"You're Not in Kansas Anymore"

Remember the tornado that took Dorothy and Toto right out of her home and into the land of Oz? "Your not in Kansas anymore" as was told to Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. The version I heard customers say over and over again at our first French Market was more along the lines of, "This is as close as I will ever get to Paris..." If you didn't get a chance to enjoy the goodies that I brought along with Debbie of Curious Sofa, Carol Spinski of Raised in Cotton, Julie Reed of Reed Design, Karla Nathan of Karala's Cottage, Gwen McClure and Teri Eliott French by Design, and Beth Leintz, then don't fret, you will get a chance to shop "Paris" when we have our April in Paris market in April 2009, located right in the heart of Kansas City on a wonderful historical property, Alexander Majors, with a great home and barn.

It has taken me several unsuccessful tries to upload these photos in a certain order, but the blog did not want to cooperate, so in order to somewhat be "timely" I am just loading the photos, in no particular order and will make little commentary. Since my photos are in no special order, I will note only some, but not all for fear of identifying someone's product or a vendor incorrectly. For those of you who want more than just eye candy, at the end of this post, I give you a "behind the scenes" account of my adventure to Kansas along with photos. Mostly, I just hope you enjoy the photos and I hope to meet you at our next April in Paris show!

I want to thank Debbie for inviting me to participate and I especially want to thank Carol (Raised in Cotton) for her great help and hard work in assisting me with unloading my truck. I want to thank Beth, Karla, Julie, Gwen and Teri for making me feel so welcomed in their group. I also thank my mother-in-law, Diane Benitz, for bringing me some forgotten items and I want to thank all of those who attended, and those of you who sent well wishes. It was a HUGE success and a delight to meet so many of my readers. I look forward to meeting even more of you.

And awning, old post cards blown up to poster size and holiday lights greet the customers with a holiday French Flair!

Now these are my kind of people!! Sylvia, Debra, and Jimmy drove 13 hours from New Mexico just for the show! Debbie of Curious Sofa (on left, with cute hair and gorgeous eyes) and I got a photo of these wonderful people. They drove all night, Friday night, arrived in KS City in the morning, had breakfast, and waited in the parking lot for our doors to open. Debra told me that she saw me pull up in my huge truck and when I got out, she and Sylvia exclaimed, "There's Elizabeth!" I laughed when she told me this, and I noted that although Jimmy was polite, he had an expression that told me that he just didn't understand all the fuss...I don't blame you Jimmy, I don't understand it either, but it sure makes a gal feel good to know that someone thinks she is worth getting excited over! I just love all of my delusional customers/readers! :-)

I have to do a little bragging....my very good friend and former employee, Sharon Derry of Secret Leaves Paperworks, and her partner, Ann Hirshfield, supplied me with some their one-of-a-kind goodies such as these holiday labels and stickers. She also included greeting cards, scrap journals and more. Visit her site to order your own stash - this stash went quickly! It was nice to hear ladies commenting on their items with glee such as "Oh! Look at this journal! I can't believe all the work that went into it..." It was nice to see so many customers who "got it" and appreciate hand-crafted, very unique products such as Secret Leaves offers.

This is the "before" picture of my section. And below is the "after."

A GRAPHIC LOOK BEHIND THE SCENES....WARNING!!

This section may not be suitable for all audiences. Realistic content includes graphic tools, no make-up, ugly trucks, and hungry, tired women in a state of confusion as to why they agreed to do this in less than 2 weeks.

My adventure began with my forgetting my personal tool box. I asked Debbie, of Curious Sofa, did she have tools? She pulls out her bent "hammer" and said, "Will this do?" We cracked up laughing right there in her living room and I said, "This is going to be a long day, isn't it?"

But I am getting ahead of myself. Before I even arrived in Kansas City I had a very short time to dig through my HUGE mess of inventory, clean it, price it, pack it, and load it. And in my defense, I would like to remind my dear readers that I JUST got married, went on a honeymoon, Thanksgiving, and JUST (and I mean JUST) packed away all of my wedding stuff when I get a call from dear

Debbie asking, "Wanna do a French Market here in Kansas City?"

My reply: "Sure! When?"

She replied, "Next weekend."

And so the story continues...

For those of you who think I have a great stash in a well-organized warehouse...well, uh, I hate to burst any bubble you may have, but here is a peek of my "well-organized" stash...

Here I am, at 2A.M. wrapping French soap in a dingy dungeon with my ever-faithful "Big Bertha" keeping an eye on me. Bertha was at the show with me. She has low self-esteem issues and to help her out, I keep her close to me,

and don't let those 1880's skinny mannequins harass her. I told her that she has a beautiful spirit in spite of it being surrounded with a lot of padding.

And speaking of dungeons...I am currently looking for a small space for my inventory and photo studio in the St. Louis area or surrounding areas. I am willing to consider all avenues...garage with an apartment over it, warehouse with windows, carriage house...must be cheap and must have good lighting for my photo studio. If you know of anything, please feel free to email me! Thank you!

On with my adventure....after a 4 hour drive in my 16' truck (packed full), I arrive at Debbie's at midnight, where we gab until 2AM, and I am up and out the next day by 10AM. I am tired after a week of digging, loading, cleaning, pricing, and packing then driving. But I knew the real work was about to begin - so I decide to begin with a big grin...

It looked like a huge yard sale with my stuff spread out everywhere. You are only seeing the half of it - the other half is all along the sidewalk...and I like how my truck is near the covered wagon. Can you imagine if I had a store back in the covered wagon days? My poor horses would surely run off at first chance, but I bet I could barter my way out of an Indian attack if I had to...

Carol, of Raised in Cotton, I am sure regretted when she sweetly asked me, "Can I help you unload Elizabeth?" She asked before I opened my back door of the truck...she was a great help, never complained one bit, and was careful with all my items. I REALLY appreciated it so much! She is the nicest woman I have ever met (and very talented too!)

This is Carol and I with an empty truck and surrounded by all our hard work.

Karla of Karla's Cottage, was just moving in as I arrived. It is amazing how the barn, unloading, and upacking mess can turn into such a beautiful event....

Okay, I am only including this photo for bragging rights...I drove that big truck in a field, around the barn and backed it up to the door, between the flag pole and building without any trouble at all. And on top of that? None of my inventory arrived damaged or broken! I have to admit, that surprised me.

Here is Debbie, about midnight, working away at tagging her items. My cream table became the "work and eat" table which is always needed during a show setup. Hence, it is the last item to decorate, display and figure out

what to do with since most items are already displayed. But with Debbie's pile of tarnished silver and

my 2 giant pairs of corbels, we got a great display.

And finally, at some hour in the wee morning, Debbie shows us her "lacy bat" lamp shade. It didn't turn out the way she wanted and we all laughed so hard. We get such lovely emails and comments about how creative we are, but just to let you know, we have our moments too.

Thank you for allowing me to share behind the scenes for you. I thought you would find it interesting to see how "glamorous" our lives are and how, right before you walk through the doors of our show, we are scrambling to make everything "just so" for you, our wonderful customers/friends. We feel very, very fortunate to live a creative life and we don't take it for granted. But I also think it is important to let others know that along with the path we chose, there are very long hours, lots of physical labor, lots expenses, risks, large amounts of time away from family, and true exhaustion after the creative juices are greatly challenged. But, for some of us crazy, creative types, our spirit soars higher than our doubts and that is why we do what we do.

It really is that simple: My creative spirit soars higher than my doubts.

May your creative spirit soar among the clouds.

From my house to your house,

Elizabeth

It Took Only Fifteen Minutes...

Fifteen Minutes....that is the amount of time between my writing my last posting stating:

"And for those of you who are so lovingly curious about what I am going to do next? I can honestly say (guilt-free):

I don't know yet.
But you will be the first to know. "

And only 15 minutes later did I find myself on the phone with Debbie Dusenberry, of Curious Sofa, accepting her invitation to participate in Miss Frenchie's Holiday Brocante next week!

So, the dilemma is: do I post photos of my wedding or do I keep my promise and let you "be the first to know"? So, as you can see, the wedding photos will have to wait for now. I have a lot to tell, a lot of people to thank and brag about, and a lot pretty photos to upload. I don't want to rush through it and just get something up...so I will wait until after I get back from the European-Inspired Market next week to share wedding photos.

So, what is this European-inspired market? Click on Miss Frenchie's Holiday Brocante to get more information. But basically, I just found out about it and without giving too much thought, agreed to do it. It will be located in Kansas City in Alexander Majors barn, part of an historical home. The vendors involved have a love of anything European, a vintage feel, and are known to most readers of my blog and similiar blogs as well.

There is Debbie Dusenberry of the Curious Sofa. And unless you have been living in a cave, (now if it is a well-decorated cave, that may be the exception), everyone knows the famed and extremely talented Debbie. She and I have shopped together and our tastes are so similiar, that when we enter an antique mall, she will aske me, "left, or right?" And I will say "right..." And without anymore words, she heads down the aisles on the left, and I head for the right and we begin to pile up our treasures on the counter as we shop our way, and eventually cross paths, and keep going. Our items on the counter always look like they all belong together and even though we are great friends, we do keep a teasing, watchful eye on our goodies to make sure they don't "happen" to end up in the wrong bag! :-)

The other very talented vendors, I have not yet met personally (but looking forward to!) but I know their work and I am sure you do as well. Vendors such as Gwen McClure and Teri Elliot of French by Design for those of you who must have French antique furniture; Carol Spinski of Raised in Cotton, for vintage inspired goods; if you love knit, crochet, felted scarves and brooches then you will want to see Julie Reed; for collectibles and odd little finds there is Beth Leinitz;and Karla Nathan was "green" before "green" became popular...she recycles vintage finds into charm bracelets.

Please come out and join in the fun, if you can. I would love to meet you and give you a hug. I will be selling "just stuff" from my inventory that is stored away. Having such short notice, it will be a "get it while you can" sale at my booth. I will have some furniture and whatever stuff I find in storage and I can honestly say, I really don't know what I have left. However, I believe this event may happen again in the Spring. If so, and if invited to participate, I will have time to hunt down some really good treasures, custom design a few pieces, and even have a few surprises in store. But this first time around, I will have items "show cheap" because I want a reason to shop for "new" old stuff for the second show!

I need to get busy and I hope to see you next week in Kansas City. And thank you all for the lovely comments on my last posting. I can't wait to do the wedding posting next. And after that I will post about Miss Frenchie's show.

So funny how I got only 15 minutes of "I don't know what I am going to do next"....and something just pops up. I think being opened minded about possibilities also opens doors....and in this case...a barn door and a cool one at that!

From my house to your house,

Elizabeth

You Will Be The First To Know

This is the very bench where Randy and I first met, where he proposed to me, and where I continue to visit and sit in peace. I have been visiting "our" bench quite a bit these last several months...mainly to rest and to think quietly. I realize that most of you know that I just got married, and I promise to tell you all about it and publish lots of photos, but for now, I would like to catch you up on a few personal things in my life. But, I promise, wedding photos are to come soon. For those who can't wait, Debbie, my dear friend of Curious Sofa, has photos and lovely commentary about my wedding and you can visit her blog to get an early peek.

But for now, I just would like to talk to you from my heart.

First, thank you all for the lovely emails, well wishes and concerns. They are greatly appreciated and they mean a lot to me. I wish you all the very best too.

I have always been upfront and personal with my wonderful cyber friends, but I have struggled as to whether to share my personal struggle these last several months. My husband (feels nice to say that) reminded me that my blog isn't just about design and pretty photos. It is also about my personal insight of life. He reminded me that my readers have their own struggles, and writing about mine may comfort others. I thought about what he said and so I decided to share.

As you know, almost a year ago, I got into a horrible car accident. I was hit by a drunk driver, flipped my car twice, and only a light post saved me from going over the bridge down to the highway below. I walked away with no broken bones, not even a broken finger nail. It happened on my birthday, December 11th ,early evening. I did get a very strong hit to the back of my head with a gallon paint can (it was a full can of course) and that bump set off a chain of problems - both physical and emotional.

Since I came out alive, and I felt so lucky, I didn't pay attention to some signs that all was not really okay. I much later discovered that I was in denial about the effects the accident really had on me. I lost a great amount of sleep due to my pain in my arm and I had a headache everyday, all day long, for over two months right after the accident. After that, I have had many headaches that has kept me in bed many times. I was not use to living in chronic pain and I wasn't dealing with it well at all - but I was in denial about that for quite a while.

I wanted to just get back to "normal" and get on with all the plans I had made for 2008! I had just got engaged, I was moving out of my home, putting inventory aside for my Internet store, finishing up my book, plan a wedding, and so on. I had my whole year planned out and I wasn't about to let some accident keep me from my plans.

I won't bore you with any more details, but what I want to share is that several months after the accident, I felt like something was wrong and I didn't feel myself at all. Not really depression. Not really sad...but just not myself. I cried at the drop of the hat, seemed fearful of losing Randy (in an accident), I became fearful and unreasonably worried when he didn't answer his cell phone on his way home from work (I was sure he was killed or in an accident) and finally, I went to get help with these irrational fears.

I was diagnosed with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and I learned that I really wasn't as "okay" as I thought (or hoped I was). PTSD is a condition that I wouldn't wish on anyone. In my case, I would at times panic and freak out while in the car when I thought a car was driving way too close to me. I once pulled over on the side of the road and called Randy in tears because I had experienced road rage from another driver and I was too scared to drive home. While driving, I would have to really study the white lines on the road to convince myself that the driver next to me isn't too close to me. Many times, while Randy drove, I argued that he was too close to a car, going too fast, or just basically scared him with my gasps as a car pulled out of a driveway. I had always thought him to be an excellent driver up till then.

My counselor explained to me that my short temper was anger that I had for my life being so disrupted and living with the chronic pain. I had horrible nightmares that scared Randy to death as I screamed out for help in my sleep. I was not fun to live with. And I felt like I wasn't the same person anymore. I missed my old self and really wanted her back. My counselor explained that a significant life event always, always changes a person's life and there are no exceptions. None.

A part of me was gone and I had to grieve for her absence and then get to know and accept the new me. And during this process, I had to rest, rest, rest. I disconnected myself from most people, friends and others. I didn't feel like myself and I wasn't sure I even liked my new self. I was very forgetful, and got overwhelmed very easily. I stopped my design work late last spring and have had a few other personal issues that I had to deal with since. I have had over 110 doctor's appointments, physical therapy appointments, counseling and MRI's, X-rays and so on since the accident. I really didn't have the time (due to so many doctor appointments) or energy to be the happy, fun, creative person that I felt that others expected from me. And I didn't want to let others in my life at that time because I was afraid I would disappoint them and their expectations of me.

The blow to my head from the paint can caused some visual issues, headaches, and slight abnormal "spikes" in my brain during several EEG tests. These spikes were never clear as to what was going on except perhaps slight seizures. The doctors feel that I was experiencing post-concussion symptoms. Well, at least that explains why I didn't feel like myself. And the counseling helped in that I no longer felt like I was going crazy, that everything I was going through was a "normal" reaction. My reaction was delayed, as explained to me, because I was in denial and I was so busy feeling grateful to be alive and in one piece. It wasn't until after the holidays and several busy projects did I slow down enough to let it sink in how close I came to losing my life, the pain I was in, and the emotional turmoil of survivor's guilt. Not less than a week after my accident, a friend called to tell me that her young son-in -law-to-be just lost both his parents in a car accident...why did I survive and they didn't? He is to be married soon and neither of his parents will be there. It seems unfair and that feeling of guilt, grieving, anger, and fear are all part of having PTSD. And feeling those emotions just simply made me want to be alone, rest, and not be pulled in so many directions from so many different people.

So, if you have read this posting this far, I would like to reward you with it ending on a very good note and lessons learned. As I stated earlier, my counselor said I would never be quite the same again, and as much as I fought it, she is right. How am I different? Well, to my much dissatisfaction, I can't do as much as I use to and I am slower at getting things done and can really only do one thing at a time now. I don't like this one bit. But as my husband reminds me, most people do only one thing at a time. Another thing I am not too happy about is I sleep a lot more now. By that, I mean, I sleep 8 - 9 hours now, instead of only 4 or 5. Never mind that sleeping 8 hours is healthy, but it cuts into my work time, which means I get much, much less accomplished in one day. I don't like feeling so unproductive.

But, there are other things about the new me that I do enjoy. I no longer allow myself to be pulled like a piece of taffy in so many directions by so many people. I also find myself doing things (or not) that best serve my needs instead of always trying to meet other people's needs, wants, or expectations. That was a very hard thing for me to accept. It felt selfish and self-centered, but with time, I learned that it is a healthier way to live. And finally, one thing I like about my new self, that I really, really hated at first, is I am truly living my life without guilt or apology for not doing "it all". I let myself be convinced that I "should be doing this" or "should be doing that" and if I don't, I will fail others, my talent will be wasted, and I will let others down. I no longer feel guilty about not living up to the expectations of others. The only expectation I hope to meet is what God has planned for me and my life. I hope my life's path is truly the path He wants me on. And what is that path? I will have to wait and see.

So, how am I doing today? Well, I can't remember the last time I have been this happy. (Many photos from my wedding show me laughing and laughing). My headaches are less and less and after several treatments of acupuncture, my arm is so much better!! I have a husband that loves me dearly, good friends who are still my friends, even after my long absence from them, and I have so much to look forward to. I am taking time off from design work for the next couple of months just to rest and to be "happy." And for those of you who are so lovingly curious about what I am going to do next? I can honestly say (guilt-free):

I don't know yet.

But you will be the first to know.

And you know what? That is really okay with me. Writing this post was wonderful therapy for me - just the thing I needed to do...and I have you to thank. I had a very loving and caring friend tell me a while ago that "you are losing your fans if you don't keep up your blog..." The old Elizabeth would have felt very guilty and worried and would have got right to the computer and crank out a post. But the new Elizabeth just replied to her, "I know." And after I thought about what she said, I realized, that I don't write this blog to increase "fans" but rather, I share my photos, my design work, my thoughts, my adventures, and even my struggles with you because I feel a connection with you, my readers, my friends.

And even if there is only one left that still reads my blog and checks it now and again, then that is fine because I feel like I am having a conversation with just only you anyway. :-)

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday...hug your family, eat lots of pie, and take a long nap....and I will talk to "only you" very soon!

From my house to your house,

Elizabeth