Christmas Lights at the Civic Center in Denver, CO

Wakefield-Scearce Galleries

On a recent visit to Kentucky to see my daughter and her family, my son-in-law took us to the most amazing place.  I should have started this post by mentioning that Kentucky (as well as all the other Eastern states) are really amazing to Coloradans like me.  Here in the west there are few buildings more than 100 years old, and antiques older than 100 years are few and far between, so when visiting Eastern cities the old buildings and their furnishing are amazing to see.   

Getting back to the point, my son-in-law took us to the Wakefield-Scearce Galleries which specializes in fine English antiques.  A visit to the place would be amazing any time of year, but beginning in November, they decorate the whole place "to the nines" for Christmas.  Fortunately, I was totally captivated by the Christmas decorations (not to mention that I was keeping up with a certain little someone who was leading me through the maze of rooms) and wasn't tempted to buy any of the gorgeous antiques!

I didn't get a very good picture of the building, because it was so huge and I couldn't get far enough away...

Here is a view from the second floor... 

Beautiful, huge Christmas tree...

Every mantel was beautifully decorated...

and almost every room had a beautiful Christmas tree...

and of course, delightful things for children to see...

Christmas Cookies

Costello Street Coffee House

Last summer, my husband and I stopped at the cutest, most quaint coffee house I've ever visited.  It is located in the small mountain town of Florrisant, Colorado.  Besides coffee and a variety of baked goods and breakfast items, it also serves a brunch (at least on Sunday) and several interesting sandwich concoctions.  We arrived there at lunchtime, so we each ordered 1/2 a sandwich (since they were rather large).  My husband ordered a BLT and I ordered a grilled vegetable and cheese sandwich.  Unfortunately, since I was soaking in the ambiance of the place and we were fortunate enough to have a dining room to ourselves, I forgot to take pictures of the food, however; here are pictures of  Costello Street Coffee House (I didn't know they had a website)...

Cuckoo

It seems I've always had a fascination with cuckoo clocks.  When I was in 8th grade, my parents bought this little clock for me.  It doesn't actually "cuckoo", but the little bird moves back and forth.  

It's hard to believe I've had this little clock for 45 years and the only damage it sustained happened when I was a teenager.  If you look closely, some little flowers fell off.

Anyway, I've always wanted a real cuckoo clock - not one of those plastic quartz ones they have now - but a traditional one made in Germany.  I couldn't justify paying for a new one, so I started looking on Ebay and just received my recent purchase.  

If you look closely, it is missing a bird on the right, but it is really cute.  Not only does it cuckoo, but the bird(s) at the bottom feed the baby bird on the hour and half hour.  Now I just need to find a proper place for the clock where I can enjoy looking at it and hearing the gentle "cuckoo".

DIY Silver Candlesticks

A couple of years ago, I got this set of candlesticks and a pedestal bowl from my husband's aunt and uncle when they were downsizing.  At first, I thought I might sell them on Etsy, but then I decided to turn them into faux silver candlesticks.

This is the before picture...

 Then, I spray painted them flat black...

The next day, I applied Silver Rub 'n Buff...

Voila!!

Healthy Summer Lunch

Caprese Pizza Toast and Fresh Fruit Salad