Happily Ever After

Wow, where has the time gone?  The summer has flown by and it certainly has been a busy one with a myriad of changes!  Let me try to catch you up with the short version!  We sold our farmhouse and moved to a rental house, but shortly after in God's providence, we found a beautiful, old Victorian in town and moved again.  Smack in between the two moves, my sister, Carla and (wonderful new brother-in-law) Joel, were wed on August 30!  She had asked me for help and I was more than honored to style their rustic barn venue with the vast array of vintage treasures that I collect in abundance!  I hope you don't mind that I share a few photos of that splendid day!

{All photography by D & E Image}

My Grandpa crafted all the beautiful wrought iron pieces, including the candelabras and kneeling bench.  These were the same pieces used in my wedding as well!

Oh how I have missed you!  As we get more settled into our new home, I can finally begin to see glimpses of normalcy on the horizon and hope to soon be back on track with my blog and shop again.  And guess what?  It snowed here today (of course, I couldn't resist the urge to crank up some Christmas music!)  Which caused me great excitement to announce that I am thrilled to be included again in Jennifer Rizzo's most inspiring Holiday Housewalk!  This virtual tour of jaw-dropping festive Christmas homes begins the first week of December and the very first reveal of our new home (decked out for Christmas!) will be one of the house stops so please come back again for a look-see! 

A Little Sneak Peek- Part 2

All set up and ready for tomorrow!  What a big task to accomplish, but I am finally all done!  Yay!  Here is a little sneak peek of my Antique Barn Moving Sale!  Do you see anything you would like to take home with you?  Oh, I hope so! :)

The sale is located at 10128 S Lucas Rd. Mc Bain, MI 49657.  It starts tomorrow, Friday, June 20 from 1 pm to 6 pm and Saturday, June 21 from 9 am to 2 pm!  I would love to have you stop by and say hi!  Now it's bed for me!  I am exhausted!  See you tomorrow! :)

Antique Barn Moving Sale- Part 1

Firstly, thank you, THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts.  The incredible outpouring of love and encouragement from you all has literally uplifted us to a place of peace with confidence over all that is transpiring before us now! :)  

I also thought to share a few of the larger items that will be available for purchase at my Antique Barn Sale.  With their bulkier size, I figured it might be easier to give you a heads up on them to plan accordingly on coming for them.  If you desired to purchase any, just send a message to me at mgmarcusse@gmail.com to stake your claim.  You may pay and pick up the day of the sale or any time after up to moving day on July 13.  I can also take a Paypal payment as well!  May I ask that if you claim them now, please honor and see it through to the purchase and pickup.  

Thank you very much! :)

Large ornate floor mirror.  It measures 42" wide and 84" tall.  

Price~ $685.

Garden house of windows.  

Price~ $350.  

Note:  The birdhouse and post will also be available for purchase at the sale as well!

Vintage primitive manger.  

Price~ $145.

Garden gazebo.  (It can be taken apart for easier transport!)  

Price~ $60.  

Note:  The wooden wall pockets will also be available for purchase at the sale as well!

Shabby architectural header.  

Price~ $125.

Massive wooden columns from an old school house in northern Wisconsin.  They measure 10' 8" tall.  Price~ $850 for the pair.

This is just a smidgen!  You will find tons more including vintage French bottle drying racks, European goat cart, cast iron sink, vintage beds, chairs, benches, stools, cupboards, antique quilts, vintage scales, home decor, seasonal, ironstone, vintage laundry carts, architectural salvage and much, much more!  Stay tuned, I will be sharing a few more photos soon!  The sale dates are Friday, June 20 from 1 pm to 6 pm and Saturday, June 21 from 9 am to 2 pm at 10128 S Lucas Road Mc Bain, MI 49657. 

Hope to see you there!  :)

Thank you, THANK YOU all again!

A Moment of Truth

There comes a time in all blog journeys when bloggers are faced with the extremely sensitive question of how personal do I get?  How much do I disclose?  What parts of me do I share with you?  How vulnerable do I allow myself to be here?  I have just reached that fine point in time in my blogging experience and have decided to go for it and share a bit of intense truth with you.  Deep breath.  Ok, here goes!  Please be gentle with me! :)

Big changes are happening over here and we have embarked on a new adventure.  Let me elaborate.  My husband Karl and I have been married almost eight wonderful years and have struggled from the very beginning to have a child.  We desire so strongly to have our own family that it has become a continuous throbbing pain in the very deepest part of our souls.  Oh we are getting very good at hiding it, and can go about our life as if nothing is broken inside, but some days I crumble when I see the hope diminishing from my husband's eyes.  

We have now reached a breaking point, and after spending hours on our knees in prayer for direction, we have come to the realization that the fulfillment of our biggest hope will take big sacrifice.  Thus we decided to put our farmhouse up For Sale by Owner with a plan to rent for a while to save up money for adoption.  AND guess what?  Our house has SOLD already!  Yes, it is bitter sweet and I shall miss this old farmhouse that has become home to us in every sense of the word and, of course, my spacious gardens, and our large barn from which I host my antique barn sales, but sacrifice is sacrifice.  Karl and I are excited to face this new chapter in our lives and move forward!  I will be hosting one last gigantic Antique Barn 'Moving' Sale here this Friday, June 20 from 1 pm to 6 pm and Saturday, June 21 from 9 am to 2 pm.  I have been super busy sorting through our entire house and getting the barn ready for the sale!  I would love to have you stop by and please bring all your friends!  I hope to take a few photos of the sale and post here soon to show you!  I will also be loading up the shop with favorite items that need to move on to better homes as well!

We still aren't sure where to go from here, but through much prayer and a maturing of our faith, we know that we are in Awesome Hands and can feel our Lord's gentle (sometime firm) nudging behind us instructing us in the way that He has laid out.  When we turn to our own way, we crash headfirst into the roadblocks put in our path, but can still feel encouraged that there is a window open somewhere else.  It isn't easy to walk by faith and not by sight, but we know we do not go at it alone.  Whatever happens in the end, we have great peace that God knows what is best for us.

Thank you for letting me open up a bit for you all to peer inside.  I hope I have not scared you away with my moment of truth.  During the next couple weeks as we pack up and move, I might not have time for impressive blog posting, but I will surely keep you all informed throughout our journey and of course the shop will remain open right up to moving day, so please don't stray too far away! :)

Note:  Everything found in the above photos can be purchased in the shop soon or at my upcoming Antique Barn Sale!  Hope to see you there!  :)

A Memorial Day Sale!

Happy Memorial Day!  What are your plans for the long weekend?  I love summer holidays, don't you?  It looks like the rain has cleared out for a while and it is a beautiful day today here in Michigan!  I can finally open up all the windows and doors to let the warm air in!  Yeah!  I absolutely love summer!  I couldn't resist having a little summer holiday sale this weekend at Shop Rusty Hinge!  Want to take a gander?  Please *Click Here*. 

On another note, I went into town to pick up some groceries this week and came home with one of my favorite magazines!  Oh, oh, oh there is a very familiar French ironstone bowl of cherries on a very familiar railroad cart coffee table right on the front cover!  I still can't believe that our old farmhouse is featured there!  A huge thank you to all who made it possible!  To read all about the photo shoot, please *Click Here*.  You can pick up the Spring/Summer 2014 issue of Best of Flea Market Style anywhere such as grocery stores and bookstores or you can have it shipped right to your door, simply by clicking *Here*.  You will also spot the gorgeous home of Tracey from French Larkspur in this issue as well!  Congrats, Tracey!  I love, love your feature!  :)


Happy Memorial Day!