An Interesting Week

Everyone has a week every now and then that just turns out to be an exercise in futility, and I am no different.  Thank goodness these weeks only come along about once a year.  This first photo is a pretty cute medicine cabinet.  It was plain pine from the 80's and was missing the glass.  I asked my husband to paint it black and put some small scale poultry wire in the front.  He did all the work on this so I'm going to quit while I'm ahead and not touch it anymore.  I'll take it to the shop tomorrow.

 So what did I do with my week?  I started early Monday morning trying to remove the glass from this 5 foot square window so I could hang it on my wall at the shop.  I thought someone could make an awesome chalkboard out of it if the glass was removed.  I broke out the glass panes as I usually do and in the process banged my hand.  That didn't deter me though.  I spent at least 8 more hours this week trying to get all the glass removed!

 In 8 hours' time I can do a lot of DIY projects, get them photographed and then blog about them, but I met this window as a challenge.  The front is white chippy paint with the old green showing through.

Pretty cool to use on a wall at my space at Aubergine Emporium, don't you think?    But check out the next photo.  This was the back side.  I couldn't get the glazing compound out and therefore the glass around the edges stayed stuck!  It's still not perfect on the back side, but all the glass has been picked out of the crevices and I shall use the front side for my display.  In many years I have never encountered glazing compound that didn't just fall away.  Has anyone out there had this same problem?

 Then I decided to try my wood burning tool to transfer an image on to this wooden box.  That didn't go well either.  I think I blew the image up too large and didn't have enough of a solid image to transfer.

 Not to worry, I will ask my husband to paint it and I will paint something of my own.  Until then, I will try the transfer method on something else and let you know how it turns out.  Next week will be better.  I'm attending my favorite flea market tomorrow and I just know I will find something to inspire me for next week's projects.  I hope your week was not as frustrating as mine.  Thanks for stopping by.

My Space

Between our vacation, visiting my daughter and then my recent bout with Whooping Cough, I was away from my space at Aubergine Emporium for approximately five weeks.  Wow, that is a very long time for me!  I try to bring in new things every week to keep things fresh and clean, but sometimes life happens.  So I spent Sunday and Monday at the shop cleaning and rearranging.  I tried to take in a lot of new items, but it still needs some more smalls and a little more tweaking.

 Nonetheless, I thought I would show you what my space looks like going into fall and gearing up for winter.

I brought in some black, a lot of wood and my space wouldn't be complete without some red accents.  I'm pretty much a color person, but I did a couple of neutral spots for our color phobe customers.   Do you like color like I do or do you play it neutral? 

Thanks for visiting.  I hope your day is cheery and bright.

I'm partying at...


Mondays          Le Chateau des Fleurs       The Graphics Fairy    
                                      Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday
Tuesdays          Knick of Time       Tutus and Tea Parties       Coastal Charm  
                                      Boogie Board Cottage    A Stroll Thru Life   
                                     Cozy Little House Tweak it Tuesday
Wednesdays     Savvy Southern Style         Ivy and Elephants
                                     Faded Charm Cottage       Fine Craft Guild      
Thursdays        Embracing Change     The Shabby Creek Cottage    No Minimalist Here 
                                     Between Naps on the Porch Tablescape Thursday    Fishtail Cottage
                                     Rustic Restorations Homespun Happenings
Fridays            French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                    At the Picket Fence     Potpourri Friday     Common Ground
                                    The Charm of Home    Decorating Insanity   Rooted in Thyme
Saturdays        Funky Junk Interiors

Sundays           My 1928 Charmer Sunday's Best

Tea at the Ritz

There is one thing I simply must do that has been on my long list is have tea at the Ritz, the one in London, that is.  We did recently visit London, but the planning was rather last minute and I had many other cities to visit on our trip as well as London.  However, when we were there, I decided to poke my head in the door just to see what it was all about.

 First of all, I was dressed like a tourist with my jeans, T-shirt and sun hat.  All I hoped to do was get a tiny little peak.  The tea room was at the end of a long room on the other side of very gorgeous doors.  The staff, however, was ever so gracious as I explained my circumstances and told them I knew I was not dressed appropriately but I just thought I would see if I could get a glimpse.

 The concierge explained that a 12 to 14-week advance reservation is required in order to have tea there especially this year with the Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics, but if I would check at the front desk of the hotel, I might be able to pick up some information.  So around the corner I went where I was met by another friendly face.  I asked if I could get some information for the tea room and he whipped out this beautiful little menu that was made up in honor of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.  I uttered my delight and thanked him profusely.

 Some day I will visit England, all of England.  I will tour the inside of Buckingham Palace, see the changing of the Guard, and, of course, have tea at the Ritz.  Next time I will make plans in advance.  Let's just call this last trip a teaser as we only had two days in London and by golly there is a lot to see and take in.

 In the meantime, I will treasure my beautiful menu and remember how gracious the staff greeted me.  I am not much for buying souvenirs when I travel.  My photographs are all I need to make me happy, but this little menu is something I will keep and treasure forever.

I'm partying at...


Mondays          Le Chateau des Fleurs       The Graphics Fairy    
                                      Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday
Tuesdays          Knick of Time       Tutus and Tea Parties       Coastal Charm  
                                      Boogie Board Cottage    A Stroll Thru Life   
                                     Cozy Little House Tweak it Tuesday
Wednesdays     Savvy Southern Style         Ivy and Elephants
                                     Faded Charm Cottage       Fine Craft Guild      
Thursdays        Embracing Change     The Shabby Creek Cottage    No Minimalist Here 
                                     Between Naps on the Porch Tablescape Thursday    Fishtail Cottage
                                     Rustic Restorations Homespun Happenings
Fridays            French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                    At the Picket Fence     Potpourri Friday     Common Ground
                                    The Charm of Home    Decorating Insanity   Rooted in Thyme
Saturdays        Funky Junk Interiors

Sundays           My 1928 Charmer Sunday's Best