treasure hunting...

A Treasure Hunt

The men in our house enjoy hunting and some of the girls like it too.

I have gone along on occasion and enjoyed the weather and scenery of the country...

The hunt that I really love though doesn't involve nature, mud, and  trucks. 

I enjoy a different type of hunting.

I call it treasure hunting.

Phrasing it this way helps my husband understand the concept a little better.

I say "You hunt.  I hunt."

Ingredients for my hunting trips involve:

~ a little time

~ a bit of energy

~ a cup of coffee to go

~ and just a few dollars

~ and a 'date' with one or two of our children

(or solitude if no one is interested)

There is usually no list.

No agenda.

No expectations.

Just a little adventure.

Over the years most of our furniture has at one time sat in a junk store.

I love the idea of buying something for a little

then painting it to look the way you want it to.

I have a friend, Melanie, who introduced my to SHABBY CHIC about 14 years ago.

She said '"Look at this!  You are already decorating like this!"

I was instantly hooked.

And  I still am a fan of Rachel Ashwell's style

and she's a lovely woman, too. 

I had the opportunity to visit her store in Santa Monica years ago...

I took in every detail.  My husband was a very patient 'non~hunter'...

As I write I am thinking about all of the different treasures

that I have found over the years...

That would be a fun one to write about.

This pretty print of

MY BLUE BIRD

was hidden under an etched out old mirror

in a  little bent frame.

$1.99.

I stepped out of the store with my little treasure

and went straight for the trash can

to rid myself of the mirror and frame.

What I found underneath was this pretty and very, very old print

of MY  BLUE BIRD 

by Zula Kenyon. 

What a pretty painting of a cute little girl 

enjoying nature.

Now that's my type of hunting.

Beauty for ashes...

I did not grow up with tea cups and crystal.

We used big glasses that Dad won 

at our local county fair to drink from (hi Dad) 

and because my sisters, brother and I were small children, 

we could only use those when we were 'older' 

for special occasions.

Needless to say, I did not appreciate fine china, 

delicate crystal, or shiny silver. 

My world was more about 4-H Club, 

horses, hard work, sports 

and hanging out with my little brother. 

I was a certified tom-boy. 

People thought that my brother and I were brothers.

I did not own a dress,

didn't frequent hair salons, 

and was more interested 

in beating all the boys in my class

at the annual Orleans grade school track meet,

which I did. (insert smiley)

Several years later I came across an interesting book 

about hospitality and how it speaks value 

to guests to offer a beverage in a pretty cup or glass

rather than a paper cup.

This was inspiring to me. 

I just didn't get it before.

I thought those finer things were showy and stuffy.

But now I saw there was more to understand.

So, I went to my favorite junk store 

and searched what was called the treasure chest

for pretty porcelain.

I saw old vintage lace, beautiful sets of china,

dolls, and antique furniture. 

I noticed on an old dusty shelf 

a collection of tea cups sitting in a row.

Some were plain but perfectly kept 

and some were well worn.

Then I saw a pretty little tea cup

with delicate pink roses all around the top 

and covering the saucer that it sat upon.

But then I noticed a crack 

down the other side of the cup

  The voice of reason said 

'it's worthless and broken, it holds no value, it's flawed.'

Then I had other thoughts that sounded like this: 

'That's how I see you...

chipped, broken, and flawed,

yes,

but beautiful, 

valuable,

and a treasure'.

I bought the cup for $1.99 

and cherished it as though 

it was purchased for $1,000,000,000.

One day,

the shelf that my tea cup sat on fell.

More like crashed.

I couldn't throw away the beloved tea cup

that transformed into a 150 piece puzzle. 

I picked it up and put it in a storage bag 

and put it in a drawer to wait there

until I knew what to do with it.

Several years later, 

as I flipped through an interior design magazine, 

I gasped at the sight of a mosaic mirror...

Then an idea... 

BEAUTY FOR ASHES.

I'll make a beauty for ashes mirror 

out of all the broken pieces...

One of my favorite verses

from the Bible is

'He gives beauty for ashes'

When I lay down my broken pieces,

when I let go of my garbage bag

filled with life's pain and disappointments,

and surrender all my brokenness to Him,

He makes something beautiful and valuable out of it.

He's really good at 

recycling, upcycling, repurposing, and restoring.

I still love my first tea cup.

It's even more of a treasure now 

and you can see it's beauty 

in the mirror frame photograph above

surrounding the words 'beauty for ashes'. 

So glad I didn't just throw it away...

the pieces of it's brokenness were used

to create something more beautiful

than what was first there...

life CAN be that way.

My hope 

is that we give everything 

to the One who is Love,

who loves best,

and who sees through all the tears and pain, 

something

beautiful...

xo deborah