Creating a Winter White Booth Space

I have been busy-busy-busy and have lots of posts to write.  I'm going to start with something I helped with at the antique store where I rent my booth - Rockin' B.  Yesterday, several of us put together a feature booth at the front of the store. I am calling it Winter White Wonderland - that's a lot to write so in this post I'll call it WWW for short.  It is fabulous!  Since I helped to make it happen, I should be modest and low key when talking about it, but I can-not-help-myself.  I love it and I'm not going to hide my enthusiasm!

At the front of the store, our wonderful decorators were starting to work out themes and ideas for three feature areas.  One item they wanted to use was a vintage aluminum tree.  The first thought that came to mind was a colorful retro look.  We also have a fun, vintage, red Formica table at the store that could be used to put that look together and it would have been very cute.  But then just before they really got going with that idea, something else happened that changed everything.

Meanwhile, back in our booth, Martie and I were trying to rearrange the booth to make some new things fit in.  Beth's soft gray table needed a change.  As we were moving things here and there, Martie set a white linen table square on the table.  I had a metal ornament tree already there.  It's sort of a pewter color.  Then it clicked for us.  The metals and whites and grays looked so nice together.  Once we had our new direction, everything came together fast.  It ended up with such a great look.  The rest of the booth was harder to put back together, but that's another story.

Then, the ladies up front came back to see our mini masterpiece.  They asked if they could move the whole thing - table and accessories - up front.  Well, OK.  We did have some things to put in their place, so it wasn't really a problem at all.  That was Thursday.

Martie and I went back over on Friday.  I took my blue vintage table to put in the empty spot in our booth.  That's the table I posted about a month ago.  I tried it in a couple of spots around the house (porch, laundry room), but in the end decided I didn't really have a place for it.  I put it in the booth and I know someone is going to come along who has the perfect spot for it.  I guess I kind of knew it didn't belong with me, but I loved it so much that I wanted to try to use it somewhere.

Back to the WWW story.  On Friday, we moved the table and all of the accessories up front.  Suddenly I knew.  That aluminum tree belonged with our table vignette.  Jacque (decorator extraordinaire) could picture it, too, and away we went, pulling things from around the store like crazy.  Debbie was working and she started pulling things, too. We had it set up in no time at all.

I am beginning to think that when things flow easily, you're on the right path.  When you work and work to try to make it work, it might be the wrong path.  All my decorating experiences this last week back up that theory.

The WWW is the first area you see after walking through the doors.

What a lovely sight.

 If you want to see more pictures of the WWW area, 

click on over to our store blog.  

I added a post to it this morning with lots of photos.

I had such fun.  I had so much fun that I missed lunch completely and didn't even care. Plus, playing around with decorating at the store helps a little with my decorating A.D.D.  I may not be able to have that all white look at my house, but by golly, I can have it somewhere!  Funny.  I used to have more fun with dollhouses and doll furniture than I did with the dolls.  So now, I'm playing with dollhouses on a much larger scale.  I love it!  I hope they'll let me help more in the future!

Be sure to check out the latest RE- Party!

We RE-do, RE-decorate, RE-organize, RE-pair, RE-upholster, RE-furbish, RE-finish, RE-purpose,  a
nd of course, we love to RE-lax! 

This party celebrates the RE-'s in our lives! 

 ~~~~~~~~

Take a look at these other wonderful link parties for more clever ideas.  

I'm linking this post with them!

• + Transformation Thursdays at The Shabby Chic Cottage
• Strut Your Stuff Thursday at Somewhat Simple 
• + Show and Share Day at Just a Girl
• Favorite Things Friday at A Few of My Favorite Things
• Flaunt it Fridays at Chic on a Shoestring Decorating
• Vintage Inspiration Fridays at Common Ground 
•  Fab Friday at Frugal and Fabulous Design
• It's a HodgePodge Friday at It's a HodgePodge Life 
• I'm Lovin' It Fridays at Tidy Mom 
• Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage
•  Inspiration Friday at  Southern in My Heart
• Saturday Nite Special at Funky Junk Interiors 
• Weekend Wrap Up Party at Tatertots and Jello  
• Favorite Things Saturday at Bargain Hunting with Laurie 
  
• Saturday Soiree at A Little Lovely
• Show and Tell Saturday at Be Different Act Normal 
• Check Me Out Saturdays at I Am Only One Woman 
• Vignette Fridays at Color Outside the Lines
• Seasonal Sundays at The Tablescaper 
• Silver Sunday at Gypsy Fish 
•  

Cabbage Patch Stew

I have a new recipe and it's a keeper!!!  Trish (a.k.a. Mom, a.k.a. Mimi) had this in her files and decided to give it a try. I think she said she found it in the newspaper ages ago.  I happened to be around at just the right time and came home with a bowl to try.  Mmmmm!  It was good.  The forecast is pretty dreary around here this week - damp and cool-ish - and this is a dish to warm the soul!

Trish's recipe is called

CABBAGE PATCH STEW.

Here's what's written on her recipe tearout -  

1-1/2 pounds ground beef

4 celery ribs, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

7 cups cabbage, chopped

2 (16oz) cans kidney beans

1 (28oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained

3 cups beef broth

1 (15oz) can tomato sauce

2 medium carrots, chopped

1/2 tsp sugar

Pepper to taste

In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, cook the beef, celery and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink and vegetables are tender.

Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1 hour or until cabbage and carrots are tender.

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I used a whole cabbage and didn't worry about how many cups that was. I had leftover celery.  I cut it up and froze it so it would be ready for the next time I make this recipe.

It would be easy to make variations.  When Trish made it, she skipped the celery and it was still yummy.  I used the celery, but skipped the onions.  Still delicious!  I used a lot less meat and it still had plenty of flavor.  I'll bet the meat could be skipped entirely.   Other beans would do in place of the kidney beans - pintos, navy, lentils, etc.

I found a similar recipe on Allrecipes.com.  It's called Italian Vegetable Soup. It also calls for green beans, corn, a few spices and MACARONI.  Reviewers recommend cooking the macaroni separately and stirring it in just before serving.

A number of reviewers also mentioned that this soup is particularly good with some French Bread fresh out of the oven.  Want to know what was in my oven?  Dirt.  I kid you not.  Four pans of dirt from where I had been sterilizing the soil for another batch of greens in my salad garden.

My dear hubby LOVED it ("it" being the soup, not the dirt)!  He enthusiastically declared it the best soup he's had in a long time!  ...Which immediately made me wonder what soups I've made recently and were they not so good?  :-D  I have to admit, creative cooking hasn't been a high priority for me lately.  

On a side note:  While at the grocery store picking up a few ingredients for this recipe, hubby and I struck up a conversation with the lady in front of us in line.  She had the largest and most organized coupon notebook I had ever seen. That notebook was at least 8 inches thick --- she had ordered it online. She paid about $13 for her groceries and saved over $80.  I have played with coupons on and off over the years, like here, where I declared myself a coupon queen.  I have to admit, I have fallen off the coupon wagon.  The lady at the grocery store has inspired me to get back on it.  I wrote down a few things she told me and hopefully I can post about it sometime soon.  My sister has also become a major coupon queen with deals as great as the lady at the grocery store.  I'll try to get tips from her as well.  I should have already gone to her for inpspiration.  Since I keep coming across coupon people, I'm thinking somebody up there is trying to tell me something.

Be sure to check out the latest RE- Party!

We RE-do, RE-decorate, RE-organize, RE-pair, RE-upholster, RE-furbish, RE-finish, RE-purpose, 
and of course, we love to RE-lax! 

This party celebrates the RE-'s in our lives! 

 ~~~~~~~~

Take a look at these other wonderful link parties for more clever ideas.  

I'm linking this post with them!

• Homemaker Monday at 11th Heaven 
• All Things Domestic at Crazy Domestic 
• Delicious Dishes at It's a Blog Party 
• Show and Tell at Blue Cricket Designs
• Creative Share Wednesday at Trendy Treehouse