4.30.2016

goodness will guide us when love is inside us.


Happy last day of April. I cannot believe tomorrow is already MAY!!!!
It's late, and I was so caught up and loving this day, that I almost forgot to speak of it here on the blog.... I am feeling a lot of things, so I am warning that when I feel this way, I tend to ramble and this post will go all over the place before it lands on my point.

Today I met with a very close friend and over a beer and lunch, we caught up. Life happens to the best of us, and sometimes it is easy to allow our friendships to get put on the back burner....
It's easy to be so caught up in our own lives that we tend to think we don't need friendships like we used to. Me anyway, over the last several years, I have sort of reclused into my own little fairy tale out in the sticks of Winterville. I have Christian, I have my animals, the land to get lost in projects on, and now even this new venture of horsemanship as well as my online classes.

When we bought this house, it was such a breath of fresh air compared to the hectic and loud lifestyle we left of living right downtown. It was nice to be in the middle of so many options for dinner, coffee, or even to walk to a bar for a drink, but year after year, the loudness of college kids stumbling past our house was getting to us - not to mention gamedays...... a whole other world of misery....

When we moved into this place, it became very easy to park my car on Friday evening after work, and never get in it again until Monday morning. There was a peace, tranquility, and we live on a dirt road that some days, we never see a car go down.... I started sinking more and more into hermit mode, and loved it that way. I would occasionally meet a friend for breakfast, or a friend would come out, but for the most part, I kind of forgot how to hold onto a friendship.

I have said this next part many times, but in regard to my own relationship with Christian. Relationships are sometimes confused with something that we just 'have' - when in reality, they are something that we are growing. Ever evolving, and fluid, and LIVING and has it's own needs. Just like with any living thing, it needs to be nurtured and fed in order to keep it alive and well. I have remembered this about my relationship with Christian - and my family, but had somehow forgotten it with my friendships. Then my dad passed away suddenly and it was a shock to my system and a reminder that time is not a guarantee, but a gift. One that can be snatched at any moment. It was a rude awakening and a reality check and I was glad that in my relationship with my dad, that we had made our relationship healthy the last few years. You all know how last year went, I lived out of town, then Baby died, etc., but when I did come back home, I started making a real effort to feed all of my relationships better.

Anyway, back to my meeting with my friend today. We talked about so much. One of the topics of conversation was how when a person is satisfied with their life, they tend to put off good energy into others lives. I am not saying that there is nothing more I want from life - there are lots of things that could make my life easier - BUT in the big picture, I am happy with where I am at and constantly striving to make every day count. I believe in the Karma bank. I also believe in the Golden Rule. And I also believe in words that are the title of this post.... (if you get where it came from, bravo)

Life is short, live it good.
Be nice, be sweet, and love as much as possible.

We ended our lunch date with the nice big screen experience of Purple Rain. Christian met us there, and we all had drinks called 'Purple Rain' - ha! I must say it was my first time ever having a liquor drink while watching a movie on the big screen.... This late, late night, as I type, is what it is all about. It feels good. It affects every aspect of my life. Relationships. Friendships. That is living. That is life. Sharing it with loved ones is what makes the world go 'round....

xoxo

-s

4.28.2016

eye spy dear pretties

This scene from my menagerie. I just will never get over the excitement of making my dreams come true.....

Since Mother's Day is coming up, it only made sense to go digging for famous rockers with their mothers..... 
Image: John Olson/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
British musician Joe Cocker (born John Robert Cocker) with his mother Marjorie, in Sheffield, England.


Image: John Olson/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Singer Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane holding her daughter, China, upside down by the ankles. Her mother, Mrs. Virginia Wing, sits on the sofa.

Image: John Olson/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Eric Clapton with his grandmother Rose Clap, who raised Eric from infancy, in the house he bought her in Surrey, England.

Ron Galella, WireImage
Stevie Nicks and her mother, 1978



4.27.2016

midweek mixtape. yes, 87 songs by PRINCE.....

This is the last of my Prince obsession on the blog for a while.... enjoy. Enjoy all 87 songs in this playlist............ Prince Prince Prince. I still just cannot believe it.


4.26.2016

tiny things: a dollhouse adventure

Last week, I stopped by Neat Pieces in Carlton, GA for my usual once-a-month look around the amazing collection of vintage clothing they have there. I can sometimes get myself into trouble here by buying too much stuff, but this time a very detailed collection of vintage dollhouses caught my eye.....

I mean, the 'aged plaster walls' and tiles... Is this not crazy? 
I had to find out what the story was on these old dollhouses, so I asked.....
I was told that this artist couple made these several decades ago, and had even more that were just sitting in an old rotting storage building that had started leaking. The pickers at Neat Pieces were able to save them and now they sit on display awaiting someone to take them home.....
I mean look at this detail! The rugs, the upholstery, the windows!!! Can you tell my mind was blown?

 They even had teensy little books like this!


 ....tiny baskets....tiny paintings that were actually painted by the artist couple!

Check out the tiny portrait, wallpaper, lace curtains, birdcage, quilted bedding, little slippers, and lamp! And this one had been wired so that the lighting and little lamps actually worked at one time!!



 check out the little kitty by the bottom step in this dollhouse...
 The next one was not for sale, but had found it's final home with one of the owners of Neat Pieces... 
 This little adobe dollhouse was even more detailed! Check out all the tiny pottery - that was actual real pottery! Yes, teeny, tiny, and so beautifully detailed...... I took the most photos of this one, because as much as I thought my mind was blown with the other dollhouses, this one took the cake.....
















 ...the next one was an old pharmacy....






...so that was my distraction from spending too much money at Neat Pieces. As much as I am amazed at these little pieces of art, I don't think I would ever be one to need one, so I was amazed and went home without breaking the bank on too many clothes ;)

4.25.2016

Manic Monday.... (yes, still feeling a certain way about last week)

Monday, already, eh? Well, not so manic, but I am going to start out the week sharing a few pics from yesterday....and a little song... a version you may not have heard before unless you are a HUGE Prince fan.... It was on the Prince playlist that I posted yesterday, but it is Monday, and so I wanted to share that song with this post.
Yesterday was good on so many levels. I took my friend's daughter to see some brand new baby goats, and if you have never seen the look in a little girl's eyes the first time she sees these babies, well, it is something so sweet and tender. I must say my heart melted more than once...

After the goat adventure, I visited with my mom for a bit. We talked a little about Prince - I mean his sudden departure rocked a few generations world. We talked about his huge humanitarian efforts and how no matter how scandalous he may have seemed, you never heard any thing bad from the women he courted and you never heard of him getting into any trouble or having any weird accusations to defend, so yes, everyone who appreciated him was extremely shocked of his passing at such a young age.

Then it was off to the farm. I had promised a few people some extra tomato plants that I had - I ended up germinating about 60 more tomato plants than I needed... ha! I always overkill on the seed germinating, mostly because I would rather have too many start than not enough, and you never know how many will actually 'take'....

I almost finished all of the yard work. I still haven't gotten around to getting the lawn tractor fixed, so I am push-mowing all this and it usually takes about two evenings after work or half a day on the weekend. Now all I have to do is work on my peach trees - thinning the fruit so that the limbs don't break and the fruit is nice and plump, and then a little weedeating. Oh, and then I am still pretty behind on the rest of my garden stuff, so I will be starting more seeds this week. Better late than never, right?

Now on to the pictures from the day.....
...again, this is another weekend that I did not get the good camera out. These are all unedited and taken with the iPhone 6. 
















hope you all have a marvelous and not too manic Monday! ;)

xoxo,

-s