For the Love of a Horse

The third weekend of each month is the Lakewood 400 Antique Fair and I often like to highlight some of the dealers. This month we came across three wonderful ladies who were selling their wares to benefit a horse rescue and rehabilitation organization called "For the Love of a Horse" which provides services to critically ill and injured horses.

Please visit their website at fortheloveofahorse.org to learn more about the wonderful work they do and to read the stories of Gracie and Bishop! Their current goal is to purchase a horse trailer.

These incredible ladies use their time and talent to help raise money for a most worthwhile cause!
Their wares include beautiful unique hand-crafted cards (I bought six) at only $2 each!


Decorative and functional tags!
Beautiful sterling silver charms...
More tags and jewelry...
And the piece de resistance, some of the most beautiful necklaces at the fair!

This is a wonderful organization and I am so happy to have met these inspiring women. I wish them the very best in achieving all of their goals.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

St. Patrick's Day is such a great holiday as anyone can for at least a day claim to be Irish.

I decided to do a little research on the Irish and found many notables, a few of whom are listed below:

Francis Bacon (artist)

Michael William Balfe (composer)

Samuel Beckett (writer)

George Boole (father of computer science)

Robert Boyle (Boyle's law)

Francis Beaufort (mapmaker)

Jocelyn Bell Burnell (discovered pulsars)

Enya (vocalist and composer)

Oliver Goldsmith (writer and poet)

William Rowan Hamilton (mathematician)

James Joyce (writer and poet)

James Latham (artist)

Phillip Martin (composer and pianist)

Thomas Moore (poet and songwriter)

Seamus Murphy (sculptor)

William Parsons (largest telescope in 1845)

Albert Powell (sculptor)

George Bernard Shaw (playwright)

Jonathan Swift (writer and poet)

John Tyndall (physicist who explained why the sky is blue)

Ernest Walton (physicist and Nobel Laureate)

Oscar Wilde (writer and poet)

Jack Butler Yeats (painter)

William Butler Yeats (poet and dramatist)

OK, the list can go on and on as I find more and more people I've heard of, admired, read, studied, etc. So I will just finish with a couple of Irish blessings,

"May you always walk in sunshine. May you never want for more. May Irish angels rest their wings, right beside your door."

"Wherever you go and whatever you do, may the luck of the Irish be there with you!"

My Birthday Weekend

I had an especially wonderful birthday weekend! It started on Friday having lunch with a couple of friends. Saturday my youngest daughter and her pup came to spend the weekend. First we picked up Queen Mum and went antiquing followed by lunch at the Blue Rooster.

Later in the day we had chocolate cake with chocolate icing - my favorite!
That evening we ordered pizza and watched a movie - Star Trek (2009)! For my fellow trekkies, I strongly recommend it if you haven't already seen it.

My daughter's dog also had a good time and I was able to get some decent pictures of him. He's usually so hyper by the time you click the button on the camera, he has moved and all you get is a blurrrr.

Here is Sir Winston leaning on the table.

Something briefly gets his attention...

but he decides he'd rather pose for his grandma!
Thanks to all my family and friends who called or emailed me with birthday wishes!

March Expectations!

"March is the month of expectation..." (Emily Dickinson)

Many wonderful things occur this month -

Baseball season begins - Go Braves! (And Phillies!)

Daylight Savings Time

My birthday!

March Madness (We're rooting for Temple!)

St. Patrick's Day and the wearin' o' the green

First Day of Spring

Sometimes Easter and Passover fall in March (and yes, we celebrate both)

This year we had the Oscars in March - congratulations to Kathryn Bigelow for winning best director!!!

And most importantly, visiting season begins! My two daughters and their pups will be overnight guests this month (at different times) and so I thought I would post on guests and entertaining.

One of my favorite picture books on entertaining guests is "Guest Rooms" by Hilary and Alex Heminway with photography by Audrey Hall.This chapter is on Guest Bedrooms and gives some great hints on how to make your guests comfortable
What a warm and inviting room this is...
One of Sweetbrier's guest rooms welcomes guests with an eclectic mix of styles from the early 1900's through the mid 1940's
Seating with an afghan is available for those quiet moments...
Or just to put on your slippers.
Artwork adorns the walls, also from various time periods. The next two prints are from my grandmother and dated 1901-1904.

A reminder of time and romance...
A photograph of a pouty but precious little girl
No need to have an alarm clock when you're visiting, but it's nice to know the time
Ahhh, there's nothing like an early morning snack in bed...
Preparing for the day, a brush and mirror are provided for guests. I love the petite point roses and the finely detailed handles.
Although guests have their own bath, the pitcher and bowl is a reminder of times before indoor plumbing. A variety of soaps are provided in fragrances that would please both men and women.
An assortment of reading material is provided...
Two of my guests are fans of Queen Victoria and William Shakespeare (and yes, we have reading material for men plus cable tv)
Old magazines from 1899-1904 are such fun to read or to just browse the ads
Tailor made suits for $5 and look at the amount of fabric involved! Note the ad on the right page under the chair. The lady is exercising with a type of pulley that you see on today's infomercials
Of course proper lighting is essential to any guest bedroom
Love the detail on the base of this lamp
Photographs of family and friends, past and present, can be very enjoyable not to mention educational. How clothing styles have changed!



A stereoscope with pictures of distant lands or romantic comedy provides lots of fun and entertainment
And of course, the canine and feline visitors must also be considered. A stool in front of the window allows our feline guests to view the birdies that alight on the branches of the trees (we also provide a variety of pet beds and a litter box if needed:)
Cassie, our feral kitty, inspects the room for us
Yes, the bed is comfortable!
Hmmm, something moved outside
What's that, a bird, a plane?
This requires closer inspection...
Ahhh, yes, birds, how entertaining. Yes this room definitely meets with Cassie's approval!

Scotland Yard Antiques

As stated on the previous post, our destination this past weekend was the Scotland Yard Antiques store in Lawrenceville, GA. It is located at 125 West Crogan Street on the Square. This shop consists of many smaller booths and displays that are welcoming and fun to peruse. Two entryways welcome you to this shop!
A view down one of the aisles. Scotland Yard's wooden floors are evidence of this converted old building.
Merchandise for every taste...
Shelves full of timeless wares...
An elegant display...
One of my favorite pictures - the dove helping the girl collect flowers is so sweet!
An elegant armoire...
with lovely detail
A silver set with its bakelite handles shine under the light giving it an elegant appeal!
A rare find - a music cabinet with its mirror still attached.
Rows of books invite you to sit and browse
Don't forget to look up!
Still looking up... note the watering can

I hope no one misses this elegant clock!
This picture would look great in my living room. It sits on a very narrow aisle, so photographing it was difficult.
Lamps galore!
I love the setting against the burnt orange wall...
Queen mum loved this lamp with its peculiar shape.
Lots of jewelry at this booth and throughout the store!
More treasures...
A step back in time...
The sunburst stained glass is part of a front door and must have welcomed many visitors at one time...
Another wonderful display
There are many more booths and displays in this store than I have posted so I invite you to take a trip to Scotland Yard to view them all. Also, you can visit their website at www.scotlandyard-antiques.com or email them at scotlandyard125@aol.com