~ My Miss Mustard Seed connection...It's Official!! ~

Hello friends.....

courtesy Marian Parsons

It's official...

courtesy Marian Parsons

She is coming!!!!

courtesy Thomas Nelson Publishers

To sign this!!!

For all of you who follow Miss Mustard Seed's wonderful blog(I believe she is up to around 1million readers by now) and have been anxiously awaiting her new inspirational book

'Inspired You'

Ok...maybe not quite 1 million...but she is not far off!

Marian just announced the book signings on her calendar so far and 

The Empty Nest

is set to host Miss Marian on 

Saturday

December 15th, 2012

12pm until 2pm

Miss Mustard Seed will be greeting her many readers and autographing your books.

Be sure to bring your copy of 

'Inspired You'

Copies may also be purchased that day for $19.95 at 

The Empty Nest 

or pre-ordered and held for you by calling the shop at

540-216-3044

So gather your girlfriends for a holiday road trip,

come visit my lovely 

Old Town Warrenton

Browse the beautiful shops,

enjoy a Pumpkin Latte at a local bakery

and wish Miss Mustard Seed a

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Until next time..be kind and stay creative

The Empty Nest

92 Main Street Suite 102

Old Town Warrenton, Va

                                                              

~ Facebook love stories ~

Hello friends....so happy to see you visit me once again. Lately I feel as though you are being greatly neglected. I will try to do better....who am I kidding...the HOLIDAYS are coming at me fast!!!!
So many shop vignettes and displays bouncing around in my brain.
Enough about that, on to my post...

Yesterday, as I was tending my shop, I noticed a lovely elderly couple admiring my shop window display. They looked so cute as they smiled at each other and pointed to different features of my display.

They would lean into each other and their foreheads would touch and they held hands so tenderly.

I felt like a voyeur, but I found myself fascinated by these two octogenarians.

Something about the way they looked at  each other..as if words were not necessary.

I couldn't resist....I walked outside and asked them if they were a couple.

They both gave me the biggest smiles. 

I said that if they were not....they should be because they looked perfect together.

(at this point I was praying they were not brother and sister!)

Well, she looked at him, squeezed his hand and asked him to tell the story.

I was going to get 'a story' ...how wonderful!!

The gentleman proceeded to tell me that back during the early 1940's and the beginning of WWII,

he attended a dance at Vint Hill Station, Warrenton, Va. He remembered meeting and dancing with a beautiful young girl. He was due to be shipped over to the European warfront in two days and was trying to enjoy his last hours stateside.

Well he did go to war, served his country bravely and was one of the lucky ones to return.

Upon returning he met a gal...married and raised a family.

Speed ahead more than 60 years and he is now widowed and alone. One day as he is packing his things to move to a small home, he finds a photo of a beautiful young girl...

The Vint Hill Girl!!!

He looks at the back of the photo and YES....he sees her name and he remembers how taken he was with her.

He heads to his computer, God Bless the Internet, and guess who he finds on Facebook?

The Vint Hill Girl!!!

She has also lost her husband around the same time. They enjoyed many phone conversations.

Eventually they arranged to meet in Warrenton and a love story is born.

Before they left, he leaned towards me and quietly said..

"If I had known how lovely she would turn out to be, I never would have let them ship me out to War!"

I had tears in my eyes at this point.

They wished me well in my new business venture and continued down the street.

I couldn't help but smile as I watched them 

Hand in hand with loving smiles for each other.  

Don't you just adore a good 

Love story?

Until next time..be kind and stay creative

Oh...and tell someone you love them!!!

~ November Workshops ~

Hello friends..well here you go, my class schedule for November.

I am trying a few new class subjects this month. 

Hope you can join me!

Find 

The Empty Nest

class schedule HERE

***

See you in class!!!

                                                                  

~ has it really been a month? ~

Goodness...has it really been over a month since my last blogpost???

I swear I have sat down so many evenings with the intention to write a post, but I would start to fall asleep.

A few times I tried to write while at the shop and that didn't work either.

So here I am ...Saturday night (I know..I live an exciting life)

and I am not going to bed until I hit the PUBLISH button.

So what has been going on in my life since I last talked to all of you ....

Let's take a look-see...

I have plugged in my sewing machine in the studio and whipped up a few pretty aprons for sale.

I found some really cool bargains on Craig's List. I'm thinking some of Annie Sloan's new French fabrics, that I will soon have in stock, will be beautiful on these chairs.

Hmmmmm....faded roses or pastorale toile??

I attended a Grand Opening ceremony for a fabulous new arts and crafts studio in

 Old Town Warrenton, on Culpeper Street.

It's called Confetti Studio

and you can't help but feel incredibly creative while in this colorful space.

My stock of Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint

is ready for it's debut!

The Empty Nest carries the full line of Milk Paint and companion products.

I've been creating a little Altered Couture, 

which you all know I just LOVE to do. 

Aren't these gorgeous?

I've been on the receiving end of a delightful surprise package.

A box overstuffed with the most beautiful vintage laces and trims.

Won't these bits and bobs be pretty sewn onto sachets..pillows or aprons?

Thank you Patty and Karen!!

I spent a weekend staging my Fall inspired shop window display.

Gourds..pumpkins..a spectacular old window greenhouse built by my dear friend Connie of Hartwood Roses blog fame.

And of course some wreaths embellished with Chalk Paint™ cans in Annie's honor. 

I hosted around five different Chalk Paint™ decorative paint workshops

 where much fun was had by all.

Had my first Advanced Chalk Paint™ workshop and we had a blast.

We gold leafed..French gilded..crackled..decoupaged..stenciled

and the creativity was overflowing....

And then the class got very silly.....I owe Betty Grable and Angelina Jolie (the leg) a huge apology!

Laughter ruled the late night!

Best of all I finally got to meet my fellow blogger and the creator of the great smelling candles I sell in my shop,

Erin of Carolina Country Living.

What a sweet lady and a really lovely little family (met Mr. CCL and the youngster).

I love getting to meet bloggers who I have so much in common with and really admire.

Erin is that kind of gal.

I purchased  bag full of wooden and bamboo curtain rings..

which I turned into glittery holiday decorations with the help of Chalk Paint™, German Glass Glitter and some antique sheet music.

But the most exciting thing to happen since we last got together was this...

I'm featured in the Holiday edition of 

Romantic Homes magazine!!!!!

That's me on page 18-19 and my fun bottle brush tree tutorial.

Many thanks to Meryl, my editor at Romantic Homes, she did a lovely job with my feature and was a joy to work with.

So that's what I have been up to. Hope I didn't bore you too much.

I promise to be better at posting in a more timely manner

OK...now tell me what you have been keeping busy with this past month!

Until next time...be kind and stay creative.