What's In a Name? A Winner!

My friends, you've all shared some very sweet, cute, and occasionally hilarious 'terms of endearment' with me in your comments, and I so appreciate you taking time to do that! I've really had fun reading them...

A few were really interesting: I think Jenny's is definitely the most original/unusual - and I am not ever going to ask Aaron where it came from! ;0) Linda? Girl, I CRIED I laughed so hard when I read yours! It FITS you!!! Pammy, I cried when I read yours, too, but for a different reason...

My grandpa used to call me 'His little punkin' eater'. I guess it was because of my coppery red hair - I never thought to ask him about the origin of it, until it was too late to do so.

OK, so, to announce a WINNER for the Giveaway:

I'm doing this my way, and I really hope it doesn't look 'rigged'
('cause it's not), but I chose my favorite term of endearment from your comments...

Congrats to

Pammy Johnson

for sharing 'Punkin'

and bringing back such sweet memories for me...

"Tell her what she's WON, Bob!"
"Pammy, you'll receive this lavish collection of vintage papers & music!"

{I TOLD you I had a lot of stuff in boxes!}

Pam, dear, if you will please email me at debi.wardkennedy@gmail.com

with your mailing address, I will get this beautiful package of Valentine Sweetness

ready & sent off to you!

Thank you all for playing!

{PS: I have a stash of stuff already building up

for a March/St. Patricks' Day giveaway later in February!}

Some of the other terms of endearment that are special to me:
My grandma called me 'Debs' my whole life, never Debbie or Debra. Just 'Debs'. I miss hearing her say it...

My daughter Bethany, whom I call Bethy, calls me 'Marmee'. From Little Women, my very favorite book. It's the reason she's Bethy, too. ;0) I was kinda' hopin' that my 'gramma name' would be Marmee, but I've decided to just let these darling little boys call me whatever their hearts desire!!!

Bob calls me 'Gorgeous'. As in, 'Good morning, Gorgeous!'. He also calls all of our daughters that, and it is always said with a smile on his face. We all love it!

My hubs also calls me 'DebiSue'. 

Now..... I hesitate to share that because, truth be told, I have never liked my name.
I was a pudgy little redheaded girl with a freckle-covered face, and a boring name.There were always at least three or four OTHER Debbie's in my class at Rother Elementary School in Redding, so we all had to go by 'Debbie + our last name or initial'. Well, there were TWO Debbie S's - me and Debbie Smith - and so I got the dubious distinction of having my middle name used. I was Debbie Sue for YEARS. I hated it. In junior high, I got creative and spelled it Debbi. Then in high school, it was Debi. Now I'm Deb to most people - my mom says that by the time I am 65, I'll just go by 'D'. She could be right! ;0) When I began my design career, I legally added 'Ward', my family name, as my middle name, and use it professionally. {People always see that and ask if I've been married twice! Good Lord, NO.}

I really honestly do not remember how it came to be that the love of my life started referring to me by a name that I despised... but over the years, I've become used to him doing it. I can tolerate it pretty well now - except when he calls me that in front of other people! He said it in front of Joe & Jermonne at the last BarnHouse show, and Joe's eyebrows went up and Jermonne's eyes got big and they both said 'Debbie SUE?' in unison whilst staring incredulously at me, and I nearly DIED. I gave Bob 'THE LOOK', which of course just made him laugh, and so did The Boys. I may never live this down, and much prefer to be the 'De' of 'DeBob' in their minds, thankyouverymuch.

{BTW, if any of you ever come up to me at a show and say 'Hi, DebiSue!', know that you will likely get smacked down. Or at least a dirty look. I'm just sayin'.... ;0) }

{images by me}

L.O.V.E. Giveaway!

With Valentine's Day AND my 800th post quickly approaching, 

I thought it's time to spread the LOVE!

I'm giving away the charming vintage papers above, 

plus as many more as I can locate 

with the words 'Love', 'Sweetheart', etc. on them

in my huge stash of vintage ephemera

which I keep unearthing in the pile of boxes in the garage.

You know, moving is like a treasure hunt!

4 PM: The prize is GROWING ;0)

Oh, and let's make entering this giveaway INTERESTING!

Leave a comment on this post with your favorite term of endearment

{and, um, let's keep this G-Rated, girls!}

You can enter through Sunday night at 11:59 PST

and NEXT MONDAY, I'll announce the winner!

In the meantime,

head over and check out our brand new ONLINE STORE

at Petite Retreat Boutique!

We are offering select items,

including some awesome paper ephemera... 

like these vintage music songsheets

and these...

Yep, I'm finally letting go of my remaining stash of 

piano player music rolls. 

I've used them as wallpaper, window valances, and display props 

in show & store booths & in our barn store,

as well as on countless collage on our products 

{Piano Bar, anyone? She may be famous this spring!}

It's just time to move forward with new ideas...

Special Guests

A very special visitor came to see Grammy & Grampy today!

Mr. Michael and his mommy, and auntie Beth & cousin Troy Michael

came out to see us on this rare sunny day. 

Grammy was VERY happy to see Mr. Michael.

And Grammy sort of... monopolized him. ;0)

 But I think he liked it! 

I'm just going to say that this is a tricky bit of business, 

juggling the attention of newborn AND four year old grandsons

at the same time. ;0)

Ahead of the Game

Moving Diaries: We are in Month FOUR. sheeeeeeeeesh.

 

I am trying to be very focused during this move-in process. 

The boxes of 'pretty stuff' are all coming from our three storage units 

and being placed in the garage in stacks of slightly organized chaos. 

I refuse to even put the 'pretty stuff' into the house yet. 

First it's getting the furniture and completely necessary items in.

I've located a lot of lamps - but no shades yet. ?

Today I swear I spent the whole day unpacking & cleaning glass ware.

{after loading, transporting, and then unloading

a 150 pound solid wood barn door from the top of our truck}

Yes, just the two of us.

That's OK... we're buff old folks.

Yesterday, we lifted a baby grand piano BAR up 

all eight front steps and into the house.

Yes, we make HULK-like noises while doing things like that ;0)

ANYway...

I was unwrapping a ton of vintage glass Mason jars when

I spied some 'pretty stuff' tucked into the box as packing material!

I remember why I did this - handy 'kill two birds with one stone' thing - 

but I never expected to be so delighted when finding it.

It was a handful of stuffed fabric hearts -

matlasse', chenille, and burlap!

Left over from last spring's Retreat products,

I had displayed them in a glass vase in my bathroom.

and packed them all together with the glass jars from said bathroom.

Well, I quickly grabbed the 'pretty stuff' and headed from the kitchen

into my studio, where I knew something was waiting.

I popped the hearts into my FAVE metal urn, 

moved it over to the table by the window

where the sunshine was peeking through the clouds and streaming in

and snapped the shot above. 

Here I am, in month FOUR of this crazy move,

{pack in October, move out in November, 

WAIT in December, and move IN in January}

being all businesslike and organized about it

telling myself 'It will be pretty in time'...

 

and God goes and gives me a surprise that actually

now means I am AHEAD OF THE GAME

because MY Valentine's Day decor is up already!!!!

Now THAT I Love!

{image by me}

A Gift from the Heart

A facebook message from my friend this morning reminded me of something I had been so busy, I completely forgot about! She had offered to send me something special, something to start off the new year just right. And then she waited until we had moved into our new house to send it. But I have been so immersed in the cleaning and painting and moving in process that it slipped my mind... until this morning. And when I went out to the mailbox.... her package was there waiting for me!

My friend is Pam Johnson, and her company is Pammy's Attic. She's a jewelry designer {and SO much more!} and creates the most inspiring wearable works of art. So many of us have long admired them at shows like Remnants of the Past  - and now, this June, you''ll be able to admire them at the Farm Chicks show, too! Pammy's IN, with a range of decor products reflecting her wide scope of creative design skills. I am so happy for her!

Well, after Miss Pammy J read my blog post about my 'Word for the Year', she sent me a facebook message saying she wanted to send me some 'bling' for my new year, new house, new life, new focus. Now, I ask you, is that not the SWEETEST thing? {I am so blessed to have friends like this... I don't know how I manage to have so many of them in my life, but I love each of them so very much and am so grateful for their presence.}

Here is a close-up of the remarkable, creative, absolutely perfect necklace she sent to me... A beautiful white pearl, a soldered D for Deb charm, a silver charm with 'Destiny' on it, and her signature soldered charm with my Word for the Year, Prosperity, inside. Stunning, yes?! And simply perfect for me this year.

I am thrilled beyond belief that this is the very first thing I have photographed in my new studio {which is coming along nicely, thank you!} and that I now have this beautiful artwork made by my sweet friend's hands to wear and reflect on. It is more than 'bling' - it's a gift that has truly connected my heart to Pam's. Thank you so much, my dear...

Please visit Pammy's Attic web site to see more of her beautiful creations!

A Visitor

 Someone Special came to visit the other day, and he and Grandpa went for a walk.

 They walked down to see the neighbor's horses (not too close, though)

 and then allllllllll the way down to the 'Picnic Trees' at the end of the property

 and then came back across the pasture to the house

 I love how they are perfectly in step!

 Grandpa's Little Helper even closed the pasture gate!

... and brought Grandma a present. ;0)

Is that the sweetest little mitten-ed hand or what?!

Watching these two out there together, enjoying our new home, 

just really warmed my heart and made me think of all of the days to come

when our three grandsons and their grandpa will be playing out there.

That's the best part of all of this...

Star of the Show

You can see the resemblance, right?

The lower image is of the famous 'Walton House' from the 70's TV show.

The TOP image is our new house. 

Not exactly the same, but similar. 
Especially that front PORCH! Oh, how I LOVE that porch. 

It has some really charming details!

  The back and sides look a bit less charming.... right now. 

But you know us, we have plans to add vintage charm 

to every part of our 'new-ish' house 
{and get rid of the dark, foreboding evergreens that are everywhere}

As we make changes and decorate, 

bringing our own Retreat Style to this place, 

we're going to share the how-to's and decorating tips & tricks
{and a few of our trade secrets}
on our Retreat blog in a new feature called 'Our Retreat'.

We're taking our tagline literally:

"Your home should be your Retreat. We can help you create it."

Because no matter where you live, 

your home should relax and rejuvenate you just like 
your favorite vacation spot does. {and for longer than two weeks!}

There's a lot of work ahead, but it's a labor of love.
This house, this blessing, this promise fulfilled, blows us away.
Home. At last. Sigh......


'Goodnight, JohnBoy!'

VERY Special Delivery

When we arrived at our house this morning to resume painting,
the mail delivery had already come.

THIS was waiting on our front porch.

I picked it up, read the name of a dear friend on the box,
so I carried it inside and excitedly began opening it.
I untaped it and pulled out a card with a lovely message from my friend Fran
{she of the hundred-year-old Christmas ornament collection!}
that made me get all teary-eyed.
As I sat the card down, I looked back into the box,
saw the sticker on the bubble wrap...
 
and very nearly dropped the whole box on the floor.

 Inside the box and bubble wrap, I discovered another box.

It was a very specific color of blue box.

Yes, THAT blue box.

from Tiffany & Co.!

[[OK I'm going to confess here that I have never ever ever in my life 
received something in a robins egg blue box with a white satin ribbon from Tiffany's. 
I've actually never received anything from Tiffany's, let ALONE in their iconic blue box.]]

But there that box was, sitting there, on my counter in my new house. 

Truthfully, I just stared at it for a minute or two 

before grabbing the camera to snap some blog-worthy photos. 

{Bob was laughing at that point}. 

When I finally found the wherewithal to untie the bow and lift the lid off, 

then lift the carefully folded brand-image-stamped tissue inside, 

I discovered an absolutely stunning crystal votive candle holder. 

I can only imagine the remarkable facets of light 

that it will cast into the darkness when the candle is lit at night. 

We have a small window in our entry, next to the door, 

and I just knew immediately that this item belongs there. 

With a votive or tealight lit in it every evening, 

it will be a beacon of welcome shining out from the heart of our home. 

A gift that will keep on giving for generations 

and that will remind me of this wonderful woman, my friend Fran, forever.

I can't adequately express the deep gratitude that I feel for my friend, 

for this surprise 'housewarming gift' that she sent me from her generous heart. 

This is one of the best gifts I have ever received...

because it has warmed my heart, delighted my soul, and spoken to my faith 

in ways that I cannot WAIT to share with her when I see her next. 

If you read my last post about my 'Word of the Year', 

then you know I chose 'Prosperity' as my word for 2011. 

Even in my wildest dreams 

I did not expect that I would be opening something 

from Tiffany & Co. 

on the third day of the year!  

 

Remarkable...

WordPlay

 I watched 'Eat.Pray.Love' late on New Year's Eve. 

It was a lovely reminder of things I've learned from that book, and perfect timing to usher in a fresh start. In one scene, Liz is asked 'What's your word? What word describes you, Liz?' and she answers 'Writer'. Luca {Spaghetti!} chides her - 'That's what you DO, it's not who you ARE, Liz'. She can't answer him. Well, today, I took some time to be quiet and think, and I discovered my word. Well, maybe not to describe ME, but my word for the year, anyway.

Many people have left behind the idea of making New Years' Resolutions - and I'm one of 'em. {I have enough 'To Do' and 'Not To Do' lists already!} The concept of having a word for each year instead has been around for awhile. And I like it. This, I can do.

Although it's no 'magic spell' or anything, having one word to describe the direction of my focus for the coming 365 days is a perfect touchstone. Whenever I have a decision or choice to make, a direction to determine, an errant thought pop into my head, I can weight it against that focus point and see if it's drawing me closer to my goals, or dragging me off in another direction. 

 

Now, admittedly, my word of the year for LAST year ('Blessing', which was all about BEING one & GIVING them as well as receiving them) was completely forgotten the minute that Bob got hurt - and was immediately replaced with a new word: 'Survival'. And that, my friends, is ALL WE DID. Survive. Barely. So the caveat is that this word thing can work in a rather negative way if your focus becomes less than the best you can do.

As 2011 is born, we are looking forward. Period. 

Yes, there are still things lingering from last year that we need to deal with and have closure on, but our FOCUS is the opportunity that the next 365 days and beyond bring to us. I've been thinking about what I want my word to be for awhile, and lots of them have been bouncin' around. But nothing really resonated with me. 

Until today.

This morning dawned bright, clear, and cold... white frost made everything in sight glitter in the sunlight. Utterly enchanting {and brought back wonderful memories of living in Lake Tahoe}. Bob suggested that we head off to Cama Beach, and so we dressed VERY warmly {it was 34 degrees outside!} and spent several hours walking the beach in the sunshine. It was perfectly glassy out on Saratoga Passage, quiet as could be, just a beautiful, calm, almost reverent morning. As we sat on a log and listened to the peaceful silence, Bob gasped and I followed his gaze upward... as two bald eagles soared directly over our heads and the word I had only seconds before written in the sand with a stick:

Prosperity.

And when I wrote it, I was not limiting my thinking to only one kind of prosperity... yes, making money is one goal for 2011. The last part of this year has been rough in that area. But I also thought of a prosperity of spirit, of energy, of love, of willingness, of joy, and of health. Wikipedia says this: "Prosperity is the state of flourishing, thriving, success, or good fortune. ^[1] Prosperity often encompasses wealth but also includes others factors which are independent of wealth to varying degrees, such as happiness and health." That's exactly what I meant. 

And as those glorious winged creatures soared over us, their cries ringing out clear in the cold air, I knew I had chosen the right word. {Yes, I DO believe in signs & wonders!} 

2011 is going to be a prosperous year, in so many ways, for ALL of us! 

 Just look at my handsome hubby... I am so blessed!

______________________________________

Bob just reminded me of something as I told him what I was writing about... and I have to include it. 

As we sat for hours, enjoying the silence and beauty, several people walked by on the beach. Very quietly. Then a group assembled just fifty yards away, sat down, and commenced with a very loud conversation. Bob & I exchanged glances, each knowing what the other was thinking. They stayed for about forty five minutes, throwing rocks into the glassy water, yelling at each other while hopping driftwood logs, and having a long discussion interlaced with a lot of 'Like, Um's. They were so oblivious to us being nearby and all that was going on around them that they COMPLETELY MISSED the eagles playing overhead! We sat and took photos of the birds, laughing to ourselves about how they were missing the best parts of this beautiful place. 

At one point, we even tried the famous 'Jedi Mind Trick' of waving a hand discreetly in the interlopers' direction and saying under our breath 'You are cold. And hungry. You will go back to your cabin now.' {as in Obi Wan Kenobi's famous line from Star Wars, 'These are not the droids you are looking for' ;0) } Took a while, but it worked... they finally stood to leave. [Hang in there, this is where it gets REALLY good...]

The eagles returned at that moment, soaring and dipping and playing in air currents... and Bob lifted his camera to snap some more photos. One of the women saw him do that, and looked up. Her exclamation was priceless: 'HEY! Those are EAGLES! Where did THEY come from?' ;0)

{images by Bob & Deb Kennedy 2011}