These crazy days of June.
Where birthdays pile up and cake and birthday gifts go on for over a week.
Candles and singing and good times, oh my!
I've been in a flutter of many birthdays of those I love + Father's day.
It's super hot and real flowers are on summer vacation for a little while.
Monsoons begin to swirl and tease.
A day of rain comes and goes and we wait, whilst begging for more.
In the meantime I collect fakies.
Paper flowers, silk flowers, any flowers I can get really.
Since it's too hot for many real ones in the garden right at this moment.
I acquired this beautiful old antique urn recently.
It's huuuuuge and rust and chippy.
But mostly I love it because it was in the south, probably at an old mansion, rusting away in the garden for endless years. Then a local dealer snapped it up and brought it here and sold it to me.
It's giant in person and has so many tales and secrets whispering about it.
And now it's getting a new lease on life.
I guess these are the things that beckon us lovers of all things old.
The stories of times forgotten.
The where's of where it could have been and how it got to you.
Like my little lady here, I madly love her.
She's a perfect character of A Fanciful Twist, wouldn't you say?
I've had her under a bell jar for about 6 months.
I do feel a bit guilty about it.
I'm sure she'd love to dance around the house at 1 a.m. when all the other little characters come to life.
Maybe I'll leave the cloche off tonight.
I hope she won't be missing a golden shoe tomorrow though :-)
I'm having a marvelous time decorating at the villa.
I adore decorating, don't you?
I love the hunt for treasures and I love placing them about.
It's such a personal creative process and really fills me with joy and inspiration.
I was an interior designer for a firm and then on my own for a few years when I was in my 20's but that was not fun at all. No siree. You didn't have much creative freedom when dealing with people's specific tastes. And although it was nice to help them in a way, it was not freeing like decorating your own home is.
I've been painting up little bits of nonsense to tuck in here and there.
My little faces that come to visit me fill my heart.
They're like, hey I want to come out and play.
And I say, wait maybe not today, and they say YES TODAYYY!!!
And so, that's how that often goes.
Oh and by the way...
Speaking of decorating inspiration, look at the detail on this settee I picked up at an antique market.
Curly golden ribbon?
Why, yes please.
Never mind the golden chippy paint.
Swoon!
I bought it sight unseen (in person), but the antiques market owner sent me some photos and I said, of course I need that :-)
When I picked up the lass in the blue ruffles below last year, the lady opening the glass case to take her out for me asked me why? Why do you want this????
I think the question is, why oh why would I not?
Haha!
I promise I will lift the bell jar tonight so she can run about and dance.
I can not tell you how often people hassle me when I'm out shopping.
They ask me if I'm reselling in a very accusatory way.
Or, why I would need so many fancy things?
I realize they are probably not treasure hunters, or in a place where they'd rather purge.
But I always wonder why you would ask a person buying from you why they want to buy?
I think they should be thanking me, don't you?
Am I wrong? Am I missing something here?
Hahaha!
Oh but there it this lovely man Jim, he teases me a little, but he helps me carry all my loot to the checkout counter at this one estate shop. And sometimes he even walks me to my car. I tell him how I'm sad I can't work out at the local gym because I am one street away from being in the gym membership area. And he tells me how he lives there and he could have a guest but he's not allowed to let said guess run wild. So then we both realize, it just won't work and it's too complicated, but we laugh and chat on, and he tells me about his fun lifestyle of volunteering at the antique store, working out/hiking and how he plays gin rummy on Friday nights. He just warms the heck out of my heart, I can't even tell you. I always wave eagerly at the shop when I see hi,, Hiiiii JIM!!! And he says, Hiii Vanessaaaaa! And he always does it with an impish grin like saying he know's I'm about to go wild with the treasures and he thinks it's funny and a bit insane, but mostly he's glad the items are not going to his house :-)
Isn't it those little connections in everyday life that add a bounce to your step?
That make you happy to go out in the world?
I just love all those friendly connections I make out there.
Makes my day.
But now it's time to get all those treasures squared away.
Hung up.
Organized here and there.
Tucked into shelves.
So that I can start to share it with you.
My fellow treasure hunters.
I know some of you are.
Seekers of all the ridiculous fancy things.
Oh yessss!
That's the club I'd like to have.
That would be the name of it too.
Ridiculous Fancy Things.
(I reserve copyright on that one ;-)
Maybe we should start one?
Hmmm, my gears are turning!
:-)
In other news, I've been working on a sweet treats post but guess what?
Those edited photos are in my proper computer in my country house office and I am currently writing my first blog post ever from the villa. I got a lap top, finallllly.
So now I can try to be more present in my life here in the blogosphere.
I've decided that one of my top 5 best forms of mindfulness is blogging.
It helps me sit down, look at my photos, be present in my own little tales.
And chat nonsensically about little tid-bits in life with you.
So, there you have it.
First lap top post in 12 years.
Fancy that?
How are you out there in your neck of the wooooods?
I hope June is treating you a-ok so far.
Well I guess I better run for now.
Time to swim and enjoy the desert air.
But I'll see you soon!
Love,
Vanesssa
