Deanna's Birthday Bash!

Birthday Girl Deanna is turning the big "46" and wants to
celebrate with us all by having us share a few baby photos of
ourselves! We can all OOH and AAH over how cute and
adorable we baby bloggers were. To see the full list of the
baby partiers, go to Deanna's blog, Timeless Things. You can
also click on the invitation above to get the details to the second
day of the celebration, tomorrow, and catch a glimpse of what
she has in store. She's doing her Birthday up BIG! So come and
join in the FUN!

This is a picture of me and my Great Great Grandmother,
Nanny and me, when I was a mere two weeks old. I was born
on June 17, 1974 at 12:55 PM. I was two weeks early and
weighed 6 lbs 10 oz. To hear my Mom tell it, out of her 4
children, she had the worst labor with me, sorry Mom!
That was before the epidural was common and most Mothers
had to tough it out!


A couple of months old, my first official photo shoot!


With my Godmother, my Aunt Lisa, at my Christening in
October 1974.

These are some of my favorite pictures taken when I was
small. I think I'm about 4-5 months old. In fact, it's possible
they were taken the night or morning of the Christening.
I look completely goofy and adorable, I think?


My Dad and me, pictures taken at my Grandparent's house. My
Dad spent his High School years here. Of all the houses from my
childhood, lived in or visited, this is the home I miss the most and
still yearn to see. My Grandpa sold it in the middle 1990's after
my Grandma died. I can still drive past and see it, but oh how I
long to go in and see my Grandparents there again!


A Cousin and me. I recently babysat for her little boy, who is
3 years old!


This is one of my favorite pictures of my older Sister and me.
We are only 15 months apart, so we were always doing
everything together, including photo ops, not that we had much
choice! Our Mom often dressed us alike, or at least made sure
we were color coordinated and looking all put together and
CUTE!

Thanks for strolling down memory lane, be sure to tune in
tomorrow when we get all gussied up for the FANCY portion
of Deanna's Birthday Bash!

Pink Saturday

I bought myself a new treasure a couple of days ago at the local
Goodwill. It set me back a whole $1.99. I know next to nothing
about old dishes and was wondering if any of you Saturday
Pinkies could help me out in figuring out what I've got.

The back says W.H. GRINDLEY & Co Ltd
WINDSOR IVORY
England
RED N9757554
It also has the #27 on the back in black

I don't know how you go about discovering what old dishes
are all about and what they're worth, I was just curious if
anyone knows how to go about checking on the treasures we
buy at second hand stores. I'm sure it's not the missing plate
to some fantastic set and is worth a million dollars, LOL!
Maybe I'm curious if I overpaid! Maybe the whole she-bang
is only worth 25 cents. It doesn't really matter, I just bought
it because I thought it was pretty. I think it would be fun though
to learn something about old glass wear so that when I go to
look for more treasures, I go in with a bit of knowledge.

Happy Pink Saturday to you ALL and jot over to see Beverly at
How Sweet The Sound to see what all the other PINK lovers
are featuring today. I'm sure there is something there for
everyone!

Gone Too Soon...

THIS is the image my Sister and I had on our bedroom wall
when we were young. This handsome, fresh looking, seemingly
innocent young man, full of talent and promise. We were
probably only 8 and 9 when we became enamoured with
Michael Jackson. He was the first BIG star my Sister and I
had a crush on (she more than I!). We had his posters on our
wall, collected his albums and I specifically added stickers
pertaining to him to my ever growing sticker collection.

We lived out in the sticks when we were young, in a little
logging town amongst the trees, we were lucky to get FM
radio to tune in, so I'm surprised we even heard of him! But
high school kids will find a way and we had a neighbor/baby-
sitter that was a cheerleader and we would watch her practice
her dance routine to the song "Beat It" endlessly. I think
that may be where we learned to love his music.

I was with my Aunt in the car when my Uncle called to share
the news. He told her about Farrah Fawcett and Michael
Jackson. Her immediate reaction was that she thought today
should be about Farrah because she had handled her illness
with such dignity and grace, and I agree, she did. I don't
think in any way her passing should be overshadowed by
Michael Jackson's, but I know it will be, because it was
unexpected. I however remember being surprised, but not
shocked. His life has taken so many unexpected and strange
turns. Many sad, some shocking, and I admit a lot weird.
While I agree one passing should not overshadow the other, I
disagree that it should be all about Farrah. I think this is a
generation thing. My Aunt and Mom are from the time of
Charlie's Angels, she was their peer. I think that's why she
has more sympathy for her sad plight. I think I identify with
the Michael Jackson passing more, not because he was a peer,
he was 15 years older than me, but because he was a part of
my childhood. He brings back a time in my life when all was
innocence and play and fun. It was just about the discovery
of music.

Whatever his life became in later years, I'll always hold a special
place in my heart him and the Thriller Album. They always take
me back immediately to my childhood, and my childhood was
wonderful. Michael Jackson's death struck more of a chord in
me because it means the beginning of saying goodbye to people
and things from my childhood. Knowing deep down that this is
the start of saying, "When I was a kid we listened to so and so"
and having the little kids say "Who" because they've never heard
of them, the start of getting OLDER. I guess I knew it had to
happen sooner or later, even if my recent 35th Birthday didn't
convince me!

So to Michael Jackson I say, Thank You for the songs, for
sharing your gift, and for the inner smile I get EVERY time I hear
the song "Beat It". Thank You for the MUSIC to put with the
MEMORIES.

Monday Catch Up...

Good Monday Morning my devoted followers!

I know I've been a bit sporadic in my blogging and visits the
last few days. It's been sort of a hectic week and haven't had
much time, or inclination frankly, to hit the computer. Last
week started off with the news of a death in the family. It
wasn't immediate family, but it was a shock and devastating
nonetheless. Then I had my Costume Party on Wednesday,
which was an enormous amount of FUN! You were all
amazing! On Friday I had to attend said funeral/reception.
Saturday, my Cousin Pony Girl and I had to do prep work
(with a little help from my loveleigh big Sister) for a yard
sale. I took pictures to share with you all, but the turnout
was a bit low. We decided it was worth the effort though,
even at the amount we came away with. I think it was a bit
slow because it was Father's Day. Goodwill got the cast offs
and we called it good! Again, I was just too lazy to post about
the whole she-bang. I was asleep by 11:30, rare for me.

Now for the fun stuff, Pony Girl and I took a little time to hit
a couple of antique stores! A little fun after all our hard work.
I love looking at old silver and all this shiny goodness is from
my favorite little nook in this shop. Tucked away on the top of
three floors, there are always neat little treasures here for the
eye to fall upon.





This children's garden furniture is adorable. It's tiny, I don't
think it would fit children over 7. I think it could be redone and
be fantastic.

Old, old pony, much cheaper that the real version I'm sure! If
you notice the old brick wall in this picture and the one above,
it gives you an idea that this is an old building. It's in the
historic downtown area and at one time back in the 1950's, it
used to be the JC Penny building. It's HUGE (for a small town!),
it's 3 levels and the top floor is the neatest with brick walls, old
hardwood floors that are crooked and warped, and wooden
beam ceilings. I think it was probably the storage area for the
merchandise and incoming orders. I don't know what the
buildings original use was, it would be interesting to find out.

All of the mini children's things fascinate me. To look at them
and think how many sweet and ornery little angels have used
these items over the years...

especially this teeny bed. I don't know if this was used for a
real child, it's so small, I don't think a little one over two would
fit. It could be that it was made to be a playbed for a little girl's
dollies. We had a fun, relaxing time. I did manage to come
away with nothing. I didn't see anything I couldn't live
without. Pony Girl however, found a few little treasures, she
was a good girl and stuck "close" to the limit she set herself.

I promise to try and play catch up this week a make a visit
round to each of you. I want to catch up on ALL your
happenings and see what I've missed. Lots of good things I'm
sure!!!

~One Cool Dude~

Happy 36th Father's Day Dad!

The Winner of the Giveaway is...

JENNIFER
from For the love of a teddy bear!

Congratulations! This seems to be your lucky month!
Email me your particulars and I'll send your gift on
it's way to you!


I'd like to take a few moments to thank everyone for attending
my Birthday Costume Party Celebration. Each and every one of
you ladies helped to make my day special and memorable. It
was the funnest Birthday Party I've had since grade school!

Everyone had me in complete awe at how much time, thought,
care and effort went into creating a whole vision for their
costumes. Not only were there beautiful gowns, I saw
dazzling shoes, gloves, fans, parasols, jewelery, purses (one
in particular I covet) and even pretty unmentionables. It
all came together to help create the mood. Some of you
even told delightful and creative little tales of your party
preparations and they were so fun to hear and added even
more to the glamour of the day! The music some of you
chose to fit your theme was outstanding as well.

We had ladies attend the party from all four corners of the US
and from 3 other countries, Argentina, New Zealand, and the
Philippines. Isn't it amazing that we could all share this
experience at the click of a button!

To each and every one of you I say a heartfelt THANK YOU.
Thank you for bringing such joy and excitement to my day.
For sharing a little part of yourselves and something that you
love, even something as simple as a dress that would make
YOU feel special. I hope each of you were glad you came
and that you had a wonderful time. You'll never know how
much happiness you brought. Thank You, you Sweet Special
Ladies!

Loveleigh Treasures Costume Party!

Welcome, Welcome my FRIENDS! The day has arrived so let
us begin. Let's put on our finery, our baubles and pearls and have
a grand time, whatever unfurls!

The Costume I chose consists of a little pink confection I pulled
from the movie "The Phantom of the Opera". I had several
options for myself, but when I spotted this one it was LOVE at
first sight. Not only is it PINK, it has a full ballroom skirt, roses,
and a bit of lace at the top. What more could a Birthday girl
ask for! I have always loved the music from the original
musical, written by the genius, Andrew Lloyd Webber ( I've
included a few song selections on my Playlist). However I could
never quite make it through the whole of the recent movie
remake. The sets are magical and drop dead gorgeous and
the costumes are stunning, but the movie just seemed to drag
on and on for me. Needless to say, that did NOT stop me from
selecting this amazing dress for my Costume Party! The
character Christine, wore the dress for a masquerade ball, so
I thought it would fit in perfectly.

So, without further ado, removed from under lock and key.

I happily present...

My Party Dress!!!

One of my most special party guests, my big sister Horse Dreams,
wanted to attend my little Bash too. She doesn't have a blog
so I'm posting her costume for her here. She went with some-
thing MAGICAL . We both love the land of make believe and
adventure and the fact that there are two sisters on a
magical journey together convinced her to chose something
from the movie "The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe,
The Chronicles of Narnia".

Her Costume choice is from "The White Witch". Don't we all
wish we could wear a wicked crown like this. It would come
in handy as a lethal weapon if need be! Or just to let everyone
know WHO is Queen!

Photo from Victoria Magazine December 1995 Issue

Please, come into the party, I 've prepared especially for YOU,
everything is ready and waiting, sparkling and new..

Photo from Victoria Magazine December 1995 Issue

Pull up a chair, and have yourself a seat, we've all come
together, Oh isn't this NEAT!

We'll tell tales of our costumes, on scrumptious goodies we'll dine.
When all's said and done, the hours flown away, aren't you so
glad you came out to play!

Photo from Victoria Magazine December 1995 Issue

I'm so glad you shared my Birthday with me, but the clock's
struck the hour, it's time we soon flee...

I thank you for coming from the bottom of my heart, but the
time has come when we all have to part. Remember to visit
my other dear guests, they're waiting for you, please send
them my best!

PUPYLOV
A Little Shabby Always Chic
Eclectic Pink Rose
Our Back Porch
Pony Girl Rides Again
Copper Pony's Cowgirl
From Our Front Porch Looking In
For the love of a teddy bear
A Southern Rose
Draffin Bears
Thoughts by Charity Joy Bell
Sweet Nothings
Shabby Cottage Collectibles
Playing Dishes
A Cowgirl's Grace
Only Cute Things
Heidi's Diary
Inside the Mind of a MiniMadWoman
Sassy Mini Dolls
Todas somos reinas
Queenmother Mamaw. Stories of my family,flowers and art
Betty's corner of the world


I will hold the drawing for my giveaway tomorrow and post
the loveleigh winner on Friday. I wish I could give each and
every one of you a little treasure because I appreciate you all
so much and have had such FUN getting to know you. Until we
meet again at our next party, I am...