is this mayberry?

On one of the days I was in Illinois, Mom, Deb and I decided to partake of tea at the LaTeaDa tearoom in Clinton. Dolly, my faithful Google navigator, guided us there. We doubted her several times but she knew exactly what she was doing. The tearoom room was packed and our lunch was great, but Deb and I sat and fantasized about how we would improve upon it. We redecorated the space, redesigned the menu and the tableware. I should have taken pictures. We based our decorating on the beautiful yellow and brown stained glass windows that would compliment my extensive collection of lustreware teapots. Our desserts would be adorable and beautifully presented.

After lunch we took a slow ride through Clinton where I saw and fell in love with my dream house.



Deb meandered slowly around this house that took up a whole block so that I could oh and ah over it while I photographed it.



As we were slowly rounding a corner we suddenly spied a truck behind us. This is a small town and there isn't a lot of traffic. Deb turned the corner and let the truck pass.



After I had satiated my thirst for photos of the house we continued to drive through Clinton taking in the architecture. City Hall and the Catholic Church. As we drove past City Hall a man pointed to our car and yelled to the police officer across the street, "Jake, this is the car that was holding up traffic." Mom and I heard him and reiterated this to Deb. Deb thought surely he must not have said this until Jake starts cruising behind us in the Clinton police car. We turned a corner, Jake turned a corner. We started heading to the outskirts of town and Jake escorted us.



A small town Mayberry moment (more like ten minutes that we were harassed by Jake). Deb was a bit irate and terrified as she was the one doing the driving. Mom and I were also uncomfortable. I hope Jake didn't scare them away and they will both come visit me when I move into my dream home.

treasures

Treasures I found in gift shops on a recent trip to Illinois to visit my family include a hand beaded coral necklace.



Ayala Bar necklace



Sweet Romance necklace



exquisite Chinese glass earrings



and these inexpensive but unusually beautiful John Fashion shoes. These I can't wear to work.



but these I can.

day off

This is Adam Lippes. I became acquainted with him on my day off. Not in person though....too bad. :-(



This store opened on Main Street about two years ago. On Friday I braved the rain and took a walk up and down Main Street in the village. I had looked in the window of this store before...a very open space with a few racks of women's clothes on either side. A pretty dark-haired girl popped up off the sofa to greet me...eager to have a shopper in the store. I browsed the racks of high end designer clothes. Everything seemed to be priced $375. Blouse...$375. Skirt...$375. Dress....$375. There was a rack of sale items marked down to $300. Curious about the background of this store and how it got it's start, I struck up a conversation with her. She explained to me that Adam was born and raised in Buffalo. She and her husband had attended Nichols School with him. Adam graduated from Cornell with a psychology degree and then continued his studies in Paris where he focused on art history and architecture. He worked closely with Oscar de la Renta for seven years. The clothing Adam designs is sold in over 250 stores in 10 countries around the world. He now has a flagship store in NYC where he lives and designs. He has recently added three more free standing stores. One in Bryn Mawr, PA, one in the Hamptons and this one right in my little village of Williamsville. She said Adam called her up and asked her to work in the store now that her children are in school. We continued to talk and I found that she had recently moved back to Buffalo from Chicago's Lincoln Park area. So we had another nice talk about about Chicago.



Pumpkins and The Jacqueline Shoppe have both been in business even before I moved to Williamsville. The Jacqueline Shoppe has a reputation for being the place to go for Mother of the Bride dresses. They have always carried a number of lines of nice clothing and I have often found something on the sale rack as did on this day.



While I was in the shop I ran into my friend, Mary Alice, who always saves my spot for me in my Total Body Workout class at the BAC. She was looking for a dress for her son's wedding.


Pumpkins



My afternoon was spent sharing a bottle of wine with my good friend, Barb. We drove over to her daughter, Alex, new studio apartment on the edge of Glen Park. The apartment wasn't set up yet. We went so we could drag a heavy armoire in a box that UPS had delivered a little earlier in the day down a steep flight of stairs. This is Alex's new espresso click clack.


and her cute little kitchen that was way cuter when I saw it later complete with new bistro table and chairs.


And this is her view out her window....Glen Park.



and her back patio where I can picture little elves and fairies.

tax day

Not a lot of work gets done at an accounting firm on April 15th. I brought in breakfast. Five different kinds of muffins baked over two evenings time.



I organized a swap party for a little something fun to do but there were only a handful of us who thought it was fun so this won't be repeated next year.



I came home with a soup cookbook and a brand new pair of Jody Coyote earrings.



The girls in the back held their annual basketball shoot tournament...with prizes this year. Katie takes a shot.



and another



while the boys wait their turn



Every year I host a different tax game each week. I had a dozen prizes left in my Box-O-Surprizes. Last year I had a balloon popping game to get rid of the leftover prizes. This year I held a free Chinese auction.



The most sought after prize was these beer goggles which were put to good use at the evening party.

daffy down dilly

Golden expanses of daffodils are everywhere. I see these on Essjay on my way to Wegman's.



I wish I could stop on my morning drive to work on the 33 to snap photos of the fields of them I see on either side of the highway.



This little duck is living among them. Soon I will have to be watching for families of Canadian geese crossing Essjay.

melancholy twilight

I have mentioned before in my blog that twilight is my favorite time of day. I had a particularly long and frustrating day at work yesterday....the last Saturday of tax season. So when those long low rays of orange light started to peek through my western window as I was starting dinner, I had to stop and catch my breath. It is a moment of such intense beauty but also of sadness...a reminder that one more day of my life is coming to an end.



After coming to grips with myself I dashed for my camera to catch some of these fleeting scenes. They were changing and shifting before my very eyes.



This elusive orange glow lasting only minutes.



Come have a seat and bask in the glow.



Reflection of hallway blinds on the bedroom door



Sinking lower

a walk in jay's yard