Its the Simple Things

If you are ever in the north Texas area, you must visit 

Simple Things Furniture Company.

They are re-opening their store this week

in a brand new location and it is amazing!

I asked them if I could share the news and

some of the pictures here on my blog because 

you just have to see this place.

This isn't just a regular furniture and home decor store 

where you walk in to see the merchandise.

It's an experience. 

   How many stores do you go into and actually marvel at the walls of the building or notice the ceiling and the floors.  

The place is a beautiful structure.  

You'll want to move right in. 

Can someone put these floors in my house please?

Once you get past the stunning architecture of the building

 (which they created from a generic warehouse space),

get ready for your jaw to drop.

Here are some pictures of inside Simple Things.

Those seltzer bottles are not just any bottles.

See the tag?  It says Joe T. Garcia's which 

is a restaurant icon around here. How cool.

This is so me.  Love the pop of red!

Not only will you want to buy everything,

but you will be inspired with decorating ideas.

I know.  Your jaw dropped.

Close your mouth before you drool.

Are you wanting more?

Get ready to blow up your Pinterest account.

Click here to visit their blog and see more pictures

of how they built this store and more of what is inside.

Better yet, visit them at 

7401 W Vickery

in Fort Worth, Texas.

What do you think?  Are you in love with this place?

What did you pin?

The Super Bowl is the perfect time to....

The Super Bowl has come to town and so I thought this might be a perfect time to show you around 

my "neck of the woods."

Let's start with a map of the area for a little clarification.

This is the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex.  On the left is the Ft. Worth area and on the right is the Dallas area.  Cowboys Stadium hasn't actually been in Dallas for many, many years.  It was previously in Irving (just west of Dallas) forever and now it is in Arlington (the big black circled area).  Although Dallas is getting all the attention, I wanted to be clear that all of this isn't even taking place in Dallas county but rather Tarrant County, which is the Ft. Worth area.  So, I'm giving Ft. Worth it's props and showing you a bit of it.  (The big red dot?  That's where I live...in the far north Ft. Worth/Keller area).

It may surprise many of you who have never been to Texas that you can drive for miles and never see a horse and most Texans who live in the big city areas don't wear cowboy hats, many don't even own one.

We actually have sophisticated shopping, art districts and the most amazing restaurants and food.

Now, don't get me wrong.  I'm proud of my Texas roots and my Texas twang (I can turn on my accent and speak as hick as the next person when I want) but I would like people to know there is way more to Texas than cowboys and rodeos (although the annual livestock show just finished up.)

So, here's a bit of my town:

Bass Performing Hall

another view of Bass Hall

Botanic Gardens

Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth

Montgomery Plaza: used to be a huge Montgomery Wards store but has now
been converted into expensive lofts with shopping and restaurants below.

Ft. Worth Stockyards Horse and Mule Barns

Ft. Worth Stockyards: Merchants Exhibit Building

Stockyards Station: You can take the Tarantula train for a scenic tour
from Ft. Worth to Grapevine and back.  

The Tarantula train

TCU campus, the chapel

TCU visual arts building (TCU's a mix of old and new)

Old Home Supply (old home salvage); it's an awesome place

photos from here

Oh, and it's still snowing.  We got another 4-5 inches (some had more) over night and this morning.  It finally stopped around 2:00 this afternoon where I live.  The sun has finally come out (first time since last Monday) which makes it feel a bit warmer than the 20-something degrees it is.

Here's an old window table that's on my front porch.  It's a covered porch and
pretty deep but still managed to get a lot of snow on it.

The old shovel has seen a lot of action the last few days.

For those of you who have never been here,

 is this what you thought Ft. Worth, Texas was like?

The cutest burlap stockings that I didn't make

I can't sew.  Not a stitch...but I wanted some of those cute burlap stockings I'm seeing everywhere.

I know those of you who sew are saying, "oh you could do it...it's easy...just give it a try!"

I am well aware of my limitations and me and sewing machines or needles (needles of any kind) 

just don't get along.

So, I checked out Etsy.  There were some wonderful burlap stockings available.  I found several I liked but they weren't exactly what I would have made if I could sew and some were a little pricey.

Then, I found it!  

Wrapitup,LLC

I ordered 3 burlap stockings at very reasonable prices...and they were exactly what I wanted!

Two of them are red/cream ticking with red bandana trim and loop.  

The other one is a tiny red/cream check with red bandana trim and loop.

Burlap, ticking, bandana, red check...the perfect Texas cottage combo!

Here are the two with red/cream ticking.  

The stocking in the middle is my son's.  It belonged to his grandfather (my father) who passed away the year before he was born.  On my son's first Christmas, his grandmother (my mother) gave this stocking to him.  When my son was 4, he wrote his name on it in black Sharpie when I wasn't looking.  I'll be honest, at first, I was livid.  Now, it's a treasure.

The third stocking I ordered, with the red/cream check, is my new front door wreath.  Don't let my poor photography fool you.  This stocking is made perfectly.  However, to keep the stuff from falling out of the stocking, I had to insert one of those floral foam things which makes the foot look a little off...but it's not.  Did I mention that these are fully muslin lined? 

 I'm lovin' 'em!

Thanks Colleen!

Vintage, cottage, french and shabby chic meet Texas!

Behold, the vintage cottage horseshoe.  Although western decor is not my style, I am a born and raised Texan and proud of it.  So, I have these creamy white chippy authentic horseshoes hanging in my house.  Some believe that a horseshoe hung above or beside a door, open-end facing up, catches and holds good luck.  Others believe that a horseshoe hung above a door, open-end facing down, rains good luck on anyone who passes under it.  We have a horseshoe hanging above both the front door and back door.  Clean, new horseshoes and rusted, brown horseshoes are common but these white ones are more me.  I did not paint them.  This is they way I found them and they add just a little bit of Texas to my lil' ol' cottage.

These were $2.00 each for a total cost of $4.00.  However, you can often get used ones for free. So for the cost of a can of spray paint, you could have one above your door for good luck.

Look closely and you can barely see it above our front door.