Late Christmas Wish - Guest Post

My name is brandy. And I have a blog.



And a plea.



I use my blog to showcase the crazy I meet everyday, share the stories of the kids I teach and document my love for tequila, dairy products and the abdominal muscles of Ryan Reynolds. Rarely do I talk about personal issues on my blog- as personal as the dude that I adore (who I actually met through my blog- single ladies, let that be a very good reason to blog, the possibility of meeting someone as wonderful as my man), but I need your help. And it involves my dude.



He's a guy who made math comics for my class, so they would love learning about addition. He's the kinda guy who sends my friends gift cards when they are having hard times, who remembers every story I ever told him, who was the first person I celebrated with when I got a teaching job. He's the guy who sent flowers to me at school- dozens of my favourite pink roses just because he loves me. He's a guy who has spent a year patiently explaining (and re-explaining) everything there is to know about football during the important games when silence is preferred. He's made me word puzzles and comics and stayed up late playing Scrabble with me (even though I beat him almost every time). He's listened to me cry about school and family and jobs. He is everything I never knew I needed and everything I always knew I wanted.



The holidays have hit us hard. He's recently been told he may have something called multiple myeloma- an incurable cancer, that gives a person an average of five years of continued life. Though this news has came as a shock, he continues to be exactly who has always been- spending his time worrying about me, rather than worrying about himself. He's the most selfless individual I know- (he stayed late on Christmas Eve to work, so his co-workers could leave early) and a post like this would never be something that he would promote or encourage but when I'm overwhelmed and feeling helpless, the blogging community has always given me tremendous support and comfort, two things I desperately need at this time.



As I write this, the future is uncertain and we aren't sure what's happening. He'll need to see an oncologist soon, to verify what's going on in his body. My hope is that everyone who reads this think positive thoughts and if you are a person who prays, could you add him to your list? (You can refer to him as 'brandy's hot awesome dude'). If you don't pray, please keep him in your heart.This cancer is only a possibility and I believe that the prayers and positive thoughts of people can make sure it never becomes a reality.



I want to give a big thank you to the blog owner who scraped their original blog plans and graciously put this up. My goal is to get as many people as possible to see and read this post. If you are reading this and want to help, copy and paste my plea into your blog or send a link through twitter, so more people can keep him in their thoughts. I would be so very grateful (even more grateful than I am to my friend who first showed me the picture of Ryan Reynolds on the cover of Entertainment Weekly. If you haven't seen it, google it. You. Are. Welcome).



I realize this all sounds dramatic, a Lifetime movie in the making- but this is life. Right now. And I'm throwing away any hint of ego and am humbly asking for you to pray or think kind thoughts. If you are able to pass this on, thank you and if you know anything regarding MM- please email me (my email is on my blog). This isn't a call for sympathy or a plea for pity. It's just one girl hoping you can think positive thoughts for the person she adores. If my current heartache provides you with anything, let it be with the reminder that life is short, love is unbending and no one knows what could happen next. Maybe it is silly, but I really do believe that positive thoughts can make a huge difference. Thank you for reading this and if you haven't already? Please tell someone you love them today.



I did.

Let is snow, let is snow, let is snow…

Or not…

And a snowy good morning to you all!!! 

Today we’re seeing the very first fat flakes of snow this winter, and c’mon, we live in CANADA!  Despite being Canadian however, I don’t do winter.  I don’t do cold weather, and I don’t do mounds of brown slushy much that has spewed itself over every walking service from my door to the car and back. 

Don’t get me wrong, a big snowfall can be a wonderful thing, say, when you have no where to go, no pressing errands to do, and can curl up on the couch with a fluffy warm blanket, a cup of steamy tea in your favorite chipped cup, and the fireplace roaring (or in our case, being completely silent. For some reason gas fireplaces don’t do the roaring business. Unfortunate really.) while you watch tufts of  white magic (that sounds like it might be a code word for a drug.  If it is. Disregard reference) flutter silently from the sky. I think the silence in which these mass piles of snow fall are what makes it amazing.  Let’s examine that thought shall we? (come, please? It’ll do my brain good), rain for instance gives us the whole relaxation package with it’s sleep inducing sound effects on the roof, but essentially as soon as it falls it disappears down the sewer gone from our lives (Usually.  Unless you’re in our city this past summer, then it’s actually filling up your basement and calling your insurance broker letting them know it’s time put some new ‘clauses’ in your policy, however, that’s a whole ‘nother post), like it was never there and an hour later it might be completely dried up and in it’s place a rainbow. 

Our fluffy friend snow on the other hand,is busy stacking itself up 3’ high and lasting for what must be no less than 10 years, make’s no sounds at all.  Nothing. Maybe that’s part of the magic.  When you were a child would  a snow day have been as fabulous if you’d tossed and turned listening to the 200,000 tons of snow coming down all night? Wasn’t it the best to expect nothing other than another day of trudging through the snow to school and walking around with soaked jeans all day (because you were too cool to wear snow pants or appropriate foot wear in grade 8.  Oh wait, was that just me? ) and waking up to white.  And more white.  Rubbing your eyes, giving yourself a little peppy tap in the face to wake up, and realize this isn’t an early morning delusion but that the  entire street (block, town, etc…) was covered in thick blankets of white with more coming down and knowing you can snuggle back down in your duvet and doze back off?

  

That is the very best kind of snow.  Unfortunately it usually has a life expectancy of 48 hours before it’s plowed, salted, sanded and shoveled into submission, turning that white magic into goopy brown gravel encrusted masses that pile up on the side walks, park lots, and most importantly, my kitchen floor.

And then it freezes.  And the everytime you walk out the back door you manage to slip and land on your rear because you managed to walk across the only dime sized patch of ice not salted to death by Mr. Pretties.  Oh.  I guess that’s just me again.  See what I’m telling you? Winter and I don’t get along.  The world would be a better place if we woke up to those magical mornings covered snow, enjoyed the day off and then have Mother Natural give the snow a call, something like ‘Okay Snow Flakes, listen up, the town has to start living again, let’s move up and out, mission completed!’ And off it trots to the next unsuspecting town.  No brown much an all the wonderfulness of a beautiful white day.  See what I’m saying?

Sorry you had to listen to a weather forcast today, but I had to get it out there.  And really, it’s related to this blog because if we weren’t recipients of ‘the cold north’ syndrome we’d have garage sales and antique markets ALL year. Yeah. Not just, say, 6 months of it.  I try not to think about it because I’m really (REALLY) going through Aberfoyle withdrawal right now.  If I want new treasures I have to hunt the thrift stores which all of a sudden have huge mark ups, and, I’ve gone back to work so with Mr. Pretties and I working opposite shifts, there isn’t much thrifting time.  I know, right?  *tear* or scavenge Kijiji, but it’s been slow going on here lately.  I did however score a box of vintage dented Christmas balls for which I was STOKED (not so much stoked about the price. At $3 EACH.  But I REALLY wanted some. And The LLP has already smashed one. I cried. Just saying. And yes I know I shouldn’t have put them on the tree at all knowing the LPs are loving redecorating it about 2 million times an hour).  I found some 1920’s Christmas lights with fabric cords which I thought were absolutely adorable (not to be plugged in ofcourse…  some how I don’t think burning the house down is the way to go this year…) but the seller wanted $40 per 8 light string.  I’m not sure, but I’m fairly certain Mr. Pretties would lost his stuff if I told him I was buying 8 Christmas lights that couldn’t actually be lit for $40.  It’s just a hunch…

How’re all, your holiday plans going out there?  I can’t wait to see everyone’s Christmas House Tour photos in all the tours coming up, I know Rhoda at Southern Hospitality started one yesterday and the Nester at The Nesting Place is having on next week, they’re so much fun to look at, everyone has such great ideas on how to decorate outside the box!   

Funky Junk’s Saturday Nite Special…

Hi all your clever creaters out there this afternoon!  While surfing this black hole we call the internet (do you ever just get sucked right in? The Vintage spot in Etsy could kill HOURS for me) and came across Funky Junk Interiors and she’s hosting a Saturday Nite Special (tonight) so grab a Mr. Linky and link up, or check out everyone else’s clever junk creations!

Let’s see what you’ve been up to this week!!!

ALSO

Flea Market Style is having a favorite find Mr. Linky party today and are giving away this sweet honey

How much fun are Mr. Linky parties I ask you?! I love finding other blogs I didn’t know existed (hello, black hole??? In a good way obviously… well good way to me, bad way to Mr. Pretties but I digress…) and seeing what awesome ideas everyone comes up with, there never seems to be a low supply of creativity in blogland so get clicking :)

Happy White Wednesday!

Good morning girlies, how’s it?  We’re doing another rendition of Faded Charm’s fabulous White Wednesday

Pop on by and see what white everyone else has going on this morning (afternoon?).

I’ll be honest right now, this is a recycled WW because my camera is on loan until tomorrow, so I was forced to scour the memory card for some white ;)  There’s so many things I want to share with you all that it’s killing me to have to share ‘reruns’ today.  Not to worry, it just means Thrify Thursday will be better.

On the left is an old piece of architectural salvage that we (I) picked out of the trash last winter.  This thing weighs a ton, no joke, and has made a fabulous plant stand, lamp stand, and currently, an aquarium stand.  It’s one flaw is that it’s missing a piece of it’s fourth leg so it’s best stood in a corner.  I still like it.

Our freebie dresser from some sweet friends who were going to Sally Ann her a few summers ago.  She’s got a before and after on the blog somewhere.  She’s our front hall dresser now and sweet as a button.

Not a fabulous photo (and wrongly time stamped I might add) but this washstand is the first old piece Mr. Pretties and I ever bought.  It used to have doors.  The drawer used to work.  We aren’t going to revisit why neither of those things happen now.  I’m sure I’ve blogged it before.  But even still, after all these flaws and six years, I still love her and will always find a place for her to go.  Please don’t mind the mess, we were storing quite a bit of furniture in our bedroom while we got some painting done ;)

One of the most gorgeous dressers I’ve ever seen.  My great friend Jess took this dresser from the rough and turned it into a piece of sheer french decadence.  No surprise it was snapped up in a mighty hurry along with it’s matching tallboy and vanity.  Her work is really so fabulous, she should open a shop!

And this guy is a soon-to-be White Wednesday participant, he’s coming home tomorrow night and going in for a makeover.

 

We’ll see how that goes, but I have great visions of this guy turning out fabulously handsome (or into a girl, once a piece is shabbied, does that automatically make it female? Probably, eh?) And happily last weeks White Wednesday dresser was sold this weekend so she’ll be delivered to her new home Friday night.  There really is nothing better than working really hard to make something beautiful and unique and have someone really, really love it.  Also walking around your house telling you how cute everything is doesn’t hurt either.  I love it when people ‘get it’.

I can’t wait to see what everyone else has dug up for today, I’m always amazed at how you all can keep WW looking fresh and new week after week!

See you tomorrow with some thrifty finds!

XO

Jenn

White Wednesday

Happy wonderfully white Wednesday friends! With another round of  Faded Charm’s White Wednesday I’m going to share some of my favorite white kitchen inspiration that I’ve collected here and there.

One of the sweetest vignettes from HGTV I am so in love with that bird, those books, and the rust old box behind it all.  What is it about these worn and rusted pieces that just feel so cozy?

I am so sorry, but I can’t find the sites I got these from, I tried retracing my steps (aka Googling Shabby/Distressed/Antique Kitchen images) so if anyone knows please let me know so I can link them up :) 

But truly, how adorable is that pink enamelware paired up with chippy white and cream? Yum! This photo is courtesy of Country Living, which is just one of my guilty pleasures.

Those cupboards I love more than is natural for any living thing to love an inanimate object.  Seriously.  Mr. Pretties would drop dead if he came home to cupboards like that, but they make me swoon…

This is such a fabulously eclectic mix, that old scuffy farm table paired with antique balloon back chairs, married to pink chandies, french throw pillows, and even some mod fruit baskets.  This all works so well, it’s eye candy to the max.

Look at that sink.  Are you absorbing it’s fabulousness? Talk about a time saver, when you’re done washing the dishes, you can hope in and take a bath! Kidding. Sort of.  And check those old glass cupboards? There is nothing I like better than those old glass cupboards with the latches, they’re just so sweet and wonderful, nothing can beat that.  Of course then we’d have to stop allowing clutter to accumulate in our cupboards.  Does anyone else have that problem or is it just us?

And for the most wonderful touch of childhood white whimsy click that little square of sweetness above to visit the rest of Sophie’s playhouse at Restyled Home if you haven’t already.  Not only do I want to get the LPs one,  I want two for myself. *Love*

And lastly, if you’d like to see an amazing house make over from shabby (bad) to white, elegant and wonderful, pop over to The Old Painted Cottage, it’s delish, you wont regret it!

So I’m going to get on my way now and see what other white treasures are out there this morning! I’m sure you girls have put on another wonderful show again today, chock full of inspiration ;)

XO

Jenn

Tattered Tuesday

How’s it girlies? Everyone get themselves a get themselves a cup of a cozy beverage this morning? I hope so, I’m certainly enjoying this spot of tea on this rather chilly morning!

So… a few weekends ago Mr. Pretties and I attended the Christie Antique show – which is big guns in Ontario.  For whatever reason we’d never attended before (could it be because the idea of taking the three LPs to an antique show garners images of small raging bulls in a very small china shop?) but this year the stars aligned and we were on our way!  To be honest, the enormity of it is a little over whelming.  But it was pretty amazing, so many birds of a feather, some unique and wonderful curiosities!  I took my camera with the full intentional of photographing everything in sight to share with you, but the weirdest thing happened, when I got there and got out my camera I felt completely awkward and like everyone in the entire conservation area was starring at me and thinking ‘she can’t possibly think it’s okay to take pictures here, can she?’

So I casually snapped this one photo, but to my chagrin I couldn’t get cloes enough to the owner to find out a name of this booth or the shop it came from, it had SUCH lovely stuff, even half way through the show!  She the most darling little tiny leather baby shoes from 1909 that I was tempted to buy, but didn’t, because then I’d have to explain to Mr. Pretties why I spent $20 on two 2” craps of worn leather.  I wasn’t in the mood that day, remember, overwhelmed (and frequently overwhelm causes migraines).  So this is the one photo I took:

It was just so romantically shabby and delicious!

One of the first booths we stopped in at Christie was the booth owned by Tattered and Torn (not the song by Slipknot, either) She’s at both Christie shows each year as well at the Southworks Antique Mall in Cambridge, Ontario.

Here are some of her photos of items she had at Christie this year that’re just yummy!

And just as an FYI, this is what my retirement looks like:

That right there gals, it my dream.  A truck loaded front to back with fabulous treasures.  That may actually be more furniture than I currently have in my house right now… and believe me, we can’t move in my house so there’s a lot of it!

What antique show or fleas have you really enjoyed in the past?  I would love to make a trip to Brimfield, Bonanza and some of the other American ones one day.  The french fleas and Portobello Road are on my list as well.  I swear I came across a popular blog along my travels (I think maybe it was linked to Friday Flea Market?) that was actually organizing a trip to Italy to go to the open air markets.  Can you imagine?! The price was quite reasonable as well, but there is no way on God’s green earth I could talk Mr. Pretties into funding a $2000+ trip across the world to bring more stuff home!

XO

Jenn

Junkin’ Monday…

Courtesy of Nice and Easy Antiques at the Cottage Charm and Family Inspiration blog, we’re going to start doing Junkin Monday!

How are all you gals doing this morning?  Hope you all had a very fall weekend and maybe did some treasure hunting as we’re all want to do?  Hopefully your Sunday’s weather was more cooperative than ours ;)  Sunday couldn’t decide between warm and sunny, or freezing with torrential down pours…  naturally as we pulled into the parking lot (field?) at Aberfoyle to visit our friends who were selling that day, it decided on freezing with torrential down pours…  Oy vey!

Southern Hospitality is done Thrifty Treasures Monday for this season, so I think we’re going to do a ‘before and after’ thread, except that I don’t have the real before pictures, so we’re going to do a ‘almost done and after’ posting instead ;) Hopefully that works for you all. 

We picked this depression era dresser up about eight (!) weeks ago and while it has lots of beautiful detailing, it also had lots (and LOTS) of thick glossy orange paint with an over coat of thick, drippy brown oil paint. Yum. The top needed to be chipped off, one inch at a time, no amount of sanding or stripper would do it (hey there, get that head out of the gutter! and believe you me, if I could find a stripper who could have stripped that puppy faster I would have!).  So after many man hours spent chipping, stripping, sanding, and several good coats of a very adhesive primer, we ended up with this little girl who showed her face on White Wednesday:

After this week did a few more light sandings, then added a couple coats of a custom blended antique morning cream high resistance paint, varnished the top with a satin varnish (non shiney), gave the entire body and mirror a hand rubbed coat of paste wax to absorb damage, and lined the top two drawers with sweet 1940’s sheet music love songs, and sealed them (c’mon folks, we don’t need to be sporting love songs on our knickers now do we?) up.

  Now this sweetheart is read to begin her new life somewhere else (or in my dining room… since we’re pretty partial to her… she can stay if she doesn’t meet anyone’s fancy on Kijiji)

I kid you not, Mr Pretties and I, and the three LPs all cram into this room to eat supper each night, the ambiance is so much nicer than the kitchen table.  Drop leafs are a god send when your dining room (closet?) has a space deficiency ;)

So what were you all up to this weekend, do tell! Are you fortunate enough to live in an area that has year round garage sales? Oh how I would love that (along with year round warmth and sunshine… and lack of snow…).

In addition, while walking home from school with the LPs this afternoon I spotted an old wooden vintage dollhouse.  In the trash.  And I scooped it up. In broad day light. With my children present.  Oh, and I’m not ashamed…  We’ll talk about that on White Wednesday, or maybe Junkin’ Monday next week ;)

Thanks for stopping by MMPretties, can’t wait to poke around blogland today to see what’s what with all of you :)

XO

Jenn