Out in the cold, on the way to the movies

OK, if I was a responsible, obsessed adult I will be @ the store finishing off stuff for tomorrow...but no, I'm out the door heading to the theater. I have neglected my family, the little ones. All the way thru the holidays they keep trying to hook up with me for fun time. I keep apologizing for been so busy and not making it at all. Driving home yesterday it dawn on me that the business and the stuff are not going anywhere, but the kids, before I know it we will be planning weddings and college graduations, just too precious to me to mess up by not taking time. So... dinner and a movie will be. We will watch Avatar, I will critic it later. I will post pictures of my babies, wish us fun. Blessings, Marta.

Alright, I'm a lier

Just cute until I can get my act together. Love the little girl picture and the boy and girl bust .

I promise a post full of pictures for today. Well, I did take a lot of pictures but I realized they were all one color scheme (taupes, creams and whites) and I want to save them for the next White Wednesday. So I'm only going to post a couple pictures, one of my cloches with some Valentines stuff in them. I will take pictures of my two red rooms and the rest tomorrow. I redo my kitchen and one of my toy rooms. I did one room (dining) in yellow roses and taupes. I redo one of my black rooms too. I did not expected much business today been so cold outside. Well, it was really great. I sold 2 big pieces of furniture and made a new friend of a newbe to this area. I think I will see her again. She expend 2 hours @ the store, bought a lot and left a hole bunch of stuff selected for her next visit. I didn't get done as much as I wanted but hey, you can't have it all. I believe the shop will be ready for Saturday, that is if my texan friends decide to bear with the single digit temperatures.

Ok, I got another addiction

This are some of the pictures I meant to post this morning in my first White Wednesday post.

Are they cute or what? I started collecting this kind of dolls but decided to sell them about 2 months ago. I got only 2 of the ones in the pictures left; have sold about 10.

This beautiful room belongs to Lynn's @ Golightys. Love the food @ their tea room and the shop is just awesome. Fort Worth got some of the most amazing shops.
OOOOPPPPSSSSS. I did again. How do I get rid of the pictures I don't want after they been already save and posted in the blog? I told you, computer challenge. Another ?. How do I get to upload more than 5 pictures at a time? I'm uploading from a file in my computer but t is only allowing me to upload 5 at a time. Jessica, Sue, somebody.

I thought that the worst of my behavior towards blogging have already been documented. Yes, I come home late and then I sit in my computer for hours. I got a TV tray right beside the desk, my drink and dinner plate and the remote, see, I'm a multitasker too. I will check the blogs in the morning during my Today Show and coffee time. Sometimes I'm late for work (like this morning) and is all your fault. You have make blogging "my new drug" and I have to have my fix at least twice a day. So... I'm blogging again today, twice.

I spend the day WORKING on merchandising ten rooms in one day. We are talking details. I consider Winter my down time since I can't paint furniture as much. I'm HYPER, I drive people around me crazy. This is the first time in my life that been hyperactive have been very handy. Oh, for the last 4 days I have been having a creative spell. I'm rusty, very. See, I started as a crafter, creating pretty things, dabbing into all mediums. I got a Hobby Lobby if I include the stuff at home and the shop. I got tools, sewing machines, fabrics, turnings, trims, etc. It took me 4 hours to create 2 wreaths for Valentines day. Try working all day, come home, read blogs and post, and then craft until 2:00 AM. LOVE IT. I told, you insane. You may wonder where do my husband fit in the picture. Well, my teddy bear is a self-preserve, non traditional, not needy or clingy kind of guy. I call him my perfect match. We support each other a 100%. I get a lot of looks whenever I mention the fact that I only cook 3 or 4 times a year. No bragging here, my husband acknowledge the fact that I work my butty off and that is his way of helping. Do not asked me about the mess he leaves behind. It is all well worth it. So tomorrow weather permits I will be finishing the decorating @ the shop and I will have tons of pictures for you. I'm worried about something, I'm afraid I will be having tremendously long posts, I'm a talker, blah, blah, blah. So I'm gonna have to try to keep myself in check, No reason to bore you to death, ah?

See you tomorrow darlings, blessings, Marta.

First White Wednesday@ Marta's Room

Yuppie!!!! I'm soooo happy. Why? It's my first time participating in White Wednesday. Kathleen I'm so honor. I will be late for work today, no change of getting fire unless I can fire myself. It was a good morning gift to see my name among the participants of WW. Next Wednesday should be better because my Valentines will be up and I am doing lots of creams and whites. The above photo is some of the beading on purses. I love beaded purses, I got a collection of about 30 and I bring repeats to the shop. it's getting harder to find different ones.

I love putting vignettes together, specially under domes. I like them to be whimsical, no logic to them, just eye candy.

This pillow was @ Lonestar Mall in Fort Worth. The name of the artist is Ms Bountiful. You can see a collection of them for sale @Dream in cream blog. Vintage Sue made an altered pillow and I was the happy recipient. I will take a picture and show to you in my next WW. Dreamy is the word.

This was one of my Spring rooms last year. Can't wait for Spring since I love anything gardeny and my bunnies. Spring flowers and roses...beautiful. The only thing is that we do not get the beautiful garden with spring bulbs. They last a couple of days the most. Nothing like the gardens up north. We Texans get 2 weeks of Spring and what feels like the endless Summer: the over a 100 degree Summer. We are experiencing the coldest Winter since I move to Texas, 18 years. To us 40 degrees is freezing. We can't stop wining about it. I recommend turning on the TV and looking @ Minnesota's temperatures. We are not freezing, we just need to look pretty all layer up.

OOPS, double take and no time to fix it. I want to leave the post publish so...apologies. Blessings, Marta.

What a couple of days!

I have been busy taking all my remaining Christmas down and putting Valentines up. Having a shop is a commitment to a never ending cycle. I consider myself blessed since my sells have not gone down with the economy. This area of Texas seems not to be affected like the national economy have been. I live very close to Fort Hood but my costumers are mostly from Belton and Temple. My costumers are mostly white females between the ages of 20 all the way to 70, which is surprising to me, that is for the older ladies to embrace Shabby Chic and my junk. Some of them have lived with the same furniture for the last 20 or 30 years and are looking for a drastic change. My fellow latinas don't come in the shop. Three years ago I went back home and decide to bring visuals(my decorating books and pictures as testament) so my family and friends will understand what my style is all about. They didn't understand what the appeal of rusted, distressed,crazed, tattered and all forms of yummy could be. They all saw junk. I was told that if a bring my business to the Island I will go out of business in no time. I wish I have the money to show them. I have make believers out of people that doubted I will make a go of my business. I was told my location is the worst, not the right building, not the right stuff,etc,etc...BUT I got the last laugh, Been there, done that for 11 years now. We survived 9/11, Katrina,Bush, etc. God willing we will be here for years to come. I'm praying for the next location since 3,000 sf don't work for me any more. I need 10,000, it will come, you will see. Lastly, I sound like a bragging queen bee. I'm not, this baby have cost me sweat, pain and tears, but the lessons, the blessings, the road here have been life changing for me, you see, I'm not all that. I started with no money, but I figure My Father in Heavens got all the riches in earth and the heavens, Nobody else have faith in the journey that I was about to embark. Why leaving a secure job and paycheck, my desk and professional clothes for painting overalls? I pray about my business for 10 years. I wanted to be still young since I know it was going to be hard work. When God opened the door for my I jump in knowing he was going to back me up. I figure that at the end of the day, if all I have is God favor I will need nothing else. Sometimes I show at the shop with a long list to do, but God have other plans that day for me. I remember praying that my place will be one of peace, that God spirit will dwell there and that people with the need of a word of comfort, or a hug will find it there. So, now you have it. That is what we do @Marta's Room. We got to have church almost everyday. Sometimes I give, sometimes I receive, Isn't GOD good?Blessings, Marta.
PD: photos of Valentines decor in two days

I love dolls

Are they cute or what? I love dolls composition and bisque

specially. No Barbies please. You probably going to notice that they are all wearing either pink or cream colored dresses. The ones in the first and last picture reside @ Marta's Room. I do not sell them, they are there to keep me company. I have lost count of how many I got, never enough if you ask me. Storybook dolls, loved them. My first 10 I bought @ a rummage sell. They were inside a plastic container full of water. Some of the hat and dresses were ruined but I managed to rescue some. I have to pay a good buck for the ones I have found after that.

More storybook dolls and some german babies.

This poor baby was falling apart. I filled the cracks with wood putty and try to match the skin color. She just have the cuttest face and I refuse to give up on her.

Last, Is she sweet or what? I love her original hair and she got teeth. I hope you enjoy my babies as much as I do. Good night, blessings, Marta.

Christmas loot

Remember I mentioned I trade a couple of pieces of furniture in my living room? Well, this is the gentleman's armoire I replaced for the white cabinet with all the pink dishes. It's supposed to be a bedroom piece but I don't think there are many rules in decorating, only one that I honor, I must love it and if it makes sense to me I don't care about the rules. I place my husbands coats and jackets in the inside and all my huge purses in the bottom drawer. So, its pretty and functional. Love, love.

I made a point of taking a couple of days off for personal shopping and maybe some stuff for the shop. I'm a bad girl since I brought all the stuff home. I decided to keep it all since I didn't get resale prices in any of it. I splurge in the tussie mussie with the sweet girl picture. I paid 22$ at The Roundrock Antique Mall. They got beautiful things that you can buy for keeps. The tray with the lace insert I got @ the flea in San Antonio for a song. The pretty pink jewelry I have to have, no bargain there. The pincushion girl was $38 and she will be #6 in my ever growing collection. Finally the cuttie shaving deal. I paid 10.00, too much for my taste but given the fact that it is the first one I ever seen I went ahead and got it.

Now, can you blame me for paying retail for this "people"? They got the sweetest faces.Retail again but worth it. They were in mint condition.

I got a million shoe horms for sale @ the store but this pair were too cute and I love the patina in them. The necklace is really pretty. It got about 6 strands with all sort of pretties hanging from string. The little brush makes #3 in my collection. The little box that look like a jewerly case contains a miniature Bible inside. I got 4 more miniature books that day. Gorge them all.

Last, I found 3 gold mirrors which I plan to paint cream and glaze them with nutmeg color. The post office scale I got for a song. The little shoes (size 4 women's) are velvet with rhinestones inside the slit bow plus they are cream color. The little nosegay is cream color silk roses with velvet leaves, they are the most beautiful one, the picture don't do any justice to them. The little clock works and is heavy. It's made of enamel and glass and it still works. The little choir girls is a Rubens. She got a little chip in the edge but considering I only paid $2. So, that just part of the stuff i bought over a couple of outings over the Holidays. The rest you will have to come by the shop and buy it there. Hopefully by know you are starting to figure out my style and the kind of things you may find in my shop. I only buy what I like, for which I get a lot of grief from my husband. He believes I should buy everything if is cheap enough, men, what do they know? Anyway, see you later my friends. Blessings, Marta.