MAKE MINE PINK....PINK FRIDAY: "LINENS AND LACE"!

Please join GRANDMA G'S and all the participating MMP Boutiques for shopping with a twist on Friday, February 27, 2009 as we present "Linens and Lace".


Linens and lace tenderly woven into the fabric of a life. They first surround when we are wrapped in the heirloom christening gown. Yellowed by time but preserved with love, brought out on a day that is filled with expectant joy. A treasure carefully saved by a mother in each generation, along with the hope for a beautiful life to come.

The simple elegance of linens and lace remains in our memories -later we're struck by the beauty of a simple lace hankie that catches our eye, lying in a grandmother's lavender-scented drawer.

Linens and lace carefully collected and stored within a handmade cedar chest, for yet another day of joyful expectation. Feelings of love and anticipation lie behind each piece a young girl selects to adorn her one-day home with grace. She envisions a future life of bliss as she tenderly folds every piece and stores it away, to lie patiently in wait for its turn to come.

Linens and lace draped over a vintage boudoir chair, in the corner of a quiet room. Perhaps it is a small piece of handmade lace, or perhaps it is a layer, that found its way into her bridal gown. She thinks of the women who have worn linens and lace before her on a day like this. A precious object of beauty... delicate and strong, as she herself is.

In the kitchen where she works to care for her family, she has hung the first curtains of spring. Linens and lace swaying gently in the breeze, while the sunlight dances through their intricate designs.

Joyce Lucas, MMP Founder

Be sure to shop early so you won't miss out on a wonderful treasure!!


Warm regards,

PINK FRIDAY...."FRENCH FARMHOUSE"!!

Please join Grandma G's and the boutiques at Make Mine Pink as we present....French Farmhouse....
this week's Shopping with a Twist!!

Close your eyes and imagine the sun-warmed tumbled stone tiles beneath your feet, take in the scent of lavender, listen to the sounds of the chickens in the yard.

Where are you?
At a lovely French Farmhouse.
What makes up the French Farmhouse?
A home decorated with cherished family heirlooms handed down through the generations asking to be touched and used. The nicks, scuffs and dents are the patina that only comes with time and offers a sense of history. The wear and tear is meant to be celebrated. French Farmhouse style lies in its eclectic nature of mix and match, use what you have, finding a new use for an old item. French Farmhouse juxtaposes a velvet sofa with a tattered linen chair and a Louis XIV armoire. All well loved and still meant to be used not to be put in a museum. The colors and patterns are a mixture of bright blue, red and yellow of Provence used next to the two-tone toiles of Jouy-en-Josas and silks of Paris. Rugs have a used and tattered patina of the past centuries layered with the newer brighter rugs of the past decade. To complete the French Farmhouse one must tell their own story by adding brocante- items that a bit to nice to throw away; not quite junk not quite art. Add flower frogs under bell jars, a row of children’s wooden boats on the mantle, an old tiara on a cake stand or vintage perfume bottles on the dressing table. If you love books, line every shelf with them and add stacks to all the tables. Wire bird cages, cast-off egg baskets, rustic ladders and garden trellis all find safe haven in a French Farmhouse. Bring the garden in to the house by adding florals here, there and everywhere. Fresh flowers are a must in nearly every room. Using what you love becomes the only rule to decorating in the French Farmhouse.

Enjoy your time in the French Countryside.

Sharon Wollman,
www.CestChouetteHome.com

Image provided by:
www.meadowstreet.com

Things in My House Thursday!

While on a blogging trek a few days back, I discovered Jen's blog, MommySweetMom and her weekly sharing column, Things in My House Thursday!! Hope you will visit her and then join in and post to your own blogs!

My first thing to share is my Mom's hutch. I grew up in a home with Early American furniture and decided it was the last style of furniture I ever wanted in my home! Mom and Dad had handmade living room furniture....maple end tables, coffee table, lamp table and the hutch. My parents both went to be with the Lord, three weeks apart in 1999 and just before Mom passed she saw my home for the first and only time. I asked her what she thought of painting the hutch and she said it would be fine. So, with her 'blessing' we did just that......now I love that Early American handmade piece and really enjoy having it in my home! You will see it used as background in many of my website photos! What do you think?

Thanks for visiting! See you next Thursday!!

StartUpNation....Leading Mom's In Business

In partnership with Ladies Who Launch, Start Up Nation is hosting a competition to find the 200 'best of the best' Mom's in business!

Here is the information from the home page of Start Up Nation:

"Everybody knows one. Like a super hero, she balances running a family with the heroics of running her own business. We’re talking about moms in business, of course. And now, StartupNation is conducting its first annual ranking of these astonishing entrepreneurs and the businesses they run.

But, how do we know who’s the best of the best? We’re leaving that to you. Over the next few months, it’ll be your daily votes that will tell us who deserves to be named a winner. The list of the 200 winners will be published in May and will be ranked according to votes accumulated."

I would so appreciate your vote for Grandma G's! (Please click on Grandma G's logo at the top of this post!) Look through all those in competition and vote for all your favorites each day!! Thank you!!!

Make Mine Pink....Pink Friday: SHADES OF ROSE

The shade of a single rose so eloquently captures all the feelings of a special moment, reflects all the memories of everything that has happened before this time, and expresses the hopes of many moments yet to come.

The first single rose a young woman receives might be given while she is still a girl. Perhaps it is a delicate shade of peach, from someone who knows every ounce of effort that has gone into a special performance, or accomplishment. It's an appreciation of everything the girl is right now, and all she hopes to be. Later, a single rose in a deep shade of orange says, "I am so proud," and expresses admiration of everything she has become. She has graduated from girlhood and she is ready to take on the world.

Now that she is a woman, her grace and beauty catch someone else's eye. A pink rose, held in a hand made bold by sweet love, tells her of unspoken feelings. After a time, the same hand brings a newly bloomed red rose to announce, "I love you." A single white rose might follow, proclaiming a love that is stronger than death.

The shades of a rose, like a moment in her life, can contain a myriad of meanings. A single yellow rose might speak of contentment and happiness. Placed on a bedside table, it could celebrate the unbridled joy of a new birth or anniversary of another year together. It could also make the promise of a new beginning, or to make up for things that have gone wrong.

Soon it becomes the woman's turn to give a single rose. She carefully selects one in a delicate shade of peach. It's been chosen for another girl, not yet a woman, who is full of promise and life, and given with the hope that she too will experience life in all its beautiful shades. Joyce Lucas, Founder

Grandma G's is proud to be a part of this week's Pink Friday,"Shopping with a Twist", at Make Mine Pink! Visit here to find a list of the participating boutiques and start shopping, Friday, Feb 13th, as we present gorgeous products to fit the theme,"Shades of Rose"!! Shop early for the best selection!!

PINK FRIDAY...."BE MY VALENTINE"!!

Remember the days when we took shoe boxes and transformed them into treasure chests, sacred vessels ready to receive Valentines from our classmates? The anticipation we felt when we carved slots in the tops with blunt pairs of school scissors, making sure the openings were large enough to receive the dozens of cards we hoped would soon be delivered... but not so big that we would appear greedy. For that one day, we were willing to extend our friendship to even the boy who pulled our hair.

Later, the tingling excitement as we spent hours pouring over each and every sentiment that had been dropped into our box of hope... eager to find that one special card from a best friend, a boy we liked, or the most popular girl in class.... examining the carefully formed letters of each name.

The days of decorated shoe boxes and clumsily lettered names may have been long ago, but many things still fill us with the same little flutters we felt back then.

Finding a stack of vintage postcards in a favorite antique shop – some garlanded with roses, others with whimsy and fun. Uncovering a tarnished locket filled with memories of lost loves, at the bottom of an abandoned jewelry box. Picking up a weathered journal and discovering the dreams of a young woman as she embarked on her own journey of love.

A delicate hankie from a past generation, lovingly stitched with pink and red roses. Yellowed stacks of love letters, unfading feelings bound with a tattered ribbon.

As Valentine's Day draws near, I find myself feeling nostalgic for the things and feelings of the past. I'm opening the drawers of my memory and sifting through moments that have been stored away for a time just like this.

Happy Valentines Day,

Joyce Lucas, Founder

Please join Joyce, Grandma G's and the other participating Make Mine Pink Boutiques as we present wonderful selections for you! Friday, February 6th.....come
to Grandma G's and "Be My Valentine!!

I Have Received an Award!!

A very new friend, Deanna, has presented me with the "Let's Be Friends" award!! She and I have been exchanging blog comments recently and I am having fun getting to know her through her wonderful blog Timeless Things where she shares her love of vintage!! Go visit her soon.....it's a fun place to hang out! Thanks, Deanna, for thinking of me, I am honored!!

The award says: “These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.”

Here are my eight choices!! Visit them all....you will be glad you did!!
Holly at The Pink Rose Cottage, Priscilla at Sweet Remembrance, Sharon at C'est Chouette Pillow Talk, Roxie at Jorabeel's Blog Boutique, Patrice at A Sentimental Journey, Eileen and Karen at Forget Me Not Dreams, Lori at Katie's Rose Cottage,
and last but not least, Helene at Sister's Gift Company !!