Wearing Many Hats

For those of you that know me well, you know that I wear a lot of hats. I have a steady part time job
in Waynesboro at Anne Arden Under the Roof as a designer and a sales person. I worked two days
a week at Queen City Marketplace to help pay for my spaces until that ended with the owners demise and I have had a decorating business for over a decade now. I also have an Ebay shop and Etsy shop.
On my days off, wish went from one to now three, I am out on the hunt for items to resell. With my
new space at Staunton Antique Center, I am on the look out for tables. So here is what i found today....

This oval wood table will be just what I needed to go in front of my sofa in my new space. I am
giving it a couple of coats of chalk paint.

 The little bedside table is not old, not solid wood, but it had so much going on for it that I
couldn't resist. Love the detail. I also used the Martha Stewart Chalk Paint in White on this.

I also found this bottomless old world birdcage and retro gold mirror.

And two pretty pieces, a ceramic pitcher hand painted in Deruta Italy and an Asain vase with grapes.

Along with a pair of silk is custom made drapes to list to one of my on line shops.

On a decorating note, I have been wanting to replace the sisal rug in my kitchen. Sisal's are great rugs because they are all natural, you can hose them down for cleaning and they are a neutral color. This rug I had purchased years ago for my den,it moved with me from house to house and ended up in the kitchen here. It was too small for the space, everything fell into the weave and it sheds, yuck! So I
have been looking at rugs everywhere, on line, in stores, I just needed to make a move. This is the first one I saw that I liked and I broke down and went back to get it. It is very bold for me but I love it.

  For you of you that don't know that this is a rental house, the kitchen is large, but ugly.
Dark nasty wood cabinets, old appliances, and broken tile floor. This rug hides a lot and adds
some umph. The rug is from Walmart, is heavy duty and stain resistant. As a celebration of this new
look, I made refrigerator pickles to give away as gifts. Bam!

Losing my Dog and Starting a New Job

Last Wednesday I lost my job at the mattress store and was hired for a
new job that same day, this all happened in one hour. The mattress company
was sold and the existing employees were let go. This was a blessing, I hated
that job! My new job is at Ann Arden under the Roof Home furnishings in
Waynesboro, I started last week and love the job. That gave me six days off
and I spent it cleaning, organizing, and spending some quality time with Elfie,
my 11 year old Bichon Frise. I am so blessed to have those days with him because
he passed away in my arms Friday night. Here is a picture of him with my children
the day we brought home.

He was born in 2005 and had a very good life. Now that I look back at his last days, I
remember him not eating as much food or not eating at all. Sometimes he threw up if
he drank to much water and he had a few soft stools. We did take good walks but he was
sleeping a lot those past days, which I thought was normal because during the day he is
in a crate.

Friday, I left for work as usual. We had a good walk, he did his usual things in the
grass, and he ate his breakfast, all seemed fine. When I came home, he did not great
me with his usual hyper self, I took him out for a walk but he seemed disoriented, and
he came to a stop after doing his business. I carried him back to the house and put some
food out for him and he just went into his crate and starred at me with very sad eyes.
He wouldn't come out of his crate.

   Once I got him to his chair in the den, he seemed tired and I could tell something was
wrong.

These pictures were taken last spring in the old house I was renting. He always
look like a puppy. So cute.

Those are the last pictures that I took of him that night, he had a seizure, threw up
blood and went limp. I was with him till he passed that night. I buried  in my Mom's
pet cemetery. I wish dogs could talk, I am not sure if he had stomach cancer or if it
was because we found out that the old house I was renting had a Carbon Monoxide leak.
I miss him so much, I keep looking for him in his chair. I have had a great loss. The good
news is that I love my new job, so if you need a sofa, come see me.