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Thursday, September 17, 2009

Heirlooms Party


I'm a pretty sentimental gal, so I'll be right at home at this Heirloom Party
 hosted by Marie at Emma Calls Me Momma.






I have some great memories of my childhood, and being the oldest sibling in my family, I was of course the first to leave the nest. My Dad's mom and dad were in their 40's when he was born. Old by the standards of 1929, so by the time I came along they were in their late 60's early 70's. One clear memory I have is of my grandmother's upstairs bedrooms that had been my dad's and uncle's, was an old sideboard that contained old papers and ephemera. She had been a schoolteacher for a while, and was a packrat. (Now I know where I get this from) The old sideboard had been her mother's and was crackled with old varnish. It seems that each year a new coat would be put on to "spiff it up". So many layers of darkend varnish were covering an oak beauty.




My parents gave this to me after my husband and I were married. We took it to a professional furniture restorer to remove the many layers of grime and varnish. It was in my Dining Room until we moved to this house, and now it's in our family area in the basement. It has a shelf underneath that holds some silver trays and  collectible Crabtree & Evelyn bisquit tins.





Original Hardware and beveled mirror.




An old Hull apple cookie jar and stove set were also from my Grandmother's kitchen.




The salt shaker met an untimely fate a few years ago,
so I need to give Mr. Pepper his mate back.





This red velvet autograph book is also hers,
with entries from friends which date from 1889.



 I wish I had a "macro" setting so you could see
the handwriting flourishes on some of the pages.




And a foil decal of a bird in flight.




Thank you for letting me share a few of my heirlooms.

Have a sweet day full of memories,
Debra

37 comments:

  1. Enjoyed seeing your treasures and the piece of furniture is beautiful. Always interesting to hear a little history.
    Happy Heirloom Friday ;-)

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  2. Lovely memories. I enjoyed looking at a similar autograph book of my grandma's when I was little. I wonder where it is now?

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  3. I love your heirlooms - especially the hand written notes...those get me every time!

    Alyssa
    lifeoflyssie.com

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  4. What beautiful treasures you have... sweet memories of your grandparents! The oak sideboard is so handsome and your story makes it very special.

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  5. What wonderful heirlooms! The piece in your dining room is beautiful, I love the shelf on the bottom with all the silver on ti too. The old letters and book are my favorite. I have some things like that from my Great-Grandmother that are so much fun to read through. Thank you for sharing your treasures!

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  6. Debra
    Of course I love your heirlooms! There's nothing better than heirlooms, especailly when the story has also been passed down generations! Than you for sharing. I love the sideboard!
    My Best
    Gale

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  7. Have a sweet and lovely weekend my darling.

    Love & Hugs
    Duchess ♥ ♥ ♥

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  8. Wow, what beautiful reminders of your heritage! Wonderful!

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  9. Exquisite sideboard surrounded & filled with loving memories. TTFN ~Marydon

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  10. Oh, your heirlooms are so wonderful. Our family doesn't really have anything left. I think my aunt has a hutch that was my grandmother's and that's it. Our family didn't keep much in the family sad to say. I wish they had.
    You have some very precious treasures.
    Charmaine

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  11. Wonderful post.
    My Grandmother had a apple cookie jar also. Your post brought that memory back to me.
    Thanks for sharing,
    Lois

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  12. Evereything in your home just seems to exude elegance, Debra. LOVE the original hardware on that one piece. Wish I could play along, but I'm stuck at the hospital until 7pm today. BOO work! But I'll enjoy looking at everyone else's cool stuff!
    Have a great weekend!
    Anne

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  13. I love the autograph book. Big time. I buy them whenever I see them. It's always fun to read through the words/names. I always put a book out when I have parties. You can't go wrong preserving good memories. And the sideboard, of course, oak...amazing. I love this post! ~Mindy

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  14. Debra, thanks for thinking of my family during this really difficult time. It's especially going to be hard on her parents having lost another son less than two years ago. I appreciate you so much, T

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  15. Beautiful heirlooms!!! Great story too :)

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  16. You have some wonderful heirlooms! That sideboard is beautful & what a treasure that autograph book is...do you use copies of the lovely script in projects?

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  17. Love the sideboard. And I love the stories about your heirlooms. My hubby's parents were in their 40's when they had him so the items he has from his grandparents are from the late 1800's, early 1900's.

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  18. The sideboard is a wonderful family heirloom! You have it decorated beautifully .I enjoyed the other treasures also.
    ~Myrna

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  19. Just precious! Lovely memories for you too! That chest is just beautiful. Thank you for sharing them with us and please drop by and check mine out too. Have a wonderful weekend.

    Blessings,
    Sandi

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  20. Beautiful heirlooms! I love the sideboard.

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  21. What a beautiful piece of furniture! I'd be moving that all over the his and use it for all kinds of things!
    Brenda

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  22. Hi Debra,
    Wonderful that you have this sideboard to treasure. It is beautiful. I don't have many heirlooms but I do love seeing what others have kept from generation to generation. This had to be a favorite piece of your grandmothers.
    I love the red velvet autogragh book. That thing is just amazing. I think the penmanship in those days was more refined than what I scribble out.
    Hugs,
    June

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  23. I love your buffet and that golden old is just beautiful...How special to have all these things from your family...they are the best kind to me just PRICELESS and hey I have that cookies jar...great minds think alike ha ha!! May you have a great weekend. girl..Hugs and smiles Gl♥ria

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  24. What a beautiful dresser! And I love your banner picture. It's so warm and inviting. Thanks for visiting my blog and I hope to hear from you in the future. I've become one of your followers, so you'll be hearing from me!

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  25. Wonderful heirlooms!!

    I saw your previous posts. What a great shop! Maybe I'll be able to have a look in person, when we go to Branson in November.

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  26. My favorite is the autograph book. I love seeing such beautiful hand written notes. :)

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  27. Thanks for the second visit and for following. That's neat to hear about how your name came about. Thanks for sharing and nice to meet you!

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  28. You have a wonderful piece of furniture and the memories to go with it. Thanks for sharing both.
    Sandy

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  29. I love all of your heirlooms. The sideboard is beautiful! I love the autograph book too! Thanks for stopping by. I like your blog, I'll be back soon to check it all out.
    Hugs,
    Lee Laurie

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  30. I LOVE THIS! What a great idea and I love your memories. How special that you have that stuff. Some of my favorite possessions are the things from my grandmothers (particularly the quilts). Thanks for sharing, wonderful memories.
    Denis

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  31. Beautiful cabinet you showed us./
    thanks for coming by

    blessings

    barbara jean

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  32. Hello sweet Debra - oh how I love that autograph book! Such a special treasure to have and enjoy.

    Thank you for joining the party!

    Blessings,
    Marie
    http://emmacallsmemama.com

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  33. Awe Debra, this is so special! What a great piece of furniture to have from your grandparents! I must say though...my heart dropped when I saw your autograph book. I'm not sure if it was the velvet cover or the beautiful handwriting OR the thought of how lucky you are to have something so special...I just love it! This was a great party!
    everything vintage

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  34. That autograph book is so neat! And, I love your buffet.
    SMiles!
    Michelle

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  35. It really does look so much like my dresser! We have the same blog design too :)

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  36. Oh what lovely treasures you have! The autograph book is amazing! Thank you for stopping by to visit me! I love meeting new blog friends and I will be back to visit often!
    Hugs, Lisa

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  37. I love your heirlooms! I am not as fortunate as you with family heirlooms. I was intrigued by the autograph book. I purchased one from an antique store several years ago. It is read like yours and the owners name was 'Christmas'. I got it for 50% off from an antique store in their after Christmas sale because I convinced them it was 'Christmas' merchandise. It is one of my favorite things. Your blog is lovely.
    Blessings~Hope

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