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Friday, December 9, 2011

Operation: DEEP FREEZE

Yes, I apologize for the absentee of posts to all of you loyal lookers, but if this story is not blog worthy, I do not know what is! Well, since moving to Arizona I have made tons of good friends and acquaintances, but none quite like my dear friend Ruth. She is such a wonderful and special person words can barely begin to describe her awesome character! She is soooo sweet, so good, so caring, so giving, so much fun....she all around inspires you to be a better person! Here is the rest of the story.......

Earlier this month the colder/ freezing weather abruptly descended upon us here in Tucson. I am aware that most of you probably stereotype Arizona as a "tropical warm paradise" (which it is!), but nonetheless, it is a desert! Deserts are harsh to say the least. They can be warm and sunny during the day, but in the evening the mercury can take a dive swinging 30- 40 degrees. So, my question is this: " If you were homeless, where would you go and what would you do to survive?" Does anyone really truly know the answer to this question? Do we want to know the answer? It is some what like when we were children and asked the proverbial question, "Where do the butterflies go when it rains?" Now, as adults, I direct your inquiries toward a more serious topic of human life/ survival.

Thankfully, the Salvation Army has a program appropriately dubbed, "Operation Deep Freeze". Here, they provide shelter, meals and lavatory facilities for many men, women and children on nights that it is 34 degrees or below. Of course, if you are like me, someone had to bring this serious topic to my attention and that person would be Ruth! She said for several years she has helped these men and provided them with snacks, scarfs, gloves, hats etc., essentially anything to warm their heart, mind and soul! Well, if her humanitarian/ superwoman efforts do not tug at the old heart strings, wouldn't you know, on night two of our joint operation what do we literally stumble upon, but Alan and his service dog Prince!



We walked right past these two snugglers without an inkling that there was even a dog underneath those covers! Fortunately, as we were wrapping up inside the main hall with our distribution of sandwiches, gloves, hats, cheese, bananas and scarves, Ruth tapped my shoulder and said for me to come see something. Low and behold she had uncovered Alan and his dog! Ruth had spoken fondly of Alan and Prince from her previous years experiences, but we had no clue he was right under our cold wet nose!


Prince and Alan were so "zonked out" they did not even know we were there! Quietly, we left a PILE of sandwiches next to their bed along with a slew of other goodies. Naturally, after about a million and one questions to the staff later, carefully they woke the two sleeping beauties and we asked him if there was anything else he or the dog needed. As Alan stared up at Ruth (picture her tall slender celestial silhouette with light blonde halo of hair!) he simply inquired "Do you by chance have a dog sweater!" Can you get the picture!? I mean I'll learn to knit tonight darn it if we cannot buy one! So, what do you think these two (Ruth and I that is) did? Answer: a mission to 24hr Wal-Mart of course!
Off we went into the night to our favorite Wal-Mart we so affectionately dub, "Scary Wal-Mart". Come, come now, do you honestly think we simply purchased just a sweater? No! Long story/ trip short we covered the bare necessities: a Martha Stewart green cable knit, XL sweater (No doubt modeled after one of Martha's prize winning Chow dogs), a bag of dog food, an ultra plush bed, a Christmas toy monkey and my dogs favorite, a "road kill" squeakee toy! Yes, we pondered on outfitting Prince with a new collar, but in the end passed. Yep, that about did it! Back to the shelter we flew laden with gifts. Again, we softly awoke Alan to tell him we were leaving a few things for Prince. Immediately and profusely he thanked us. Alan was so excited to have the warm sweater for the dog because he said he had been shaking on these past cold winter nights. He also said it had been three years since he had provided a Christmas for Prince and that he was so excited and happy to have these toys and things to give to him. He even saved the toys to give to him later because he did not want to spoil Christmas! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH and as if that is not touching enough, the real kicker is when he tells us that he doesn't know how many more Christmases he will have with Prince, since he is 14 yrs old!!!!! Okay, I know this is story is about on par with "Terms of Endearment"! Truly, his genuine and heartfelt appreciation made all our efforts justifiable! So, I guess if you are out and about in Tucson, AZ and see a homeless gentleman and his faithful sidekick outfitted in a stunning green Martha sweater, you will know the lovely story about the man and his dog!

Friday, September 9, 2011

The Locals

Meanwhile, I thought I would tempt/ entertain you with a snippet of my favorite local booths at Copper Country Antique Mall. Trust me, there is much, MUCH more to see, experience and buy if you come for a visit!

I do not personally know this man that has this totally fabulous booth, but WOW! These are all real preserved butterflies! The color is simply electric! and the mounting with the simple wood frame and glass background...Stunning!
Can you not just see these displayed in a wonderfully dim lit library littered, with all types of vintage emphera and accented with Restoration Hardware furniture to boot!





Injected: Above is a page from the newest Restoration Hardware Catalog


Here is my friend Wendy's booth just a stroll away from mine. She has totally fabulous taste and is fully stocked in tons of French finds!




Yet another one of my favorite booths to visit! Trey has an eye for taking your everyday vintage objects and making it memorable! He is sooooooo good at what he does and he works so fast, has the most reasonable prices and is perpetually updating his booth with products! Literally, you have to cruise past his booth at least 3x's a week just to see what is NEW!



I would die for that itty bitty wheelbarrow! Is it not precious!?
Could you not just see it on a kitchen island filled with veggies? or in the fall loaded with tiny pumpkins!? AHHHHH, I want it all!









Yet another vendor an isle over has this beauty for sale for a mere $90.00! Who doesn't want/ need/ desire a spectacular plaster Corinthian column pediment? I can think of about 101 uses for it right this moment! Oh, it desperately needs a good home!

Please stop by for a visit at Copper Country! You will be glad that you did!

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Moving Forward

Finally, I believe I have overcome my move to the West, and now I have been stewing to do something creative. So, why not open a business, again!? Well, this time it is going to be not quite like before when I dove into the deep end of the pool without taking a beginner swim class. No, now I think I am going to easy into this next venture by wading slowly into the kiddy pool.

My new home storefront is located at Copper Country Antique Mall here in Tucson. Upon first glance at the store's appearance from the outside it is quite shall we say, "kitschy"? But, it is great fun inside and a world of treasures!

My Before shot of the booth I have adopted........





During......



Phew, gone is all that clutter and I started with a revamp of the space, new paint and I added 8" tall molding. Everyone laughed as I added molding but I simply could not move forward until this stage was set properly. Now, off to fill the space. I will post a better "After" upon completion. Oh how good it feels to be back in the swing of things. Loving every minute of it!

Monday, August 29, 2011

Alive....but Well?

Well.... I am happy to report back into blog land, but it is sad to say I do not have the accompaniment of my trusty sidekick Trixie (aka: the old computer). She was a good old gal, who navigated me through some troubled times in life and has seen it all, literally! Though we had our difficulties, arguments and disagreements she was none-the-less reliable, even up until her untimely demise. Little was known about Trixie and her inner workings, especially to my surprise I was not aware that she had been built with a, shall we say "Living Will"!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ah HA! Yes, deep inside her striped RAID Zero configured memory she was harboring a deep dark secret she did not want anyone to know about, nor will we ever! Hence the reason she has now shaved TEN years off of my life! Gone! Lost amongst her convoluted, twisted wires and motherboards are all the memories: previous business, pets, Christmas, Halloween, formal events, countless Purchased collage sheets, lists of wholesalers and a never ending favorites category of my favorite blogs! I could go on and on....but I digress.


(Trixie R.I.P.)





Monday, August 1, 2011

Crash and Burn

Hello, this is a different Elizabeth coming to you as a guest blogger. Just call me Liz. I am here to inform you that the real Elizabeth of Elizabelle's is experiencing technical difficulties of a most extreme kind. Her computer has been involved in a horrible crash and is completely incapacitated. The Dr. has advised no blogging, email, surfing, actually no activity of any kind. So not one to disobey Dr.'s orders, Elizabeth won't be able to blog for a while. She doesn't want to let you down faithful reader so I am here to tell you that she will be back, so stay tuned and check in....She will return!
Liz

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

BAD, BAD!, Blogger!



Okay, I must confess...Since my transition to the Southwest I have not been the best blogger on the Internet. I am sorry to disappoint my adoring fans (all SIX!) but I think I am over the moving hump! I think? Well, lets just say I promise to put forth a greater effort to bring you up-to-date on my latest findings and ideas I have stumbled upon while here in Tucson, AZ.




(Image: iStockphoto/ Mark Coffey)




I do not have a good enough excuse for my blogging sabbatical, because it certainly is not due to the lack of adventures and goodies that surround me. Perhaps it is that there is so much to do, see and explore that it has become a popular/ fun distraction for me for months. The "stuff" here is mind blowing and especially for the creative at heart! So, in summation;




I, Elizabeth Perry-Smith,


Do solemnly swear to bring you a blog post, no less than once a week from here on out!


As long as I have a refill for my medication at the pharmacy!




Just kidding, let's regroup and set our sites and inspirations high, after all it is late July and you know what that means? Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas Season, Oh MY! Brace yourself it is going to be a bumpy ride!







Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Cuff LOVE!

If Coco Chanel made it fashionable....



(photo by Man Ray 1935)


and Wonder Woman (Lynda Carter) harnessed it's secret powers....



then, how could I go wrong?

It is no secret that ever since I knew of my plans to relocate to the Southwest, the quest for the holy grail of turquoise cuff bracelets was afoot! I was not quite sure what I was looking for, or what exactly the cost $$$ would be, nor did I know how to identify authenticity, but I know what I like!




ME LIKEY LOTS!



Yes, I am now the proud owner of this uber spectacular, chunky monkey of a cuff bracelet! I literally stumbled upon it at the local Sunday Antiques Fair here in Tucson. Wouldn't you know, I have always had a cuff such as this on my radar, but I had no intentions of finding one this day. I guess it is like finding love, you hunt for it day in and day out, sometimes you are so desperate you are exhausted, and just when you allow your guard to drop...Boom!....Poof! it is right under your nose. Hello beautiful, where have you been all my life?



It fits perfectly to my wrist and is so incredibly comfortable, literally I slept with it on for several nights! It is incredible! Now then, wouldn't a vintage squash blossom necklace be the most perfect pairing with the cuff? Well.....we will just have to wait and see what the future holds! Ahhh, though the suspense is killing me!