The leaves are falling.....

The wind has blown so hard all day and the leaves are falling like snow. It's sunny but the wind is chilly. Tomorrow is suppose to be sunny and warm so hopefully, I can get back out in the garage & get things finished up for Christmas Open House. This is my house with it's new brown paint. As soon as I can get the shutters painted red, my B-I-L Mike will be down to hang them. Can't wait!!
This was taken right after they finished my hallway but wanted to show you how it looked. The whole room & hall are finished now and it looks so good. I went to the auction today to try & buy a rug but they were huge and so expensive. I want an old one so bad but may have to settle for a Lowe's rug for now. I'll just keep my eyes peeled & one day I'll find one.

Sorry, this isn't a great picture but wanted to show the necklaces that Kristy from Leola's made for me. Allison will be 39 on Mon. & I asked Kristy to make her a necklace out of and old watch of Mike's & some other pieces I had. Well, it turned out that she used some parts that were left and made one for me too. Allison is going to love this. Kristy brought in 20 new necklaces yesterday & they are incredible.

I've decided to see if anyone actually reads my blog and comes to Leola's so if you come to Leola's open house and say you read my blog, you can sign up for a special prize. I'll have a drawing on Monday and post the winner on Monday afternoon. Not quite certain what the prize will be but I'll post it soon. We'll see what happens.

Goodby ugly carpet....

Finally, today they are laying my new wood floor. I can't wait. This carpet has been down for almost 25 years and it has had it. Tomorrow there's a big antique auction in town and I'm hoping I can buy one of their oriental rugs without spending a fortune. I'm so excited to get this done right before the holidays. What a difference it will make.

Over the river & through the woods.....

Yesterday was Sage's day with Grandma so we decided to head to the woods. He's on the lookout right now for bugs and varmints so where better to look then our friends' place on the river. We sang "over the river & through the woods" as we headed to the Atteberry's beautiful place in the country. It was just the perfect day to take a long hike.

Jim gave Sage a ride on the scooter to the barn to get the motorized vehicle so they could ride down by the bluffs. Don't worry that they're not wearing helmets -- Jim's driving about 5 mph & they didn't go very far.
Aren't these bluffs amazing? I'm so grateful that the Atteberrys' own this land because they'll always protect it & see that it's not developed.

If you look real close, you can see the caves in the bluffs.

Here are Sage & Jim coming down the path. Jim & Jane have just had their 1st g'child born. What a place for a grandchild to grow up. This is one lucky boy to have these wonderful people for g'parents. By the way, his name is Jack. Sage is preparing Jim for what's ahead.

We've had lots of rain lately and the James River has flooded a couple times. This deer skin was washed up and is stuck to this tree. How many chances do you get to take a picture like this?

Many years ago there was a cabin on this property but long ago disappeared in the flood waters. The only thing that survived is the fireplace. They still use it when they have get-togethers & it's cool. Think I'll come down & hang a wreath on it before Christmas. Speaking of Christmas, would this not be a perfect place for a Christmas portrait?

By the way, Sage's friend is their dog Lily.

On the hunt for frogs.

We had the best day. We all talked about how seldom children can just go wander around anymore. Hope we made some memories that will last a lifetime. They sure will for me. Thanks Jane & Jim.

A few more Iowa pictures...

Hopefully, it's going to be a sunny Saturday. It's been cold and rainy the last few days and the leaves are falling fast. It's been beautiful but we need some sunshine to really appreciate it.

I wanted to post these last few pictures from Iowa and then I promise, I'm done. This was our last day in Iowa. Below is a beautiful display at Sisters and Bloom in Kalona. It's one of our very favorite shops and always manage to find some great treasures plus get wonderful ideas for display. Barb also has the best music playing. I purchased one of her cd's & have ordered them for Leola's. They have 2 Christmas cd's so can't wait to get them. We'll have them for Christmas Open House.

This is another of our favorite shops & just up the road from Sisters. It's the Rug Barn and this is the view from the parking lot. This shop is very country and makes you want to move in. I still love the country look and no one does it any better then the Rug Barn. We've ordered a brand of candles that she carries and they are the best. They may not make it by open house but will be in soon. They're soy & promise to burn completely clean & smell great to the bottom of the jar.

This is our friend Sharon's spot in Noe Haus in the Amana colonies. She has Sweet Repose blog and has just moved her shop into this spot. I found a great lamp and bucket for a Christmas tree. If we'd had more room, we could have done some real damage here.

These are just some of the buildings in the Amana's. If you've never been there it is so worth the trip. It was wonderful with so many great shops and just a beautiful place to be in the fall. We'll definitely go back.

This lady met us in the entry to Noe Haus.

Noe Haus Antiques...

Hope you enjoyed the tour. We sure did. Now I've got to get serious about getting some of my treasures marked and ready for Leola's. Never enough time!!! Have a great Saturday.

Is this heaven or is it Iowa.....

Happy Monday morning! Have to go to work but wanted to post one more day of our trip to Iowa. This was our afternoon at Barb's (Simply Iowa) shop in Fairfax. Just driving up to her shop is a treat but when you walk in it's amazing. We thought we were in antiquer's heaven. There's no explaining it -- you have to see it for yourself. It is packed full & Barb is so good with her displays. It certainly made me re-think the way I do my space at Leola's. It made me realize I could put twice as much "stuff" in as I do. Check this out....

Here's Barb trying to hide behind a little piece of paper. She really is the best at what she does and it shows. While we were there, she had a constant stream of people and they were all from out-of-town.

Some of Judy's treasures.

We had such a good time in Barb's shop but left thinking we'd missed lots of good stuff. Guess we'll just have to go back. Thanks, Barb, for a fun afternoon.

Tuesday in Iowa.....

We're home from our Iowa trip and I have so many pictures. We love going to Iowa. We love the fact that we find amazing things for Leola's but we also love the people and the beautiful state. One of our favorite people was Polly http://pollyanns.blogspot.com/. Her shop, Polly Ann's, is in an old house in beautiful Mt. Vernon, Iowa. You can tell when you walk up the front that this isn't just another shop. She's very creative & her displays show it. We found lots of treasures and loved that she pulled her vintage Christmas out for us.

This is what you see when you step on her front porch.

This is Polly on her front porch. She also has a very excellent assistant, Bob, her dad. They were good enough to tell us about a great local restaurant where we had an amazing lunch of hamburgers and homemade french fries. We all noticed our waistbands were a little tighter when we got home.

This picture probably doesn't need any explanation.

Judy & Brenda at Bonaparte Inn.

We had such a good time but were all glad to get home and sleep in our own beds. While I was gone brother-in-law, Mike, got my house painted even though it rained almost all week but he's a fast painter. I'll take pictures soon. He also made me shutters for the front that I'll paint red. It was amazing pulling in my driveway & seeing a brown house.

It's cold & rainy in Iowa.

Here we are on the banks of the DesMoines River. It's rainy and cold but feels like fall. Did a little antiquing today in Bonaparte, Bentonsport, Kaseoqua (or something like that) & various other small towns. The car is filling up fast and we still have more stops ahead. We're having such a good time and lots of laughs.
This is the Bonaparte Inn where we're staying. Tonight we're the only guests and it's kind of spooky. The service here is wonderful & probably the main reason we keep coming back. We had appetizers & wine in front of the fireplace tonight & tomorrow morning they'll have coffee outside our room and breakfast in the dining room. It's great!

This is Bonaparte's Retreat where we had dinner this evening. We felt so wasteful because we all had to leave half of our meal. Why do they serve so much!!! But it was good.
Tomorrow we're heading north so we have to leave Bonaparte behind but we always return. Later.

We're off on another adventure...

Judy, Jean, Brenda & myself are taking off tomorrow for a little antiquing trip. I'm a little concerned about driving everyone crazy with my cough but not concerned enough to stay home. They may make me get a room to myself. Tomorrow night we're staying in Bonaparte, Iowa, at the Bonaparte Inn but from there, who knows. We're going to see Barb from Simply Iowa blog & then try to find that Sharon from Sweet Repose who keeps moving around. She's in a shop in the Amana Colonies where we're wanting to go and we also want to check out Mt. Vernon.

I'll take lots of pictures and if possible, may even post on the road. The leaves should be gorgeous and it's definitely fall weather. They even had some snow in Iowa today but Barb assured us it has melted.

While I'm gone, by brother-in-law, Mike, is coming to paint my house. I can't wait to come home and see it brown after it's been blue for so long. Then in about 2 wks. I'm having wood flooring put down in my great room & hall way. My nephew, Denny, came & measured for me & the stores he works for are going to do it. I'm so excited. I've wanted to do this forever. I'm so grateful to Mike for always being there for me. Don't know what I'd do without him & Susan.

Talk to you in a few days.

Shane's & Nicole's wedding.....

Last weekend on a perfect fall evening, my nephew Shane, Judy & Danny's son, married Nicole. It was a very simple, beautiful wedding. They have together 4 children and it appears the transition is working very well.

This is a picture of the big ole harvest moon that came out along with 6 to 8 deer. Their land is so pretty and they have so much wildlife. They feed the deer so they don't do as much damage to vegetation around the house.
This is Shane & son Eli, who was his best man. Nicole is coming across the lawn with her Dad.

I had to take pictures of Judy's house because it always looks so great.

She's stacked an old brown cabinet on top of a white chest in her living room. She has lots of wall space and needs big, tall pieces of furniture so that's how she does it. She just keeps stacking.

They have a circle drive at the front of their house & a brick walkway. She always makes the front so inviting. If you remember, this was my little orange settee. Judy bought it from me for her front yard. It's perfect.

Our leaves are turning quickly and there's a chill in the air. Tonight it is pouring down rain. I've been on the couch for 2 days feeling really lousy. Some of us plan to jump into the car on Sunday & take a little antiquing trip. We're planning on going to visit some of our blogging friends and maybe finding a few things. Christmas open house is just around the corner.

A day of antiqueing.....

I'm still trying to feel better. I make myself get out and do something then I come home and feel lousy for a few days. This has really wrecked my productivity. This cold Sunday has been a good day to lay on the sofa and try to feel better.

I did take off with Brenda on Friday for Lebanon to check out a new shop called Tattered Treasures. We found some treasures and loved the shop. From there we headed up the highway to Fox and Hound Antiques located between Camdenton and Lake of the Ozarks. They were having fall open house. I was so relieved to find quite a bit of vintage Christmas. We loaded down the car and headed to our favorite eatery in Camdenton. On the Rise seems to always be packed but it is well worth a little wait. Had a great lunch.

Brenda had to hold on with both hands coming home. Between the wind and the 18-wheelers, it was quite a drive. I was so glad she had driven since by then I was coughing my head off and had eaten about 100 cough drops. What a great traveling companion I was. She just kept using the antibacterial soap. I think that must be the trick because Brenda is never sick.

Loved this old harvest table. They had lots of primitives which I love.

This was an old bldg. at Fox and Hound. It was definitely looking fallish at the lake but it doesn't get the wonderful fall colors that Springfield down to Branson gets. They have lots of oaks, walnut, and cedar trees.

Tomorrow is a work day at Leola's . Hopefully, I'll be feeling better and can get back to a normal schedule. Have a good week.