Writings from a Christmas Past...

In 1870 a loving & devoted daughter named Ella, wrote some Holiday wishes to her much beloved parents.

My dear sister Kristen, gave me these letters years ago knowing my appreciation for anything old & now I share my treasures with you, my Sweetest of Hearts.

1870 was a mere 5 years after the Civil War had ended. What of the war had our Miss Ella seen first hand?

Did she & her family live in the North or in the South?

Were they of privilege or poverty?

Did she & her Mother sit together wrapping bandages for the soldiers?

Did her Father or brothers go off to fight in the war?

The papers she chose to write on are delicate & ornate, the pages tied together with a thin green ribbon.

Her penmanship is exquisite & her prose beautiful.

By her writings, I can tell Ella was a sensitive & well educated young woman.

I want to know so much more.

Here's her Christmas Wish...

Heartily my parents dear

I wish you blessings choice,

And all the treasure here below

Which can your hearts rejoice.

Peacefully may pass the days

Within the bright New Year,

Plentiful may pleasure be

Your loving hearts to cheer!

Yes, may Heaven grant you health

And still your life prolong,

Never may my Parents dear

Be suffering any wrong.

E'er for your parental care

And all your tender love,

Will I endeavor day by day

My gratitude to prove

Yes, I will strive to be your joy

Your comfort and your stay,

Each benefit received from you,

Thus fondly to repay.

Ah! then accept my wishes fond

My own loved Parents dear,

Receive with them my fibile love

And gratitude sincere.

Affectionately inscribed by

...Ella.

What an amazing Gift from a child! This is a lost art my friends.

In an age of voicemails & emails, texts & iphones, facebook & twitter...

who would want to take the time to sit down & write such an eloquent & heartfelt poem?

I am blessed to have one more of Ella's handwritten wishes, this one for her Mamma's birthday only 5 days before my own.

My dear Mamma,

Today being the anniversary of your birth, I beg you to accept the sincere congratulation that come from the heart of a devoted child. Although I wish you happiness every day of my life, still on this bright anniversary of your birth, it seems but natural that I should give expression of my thoughts. Yes, dearest Mamma, may God grant you all blessings, both spiritual and temporal, may he bestow upon you all that contributes to a life of peace and happiness. Though I cannot give you a sensible token of my love and gratitude, be assured that I have offered fervent prayers to the throne of God for your welfare.

Receive, beloved Mamma, my wishes for health, peace and happiness as a testimonial of the lasting affection of

Your devoted child,

...Ella

November 20th, 1870

Sweet, Sweet Ella...

Could you have ever imagined in your grandest of dreams that 140 years later, someone like me would be holding your letters close to her heart, with the wish to share your love & beauty & grace as a Christmas gift to all the world? Life is so very Remarkable!!!
Sharing with my friends from Faded Charm ...Welcome!

I am also joining Debra of Common Ground for her Vintage Inspiration Friday post. The theme through December is to share your Vintage Christmas...how fun is that! Come on over & join in the fun, there are so many lovely links to visit. I hope you will enjoy them as well.
PS: If you haven't entered my 400 Friends Giveaway, don't forget to click here & leave a comment!

XOXO

vintagesusie 

Festival of Lights at the Mission Inn, Riverside

Here's to the start of a New & Wonderful Week Friends!!

The Friday after Thanksgiving is a day my family looks forward to all year.

Not because of the unbelievable crowds & prices on Black Friday,

but for the yearly 1st night lighting of The Festival of Lights in Riverside, California at the historic Mission Inn.

It's an awesome evening of Christmas Magic, filled with music, lights & fireworks!

Did I mention they put up more then 3.5 million lights?

Talk about a nightmare if a bulb burns out! lol

The countdown begins...

10, 9, 8, 7, the crowd is getting excited now... 

6, 5, 4, the sound of children screaming with glee is in the background...{oh, sorry that was me} 

3, 2, 1, the lights are all turned on simultaneously as a bombardment of fireworks shoot from the roof of the Inn!

Can anyone give me a 'WOOT WOOT'!!!

Urban dictionary definition:

An expression one may utter in complete approval or joy.

Expression of simplistic ecstasy.

An expression of absolute happiness, totally euphoric.

I guess that just about sums it up perfectly!!! ;)

While watching a fireworks extravaganza, surrounded by millions of Christmas lights,

I'm pretty much 6 years old again.

Ooooooooo, ahhhhhhhh...ohhhh, wowww, sooooo coooool!!! 

That was the extent of my ability to verbalize, as I was completely mesmerized by this beyond amazing start to the Christmas Season.

Here's wishing you a Magical Beginning to your Holiday Season Friends!!!

XOXO

vintagesusie

Shelf Life...

Greetings Sweet Hearts!

What inspires you to create a room or a space the way that you do?

Is it a beautiful picture from a magazine or book?

Is it something you saw in a movie, that you fell madly in love with?

A booth in your favorite antique mall that captured your imagination?

Or maybe it's simply, one piece.

One perfect piece of something, anything, that sings to your soul & says, this IS who I am.

For me, it's my antique Round Top Texas, tin ceiling tiles.

They capture the essence of everything I LOVE.

Their subtle,  neutral color.

The tarnish & tatters of age.

The remembrance of an era lost.

The attempt of ornamentation with limited means.

The dream of their journey, until they got to me.

To me, that's the magic of choosing something old over something that's new, the story.

Looking at this sweet little wall shelf, one could never imagine the story it has to tell, but it has one.

I bought this shelf new from Pottery Barn.

It has hung on my walls for over 20 years.

It was once as white as snow, with lovely glass windows in the door & on the sides.

I have always adored it.

This sweet little shelf, once bright & new, has endured more then most people have. You see, there was a fire.

The fire was so hot, it shattered all of the tiny glass window panes & the smoke was so thick, it's snow white paint turned as black as coal.

 In despair, I flung the sweet little shelf out onto the pile of ruble that once was my life.

Un beknowst to me, the little shelf had been spared.

Someone had taken it from the ruble, still seeing the diamond in the rough.

They knocked out the remaining pieces of broken glass

& sanded off most of the black soot

that covered it.

When my little shelf made it's way back to me, I cried in joy & in grief.

I cried for the things I had loved & lost.

 I cried for something loved & lost, that was given a new life & found it's way home.

This little shelf hangs on the wall next to my bed now, filled with the little things I love.

A silver baby mirror & brush.

Old tin types & hand rolled thread.

Baby shoes & clock faces.

Business cards & button cards.

White linen & rusty tub feet.

Holy cards & an antique hair comb.

The little shelf reminds me everyday of the possibility of pain & joy,

of death & rebirth.

It's why I love my ceiling tiles & it reminds me of who I am.

Subtle but strong, living my life in greys,

rusty & tattered, enjoying the patina of age,
coming from a lost era of innocence, still looking back,

& always dreaming of the journey that waits, just around the next corner.

I am joining Debra of Common Ground for her Vintage Inspiration Friday post. There are many lovely links to visit and I hope you will enjoy them as well.

I hope all of you friends, had a Blessed & Loving Thanksgiving!
Mine was PERFECT, proving you can still teach an old dog new tricks! ;)

XOXO
vintagesusie

400 Friends, a Giveaway & a Thanksgiving Blessing

Say WHAT? 400 Friends?

When, Where, How, Why?

It seems like only yesterday I was on my way to Texas & stopped by Glendale, Arizona to personally deliver my '300 Friends Giveaway' to Carol Anne of Carol Anne's Boutique.
What a wonderful morning we had getting to know each other, opening presents {she brought me some too!}, having a marvelous breakfast & finding out how very similar we were.

That was almost exactly 2 months ago & now,
how very lucky I am to have 100 more friends, today.
Thank you so very much Sweet Hearts, for making this one of the most amazing adventures of my life!

In Celebration of all of you, my friends, let's have a Holiday Giveaway.

That's right, you heard it here 1st...vintagesusie is having a GIVEAWAY & all of you are invited!!

So, what are the rules you may ask?

We don't need no darn rules friends!!

You need not become a follower or add the badge for this giveaway to your sidebar.

You need not wear a pin on your shirt with my face on it or hire a plane to write vintagesusie & wings across the sky.

Simply leave a comment to this post & your name will be thrown into my favorite cowboy hat, for the chance to win untold treasures!

I will pick a name out of my hat on December 13th, 2010 & on that night the lucky winner will be announced to all the world! How exciting, right? Another Christmas present to open!

Now, about the gift. I'm a thinkin...

somethin from Texas of course,

somethin I make, {jewelry always sounds good}

somethin pretty, somethin blue,

somethin old & somethin new!

Hey, I think some one's getting married!! LOL 

I will provide Sneak Peeks of the Grand Prize throughout the Giveaway, so stay tuned!

As you can probably see from my photo's, I've been playing dress-up today.

Johnson Brother's Vintage China

kinda dress-up.

I brought out the Wedgewood Wine Chiller & the Brighton Wine Glasses that I ADORE, along with the mercury glass candle holders & my new Pottery Barn burlap table runner...so purdy!

So I wonder, how will this Thanksgiving be?

This Thanksgiving, I will remember the lessons of last year.
I will laugh & love myself & my family, with all our beautiful imperfections.
I will not stress over the little stuff & if I do, I won't be upset with that either.
I will feel grateful for yet another year to share with my family & friends.
I will feel blessed for all the love that surrounds me everyday.

I will remember the people I don't even know, fighting in places that I've never seen,

risking their lives & missing their loved ones, so my loved ones & I can sleep in peace.

Even with our trials, we all have so very much to be thankful for friends.

I wanted to share this quote with you, I found it so lovely & true.
"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow." ~Melody Beattie
Have a Wonderful Thanksgiving Friends filled with Blessings, Love & Laughter!

XOXO
vintagesusie

DIY Heirloom Necklace

Happy Friday Sweet Hearts... TGIF, right!

This week has flown by with Thanksgiving preparations & a birthday party to throw! {yes, that would be my own, lol} The pine needles have been racked, Christmas lights have been strung, wreaths deck the hall, a Honey Baked Ham has been ordered & the countdown has begun. My holiday goal for this year is to simply relax & 'Go With the Flow'. The words "Get away from the bird!", now live on in infamy.

With Christmas right around the corner, I wanted to share with you my very favoritest necklace that I have ever made...my 'Heirloom Necklace'. By now, most of you know me to be completely sentimental & overly nostalgic. I wanted to create a piece of jewelry that could be worn close to my heart & could hold some of my most precious mementos, my very own heirlooms.

I started with a handful of memories.

From left, my Mother's 18th birthday, 10k pearl & ruby ring

a sterling silver art nouveau girl my Father bought me when I lived in Utah back when I was 20

a locket with my Wedding picture in it, along with a picture of Courtney & I in Florence, Italy

a metal my Father won in 1953 for the 440 yd dash

a Liberty dime pendent that Robert bought me when we were at Mount Rushmore

a copper football from the 50's, my Dad was Captain of the football team

another track metal my Father won in 1952 for the 440 yard run

a 50's baseball mitt charm for Robert's baseball team he played on when we 1st met

a Saint Frances religious metal

Courtney's Brownie pin

the '74 charm from the tassel on my graduation cap

a mounted Indian Head penny given to me by Robert's parents

a locket with pictures of Kai & Courtney in it

& a tiny chain with my Mother's initials JB on it,

pieces of my heart!

I used 2 different kinds of chain. A heavy antiqued silver chain to attach the charms to & a smaller brass chain on either side of that, to get the desired length I wanted. The charms were all attached with simple jump rings & a brass clasp was added to one end. {my necklace is 18" long, not including the brass clasp} 

When I was at the show in Texas, I got so many wonderful compliments on this necklace, everybody LOVED it...but most importantly, I LOVE it! Everything on this necklace means something special to me.

What an amazing gift this could be for someone you love or even for yourself! The biggest challenge is gathering the 'handful of memories' & even those can be found in some of the most unlikely places.

I am joining Debra of Common Ground for her Vintage Inspiration Friday post. There are many lovely links to visit and I hope you will enjoy them as well.
Have a Fabulous Weekend Friends!

XOXO

vintagesusie