The Country Living Fair in Rhinebeck, NY

Aah, the Country Living Fairs. They are undeniably the BEST antique/junk/artisan shows, offering unique, one of a kind items from near and far. Here's a peek of what bel monili saw at the inagural Rhinebeck fair:

Check out this line of people waiting to get in to the Fair!

Blogging friends! Left to right: Jeanne (juNxtaposition), Breida (breida with a b), Lucy (bel monili), Kelly (Eclectically Vintage)

bel monili and juNxtaposition with the Beekman Boys! Left to right: Brent, Lucy, Jeanne, and Josh

The adorable flags adorning the walkways were made by our friends at Modern June

I just LOVE Modern June!!

The South Porch Antiques booth is a bel monili favorite

South Porch Antiques

South Porch Antiques

Red Door Antiques is another favorite of mine...I love her displays!

from Red Door Antiques

one of my very dearest friends Green Bubble Gorgeous was right next to my booth!

I loved EVERYTHING in the Hi Ho Home Market booth...and I can't wait to see them again at the Country Living Fair in Columbus, OH this fall!

Hi Ho Home Market

La Bonne Vie always puts out an amazing display...

La Bonne Vie

I was THRILLED to meet Christina from No. 29 Design blog!

 Whew! It was an amazing weekend filled with fun, beautiful finds, and joyful meetings. I can't wait until Columbus in September!!!

Fantastic 14: Day 5: Common Ground

Take a peek over at Common Ground, and there you will find everything that you'll ever need to satisfy your craving for shabby, chic, handmade, vintage, feminine, frilly...you get the picture.

Debra, the inspiration behind this beautiful blog, began her blogging journey in 2009. Since then, Common Ground has grown to have thousands of followers (and surely at least 10 times as many readers) with an impressive collection of inspirations and projects.

The Common Ground Monday Marketplace is a widely popular "linky party" where Debra invites Etsy shop owners and other online stores of the like to share their pages/websites.  On Mondays and Tuesdays, everyone has the chance to link up their page while they take a look at a finely curated collection of gorgeous boutiques and shops. If you have an Etsy shop or boutique website, I highly recommend it.

On Fridays, make sure you stop by Common Ground to check out Be Inspired Friday, where you'll find links to projects and ideas that will send you SPRINTING for your toolbox and paint.

As if that wasn't enough, Debra manages to find time to fill her own Etsy store with stunning jewelry pieces.

Your time spent at Common Ground is time you will cherish. I invite you to read (and follow!) Debra's Common Ground blog, and while you at it you can see her on Facebook, Hometalk, and Pinterest. Happy reading!

Fantastic 14: Day 4: Knick of Time

Today I am featuring one of my favorite romantic/vintage/DIY blogs: Knick of Time.

Take a stroll (or some clicks...however you like to think of it) through this site and you'll quickly find that you are inspired, excited, and even a wee bit envious. 

Ok, you'll need peanut butter for your jelly sandwich.

(jelly = JEALOUS!)

Angie, the beautiful brains behind this amazing blog, pulls together gorgeous, simple projects and ideas that give a new meaning to the term "fabulous".

On Tuesdays, you can take some time to peruse the amazing bloggers and their pages during 

Knick of Time Tuesday, a highly popular (and very well curated!) linky party.

Through her Antique Graphics Wednesday, Angie shares THE best vintage graphics (gratis, I might add...) to help her many readers take some of these ideas and turn them into reality.

How adorable is this vintage luggage tag graphic?!

As if that wasn't enough, Angie shares a plethora of valuable ideas and projects in her Project Gallery. One of my very favorites is her Furniture Makeovers, where she takes the most ordinary household accessories and turns them into something amazingly special and unique.

Friends, I cannot say enough about Angie and her gorgeous collection of posts at Knick of Time. I invite you to follow the Knick of Time blog, "like" on Facebook, and follow on Pinterest, Twitter, and Hometalk. Happy hunting!

31 Days, 31 Reasons to be Thankful: January 31: Friends

Really...where do I even start with this.

I am, without a doubt, the friend-wealthiest person I know.

What I am about to share with you is a mere slice, a small sampling of some of the people I love. It is in no way a full representation; for those who are not pictured here, please know that I am honoring you in my heart (...ok, or we have a picture and it was bad. There, that was brutally honest.).

As I try to write this, I can't really even come close to being able to name all of the people I love so dearly, so completely...the people who make my life good.

I have friends that have been in my heart since childhood...

Friends from college...

and graduate school.

Friends from jobs I've had...

and places I've lived.

I mean, really, how lucky can a girl be?

If ever there was a reason to drop to my knees and thank the Lord for something, 

friends are it. 

My friends feed my heart and soul. As long as I have them, I know I will never go astray. 

There will never, ever be enough words to express my thankfulness for the friendships I have. New friends, old friends, friends near and far, business friends, work friends...I've got it all.

THANK YOU for seeing me all the way through to the end of my 31 Days blog series! Through this journey I have had a chance to reflect on myself and all of the wonderful things I have to give thanks for. Today, on my last day, it is with a joyful heart that I give thanks for all of you, my newest friends, and look forward to the exciting things that are still yet to come!

Today, how will you honor your friends?

"Think where man's glory most begins and ends, and say my glory was I had such friends."  

-William Butler Yeats