Never Enough Time

There are so many different looks & styles at Country Roads! And sadly, never enough time for me to get as many pictures as I want to take. Our customers ALWAYS come first, and just a special "thank you" to all of you that kept us so busy today! I LOVE how "the store" looks right now. We've got some great looks, dealers moving around and some new friends have joined our CR family. I'm so happy to welcome Caroline, Marina, and Priscilla. Having Priscilla back is really special to me. She use to be a dealer at CR in the early days and now she is back.  If you find the time, you need to stop by. The many different looks and over the top displays are plentiful and puts you into a great shopping mood!  As busy as we were today, I was able to take a few quick pictures and hope to get more tomorrow.

We have two of these "lions" at Country Roads. They are made out of iron and I've had a couple of my customers tell me that they were used as legs for a certain type of pool table many years ago. Look at all the architectural detail on the lion above. They are truly awesome! And "thank you" to all of you that shopped with us today and had such kind words to share with us. It means a great deal to us all! Take care.

My Really "Big" Project!

White roses! One of my favorites, and the thing with roses, they just "grow" without any extra care. Here in sunny SoCal, we don't usually get a lot of rain. However. . .this year, it rained all the time. My garden turned into it's own private jungle. It was TOTALLY out of control. I didn't even know where to start, as my gardener, as nice as he was, was just a "mow & blow" guy!  So, I have a new gardener (thank you Katie) that actually "understands" gardening!

We kind of have a little courtyard type area by the front porch. I already had a bunch of my own stuff, and now that I've added a few grandkids to my family and their is "stuff" everywhere too!

I love old signs and adirondack chairs. Something about them that warms my heart. And yes, I decorate outside as well as inside. And now, as you can see, we've added some toys to the outdoor decor!

The reason I took a picture of this birdhouse was because each and every year, actually I think twice a year, the birds come back and build their nests in it. It is right by my front window so you can watch the little birds fly in and feed their babies. One of the simple pleasures in life I enjoy!

I also have a thing for vintage gliders and architectural stuff. And yes, you will find the outside of my house decorated with this stuff too, along with the old advertising signs I love as well.

I'm not sure "why" the birds have never built their nests inside the birdhouse in the corner? Possibly because it is too low and right next to the front door. And we are such a quiet family, not!

My parents had two of the bunnies above in their flower bed for years. When they went into assisted living before they passed away, I kept the goofy bunnies. Funny thing happened last year. The elderly neighbors across the street from Katie (her & Vinnie bought my folks house after they died) helped another elderly couple that my parents knew get their house ready to sell. Actually their daughter took them to Washington with her and left a bunch of stuff behind. I found one of the identical rabbits in their backyard. So, now I have a little remembrance of not only my folks but the couple that lived across the street from me as I grew up!

This is only one of many flower beds that the gardener ripped out for me. I asked him to save the roses and a few other plants. Now the new "planting process" is up to me. It is going to be a lot of work!

Before my "new" gardener, you  couldn't even see the front of the house. On the left there is still a big section of my garden that still needs to be ripped out. I love to use old headboards as trellis' in the garden.

I was so happy to see one of my hollyhocks come back up in front of my picket fence. I had some others, but I'm not sure they are going to come back up this year. I may have to plant some more. I LOVE hollyhocks!

There use to be a pathway to the side of the house behind this gate. My gardener is still working on this part of the yard! The gate is made from the footboard of the bed that I've used the headboard as a trellis for.

Yes, at one time there was a pathway here. This is behind the little gate above. The old metal, rusty thing in the background actually use to be utilized by the railroad. Years ago when I was married, we had bought a cabin in our local mountains in Cedar Glen. Mr. Wonderful got the cabin after we divorced, then sadly about a year later a huge fire swept through the area and burned the cabin to the ground!  Sad, it was a cool cabin, built in 1945 and we bought it from a friend of mine that loved antiques!  Anyway, Bryce had gone up there and brought the railroad sign home for me. It survived the fire pretty well. Yes, we are all too sentimental!

Of course I have to have our CR store motto at my house, somewhere. I like the way that the sign has weathered over the years!

One the side of the driveway, yes, another glider! I told you I have this "thing" for the old metal vintage gliders. Actually, what is cool about this one is that it is a "love seat" size and goes with the one pictured above. 

This old vintage fire truck above, I had completely forgotten about. Why? Because with the rain, my garden went "BSC" and it was hidden under all that plants!!

As you can tell, the lavender has yet to be cut back. It is in the "still needs attention" section of my front yard. There "use" to be a Mama cement chicken with her family there. Hopefully she is hiding under the lavender!

Back to me, and my stuff, and my sentimental side. Actually there is a "Gramma's Garden" heart stone in one of the pictures near the top. I had these made, and my kids gave them to my Mom & Dad as gifts. The hearts spent many years in their gardens. When I had to put my folks in assisted living, I did my best to find a place that would allow them to bring their two cats and have a little outdoor area. My Mom use to LOVE to garden. One of the main reasons Brande named the gardens at Country Roads after her, "Johnnye Merle's Garden & Nursery"! I've got quite a bit a work ahead before I get to the "after" pictures. But hey, at least it is a start! Happy Spring gardening to you all!

A Few of My Favorite Words!

I think we all have words that hold a special meaning to us, that we constantly say or use. The word above, "HOPE" is a word that myself and my dear friend Ruthie share. Think about it, what IS a world without hope, or a life without hope? It would almost be the same as saying there is no tomorrows, so hey, let's just give up now. But when you carry "hope" in your heart you never, ever give up!!

One thing I've learned in my life is that we all need to be "grateful". I know that there have been some really rough times for many of us.  And hey, I'm just like you. I've wanted to just give up, be pissed off!  But when I get like that, I think of some of my other  favorite words that help me wade through the tough days. And yes, I DO have some other favorite words when I'm not in the best of moods, but we won't be sharing those right now!  Being "grateful" is one of the best feelings to carry in your heart and soul. And there is not one day that passes in my life that there are not many things I'm grateful for. And if you think your life sucks, just stop for a few minutes, and quickly think of five things you are grateful for. Think about that right now, and I know you will quickly be able to come up with five things that make you grateful. Because no matter how badly life has kicked you in the butt, there is always something to be grateful for!

 I'm one of these people that believe in the power of choice, in how you "choose" to live your life. You know, "is your glass half full or empty" type of thing. Sure, everyone has those days that really suck and believe me, I have those days too. But when you exercise that power to "choose happiness", those days that seem to suck suddenly don't seem to suck so much anymore. Our world is filled with happiness if you just take the time to just look, to acknowledge, to feel it, to live it, to share it. Being happy is an awesome feeling!

My philosophy in life is to be "POSITIVE"! I have a very difficult time being around negative people. Life is tough enough without the "poor me peeps" hanging around you. Positivity is contagious, it really is. When you make an effort not to give up, when you tell yourself that you've got a big mountain ahead of you to climb, and you face it with a positive attitude, you WILL succeed! I promise you that.

I "believe" in many things and powers. I believe that God keeps an eye on me and those I love. I "believe" that if I continue to live my life as a good person, "every little thing is gonna be alright". I believe in goodness, and kindness and paying it forward. And I also believe that just being NICE makes a big difference in our world today! Try it, you might end up surprising yourself!

I always DREAM. I could write paragraphs and paragraphs about my dreams. But I will spare you. Dreams are good for the soul. Dreams are also motivating. I've been dreaming for awhile now about trying some way, some how, to get my store, Country Roads, up on a website so everyone would be able to shop no matter where you lived. I've "hoped" that I could figure out a way to do this without if costing a small fortune. I was so "grateful" when Loretta (Full Bloom Cottage) spent so much time sharing her ideas for my "CR Online" website. Just thinking about all the things I could do with this website brought great "happiness" to my heart. The biggest drawback for me was putting together enough money to do "CR Online" the right way, the way I wanted to do it. Sure, there was frustration involved. I had all these ideas in my head and I just couldn't get them in place. But through it all, I stayed "positive"! And guess what? I never, ever gave up on my "dream" of "CR Online". About a week or so ago, I was driving to Riley's t-ball game and I heard this advertisement from Chase Bank on the radio. It was something about getting your storefront online so you were open 24 hours a day and the offer had a bunch of freebies included! So, the moral to my story, or the end of all my ramblings is this. My "DREAM" is going to come true! Yep, I think sometime in May, if you have an urge to shop and don't live to close by, you will be able to just walk over to your computer and find us! I will keep you updated as our online store gets closer to opening. But in the meantime, think about some of my favorite words above. On the days when life gets tough, I promise you that some of these words will give you the "hope" to make the best of your days! 

"You may say I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one

I hope someday you'll join us

And the world will live as one"

John Lennon

White Wednesday

It's hard to believe that this is "Kathleen's" 97th post on her BLOG, Faded Charm! I have been so frustrated lately with how fast the time goes by. Seems like I'm always scrambling to get things done. And I do believe I have completely forgotten what "down" time really is! Today I just have a variety of things that you can find here at our favorite store, Country Roads!

I hope you all are enjoying our Springtime weather and the change of seasons! And if you are over "our way", please stop by and visit us at Country Roads! Take care.

"Eye Candy" the Texas Way!

I've been meaning to get this post up for the past week. Seriously, my time disappears in the blink of an eye! John returned from Texas with some nice "eye candy" for all of us here at Country Roads. I am totally in love with the large industrial shelf below! If only I had a place to put it. Here are a few more pictures of the great stuff from Texas that is now at Country Roads!

I have to say, John found some great treasures on this trip. If you see anything you want, please just give us a call and you can charge it over the phone. For those of you that know me well, you know that I'm working hard at getting our website, "Country Roads Online" up and running! Once I do, then you will be able to shop online with us just like we were right around the corner from you! Time, oh where, oh where, does it disappear to? Have a great day!!