Gathering Dust

A Downton Abbey Heiress Getaway

A couple months ago I posted about the "heiress" Downton Abbey themed art getaway that Karla and were going to in California, hosted by the talented Deb Hodge.  The retreat was last weekend and with the final episode of Downton tonight, I wanted to show you the California version of the Downton Abbey mansion we stayed at. 

It was incredible- the size, the details, the historical bits, the furnishings.  I've stayed at nice older hotels, but staying in a private home where you could come to breakfast in your jammies, and leaving your craft supplies spread out on a table in the living room was almost like living there.

The living room where we crafted.  The marble fireplace, full of candles, was incredible.  You could almost stand up inside it.

This was a favorite corner in the living room because the details captured all the special little things about the mansion.  The mullions in the window, the gilded chair, the decorative heat vent and the beautifully framed turn of the century family picture.

The treats started as soon as we arrived- champagne jelly bellies, almond champagne and fresh flowers on the landing going upstairs.

Picture by Deb Hodge

Our room was complete comfort in shades of green and black toile.  The special touches continued with personalized pillowcases "Keep Calm and Dream on Beth".

One of the best things about the mansion is it's authenticity.  Other than having wi-fi and big screen TVs, almost nothing has been changed from the 1920s, including this "to the period" bathroom.

You can see more detailed pictures of the house including the old fashioned kitchen with ice box refrigerator and cast iron stove here: The Hansen Mansion.

Another detail I loved- velvet rope hand railing with tassels.

Karla found a "secret" balcony off our suite of rooms.  I say it was secret because it didn't have a door, we had to crawl out of a window to get to it.  If you scroll back to the picture of the house, you can see it on the far right of the picture.  I took these pictures of the garden and the back balcony from the "secret balcony".

The house and gardens were beautiful from the ground level, too;

and even featured a koi pond.

Picture by Deb Hodge

I've got lots more to tell you about Coronado Island, our crafts and side trips, and if I don't get a hold of you, I'm sure you can ring Nadine and she can get you up-to-date.

If You're Going to the Desert, Do It In Style... a Trip to Bouse AZ

Three weeks ago, we flew to Phoenix to meet up with DH's family for a road trip to Bouse AZ, population 996.  Bouse is located about two hours west of Phoenix.  In between Phoenix and Bouse, there's a lot of....sand... yeah, sand and brush.  It's pretty remote.

Our reason for a family vacation to Bouse (instead of a Disney cruise) was that my father-in-law was stationed at Camp Bouse during World War II before he was shipped to Europe.

My father in law is the last confirmed member of his army unit, and we were there for the dedication of a monument to his unit. 

If you click on the link and scroll down past the article, there's a family picture on the right side.  I'm on the left side of the picture holding one of the umbrellas whining "I'm hot".  You can't see everyone, you know how some people always hid in the back of a group picture?  Anyway, there were 30+ of us at the dedication.

And how do you get such a big group to Bouse AZ?

You charter a luxury coach!

And the trip is even better when thoughtful family members have arranged for round trip full meal service and even acted as bus stewards and  stewardesses.

Nieces kept themselves entertained by bringing full backpacks that weigh more than they do. 

And this cutie kept himself completely entertained by looking out the window at the variety of semi trucks and trailers on the other side of the road. Since the bus was up so high, it was a different view than you get from a car.

We made a short stop at the Bouse Museum, housed in a former Assay office.  They had a lot of items related to the town's history as a mining outpost and to the army base set up during WWII.

I was particularly interested in this display outside the museum.  To some people it would just look like rusty junk, but it's actually artifacts found in the desert, most left from the army base that was there over 70 years ago. The museum curator knew the history of all the pieces and if there were related to the army presence or mining activity.

My father-in-law was thrilled that so many of us were able to make it to the dedication, and it was an adventure for all of us.

When we got home, I had a letter from my Mom with a clipping of an article from my hometown newspaper that had just about my Dad's WWII service.

We're proud of our Dads and their service to the country, and the sacrifice and service of all of the Greatest Generation.

Remember That Time When I Was in LA and Saw Warren Beatty

When I first saw pictures of the hotel that Kim Caldwell's An Affaire at Downton

would be held at, I was a little in awe.  The Millennium Biltmore website just oozes old style glamour. 

I already knew the event itself would be fabulous.  Every detail at Kim's events is perfection.  Karla has some great pictures of the table settings,  ballroom and the beautiful mural she painted on her blog.

The hotel exceeded our expectations. This ornate wrought iron balcony looked down over the tea room complete with fountain and grand piano.

Am I starting to sound a little bit like a rube from Kansas? 

It gets better.  Warren Beatty was directing a movie at the hotel.  The main concourse of the hotel was full of actors, techs, extras and equipment.

Occasionally the hall was blocked for a few minutes while they were filming, but no one seemed to mind.  How often do you get to see a movie being made?

Mathew Broderick is in the film, which is rumored to be about Howard Hughes.  I didn't actually see Mathew, but Tiffany posted this picture on Facebook.
But I did see Warren Beatty.  I was on the elevator, the door opened, no one got on or off, but a ruggedly handsome man looked into the elevator and smiled.  As the doors were sliding shut, the three of us on the elevator screamed "That was Warren Beatty".  So, I was 10 feet away from Warren Beatty for about five seconds.

(This tops my previous best "brush with fame", which was selling millinery flowers to Sally Struthers at an antique show.  I already told you, I'm a rube.)

Through out the Biltmore you can see the "Biltmore Angel".

I didn't spend a lot of time looking for her, but she showed up in several of my pictures anyway.

The Biltmore angel even showed up on dessert.

The spa is modeled after a 1920's cruise ship.  Teak deck chairs and beautiful tile work are everywhere.  I especially like the drinking fountain with the seashell motif.

Here are a few more pictures of the lavish decor.

All in all, a perfect place to bring out your finest duds.

(The walk in closet in our hotel room.)

One More Day In New York City

Last Monday, on our trip to New York City, we had tickets to see Katie Couric's show. Katie was just like she seems on TV; funny, perky, friendly.  She chatted with the audience in between segments, and was very good about explaining what was going on; where the cameras were, that she was talking to her producer on her wireless mike and not to an empty chair before the show started.

Katie and her staff were very nice about letting everyone take pictures.  If I had wanted better pictures, I probably should have made friends with the lady in turquoise standing in front of me...

Normally the show is filmed in six segments, in order, but because of different guest's time constraints, we saw last Monday's episode, filmed out of order, and two seperate segments from other shows. 

We had been on the subway by 7:45, in line at 8:30 and seated in the studio since about 10:00.  By the time we got done watching so much TV, I was STARVING.  (Katie's show was nice enough to provide granola bars to tide us over).

As we left the Katie show, a staff member handed out a list of nearby restaurants.  When I spotted Top Chef's Head Judge Tom Colicchio's sandwich shop, WichCraft on the list, I knew where I wanted to go. 

WichCraft is a soup and salad cafeteria style eatery.  There are several all over the city.  We ate at Lincoln Center.

.  I had the chickpea sandwich and tomato soup that was delish. 

An aside: I'm currently on a quest to find the world's best tomato soup.  Maybe not the actual whole world, maybe just where ever it happens to be convenient for me. So far, Nordstrom's and Jason's Deli are neck and neck.

Later, we headed to Times Square to the TKTS booth to get discount tickets to Forever Dusty, a musical about Dusty Springfield.

If your in New York and don't have your heart set on a  particular show, the TKTS booth is the way to go.  They sell same day tickets at 20%- 50% off both Broadway and Off Broadway shows.  I've gotten tickets for every show I've seen in New York City through TKTS, and its always been a positive experience.

The lobby of the Dusty theater had some interesting displays.  They didn't have anything to do with the show, but I thought they were picture worthy.

Especially these hanging corsets.

After the show, we had more delish food.  Crab and Pork Soup Dumplings at a packed restaurant on a dark narrow little street in Chinatown.  I would never have gone there if I hadn't read so many great reviews.

See the "B" sign on the door?  Restaurants in New York are required to post their inspection codes.  Everywhere else we ate had an "A".  The dumplings and scallion pancakes were so good, I'd go there even if they had a "D".

 I've got to make some money for more dumplings, so I've added some new (old) things to my Etsy shops.

Here's what you'll find in Gathering Dust

And SugarPinkMoon

I Know I'm Not the First One to Say It, But I (Heart) New York

(Washington Square Park)
Why do I love big cities?  I think it's the element of surprise.  You just never know when you might stumble across someone sitting on a trash can, playing a grand piano in the middle of a park.

Or maybe it's that you can be in the hustle bustle of Chinatown and Canal Street with its sidewalk vendors and open markets, head down into the subway, and ten minutes later pop out of the subway in Greenwich Village where the view is these serene townhouses.

(On the right, the narrowest house in the city)

(Love this pink townhouse.  I don't care that it still has it's holiday wreath- if you live in a pink house, you decorate it however you want.)

(detail of wrought iron gate and steps)
There are always new neighborhoods to explore. This time, it was Chelsea.

The Chelsea Market is an upscale food court, with an Anthropologie and bookstore thrown in for good measure.  The building was originally the home of the National Biscuit Company, maker of Oreos and Fig Newtons.

They've kept  a lot of the original industrial architectural details like brick work, exposed pipes and beams.

And added some eye catching accents like these arches of lights.

The High Line, an abandoned elevated railway that's been turned into an elevated park, is a few blocks from Chelsea Market.  I'm sure it's prettier in spring as more is in bloom, but it still had a certain elegance in its spareness.  You can read more about it here.

We went to the theater, saw a taping of Katie, and ate great food, but I'll leave that for another post. 

I {Heart} Texas

When Lisa invited Karla and me to join her and Jodie in Texas for the Round Top antique shows, I had no idea there'd be so much more than just shopping.

The scenery and small towns in the area around Warrenton and Round Top are just beautiful.  Rolling hills, longhorn cattle, old farm houses and still thriving main streets were all part of the charm.  We saw cotton fields- something I'd never seen, and huge room size bales of cotton.  Doesn't the cotton look pretty with this galvanized tub?

Here's a picture of  me, Karla & Lisa taken by Jodie in the charming little town of Fayette Texas.  (Jodie told us she's rather take pictures than be in them).

Karla playing Southern Belle in the Fayette town square.

If you're going to wear tennis shoes, you might as well make them pretty.  Actually, the tennis shoes were switched out for sandals shortly after- it was a HOT day.

The area is jam packed full of fields of stuff- old stuff, new stuff, new stuff made to look old...this is kind of where's Waldo picture- can you find the elephant?

We met up with darling Anne of Fiona & Twig for an afternoon of shopping.  Anne brought along her husband, Mr Twig, and he was a lifesaver.

 
He happily watched our carts while we shopped, saved seats at lunch and made sure we were all going in the same direction.  I told Mr Twig that he really set the bar high for husbands helping with junking.

Lots of humor in this part of Texas- at least I though this was funny- a booth called "Dead People's Stuff".

Zapp Hall- the sign is made with rows and rows of bottle caps.

Outside the famous Royers Cafe.

Lisa, Karla and me inside Royers- before we filled up on fried chicken and pie.

I took lots of pictures of displays that caught my eye- I'll post those tomorrow.

Mermaids All Around- Les Sirenes

 
Artistis Affaire Les Sirenes hosted by Kim Caldwell  was a wonderful get away. The weather was perfect, the classes were inspiring, and Kim spoiled us like crazy- I felt like I was at a craft spa.

 
Our hotel was only three blocks from the beach, and even though I was too busy to see the ocean, with all the shell and mermaid decorations, I didn't miss it.  Everyone's chair was decorated with these beautiful shell decorated burlap swags.  (The burlap came in handy- for a few craft projects, I just snipped a bit off the bow- I wasn't vandalizing- Kim let us take all the table decorations home!)

 
Beautiful mermaid and sea coral fans decorated every table.

Lola, Kim's artistic mascot was there- all decked out in sea colors.

Every time we returned to our crafting tables, there were new gifts waiting for us.  We were such pampered mermaids...

I could go on and on (and probably will), but the real world and big girl job are calling me away from the sea- but I had such a wonderful time that I wanted to share just a bit of it while I'm still reveling in mermaid magic.

Shopping SHOPPING shopping sHoPPiNg

 

I packed light for my trip to Virginia so I had some room to bring home some treasures.

But first, I have to show this great shopper's helper that Pamela made for everyone on our Leesburg shopping trip.

  

It's a decorated manilla folder with pockets for everything.

 

Pockets for receipts and business cards, and a pocket full of personalized shipping tags to tie onto your shopping bags.

Have you ever gone on a shopping trip with girlfriends and when it's time to split up, everyone's bags look the same? Problem solved when you tie a tag on your bag as soon as it goes in the trunk.

 

These are some of my purchases from Luckets- things I love- ironstone, pretty old books and wedding and class pictures.

 

On Saturday, Sue of Vintage Rescue Squad was having a yard sale.  I wish I'd had a truck- great deals on things too big for my suitcase.  But I did manage to snag some great old flower frogs to use a picture holders and this quad plate creamer.

 

The rectangular flower frog is perfect to display postcards like this wonderful card made by  Hope of Paper Relics.

 

Our next stop was Accessories of Old in Bethesda- recommended by Jessica  of Such Pretty Things.  Accessories of Old is  VINTAGE HEAVEN.   Everything is new old stock- walls full of buttons, barrettes, trims- all the stuff that makes our heart beat a little faster.

 

I was surprised by how much of it was made in Britian.

 

 

 

 

 

If you go to Accessories of Old (and you should), bring plenty of quarters for the parking meter, because you'll probably want to sit down and start digging.

The Best Birthday Ever

Yesterday was my birthday, and I had the best birthday weekend since I was nine years old and had a pirate themed birthday party with bandanas and eye patches.

 

I spent my birthday at Karla's Condo in Virginia. It was a weekend with lots of shopping, laughing, friends and SEAFOOD.

  

We started with a crabcake lunch and a view of the harbor at Koopers in the Fell's Point area of Baltimore.

On our way to Karla's Condo in Virigina, we stopped at a cute brick front antique shopping area in Kensington MD.  We didn't buy much, but had fun looking because it was picturesque.

Robin joined us for dinner.  Karla and her HH (handsome husband, as Karla calls him) took us out for a fantastic dinner at the Tower Club in Tyson's Corner.  The food- (more seafood- I had the sea bass), the view (17th floor), the service (everyone working there called Karla "Mrs Nathan")- it was all fantastic.

 

Karla gave me this beautiful charm bracelet that she made, and all the charms have a story behind them.    Pretty special to get a custom piece of jewelry for your birthday,huh?

The next day, we met a great group of blogging friends for a shopping trip Heather had put together.

 

Heather, Stephenie and  Lori drove together from Pennsylvania and Ohio (that's not really Heather Stephenie & Lori- just a birthday card they gave me).

We all met up with local girls Hope, Jessica,  Pamela, Amy, and  Andrea  at  the famous Luckett's.  At Lucketts, in a bit of serendipity, we ran into Karen, The Graphic's Fairy.  I follow her blog and download her clip art, but had never really thought about her being a "Real Person".  She is real, and a real sweetheart.

 

Our next stop was On a Whim antiques, where Donna, the gracious owner took a group picture for us in the Prom Dress room.  (I borrowed the picture from Karla).  The prom dress room is incredible- the best collection of vintage prom dresses I've ever seen.

  

Our next stop was downtown Leesburg- lots of fun shops, my favorite was Ekster.  Beautiful soft colors- grays, creams, browns in kind of a European/industrial/Texas Round Top look.

 

 

I have more to tell- meeting Sue  of Vintage Rescue Squad, a visit to a great shop that will have button lovers drooling, the shopping haul and fun gifts. But I think that will have to wait for next time- I still have unpacking to do! 

  

 

With Needle & Thread

  

I've temporarily traded in my knitting needles for a needle and thread for my "TV craft"- the projects I work on while I watch TV.  I've gotten some pretty old calicos and newer florals in auction boxes. 

I've been making yo-yos, and then taking the little bits of fabric that are left over and cutting out 1 1/2" squares to make a doll quilt. I'm pretending I'm pioneer woman who can waste no scrap of fabric.

 

I'm not sure how far I'll get with the quilt- working with 1 1/2" squares is kinda small- and  I'm not sure how fond I am of crafts that require me to wear glasses.

But I'm putting aside the needle and thread for a few days and tomorrow I'm going to Washington/Virginia to visit Karla.  We've got crab cakes on the waterfront, dinner at the restaurant that Karla likes to take pictures at, and antique shopping with a group of bloggers on the agenda- so somehow, I think we'll have fun....