Weekend Getaway, Part II

Our last stop on the pilgrimage tour was Airlie.  Built in 1790, Airlie was used as a union hospital during the Civil War.  This private residence is now home to a young family.  The mom told us that the room that was once used as the surgical suite is now her young son's bedroom and that he loves to tell his friends that he's counted 15 bloodstains on the wood floor.  She says it's his way of making up for having to wear ballet slippers back when he danced in the Natchez Tableaux.  :)

After the grandeur of the previous two homes, Airlie seemed somewhat of a let down, but we did see the most amazing "fancy chairs" from New York that are the prized possession of the owner.  The chairs still had their original finish intact, but the decorative painting that once adorned the backs was so worn that it was barely visible.  Have any of you ever heard of fancy chairs?  The seats were rush and woven in an unusual pattern.  I googled fancy chairs and here's what I learned........

During the opening decade of the nineteenth century, delicately fashioned and elegantly painted English-style chairs became popular in America. The period name, “Fancy chairs,” referred to their decoratively painted surfaces. Fancy chairs were painted in fancy colors (poppy, green, yellow, cream, white, and black) and were decorated in a specific vocabulary of neoclassical motifs: musical trophies, clusters of shells, scrolling vines, and foliated vines, urns, cornucopia, and eagles, and were painted to simulate bamboo.

Here's a picture of some very well preserved fancy chairs....  Aren't they lovely?

We spent the afternoon in downtown Natchez ducking in and out of antique and thrift shops, ate some awesome wraps at Slick Rick's, and sat on the levee just enjoying the beautiful spring day.  If you're in the market for massive antique mirrors, armoires, and canopied beds, Natchez is the place to shop.....

We also strolled through The Eola Hotel, built in 1927.  What a beautiful place!

I tried to make a reservation here when we were first planning the trip but the hotel was booked weeks in advance of the pilgrimage.... There is a gorgeous courtyard area out front with a huge fountain.  Been googling fountains all afternoon..... ;)

Check out Johnny in this king sized chair in the lobby but please ignore what appears to be a drug deal taking place outside.....  LOL

Here's yet another shot.....

Joining up with http://www.abeachcottage.com/ for Good Life Wednesday... 

What a wonderful weekend!  Hmmmm, where to next?  :)

A Fun Weekend Getaway

It was a perfect weekend....  Johnny and I drove up to Natchez, Mississippi for the spring pilgrimage.  We stayed at a quaint bed and breakfast called Bisland House.  The house was built in 1904 and Christine and Byron were wonderful hosts.  When we arrived on Friday evening, we asked Christine to recommend a good restaurant.  She made reservations for us at Magnolia Grill.  The food was delicious!  We had an onion souffle and crabmeat stuffed mushrooms followed by BBQ shrimp.  Yum!

Gotta attempt to replicate that onion souffle...  We sat on the sunporch that overlooks the mighty Mississippi River and watched a glorious sunset.  Then we took a walk down to the Isle of Capri riverboat and won a little money.

Here's a shot of Bisland House and the two porches that are wonderful places to catch a breeze....  It was an aMaZiNg place to stay and I wish we could have stayed longer.

Breakfast was served promptly at 8:30 a.m. in the dining room.  We dined on fresh fruit, hot homemade biscuits, crispy bacon, a scrumptious sausage and cheese quiche, and banana fritters.  What an awesome way to start the day!  It sure would have been nice to spend more time out here on the second floor porch listening to the birds sing....

There are three rooms available at Bisland House.  We stayed here in Jessi's room.  Do you see the photograph on the mantel?  It's of the three young girls who grew up in this house.  Christine said a thoughtful relative sent them to her when she learned the house had become a B & B.

There were so many special touches.... a vintage flowered plate containing fresh strawberries dipped in chocolate in the room, warm cookies in the dining room, a frig stocked with water and drinks.... 

After breakfast, we headed out to tour some historic homes.  Our first stop was Magnolia Hall.  Magnolia Hall is owned by the Natchez Garden Club and the upstairs area houses a costume museum.  Constructed in 1858, it was the last mansion built in downtown Natchez before the Civil War.  Indoor photography was not allowed in any of the homes.  :(

Ladies dressed in period costume were on hand to greet the visitors and take them through each home. 

Our second stop was Shields Town House, a lovely home built in 1860 and currently a private residence that is open only during pilgrimage.  The tour guides kept referring to antiques purchased by the homeowners during their travels in the seventies and I quickly realized that the owners were quite old.  And low and behold, the gray haired lil lady of the house awaited us in the dining room.  She runs a bed and breakfast in her home and the outlying buildings!  Unbelievable!  The gardens surrounding the home are incredible.  Here is a shot of the beautiful azaleas that grow along the property line.

On the south side of the home, there is a beautifully maintained English garden.  Makes me want to go out and plant me some boxwoods!

Wouldn't that shady place to the far left be an awesome place to have your morning coffee?  And out back is a courtyard centered by a huge cast iron fountain that was custom designed just for this home....

Guess who looked at fountains online today?  :)

Trip to Natchez to be continued tomorrow.........

Happy Monday!

Diggin' in the Dirt

This lady is ONE TIRED PUPPY tonight.......  You see, I've been looking forward to diggin' in the dirt all week long.  It was an extremely stressful week at work and I was SO READY to relax.  I made a trip up to Home Depot and picked up some plants yesterday and this morning I set out to plant them.  My sweet friend Julie stopped by and told me that some of them won't tolerate the sunny location so I altered my plans a bit.  She has worked at a plant nursery for years and really knows her stuff.  Here's the finished look....

That's an apple blossom camellia.  I wanted something that would grow tall and provide flowers that I can view from my kitchen window.  The flowers will be white with touches of pink around the rims.  Now all I have to do is be patient!

Once that was finished, I tackled the bed in the back of my house near my patio.... I hadn't really worked in that bed in a number of years.  It was filled it with perennials that came back from year to year so the most I've done in a very long time is spread fresh mulch.  Well not THIS year.  I dug everything up and turned the soil and mixed in six bags of top soil to raise the bed.  And in the process, earned myself the first sunburn of the season!  Ouch!  I didn't finish getting everything planted and mulched so you will have to wait to see the fruits of that labor....

HAPPY SPRING!!!!!!!!



The Luck o' the Irish

Did I catch your attention with that post title?  :)

Well, that's good cause I'm not even the least bit Irish.....  LOL.....  But I am a wee bit lucky cause I've been nominated for the Stylish Blogger Award by my new friend Lisa over at Buttercup Bliss.  Thanks, Lisa! 

I recently stumbled upon Lisa's blog and just fell in love with her decorating style.  By all means, hop on over and pay Lisa a visit.

Here's how it works:

1. Thank the person whom awarded you and link back to them in your post.

2. Tell 7 random facts about yourself.

3. Pass the award on to 7 "new" found bloggers.

4. Contact each blogger and let them know you want to pass the award on to them;

Nominees, let the giver of the award know you accept the nomination.


Well, here goes.......

1.  I love to work in my flowerbeds and couldn't survive without a nice patio area.  It feels just so gosh darn wonderful to have the sun on my face and hear the birds singing in the trees.  I do a lot of blogging on my laptop sitting out on that patio.

2.  My favorite store in the whole wide world is Ann Taylor Loft. The sales are fantastic and teachers get a 15% discount all the time! 

3.  I have an amazing man in my life and we so enjoy spending time together.  We share many of the same interests and just have fun hanging out on the weekends.  He's helped me with lots of home improvement projects and actually says he enjoys doing them!  How awesome is that?

4.  I've worked for a school system in one capacity or another since 1978.  I've been a classroom teacher, a science facilitator, and now serve as a reading/SBLC facilitator.  If you're wondering what that entails, it means lots and lots of interaction with parents whose children aren't achieving in school for various reasons.  Often exhausting but never dull!

5.  I love french manis and pedis!

6.  I have three amazing children who are just striking out on their own, two sons and a daughter.....as well as a wonderful DIL and two sweet twin grandgirls.  My baby girl is a sophomore in college and was recently accepted for a semester of study in the fall at the College of Charleston in South Carolina!

7.  I can easily give up sweets when dieting, but bread is an entirely different matter!  Italian bread is my favorite.

Enough about me............  DRUM ROLL, PLEASE................

Here are my favorite bloggers whose posts I never ever skip over.....

1.  The Self Confessed Lamp Tramp over at Lamp Tramp is one gutsy lady who's survived a devastating hurricane that ruined her beautiful home. 

2.  Diana at Nana Diana Takes A Break shares the sweetest and funniest stories about her grandchildren!


3.  Kristen at Kristen's Creations designs the prettiest picture frames I've ever seen.  She has beautiful things in her etsy shop.

4.  Lori over at My Heart With Pleasure Fills is an awesome floral designer who always takes time to make sweet comments on my blog posts.

5.  I've recently started following Lana at Lana Austin: Motif.  She's a new friend who just moved with her entire family to ITALY for a year!  How exciting is that!!!

6.  Melanie at The Frosted Gardner takes garage sale furniture and paints and distresses it with amazingly wonderful taste.....

7.  Sweet Judy at Gracious Southern Living always has something exciting going on!!!


Ladies, each and every one of you enrich my life with your creativity and spunk!

Happy St. Paddy's Day!!!!

Spring into Spring

I'm joining up with Judy for Spring into Spring and Kim for Wow Us Wednesday to share the Easter wreath I made for my mom's door at the assisted living facility.  She is so appreciative of my efforts and I like to think it brightens her day every time she comes and goes.  I found some awesome burlap garland at Michael's and just couldn't wait to play around with it.  It was a rainy, dreary day and I didn't finish up in time to snap a pic before darkness fell so the quality isn't very good but I couldn't wait to share.

I'm already thinking of all sorts of uses for that burlap garland, aren't you?

Here's a close-up view......

Looks like the beginnings of the blue hour outside, doesn't it?

Thanks for visiting!

Sunday Afternoon Antiquing

Sunday was a really really fun day.  I went antiquing with my sister-in-law.  She's a great friend and our friendship survived the divorce and for that I'm so grateful.  We share a love for antiques and vintage items and both picked up some neat stuff.  I meant to bring my camera along but

                        forgot it at home so I can't show you what she bought.... :(

I didn't spend a lot of money, but I found some sweet little treasures that I can't wait to share!  I spent

a little time researching them on the internet last night but didn't have much luck.....

I know, I should turn off the flash but I don't know how on this new camera! 

It's too complicated for me, I do believe.  I found the gold corbel at a garage sale last spring and never did anything with it.  Am thinking of hanging the plates above it....  They are Queen Anne by Stetson with 22 karat gold trim on them.  I found a Queen Anne pattern on Replacements.com but it doesn't have the center design.  You can't appreciate the intricate design without a close-up shot....

Is the woman a sheep herder?  Did women even do that way back when? 

Little Bo Peep did, didn't she?  I just love the sweet details.  I don't think she's too

interested in her suitor, do you?  Here's the other one...

This lady looks like she's got a bad of PMS going on.  LOL

I just love my new plates and can't wait to hang them....

Can you pick out my next little treasure below?

If you guessed the picture on the wall, you're an observant soul.  It's new but it came from my mom's house and the print is called "First Blow for Liberty"  In Memory of the Patriots of 1776. 

No, my second little purchase was that cute little book.  Let's take a closer look....

Isn't that just adorable?  It's called Reg'lar Fellers and it was copyrighted in 1933.  It reminds me of a comic book but in book format.  Definitely got to read it to get the scoop on those reg'lar fellers.....Anyone know anything about such books?  Here's a closeup but you must

pRoMiSe to ignore the dust.....

I will have to do some research....  Was this the precursor to comic strips

or did the comic strips come first? 

Here's my last little treasure.  I did do my homework for this one....

This danged camera picks up dust that isn't visible to the naked one!  Check out the Spartan Brand Aspirin tin.  Can you imagine purchasing 24 aspirin for 15 cents?  The lady sold it to me for a dollar cause it wasn't priced.  When I got home and googled it, I found lots of them for sale on ebay

for ten bucks a piece.  The tin dates back to 1910.  A real steal

for something a hundred years old, don't you think? 

Hope you enjoyed seeing my new treasures!

HAPPY MARDI GRAS!

Sandwich Glass

Thanks to all of you for the input about the green glassware but most especially Phyllis with Tea Party Every Day who called it sandwich glass.....  Thank you, my friend.....  I had googled and searched prior to my post but kept pulling up the lighter green depression glass, but when I googled sandwich glass, I found what I was looking for.  This pretty glassware was produced in or near Sandwich, Massachusetts, thus the name sandwich glass.

It turns out that my sandwich glass was produced by Anchor Hocking.  Here's a little tidbit about it....

Anchor Hocking produced their version of Sandwich from 1939 to 1964. Many will be familiar with this pattern as they were used as promotional items at grocery stores and gas stations. Five of the items, in Forest Green, were included free inside boxes of Crystal Wedding brand oats. While these five pieces are abundant, the remaining pieces in Forest Green are much harder to find and are highly sought after by collectors. Punch bowls, usually in milk glass, were fairly common promo items at gas stations in the late 1950s and early 1960s.


So while I have the sought after forest green glass, my pieces were the common ones found inside boxes of Crystal Wedding brand oatmeal.  I have shallow bowls, small juice glasses, larger glasses, deep bowls, and saucers, so there's your five promotional items.  My momma sure loved to cook that oatmeal!  She had a degree in home economics education but only worked for one semester before my dad proposed, and after that she was a stay at home mom to the five of us.  If you don't count her many terms as PTO president, that is....  She always cooked a full breakfast for us on school days, eggs and bacon, oatmeal, or cream of wheat. 

Here's a pic of Anchor Hocking sandwich glass I found online....

And here's mine in forest green......

I just love the texture that those little raised dots give the glass......

I'm off work til Wednesday for the Mardi Gras holiday and headed out in a bit to meet my sis-in-law to go antiquing in Denham Springs......  There is an entire block of neat antique shops there and she's got her eye on something she saw there......  When there are antique shops, who needs parades????? 

Have a great Sunday!

Vintage Glassware

St. Paddy's Day is one of my favorite holidays.  The green oatmeal dishes from my mom's house are the perfect complement to my St. Paddy's Day mugs and placemats.  I call them "oatmeal" dishes because back in the 50's and 60's they came free in boxes of oatmeal.  A pretty novel concept, don't you think?  It's no wonder I ate so much oatmeal back in the old days.....  tee hee....

Here's a close-up of that gorgeous orchid I picked up at Lowe's a few weeks ago.  Another blossom

has opened since I took this shot.  Doesn't it make a lovely centerpiece?  It's quite the contrast to the bleak winter landscape outside that window, isn't it?  Those flower beds are about to receive 

a total and complete overhaul so stay tuned......

Here's a shot of some of those beautiful green oatmeal dishes....  Don't they look

right at home in that vintage cheese box?

The placemats came from Kohl's and were a steal at 40% off.  The adorable mugs with a sweet shamrock inside each rim were picked up at Ross' several weeks ago.  There were only two of them but I snapped them right up.... Can't have orphan mugs now, can we???  :(

The best thing about St. Paddy's Day is how it signals that SPRING is NEAR!!!!

Here's a peek at that sweet shamrock inside the rim of the mug.......

HAPPY ST. PADDY'S DAY!!!!!

Thank you, Susan, for hosting such awesome parties at Between Naps on the Porch....  Hop on over and pay Susan a visit, dahlin......