CATCH UP DAY

It is a perfect day to play catch up! It's drippy outside and it makes me want to stay in my pajamas all day and move from one project to another. Kind of like wandering but in my own house. Alas-I have been so busy with the Barn and the Garden Show-that chores [many] have been neglected! I have never been one to have a close relationship with the vacuum and boy can you tell that it has been a distant relative-so first I will do the floors, dust a bit, finish laundry and at 1:00 I will start my projects. I have three baskets of new product to prepare for Monticello and the barn. It's always fun to go through the treasures to see if any of them need to rest in my house for a bit to be admired or need to go to Donna's house into her studio/museum. The museum is Donna's way of keeping me from selling a treasure she thinks we should keep. You guessed it-Donna has some real treasures that I am so happy that we did not put up for sale. I get to visit them all of the time-but I don't have to keep them in my house. Folks always ask us if our houses look like our Monticello spaces or look like our show spaces and the answer is no. Except for Donna's museum/studio both our houses are pretty sparse and have lots of color. Who would of thunk it! Well the chores are calling and I do want to play this afternoon-so I better get going. See you soon.

MONTICELLO MARKET PLACE GARDEN SHOW

What a turn out for the garden show. I have been to Monticello to stock up both on Friday and Saturday afternoons and it was packed with shoppers. All of the guest vendors have many holes to fill in from merchandise flying out of their spaces! So if you get the chance come out and spend the morning, afternoon or even the whole day shopping and snacking at the Monti's cafe!
The garden show will continue until May 24, 2009 and vendors will be regularly stocking their spaces with treasures-so if you can not make it out for the sale that ends today-extra great stuff will be available for the next several weeks. Well I am off to price and get more goodies ready for Monticello, walk the dogs and pack the car for a round trip to the barn, Monticello and home.

ANNIE,FANNIE AND ABIGAIL GARDEN SHOW AT MONTICELLO ANTIQUE MARKETPLACE

Donna and I have been working all week in preparation for the Garden Show at Monticello Antique Market Place. It's been really fun to set this show up. We are in one of the gazebo's for sale and it has been great to be able to use it as a backdrop for the show. We have brought lots of great finds and have departed a bit from our usual neutral palette and added a lot of color. Spring to me is full of color with all of the beautiful spring flowers and and green leaves in bloom. We will be set up all month-so if you can't get to the show this Friday-don't despair-we will be bringing in new stuff several times a week until the end of the show. I have to say that I think this is the best garden show ever! The vendors have all outdone themselves in bringing in their fabulous finds to share with our customers at Monticello. Hope to see you there!

MONTICELLO ANTIQUE MARKET PLACE GARDEN SHOW FRIDAY, APRIL 24, 2009 at 10:00 am

Here is a sneak peak at some of the goodies the vendors have brought in for the Monticello Market Place Garden Show that begins at 10:00 am this Friday, April 24, 2009. I can hardly wait to go shopping!

GRAMIE JUNE

Gramie June is one of our barn customers. She came in on Saturday and started a conversation with Donna. She told us about her chickens and that she just got three new baby chicks. Although she does not yet know their gender-she plans on calling her new addition to the flock-Annie, Fannie and Abigail. How cute is that! Our name lives on!

THE BARN SALE

We had a great sale at the Barn! The sun was out and every thing around us and in the barn looked fresh and new-just like spring! Thank you to our loyal customers and new friends who took the time out of their day to shop and spend time with us. Cindy did her usual fabulous job of decorating and offering up fabulous finds. She also provided lemon themed munchies for all of us. Natalie of Sparrow made a heaven sent, three layer, lemon chiffon cake. If she keeps this up - I will soon have the shape of a plump, three layer cake-oops I already do! Joe and Jermonne of Barn House brought a wonderful bundt cake and helped us with so many tasks during the sale. I have already let them know that I will be at their Grand Opening on May 9th and that they can put me to work doing anything that needs to be done before, during and after the sale. Most importantly, the barn sale would not have happened if Donna had not done her magic with the backdrop, staging the large pieces of furniture and placing the smalls and flora about the barn. She is truly gifted and talented-and I can say that with no bias even though she is my twin. She even got in 18 holes of golf on Saturday. Pretty amazing-huh! Finally, Isabel who was so generous with her time the day before the sale. came back to the barn carrying a basket full of home made palmiers. The best I have ever had! I think we might be on to something-maybe a bakery as a sideline to antiques, funk and junk! Just kidding. What a FUN, FUN, FUN day we had at the barn. Tomorrow we load the big stuff in preparation for the Monticello Market Place Garden Show that starts next Friday. Yikes-I have to get busy-but first a walk in the sun with the dogs and maybe a long nap in the sun to end the day. Stay tuned for our story about Gramie June!

THE DAY BEFORE THE BARN SALE

I swear Dexter went back to the barn yard and told his barn mates that there were these silly fools giving out free food from the barn so go and see what you can find. And they did! It was the first day that the chickens and rooster had ever come to see us - let alone come to the door. Gabby, the mother llama and her baby Tina [who is quite shy] both came up to the barn door and finally the horses came up to about 25 feet from the barn door to check us out. One would think we were giddy five year old children seeing farm animals for the first time with all the excitement and joy that both Donna and I had getting up close and personal with these gentle creatures. What a day! PS Isabel from Maison Douce came out to the barn and gave us much needed help! She even brought us lunch! What a trooper-thank you Isabel!

DEXTER

THE PICTURES SAY IT ALL! DEXTER WAS THE HIGHLIGHT OF OUR DAY AT THE BARN! WHAT MORE COULD WE ASK FOR THAN TO HAVE THIS WONDERFUL CREATURE COME KNOCKING AT THE BARN DOOR.

PROGRESS AT THE TARTE BARN

We made huge progress today with the help of my son and our nephew -in-law. We got one big truck load to the barn and spent the rest of the day placing furniture and hanging the rest of the lights and completing several other small projects. I wrapped the pipe with torn sheets to hide the lamp cords. This does not sound like a big project-but I was on a 14 foot ladder and wrapped at least 40 feet of pipe. Nuts-huh! I am not sure I am going to be able to lift my arms above my head tomorrow-they are going to hurt too much. What pains we go through for the love of antiques, funk and junk. Well it is early to bed as we have another load up tomorrow. For those of you who are wondering-the Wizard had to help me big time tonight with the pictures as they went into the wrong picture file and he had to find them and put them where I could access them. What would I do without the great men in my life who rescue me all of the time?

A DAY AT THE TARTE BARN

We had a fun, productive day at the barn-despite what the weather had to offer us-rain, wind, hail and sun. We got the lights up, finished putting up the paint drop cloths on the walls and added trim and rustic touches. When I say we-I really mean Donna and her great husband, Bob who gave us a full day of his time and his expertise with power tools. I have no sense about tools or construction. It is simply not in my gray matter. I did go to Ikea twice in 24 hours and I think that is quite and accomplishment. If you have dreaded going-I recommend going on Easter Sunday at 11:00 o'clock in the morning. Only a few of us hardy shoppers were out and about and I got in and out of Ikea in 38 minutes. I also went today at 2:00 pm and was in and out in 30 minutes. Of course I had blinders on and went with purpose and focus to the light section to get the hanging lights, light bulbs and paper lantern covers. The trips to Ikea were worth it-as the lights look great and add much needed light to the barn. Well - that is it for tonight. Early to bed to rest up for the big load up tomorrow. PS For those who wonder did she upload the pictures without the help of the wizard-the answer is no-he only had to help a little. I am still on a steep learning curve-sigh!

BARN SALE

We are busy little beavers getting ready for the BARN SALE this Saturday and the Monticello
Market Place Garden Show beginning Friday, April 24th. As true to form we have jumped in with excitement and found that there is not enough time during the day and evening to do all the things we want to do. Donna has been doing her magic with our part of the barn to brighten it up in preparation for moving stuff from storage. We should finish up today with what we have planned to do for the barn structure [at least for the April Show] and do the big move into the barn tomorrow. Thank goodness for my son and our nephew-in-law, they will be doing the heavy work. And yes-I have the camera in the car and hope to get pictures uploaded tonight. Although no promises as my past efforts to do so have been lacking. I am beginning to think that the camera-doesn't matter which one -is becoming my nemesis. Off to the Barn and if time, to Monticello to fluff. From the BARN to Monticello it is only 12 minutes on I-205! We are lucky ducks [or should I say-lucky dogs]!

OFF TO THE BARN

Did I say earlier that I loved the Queen of Tarte Barn-if I didn't-I am saying it now-I LOVE THE BARN! In my younger years I used to dream of having a real barn house. I collected building plans and devoured Sunset magazines when they would feature remodeled barns made into homes. I always thought that I would some day live in the country with acreage and barns and if not a barn house-a farm house. Now most of those dreams will not come true-but I am happy to shout that I have part of a BARN. Annie, Fannie and Abigail will be renting part of the barn with Cindy from Queen of Tarte and will be doing monthly shows along side her. How cool is that?!! WAY TOO COOL!

We will be doing the April show-but we will also be moving lots and lots of stuff from storage, decorating, painting and other stuff over the next couple months. I have to pray for rain so the CGM [Chief Golf Maven-otherwise known as my twin, Donna] can do her magic before I loose her to the driving range and 18 rounds of golf on a daily basis. [Well almost daily basis.]

I am so excited about the BARN and the adventures that are sure to come. I look forward to many fun shows and events. Hey-I think we should have a BARN PARTY this summer when it is warm and we can smell the hay and see the stars!

Our Niece, Melody Rose

I am truly amazed at the power of blogging. Wonderful, creative folks have stopped by to read and share their stories and true passions. What about knocked me off my seat was seeing a comment from our niece, Melody Rose. We hadn't shared this blog much outside Donna, Debby, our sister and spouses-so it was such a surprise and delight to see that she somehow found us on the computer from Ithaca, New York. She is an amazing young woman who lives on a farm with her husband and three adorable children. She is truly a child of the earth and brings to her life a love of nature and free spirit. We love and miss you Mel and family.