BE AFRAID, BE VERY AFRAID...

According to the latest edition of Nightline on ABC we may be in for some real sticker shock at the pump.

Not my usual blogger topic, the price of gasoline, but at just a little over three weeks til a long trip from Florida to Texas and then back, I am really afraid of what the fuel cost will be to my show.

Possibly $4 or more per gallon?

Oh my.

Not good folks. Not good at all.

IT'S OFFICIAL

Four weeks from today we will be on our way to...

TEXAS!

It's official!

You can't know how much we look forward to this experience. The comraderie, the fun, the creative overload... It's why we work so hard for six months to bring the best that we can find to offer to our customers, many of whom have become friends for life.

I'm taking a trip down memory lane past vignettes from our Spring and Fall 2010 booths.

Enjoy.

CALLING ALL CENTRAL FL BLOGGERS

Hey bloggers in the Central Florida area, I had this idea that it would be fun to have a meet and get to know over lunch or dinner. What do you think?

If you are in the Central Florida area and would like to meet other local bloggers please comment here or email me at spri6789@cfl.rr.com.

If the response is good I'll organize a get together over lunch or dinner at a local restaurant and we'll have some fun getting to know each other.

Hope to hear from you!

Hugs,

Shelley

STAR STRUCK

So there I was at Renninger's Antiques Extravaganza today, just about to wrap up a day of foraging for treasure. I wanted to pass by a booth for a second look at a piece I was considering when I saw these fabulous dudes...

EDDIE ROSS AND JAITHAN KOCHAR!



They are in Orlando looking for material for a new flea market makeover column EDDIE is doing called IN WITH THE OLD for SOUTHERN LIVING and who knew Renninger's is one of their favorite flea markets in the South!

They will also be at MARBURGER FARMS for the Spring show!

Let me say they are so genuine and approachable, and were so sweet about the photo opp I snagged! Thanks to the kind shopper who snapped the moment!

Thanks EDDIE AND JAITHAN! You made my day!

ABSENCE

Today is a sad day here in the land of PEA.

We had to say goodbye to our cat Chloe. She was part of our family for almost nineteen years. Yes she was almost nineteen years old.

As a kitten she survived a fall off our third floor apartment balcony unscathed.

The year we had three hurricanes in three weeks, she accidentally got outside and survived Hurricane Charlie.

I keep looking for her on the screened porch where she lived.

I know she's at peace.

She will be missed.

So long old girl...

ON A LIGHTER NOTE...

First and foremost, THANK YOU SO MUCH for your thoughts and prayers for my Mom and for me after my near miss. I have learned a HUGE lesson that will not need repeating. One of the gifts of age I guess...

On to lighter things. I have had my eye on these bookshelves that Mr. Sweet Pea built for me ions ago. I zhush them every once in awhile and twirl the collections they hold into new configurations. I wanted a lighter, more nature~inspired look to them. I've had a collection of fabulous old herbariums for ages now, but how to display them? Framed? I've seen them mounted directly to the wall with pins. What to do?

I thought they would be lovely with my brown transferware and my bird nests and wasp nests.

The before...









The after...





























You like?

WATCHING OVER ME...

Have you ever had something happen to you, or NOT happen to you and you felt like you somehow dodged a bullet? Was it luck? To me, it's only luck if it's something like winning the lotto or finding a ten spot on the sidewalk. If you avoided harm or injury then for me it's a guardian angel watching over you. Here's my story...

Yesterday my Mom was having a cardiac ablation in Tampa, so I went down to go with her. I left home at a little before 7am and drove the hour and 15 minutes to her house in Winter Haven. From there, myself, my sister and brother~in~law and Mom traveled about 45 minutes to Tampa. We arrived at 9:30ish and didn't leave til almost 8pm. Praise God her procedure went well and she is home resting and recuperating today.

So we arrived at her house last night at 8:30 and after giving instructions to my sis~in~law on her care, I left to make the drive home. Have you heard the expression "hitting the wall"? Well I had physically hit the wall. I was sleepy, stiff from sitting in hard chairs all day and hadn't eaten any dinner. I realized quickly that it was gonna be a long drive home, and I really needed to go home as I had things to do today and I didn't want to deal with morning rush hour in Orlando.

I was passing through Lake Alfred, a teeny little town, making my way out to I~4. I know you can't picture it but they have re~configured the streets there and the old way of getting through town is now gone and replaced by a somewhat confusing new grid. I made the first turn and came up to a light where I thought I needed to turn to head out to the highway. I turned and started driving on what I thought was a two lane road staying in the right hand lane. A couple of approaching trucks flashed me. I thought, "okay thanks for the cop ahead warning" and kept going.

I was driving into oncoming traffic on a one way road...

I panicked. I stopped right in the road. What do I do? My head wasn't clear at all.

And then I took the only option that seemed to be available and drove up onto the huge curb and onto the shoulder not knowing if I would drag bottom or would my Expedition even make the jump. I turned around and headed back to find the right route that I needed. I was shaking and exhausted and scared out of my mind.

I made it to the interstate and struggled home. It was the longest hour and a half of my life. Was it luck? No way.

I had a guardian angel. Of that I am positive. When I think of how it could have turned out I am shaken. It wasn't meant to. Have you had an experience like this and if so did you recognize it for what it was?

I learned a lesson from last night. I'm not superwoman. I must accept my limitations and not put myself in harms way. I might have to inconvenience myself a bit to be safe.

To be here.

ROMANTIC PORCHES

What makes a porch romantic? For me it's details like gingerbread trim and columns, window boxes dripping with beautiful flowers, and architectural pieces. It's also a jaw dropping view, be it water or a gorgeous English garden bursting with color. And there are touches like fluffy pillows and candles, or white twinkling lights draped about.

What makes a porch romantic for you?

I'm joining JILL at GYPSY BROCANTE for another meeting of the PORCH CLUB. Have you joined yet? Go HERE to see all the participants and read Jill's post about how she romances her porch.

I'm sharing images from a book I bought ages ago titled PLEASURES OF THE PORCH by Daria Price Bowman & Maureen LaMarca.

Enjoy...

MARBURGER SNEAK PEEKS~PART DEUX

I spent a few hours poking around in the goods that I've been accumulating for the Spring show at MARBURGER FARMS yesterday. Wednesday is 7 weeks til we hit the road for Texas. I need more stuff!

I got this cute dropleaf table in white paint last month at Renningers along with the fabulous metal stool, the awesome little spinning wire rack, a silver plate ice bucket, a wee brush, two transferware plates, an old mirror, a prayer book and hymnal and the killer bridal shoes. And I always buy old silver trays when I find them.

Only a sample of what's headin' to Texas in just a few short weeks!