Willow Nest : Burton,TX

Today I have much to say. You can see from my title that I have three separate topics, but they all connect.  Let me dive right in with MILESTONES…I am hitting a wonderful milestone, September 28th is my 65th birthday, it is also the day Marburger Farms opens, a very big day. I have many friends and family coming to celebrate with me.About the love letters,  I owe love letters to all  the people who have come into my life,  have been my teachers, have  loved me, cheered  me, cared for me, played with me, grown with me…. the descriptions of love could take  pages, the teachers,I have had are many, I have been loved the most wonderful people, lucky me. Milestones, should be acknowledged, given  honor, like when  you turn 16, or 21, or the big 50…. I remember all those days,quite fondly actually…. I have a delightful story about Ludmil when I turned 5o…. talk about a playmate, most do not get to see this side of him, those of you who have, know of what I speak.

At 65, some big changes are taking place, for many months now we have been discussing how we wish to move forward into the next 10 or so years. We moved to Texas 3 years ago to open a store in Fredricksburg, TX. we spent 6months living there ,made the decision that a store there was not for us. We discovered Burton,I fell head over heels in love with this little village and we moved here..doing shows in Round Top ,only 8 miles away. We also have our Houston and Austin shows, a short drive away, and then there is the other travel to Kansas City, Tulsa ,Oklahoma , Atlanta, the West Coast, Ohio…. the list gets bigger each year… miles and miles of road traveled, days and days away from home, it has been an adventure,  a great adventure, with  rain, mud, wind, hail, and oh YES remember the little tornado up in Canton,..  we have for many months been discussing  just how long we want to stay on this trail AND, we have decided it is time to tie up the horse and go back to our original plan of  opening  our store…  again we  took to the road ,looking for the perfect place ,after many considerations, have picked McKinney, TX. to be our new stomping grounds. We have listed , this wonderful little house  for sale.We have looked at a couple spots for a store on the square in the Historic neighborhood of McKinney ,there are a couple considerations,so we are off to a brisk start.  We are very excited, our wonderful Realtor Pat has a few people asking about this house already,things are moving fast as these things always do once you set them in motion. Our dear friends from Patina Green, are welcoming us with open arms, and that has meant so much. To know that we will simply support and enhance one another is such a comfort, I wouldn’t expect anything but that kind of welcome from them and if you are lucky enough to know them you know this is true, finer people you will not meet.. which takes me full circle on this post…. all the people we have shared this news with have only offered complete encouragement and support .I have many more  love letters to write, for I love that people believe in us and support our decisions.

For Ludmil to have the time to devote to his craft,and his creations is going to be such a  welcome situation, you won’t believe what he has planed.  This need to have more time has been a driving force in this decision. We will have a wonderful place to show case his things for all to see many days out of each month, rather than a couple days out of each month…

NOW for all who think this decision was made because I am turning 65…. oh no, I don’t think so…… you are only as old as you feel, and my heart and soul tell me I still have a lot of life to live, a lot of love to give… and glitter to spread far and wide… I can’t wait to get this show on the road…. long  post I know, thanks for going to the bottom of the page…… and thanks for all the love you send our way, we are blessed. Love Linda..Ludmil too!

We just got back from our show in  Tulsa,OK., unloaded the van, pulled new merchandise from the store and began to reload,for the Red Barn.Some people ask,” why don’t you just leave the van loaded and add to it”? but noooooooooooooo that would never do ( some people, is ME…) we always start off with a fresh new look, a change in  the pallet , and this time even a mood change. I was doing a romantic look for Tulsa, also  for our show at Sweet Peas Birthday celebration, but for this show we will be far more tailored than usual.Ludmil is an amazing packer and he likes to take it all out and begin again, so since this is his department, this is how we do it, and I must say I am always glad, although I like to make it a little easier on him when I can, but this method has worked well for us for a long time, so no changes need to be made in that department.

Ludmil has created a great Arbor that is self supported, it could be placed anywhere, or even moved if need be,and we have two large white, lovely urns flanking the arbor, a French iron based table with a marble top, a 7ft. white farm table, a very rustic garden table, with a cement top, a lovely maiden statue, and two cement small columns..  a French styled buffet, lovely…. one industrial table, it is tall and long,a beautiful collection of religious saints , some with their original domes.. a  group of  hard to find saints….you simply must come out and see what I am talking about.. also so many other great vendors do this show with us, it is one of our favorite, as we get to see everybody..all together…. set-up is fun because we are all buzzing around saying hell-o.I know some of our blogger friends will take photos so you can see how this all looks, but really it’s best if you just come and see for yourself.

Almost immediately, we leave for Kansas City where we will be joining the Bottoms UP Show, we have never done this show, but sweet Gwen from Marburger and her sister Terri, who gave me a beautiful scarf that I admired from Paris… are hosts, and we can’t wait as this is a real “show off show” where we will have lots of room and can spread out. There will be live music on Fri. nite .This is a very lively area of K.C. off 12th st, by the bridges.

We need to rush right back to prepare for our little Summer Soiree… here in Burton,TX. at Willow Nest….on July 10th..  701 Main St. 77835

Mel and Bryan will be right behind us , as they are joining us, Theresa and Cruz… Camille and Scottie, and Allison and Rick, who you know from La Bahia… and here I thought we were going to have a quiet little summer.. NOT!!! come see us at one of these fun events, at least ,and say Hell-o.. or come to all of them…. !!!

Must go get the final little things ready to tuck in. Love Linda

Hard as I try I can not seem to do all that I wish to make what I want to happen on this #$%@*** computer of mine!

We are so honored to have been chosen for the cover of Porch Magazine,  now available from Count Your Blessing. I had the pleasure of being asked to join Polly’s group of sellers on line but am a dismal failure for her.I don’t know how to get it all where it needs to go or in the correct format.She even provided a BUTTON…to show you how to order,  to download, or attach or scan or  ….(mind you I am using all my computer language here) but my attempt at getting her button did not work for me, so go to her website and take a peek, you will be glad you did, it is lovely.BUT just this morning, I did learn somehow to capture a photo that was taken in our booth in Hico, I call it , CABBAGES & ROSES…. so I am using it instead , will look for BUTTON..later, sorry Polly and thank-you again for sticking by me.Go to Polly’s site and order the magazine, it is lovely, a lot of people you know and love are on the pages.

I do have just one other giant triumph to report, I posted a note about our upcoming Summer Soiree  on July 10Th , here in Burton.  I knew I had to come up with a postcard to send a.s.a.p ,as the time would fast be approaching… My dear friend Gloria said she used a program on line, so I goggled “invitations” and after 2 hrs….. imagine this.. I DID IT.! Back and front… colors, choose fonts ALL by myself.. now I know for most of you this must seem simply absurd , for me it is a BIG DEAL…. I am so full of myself at this very moment.. Miss Theresa Cano, the champ of all blogging issues , happened to call,  I was so glad as I had wished to tempt her into joining us for the Summer Soiree..guess what,  she has agreed!  Camile and Scottie also are joining us and one more waiting to be confirmed.. stay in touch ,you won’t want to miss out..  it should be a grand time for all… anyway I simply could not wait to shout out about my improved  computer skills today..  now the next trick will be to master cut and paste, and grabbing those buttons….I love little tiny successes it makes me smile all day….. sometimes it dosen’t take much does it?

Love Linda

Hell-o dear friends,

We have had a lovely end of May spree with family and dear friends, and now it is time to get busy getting ready for our upcoming shows..

You can find us this SAT. in Athens, TX. with all our buddies from Winnie and Tulula’s and the Sweet Pea collection.. we have been invited to share in their first year birthday party.. and since I have never had a “FROZEN RITA” I had to r.s.v.p…. and I swoon over mini cupcakes, so it was a must. We will be bringing a collection of Romantic whites, with soft blue accents and several of my little creations… I am in my romantic mood for June, we are looking soft, dreamy, cool and fresh for a summer day. Please join the whole group in wishing them all continued success. It starts at 10a.m. till 5…. but I think the Rita’s will be ready WAY ahead of 5p.m… can’t wait.

Our next little event takes us to Oklahoma, Tulsa , as a matter of fact..  here is their website so you can get the details…  www.VintageTulsaShow.com…the show begins on June 19/20, if you are in the area come see us, we would love to meet the people who follow us in that part of the country.

We come home just in time to set up here in Round Top,TX. for the Big Red Barn summer show, the 26/27 of June… we always see so many people at this show, it’s like old home week, that is probably because it is right here  in our back yard. I still have the B available for rent if someone is looking for a place to stay.. just leave me a comment and I will get back to you.

We have one more  wee surprise, which I will detail later.. but on July 10th, here in Burton, at our store we will be hosting a little soiree of our own, with guests Melony and Brian from Seed Box, and a couple other vendors you all know and love.. stay tuned, but mark your calender now for July 10, as this will be a very special  gathering.. hope you are enjoying these first lazy days of summer, I know I am. Love Linda

Christie here! Oh it’s been so long since I’d been out to see sweet Linda and Ludmil! Every time I go and visit them, it’s so refreshing. The simplicity of their home in Burton paired with their welcoming arms makes me want to move right in! While it’s not in my future to do so, I do enjoy the visits and want to make more every time I come away from there.

This trip was a bit social and a bit business (for my business!), but I always take my camera with me to capture a few of their lovely things. See the photographs below for a few of their latest offerings!

Large Boxes: $35

Small Boxes : $25

Large Boxes: $35

Small Boxes : $25

Collage : $20

Bridal Cone : $25

These lovely embellished bottles are $20 each.

And my little helper came along with me. Linda dressed her in these beautiful pieces and Juliana couldn’t have been happier!