Two Weekend Surprises

I got the best phone call on Friday, Bob, from Ridge Antiques called 

and said that a blogger friend had been shopping our booth and had insisted he call me.

 He said "It was Diane from Lavender Dreams." Yay.

Now Bob does not read blogs and likely thinks they are not real so for Diane to arrive and stand there and tell him to call me is about eight kinds of cool. Diane is the sweetest to stop into our booth and shop on her way to the mountains. Please visit her fun and energetic blog here.

Thanks bunches Diane and maybe one day we can go shopping together.

The second surprising blog related event that happened this weekend

 was I ran into an old friend "D" at church this morning. 

She's an R.N. {like me} who is now enjoying retirement. 

And she reads Olive Out.

She said she now had time to surf the net and had just came across Olive Out one day and had been reading it for a while. At first she did not realize I was the author of the blog. She said she loved the content and for me to keep writing and taking pictures. I remember when her child was small and she remembers CC when she was tiny. It was a big encouragement for me to see her. 

You just never know who is reading your blog.

I am thankful for these two wonderful friends that blessed me and encouraged me this weekend.

I am also thankful for those of you who are continually faithful to comment here even when I am not so faithful to post on any kind of regular schedule.

Come back on Tuesday when I am posting about one of Joe's best finds ever.

 It's five feet tall, weathered, and copper.

~all of these images are from my front yard~

joy and peace

Olive

Elegant Home Office

The Talented B has redecorated her office. 

 It is an elegant and fun space with pops of blue. B is an excellent and skilled thrifter and this room is an example of her skills. Most of this furniture was found at garage or estate sales.

  The drapes were custom made.

The secretary was found at a garage sale.

We will talk about the different lamps, placed on this table, on the next post. Her friend, Olive, composed the wire cloche. This mirror is more blue than it looks. I apologize for not being a better inside photographer.

Olive also wants this lamp (another garage sale find). 

I love it. I have asked her to leave it to me in her will.

 You all know how I have a thing for lamps.

I buy them, sell them, keep them too.

B had the vintage bird print re-matted and framed.

 The love seat was also a thrifty find.

Wait til I get the rest of her house photographed y'all. 

This is only the second part I have been able to get done.

It is also noteworthy that I called her at 7:55 AM this morning and gave her five minutes notice that I was coming over with the camera. You want to be my friend now don't you?

You can see her porch here.

On the next post we will get into the details and ask you for some help in this room.

In Olive Out news we are eyeball deep in getting CC ready for Korea. Plane ticket bought (that was a hoot and a half), tuition, and more money than I care to think about have been wired over there.  I am a tad crazy to tell you the truth. More on this later.

Linking@Wow Us Wednesday's

happy hunting

Olive

From Zero to Two Booths In One Hour

This is a story of two booths but more importantly of two friends. 

Several weeks ago:

Sunday night: The Talented B asks me to partner with her in her booth, The Broome Closet At Ridge Antiques, in Ridge Spring, South Carolina.

Monday: Jean from The Rusty Gate calls and says she is closing her store where I have consigned at for several years. Jean is also my friend and this was awful news

Monday: Minutes after above phone call The Talented B calls and says the owners of the antiques store approved me joining her booth.

Monday later: Jean and I talk and she encourages me to open a booth at a local flea market at Hidden Treasures in Sandersville, Georgia where she will be in July. My partner there is my SIL Sue.

 I know God had his hand in this flurry of phone calls and sudden changes. I am blessed to have wonderful loyal friends like these.

Two weeks ago Joe and I set up the flea market booth. Essentially I have been getting items and shopping for two booths simultaneously . 

It's been fun, crazy, and exhausting. These two booths are one hundred miles apart by the way. The saving grace is our houses are near each one.

These images are all from Ridge Antiques. Our booth is named The Broome Closet.  Talented B had a store with that name and the owners of this business invited her into a booth here. The Broome Closet is on Facebook here.

 She's something serious. She restored this dresser. She also paints furniture beautifully. I will be sharing her painted furniture on this blog.

 Oops my iPhone is not for sale.

Talented B has an enormous stash of monogrammed linens in the booth.

 I love vintage monograms.

I have some questions for you all who have booths. 

When do you do laundry?

Where do you find time to blog?

When do you vacuum?

I am curious, yes I am :}

Just to add to all these "goings on," as my mama would say, I have two spider bites resulting in severe cellulitis. Also our daughters from Alabama are arriving Friday and bringing the darling Mini Wee's who are staying for two weeks!

{next post is hydrangeas arranged three ways}

Linking@Wow Us Wednesday's

Be Inspired

joy and peace

Olive

The Talented B's Porch

I have a new friend that is destined to be a blogger. She paints beautiful furniture, thrifts, has an antiques booth,  a beautifully decorated home with a mix of new and vintage, and a wonderful front porch with flowers which you shall see today. 

For the purpose of this and future posts {and there will be more posts} I am going to call her The Talented B.  She uses a copious amount of purple flowers in pots around her steps and front entry. It makes for a cohesive look.

One of those chairs is on each side of the door. The Talented B found the chairs at a yard sale.

Purple petunias and white verbena were planted the day I took these images. They will spill over the sides of the urns.  An urn is on each side of the garage.

The side of her house is planted in pink hydrangeas which are about to be in full bloom. For hydrangeas to be pink here they must be hybridized because our soil is acid.

One more just because.

I will be taking photos of The Talented B's office and guest room make over this summer. Plus the rest of her home eventually. A blog authored by The Talented B would be brilliant.

linking@Wow Us Wednesday's

Be Inspired

joy and peace

Olive

My View Is Just As Important As Curb Appeal

Our yellow house has many windows and I plant flowers with that in mind.  

My view is always a consideration.

  I helped a sweet friend of mine select plants from a local nursery last Thursday. She bought me this popcorn viburnum and a catmint plant for helping her. I am excited to have both of these plants. The viburnum is in my view from the deck.

  This is a faux copper urn another sweet friend sold to me for next to nothing with the catmint planted in it. Catmint is invasive and that is why I put it in a planter. It will have purple blossoms later. This planter is in my view when I drive into the driveway or walk in the gravel road we live on.

 I seldom share the front of the yellow house because it is rather plain but the salvia has started blooming and I adore it's spiky blooms. Salvia is a winning perennial for me and blooms from now until winter. That is getting my money out of a plant. I cut back all my perennials in February and that helps them bloom in the spring. I see that view of the front steps every time I drive into the driveway. I keep pots of succulents on each step and a little birdbath.

These iris were transplanted from our old house to the yellow house last year. I planted them in the side yard.

 This is my view from the den door where I sit and blog. The curvy gravel road has our yellow house and four other houses on it but they are spaced well apart. I garden for my view. I want to see beautiful flowers when I look out the doors, windows, and deck, of our house. Curb appeal is important but so is my view. 

Gardening brings me peace and I feel close to God in my backyard flower garden and yard. There is nothing like the feel of sunshine on my face and dirt on my fingers. The satisfaction of spying a new bloom from my kitchen window is worth all the work.

Linking@Wow Us Wednesday's

What is your gardening philosophy?

Olive

Have You Rented Your Home For An Event?

Our yellow house last spring.

 My dear friend Fancy rented her enormous house to golfers who are here for the Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta, Georgia. Twenty two people are staying in her home over seven days. They switched over today so eight beds needed sheets changed and the kitchen and bathrooms cleaned. I arrived a little bit late and brought lunch. The golfers arrived three hours early. It was a panic at the disco moment. We were scrambling to clean that house. The golfers, who are Canadian, were gracious and seemed happy with our warm temperature, sunshine, blooming trees and flowers. I have lived near this world famous golf event nearly all my life and have had no contact with it until today. What I have learned from Fancy's experience is that Joe and I will not be renting the yellow house any time soon for the tournament. It takes a huge amount of work to get a house ready for rental and I can barely keep the lawn mowed.

Have you ever rented your home for an event?

 How did it work out for you?

Please read my Poise review and sweepstakes here if you have not. 

I discuss menopause and some of it's causes and symptoms

 and how Poise products can be of help.

Olive

Bloggers Are Givers

There is no happiness in having or in getting, but only in giving.

--Henry Drummond

Bloggers are givers and I have had occasion to be the recipient of many gifts this week.

Tuesday I had lunch with Donna from Distressed Donna Down Home. We have much in common. To say that she is fun and kind is an understatement. She brought me carrot muffins in the box tied with a yellow ribbon and at the time I was so excited to meet her I did not notice that there were three vintage Easter postcards tucked under the ribbon.  After lunch we went thrifting like we had been shopping together for years.

Donna sells primitives and shabby chic items and has two booths in an antique mall not far from our yellow house. Donna and I will be meeting for lunch and shopping again soon.

I won this Nest burlap banner from Judy at 20 North Ora. Judy sent me handmade quilted Easter eggs too. If you have not seen Judy's dress form, please look. It is a work of art.  We have a stone fireplace that is without a mantle so I was in a bit of pickle as to where to hang the banner. The kitchen window won. Thanks Judy.

Blogging friends near and far away have enriched my life this week.

joy and peace

Olive

Saturday Friends&Family

Fancy, my dear friend and her grandson walking down the curvy road from our house to her house. We had been sitting on the ground, in our yard, digging in the dirt. He thought it was great fun.  All kids should dig in the dirt. This big kid certainly loves too.

Thank you all for commiserating with me about my ever so slow way of finishing a painting project. I am happy to know I am not alone on the I-May Never-Finish-A-Project front. 

CC leaves in the morning after church. Her spring break has been swifter than painting with chalk paint. Today we shall stay home in our pajamas and talk, talk ,talk some more:-}

Happy Saturday

Olive

We Had Cake

You dropped off casseroles. You brought cake. My Texas poet and friend, Debra from Talking Trash said it best in this comment, "If I were there, I would bring you a casserole and chocolate cake, but more importantly a shoulder to cry on." You cried with us and hugged us.

That is what friends do. To say that all of you who commented, commented again, and wrote emails to check on me, when I told you Clovis died on Thursday, are friends is an understatement. I feel as if we had tea or coffee with our cake. We spoke of Clovis, our dear kitty. I told you how he smelled of sunshine. I told you how much we three loved him. You listened and that was enough.

But for me to say thank you is woefully inadequate

Thank You

Olive

P.S.  The next post will cover mine and CC's Pottery Barn Outlet visit, stay tuned. I am trying to get myself together.