GNOMES!!! I heart them!

I (we) have a strange fascination with gnomes!
I have no idea where this comes from or why, but I am oddly attracted to these cute little guys! So much so, that I often receive them as gifts~keep them comin' folks! And, I have even been known to give them as gifts on occasion; I think that they make lovely house-warming gifts~for the indoors in a potted plant or outside in the garden or on a patio! They kind of represent luck to me, like a little good luck charm, much like the Irish Leprechaun. They are usually painted in bright and cheery primary colors, and they tend to make me smile every time I see one. I do like other lawn ornaments as well, especially deer, (but that is a whole other post!) I am quite partial to these little gnomies!

                                                    Like this one that I received as a gift:

which you may still be able to find at your local TARGET store!

or these little guys:

which I spotted last spring/summer at a paint and garden shop in Mechanichville, NY:

Di Siena's Paint & Home Center

or this colossal gnome, which we happened upon on our way back from a wedding in the Catskills

in of all places Kerhonkson, NY

and here he is in full; loved him!!!

so, if you are heading past him, be sure to stop and take a pic with him ;)

so, if you are heading past him, be sure to stop and take a pic with him ;)

I hear that he loves visitors!

tired as hell, and it is only 9pm

'night gnomie!

love ya!

estate sales/a piece of history and a connection to the past

While walking down Broadway in Saratoga Springs, NY the other day, we noticed the sign on the front door of the "old" Adelphi Hotel, we stopped and wondered aloud, "what will happen to this place? will it have the same 'stepping back in time' feeling?" We hope so, but that is yet to be seen . . .

I was "introduced" to "The Aldelphi" by my finance (not sure how to make the accent mark over the e!)
years ago. One did not have to be a guest at the hotel in order to have a drink at their bar and/or outdoor garden courtyard. It was a wonderful hidden place, one which, when you step off the main drag of the busy street after a day at the race track, you feel as if you should be wearing a flapper dress and a finger wave curled hair style with a skinny band with a feather in it and perhaps even smoking a cigarette held in one of those long holders! I hope that whoever bought this place will have the wherewithal (and I am not just talking $ here, I am referring to the history) to retain some of the original charm and nostalgia.

A glimpse via their "old" facebook page. Make sure you take a peek at their pies; they are picture perfect!

https://www.facebook.com/adelphihotel

the estate sale for those who wanted a piece of the Adelphi history

http://www.saratogian.com/articles/2013/01/10/news/doc50edfe59756fe795290827.txt

think Loiuse Brooke, the Great Gatsby (which will most likely be the next Mad Men fashion trend!) and the Charleston!!!

FOOD and Fortune or merely just some philosophy . . .

One of my other interests that I did not include in my initial posts is FOOD!
I love to try other ethnic foods. I am not as adventurous as some others and
there are are a few things that I will not try (horse meat, for example, it was
very dark, almost black~it didn't look right, so I skipped it!).
Here are a few amazing fortunes that we received inside our fortune cookies
the last time we ordered Chinese Food for dinner. They are much more
philosophical rather than fortunes.

to actually starting something NEW!

Whatever you think you can do or believe you can do, begin it!

Action has magic, grace & power in it. ~~~ Goethe  

I have been saying for a while that I wanted to start a blog, and apparently, since I could not seem to focus on anything else, apparently, today is the day!

I went to school for marketing and visual art and have worked in various fields including retail/visual display and real estate. I have a passion for all things VISUAL: 

• design
• color 
• fashion 
• graffiti
• photography 
• architecture 
• interior decorating
• landscaping (or the newest term or "curb-appeal thanks to HGTV)
• fabric and patterns
• collections (more repetition!)
• furniture especially mid~century

I have been collecting "images" way before Pinterest! ;) Actually so many that we needed to add more space (or was it get a new one? I can't remember!). 

I am looking very forward to sharing with some like~minded people. I hope that you join me in sharing some beautiful images and stories.