PresentPast Collection

Ladies Who Lunch

The month of May in our family is like 31 days of parties and celebrations. Sweet Girls birthday fell on Mothers Day this year which made the day special for both of us. She also had prom and SAT testing on the same day this month. Next we have my sisters birthday and my nieces birthday along with a belated birthday for my nephew. So I suppose you can guess what I've been doing lately, gift wrapping and going to the bank. A lot.

To treat my Mom and Sis to an extra special lunch date I took them to the St. Regis Monarch Bay Resort for a delicious lunch on the patio. The views are spectacular to say the least!

The weather was gorgeous with a cool ocean breeze and the smell of salt water in the air. It was like taking a mini vacation in the middle of a hectic month.

It was so hard deciding on what to have for lunch because everything on the menu sounded so delish. My mom decided to try the Lobster Club Sandwich. Yum!

And for dessert my sister ordered their signature St. Regis Warm Chocolate Cake complete with edible gold leaf logo.

Pretty fun day if I do say so myself. The only thing we thought might make it better was to book an appointment at Spa Gaucin. Perhaps next time, today we had to get back home to pick up kids from school. Ahhh, reality.

Mothers Day Blessings

Sending Mothers Day Blessings...

To Those Who Are Mothers
To Those Who Long To Be Mothers
To Those Who Have Lost a Mother

Sharing in this day with you and celebrating the bond we call Motherhood.
Heartfelt Wishes, Heather

Creative Touches for Mothers Day

With that special day right around the corner I thought I'd share a few creative ideas to make your gift unique. It's fun to think outside the box in terms of your gift giving and here I put together a gift inside a box. I used a small antique wooden box found at the flea market and tied a hand crocheted ribbon around it then secured a vintage pin and old millinery flower.

Tucked inside are small treasures like an antique cup and saucer, an old prize ribbon and a small rhinestone crown. These are all things that are on my hunt list when I'm out shopping the antique stores and flea markets. It would also be great to add a gift certificate to a tea room or The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.

Nestle in a petite bouquet of home grown roses. These are my personal favorite Abraham Darby. You can keep the flowers fresh by using a small vase or flower vial available at craft stores. The netting under the flowers is actually an old Barbie doll skirt.

I know a few moms who would love to receive such a thoughtful gift. To add a whimsical touch use an antique cabinet card instead of a new store bought one. It will be completely unexpected and she can frame it later or tuck it inside a mirror frame.

Here's a few other ideas to spark your imagination.

• Fill a vintage locker basket with sea shells, a classic book like this one or a beautiful one like this and a gift certificate to a restaurant with a gorgeous ocean view. You could use an old photograph of some bathing beauties as a card.
• For the mom that loves to read, fill a basket or crate with shredded old book pages. Just use your home shredder to create long streams or you can cut them with decorative scissors. It might be good to make sure the books aren't highly valuable before starting this. Add in a few of her favorite reads or some new ones she might not have thought about. And a gift card to enjoy some coffee.
• Use a vintage hat box to fill with scrumptious beauty products and nestle in a vintage compact or hand mirror or even some beautiful perfume bottles to dress up her vanity. You could also tuck in a gift certificate for a mani-pedi.

I hope that some of these ideas will encourage you to find ways to add a few special touches that show how much you care. With our busy schedules I know how convenient it is to just give a gift card or send flowers but every now and then creating something by hand with thought and love can be more precious than the gift. Appreciation can't be bought, another lesson learned as I get older.

Preparing for Easter

I'm still in my nesting mode and have been Spring cleaning and preparing for Sunday. I started to put together Sweet Girl's Easter basket and thought you'd like a peek. She's not a regular reader of my blog so I think I'm safe in showing you.

There's a mix of vintage and new items which makes it so perfect for her. She has a large collection of vintage costume jewelry that she wears regularly and I know she will cherish the tiara. Every year she gets a new swim suit in her basket, it's nestled down in there somewhere along with a pretty summer blouse and other goodies.

Here's a couple photos from around the house. Little bits of Spring here and there.

We'll be having brunch at out house after Sunrise Service and on the menu this year is:

• Lobster Scrambled Eggs
  Spiral Baked Ham
  Potatos Au Gratin
  Belgian Waffles
  Strawberries & Whipped Cream
  Deviled Eggs
  Fresh Citrus Salad
  Lemon Tarts
  Angel Lush Cake
  Coconut Raspberry Cookies

Doesn't that sound delicious? We'll be dining al fresco on the patio and I'll be sure to take some photos of the celebration. I would love to hear what's on your menu or what Easter traditions you share with your family. Wishing you all a very Happy Easter!

Weekend Social at the Barn

Did the gigantic cupcakes grab your attention? They sure made a big impression at the barn this weekend. Two lovely ladies all the way from Lake Havasu, Arizona brought them from their favorite bakery.

From the left we have one of our new dealers, Joy from The Vintage Rabbit, next is Anita, myself and Tammy who are friends with Joy and my sister-in-law and own a shop in Lake Havasu called Bella. Be sure to visit their blog The Pink Funny Farm and if you're in the area I would definitely make a trip to their shop. Just check out how stylish these girls were!

Isn't Tammy's belt buckle amazing!! She made it herself and I believe she will take special orders if you'd like one for yourself.

Here's our refreshment offerings, not quite cupcakes but still enough sugar and caffeine to get you through your power shopping. This of one of our younger customers enjoying her donut hole. Yes, we start them young here. Isn't she adorable? I just love her pink cheeks and colorful outfit, especially those tights!

This is one of the things I bought. Now I just have to decide where I'm going to put it so I can look at it everyday! And my friend Linda bought this one....

My friend and fellow dealer Sherrie made some great restyled vintage jewelry pieces and had some gorgeous garden displays.

Here's the most darling Italian girl you'll ever meet, Rita. She is our "head cashier" and also makes beautiful soldered china key chains and charms, builds the cutest vintage style locker cabinets and ceiling tile mirrors and says things I don't understand but wish I could. Adore this gal!

I got to meet so many great women this weekend and lots of family and friends stopped by to visit. Here is my sister-in-law, Kay. She has been an interior designer for years and just started her new blog. She has lots of plans in store for her blog and I know you will enjoy getting to know her and seeing what creative touches she brings to everything she does.

I also wanted to thank Jackie from The Art In You and her sweet friend Jane for being a part of our fun weekend and so many of the other bloggers who came by to say Hello. Even with the rainy weather, friends and shoppers came by to brighten our day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

It's been such a busy week around here but I can't let the Day of Love pass by without wishing all of you a very Happy Valentine's Day! I know how hard all of you work to make this day special for your loved ones and hope that in return it fills you with lots of love and happiness.

Thought I'd share with you what happened in my garden overnight. The temperatures have been in the high 70's and my trees are very grateful for the sunshine.

For those of you still covered in snow these are for you! Spring will be here soon.

On another note, I'm still waiting for 3 Calendar prize winners to contact me with their names and addresses so I can send them their gift. Hopefully their responses didn't get lost in my spam box. Please refer to this post to see if it was you, the winners I'm still waiting on are Amy, Laurie and The Farmer's Wife.

Fun with Sweet Girl

Sweet Girl and I have been having some fun with the camera lately. She's very interested in photography and is entertaining the idea of studying it in college (along with becoming a chef and owning a cafe near the ocean). She's a very artistic and creative young lady. We took some shots so she could learn about lighting and editing photos and she made the perfect subject!

There were so many favorites, I loved all the jumping shots. I think her hair looks so cool in them and I like the way her jewelry is scattered from the motion.

I've heard that teens are a tough subject group to photograph, perhaps this one was made easy since she's my teen and I know her personality so well. I love having a shared interest in photography with her. Not only will it capture so many special moments but I can't wait to see how she blossoms with her craft.

I'm still busy working on photographing and updating the website. Also, there are plans already in the works to redo the site with a fresh new look for 2008. I hope to have that finished by February. In the meantime, lots of money was spent at the LA Gift Show and I'm excited to be adding new product categories and gifties. There should be some items available this week including a restocking of the ever popular Copper Nests. Thanks so much for your patience, you gals are the greatest!

Come Away With Me

I think I've shared with you before that our home backs up to a protected canyon. It provides us with many hiking paths, streams and creeks, mountain bike trails and plenty of gorgeous picnic spots. In the photo above you can see part of the golf course and surrounding homes.

On Saturday my sister and I decided to take all the cousins and a few of their friends on a picnic hike. With our backpacks filled with goodies and water bottles in hand we started the hour long hike. The kids practically ran to the top, where do they get the energy?

This is my pink cheeked nephew on his Rock-a-Lounger. This little guy preferred to climb up the side of the mountain instead of using the trails. He's our little Dare Devil.

The hike back down was less frantic, maybe it was the tough climb or the lunch but they seemed a little more mellow on the decent even with the promise of ice cream. Happy Trails!

Mistletoe Kisses

Just wanted to pop in and say Thank You so much for all the well wishes and Christmas greetings! I've been feeling much better and for a little outing we all went up to the mountains for the day. We stopped for lunch, played in the snow, did some window shopping and picked mistletoe to bring home to our family and friends.

We washed and pruned them into petite bundles then tied each of them with a miniature ornament that looks like a mistletoe berry. It conjures up such nostalgic memories of old Christmas songs and watching loved ones smooching under it's spell. I hope that by passing these out it will spread some Christmas Love!

Warm Wishes

This week has been somewhat hectic with an unexpected outpatient surgery I had to have on Monday afternoon. I've been spending the last few days recovering and trying to slow down. Something my family is always telling me to do. Perhaps I've been burning the candle at both ends as they say and my body finally said, No More! Take it easy!

Now that I'm feeling a little better I'm trying to finish up all the last minute details for our Christmas plans and just focus on what's really important. I want to wish each and everyone of you very heartfelt Warm Christmas Wishes. I hope that this holiday season greets you with the love of your friends and family and that you cherish each minute. Thank you all for the blessings you give me with your kind comments, shared stories and friendship. It truly is such a gift and I'm so fortunate to receive it almost daily. May you all have a very Merry Christmas!