It's Show and Tell Monday. I have to comment on how beautiful and amazing the MMP Holiday Bazaar Catalog is. I was really stuck on what to do because most of my stuff is one of a kind. Lori of Katie's Rose Cottage ( I love her site www.katiesrosecottage.com ) suggested I offer my sachets eventhough they are all unique. I have to say I have had a ball working on them. I love to make them but never seem to find the time. I hope everyone is doing well with the catalog.

I am looking forward to Thanksgiving this week. I am honestly thankful everyday for all that I have in my life ... family, friends, good health for all, a home and job ... but Thanksgiving always gives me time to think about it even more. We spend time with our family and my kids have a ball. I am looking forward to a few homework free days as well. My seventh graders homework is brutal!! The next two days will be hard with tests and projects but then the break comes. It is very cold in CT so we may even get snow for the holiday. My kids would be thrilled! They can't wait for snow. We are all skiers so we're hoping for a snowy season.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanks for visiting ...

Show and Tell Monday ...

The Nosey Goose was dressed for the holidays this weekend ... we had our annual holiday open house Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Things have been very slow at the shop but I am happy to report that we had a busy and very fun start to the holiday season. We had our doubts with the way the economy has been and the rainy weather we had but I am thrilled to say our event was a success. I took some photos (I am a terrible photographer) to give you an idea of what our shop is like at this time of year.

Turquoise is the "in" color for the holidays this year. I love this look!

This is our white room

This is a little table display of Roxie's lights

This is a photo of the entrance to the shop. It is in an historic house so the stairs greet you at the front door.

This is our front bay window

Roxie's light strand is on the mantel

Show and Tell Monday ...
The 12 days of Christmas are in full swing but will be ending soon. Make sure to stop by http://www.makeminepink.com/shop-hop/ before it ends. All of the beautiful boutiques are offering great specials and free gifts. Get a jump on your holiday shopping with some wonderful, unique gifts for everyone on your list.

We had a quiet weekend here in CT. A bit rainy and a bit cold. The leaves are all falling so it's raking time. I did a bit of painting but spent some time getting ready for our Holiday Open House at my mother's and my shop, The Nosey Goose in Madison, CT. We preview all of our Holiday merchandise with a sale and goodies. We send out postcards to our mailing list and hope for a good turnout. It's always a fun jump start to the season. The shop smells and looks great thanks to my mother. I'll take photos when we are all decorated and post them.

I have lots of the holiday goodies on my site. I also got a new shipment of the oh so comfortable shoes we sell ... OKA b, shoes that love you. I restocked some and got a few new styles, all available on my site. More will be coming soon as well. The new ones are great for the holiday season ... black or brown mini mules with matching velvet ribbons. They are elegant and comfortable. These shoes are reflexology inspired designs made from a patented ruberish material. They are so much cuter in person!!!

Hot chocolate OKA b. mini mule with matching velvet ribbon tie.

Black OKA b. mini mule with black velvet tie

OKA b. mini mule in hot chocolate with matching grograin ribbon bow.

Happy Monday and thanks for visiting ...

Happy Monday everyone. My fun little feather trees have finally arrived. I just fell in love with them when I saw them in NY. They are 27" high, made of Styrofoam and feathers. You can actually stick pins in to decorate them if you choose. Aren't they the cutest? I'll be listing them for the twelve days of Christmas. They are the perfect addition to your shabby chic holiday decorating.

I finished up a few pieces this weekend. I need to wait a couple of days to let them cure before I distress them to give them that lovely shabby chic look. I was thrilled to find two matching tables last week. They are hard to come by and I always have customers looking for them, especially bedside tables.

If you read my post last week you know that I painted the wrong hardware for this buffet. Well I found the hardware and finished it up. The pieces always look so different with their final touches. This heavy piece is hopefully off to the shop this week. I just need to enlist someone to help me move it.

I have been having fun playing with my Christmas window. I still have to make some adjustments but this is a sample. I'd love some opinions.

Thanks for visiting ...

It's Monday again. Where does the time go?? I finished this very large buffet on Sunday. When I went to put the hardware on I realized I had painted the hardware for another piece. OOPS!!! So, it's not quite done yet. My plan is to finish it by Wednesday now.

On Friday my sister-in-law and her family came to visit from Colorado. My kids absolutely love when they come. They spend every free minute with them and just have a ball. On Saturday we went to a cute little festival at a farm in town. The kids painted pumpkins, made scarecrows, and had fun. My niece even got to ride a pony who's name was Denver (which is where they are from). The wolf rescue group from NY brought an Arctic wolf for everyone to see. His photo is below. The first picture is all of us making scarecrows. I have the green jacket on and my son Josh is next to me in red. Last night was a very cool Fall evening but we had everyone here for dinner and to hang out by the fire pit and in our barn (which has a woodstove, electricity, water, etc.) They are here until Thursday. It's going to be a challenge trying to get my kids to school while their cousins are here. Thanks for visiting.

Happy Monday ... I have to say that I love living in Connecticut eventhough the wintertime here can be pretty harsh. I think that's why we have such a beautiful Fall before the cold arrives. This past week we had 60 - 70 degree sunny days and gorgeous 40- 50 cool nights (warm cozy comforter nights). The trees are all beginning to turn gold, orange and red. In the sun the leaves are just amazing. I took a few photos of our yard and neighborhood. Last night we had a bunch of friends over for a "fish fry". My husband caught a few blackfish (salt water fish) on Saturday. Fresh fish is the best. Then everyone brings something, we sit by the firepit, the kids run around. It is so nice to be able to hang outside still. I love this time of year!!






I have to admit, I'm like a kid in a candy shop when the holiday merchandise starts arriving at the shop. We ordered back in August and I often forget how beautiful it all is until I start unpacking it. These photos are a few of the many items I have listed on my site this week. Like many of us, I wish my photos were better because the items are so beautiful and the pictures just don't do them justice. I love vintage inspired Holiday things, especially those that are not in typical colors. The brownish greenish glass ornaments below are so rich looking. I think I'll have to put some in a bowl on the table. At my house each year I always adorn my mantel in pinks and silvers with a touch of turquoise. No red and green for me! And when it's time, I hate taking the decorations down. Thanks for visiting ...

Time for show and tell ... This is the table and chair set that I got a few weeks back and had posted a picture of. There are actually four chairs but I brought them into the shop before I remember to take a picture. The set is now white and distressed and went home that day with a customer. She was thrilled with it which made me happy.

This past weekend we went camping in a town in CT called Bozrah. I am not a big outdoorsy girl but with a husband and two boys, I have to give in sometimes. We have a little pop-up camper. Usually we camp close to home so I get to take off and sleep in my own bed but not this time. Anyway ...it was a beautiful area I had never been to. Unfortunately, on Sunday it rained most of the day. I did take a few pictures of the beginning of the Fall foliage here (in the rain). The last picture is my 9 year old in the heated pool at the campground. The temp outside was in the high 40's. Yikes!

Show and Tell Monday ...

Today I decided to show and tell a room in my home. I absolutely adore shabby chic decorating and I always strive to decorate in that style in my home. Fortunately, my husband leaves the decorating to me and doesn't care if the house is all white and roses. Unfortunately, because I have two very busy and very dirty boys, I can't always have everything the way I would ideally like it to be. So .. my bedroom is the one place that I can really go to town with my love of shabby chic. The walls are light pink, the decor is flowers. I found the most amazing vintage bed a few years ago. It's chippy ivory paint with it's original embellishments. I still have a long way to go to really "fill" the space but I pick up pieces whenever I can. The tall chest is the very first piece I ever painted and distressed. (It's more crackled than distressed but I can't quite bring myself to redo it ... sentimental reasons).My father-in-law rescued it from the dump and I went to work on it. I love my daybed that I found years ago at a flea market. My mother convinced me to buy it even though it was a little over my budget. I even used it in a showhouse I did and everyone wanted to purchase it but I just couldn't let it go. I have a wonderful woman who makes all of my pillows and just does an amazing job. I have to say, I was on Jennifer of The Old Painted Cottage's blog a few weeks back looking at her "cottage of the month". She had her own house on one month and I was drooling over it. It is what I want my house to be someday. It inspired me to do a little rearranging and fluffing of my own. Maybe someday my small little cape will be the house of my dreams. For now, I'm relatively happy with the bedroom. (my pictures aren't too great. It actually looks better in person). Thanks for vising...

Show and Tell Monday ...
First I have to say to all of the ladies who attended the MMP retreat, I hope it was all you had wanted it to be and more. From the tidbits of info that have been shared already, it sounds like it was a blast.
I spent the weekend at the Orange Country Fair with my Flair business partner. We set up at this event every year to sell our handbags, jewelry, accessories, etc. I have a few pictures of our booth. They did not come out well as we were under a tent but it gives you an idea of what we sell. We do home parties so when we set up in a home, it is MUCH prettier and looks MUCH more like a boutique. We did have a successful weekend. It's a great place to sell off some of our past season's merchandise as well as show off some of our new items for the Fall. Thanks for visiting ...