Calamity Janes Style at Monticello...

It's been awhile since I posted pictures of my space at    Monticello Antique Marketplace so I thought I'd take you there today.


As you can see, I'm a little eclectic. I'm drawn to Victoriana, French, primitives, statuary and rusty crusty iron and nature's elements. 

Okay, look towards the back of this picture. Do you see what looks like a big rock?

It is the biggest piece of Coral I have ever seen! See the normal size coral next to it?

That gives you an idea of it's size!  It measures appx 28" X 24" !!

It's very old and came out of the Florida Keys.

I LOVE CORAL!

 Okay, enough about my space...

I want to tell you what else is happening at Monticello...

Our SPRING HOME & GARDEN SHOW  at 

Monticello Antique Marketplace kicks off this Friday, 

April 6th at 8:00am.

You don't want to miss it!  These very talented vendors started setting up last Saturday and as of yesterday, it is already looking AMAZING!  Check out sneek peeks HERE.  They take six days to put every bit of their time and energy into setting up for this incredible show.  They're bringing in their best vintage treasures that they've been saving up for months and putting all their creative and decorative talent to work.  This show is going to be truly inspiring and I'm so proud of all these talented people who bring their A game to inspire ideas for your home and outdoor living.  Make plans now to attend this spectacular event!

Hope to see you all Friday!

~Joyce

A Day at the Beach...

Hello Everyone!


I know, I've been gone for awhile, as in gone from updating my blog in almost a month!  Geeze, how time flies when life gets in the way.  My husband and I just celebrated our 29th anniversary last week so we decided to take a much needed mini vacation to the beach.  We had a perfect room on the beach, right in front of Haystack Rock.

Although it did rain most of the time, we had a few sun breaks that were really nice.

The wind was really blowing...

I think Sammy had more fun walking on the beach than I did.

But no matter what the weather is like, the Oregon coast is always beautiful.

And speaking of weather, we woke up at 6:00 this morning to the most brightest lightning and the loudest thunder I have ever heard.  Freaked us out! Didn't expect that to happen at the beach.

We ate so much delicious fresh seafood. And for the first time, tried deep fried Avocado spears...Delicious!

And of course I had to get a little antique shopping in.  I came home with some nice treasures that will of course, be going in to my space at Monticello.  One of my most favorite finds is a circa 1910 child's leather chaise lounge.  It is amazing!  You can kinda see it in this picture...

Sam is using it for a pillow. This picture was taken on the ride home.  He was so tired from running around all day.  I'll take a better shot of it when I get it in to Monticello.

All in all, we had a great time in the rain, wind, and sun and we're already planning our next trip.

Play time is over and now, it's time to get back to work and start working on this...

Make your plans for this one...

it's going to be spectacular!

Thanks for checking in on me!

~Joyce 

Waking up to this....

Good morning snow covered March 1st!

Looking forward to Spring!

~Joyce

Decision, Decision...Which would you choose?

Hello everyone!

I have a dilemma and I'd like your help.

I have a chair fetish.  I can't help myself!  

I see pretty chairs and I have to have them whether I need them or not, or even have room for them.

I just purchased a pair of beautiful Louis chairs, at Monticello of course!  What I really love about them is they're upholstered in brown suede!  

So now the dilemma is where to put them. 

So here's where I need your opinion...

Which set of chairs do you think looks best with the table...

Or...

Or these...

I'm only showing one of these because the other one is covered on the deck and I didn't want to drag it in until I get your opinion.

So, what do think? Would love to hear from you!

~Joyce

Road Trip Adventure...

Saturday was sunny and beautiful and a perfect day for a road trip.  So my husband and I and Sammy, our dog, headed up the gorge.  We love this drive even if there's no destination in mind because it's so scenic and beautiful.

But, of course my plan was to happen onto a few antique shops along the way.  Can't do a road trip and not stop when you see a sign that says "ANTIQUES".   My husband is so patient when it comes to stopping down and letting me shop while he takes Sammy for a walk, plus it gives us all a chance to stretch our legs.  But  I was so disappointed to find out that all the shops in Hood River, Oregon, are gone!  How does such a cute little historical city not have one antique shop! How is that possible.  We drove on to the Dalles and found a couple antique shops there but nothing to bring home.

We decided to cross over to the Washington side and head  towards home.  In  the little town of Bingen,  I found some great little treasures and a great Mexican restaurant that made the best tacos and marquritas...yum!


And then something else happened...

Back on the road and as we're driving, right off the main road, I spot this huge herd of deer, and not just deer but antelope and elk, all clustered together!  It was hard to get a picture of all of them from the car but it was quite a sight to see.

This made us curious enough to want to get a better look so we turned off onto the next  road that led into something so unexpected...

Buffalo...

Lots of buffalo!

You can see Mt Hood in the background

And Zebras too!

I think this one is pregnant!

All roaming together and roaming free!  And guess what else...

Giraffes and Camels too!

My pictures of the camels turned out too blurry and the giraffes weren't within camera shot.  It was an amazing sight!  We couldn't figure out what this place was.  Was it a refuge or a private ranch?  There was a sign that said Schreiner Farms and as we drove up the road taking all of this in, there were signs posted saying "stay inside vehicle and don't feed the animals". 

What is this place?  A safari in the middle of nowhere.  I had to find out.

When we got home, I did some research and found out that www.SchreinerFarms is a 12,000 acre ranch that raises 20 species of exotic animals.  Located across the Columbia river from the Dalles, in Dallesport, Washington. 

Who knew!  

It was the icing on the cake to our road trip!

I highly recommend this trip.  It's a beautiful drive up there, about an hour east of Portland. 

It's a animal lover's paradise!  Click on their website to find out more.

Thanks for stopping by!

~Joyce

A Frosty Sunrise

Gorgeous sunrise this morning!

This is a shot of my neighbors place across the road from us.

Love his old barns. It's one of the oldest homesteads in the Ridgefield area.

This is a shot from my front porch looking across the road.  

A very frosty landscape this morning...beautiful.

I never get tired of this view.

Frost covered field

Our neighbors frosty driveway.

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a great day!

~Joyce

Flashback to 2008

We got lucky this year and didn't get hit with the deep snow like some.  But I came across these pictures I took in 2008.  It was beautiful but no fun digging out. 

Take a look...

This was the first evening of the big snow...

The next morning, a few inches more...

We ended up with almost 2 feet of snow and no power.

Two days later, it still looked like this...

I stayed home for 3 days waiting for the slow melt.

 Can't wait until the deck looks like this again...

Come on Spring!

Thanks for visiting!

~Joyce