I hope everyone had a great Easter!! Mine was very nice spent with my family but very busy as I worked the whole weekend.
I did go to one of our local Grocery Stores and I bought these cute Bearington Bunnies at 50 % off. They were originally $14.95 so I got 2 for the price of one!!
Aren't they sweet?? I think these may stay out to play in my Guest Room.....
Joe and I have been working every spare minute we can get on pricing things for our church Flea Market which is in 2 weeks.
Here are some things that I added to my tab....
Aren't these just too cute????
And I loved these heart pillows and I am sure I will be dabbling with them a bit...
We have been getting a LOT of rain. I mean a LOT of rain!! And it seems that there are no longer 4 seasons in North Eastern Pa. We go from 40 degrees to 80 degrees in one day!! From Winter right into Summer and that seems to be the case for the last several years... Needless to say after a very warm and uncomfortable night sleep on Tuesday which was my only night off since last Friday, the air conditioner is NOW in our bedroom window!!
We are seeing signs of new growth every where though.
New leaves on one of my trees in the back yard....
Lilac buds starting to open on another.....
Perennials looking good....
And some even blooming.....
I thought I would just say Hello to everyone and as I mentioned in a previous post, I have very little time right now until our church Flea Market is over so I will be a bit scarce for the next 2-3 weeks!!
Elton John Live at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes Barre , Pa. on Friday, April 22, 2011 Photo courtesy of The Times Leader
Caution !!! Long Post...... filled with a bit of this and that!!
Rain, Rain go away and stop coming back day after day!!
Well, I guess I should be happy that it isn't snow!!
And all of the rain that we are having day after day is bringing out signs of Spring in my yard.......
Perennials popping up.....
Buds and new leaves on one of my Lilac trees.....
However, as many of you know from your own personal experience, the rain is also killing those of us with arthritis! I am having problems with my back and a sciatica like pain going down my right leg. And for some reason that I can't think of , my right knee is swollen and causing me problems with walking. Talk about feeling like you are 100 years old!!
Yep, Elton John at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza this Friday!!
That is the arena that I could walk to if I had to.....
Yep, Joe and I will be spending Friday night, April 22 with this guy!
This is actually the second time I will be seeing Elton John and the 4th time he has performed at our arena. In June, we will be seeing Micheal Buble' and Cirque de Soleil. Whoa!!
UPDATE, APRIL 22 @ 11pm!
Just got home from the Elton John Concert Whoa!!! He started at 8:02 pm and played almost 3 hours without a break!!
He opened with one of my all time favorites, Funeral for a Friend!! When I was in 11 grade, the Ecology Club that I belonged to did a slide show on pollution and the striping holes left behind by the Penna. mining industry and the music used was Funeral for a Friend!! He closed with Crocodile Rock and then came back for an encore with Your Song. When he first came back onto the stage, he signed and autographed all kinds of things handed to him and worked his way down the entire first row!! FANTASTIC!!! Never ever did I think when I was a teenager and I bought every single one of his albums ( and I still have them all) that I would get to see Elton John once but twice in my life time and 5 minutes from my home here in Wilkes Barre!!! Can you tell I am still pumped up!!!!!
Below is a You Tube video of the same concert , just at another venue. This is the when Elton came on stage and played Funeral for a Friend! Please turn off my playlist when you view this video.
To read about Elton John's performance , please click HERE
Now onto More Easter Decorations....
Nelson Crest is decked out for Spring and Easter......
There are Bunnies frolicking around the front yard... Just simple mini ornaments...
Here is another Easter vignette on my Entertainment Center in the Living Room......
Bunny Nutcrackers bought at a yard sale.....
Houses from The Christmas Tree Shop Last Year....
Just a simple little Egg Tree...
I want to wish all of you a Happy and Joyous Easter!!
Easter is not considered a holiday for me at work so I will be working Saturday and Sunday nights ( it is my weekend to work) but I will still be having the kids over for a big Easter dinner on Sunday afternoon. I will be doing most of the cooking on Saturday and will only have to throw the turkey in the oven when I get home from work on Sunday morning......
Many of you often ask if I sleep since I work full time night shift. I average about 5 hours of sleep on days I am working and it is split between the morning and the evening.
I figure maybe I will get to sleep in my next life......
And now onto some new treasures....
I ordered some sweet Faux cakes on Ebay. These cakes did more traveling around the country then I have ever did before they reached me. LOL!! And it was through no fault of the seller.
They were worth the wait being far larger than I thought and more beautiful then the pics showed....
Here is where they found a home in my Dining Room...
Please click HERE to visit Shabby Rose Fake Cakes ! I want to thank everyone for the wonderful comments on my last post about the Titanic Tea at the Stegmaier Mansion. We are truly blessed to have such a magnificent place nearby and to be able to attend such lovely events there.
My dear friend, Anne Marie , gifted me these sweet Easter goodies!!
She made the Doily basket using Elmer's glue!!
Love the cute egg ornaments and the little pink birdie will find a place on my Summer Tea Cup tree in my Craft Room.
Thank you so much, Anne Marie!!
As many of you know, Joe and I run our church Flea market. The Spring one is only 3 weeks away and we have so much work to do. All items are stored in a garage on the church property and we take donations year round. Since the weather here has been so cold, we have not had a chance to get into the garage and work on pricing until last Sunday. It was raining and the wind was blowing so I wore long johns and a winter coat. We did have a space heater on which did help......
And yes, I do get first pick and these are a few items that I added to my running tab....... A Bearington Bear in a sweet arm chair!!!!!
This little doggie was placed on my work table and as soon as i saw it, I was reminded of our sweet Savanna who passed away last August. I placed her on the steps as a remembrance......
Our Sweet Savanna used to sit on these steps and look out the front door window all the time....
We miss her so.......
This is a pair of lined pinch pleat drapes... I loved the fabric and I may be doing something with these in the future....
And how could I pass up these blocks.....
I have also been dabbling again...
I decided this lamp shade needed a bit more embellishments.......
I added a tassel trim, a pink ribbon rose and a pink lace applique......
And some beads on the applique....
I think it looks much better.....
Then I decided to get rid of a book shelf that I had in the Master Bedroom and move my decorating books into the Craft Room.........
I weeded out some of the ones that I didn't want and they will be donated to our church flea market....
The next few weeks are going to be crazy busy for me with the Spring Flea Market , undecorating for Easter and spring yard work so I will not be posting as often and visiting everyone as much. Once the Flea Market is over, I will be back in full force......
As many of you may have read in my previous post, our area was honored with a visit from President Jimmy Carter and the First Lady, Rosalyn Carter last week.
They were in town for a local auction where they donated over 100+ personal items to be auctioned off and all proceeds would go to the Historic Restoration of buildings in their hometown of Plains, Georgia. Since the auction was held in our local town of Plains, it was entitled "Plains helping Plains".
The President and First Lady were given several options of where they could stay overnight and they chose The Frederick Stegmaier Mansion in Wilkes Barre, Pa. Owner Joe Matteo told me they chose the Stegmaier Mansion because President Carter said "this is what we want to do in Plains". So it was only fitting that the President and First Lady stay in a completely Restored Gilded Mansion.
Below are pics taken from our local newspaper showing the Carter's with the staff of the Frederick Stegmaier Mansion.
President Jimmy Carter, First Lady Rosalyn Carter and owner Joe Matteo
The wait staff with President Carter, Rosalyn Carter and Chef Jody Klocko ( next to Rosalyn Carter) who studied under the Carter's Chef while they were in the White House.
Chef Jody Klocko serving President Carter
To read the article in our local newspaper about owner Joe Matteo's comments on a Former President staying in his beloved mansion, Please Click HERE
I think you will enjoy the article especially when you read that Rosalyn Carter took Joe Matteo by the hand and asked if she could hold onto him as he took them through the mansion!!
Below is the newspaper photo of the Amelia Suite. This is where the First couple spent the night!
These are some of my pics of the Amelia Suite...
This is looking into the Bathroom....
This is looking into the wonderful Sitting Room off of the Bedroom of the Suite...
The magnificent Stained Glass Windows in the Sitting Room.......
The sofa in the Sitting Room... Picture yourself cuddled up with a good book as sunlight streams through those stained glass windows......
I have always wanted to stay in this suite and now for sure I do because I want to sleep in the bed that they slept in. I mentioned this to Joe Matteo , when we attended the Titanic Tea on Sat. at the mansion and he said that it was the first thing that he did after they left!!! LOL!!
We are so very happy for our friend, Joe Matteo, who has painstakingly restored this mansion to it's former glory!! Joe also mentioned that the Carter's were so impressed that they plan a return visit in a few months!!
Way to go , JOE!!
On Saturday, my friend, Anne Marie and I had the pleasure of visiting the mansion again for a Titantic Tea. We were greeted at the door by our dear friend, Lisa Lewis, Victoriana Lady, who is the Tour Guide and Hostess for the Mansion and were given our Boarding Pass!
Joe Matteo also greeted us with a hug and a kiss as we congratulated him on having the Carter's stay at the mansion!
We were assured that even though it was pouring buckets outside and the wind was blowing everything around in it's path, that we would not sink! LOL!!
We were seated in the Dining Room of the mansion this time. It was crowded so I didn't get to take many pics of the room then but I will show you some of my pics taken on my other visits to the mansion.
Amazing stained glass windows.....
Silver Service.....
Stunning lamp shade that I would love to have in my home.....
The mantle on the fireplace....
We started out with picking our flavored Tea Bags.......
Then came the first course....
And it was so yummy....
Then the salad....
Most of the dishes were in French and there is no way I could tell you exactly what they were but they were taken from actual menu's from the Titanic and recreated!
Our soup was a farmer's soup with vegetables...
Sandwiches were a rubin sandwich, chicken salad, egg salad and a corned beef sandwich. These , as you can see, were not your ordinary Tea Sandwiches and they literally melted in your mouth!
Then came dessert...... The ice cream was fantastic!
The chocolate on the side was mixed with a bit of parsley and sprinkled with gold dust!!!
And then more dessert, which we took home because we were so full!!
As each course was served, owner Joe Matteo would come and tell us the names of everything and what it was and how it was served on the Titanic.
Lisa Lewis, Victoriana Lady, also came around. This is when she is reading exerpts from actual survivors from a book in her own collection that was published in 1912.
Can I tell you a secret??? Do you see the pretty embroidered placemats on the table??? You can click on the pic to enlarge. They are actually pillow covers from the Dollar Store!! I know because I bought the same ones and I flipped them over and sure enough, there was the zipper. No one else would have known and what a great idea from Joe Matteo in tablescaping!!!
I just want to point out the reflection of the magnificent ceiling in the huge mirror on the wall where the fireplace is!!! And the chandy!!
Here is Lisa showing us momento's from her visit to the Titanic Exhibit in New York City a few years ago. Lisa dressed for the Exhibit in one of her authentic ( no reproductions) Edwardian dresses. They allowed visitors to have their picture taken with the Titanic in the background. Lisa said that by the time she made it through the Exhibit, the management had asked for her permission to post her pic in the exhibit!! The only other person that attained that honor was Matthew Broderick!!
Here is our friend, Sue who came in period dress. All from the Salvation Army!! Way to go, Sue!!
Chef Jody Klocko had created a Presidential Seal out of chocolate for President Carter.
Unfortunately, my pics of it came out blurry but I wanted to show you it anyway so you can get a glimpse of this masterpiece!
It was displayed on the Baby Grand Piano in the Ladies Parlor.
Well, I hope you enjoyed coming along with me to the Titanic Tea at The Stegmaier Mansion.
They are holding more Titanic Tea's, a Mother/Daughter Tea and a Magic Tea in the future. They are also hosting several more " Last Dinner on the Titanic " events because of the extreme popularity causing sellouts of this event. For more info , please visit www.stegmaiermansion.com
And to visit Victoriana Lady Lisa Lewis's blog, please click HERE to see more pics of Titanic events at the Stegmaier Mansion!
Also, you can see Lisa Lewis on the TV show Oddities on Saturday, April 23 @ 10:00pm on The Science Channel. Lisa's segment is on Victorian Mourning Traditions.
I thought I would just say Hello to everyone and as I mentioned in a previous post, I have very little time right now until our church Flea Market is over so I will be a bit scarce for the next 2-3 weeks!!
