I heart old tables and stools and ...mutants...

Dawn at the Pink Chateau...if I could whisk myself and the chateau away to the deep country, where I didn't have to look at neighbors and electrical wiring, this free spirit would truly be blessed...sigh...

...or perhaps Paris...naaaa...but this sweet lil' table with it's new feed sack top can boast far away lands in someone else's dreams...

This new(old) velvet fabric was already cut up, so I think it looks charming on the crown of this well-worn table...I love the look of fabric topped tables...instant doily...

OK...this is definitely a keeper, can't help it, told you I was weak...looks FAB sitting next to my gnarly old settee...

...old wicker plant stand with the old velvet fabric...might be a keeper, it matches my Heywood Wakefield sewing basket I found at Good Will...SCORE!!!

...to die for clock case...pure oak...through and through...

...we love our men with youthful shy curls and...
and gnarly old frames...and...

mindless and speechless...

OK...nuff said about the mutants...

Have a great day...there's hope and beauty outside yer door!

WARNING...may not be suitable for all audiences...

THEY'RE BACK...

This lil' plastic head really surprised me when I turned on it's light...WOWZA...a devilish surprise indeed...can you see his brains??? Click on the first shot and check out his eyes...yeah right...possessed...

Yes, the 'Cracked in the Head' nightlights are back...just when you thought it was safe to turn out the lights...well, I just couldn't resist this poor lil' urchin with the totally cracked head, he definitely gives off more light from the gaping wound in the back of his head...



But he needs a home too...so, have a heart, it's adoption time...own your very own original...

'Cracked in the Head'
nightlight.

Thanks Mark and Liz...you know me too well...

Let's explore the woods...Manley's Antiques...

Lucky CCONZ from This Girl's Art purchased this wonderful old wood stove for her studio...Cathy you did good!!! OK, I'm over the drooling now and we can move on...

This really cool chippy cupboard is just an example of the great eye Dave and LeeAnn have for their shop...sorry TOT, just had to show it and at $245.00 it won't be around long, what a great kitchen island this would make...

Of course I'm a sucker for old Victorian dressers and this one painted a creamy white is even more appealing...

Let's walk in the woods for a while...

...and enjoy the Autumn views..

...and as always the settings pull you right back in time...

Thought you'd enjoy a walk in the woods...Manleys' never fails to put on the show...stop by and say 'HI' to Dave and LeeAnn in good ol' Ioway...

Porch in season and new soaps...

An old porch and an old tradition...punkins and bittersweet...some would scrape off the ages of my little shack, but to me, it shows the times it's seen. In all reality, most would re-side, put in new windows and just totally remake my pink chateau into something it just ain't...

The character of the house and the ones that reside, fill the old home with things of the unusual...and a love of old that most would shun...like the rattlesnake on the staircase...or the stuffed iguanas on the chippy ol' parlor table...but what would the Pink Chateau be without it's hidden secrets...just another remodeled house...

All the men in my life said...'TEAR IT DOWN'...but that's not the point...the point is, I love that I can do anything to it and it doesn't hurt a thing. I love old Granny homes with the little rooms and porches added on as the days passed by and a need was given.

Sure, there's things that will be addressed, but for now, there's more important purchases required...MORE JUNK!!!

RIGHT!!? Like the new soap scents...


'
Balsam is one of my favorite pine scents, it just oozes the scent of Christmas. Men love this scent of soap, guess it brings out the 'Paul Bunyan wannabe' in them...

Then there's the sweet scent of Christmas Sugar, a charmingly sweet, sugary scent sure to bring a smile, as it's sweet, decedent fragrance wafts through the house after the shower.

These new soaps are at Sisters' and The Candle Shed...check us out soon...

Shadow Shot Sunday...Mmmmmm...

I planted a seed
in sandy loam
I wait for the sun
and I wait for the rain
green masts rise from Terra firma
as neon green sprouts spread on seas of soil
great green sails are set
sprite sentinels of culinary magic
race for sun ports
portage for my sailing greens
golden boats laden with booty
come ashore
butternut squash pie
awaits the baking
as we share the bounty
in the season of harvest
we share the bounty
and the hope
of the harvest

remember...


s.wilson


Another yummy SSS has stumbled upon us, go visit Tracy here and play the game too...

To continue the season of thankfulness...

We are truly blessed by the universe
when we open our eyes
to what is given
beauty all around
simple joys
of scent
of sound
of peace
can we open our hearts
together
and live in the moment

and be thankful
for the day.

The dusty halls of fame...

The library...

Yesterday, while at Sister's Garden, I had to smile to myself...I met a wonderful gal, I'm sorry, her name escapes me, but she asked if sometime she could come visit the Pink Chateau...how sweet...not sure she knows what she's getting into...

These dusty halls of fame are the setting for the sweat shop that produces the soaps and the painted furniture of Sister's Garden...so it's a kinda glorified studio/factory...

Cupboards are filled with fragrance bottles and jars of treats for the 'heathen'...aka Scratchy...

...my kitchen table rarely sees a meal, as this is the assembly line for the soap process...

...and my stove sees quick meals on the fly, with pot at the ready for the morning coffee/tea...ever the ready to fill the orders of soaps that are starting to pour in...but it's the life I love, me and the heathen...free to create in my lil' dust filled world...I like to think of it as one of those strange artist's studios, you know the kind you just like to explore, cause you never know what you'll find...right...

the office...

As treasures sent from friends gather the dusts of time in my lil' world, I'm thankful for the friends I've gathered on my journey...you are my rock and the reason I persist...BFF...right...

...so I write and I paint...and once a week I dust...
it's all in a day in the life of THE PINK CHATEAU...

The Fabric of Sweet Repose...

Well, this is how it all began, 15 years ago...I was smitten by the look of the hand sewn Victorian lampshades and at a $350.00 price tag, they were totally out of my reach...soooo...this intrepid artist(nut case) decided to try my hand at making them myself...

Now mind you, this was the land before internet, so all research was done by magazine to phone...what a pain, how did we ever survive!!! My daughter also shared this first shop with me, doing her floral designs along side our taxidermy shop...I know...don't even go there, but it worked...everyone loved it!!!

I would also purchase ratty old frames and add new silk chiffon, clean up and re-dye the old trims and beads to give them a newer luster.

VOILA'

Then the word was out and people would bring me their Grandmother's shades for a redo...

...then I started buying new frames and would experiment on my own...

...with fun(expensive) new trims and fabrics and play with my new toys into the wee hours of the morn...



So, as you can see, there are many more shades to be recovered...but for now they rest at the Pink Chateau...home of The Fabric of Sweet Repose...

...and there you have THE REAL story!!!

Thanksgiving...and why we smile...

You know, there are just so many things
to be thankful and mindful of...
a wonderful old homestead
with memories past
yet a stark reminder
of a families heart and soul
'long side harvested fields
yes, fields of dreams
farm families struggle
in uncertain times
to retain the hope
and the life
that once was
the family farm
giving thanks
for what little reward comes
they harvest and they plant
with each new moon
blood sweat and tears
it's the way of it
and this
is why
we are thankful
and we smile...

New blacks and a new season begins...

Isn't this the most gorgeous buffet EVER...that's what we thought, newly painted and ready for your Christmas dinner...

...old is new again, when a piece is drenched in the newest fashion color...again black is a winner...

OK...now start breathing again...isn't this the most...I 'bout, you know what, when I gazed on this beauty...SIGH...

...as the foyer begins to sparkle with bits of holiday pizazz, we know the time is near at Sister's Garden and Bloom...


The winter whites are on parade for sure...stop by often, 'cause the vistas are changing fast at Sisters'...these pieces won't be around long...giddy-up-go!!!