To Be A Business Owner or Not To Be

I have had a roller coaster ride this weekend. It all began last week when my son called to say that he had found us a building...a building? For what, you ask? A BUILDING TO OPEN OUR VERY OWN STORE!! Now, this has been a dream of mine for so many years. I finally just quit counting! When he shared the news...I began envisioning immediately.
Pluses: We have location, several very big rooms, a work area, great rent and super potential! I'm going to show you a peek...REMEMBER!! This is the BEFORE picture!! Catch the vision!


So, it needs a little polish... (in addition to the removal of the sinks and coke machines.

It's located on Highway 49...a few miles from the Florence redlight (junction of hwy. 49 and 469). It's between Magnolia Flea Market and Donna's Produce #6...I didn't say anything about luxurious...but can't you see shutters, repainted doors....mums in large planters on either side of the door and rockers on the front porch? (Look closer, they are all there.)
At this point, the real drama began....we had intended on spending Saturday night at an auction...and we went ahead with our plans...HOWEVER, there was a monkey wrench tightening around our necks. The present tenant wanted us to "buy him out"... as in, give him real money for everything in the store....Uh, oh....how can I hit the hubster with this news?

I did what any self-respecting potential store owner would do...I bought something at the auction. It took my mind off the present problem. This is my distraction...an old pantry thingy. And the pic above is the picture BEFORE I tore into it. Below is the AFTER! I still need to fix the inside shelves and spray two inside panels with black chalkboard paint...won't this be cute in my "dream shop"?

Back to the problem at hand...to keep myself occupied further, I made this pumpkin.

Negotiations began...back and forth...end result? We are now business owners. NOW, the problem is this...my vision will have to wait until we liquidate the present stock. We are shooting for the second week in November for the vision to be realized. Until then, we will be getting rid of what we don't need like old lavatories. If I sound slightly "daft" it's because I can't make up my mind...am I completely out of my mind or are am I about the realize a 40 year dream?

BTW: the name of the store is "Dwellings..." Our "slogan" is Re-imagine, Re-purpose, Re-fined. More later...

May all your visions become reality,

"Falling In Love With Fall"

Woke to cool temperatures this morning and the hubster
made the first fireplace fire of the season.

Made some hazelnut coffee, read the paper....

I even took a nap this afternoon and ate Applebee's on the back porch. What a Saturday! (Sometimes you just need a real day off!)

However....I did do a little tablescaping somewhere in between coffee and the nap!

Tired of old, ready for something different. I removed everything...

I added a rust pashmina, black lantern and fall wreath. Woven chargers are ready to accept new china. What china, what china? (Don't tell anyone, but I'm a china-holic.)

My first attempt included McCarty nutmeg plates and square orange salad plates. Peter's pottery mugs and Del Mar Oneida silver looked ok, but it lacked something.

Off went the orange and in came Good Earth's Sparrow salad plates. The colors are beautiful but still weren't what I envisioned for this scape. Back to the drawing board...er, china hutch.

(Look at the up close and personal detail of Sparrow! Gorgeous!)
Opened the doors wide and pulled out these green, gold and rusty red dinner plates from Belk. Ok, now we are getting somewhere. Amber goblets added autumn color without being too distracting. Still not quite right...

What else is in the cabinet? Well, of course! How did I forget these?

I added vintage Royal China's Fairoaks over the solid plates. I think I love it!


I love trying different tablescapes for the changing seasons! I've had people ask me, "How do you have time to do all that?" The answer is quite simple....I put off other things...like dusting and cooking. HAHA!
Don't ever come to see me and write "Dust me" on my glass coffee table!!


I am linking to Decor to Adore's & The Table Scapers party this week.

Hoping your fall days are cool and filled with color,

* I Have A Duck's Foot, So Do You

I don't know how many of you have ever had the "pleasure" of being instructed to go to physical therapy, but if you haven't, may I say that it's a lot like I would envision joining the Army...or maybe the Marines.

Upon arriving at the facility, there was much to see and the first appointment didn't go too badly. I was evaluated and given a few exercises to do at home. I took my sheet of "tortuousness" exercises and went merrily on my way.

The real "you know what" began as I arrived for the second session. We had a fire drill at school that day and I hadn't been cool since. So upon arriving, I asked to change into my exercise appropriate clothes...my Bon Worth matching capris and top. I thought I'd brought a little bottle of spray perfume because I felt I might be a little "musty" after the fire drill. I couldn't find the perfume...so I just pulled on the clothes and dashed to the appointment. If they can stand football players surely they can stand me.

They called my name loud enough for all of the state to hear and I ambled to the "room" purse in hand and dread in my heart. My PT was immediately cordial and assigned me to a machine. He told me to sit and then he lifted a lever and pushed me close enough to put my feet in the pedals. He said to pedal the machine...."For how long?" I inquired. "Ten minutes," he countered. I laughed, "No really, how long??"
"I'll be back," he said, "get to pedaling." I gathered by the tenor of his voice that he meant business. I haven't pedaled anything except my car in 15 years.

I saw the name of the machine...the Recumbent Cross Trainer. Uh, oh...I began pedaling. The speed said 49 steps per minute. That's not exactly a world class pace, but I was feeling pretty smug...then I spied a little old man. He was watching me struggle with the handle bars and the pedals and I sat a little straighter...I'm not going to let some old person laugh at my 49 steps per minute. I sped up...58...he smiled...finally somewhere between 9 1/2 minutes and 10, I hit 71. "Take that," I thought. Really!!!

The PT came to get me (that's Physical Therapist for all you healthy people) and I could hardly walk. My legs felt similar to jello on a hot day. I had to be helped out of the Recumbent Cross Trainer. How embarrassing. Now we went toward a leather benchlike bedlike thing. Pillows were at the end and they had just sprayed the leather with cleaner and wiped it down. But somebody missed a spot and I felt the spray stuff through my clothes as I sat down. "Lie back and put this ball between your knees." Oh, no...first, this is going to mess up my hair and second, I had to squeeze the ball and then lift my hips...I'm not particularly coordinated so this looked a lot like someone doing the "snake" only in reverse. "How many times?" I inquired...dreading the answer. "Thirty". He walked away. Now I have to admit that I fudged a little here...I stopped somewhere between 15 and 30. I believe it might have been 15. More assorted tortures were performed by a weak kneed older woman in the mirror...oh, no! That's me!

Then I was led to another section of the unit..."Oh, thank goodness!" I thought, "there are other women here and I can whine and complain with them"....HaHa. It was the "wall of shame" for me. Every woman there was between 17 and 20. They were all basketball players and were in tip top shape. They laid back on the bedthing, faced the wall and walked up the wall with their feet. I knew I was in trouble. "Hello," I offered to one, "what are you "in" for?" "Torn ACL"...she countered. "We all have basketball injuries." "What's wrong with you?" she asked. "Bad knees," I said with a very serious face. They had 6 and 7 inch scars where they had been surgically repaired. I had nothing to show except a sweaty brow and a limp. I felt pretty low.

Then the PT and his assistant came over to do an ultrasound treatment on my knee. I heard him tell the assistant, "Inflamed duck's foot". Now just a minute, just because I have on my Princess Reeboks doesn't mean you have to make fun of the way I walk. Beside that I really try not to limp noticeably. "Excuse me, did you mention my feet? I am here for therapy on my knee. Have I been doing the incorrect exercises?" I was pretty steamed with all that ball between the knees stuff and my hair standing straight up in the back and all. "No, the area that is causing you so much trouble is called the "duck's foot". It's inflamed," the nice man said. Well, that's better. I settled down.

After ultrasound and icing my leg. I was on my way. It wasn't too bad and beside that I only have 7 more sessions. I will fill you in on those as they occur. However, for some reason as I walked to the car, I had a strange desire to waddle and quack.

May your duck's foot never be inflamed,

Bloom Where You Are Planted

"To succeed-do the best you can,
where you are,
with what you have."

"Always do your best. What you plant now,
you will harvest later".
Og Mandino

"It's not true that nice guys finish last.
Nice guys are winners before the game even starts."

"A child educated only at school is an uneducated child."
George Santayana

"A genuine sense of humor is the pole that adds balance to our steps
as we walk the tightrope of life."

"Failure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently."
Henry Ford

"Be kind; everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."
John Watson

"Every job is a portrait of the person who did it."

"We learn as much from sorrow as from joy,
as much from illness as from health,
from handicap as from advantage-
and indeed perhaps more."
Pearl S. Buck

Laughter is the shock absorber that eases the blows of life,

Annie Sloan Mimic

I found this great old farm chair at the Magnolia Flea market in Florence, MS!

(BTW: news flash! the market has begun staying open 7 days a week...

10 until 5 except Sun 1 until 5!!)
This pathetic thing had been stripped everywhere except the edges of the bottom...about a million colors were under there! I really wanted to try Annie Sloan paint, but with no stores open, I decided to do my best to mimic the look. (I know most of you have now fainted..)First I gave it a wash of white acrylic paint. Then I mixed some white and Hippo Grey and painted over the wash. Now is where I went a little crazy. I waxed the whole chair with neutral Kiwi shoe polish. I rubbed it in well and then re-waxed with Kiwi brown.

My original idea was to put mums in it so it could be left outdoors.

(Shhhh! It's a birthday present for my co-worker!)

But, of course, I just can't leave well enough alone...

got to keep pushing the envelope...what does that saying really mean anyway?

I Mod Podged some butterflies on and added gold polka dots!

(Well, she loves butterflies...what else could I do?)


When I finished it, it was dark as pitch outside, so I had to make pictures indoors...not very good ones, I might add. But the chair has had a new lease on life and with the mums sitting in it, I hope Susan will like it...if she doesn't, I'll gladly keep it!! LOL

I am joining Metamorphosis Monday this week.

My Apologies to Annie.