It's Time

There were over 800 entries ( WOW! ),

and I want to thank each and every person that

commented, followed, or posted about it...

but the time has come to pick a winner

of my 

SPRING ROMANCE GIVEAWAY...

Up for grabs:

The Summer issue of  Romantic Country magazine

with my Willow Nest photo feature

and

a personally autographed copy of

Romantic Prairie Style

signed by Fifi O'Neill herself

 

so....

I did the random schmandom thing, 

and the lucky winner is...

Denise of  

My Vintage Gardens

Congrats, Denise!

Since I was such a geek and bought out entire newsstands,

I may be doing another magazine related giveaway

in the days ahead, so please check back.

 In other news, I finally decided on a camera strap...

It's called the Sofia Olive, and although I purchased it

at a camera shop, you can browse their selection HERE.

I bought it because it looks like my Homestead couch!

 Don't you think?

And guess what else?

Look who I get to meet next week?

The gorgeous and talented Suzanne of Privet and Holly!

She and her sweet mom will be making a swing through
Fredericksburg, Texas, so I hope to be able to show them all the sights.

***

Finally, I'm not a numbers watcher at all, but I just noticed that the odometer

just turned over to 2K...
thank you and welcome to all my new followers,

and to my faithful friends from way back, thanks for sticking with me!

I know that these giveaways always create a bump in the numbers,

but I really hope that y'all will stick around for the regular day-to-day

here on this blog.
I count myself as so fortunate to have even one of you

deeming me worthy of following, so know that you are very much appreciated!

I hope you all have an amazing weekend!

Imaginarium on Main Street

These days, I am on a mission.

I have always believed that we have a responsibility to support local businesses.

And no, I'm not talking about your local Target or Wal Mart...

I'm talking about locally owned, independent retailers.

As the incredibly worthwhile 3/50 Project puts it,

it's all about saving the brick and mortars our nation is built on.

Which is why, now that I call Fredericksburg, Texas my hometown,

I plan to make it my mission to support, encourage and promote

local businesses I admire.

I can't think of a better place to start than with the store that started it all for me...

Homestead

My love of all things vintage began here

and my beloved couch named Babette

was even born here...

I mean...look at her.

Do her curvy, flirtatious lines not call to mind

an, *ahem*, decadent French courtesan?

But back to the store.

The building itself is huge...

three magical stories of pure vintage bliss resides here

My creative aesthetic was formed 

walking the aisles of the hallowed Homestead stores

Things I had seen many times before...I began to see in a new light

I was challenged 

to dare 

to dream

to imagine

to take chances

 

to see the beauty 

in the unconventionally lovely

the romance 

in the cast aside

and the possibilities

in the once forgotten

It all started with this fearless visionary...

{the incomparable Rose Hicks}

 

and continues with her progeny and their families

{big props to owner/treasure hunter Tim Bolton}

The next time you are in the Texas Hill Country,

heed my advice and make a pilgrimage

to a store which quite simply gets it right every time...

Homestead and Friends

230 East Main Street

Fredericksburg, Texas

And remember the darling little yellow clock I showed you above?

It made the trip home with me!

Thank you Tim Bolton, and the whole crew at Homestead,
for allowing me to roam about clicking away this week...

You know  that I'll be back in soon!

***

The winner of my  

Spring Romance Giveaway

will be announced Friday...

see you then!

linking with Tricia at

A Rosy Note

and

Debra at

Common Ground

Portrait of a Week

Happy Tuesday!

My week in a nutshell?

go to work, save lives

help friend learn his new camera

watch Dancing With the Stars

ask husband for foot massage

drop important papers off with accountant

go visit a shop owner about doing a photo shoot

visit sweet friend at Homestead in Fredericksburg

{and hopefully snap a few pics for you Rose Hicks fans}

move stuff over to new house

look for a new camera strap

cart more stuff to new house

write checks and pay bills

watch American Idol

declare Thursday as national "sleep-in-late" day

sleep in late

cart even more stuff to new house

 sit and ponder the why's and how's of
how i came to have so much stuff

share these pics from my
Romantic Country photo shoot with you
{for the confused, and you know who you are, I was the photographer;this is not my house}

oooh and aaah over how lovely
Ludmil and Linda's

home, art and creations are in these pics

hope that once we get settled in to the new house,

that our place looks half as lovely

 remind y'all to enter my

SPRING ROMANCE GIVEAWAY

by clicking 

HERE

Remind you that one lucky winner wins a copy 

of the Summer issue of Romantic Country

featuring my Willow Nest photo shoot...

and a personally autographed copy of

Romantic Prairie Style

signed by Fifi O'Neill herself!

{the three pics above taken at MY house!}

 Encourages you to not be discouraged that thus far,
there are almost 750 entries...go ahead and try!
It just takes one.

And finally,

invite everyone to link to this wonderful new party,

starting this week...

Tricia at A Rosy Note 

invites you to join her at

Photo Feature Friday

To quote Tricia:

"The point of the party is to get better at using the camera
that you have and, of course, to have fun.
Just do a quick post focusing on a few of the best photos
you were able to take and if you want to tell us
about anything you did to your photos that's always good too."

I'll be there, hope you will, too!

See you again in a few!

What Needs Doin'

I'm expecting a lecture and maybe 

even a bit of a scolding from y'all today.
All well deserved.

I have a confession to make here...

I've been avoiding something

Putting it off

Hiding beneath the covers, so to speak

I was supposed to go to a six month follow-up appointment

to check out something

which my doctor has been monitoring for a couple of years now.

Yep, I was supposed to go to that six month follow-up...

six months ago.

I've used the excuse that I was

too busy

too overwhelmed

and

too preoccupied

too.....everything
 

to schedule that appointment

when the real truth was

I was simply scared

I made that appointment today

six months late.

But at least I did it.

I am a health care worker, so I really have no excuse.

Except maybe the fact that I see things most of you will never see,

which makes the fear of
"what if"
even more palpable.

Keep those appointments, ladies.

It's okay, even normal to be scared.

Do it anyway.

Thus ends my PSA for the day.

:-)

Happy Weekend!

P.S.

photos are from my Romantic Country photo shoot,

click HERE to enter my Spring Romance giveaway!