A little bit of loveliness....

  I was tipped off by my blogging friend that there is a fantastic little shoppe in my area. 

Roses and Rutabagas.    As I have many days to do a little browsing by myself - i decided i would make myself "in the neighborhood".

for my local friends....

you must go.

33771 George Ferguson Way

Abbotsford BC

This little vintage buggy greets you on the sidewalk.
inside the door your eyes don't know what to look at first.  
A smile creeps up on your face. 
This is a great store.

There is  a lowboy dresser that is re-purposed  

as the front desk.

 Behind it is a lovely girl who cheerfully greets

 all who come in.   

She is warm & seems intent on ensuring 

that customers enjoy their visit. 

 ( What a nice job I thought to myself )

A tray of silver dinner rings catches my attention right away.

I try a few on and decided its too soon to choose as I haven't looked at everything else...

I wonder if there was some special things in the drawers?  

Next time I will have to ask.

 maybe its a big apothecary of sorts?

Just inside the door there is a message
 to have a happy spring.
You see crisp white
with touches of black & pink.
Oh so Coco Chanel.

    There are special touches that have obviously been hand chosen by the owner.  

A certain "je nai se quoi"  embodies the space.    handbags, garments and those  pretty rings, bracelets, and  little pillows and lovely furniture with colored glass knobs.    Chandeliers as pretty as  special dinner rings hang like crowns from the ceiling.    

 I simply must buy a little something....    

but what to choose?

There are touches of that iconic Audrey -
Keeping an eye on your shopping choices.
A little french flair
A little whimsy
I so want shoppes like these to flourish.

         This large daybed was absolutely fantastic.
I truly wanted this one.
The white leather was so soft....
and the legs throne-like.

    

There is a pocket in the store devoted to the little ones
that enter in our lives.  
Coco pink, buttercream yellows and powder blue fill the area.
Messages like this one propped in the window -
"I love you to the moon and back"


 Funny enough - this is my friend Claudie's little saying.
She is the one that sent me to this store.
I love it when things like that happen.
 You know you were suppose to be there 
for just that moment?  I really do think so.

Here's my parcel.  Charlie has been waiting patiently in the car for me.

 The parcel is carefully  
 wrapped for even the few things I bought.
Its the little things that make a shoppe.
I love a nice bag.

This glass heart magnify's whatever you put it on top of.
I love it.  
 I have an "X and an O"  that I put under it
to magnify the hugs and kisses of course.
(A Guess promo magazine.  Isn't she a beauty) 

Now this is a Julie piece.  New it right away.
  A turquoise crystal
to add to my colored glass collection.
I have it hanging over the dining table, tied to the light fixture with a piece of ribbon.
Sounds odd - but that's normal for me.  

And a black & white pillow.   Colors are right - but bought it  mostly because every house must have a mouse.
This accent pillow just works in my place.
I will take that too please......
Cha Ching goes the cash register. 
But the total was not that extravagant either!  
Good job staying on budget for those browsing days.
A few thank you's and some good byes.  A mention that "I will bring my girlfriends with me next time"...   
and "do you mind if I take  a few pictures on my i-phone  for my blog?"
"Of course not" says the lovely girl behind the counter.
What a nice experience.


Outside the shoppe and now - and just down the street is another great stop.   Tracycakes Bakery.
 You can have high tea and order a lunch service of  fantastic little finger sandwiches and  petite desserts.  All  served on a tiered glass platter.


There are so many great shoppes and eatery's that are run by wonderful people who love what they do.  Where you find one - you will likely find another.     
I say,  help them survive by supporting them whenever you can.  They are an important part of our communities.


Bookmark this suggestion in your little black book under
road trip.   "roses & rutabagas"
then lunch at Traceycakes.   Bring a friend.

Lights out.   Good nite.

What's in a life?

MEET SOMEONE SPECIAL.

WALTER BREUNING . 1897 - 2011..... recently finished his life on earth at 114 years of age. Apparently the oldest documented man to live and then die of natural causes.
He resided in the farming community of Great Falls, Montana and worked in his lifetime for the Great Northern Railway since 1913.
No surprise, he was considered to be wise even beyond his years. He lived in a nursing home since 1980 and had only a little humble advice for the rest of us..
He attributed his longevity to restricting daily meals to breakfast and lunch and to downing an aspirin a day.

"Walter taught a spokesperson from the nursing home that all things in moderation will help lead to a long life; that hard work and a modest living are enough for a happy life and most importantly that giving back to others is good for the soul," He was a kind mind whose mind was lucid until the very end.

I see his photo and I see a kind man. Wish I had been in a position to have had the chance to talk with him.

Then I stumble on a picture of another woman about a week ago and the story behind her life is also interesting. How she was recognized is also something that will make you go... " wow " Have we got our priorities right here?

So here she is.



IRENA SENDLER. 1910 - 2008

During WWII Irena worked in the Warsaw ghetto area of Germany as a plumber/sewer specialist. Irena smuggled Jewish children out; infants in the bottom of the toolbox she carried in the back of her truck. She also had a dog in the back that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto. The soldiers wanted nothing to do with the dog, and the barking covered the kids and the infants noises. Irena managed to smuggle out and save 2500 children. She was eventually caught, and the Nazi's broke both her legs, arms, and beat her severely. Irena kept a record of all the names of the kids she smuggled out and kept them in a glass jar buried under a tree in her backyard. After the war she tried to locate any parents that may have survived and reunited some of the families. Most had been killed. She helped those children get placement in foster homes or adopted.
AND HERE'S THE BIG THING THAT MADE ME GO....... WHAT THE HELL ARE WE DOING?

Last year Irena was up for the Nobel Peace Prize.
She was not selected.
Al Gore won - for a slide show on Global Warming.

I am speechless.

J.