"LIFE LIKE A PORCH"

Porch furnishings can be as simple as a rustic 

table and an old rocking  chair. I've had this Mission style

 rocker for about 10 years now. It has lived on many of 
our porches.

Hey, Y'all! Summer is slowly slipping back into our lives. Hectic schedules are gearing down. Days are heating up and getting longer. Even the Earth celebrates in abundant beautiful, fresh produce. My earliest summer memories are of evenings spent with my family on our wrap-around deck. My brothers and I spent many hours trying to catch fireflies or discovering shooting stars in the warm summer night. I also have many memories of sitting next to my grandmother on her screened porch as she rocked the porch swing and shelled just-picked field peas for our lunch the next day. 

My brother, me, and our grandmother on the porch about 12 years ago.

While we lived in McKinney, I found a new fondness for porches. I met one of my best friends because she is an avid porch sitter and happened to call out to me 

They don't often build porches like they used to. 

This was my friend's house with its wonderful porch.  

She recently moved to 100 year old cottage 

on the same street--still with a great porch!

as I walked by with our newborn son. That friendship has thrived more than 20 years and counting! Through the years we spent endless hours 

My friend is a true Porch Master--her new porch is always welcoming and beautiful.

sitting by candlelight on her expansive, historic porch sharing stories and an occasional bottle of wine.

The southern porch is the quintessential place to visit with your neighbors. It is often the place of stolen 

kisses or the place to enjoy the morning's first cup of coffee. I have a true fondness for porches. 

Coleman Cottage was our home for ten years. A 100 year old Victorian, it had both a side porch and front porch complete with porch swings on both. One of my daughter's favorite memories is of us sitting cuddled up on the porch swing as a thunderstorm approached.  

We liked to listen to the thunder and watch the lightning dance across the sky. Sometimes, we simply sat together and watched a much needed rain soak into the parched ground in our north Texas yard. 

A wonderful porch on an old timey "dog trot"
style historic log house in Independence, TX.

There was no television, radio, phone, or computer. Simply our loved ones to share the moment with. It's such a simple thing, yet so difficult sometimes to unplug from the world and simply be together.

One of my favorite books, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells, captures southern porch culture so well,

"I want to lay up like that, to float unstructured, without ambition or anxiety. I want to inhabit my life like a porch."

This lovely passage is the basis for a design seminar I 

will be presenting from 10:30 - 11:30 a.m., Thursday, June 6 at Hermann Furniture. The presentation is free, but reservations are required. If you've ever wondered how to create an inviting porch or garden room, I'll be offering ideas on how to select and combine color and styles, repurpose vintage items, and inject tons of personality into this common space between the street and  your home. Following the design seminar, I'll be signing copies of First Monday Murder A Jimmie Rae Flea Market Mystery from noon to 1 p.m. By the way, 

 the early drafts of FMM were written on our porch! 

Until next time, 

Peace, love, and all the good stuff, sweet friends!

JUNKIN' DREAMS COME TRUE

Hey, Y'all! Ever look up from your busy life and  realize you're living your dreams? Well, that is happening to me. Now that our family is settling in to our new house, I've been looking for a place for Garden Cat Vintage to call home.  Recently, I received a call asking if I'd be interested in taking an antique booth at Hermann Antique Mall in Brenham, Texas. "YES! THANKS!" I'm so excited and happy to announce that soon 

Garden Cat Vintage will have a cozy space at Hermann Furniture which is the oldest family owned and operated furniture store in Texas! Hermann Antique Mall was even recently featured in an episode of HGTV's Junk Gypsies.

I've always had a special place in my heart for Brenham. 

It is a beautiful small Texas town nestled off Highway 290 between Houston and Austin and literally just down the road from the  JUNKin' Disneyland of 

the universe...Round Top, Texas! 

Brenham is a special place that has carefully preserved it's historic downtown courthouse square.  

Some of my favorite places are in or around Brenham--like Bluebell Ice Cream and Antique Rose Emporium. 

In my novel, First Monday Murder A Jimmie Rae Flea Market Mystery, the fictitious town of Niceton, Texas was loosely based on a combination of several Texas towns--Brenham being one of them. The chase scenes in FMM were all based on actually Farm to Market back roads around Brenham.

In the spring the roadways and fields surrounding this awesome place are full of the most incredible bluebonnets! It's a truly magical place on the south central Texas prairie. 

So plan a trip to Brenham...lunch at Must Be Heaven restaurant and bakery and shopping at Hermann Furniture. There are also several other wonderful antique stores and one of my favorite shops, Antique Gypsy, is just across the street!

Until then, 

Peace, Love and 

All the Good Stuff to you, 

dear friends!