the view from here

Marion had asked to see a bit more of the little collage box that I showed yesterday. You can click the image to see it a smidge bigger. I bought it in March at a shop that was going out of business. It's signed by Cheryl Kuhn. I don't know Cheryl but when I did a search for her name, I found that she indeed has an Etsy shop...isn't that fun? Click here to visit.
I put this sweet Halloween girl out today. She was a gift from my friend Debbie. So cute! I think I'll add a few Halloween decorations here and there this week.
Last time I visited, my mother gave me a crocheted lace panel with a bird on it. When I told her today that I'd put it on the back of my sofa, she laughed and said that I was just like an old lady.
Maybe so...but I think it looks rather nice there. Who knows, I might cover the cushions with plastic, too.
I took everything out of my china cabinet today, windexed and polished the doors and shelves, and then restocked it. Here are some pictures of what's in it. The china is Haviland Limoges. I was really lucky to get it. When I'd first bought the cabinet 7 years ago, I didn't have any really pretty china. My mother asked a friend of hers, Delores, who owned an antique store, if she had anything that I might like. Well, Delores started pulling out these dishes...one after another after another.
It's 12 placesettings, plus dozens of serving pieces. And there are even a dozen little butterpats. When she said that she could give it all to me for $400, I had no idea what a bargain that was. Of course I bought it and was so excited to have so much of it at once. I found out soon after that the set is worth much, much more than I paid. I'm still on the lookout for a teapot, sugar and creamer. I will probably end up paying more for those 3 pieces than I did for the entire set!
What makes me happiest about it is to imagine the young bride who registered for the set back in 1905 or so and how she might have added to the set through the years. This set is definitely one of my favorite things.
I also added tiny little vignettes inside the cabinet. I have so many itty bitty treasures that I love. The caketopper was my parents'. They kept it under a little glass dome on a high shelf in the kitchen. I remember pulling a kitchen chair up to the shelf and carefully, forbiddenly, lifting the little dome and touching it. When I was planning my own wedding, my parents gave us the caketopper for us to use on our wedding cake. It too is one of my very favorite things.