Passing down the Treasures

As some of you know my mom,

who will turn 89 in a couple of weeks,

was a World War II Bride

My pretty English mother

met a handsome American GI

feel in love and during wartime

they were married 

My mom's cousin and his wife

gave them this set of dessert knives

as a wedding gift

they were married in 1945

so that makes this set of knives at least 68 years old

They have a beautiful bone handle

This is the inscription in the lid of the box

The King would be King George VI, Queen Elizabeth's father
yes, the same king featured in the movie "The King's Speech"

Last week when I was in the Dallas area
and visited my mom I mentioned that
she had said someday she would
pass these on to me

She said "Well, what day is it?"
and before I could answer
She said "Oh, it's someday so
I guess I will pass them down to you today


I promised her I would take very good care of them
and at the appropriate time I would pass
them down to my granddaughter

She said "Well you like to have tea parties
so you'll probably use them more than I did"

Every Little Birdie says-

I can't wait to have a tea party so I can use them!!!!

On the road again

I've just returned from a week

 in the DFW area

I saw lots of friends and family

and had a wonderful time, but that's

not what this post is about

It's about how much I love the drive

through South Texas

It's pure Texas country and I
love every mile of it

It takes you back to a simpler way of life

here are some pictures I snapped on my drive

Red Barns and Windmills

They make my heart skip a beat

Beautiful livestock

Small towns

with a church on every corner

and their beautiful historic homes

 their stately county courthouses

and the open roads with land as far as you can see

roadside country cafes

and BBQ Joints

and the occasional antique/junk shop

What's not to love!!

It takes me back to a time gone by....

Life was simple but in my opinion better

That's why I love driving

through South Texas

in many ways the simple life

still exists there

and it warms my heart to see it

Every Little Birdie says-

What makes your heart skip a beat?

Fashion Wear

This is my first paid sponsor post

and I'm kind of excited about it

It's for

GlassesUSA.com

I was in grade school when my mom took

me to the eye doctor to get my first pair of eyeglasses

as a child I didn't think much of them except

that they made me see a lot better

I was so surprised the first time I put them on

and discovered I could see the leaves on the trees

and not just a green blob for a tree!!!

As I grew older in my later teens I decided

I didn't want to wear eyeglasses anymore

I wanted contacts

But contacts were never really my friend

so eventually I went back to glasses.......

Speed forward to the 1980's and a new

eye procedure was all the rage

Radial Keratotomy

Radial keratotomy (RK) is a refractive surgical procedure to correct myopia (nearsightedness) that was developed in 1974, by Svyatoslav Fyodorov, a Russian ophthalmologist. Though it has been largely supplanted by newer operations, such as photorefractive keratectomy, LASIK, Epi-LASIK and the phakic intraocular lens, RK remains popular for correction of astigmatism in certain patients.

I had the procedure and once again I put

my glasses away

but RK doesn't last forever and in my middle 50's

with my eyesight no longer being 20/20 and

starting to have problems reading

I decided to buy glasses

Only this time glasses were the "In Thing"

They were cool, fashionable, and oh so popular!!!!

Vera Bradley fashion glasses

with matching case

These are my latest glasses and I think they are so fashionable!!!!

Picking out new glasses is so much fun now!!!!

If you are ready for new glasses I would highly

recommend going to

GlassesUSA.com

shop for online eyeglasses

They have a great selection

and because you are one of my readers

they are offering a special discount

Take 15% off your entire order amount + free shipping

(orders over $50.00)  Use Code FS15

and when you visit GlassesUSA

be sure to check out their

Virtual Mirror Feature
Scroll down to the very bottom of my blog page to see this feature

You can see how different styles of glasses
look on your face, now how fun is that????

GlassesUSA is a fun, informative website
and I'd love for you to check it out!

A Banner Day

I've been seeing so many cute

banners on Pinterest lately

So I decided to try

my hand at making one

I won't show you my first attempt

It was a little sad

But here is my second try

I bought some burlap fabric for the backing

used a book page for the next layer

and stenciled on my letters

I attached a small key for decoration

I'll get better with practice but I think

this one turned out kinda cute

Now the decision.......

Should I keep it or put it in my upcoming

booth at the Goliad Market Days in March

Only time will tell......

Every Little Birdie says

What's your latest craft?????



Weekend Visit

I did a Post back in October

on my niece's beautiful wedding

.....speed forward a few months

This weekend hubby and I

visited the newlyweds in their

beautiful home in Austin, Texas

I love their decor and had to share some of it with you

Most of their things are from

Restoration Hardware

They love the industrial look

but I love the way they have

used a few pieces to soften this look

ie.  these great white chairs!!

Don't you love this Ottoman

Their shelf tells a story

about their life and the things they love

Katy bought this scale when she was

visiting me in Victoria - she knew it would

work perfect on her shelf

She also has a love affair with keys

......... love their eating area

The center piece is a large metal scale

Doesn't it make a great statement

and this unique wine rack

Katy lived in Africa for a few years

The colors in her guest bedroom

remind me of the beautiful African fabrics



They have a lovely place
to start their new life together

....and they were the perfect host
making us feel comfortable and
cooking great dishes for us in
their beautiful kitchen

It was a great weekend!!

Every Little Birdie says-

What did you do this weekend???

Winter Crafting

We are having a cold spell here in South Texas

I am itching to get outside and paint some furniture

but it's just too cold

So I decided to do a few inside crafts

Here's what I've been up to......

A few multi media crafts

A sweet friend of mine gave me this purse

It's a vintage Preston York bag

She said "I just know you can do something

crafty with this old bag"

I added a little lace, a couple of book page roses,

a fabric pom pom, sheet music and buttons

Can't wait to show it to her!!

I think it turned out cute

I also made this book page fan

and attached it to one of my chicken wire frames

and I decided to try my hand

at these book page birdies

here's one with twig legs

Isn't he cute!!!

This was my first attempt to create

a book page wreath

I'll get better but I think this one

turned out OK



Every Little Birdie says -

I've gone a little book page crazy

but it's keeping me busy

on these cold days

What kind of crafts are you up to????

linking up over at Feathered Nest Friday
http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/