Saturday, April 25, 2015

Spring Blooms and Fairies

I have been taking pictures of the Spring Flowers in my gardens since the daffodils were in bloom back in March and wanted to share some of my favorite shots with you.

Starting in the back yard, my Yoshino cherry tree and Redbud tree are showing off their beautiful blooms.




The Easter Lilies on the patio table are enjoying being outside,


down in the garden the daffodils and grape hyacinths have bloomed...


along with these sweet smelling hyacinths...


and these beautiful orange tulips shining brightly before the storm. My husband bought me the arbor trellis for my birthday a few weeks ago. I will show another picture of it later when the clematis have climbed it and have bloomed.


Okay so now comes the little fairies in the front garden! They don't seem to like it in the back garden, not enough places to hide I guess.


Above you'll see a glimpse of a gnome pair and their little house and pictured
below, hidden under the white bleeding heart, is a little door and that is the door to the fairies house.


Below are two new foxglove plants that I just purchased and am hoping they like it here in the "little people" garden. I have tried for four years straight to grow these guys and they never come back the next year. So far they seem happy here.


I sit in my wicker chair and just admire them.


The fairies admire them too. I think they like the little trumpet shaped blooms for hiding.


Fairies were thought to materialize from sparkling dew drops and it was believed that they would silently slip into dusky shadows whenever humans trod too near. Some were described as being as small and delicate as mosquitoes while others were said to be as strong and coarse as bears. A few supposedly even changed their appearance right before one's very eyes.

The mystery and magic behind these "little people" caught the attention of the Victorians and were a very popular subject for postcards and advertising cards. So the Victorians filled their scrapbooks with images of fairies of all kinds.

Below are some cards from my collection that I wanted to share with you, unfortunately I don't have very many. I'll have to work on that.

This first card is a flower fairy with butterfly wings and a New Year's greeting.


These two look like cherub but instead of angel wings they too have butterfly wings which make them flower fairies as well.


And this one doesn't have fairy wings but is magical in the fact that it is riding on a dragonfly. And in order to ride a dragonfly the fairy must be very, very small. Or the dragonfly very, very large!  The fairy is holding a pussy willow bouquet as a birthday gift.


That is all I have for you today, I do hope you enjoyed the Spring blooms and magical fairies. Thanks so much for your visit and have a blessed week!

I am joining the following parties this week...
AMAZE ME MONDAY with Cindy
 A RETURN TO LOVELINESS  with Kathy
TUESDAYS AT OUR HOME with Maria Elena
LET'S TALK VINTAGE with Jillian
VINTAGE INSPIRATION PARTY with Betsy and Gals
WHAT'S IT WEDNESDAY with Paula
SHARE YOU CUP THURSDAY with Jann
HOME AND GARDEN THURSDAY with Kathy
HOME SWEET HOME  with Sherry
SHOW AND TELL FRIDAY with Cindy

Monday, April 13, 2015

A Seashore Inspired Bathroom

Now that Easter has passed and Spring is quickly passing to Summer, I have my eyes on ONE thing!


THE SEASHORE!
A seashore Summer vacation!


From sunbathing to relaxing on our balcony with a cup of tea to collecting seashells on the shore, that is where my thoughts are!


But until then I am having fun with my seashore inspired half bathroom.


I spruced things up a bit by changing out the faux flowers, I had roses in a smaller vase there and saw these flowers and the blue bottle at Michael's and thought they would give me more of a seashore wildflower look then the roses did, if that makes sense. I filled the bottle with sand from a previous seashore visit and added a few seashells inside the bottle and around on the vanity.


I just recently added this sweet little antique porcelain fisher boy candle holder to add to the seashore look of the room. See the little grey fish in his hand and the blue cornucopia leading up to the candlestick? I bought this when we went to visit Richard at My Old Historic Home.


Also in the room is this great cabinet...


with lots of fun surprises. The antique seashell washbowl and pitcher would not fit inside so up on top it went. But inside on the top shelf is a matching cup that I found at a different place then the washbowl and pitcher. I was very excited indeed! :)


Upon a closer look at the top shelf, you'll see some antique bottles and tin, shaving mug, souvenir perfume box with two bottles...


and  on the far right is one of my recent finds, a little trinket box called a Fairing, they  were purchased at Fairs and were very popular during the late 1800's to early 1900's, It's kind of hard to see it, but it's a black haired lady sitting on a gold fence kissing a cupid on a pedestal. So cute I thought.
The liniment bottle with its original label is also a recent find.


On the bottom shelf you'll find some vintage hankies, perfume bottle, silver plated soap box, round stove tile, lady in blue ring box, an embroidered monogrammed sachet and my favorite, Victorian seashell boxes/souvenirs to go with the theme of the bathroom! :)


And on the other wall in this watercolor picture and towel rack with the reflection of the cabinet  in the mirror.


I hope you enjoyed your little tour of my seashore inspired half bath. Summer will be here soon, but until then I'm keeping my eyes on the seashore, from right here in my bathroom!


Have a wonderful week and thanks so much for your visit!

I want to thank Jillian over at LET'S TALK VINTAGE party for featuring my Easter post showing my antique blown glass eggs and antique Ephemera.

I am joining the following linky parties this week...
TUESDAY CUPPA TEA with Ruth
LET'S TALK VINTAGE with Jillian
A RETURN TO LOVELINESS with Kathy
TUESDAYS AT OUR HOME with Maria Elena
VINTAGE INSPIRATION PARTY with Betsy
SHARE YOUR CUP THURSDAY  with Jann
HOME AND GARDEN THURSDAY with Kathy
WHAT'S IT WEDNESDAY with Paula
HOME SWEET HOME with Sherry
SHOW AND TELL FRIDAY with Cindy
FEATHERED NEST FRIDAY with Courtney
AMAZE ME MONDAY with Cindy
TEATIME TUESDAY with Sandi



Thursday, April 2, 2015

An Easter Visit from Yesteryear

Come on over for a little Easter visit. We're dressed in our Sunday best and ready for some company.

(This antique porcelain bisque pair was purchased from Richard's booth during our visit to his lovely home in the town of Clarksville this past week, click here for that post.)


We have the perfect Easter hat for you to wear during your visit, if you need one.


You're welcome to wear the outfit too if it you would like.

(This dress form dates to the early 1900's, it came from a garage auction downtown that had once been a dress shop WAY back, the clothing I bought at a different auction and I added Spring fun to the sun hat.)


We have flowers on the parlor table for your eyes to behold


and a stereoscope and several cards for your entertainment,


this Easter card is perfect for the occasion. The bunnies and baby chicks don't seem to be making the girl on the right very happy. Either she is afraid of them or she was told she couldn't hold one, what do you think?


In the dining room the table isn't set for dinner yet but the silver basket is overflowing with late 1800's blown glass eggs. If you want to see more of these eggs in past posts click here.


We hate to have to cut our afternoon short but we must get back to our spot now so the vignette can be complete for your viewing pleasure.


Thank you so much for stopping by for a little visit from yesteryear. We do hope you enjoyed it and here's wishing you and yours a very Happy Easter.

I want to thank Cindy over at AMAZE ME MONDAY for featuring my Historic Ravenswood post as one of the most viewed posts at her party.

And Kathy over at HOME AND GARDEN THURSDAY  for featuring my Blogger Friends Luncheon and Day Out post.

And Jann over at SHARE YOUR CUP THURSDAY for featuring my Spring Birds and Nests post.

I am joining the following parties this week, please come and join in the fun.
SHOW AND TELL FRIDAY with Cindy
AMAZE ME MONDAY with Cindy
A RETURN TO LOVELINESS with Kathy
INSPIRE ME TUESDAY with Marty
TUESDAYS AT OUR HOME with Maria Elena
LET'S TALK VINTAGE with Jillian
VINTAGE INSPIRATION with Betsy and gals
WHAT'S IT WEDNESDAY with Patti
SHARE YOUR CUP THURSDAY with Jann
HOME SWEET HOME with Sherry
FEATHERED NEST FRIDAY with Courtney
SHOW AND TELL FRIDAY with Cindy