Merry Merry

Merry Christmas 

From 

Olive & Joe

Bottlebrush Trees Take Two

Bottlebrush trees have been placed on the three drawer antique chest. 

The gallery wall has had some additions since you last saw it.

This bottlebrush tree is likely from the early 1950's.

 I picked it up at a garage sale. It was a fabulous find.

Gremmie is sitting in front of the "nekkid" tree with not enough lights. 

She is more important to us than a decorated tree.

This bottlebrush tree is new and I am not crazy about the base. 

I have placed it in a tarnished monogramed bowl.

I recently purchased this tree at an antique store in Madison, Georgia. 

It was not expensive. I placed it in an old piece of pottery.

You can see more of my bottlebrush trees lashed to vintage trucks here. 

Don't miss my post "Thirty Minutes In The Day Of A Registered Nurse" about meningitis here.

Thank you for your sweet sweet comments about South Korea Girl in my last post.

Happy Christmas

Olive

South Korea Girl {CC}

South Korea Girl is not coming home for Christmas.

 It is good news though. Really. Many of you have asked about her in e-mails and in comments. She will complete her semester at Sogang University in Seoul this week. She studied Korean and Asian history. She loves South Korea. CC has been studying Korean for over a year here in Georgia but there is no substitute for total immersion in the culture.

She had been fervently applying for South Korean internships. She was interviewed for two in the last two weeks. Time was drawing near for her to fly home and it was making me anxious. Flying to South Korea is expensive and she would have to fly back for an internship.  

Being a mom I was caught up in the myriad of details. What about a visa extension? What about the plane ticket? What about approval from her home university? What about the cold winter?

CC was in perfect contrast to her mother virtually unconcerned about all of the above. She had met with a missionary couple and arranged to live with them if an internship happened. She arranged to help them teach orphans. She felt that God strongly wanted her to stay. She was and is resolute. I am proud of her faith and in awe of her.

She accepted an internship at Seoul University to work at a museum. 

She will be helping a man there with his English as they work and he with her Korean. We continue to talk and text, for free, via Kakao Talk. It is a free app that hardly ever cuts us off. The winter in Seoul will be nothing like CC has ever experienced. It can get in the negative numbers. We live in a state where coats are optional.

The image above is of CC (on the left) and her now roommate. I think they are adorable. Her roommate is from Georgia and also attends CC's home university. They did not know each other before this South Korean semester. They can continue their friendship when CC returns.

I tried to pull some images of Seoul and CC in the snow off of Instagram but could not. She is coffeeaddict0021. She takes a lot of pictures of Korean food, coffee and historic sites.

We will miss her terribly at Christmas but we will be fine. I will be fine. I am happy for her.
Thank you all for asking about her.

Please read my sponsored post from Kaplan and Blogher 
Thirty Minutes In The Day Of A Registered Nurse.  
It is a true story of a sick young man I cared for.

Happy Christmas
Olive

Friendly Village China In A Toolbox

Two of my favorite collectibles are paired here on the bar. 

Transferware and an old toolbox. 

The transferware is Friendly Village by Johnson Brothers.

It has lovely winter scenes on its plates.

The snow on the plates is about as close as I am getting to snow.

Don't laugh at the bow. 

I made it and I am horrible at bow making.

Okay, laugh.

 There is a back story to the long roofers toolbox.

 It was purchased at the Gordon Farmer estate sale.

 Mr. Farmer was on American Pickers in 2010. 

He had warehouses full of antiques at his local business near our yellow house.

The lady I bought it from was happy with my vision for it.

I did not go to the sale because I thought it was likely out of my price range. 

I bought this toolbox, still full of roofing nails, from an antiques dealer about two weeks ago.

Nails out-transferware in!

{That Buddha under glass makes me think of South Korea Girl. 

She loves Asian art pieces.}

The toolbox is a big long piece but I knew immediately when I saw it it was perfect for our bar.

Wishing you a peaceful day.

 I was out in traffic and am beyond thrilled to be home with my fur kids.

Please check out my post: Thirty Minutes In The Day Of A Registered Nurse.

Thanks bunches to all who have already stopped by.

Linking@Wow Us Wednesday's

Be Inspired

Happy Christmas

Olive

Kitchen Island: Christmas

Our kitchen island is the heart of our small kitchen. 

It's filled with trasnferware. 

It could stand to be thinned out but not today or even next month.

Gremmie dines on top of the island and that way her food is usually safe from Shelley.

The Maxine nutcracker cheers me no end. 

I found her in an antiques booth a long time ago.

I hope you are enjoying the beauty of Christmas.

To see the front of this island with it's old window click here.

Linking@Be Inspired

Happy Christmas

Olive

Country Christmas House

The images speak for themselves. 

Our friend's house in a small South Carolina town is chock full of primitive antiques. 

They have a log cabin in their back yard for goodness sake.

I want to get back to the house, in the spring, when the garden is in full bloom.

Do forgive my fuzzy and rainy iPhone images.

Linking@Wow Us Wednesday

Happy Christmas

Olive

Christmas House Tours

Hello my lovelies. 

I have been all over Georgia and South Carolina recently snapping Christmas images.

  In The Rain.

If I do not get a sunbeam soon I may require an antidepressant.

My mood is affected by the weather.

This is the garage to the yellow house. 

I love it. 

Yes, I could live in their garage.

That is a climbing rose around the window.

This is the truck in the garage! 

Over the truck and not visible to you is a chandelier filled with branches.

I am taking inspiration from this look and will fill my chandelier, on the deck, 

with branches when I get the chance.

I forgot to mention this house was not on the tour.  

Many do not allow photos-bummer.

The garden shed is cute too. 

Joe darling, can I get one of these?

The white sofa with red accents was in The Mad House, a small cottage, we toured.

 It was my favorite house on the tour. 

With that name and with my continued absence I imagine you guys thought they kept me {wink}.

All images taken with my iPhone.

All images from historic Madison, Georgia.

Next post we will visit a town in South Carolina and my friend's house

 filled with primitive antiques.

Linking@Wow Us Wednesday's

Happy Christmas

Olive

Wooden Star

I decided the enormous barn wood star needed a bigger wreath. I found one I had picked up at a thrift store for a couple of dollars. I think it is a better fit than the smaller pale wreath I had in the last post.

We have been working on the Christmas tree. We have issues. Gremmie, our cat, was in the tree in five seconds flat. She is about seven months old and intensely curious.

 We may not put glass ornaments on the tree this year. It may be naked. Besides that an entire row of bulbs blew out. The living room is upside down. 

The faux deer head is on the stone fireplace. 

I will do something to him. 

Any ideas? Give them to me in the comments please.

The cactus knows exactly when to bloom.

I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving.

We did.

Olive

Bottlebrush Trees & Vintage Trucks

 A vintage Tonka truck with one of Donna's bleached bottle brush trees lashed to it just makes me ever so happy.

Donna was shopping with me when I found this chippy white truck.

 For a minute I thought we were going to arm wrestle. 

I knew I could take her though as she just had some shoulder trouble.

 The two pretties together on the coffee table. I hope Gremmie, our cat, does not eat the trees.

Here is the five foot wide star made from barn wood.

 It is not perfectly centered but we used the nail the quatrefoil mirror was hung on.

To see how Donna bleaches the trees visit her blog Distressed Donna Down Home here.

I don't bleach trees I simply buy trees from Donna's booth. 

Much easier for me.

joy and peace

Olive

Ridge Antiques Open House

Open House in Ridge Spring, South Carolina, last Sunday, was a wonderful success. 

The street was full of people. 

The town markets the event well. 

 Ridge Antiques, where our two booths are, was busy.

We had a wide assortment of food and wine.

Chocolate wine too. 

The Talented B serves it every year.

Warning: Many images to follow

 This rusty sleigh of mine sold right away.

Mary Ann's cabinet is the center of the first room and is not for sale I am sad to say.

The primitive farm table the food is on had been sold. 

Mary Ann convinced the young couple to leave it on hold until after Open House.

These images are from our window booth.

 I am totally gone over the chippy blue mantel.

Thanks to all who stopped by.

Linking@Be Inspired

joy and peace

Olive