There's No Place Like Home...

photo by Harold Stinnette

Everyday, we walk in & out of doorways.

Some lead us to rooms we know like the back of our hand,

filled with comfort & warmth & the sweet glow of things familiar.

photo by lartnouveau.com

Other doors lead us to adventures unknown,

down paths & corridors we've longed to travel.

Though portals of time & space, yet to be discovered,

making our heart pound with excitement with each & every step.

photo by Tara Bruce

And some doors when opened, take us to a scary place.

A place of insecurity, a place we've tried to stay away from,

but know in our hearts it's a journey that must be taken.

photo by Miss Gracie's House

I love the idea of doors...the possibility that exists behind each &

every one. But the door that I have always LOVED the

most, the door that forever touches my heart,

is the door that leads me HOME!

found photo in Beautiful Portals

I am soooooo excited to share with you my Sweetest of Hearts,

 my great joy!! After four years of fighting with the Bank of America,

after lawyers & lies & broken promises, we have been APPROVED

for a home loan modification through a program offered by the

United States Justice Department... Hallelujah!!!

photo by Pamela Jayne Smith

We can't believe it! No one ever wins these David & Goliath battles

against the likes of Bank of America. But we DID!! It can be done!

When our hope was gone, when we thought we were going to lose

everything...God spoke to me in a whisper & said, it's not over yet!

photo by Paris Through my Lens

After buying a trailer big enough to live in for a while & a truck that

could tow it, after going to Arizona seeking new job opportunity's & being

offered a job, after trying to explain to everyone that a voice in my head

was saying, it's not over yet, we came home filled with confusion & despair.

On the answer machine was yet another message from our B of A consultant,

saying she put us in for one last modification program. This was it, the LAST

of the LAST. If we didn't get it we would need to short sale our home, but

there was something different about this MOD. It was for home owners

who's loans had been MISHANDLED & it was through a settlement

with the Justice Department put through by President Obama.

How could we have ever known, this would be 'THE ONE'!!!

We are both ecstatic, we can't stop smiling. Our lives now have a place

& plans for a future. We know where are tomorrows will be spent.

Right here, where we were all along. I feel like Dorothy with my

ruby slippers, clicking my heels together, repeating...

There's No Place Like Home...

There's No Place Like Home.

Mindful of the fact that you don't know what you have until it's gone

& when one door closes, another door truly DOES open.

That given the tenacity of the human spirit, miracles

CAN happen & often do, even against the MIGHTY.

That HOPE is a thing with wings, that you can

never let anyone take away from you, that

without it we are all lost.

Blessings, Blessings, Blessings...

XOXO

vintagesusie

The JUNK GYPSY'S Take FLIGHT & Soar...

HI Y'all...

Gettin my Texas GROOVE ON here in Southern Cali, cuz my favoritest

Texas Junkers are finally makin their TV debut tomorrow...

can anybody give me a WOOT WOOT!!!!

{blog party Round Top, spring 2011}

Do y'all know who the Junk Gypsy's are???

Amie, Jolie & Mama Gypsy are just about the cutest, sweetest,

coolest 'Purveyors of Junk' on the planet & I ADORE them!!!

{photo by sweet friend Amy Boland, Jolie Gypsy & me, 2011}

They run their 'World O Junk' out of one of my favoritest places,

Round Top, Texas, where the best Antique Festival takes

place twice a year in the spring & the fall & their booth

is ALWAYS a highlight of the event.

They have created their 'JUNKY STYLIN' for some awesome venues,

like the 'Artist's Lounge Tent' for a 3 day music Festival in Austin, Texas

featuring 'The Eagle's' as the headliners {Oh YEA Baby}...

to Miranda Lambert & Blake Shelton's Wedding Reception.

These girls create MAGIC & leave behind a touch of

FAIRY DUST & rusty nails, everywhere they go.

Soooooooo, tomorrow night...

May 5th, Cinco De Mayo, the 'Amazing Junk Gypsy's' take FLIGHT & SOAR

into living rooms, family rooms, doublewides & haciendas everywhere

on HGTV to share their JUNKY SPIRIT & LOVE!!!

I can't wait to see them again on my big screen, here in my own home town.

I can't wait to hear their Texas Twang & see what kind of MAGIC

they'll create this time. I can't wait to sit back & watch, while

the world falls in love with theses small town girls

& their Big Time Talent!!!

I hope y'all can tune into HGTV tomorrow night & see what all the fuss is about.

These girls FLY so high already, I can't imagine where they might go given WINGS!

I can't wait to see them...SOAR!!!!

'What is a Junk Gypsy?'

A junk gypsy is a feeling of wanderlust deep down in your soul…

It is believing in the JOURNEY. . .

and delighting in every character, creature, and experience that paves the way.

A junk gypsy takes a roadtrip just to let her hair blow in the wind . . .

and sees more than the road ahead, she sees the world at her fingertips.

A junk gypsy lives for the Wild Blue Yonder and all the wonders it holds in store.

And believes that the road goes onforever, and the party never ends…

So whether you are a working woman, a certified COUNTRY girl,

a stay-at-home SOCCER mom, or a ROWDY rockstar @ heart . . .

we know you feel that gypsy spirit way down deep so put on those ROSE-COLORED

glasses and take a soul vacation on our magic carpet ride!

Rebel Road Sistas, howl at the moon and dance barefoot through the WILD OATS!

Turn up the rock n’ roll and feed your soul! SLOW DOWN and watch the world unfold around you!

LAUGH...LOVE...LIVE MORE!!!

XOXO

vintagesusie

UP in the Air...

Good Morning my Sweetest of Hearts!

I have to tell y'all a little truth about me...

sometimes, when times get tough, I get quiet.

I don't share,

I don't seek out others guidance,

I try to avoid talking about myself,

I hunker down & wait for the hell storm to be over.

Thus, all my non personal posts on the things I love, like Tsars & Tsarinas,

vintage cabinet cards & tintypes, Queen Victoria & John Brown,

vintage fashion & couture. I spend my days dreaming & thinking

about things I LOVE, that's my survival mechanism.

For the past two years, I've felt like I was walking a tightrope,

without the benefit of a net. Juggling knives without any gloves.

Everything about our home is UP in the AIR & UP side down...

the loan on our house is more then double the value of our home,

& still we wait. Wait for an answer, wait for a modification...

WAIT because we don't know what else to do!

I'll tell you what, I wish I looked this graceful as I walk my tightrope.

There is nothing pretty about me being unable to move,

not knowing if I should go right or left.

Analysis Paralysis...

the state of over analyzing a situation until your unable to move.

That's where we've lived for the past few years.

{these amazing photos are by Bob Elsdale, check them out...they'll make you smile}

But no more!!

We are going to be brave & shake the dust of this little town off our boots, headin out

towards new adventures. We have a job interview in Apache Junction, AZ

on Monday & if we get the job, we're GOIN!

Whatever made me think that if you waited long enough,

life would come knocking on your door & unfold

the answers of the universe to you??

I was delusional!

And if this situation doesn't turn out to be right for us, we will keep

searching until we find the perfect one & one morning

we will wake up to a new dawn...

filled with Hope & Joy & Love.

Is it Scary...YES! Am I slightly Terrified...YES!!!

But it wouldn't be BRAVE, if you weren't afraid.

So for right now, I'm working on being BRAVE.

XOXO

vintagesusie