Bastrop - Part 2

~~ Pecan Street Inn ~~

Owners: Bill and Shawn Pletsch

While we were in Bastrop, we stayed at a wonderful Bed and Breakfast called the Pecan Street Inn (click on the name to go to their web site). I forgot to take a picture of the outside house while we were there, so I borrowed the photo from their website.



The house was moved from it's original location and was rolled to it's present location on logs!!! Because of this, the front door was around the side and we walked through a cute little gate and up to a little courtyard that led us to the door.



Make a right at the courtyard, and walked up a couple of steps.

We were greeted by this adorable kitty. He wasn't laying around when we arrived. He walked right up to us and led us to the door, where he wound our legs waiting to be petted. He was always waiting for us when we came and went from the inn.

We had a key, and as we let ourselves in, we were awed by this beautiful entry. To the left is the stairs going up. To the right, is the parlor (living room) below. There's my hubby making himself at home.

This is the fireplace in the parlor and a bit of the entry is visible through the huge pocket doors.

This is the other side of the parlor leading into the formal dining room through another set of giant pocket doors.

Here's part of the eat in kitchen. We had breakfast in both rooms which was fun to us that we got to use as many rooms in the house as possible.

This is a built in china hutch. The original glass door slides UP into the wall!! How cool is that!? It has lighting, too, but I didn't think to turn them on for the photo.

The kitchen is a real working kitchen. Bill makes the yummiest breakfasts in here!! Both Bill and Shawn are the friendliest, most down to earth people. They will make you feel at home and at the same time make you feel like royalty!

This is our room. It has a king size bed that is very comfortable.

More of our room.

We even had a working fireplace, but it was a little too warm, being July, to use it. Though we did sit in front of it while playing dice.

This was our private bathroom. It wasn't dark at all. Not sure why the photo came out so dark. Trust me, though, it was very, very spacious.

This is one of the other rooms, with a small private bath.

This is a little sitting room to the 3rd bedroom upstairs. And the photo below is the private bathroom.

This is the 3rd bedroom. When we arrived, Shawn told us we were the only ones in the house and had a pick of the rooms. We liked the one with the fireplace the best, though all of them are very nice and comfy.

This is a very old house and it is a little squeaky at times. Though I try to tell myself that I don't believe in ghosts, I can't help but be nervous when in older homes. Shawn assured me that there are no ghosts, spirits, etc. I had my doubts. I will admit that I was a little scared that first night as I prepared for bed. But, I have to tell you, as soon as I lay down, I had such a sense of peace and security. The house was quiet, peaceful and filled with a sense of "good." I don't know how to explain it, but there were no fears or apprehension again.

If you're ever in Bastrop and need a place to lay your head, I would easily recommend Pecan Street Inn. The prices are reasonable and very affordable, and they are in the heart of the historic district. Everything is within minutes of walking or driving. Just click here to check out their website and get all the info you need.

Patricia :o)

Bastrop, TX - Part 1

I've been gone from blogging for a long time. But I have a great reason. I've been traveling; some for pleasure, and lots for business. Before I went on an out of state shopping trip, Mr. VLT and I took a couple of days off to explore a cute little town North East of us. We stayed at a B&B (more on that next post) in the sweet little town of Bastrop. Weird name, but the nicest people you could ever meet!!



There's lots to rave about Bastrop, but the thing that we really enjoyed was driving through the old district and looking at all the old houses. There were so many!!









I took at least 30 pictures of different houses. All of the houses were beautiful, all were wonderfully maintained, and I could have easily lived in any of them.
But in an effort to keep this post short, I narrowed it down to the 8 best photographs. I had a lot of trouble with the angle of the sun, power lines, telephone poles and mostly, the landscaping!

Most of the houses are landscaped with very old trees that got in the way of photographing. They looked marvelous to the naked eye, but I just couldn't capture the beauty and grander of the old houses through the trees.

I don't know the styles or histories of any of these homes, so they're displayed here as eye candy. Talk about "Yum!" Check out that curved porch!!

This is one of my favorite homes. It's hard to see the details in the outdoor decorations, but there are white rocking chairs on the porch, a wreath on the white picket fence, flags on the post. It's just gorgeous!

This one was for sale. I don't remember the exact price, but it was around $495,000 or something like that. A little out of my reach at the moment, but maybe some day...

I love the clean lines of this one. And check out that lawn! I would never have thought there could be so much green in Texas (until I moved here, of course).

I'll share photos of the B&B we stayed at in the next post.

Patricia :o)

A clock that's for the Birds!

Since I'm always running short on time, I thought it would be appropriate to tell you about a great find I made a couple of months ago.

I found this beautiful porcelain clock at a church rummage sale for only $5.00!! I probably could have got it a little cheaper, but it was for the church and a good cause, so I didn't haggle. I knew it probably didn't work (it didn't) but how much could it cost, right?

How could I pass it up. LOTS of pretty pink roses, sweet little blue birds...

There are even little angels in it. It was in great shape with very little damage. I accidentally broke the tail off of this little bird. But then I lost it so I couldn't super glue it back. Oh well!

Look how sweet these pretty blue birds are at the top of the clock!

Back to the "it didn't work" part. My hubby searched the Internet and called a few places. He did find the part that had to be replaced on line. After taxes and postage it was $23.95!! Yikes! Not only that, a clock repair place told him to get it as that was a great price and those parts were soon to be discontinued.

The great news is that the part came super fast, was easy to replace and the clock works wonderfully now!! Even though my $5.00 bargain turned out to be a little on the expensive side, I think it's beautiful and worth way more than the $29.00 it cost in the end. I love it and feel very lucky to have found it.

Patricia :o)

Fun Finds

After 2 1/2 years of living in San Antonio, we're still finding our way around. We'd heard of a flea market north east of us called Bussey's Flea Market, but weren't too excited about visiting it because, so far, all the flea markets in our area sell cheap new things. But we read some reviews and decided to make a day of it. It's not the kind of flea market I'm used to from So. CA (Like the Rose Bowl in Pasadena), but it was SO MUCH better than I expected!

I fell in love with this vintage wedding dress! It's a size 7/8 so I'm not sure if it will fit M'lady (my dress form). AND it has to be cleaned some how. But I couldn't pass it up. It has metal snaps, hooks and zipper.

It's all layers upon layers of lace. I only found one or two tiny tears on the sleeves, and it is in otherwise wonderful shape. However, I do need to wash it...

I got it for so cheap, that I think I'm going to risk soaking it in a tub of Oxyclean and rinse with cool water, gently squeeze the water out by rolling it up in towels, and then line dry. It smells old and musty and I can't stand the thought of bringing into the house, so it's hanging in the garage by my car.

There's not a lot of adornment. Just lots of lace and a few sprinkles of sparkles.

At first I couldn't find any decent linens, affordable or otherwise. Then I hit the jack pot!! There was a wonderful older lady who had most of these linens priced a little high. They were marked, but I asked the price anyway. She knocked $3 to $5 dollars off of each. Suddenly, they were VERY affordable and in GREAT shape. I even have some of them up for sale already in my eBay store.

I also picked up this little cherub compote plant holder thingy for only $2.00! I thought it was vintage until I got him home and looked at the bottom. It had a store price tag for $5.95. I guess it doesn't matter. He's cute, he's affordable, and he'll be vintage someday, right?

I got this old plant stand for only $5.00!! I think the guy made a mistake. There was a smaller one that I heard his wife quote $10.00. It pays to ask, even if you think you know what the price is. I hope the husband didn't get in trouble...

Can you believe I got this fishing basket for $10.00??? It's pretty old from what I can tell. It has leather and canvas straps. I've seen these at antique stores for $95.00 and up. I was so happy to get this for my hubby. And look what was inside...

...these adorable hand crocheted and embroidered baby shoes! The guy selling the basket gave them to me for free. They didn't look like this when I got them, but it wasn't hard to soak them and air them dry. Too cute!

If you're interested in visiting Bussey's, their address is 18738 I.H. 35 N., Shertz, TX 78154 (210)651-6830. I wouldn't make a special trip out there, but definitely stop by if your in the area on a Saturday or Sunday.

Patricia :o)

On my to-do-list

"Bag of Repairs"

I always seem to take the path of least resistance. But I buy linens even if they have issues. What happens, though, is that they end up in this bag to worry about later. I've been adding to this bag for years and have forgotten what's in it.
There's more here than it appears. I think I pulled out at least 10 pairs of pillowcases! This is about all that is left for me to sell on eBay. Although I've been selling linens for many years now, I'm debating whether I should continue or not. That's what prompted me to get out this bag.

It's very exciting to see new linens even if they need work. I'm not sure I can help this pink lady on this runner. She has a few flaws in the crochet. I don't know how to crochet, so I think she will be sold as is.

I was going to finish the embroidery on this adorable pillow panel by Vogart. Riiiiight... That's about as likely as me going to the moon.

This little lady was a pillowcase full of little holes. I cut her out and made a little pillow out of her. There were three tiny holes in her dress, so I added 3 little ribbon roses. Then I used the crocheted trim off the pillowcase to finish off the sides.

This doesn't look like much, but this beautiful pillowcase just needs a couple of loosed threads tacked back down, a little soak in OxyClean, and it will be gorgeous!

This one was an easy fix. All I had to do was re-sew the top edge. It's already listed for sale on eBay. I love that it says "master" which is what we kept calling my hubby when he got his Master's degree. He didn't like it much...at first. ha ha ha

I don't think I can repair this one, either. It has a big, dark paint splater near the top. But I do love the birds!

These were all super easy fixes...just sewed the tops closed! They're already listed, too

Since I can't crochet, I can't finish this adorable pillowcase with he amazingly sweet birds. The top is still open, easy to fix, but I can't finish the bottom edge. I thought about adding lace, but I don't think it would look right.

More pillowcases that need crocheted work.

Isn't she pretty?!!

These were an easy fix, too. Never been used. I think they're so funny! One says, "Come on Ma" and the other says "Shucks No Pa!" ha ha ha ha

Patricia

OMGsh! Look what I won!!

A little over a week ago I received a note from Lisa at Beyond the Cover that I had won her giveaway!! I was so excited! After a few days, and the fact that I have a 4 second memory, I kind of forgot to be looking for it. Then I received a wonderful package in the mail, all the way from my home state of California. When I realized what it was, I just about tore the package open.

Luckily I had the presence of mind to take a picture of the adorable wrapping. It's so simple yet so incredibly elegant and chic. LOVE the pink and brown color combination!

I love birds, so this tag is extra special to me. It's so sweet. I have it tucked not-to-far-away in a little drawer so that it will always make me smile when I open it.

Inside the package were two beautiful, and I do mean BEAUTIFUL note books. Now, these aren't your average notebooks. Just take a look at all the work and detail that went into making them. Lisa is one gifted and talented lady. I ooooh'ed and awwwwww'ed at the turn of every page.

There are so many details, that I'm sure I'll be finding new goodies every time I open them. Look at the gorgeous papers she used. If only you could see every page!

Lisa didn't miss the opportunity to add the shiniest details. I love this pink crystal she added to the outside of the notebook. And look at all the ribbons and lace that she added to the spine!

Here is the second notebook. It's made of clear plastic and just covered in flowers, and buttons and beautiful papers and so many details. I can't even begin to imagine the time and love that went into making each page!

I've seen things similar to this in other blogs, but I've never seen one in person. I have to tell you, it is impressive!! There is so much work involved and so many adorable and beautiful materials used.

I didn't get a picture of the spine on this heart shaped book, but it too had the best details and the most beautiful blue crystals hanging from it. I LOVE it and feel so lucky to have won!!!

But there's more....

In addition to the two gorgeous notebooks, I also got a bunch of beautiful lace and trims,

Vintage buttons, pearl pins (love them!), old stamps, cute flash cards....

Old sheet music, book pages, journal entries and this darling "bingo" card all dressed up by Lisa. I feel like I truly made out like a bandit.

Thank you, Lisa!!! I love all my goodies and I'm simply thrilled to have been the lucky winner!!

Patricia :o)

Ps: Be sure to visit Lisa at her blog, Beyond the Cover. She's a very sweet lady with a fun and beautiful blog. Just click on her blog name.