Published! My Romantic Living Feature!

giveaway closed

I am SO excited!!!

It's been nigh on impossible to keep quiet about this,

but now I can finally spill it...

I've been published in the brand new, just on the stands

special publication from the editors of Romantic Homes

called Romantic Living, and this time, I not only
provided the photos but wrote the article, too.

It's always a thrill being published, but this time,

it was extra, extra special.

This project was my baby from start to finish,

as it was a special gift of love from me
to its subject matter,

the incomparable Rose Hicks.

For those not familiar with Rose, she is, to quote myself from

an earlier post, one of the most influential style
and decor icons of the past century,

and whether you realize it or not,
her influence has been felt far and wide in blogland.

 She is the beloved Mama to decor and design royalty

Carol Hicks Bolton, and as a lifetime fan of Carol and Tim Bolton

and the Homestead empire they created right here in

Fredericksburg, Texas, it was a dream come true just to be able

to meet them.

But then to not only meet them, but to become friends

and to be blessed enough to be trusted
by the amazing Hicks-Bolton clan

to do right by their precious Mama
in a feature magazine story...

who the heck says dreams don't come true???

I had the special privilege of personally hand delivering

the issue to Miss Rose herself yesterday, while she was overseeing

the evolution of the exciting new family adventure and shop,

Carol Hicks Bolton Antiquites.

I think she approves, don't you?!

And wow...just wow...get a load of that photo below.
That's Carol Hicks Bolton with Mama Rose looking on.

Two generations of styling genius
admiring MY work in the magazine.

Somebody pinch me, because what an utterly surreal moment THAT was.

I have adored and idolized these folks for 20 years,
so what an unbelievable honor.

The inimitable Carol, decked out in her Magnolia Pearl finery

and orchestrating the creation of her new namesake shop

like the design maestro she most certainly is.

I thought I would share a few of the original images 

from the magazine with you,

as the publication process doesn't always do them justice...

I want to say thank you to Jacqueline deMontravel and Karina Rivera

from Romantic Homes magazine, and also to my great friend

Elizabeth Maxson for their invaluable help and support.

Y'all are the best!

The GREAT news is that I took hundreds of photos

and the magazine only used 8, so I will be sharing

many, many more images in the days to come.

The other great news is that Carol has asked me

to come by the shop regularly and track the progress and evolution

of her new store, and I am more than happy to oblige!

But the BEST news is that I am offering one lucky reader

of this blog a copy of this lovely new magazine

personally autographed by Rose herself!!!

Rose will be 91 years young next month and has already

been featured and published far and wide, so can you

imagine what a collectors item this is destined to be?

My last few giveaways have been open to everyone,

but this one is for followers only, as it's extra special.

All you have to do is leave me a comment letting me know

that you are a follower or have become a follower and you're in!

Be sure to leave extra comments if you blog, tweet or Facebook

about this for extra chances to win.

I'll be picking a winner

next Friday, January 27th.

This was for YOU, Rose! I love you, friend!

Good Luck, and Happy Wednesday!