Merry Christmas!

Here's to a wondrous holiday season filled with all the joys that Christmas brings and blessings to each of you for a healthy, happy and prosperous new year. Joy to the world!

celebrating more wonderful friendships . . .

The best gifts are those little ones that come from the heart. These sweet little wooden egg cups were given to us by a dear friend to help us get our ducks in a row. (and to that end, we need all the help we can get.) Another wonderful gift from this same friend is this wonderful crusty tin in which the little treasures were hidden -- which we felt compelled to fill with roses and use as a centerpiece. It's so nice to have friends who get you.

I hope he knows how thankful we are for his thoughtfulness and for all he does for us throughout the year.

Friends like him are the Crazy Richard's Chunky Natural Peanut Butter in the sandwhich of life.

celebrating wonderful friendships

In the true spirit of this holiday season we got together with a few of our dearest friends and had a little gift exchange. We shared a wonderful time with each other eating great food from one of our most favorite restaurants, Tuscarora Mill, drinking our favorite wine and yes, Oprah's pomegranite martinis served by the cutest bartender you'll ever see, sharing great stories, laughing, reflecting back on many years of incredible memories and wondering why we don't do this more often! It's so easy to be with friends you love, so regenerating to the soul. What's not as easy is trying to get everyone together on the same night at the same time! But thankfully we managed to do it and hopefully we'll do it again before too long!

Treat yourself to a night out with the friends you love. You deserve it.

A four legged post

My little friend, Elsa, stopped in to the cottage today. She sends regards to each of you.

I wonder if Elsa can tell me why so many furry friends pull their humans into the cottage. There is some irresistable allure (maybe bacon under the floorboards).

Enjoy your weekend!
Ann and Elsa

Our first snowfall of the winter

Yesterday brought us our first snow. I love how it magically whitewashes everything and makes it look so calm and majestic.

Do you see my little friend on the tree? (He and his friends have been enjoying eating our pumpkins right down to their stems!)

Welcoming December . . .

Christmas is a mere three weeks away and most of the folks I've talked to haven't even started their Christmas shopping. Rather they're shopping for themselves and their homes.

We've brought some pretty amazing pieces in the shop and they're walking out as quickly as we can bring them in! We have a fabulous piece coming in --can't wait to style and photograph it! In the meantime we'll keep bringing in fresh things to help you ready your house for company.

We've got a lot of great hostess gifts and special finds for that person on your list who truly appreciates thoughtful unique gifts and good old things. So come in and get a little dose of vintage retail therapy to recharge your spirit and soul. (We like to think you'll be doing something good for the world too -- go green, buy antiques!)

A little teaser . . .

Still getting my ducks in a row - but here's a little taste of our on line store posting to be . . .

Our postman rocks!

Linda and I aren't letting the Christmas frenzy stop us from bringing in new cottage finds. We just unloaded two truckloads of goodies and I'll post some pictures to show you how great they look in the shop!

Which brings to mind something we must tell you -

We have the B E S T postman E V E R in the history of the world. (Amy, I think he might even be better than Mr. T.) A couple of weeks ago Linda and I were trying rather futiley to squeeze a bohemoth work bench the size of the state of Texas through the modest 18th century doorway of the cottage. During this event our postman drives by in his mail truck (not even at our door on route yet), pulls over, and offers to assist us. What a wonderful guy.

And as if that is not enough, fast forward to another day at the cottage. And we're pretty much doing the same thing -- except this time it's an enormous blind door cupboard half the size of the shop. You guessed it. He did it again. Happily and willingly -- with a smile on his face. Forget, rain, sleet, snow -- that's nothing for our guy -- even two crazy gals trying to reverse birth massive pieces of furniture don't slow him down. We nominate him for postal carrier of the year.

New on line shop items are coming too!
Happy Shopping!
Ann and Linda

Gratitude

I couldn't have found better words than the ones Linda chose to express my gratitude. The sweet simple things in life are what really matter most after all. I have so very much to be thankful for and often forget just how very blessed my family and I are with all the love of family and friends and life's simple comforts. With that being said here's a little glimpse of my life's bounty beyond the walls of the sweet little cottage -

May all your days be filled with gratitude.