Fresh Juice Anyone???

This Wednesday, May 2 for a mere 12 hours the Longaberger Co. is offering the perfect juicer. Yep, it's just perfect!! Take a few oranges, cut them in half and with in minutes you will have a glass a truly fresh squeezed healthy juice! Yum.

 To place and order just email me at baskets4anita@aol.com and I'll take care of the rest for you. Have a wonderful day.

Sensational Sunday!

Oh how I am so ready for a do nothing day. Yesterday was go, go, go all day. It was a lot of fun, I'm not complaining at all but this ole girl is in need of a down day for sure. So here I am, blogging and watching the Angels play the Cleveland Indians .... what could be easier?

I began yesterday with my Longaberger meeting. Here are some of the girls gathering around the food, oh how we love food!

 Smiling is little Amy Jones ... oops, she's not so little anymore is she?

This is Judi, she just got finished sharing her experiences at the Collectors Club Gathering last weekend.

Next, I was off to present a home show and visit little Olivia.

 Wait a minute, where's Olivia? Oh no, she left with daddy to have a fun day! I'm so sad. However, mom is in the white shirt and she looks very relaxed. 

And finally, a shot of my display for the day. This is one of my favorite parts of my job, setting up displays!

 Can you see that little object on the floor going up the basket? That's my giant ant I got a few weeks ago, he's climbing up to see if there's a picnic up there. After all, there are a whole lot of baskets here! Thanks Pam for a wonderful show.

 

Don't miss this one!!

Just in time for those June Weddings! Longaberger is offering they're very popular Social Gathering Basket and protector set for $49.00! This is a huge price reduction. This basket set is also available in the Market Spice as well as Fern Valley for $59.00. If you are interested in ordering one of these baskets please go to www.longaberger.com/anitataylor or email me at baskets4anita@aol.com for assistance.

It's A Busy Day

Good Morning! Today is developing into a very busy day. I have a 

9 am Longaberger meeting which will end about 11:00. Then  I head south to Orange County for a home show at one of my favorite places! Why is this a favorite place? My customer has an adorable 3 year old daughter named Olivia. Since my own grandchildren are so far away I find myself really enjoying the company of others children/grandchildren! 

I have set up a new Longaberger display and will be featuring the products in our new April flyer and an online special that's on sale over the weekend. I love this group of ladies, they are a lot of fun, enjoy each other and love Longaberger! What could be better?

Someone recently mentioned they would like to see bigger pictures of my rooms since I tend  to focus on vignettes. So being good to my word here are a few larger pictures of my down stairs room.

Here is my hoosier and a few samplings of my doll quilts.

 

 

Family room - where we live most of the time!!

 Living room 

Looking into the dining room.

More of the living room.

So this is where I live. I love my home and my many treasures. Many times people ask what is my decor style ... hummm I really don't know. I like to call it California eclectic!

Have a wonderful day and a fabulous weekend.

Remembering Lois

Good afternoon! I went sewing yesterday with my lady friends whom one of them is Penny. Penny's mom Lois recently passed away and Penny and her family have been doing the horrible job of clearing out Lois' home. Well, I received a surprise yesterday, pewter! Penny found a few pieces of pewter and none of her siblings were interested in it so she brought it with her yesterday to see if I would like to be it's new owner.

I can not tell you how thrilled I was for two reasons. The obvious, I am now the owner of a lovely set of salt and pepper shaker/grinders and a wine rest. Aren't they so pretty? The other is two fold, I will always treasure the fact that they had once belonged to Penny's mom and that I am now the care taker of an heirloom. As we sewed yesterday we were discussing the fact that our children have no interest in decorating with the family heirlooms we have treasured over the years. What will become of them? Will my father's WW II military mementos find a home at the local Goodwill? Their great-grandfather's Bronze Star and commendation signed by President Wilson after taking a bullet for our country at the battle of Aragon in France during WW I in a yard sale?  Oh how I hope not, these have been treasures in my own home and I pray they will remain in our family. But, I need to respect my children and their choices and remember we are not the same. As I quickly approach 60 my own mortality is becoming more apparent. 

I have always had an attraction to antiques and have valued the few that I was blessed enough to inherit from my own family. I'm holding fast to the idea that one of my own darling grandchildren will share my passion for the past and one day beg me for the family heirlooms.

A Bit of my Ohio Treasures ....

Greetings! This will be my final post from my Ohio trip. I did some shopping of course and as promised here are a few of my treasures. I did travel by air and this only allowed me very limited space to get my finds home. Thus, I had to shop wisely!

I found these darling little Putz sheep in Amish Country, I love sheep, even raised them for awhile. However, these are so much easier to care for.

 And here is Ms. Betty Lamp. I also found this in Amish hanging all alone in a dusty corner. The oil container flap is up and I have a tiny flicker light inside that glows at night. This one is hanging on my family room mantle.

 A couple of my favorite treats ... Mrs. Miller's Homemade Noodles as well as her delicious raspberry jam. See how tiny they are, this way you don't eat to much hehe! The little fence was made by an elderly Amish gentleman. He sold his wares at Hershberger's Truck Farm. So many adorable things, he had a doll crib that I would have bought in a minute if I could have brought it home. My doll quilts would have loved to be cozied up in there!! I visualize my heard of sheep gathering inside this fence in the near future.

 This is so typical of me. As I prepared to leave for Ohio I made a mental note "I'm not purchasing any baskets while I'm back there this trip" ... Ya right. I say this EVERY time and EVERY time I come with more then one. The Vegetable basket was a treasure from an Amish antique shop. I have been on the prowl for early 80's baskets with the darker stain. This one was on the floor holding a lot of cookie cutters. I emptied them out and found a price tag of $25.00!! Yike! It's mine, I know, I know I said no baskets but ....

Then I find out Tami and Rachel are signing baskets ... I gotta get a basket and quick! Tami singed in silver and Rachel's is above it in black. OK, two baskets that's not so bad. Oh my gosh, I love that pink handbag and the price is AMAZING for the event. I pass it by, then Kim buys, one ... I still pass it by. Towards the end of the day I'm sitting in a nice soft chair and a worker comes by with an arm full of them, she stacks them next to my chair and says these are the last of them. Oh geeze, gotta have one now. OK, I'm out of control, so let's just go with it. I go outside with Kim to look at something she's in love with and what do I find??? That cute 1981 tea basket with a handle, how much I ask, are you ready for this, $10.00! Are you kidding me, I've got to  have it. The oldies are still my very favorites, now I have a total of 4 at home woo hoo.

And tucked in the back is an unstained basket hand woven by Larry Longaberger. It's woven the original way, the way J.W. wove over 100 years ago. The basket is woven from maple while the handle is made from oak. Something the company stopped doing long ago. This is a true heirloom, a basket truly woven by one of Dave's brothers. I paid more for this then any of them but I just couldn't pass it by. Getting baskets home is never easy but some how I managed. Thank you taking my trip with me via my blog. Hopefully you can join me in person next time!!

Day 2 - Longaberger Homestead

Good morning! It's a beautiful sunny day here in California. The kind of day that gets me out of bed early and ready to go! It's 9 am and I've weeded the front flower beds, done a load of laundry, cut out a quilting project and I'm ready to hit the road to have a visit with my dentist ... oh joy!!

But, before I go I wanted to post a few pictures of our visit to the Longaberger Homestead on Saturday. Here we go ...

We are dressed and ready to depart our hotel, this years theme is Sweet 16! We chose to dress in the spirit of the 50's as our sweet 16. Left is Kim, Amy, Susan and me. Barbara made our Poodle skirts, we had so many compliments on them, thanks Barb!!

 After a chilly and sprinkly start we were ready to shop, shop, shop. Just prior to this picture Amy was in the Hula Hoop contest! She won a Collector's Club Pewter key chain, very cute! She also did the Cake walk in the rain! She is a total nut and loves games, so fun to travel with her.

Once inside we could peel off our coats and rain gear. We're pictured here with Michael Kennedy, the director of the Collector's Club, very nice man. Just after this we entered the costume contest ... we didn't win ... so sad!

Michael Kennedy, Jeff Longaberger, Rachel, Jerry, Tami, Wendy and Gary Longaberger

Much to our surprise there were 6 Longaberger family members in attendance. So fun to see them all together. Tami is the companies CEO and she is celebrating her 50th birthday this year. She

looks so good for 50!

Kim getting signatures from the family members, Jerry is busy signing her basket while I snapped away. Geeze there were so many people there!

Lucky for us Rachel and Tami stopped to sign a few baskets between their many event duties. I found Susan and hurried her over to meet Rachel, do you think she was happy!!

I was able to get in line fast enough to get Tami's signature, I hadn't even bought a basket, had to hurry and get this cute little red one, glad I did. So fun to see her again.

All in all is was such a fun day, a bit of rain and chilly temperatures couldn't keep us down. We shopped, played silly games, wove baskets, stood in lines (oh did we ever) visited with old friends and even made some new ones...

 Meet Ms. Vicky from Texas. We shared a table with her at lunch time. She was a hoot to visit with. I loved her little tiara!

Our final meal that evening was at Bob Evan's in Newark. Nothing but the best for us. We all love their yummy yeast rolls and I introduced Kim to their Chicken and Noodles over biscuits ... she was in noodle heaven. 

After we were settled into our hotel room Amy and I snuck into the girls room with a little farewell gift and a night time lullaby!

 

Three almost blind mice! They received warm cozy socks and an eye shade to keep out that pesky morning light! Thanks ladies for joining me on this trip to Ohio, I had a wonderful time and I hope you did as well.

A Simpler Place in Time

As promised I have more to say and pictures to share from my trip to Ohio last week. Today's post will feature Holmes County, the largest community of Amish settled in North America. Oh the country side is so amazingly beautiful, anyone would love to live there. 

First we had to arrive ... after a 6:30 am departure from LAX we arrived in Columbus at 4:00 pm.

 Here's our "ride" a 30 passenger prop brought us into Columbus from Cleveland. It flies very low and very loud!

Good morning! Our driver, Amy is ready for our departure to Amish country...

Excited passengers are squished into the back seat and so excited to hit the road.

Oops, can't park here, we have the wrong horse power!!

Kim, myself, my cousin Maryann and Susan on the covered bridge at Miller's Cabin. The setting was just so green and so beautiful.

Ah, alas we found the correct transportation! Maryann and Amy were caught in front of Gramma Fannies visiting with the horse!

As I said earlier, the flowers were amazing, here is another shot at the tulips in front of the Der Dutchman inviting guest to take a buggy ride!

Finally, shopping in my FAVORITE shop "Primitive Gatherings." So many things to buy, so little money ... This chair is called a "Make Do" I loved it, only $1,000.00! Gee, I'll buy two, one for me and one for YOU!

Textiles ... I love them, even smuggled in a few fat quarters for sewing! Heaven knows you can NEVER have too much fabric.

So very sad ... this old house with it's chippy paint has fallen victim to our poor economy. It once housed a favorite shop of mine the sold ASL Pewter. After a visit to the cheese factory and dinner at Der Dutchman we were back on the road to our hotel in Newark.

Tomorrow we will visit Longaberger!

Home at Last

After a whirlwind of a trip I'm back home once again. I love my home, I sleep better in my own bed but I really loved our Longaberger Collector's Club trip. It's always so bittersweet to leave Ohio.

I have a few pictures to post today but tomorrow I will settle in and share the event highlights, our trip to Amish and my cool shopping finds. I could spend a Lot of money if I lived there so it's good I do not.

 Berlin, Ohio! My cousin Maryann and BFF Amy hanging out with the horse and buggy crowd. This buggy ride was in the parking lot and Gramma Fannies Quilt shop! Great store, more to follow tomorrow.

 Amy and I in our 50's Poodle Skirts at the Collector's Club Gathering ... So much fun.

 Amy and her family in Wyoming raise eating chickens every year. This year she decided to bring them on a road trip to Ohio! One rooster and 4 hens, quite the harem!! NOT, these guys were just running loose at Hershberger's Truck Farm. Such a fun place to visit while in Amish Country.

My final post are these amazing flowers. Every one of them were perfect and ready to hang on someones Spring Time porch. These were at Hersberger's as well. Wish I could have brought them all home.

See y'all tomorrow....

Post #2 for Wednesday

Tomorrow morning at early thirty I'm taking the friendly skies to Ohio. A group of my Longaberger Collector's Club member's and myself will be attending our annual event this Saturday. Friday we will go to Ohio's Amish Community for a day of shopping, eating, shopping, site seeing, eating and shopping. Do you think we are doing some shopping?? Great place for Prims, quilt shops and comfort foods! 

My dear friend Penny offered her Quilter's Companion for my use on an upcoming trip. Since I had it I decided to check out Amish Quilt shops, after all I'm going to be there anyway - hehe.

 That's me, driving the car looking for the best Civil War shops!

 Gramma Fannie's here we come, woo hoo Friday 10:00 am at Gramma's door ready to shop. Right there in the ad is says "Civil War" fabrics! AWESOME!

A few days ago I posted some quilts that I recently picked up from the long arm quilter. Here is a couple of them all done, washed and hanging up.

 This little quilt is a pattern from Sheryl at Temecula Quilt Co. The fabric is Battle Hyme and I love it! This colors just "mush" together so nicely.

 This little one is called Prairie Winds from Country Sampler. These fabrics are from the American Spirit collection, I love all of them as well. So many fabrics, so little time ... oh sigh.

So my blog a sphere, I will be silent for a few days while I travel east. When I return I'm sure I will have many exciting adventures to post. Have a wonderful weekend.

Remembering Stewart

There is a great children's book by the name of Stewart Little. If you haven't read it you should, very cute story about being in a family. Well, if you know me very well you know I have had several house guests by the name of Stewart .... yep, mice. Since my kitty passed I seem to have been over run with these little creatures. Granted, they really don't eat much, however, they poop everywhere and I prefer they live outside. So, like any good mouse mom I have been battling with them to live out of my house. Up until a few days ago I thought I had won the battle. Hummm, until out of the corner of my eye I saw Stew run by, very fast, almost ghost like, but I knew it was him. I have been patient tracking hm and voila - found his hiding place.

 Can you see this tiny little hole? It's hiding behind my firkin on the stairs. Here is a closer look ...

 If I could paint words I would put Home Sweet Home on the wall, NOT! Not really knowing what to do I took some aluminum foil, wadded it up and stuffed it into the hole! OK, he's locked out, success. Stewart is locked outta the house. NOT, as I write he just zoomed by again, this time he ran up the stairs and scurried into a new hole on a new stair. Now I'm mad, this tiny little creature isn't going to out smart me. I guess it's time for the big guns ... Billy the Exterminator!!

Plaaaaay Baaaaal!!

There are so many joys to being a grandparent, too many to list. But seeing my little 7 year old grandson, Austin dressed in his Little League baseball uniform just warms my heart!

 Isn't he just too cute! Thank you, I think so to! Keep in mind they play in Northern California and it's still COLD and rainy up there. Thus, the kids wear these warm jerseys with long sleeved shirts to stay warm. I was also mis-informed by his dad ... Austin's team are the Cub's, not the Angels ... I was so bummed and so was Austin. So, here he is, in a hitters stance, his eyes focused on the pitcher ... waiting, waiting for just that perfect pitch.

Ahh! Contact - look at the intense concentration - such style - such form. Knees bent, arms outstretched - run Austin, run!!

Woo hoo, made it first base. I love the coach this year. It's a woman!! So cool, I think I have found my purpose, I want to coach Little League Baseball! I think this would be so much fun, working with these little eager beavers. Granted, in So California baseball is HUGE at any age, I may have to fight some know it all man for the privilege to coach but I think it may be worth the battle. I'll let you know how I do!

Oh, PS - The Cubs WON!!

 

Happy Birthday Pam!!!

Yesterday was so very fun. A group of us got together for a Pampered Chef party at Vicky's house and combined the party with a birthday celebration for our friend Pam! This was a BIG one ... 40, yep, Pam is officially a grown up! Woo Hoo.

The Pampered Chef consultant prepared a yummy chili-cornbread dish for all of us to enjoy and Vicky supplied a delicious cake filled with a butter cream custard filling. I don't usually eat the sweets but this was just to good to pass up.

 Here is Melissa, our chef for the day!

 Vicky was very cleaver, instead of an over the hill cake she had an over the rainbow cake for Pam! A little bit gentler term don't ya think??

 

Pam is mustering up all her wind to blow out those 40 candles .... hehe, made you look twice!

 Happy Birthday Pam! May the next 40 be as amazing as the first has been.