take a short nap.
I will admit, I have had a few difficult years here lately. Some of the early stress was self-induced from trying to fit my business into a place where it really didn't fit. I worked long, hard hours at it, but then I had to face facts. Fact facing took another 6 months. But boy, when I stopped, the relief was palpable. Whew!

If you read my blog - then you may have read this post:What day is it? That was back in mid July. Since that time, my mother has been diagnosed with Chronic Myelo Monostatic Leukemia - also known as MDS. MDS is a pre-leukemia and can be sent into remission - with some effort. It helps to have some things in your corner - a semblance of physical strength, an awareness of what your body is capable of, as well as other intangibles. My mother has *nothing* to bring to this fight. And yet my cousin and I agree - she is the woman with nine lives. We don't know how she does it. To date, my mom has had chemo 10 times, been transfused 8 times, and been to the hospital 2 times. This I can deal with. There is a plan, there is professional help, there is a treatment. 

What I can't deal with, is having to be her parent. It is like being a parent to an ornery child/teenager. There is constant wrangling - to try and get her to eat better, to exercise, to not go up and down the stairs alone, to keep her help button around her neck, to keep the phone with her when she moves around the house. This is exhausting. She prides herself on being stubborn. Right, sure ... Better traits to emulate: being cooperative, and agreeable, helpful.

Other stresses in Pennsylvania - Jennifer's mom, Mary Lee - has had to move from one assisted living facility (too expensive) to another - which is a very difficult transition for an Alzheimer's patient, and Jennifer's dear niece, Sarah dies suddenly at age 26. We are devastated. 
The day we memorialized Sarah - I called my mom at lunch time, to make sure she had eaten. No, she hadn't. Please at least go get a yogurt. She did. And then she fell. 3 hours later when I went back to her house, where was she? On the step into the family room, crying and calling out - because she couldn't get up to a standing position - and couldn't call for help - because she refuses to wear the help button or carry the phone with her. I am ... speechless.

Meanwhile, at home, my daughter is getting ready to go off to college - and I am not able to spend any. quality. time. with. her. because I am up in Pennsylvania 3 or 4 days out of every week. She IS leaving - do I know what I am going to do without her? No.

Before I know it, it is September. I am not sleeping, I am exhausted, unhappy, blowing up at nothing, crying at the drop of a hat. I need help. I don't want to talk about any of it anymore, because it feels like bile in my throat. I haven't felt this helpless or 'out of it' since my daughter Callie died. This alone is a revelation. I feel fragile. (Go ahead - say it like they say it on "The Christmas Story" - at least it will sound funny!) I need happy pills and sleeping pills because I feel like I am losing it.
Where is my husband in all of this? Staying below the radar, poor guy - at least he makes me happy - but I am sure he wants to just fix this and make. it. go. away.

My daughter has gone off to college. I am surviving this so far. It may be like early grief - perhaps I am just in shock. 
I am now taking a sleeping pill. I am up to the maximum dosage. Now, it is just a waiting game. This pill is supposed to work on both ends of my problem. 
Ergo, with proper sleep comes happiness. 

I hope you have sweet dreams.
Until next time, Liz 

Visiting my other daughter

I was in Rohrersville, MD this morning, putting the third coat of finish on some of the wood floors in a house my husband and I are restoring. On my way back home I needed to stop at Nichols Hardware in Purcellville, VA. The road that I use to get there (Rt. 690) is near where my younger daughter resides.

It is a beautiful setting - this church has been here from the early settlement days of Loudoun County.

Ketoctin Baptist Church 1751

                      The grounds are very well taken care of. 
                                   You can hardly see her. 
            Her marker is small compared to a 'normal' marker.

   She is off to the left of the marker in the middle of the photo.

This is the oldest part of the cemetery.  It lies behind the church and is surrounded by a wonderful stone wall.

So many cemeteries these days are just windswept fields. We were looking in January of 1996 - they were frozen windswept fields then. The blizzard started the day after she was buried.
When we had to bury Callie I wanted some 'borrowed landscape'.  Something to make her plot feel more 'homey?' and less - of what it really was... 
Callie's plot backs up to the stone wall surrounding the old cemetery. The tall stump you see in the background use to be a huge old evergreen populated by all kinds of birds and squirrels. 

Our dog Cali was with me today - she had never been with me to visit Callie. Cali enjoyed the new wide open space and all of the forest animal smells. And NO - I did not name my dog after my dead daughter. This sweet pup came with that name - 3 years ago, and as my dear friend/sister Jennifer said when she saw Cali on the Best Friends website - "I think she is heaven sent". We agreed!

I didn't bring anything with me to leave at her grave today - but soon it will be time to take a pumpkin or two - so all of the forest creatures can enjoy a special treat.

 And you can imagine all of the animals that might run amok out here. Forest, field, and a creek nearby make a wonderful place to live and play.

Cali keeps company with venerable neighbors. All of the old Loudoun County families are buried here - the Love's, Purcell's, Hutcheson's and more. It is a quiet place, a contemplative place. Birdsong and squirrel chatter are about the only noise you hear.
If you'd like to see what else I did today - take a look at my Facebook Page.

Until later - xo, Liz

Cooking for Two

Talk about different eating styles and you're talking about me and my husband. I am always willing to try foods that are new to me and I have a pretty varied palette. I prefer lighter fare for the most part and love salads of all kinds. I also have a 'picky palette'. If it doesn't taste good - ugh, forget it. And believe it or not - even though I have posted more than once here about food - I am not an eater or a 'foodie'. My husband is pretty much a meat and potatoes guy and won't touch green leafy stuff let alone eat it. He will be more than happy to eat pizza for lunch/dinner - days on end. He is not a food adventurer. Until recently he hadn't ever had the 'american' staple - Chinese food!

Since we have been married I have slowly managed to get him to eat all kinds of Mexican food made at home - and at restaurants, and introduced him to Greek food, both at home and festivals. My daughter left for college last Thursday - and so now I am definitely cooking for two. Which poses a problem. Whereas I might want a small piece of chicken and a salad - I still have to cook big and large for Bob.

Time to experiment. I lost track of time today - and so instead of roasting a whole chicken I only had time to defrost 2 thighs. Now what? A little olive oil in the pan, a small thinly sliced onion, a handful of sliced  grapes, an apple cored, sliced and cut into bite sized pieces. Saute this until the onion is clear and soft, add the chicken and lightly brown on both sides. Add 1/2 cup of beer - mine was a Corona - I drank the rest with a slice of lime. After about 20 minutes - add about 1/2 cup of barbeque sauce. Put the lid on it and let it cook. 

The flavors were savory and just a tiny bit sweet - and tangy. The apple chunks softened and the crisp, tart flavor melded with the onion and grapes. We had rice as a side - as well as veggies - I had spinach, and made mixed vegetables for Bob. He loved the chicken! There may be hope yet...

Until later, Liz