THOUGHTS OF CHRISTMAS

Thoughts of Christmas

Well here it is almost Christmas time.  I have spent much time over the past month preparing for Christmas Day.  This Christmas is especially hard for me for many reason.  The first being that my Eric is spending this Christmas away from home and the second reason is that my little Mom is incredibly sick.  Yesterday was a very hard and long day for my Mom and me.  Mom had to go into the hospital for a heart catheter.  We started out our morning with high hopes that she would be better once they had done the heart cath and hopefully fixed whatever was broken but alas, that was not to be.  My mom has heart problems but they are far beyond being fixed.  I am immensely heart broken and incredibly sad.  I know both she and I need time to process what has happened but for now all I know is that it hurts.  We will however, move forward and make the best of this Christmas. 

With all the things that happened yesterday there were some bright spots.  The people that helped us get through the day were wonderful.  Mom handled everything pretty well and this alone is a blessing as she hates Doctors and Hospital.  This this is why she has gone without proper care for so long.  It is very difficult for her to go to a Doctor for anything.  Yet, there was goodness and kindness in the people that were with us today.  We may never see them again but I will remember them.  

When I brought Mom home after 13 hours of waiting and crying, I drove up to see a beautiful floral arrangement sitting on the porch.  I thought it might be for my Mom and I looked at the card and it was for me.  My beautiful friend Valerie had sent me the most precious Christmas flowers.  They are inside a tea cup sitting on a saucer that says "Twas The Night Before Christmas".  There is also a sweet little mouse curled up sleeping and he seems to be dreaming. I imagined that he is dreaming of happy days and having beautiful thoughts of Christmas.   

My tired and tear stained face suddenly smiled and I felt that as bad as everything was here in this moment, someone had thought of me and somehow I didn't feel so alone.  Many hours later with a few moments of sleep and after letting the day wear off a little, I realized that no matter how bad things can be, there are always things that are good around us.  I am loved and I love and somehow through love we get through these things and eventually all bad things pass.  

So like my little mouse, I am dreaming of happier days and hanging on to beautiful thoughts of  Christmas. 

 I wish everyone much love and happiness....

Beverly -  Tea Cottage Pretties.

TWININGS TEA FOR CHRISTMAS

Twinings Tea For Christmas

My Eric is away this year so we will not get to be together for Christmas.  He is off doing what he does and serving our country.  Yes, I am a military wife and I often find myself alone without him, taking care of things here on the home front.  It can be a hard life at times and I won't even begin to tell you all how much I miss him.  I can however tell you that he and I are tremendously in love with each other.  He is a very kind and generous person and he spoils me rotten.  Although, usually he does not go out and buy me gifts, he always tells me that I can have whatever I want.  During the Holidays we usually do not buy each other gifts and opt instead to buy gifts for others and to make sure our sweet girls have a great Christmas.  However, this year I needed something warm and relaxing so I decided I wanted a beautiful box of tea.  I love Twinings Tea and I told him that is what I wanted and so that is what I got.  It came in a beautiful well crafted wooden box and I just love it.  Although I can picture the box filled with lovely lace, vintage buttons and other beautiful things.  I could even see it as a jewelry box but I do intend to keep my teas in my box.  I was so happy with my tea that I wanted to share it.  

Evenings are my favorite part of the day.  I love talking to my girls and spending time with them. Then once they are off to bed I love to sit with my Eric and just relax.  My tea is part of my evening routine. It really does seem to relax me and make me feel all warm and cozy. 

So Merry Christmas to me and a very Merry Christmas to everyone. 

May your evenings all be warm and cozy....

My Eric

PINK FAUX FUR PURSE

Pink Faux Fur Purse

Well I have finally finished my Christmas decorating.  I was kind of slow this year because I have a lot of things going on in my life and with my hubby gone, well let's just say it took me some time but I am glad to report that I finally finished!!!  So this past week I decided to make a little something for myself. I found some really pretty pink faux fur on Etsy and I had to make a purse out of it, of course.  I love how it turned out and I wanted to share it  here on my blog.  While I was a taking a picture of the purse I took some pictures of a few things on my dresser and I thought I would share those as well.  

Here is my purse made from pink faux fur.  I decorated it with a large rhinestone crown brooch, a large diamond ring, some girly jewelry and a black ribbon.  The lining inside is black so I went with a pink and black color scheme. 

Here is my purse with my Eric Bear (he keeps me company when my Eric is away) and my fabulous blue vintage pillow. 

My vintage pink pearls with vintage Limoges brooch and Paris ribbon. 

Some of my vintage Limoges/Porcelain brooches and a lovely plate. 

Also I celebrated my Birthday this past week.  I got a few gifts that I just love.  My Mom bought me a faux fur scarf and my friend Mary bought me a fabulous Victoria Secrets gift set. My son made dinner for me and my daughter made me a fabulous desert.  We had pound cake topped with vanilla ice cream and strawberries and then covered in white chocolate ganache.  Everything was homemade and so good. I had a great birthday and I am very blessed. 

As always thank you ever so kindly for stopping by and come back real soon.  

VINTAGE COASTERS A TREASURE FOUND

Vintage Coasters

A Treasure Found

Thrifting (is that a even a word, it is in my world) is like a treasure hunt and  every once in awhile you find something that you just completely fall in love with. You know that special unexpected treasure.  After all isn't that why we go thrifting?  The great thing is those found treasure usually only cost a few dollars.  When you find a treasure you grab it, you get all excited and you can't believe it is going to be yours.  That's right ALL yours and you want to run to the checkout and buy it so that you can seal the deal.  Well that is what happened when I found these beautiful coasters.  They where in this pretty gold embossed box with a metal latch.  Once I opened the box I was taken aback by the beautiful coasters inside. Each one has a lovely picture of a beautifully dressed lady.  The colors are so vivid and beautiful and they are in fabulous condition.  

Here they all are out of the box.

This is the box that holds them and protects them. 

Box Open

 Another photo of these lovelies.....

Aren't these ladies just beautiful?

Here's hoping all your treasure hunts end 

with something beautiful!!

Until next time have a lovely and treasure filled day!!!

HOLIDAY CLOTHES

Holiday Clothes

My husband and I do not really buy each other anything for Christmas.  We have always just made sure our children have a wonderful Christmas and given gifts to others.  Although being a girly girl I love the Holiday fashion this time of the year, so I usually mange to get out and find a few pieces that I love and add them to my closet.  This year I especially love all the retro styled dress and accessories.  Now mind you I am no fashion photographer but I still wanted to share some of the things that I found and could not live without this Holiday Season. I found some lovely retro styled dress one green with a lace print on it and another red lace dress that is to die for.  Also a very pretty blouse with a black bow accent.  We all have black pants so this was a must have to go with my comfy black dress pants. 

 

Now along with the pretty clothes I love all things sparkly and the accessories this year are fabulous.  I found a really cute hat which has a 1940's flair to it.  I found both a silver and a gold stretch belt with that extra sparkle and of course some lovely bracelets for that extra sparkle. 

  

I love dresses and dressing up just because, it is the one thing I do for myself. I never save my pretty clothes for special occasions but instead I wear them just because I want to wear them.  So dress up and enjoy yourself this Holiday Season and sparkle sparkle......



Dresses, Hat, Gold Bracelet with Bow and Silver Belt are all from Dress Barn. Some pieces are from Charlotte Russe.  I wanted to let you know just in case you like them. I am not being paid to mention them on my blog. 

VINTAGE APRON AND DECORATING FOR CHRISTMAS

Vintage Apron
and 
Decorating for Christmas

Today while I was working on decorating my living room for Christmas, I happened upon a pretty vintage apron of mine.  I love this little beauty although I am have my doubts that is would really serve any purpose in the kitchen aside from looking really pretty.  I love the little pocket with the lace trim.  It was by no means an expensive apron but to me it is so beautiful, I think I pick it up for about $2.00.  I folded it and took a few pictures to share and when I was done I left it laying on the chair because it just looked so pretty there. 

I am making progress with my decorating and I am almost finished inside. Here are a couple photos of my living room. 

A nice black and white

And finally one with the lights out except for the tree and decorations.  

and one collage of some of my favorite ornaments.

This coming up week I hope to get the outside decorating done.  I will post more photos soon so be sure to come back and visit.  I am also going to share some beautiful vintage coasters that I have with lovely ladies on them. 

      See you soon and Happy Decorating Everyone!!!!!

Beverly
Tea Cottage Pretties

A CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR MY SISTER

A Christmas Gift for My Sister


My Harold Gale Pink Santa

This year I am making gifts for some of my loved ones.  I wanted to make a purse for my sister and I loved my collage purse so much that I thought I would make one for her.  My sister loves religious jewelry and girly things so I decided to make her a purse and include the Lord's Prayer and some special things just for her.  I ordered a great heart from Michelle at Designs by Shell that served as my inspiration.  I used a card for the Lord's Prayer and I added my sister's name to personalize her purse. I added a cross with a little bit of sparkle but not to much. I added all sorts of lace and ribbons and of course her very special two sided heart with Proverbs 3:6 on it.  I think it turned out really nice and I hope she will love her new purse made by her very own sister - Beverly. 

Leave me a message and let me know what handmade items you are making this year for Christmas gifts.  I will be here sharing my Holidays with you all, so be sure to drop by anytime. 

Until next time...

Happy Holiday Crafting!!!

Oh and my pink Harold Gale Santa is just showing off.

DECORATING FOR THE HOLIDAYS - A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS

Decorating For The Holidays - A Few Of My Favorite Things. 

I so love decorating and with the Holiday Season just around the corner I felt it was time to get started.   The hardest part is always dragging out all those boxes.  However, once I have them out and I open them up one at a time, it is like opening a treasure chest full of wonderful and delightful treasures.   Not only are my decorations precious treasures of memories past but also treasure from vintage days gone by.  My Holiday decorations are no different from all the things I love.  Many of them are vintage and speak to me of those days gone by from long long ago when I was a child myself.  For me this is really the best part of the Holidays.  

I am not really much into having to spend money on gifts for people that I never know what I am suppose to give them anyway and that no one can really afford anyway.  I am more into the feelings of goodwill, being with family and friends, sharing food and laughs and of course remembering why we celebrate in the first place.  Now of course I love seeing my children have a great Christmas.  What mom would not love the smiles on their children's faces.  Like my memories I want my girls to have beautiful memories as well. 

So while I was pulling out all those boxes and opening them up, I thought why don't I share some of my goodies with others, after all the Holidays are about sharing.  Just as I have opened these boxes year after year, I have shared some of them before here on my blog.  I still thought you may enjoy looking at them with me again. Somehow each year they become more precious to me.  So enjoy and please come back as I add more pictures while I decorate with a few of my favorite things.  

I have these beautiful vintage angel ornaments.  I was lucky to find these beauties in near mint condition and still in their original box.  I always smile when I pull them out of their special hiding place.  

Here they are tucked away in their very own box.

 The label on their box. 

This is my Christmas Nativity Scene.  These are very precious to me and they have a prominent spot in my formal living room. 

Awwww sweet vintage angles mint of card.
 Does anyone remember these from, well back in the day?

 My pink vintage snowman. I so love vintage spun cotton.  I remember these from when I was a tiny little girl.  Isn't it funny how these inexpensive little decorations that were made in Japan somehow seem so precious now?

 Oh yes my pink snowman and a pink angel. 
Yes, I am dreaming of a pink Christmas. 

 Here are a few shots of my Christmas Village. 

Sweet little house painted and decorated by me.

Sweet church painted and decorated by me as well.

 Finally tonight I wanted to share my sweet pink feather angel. I just love her to pieces.
 Look at that tiny sweet face.  

Be sure to drop back by during the Holiday Season as I will be adding more photos.  For now it is back to decorating and enjoy my treasures. 

Oh and just in case I forget

HAPPY HOLIDAYS 

Here's hoping you and yours have a very 

MERRY CHRISTMAS

From Tea Cottage Pretties

THINKING ABOUT MY HUSBAND

Thinking About My Husband

I haven't posted anything new to my blog in some time but tonight I was thinking about my husband.  He is far away right now and I miss him terribly.  We have been together for 17 years and I am as much in love with him now as I have always been.  I think we fall in love every time we look at each other. I know I certainly fall in love with him whenever I sense he is near me.  He always whispers the sweetest things in my ear and it made me think of a quote by Judy Garland. So I made a little graphic with this quote in it, and it goes like this:

That pretty much sums it up for me.

  I love you Eric 

and for the little things I do so I can feel closer to him...

I promise to be back very soon and post some of my Limoges and some things I am working on. See you soon my lovelies....

A KISS FROM A PERFECT STRANGER

A Kiss From A Perfect Stranger

My new bracelet handmade of course by me. 

We go through life everyday and for the most part it seems we just pass each other by.  You know the people we pass on the street or in stores.  How often do we really look at them and see them as they pass us by?  How often do they notice us as we pass them by?  Today was a long day for me and my mother.  She had to go to the hospital to take a stress test.  Now for most people this would not be a big deal at all but for my mom it was almost more than she could handle.  For three days she has been a nervous wreck.  I am not talking about a little nervous I am talking about breaking out the inhaler, no sleep, shaking, not eating and so on.  I thought for sure she would back out and she did try to bolt out of the hospital once we arrived but somehow we managed to get her to stay.  After many long hours the test was done and I brought her home. That in and of itself was a remarkable feat and we were both glad that it was over.  However, during her ordeal something very profound happened and I left the hospital feeling very different than I did when we arrived.  

All of the people we encountered while at this hospital were so very wonderful and helpful and I mean everyone.  They were all caring, compassionate, patient, kind, professional, and the list goes on.  This was true for the ladies at the information desk, the registration clerk, the nurses, doctors and technicians.  I watched them as I do, especially when I am in a new place or situation and I was astonished at how well they went about doing their work.  They cared for my mother with such compassion, tenderness and understanding. I credit her staying and actually getting through the test to their work and how they handled my mom.  

Her imaging tech was named Patrick and he did such a fabulous job even though my mom was having a hard time with the machine and the fact that she had to lay flat with her arms over her head. This is very hard for my mom to do.  Yet,  somehow he manged to get her to do it and he stood with her holding her hands while the images flashed on the screen. This took 15 minutes and yet he stood there never letting her go.  We were on the last set of images and I was chatting with Patrick.  I felt the need to tell him how wonderful everyone had been and how much I appreciated everything they had done for us.  This was truly a hard day for us and they had made it okay for us somehow.  I just wanted him to know what it meant to us.  He motioned for me to lean in closer to him to say something near my ear, the machine was a little loud, and he whispered to me "thank you,  no one ever tells us thank you"  I thought that was all and he motioned again as if he had something else to say and I leaned in a little and he kissed me on my temple.  There was nothing romantic or suggestive about it or anything like that.  It was a kiss filled with gratitude for noticing a job well done.  

At first I was taken aback by his kiss not because it felt wrong or inappropriate but because it was unexpected.  It was a sweet and precious return for the gift I had given him. My gift to him was that I did not just pass him by but instead I noticed him and I let him know that I had noticed. I  did not take his kindness or patients for granted but instead I appreciated it and in return he appreciated me.  There is a lesson to be learned here I am sure of it.  The lesson might just  be that maybe,  just maybe,  we should be careful when we pass each other by because we might just miss an opportunity to appreciate each other. Life is precious and we are all carrying our baggage and you never know when you might actually change someones day, week, month or life.....  Maybe we should not miss an opportunity to make the world a better place.  For today neither myself nor Patrick let that moment pass us by. We did what we felt and in some small way I would like to think that we both had a profound effect on each other.  I am sure for the next few days he will remember what I said and he will be better for it and perhaps so will his patients. What I do know is that I was touched and changed and I am sure I will not forget his kiss for some time to come.  So today I was kissed by a perfect stranger...........
and it changed my day.

 I have not had much time lately to craft anything but I did manage to make a few bracelets.  I have plans to make a purse for a friend. Until I get around to that enjoy a few pictures of my bracelets. 

Until next time we meet,  take the time to let someone know they are appreciated without any expectations, it could change your day. 

BETTER DAYS AHEAD

Better Days Ahead

I have been away from my blog for a while so I wanted to let everyone know what has been going on with me here at Tea Cottage Pretties.  As most of you know I lost my baby brother Paul back in June of this year.  My mother and my brother had lived together all of his life with the exception of only a few years.  He was born disabled and although he manage to take care of himself independently he was never able to hold down a job.  My mother and he had a special bond and it was not until he passed away that I realized how much they meant to each other.  Without my brother, my mom has become very sick and weak and I believe it is because she is grieving.  I wish I could make everything okay for her but I know only time will heal her broken heart.  My mother told me that she was scared to be alone and I asked if she wanted to come stay with us and she said yes.

My beautiful and loving husband told me that he would go get my mother for me and bring her here.  He had only two weeks left before he would deploy to serve in another country for a year but he would take a week of that and go get her and that is exactly what he did.  He drove two days to get to her home in North Carolina and then he had to help get her things packed up and in storage.  My brother's girlfriend (love of his life) Trish and my Eric got the work done and then my husband headed back to Texas with my mom.  The trip was hard on him and on my mother but they made it here.  My mom is very sick and she needs a lot of care.  It is my hope to help her regain her strength, heal and become independent again.

Many things have transpired since my baby brother passed away.  I have learned many things about life, people and myself.  Some things have been very painful, some unfortunate and some just down right sad.  I have seen others behave in ways that I can't even begin to understand and it has colored what I once thought of them.  So I have lost not only my baby brother but my healthy mother and my previous notions and beliefs about others in my life. 

Although I have lost some things in life, I have gained some things as well.  First and foremost, I have gained a new found understanding of just how much my husband loves me.  I have learned how far he will go to do something just because I told him I needed him.  He unselfishly sacrificed himself to make sure that my mother got here and he has been wonderful since she arrived.  I say all this with tears in my eyes because it overwhelms me just how much this beautiful man loves me.

Secondly, in dealing with others I have learned to make better judgements.  I have learned that sometimes you must have the grace to turn and walk away from others.  Sometimes no matter what you might have said it would not have changed anything and you might actually hurt others in the process.  Conversely, I have learned when necessary I will put a stop to someones bad behavior and simply not allow them to impose more pain and heartache on those I love.  Mostly, I have learned when to know the difference between those situation when I should simply walk away and when I should intervene.  I have essentially learned to pick my battles.

Last but certainly not least, I have learned that I am stronger than I knew I was before.  I have learned to have tremendous faith and to trust in my faith.  I have learned that no matter how bad things can be you can weather the storm.  I have learned that things have a funny way of working out and that somehow God will provide what is needed to see you through the storm.   I have learned that even on the darkest of days there is always hope.  We must always trust in our faith, have hope and believe that this to shall pass and that we will see better days ahead.  

SCHOOLS STARTING, A PURSE OF MY OWN AND #22 LIMOGES COFFEE POT

Schools Starting :(

A Purse Of My Very Own

and 

#22  Limoges Coffee Pot

We have been super busy here at Tea Cottage Pretties. I have two beautiful girls that I have been trying to get ready for school.  I always hate it when my babies go back to school.  True story:  I went to provide proof of residence for my youngest at her school.  While there the secretary asked if I was glad school was starting back and I immediately said "NO".  She looked at me kind of funny and said "really????"  I said  "no, I am never ready for my girls to go back to school".  I haven't even gotten over having to send them for their first day of school when they were little. She told me I was different from most parents and that usually they are so ready for the children to go back to school. Well I am not that parent I guess but I will be okay and we will get into our routine. My girls do very well in school and I am very proud of them. That is once we finish getting ready.... almost there......

In other news.....

A Purse of My Very Own

I love the purses I have been making and I so enjoy designing them with all the little details. There are a few things I do not like about every pattern I have  found so this made me think, maybe I should make my own pattern and tweak it to my liking.  So I am currently educating myself in the school of purse making.  I love the interwebs because there are so many wonderful tutorials out there.  Just about anything you want to learn is out there somewhere.  It does take a lot of research and sorting through the tutorials but eventually you will find what you need. After much research this past week and a lot of hours and hard work I now have 2 purse patterns that I am working on.  For the next few weeks I will be working on my new adventure. Who knew a simple idea would lead to me thinking about designing beautiful purses even in my sleep. Yes, I have been dreaming of all sorts of ideas while sleeping. Once I get everything worked out perfectly I will post a picture of my new purse. Maybe in the near future I can offer them for sale. We will see where this takes me. 

#22 Limoges Coffee Pot

Also, this week I wanted to share some more of my Limoges pieces.  I wanted to choose something extra special so I chose my Limoges Coffee Pot.  This piece is very stunning and it is actually my favorite of all my Limoges pieces. Well at least one of my favorites. It is highly detailed with beads, 22K gold designs and trim, beautiful handpainted roses and lovely shades of blue (with fading).  I took lots of photos to show the fabulous details of this piece.  I am a detail person and it so appeals to me.  

Here is a picture I took of it when I first got it about 5 years ago. 

And here are my new pictures taken for this weeks post. 

Back

Front 

 Handle

Spout 

Close Up 

Markings 
ELITE
L
FRANCE
Elite marking after 1900's 

To all the Moms and Children starting back to school, we wish everyone a great year!  

With Fall on the way it is time to start thinking about pumpkins and spices and good Family times together.  I am waiting patiently for that first crisp feeling in the air, telling me that Fall is in fact on it's way.  Of course living in South Texas it may be a while yet so I won't wish my days away. I am just happy to know that the very HOT summer is almost over. 

Thank you ever so kindly for visiting and come again.
Tea Cottage Pretties would like to wish everyone a very Happy Fall!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hugs, Beverly

Tea Cottage Pretties