~ Have you met my Secretary ? ~

She is a quiet unpretentious beauty

who adds just a little touch of elegance

to this corner of the room

She may have been quiet
but she could hardly have been called a 'beauty'
upon first glance
when Mr. Wonderful spied her at the Parish Garage Sale
 several years ago.
She had been neglected
and left to age without someone to care for her.
But Mr. Wonderful worked his magic
as he rescued her from oblivion

Now there are many good years left in the old girl
and we are happy to have her live with us

But don't let her good looks fool you

she's a model of organization.

She provides all kinds of cubby holes and little drawers
and secret places

to help me keep track of my bits and pieces

As you can see, she's a working girl.

Are you quite finished looking through my drawers????

Searching for the right chair
I went shopping at a little flea market
that is not for the faint of heart
but if one is willing to climb the rickety wooden stairs
to the top floor
to the land of  lost and forgotten chairs
you might just be lucky enough to unearth a treasure.
(well a treasure in the making...if you have a Mr. W.)

I love this Toile pattern. 'Garden Toile' in Parchment

I have always loved desks and all the little accouterments
for desk sitting.

Perhaps it's because my Mother was a bookkeeper
and so I cut my teeth
sitting at a big desk in the back office surrounded by
pens and papers and ledgers to scribble on
Give me a new pen and I'm as happy as can be.
Give me stationery
and I'm in heaven.

It's too bad letters are not written anymore

Because that is what it feels like I should be doing

when I sit down here

instead of paying my monthly bills.

To me, she represents the last of civility
when correspondence was an art
and though I have thoroughly embraced the technological world I live in
cell phones, I Pads, Kindle, Facebook and I'm talking to you
dear readers via the Blog World !!!
There is still a little piece of me that is holding on to the past
 by my fingertips.
Although letters may be few and far between these days
I still love to send cards
or sometimes a little note for no reason at all.

But perhaps I will do something greater here at this lovely desk.

Perhaps I will take Quill in hand

and pen the next great American Novel

Who knows???

~ Twas the night before Christmas ~

Twas the night before Christmas

and all through the house
not a creature was stirring


except for a yellow dog 
with Reindeer antlers on her head.

The goodies have all been baked

with that touch of citrus that always smells like Christmas to me.

The Chandelier draped with greenery

The table was set in it's Red and White finery
in hopes that Grand children soon would be here

The big Guy himself was the main theme this year

with a Santa at every place setting

With touches of Silver here and there

mismatched vintage silver trays serve as chargers

The silver is picked up by the vintage Art-Deco wine glasses
 handed down to me
by Mr/ Wonderful's Mother.

With a nod of approval from an angel watching over the dining room festivities

The only thing left to do now, is wait for Saint Nicholas
to make his appearance.

So from The Dressed Up Cottage:

Merry Christmas to all
And to all a Good Night

~ My Obsession ~

You never know how and when a new collection will start.
You don't set out to start a collection.
You're not even thinking about it, when suddenly while out strolling
through the booths at your favorite flea market
you see her..........
there she is
 tucked amidst an orphaned tea cup and an old Scooby Doo jelly glass
she is lost and forgotten
but she looks beautiful to you
your heart skips a beat
you must have her.
And that, my friends, is how a new collection is born

 The latest object of my affection;

has become my latest OBSESSION
Do you recognize her?

She is the stuff little girl's dreams are made of.

So many wonderful memories came rushing back when I saw her. 
And there you have it.....
the beginning of a new obsession, collection.

This called for a new little tree put in place on my bedroom dresser

Instead of a traditional tree topper, I believe this calls for......

A PINK SHOE, what else?????

and the quest was on to fill it with all the vintage Barbies of my youth. 

Real Vintage Barbies are out of reach for my pocket book and I really wouldn't 
have any place to display them....not quite MY decor. 
But these miniature gems from Hallmark are just right. 

I'm only interested in the Vintage Barbies 1959 through early Sixties.
with all the pretty outfits I remember. 

Tracking down these tiny treasures on E-Bay has been a lot of fun.
Each time a new one arrives in the mail
I'm as excited as a little girl.

Mr. Wonderful just smiles and shakes his head, as I oooh and aaaah over it 
and say..." I remember having this outfit"
It is so sad that the Barbie's today don't have a fraction of the true fashion sense Original Barbie had.
She was always so .....GLAMOROUS 

When I'm purchasing Barbie and her clothes for my little Granddaughter, 
it's shocking how unacceptable most of her looks are now. It's hard to find pretty clothes.

Needless to say little Granddaughter is captivated by this Barbie beauty;
which will all  be hers one day. 
What little girl doesn't love Barbie? Or big girl, for that matter. Ha ha 
Hopefully she'll have fond memories of this sweet tree.
And in the mean time....I'm having enough fun for both of us. 

Now if I could only find .....KEN!!!!!