Little Did I Know....

...how much I would love this blanket chest when I bought it so many years ago.

My brother, sister-in-law, husband and I used to go to a monthly auction in High Springs. This auction was frequented by many of the antique shop owners that we had come to know from our favorite haunts. When they were bidding on something, I felt pretty good about bidding as well. I thought they probably knew a lot more about the value and authenticity of the items than I did. I also knew they would stop bidding when they got to what they considered the wholesale price because they would have to pretty much double what they paid to get their asking price. Many times I out bid them by just a tad and they would come over to me afterwards and tell me that if I ever changed my mind and considered selling said item, they would be happy to give me an offer.

Now, I am not by any means an antique aficionado. I do not buy things to make money on resale. I buy from the gut. I buy what I like and what talks to me. And, I am usually right. I still have most all of the things that "talked to me" and I just had to have. I think my one purchase that has gone by the wayside was the goat cart. It was authentic and I loved it. It came into my home when I was a lot more "country" and served as a coffee table, side table and even as a stand- in for a sleigh to hold Christmas gifts one year. It was big and after awhile I tired of it. It then made its way out to the garden and held plants for many years. After awhile, the Florida elements had their way with it and little by little pieces started falling off until one day it was pretty much nothing more than rusty wheel forms and a few loose boards. I was sad but, to everything there is a season.... I am sorry that I let an authentic piece of history slip away but I have gotten over it.

So, back to the blanket chest. This chest sits in my livingroom next to a chair. It has a fair amount of surface area that I delight in decorating for each holiday. I love it for just that reason, but when Christmas rolls around it reminds me of how lucky I am to be its owner. This unimposing chest holds all of my decorations from the livingroom and kitchen(except the really large things, greenery, and pillows)! It is a bottomless pit. I just keep putting in and putting in and it happily accepts my offerings. It will never know how much I appreciate it because just having everything from one room stored in one place makes putting out and putting away so much easier. So, you see, I HAVE started taking down Christmas and putting up Valentines. I am cheating a bit this yeaer as I am leaving almost all of the red, white, silver and mercury glass things where they were and will use them again for Valentines. I am just adding tags, ribbons, etc. and calling it a day.

Don't have any real pictures to show you as we are still in a state of upheavel and I have to head out in a few minutes. Give me one more day and I should be ready to start the reveal. Also need to start thinking about Valentine craft projects for this year. Where does the time go? Stay tuned.


The next time you see this chest, it will be decked out in its Valentine finest!!