~ Collection Of Vintage Hooked Rugs ~

Hi their friends, I just wanted to share some of our love of country antiques with you. We have a small collection of American hooked rugs. We have traveled throughout southern Calif. in search for them at shops and flea markets. We don't pay too much for them from maybe 25-225 dollars for each one. The cheaper ones are the lucky finds. I know these hook rugs, where made to lay on the floor, but in our home they drape the walls with their beauty. We like to collect rugs with animals on them. I guess we really like to find the ones with dogs. They probably date from the 1920s to the 1950s.

I think these are Labradors but not quite sure.

This one might be a spaniel and the woman who took the time to make it had weaved her initials C.M. as seen on the first photo of the post on the bottom right.

I like the horse with its fall colors, on the leaves. When I see these rugs at shows they remind me of fall for some reason. They seem to make a home feel cozy.

This little guy must be a terrier of some kind. I think it might be from the 20s or 30s. If you are thinking of collecting vintage hooked rugs be aware they reproduce them to look old. So try and do your home work before buying or purchase from a dealer who has knowledge of rugs.

This rug I got as a Christmas gift, three years ago from Raymond. It always reminds me of the holidays when I look at it.

I like these two they remind of being on my grandparents ranch as a child. I used to have a red hen as a pet when I spent summers there. It came up missing one summer, unsure what happen to that poor chicken!

I didn't take a very good photo of this bear rug we just picked up a couple of weeks ago. It reminds me of Big Bear Calif. up in the mountains not that far from home. This one was one of those good finds. Now I'm on the hunt for one with a kitty on it. So if you ladies know of any just laying around in a shop. Please let me know I figure one more wont hurt LOL. I hope you enjoyed our collection. I'm going to join in for ~ Vintage Thingie Thursday ~ hosted by Suzanne, and also for ~ Vintage Inspiration Friday ~ hosted by Debra and also for ~ Show And Tell Friday ~ hosted by Cindy to share with other collectors. Have your self a great rest of the week....Julian

~ White Wednesday Mission Church ~ #1

It's that time again for~ Out Door Wednesday ~ and also for~ White Wednesday ~ Being that Autumn was in the air we decided to view it first hand. Raymond and I decided to take a Sunday drive to a town called Julian. Which is in the mountains east San Diego County. It used to be a mining town but now they are known for their apple orchards and apple pies YUM YUM. But before all this their were Native Americans living in this area already. Up and down the coast of California the Spanish and Mexican missionaries had missions and now they wanted to go inland to Christianize the Native Americans. Even though they already had their own religion that they been practicing for many years prior. This is Mission Santa Ysabel which sits in the valley below Julian. The small valley is called Santa Ysabel Valley and she is so beautiful with gentle rolling hills of golden brown grasses and California oaks so many of them covering the hillsides. And once in a while you will see wild turkeys in flocks of 20 -30 here and there. Some one had let the loose years ago. But I don't know the real story on that.

The sub mission sits on a small hill about a half mile from the main road. The Father Juan Mariner held his first service here in 1795. But the sub mission was begun in 1816 and completed in 1818.

This is some of the stain glass inside the church. It was rebuilt in the again in 1924 because of some deterioration and some neglect over some years.

Their are some beautiful wooden beams holding up the roof.

That's me at the entrance reading up on the history of the Church and the Native American's. While Raymond shoots some pictures for the blog.

This is a small grotto on the side of the building with Mary and some dessert plants. I wish I took a better picture of all the lavender which smelled so good.

I Love, the little road way which leads up to the church which has a beautiful graveyard on the left hand side. Next time I will share another Indian mission and its history that we passed before stopping by this one. Well I do hope you enjoyed our photos and the tour. Have a good Wednesday...............Julian

~ Sneek Peek To Vintage Halloween Treasures ~

Hello Everyone, I hope you are all enjoying the weekend. As for us we got to work so no treasure hunting this weekend. I just wanted to give a Small peek to our collection of vintage Halloween treasures. This is a postcard dated from 1904 and they call it a mechanical one because of the little guys arm goes up to cover the face of the trick or treat er. And too the left is one of four vintage nut cups. Maybe from the 40's or 50's which I received as a Christmas gift from Raymond last year. We have been hunting for real pumpkins to decorate the front of the house but had no luck finding any yet. I wanted to share the Autumn look before springing the Halloween decor on you all. Well hope you all enjoy. I'm going to join in for ~ Show Off Your Cottage Mondays ~ Which is being hosted by Cielo. Have a great week and see you all soon.....Julian

~ Antique Rose Inspired Treasures #1 ~

In the months of January and Feburary there are little roses or none at all in the garden here at home. So when we miss the roses we just take a walk inside the house and look at the roses that are hanging on the walls around us. I'm going to share a few of the floral from our collection. I dont want to bore you with too many at once. But I do hope you enjoy looking at them.
Im going to join in for ~ Vintage Inspiration Friday ~ it would be nice to join in for today. And also for ~ Creating Vintage Charm ~ hosted by Sonia Crouse. Most of our paintings are Victorian up to the early 20s. And most likley painted by women who had the leisure of passing their day with painting. I can picture them now sitting in the garden with a paint brush in one hand. And the sound of birds in the back ground, while they paint. Some women painted on tables and others on chairs with floral scenes.

We picked them up in shops and flea markets on our travel's across the U.S. since we have been collecting.

Some of the pictures aren't very good and I appologize for this. Raymond normally takes the pictures and I do the writting.

I like this oil becuase of the wild roses growing up the rustic fence post.

Some of our roses have the ladies name and year they had painted them. This one below is a Califorian artist dated 1889. I purchased it at a local auction. Well Thank You all so much for stopping by and I do hope you enjoyed a part of our collection. Enjoy the rest of the weekend.....Julian

~ Small Garden Chair And Tallulah ~

Hello Friends, It's time again for Friday blog party's over at ~ Common Ground ~ for inspirational Friday and also for ~ Show and Tell Friday ~. I am going to share today just a small vintage garden chair next to our little pond. To bad the waterlilies aren't in bloom right now they are white also. Here is Tallulah sitting next to the pond trying to catch one of the goldfish. But I don't think she will be able to catch them. But she luvs to watch them as they come to the surface. This little cast iron chair is from a friends store. We saved before it made its way to the flea market. I like the chippy paint and the rust gives it a great look for the garden. Thanks for stopping by today. And have a happy Friday and enjoy all the other post that our blogging friends had posted for you to enjoy. See you all soon.....Julian

~ Garden Terrace & White Vintage Chaise Lounge ~

It's time again for ~ Fertlizer Friday/ Flaunt Your Flowers ~ And also for ~ Show And Tell Friday ~ and also at a brand new blog party over at ~ Common Ground ~ for Vintage Inspiration Friday ~which are being hosted by three great Lady's who always take the time out to have these fun blog parties. This week we are going to share with you our terrace garden which is in the back garden. It's in it's second year of being finished. I also put some photos of the barren hillside that was there before we had the work done to it.

In this first photo it is all complete with a pair of vintage white chaise lounge chairs we picked up at a garage sale two years ago. They are probably from the 50s or early 60s. Tallulah decided to sneak in the picture, she is sitting on the top terrace on a chair. Isn't she cute, she loves to get in the pictures!

In this photo we have a vintage out door fire place made of cast iron. It looks heavy but at least in comes apart in two peaces for easy transport.

In this photo the work is just beginning to take shape. We have a little orchard to the right in the picture is a Lemon tree and Trangerine trees. we also have a couple of Grape vines and Banana tree, Pink Lemon tree and a Orange tree

In this photo the tree on the left had fallen during a winter storm so we had to take it out. It was a great tree for shade.

On the terrace garden we have plants in pots some Palms and Geraniums and some other plants such as Mint and Lemon balm. Raymond Loves to add the Lemon balm to his sweet tea.

This is a picture of the Top Terrace, we can sit up there and see the small airport that the sky divers jump into. It's very relaxing on those nice summer days.

And here is a view of our garden from the bottom terrace, looking out!

In the photos you might see some old terracotta pots. I like the look of old terracotta. But once in a while I'm forced to buy brand new pots so I just rough them up some to make them look vintage. My favorite terracotta pots are made by a company called Bauer Pottery and they are from the late teens to the 40s Once in a while I find them quite cheap at the flea markets or garage sales.

And here are two of the girls relaxing again. They always seem to be relaxing while I'm doing the work. Something seem wrong here. Thank You all for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed the small tour of the terrace garden. Have a great ~ Vintage Thingie Thursday ~ And a beautiful weekend....Julian