Christmas Blessings

We wish all of our customers, family and friends a joyous Christmas!!

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ[a] the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.' Suddenly, a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.'

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, 'Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.'

So, they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Christmas in Paris

Have you ever wanted to spend Christmas in Paris?

We've been stocking up for Christmas and are getting ready to bring the holiday to Robins in the Trundle Bed. We'll be stocking the shop over the next few weeks! This year, our theme is Christmas in Paris. Imagine yourself in a Paris market!!! We have wonderful Wendy Addison glitter pieces...chandeliers, Paris swags and a fabulous star glitter crown. We can't wait to bring the silvers, creams and whites to the shop and we can't wait to make the shop sparkle. We have vintage rhinestone jewelry, antique white and cream linens, white feather angel wing ornaments and antique white nighgowns and lingerie. You will squeal with delight when you see our winter scene cloches with glittery snow and white Christmas trees. Beautiful vintage Madonna statuettes and stunning Madonna prints will grace the shop. We hope we have everything you have been looking for this holiday season and we invite you to come to our shop to experience a magical Christmas.






Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful. ~Norman Vincent Peale

Princess B, Our Barney Girl

Princess Barney
July 4, 1988 to October 14, 2008

We are so saddened by the death of our loving, beautiful cat, Barney. She came to us with the name Barney (named after Barney Rubble), so we kept her name, but affectionately referred to her as our Princess B. We know so many people claim to have owned the best cat in the world, but we truly did. She was loving and sweet. She used to hold our hands with her paws, and touch our faces with her paws when we held her. She used to love the outdoors and tree climbing and just sleeping on our back patio in the warm summer sun. Our hearts are very heavy now, but also filled with happiness for having had such a beautiful spirit in our lives. We can't imagine life without her, but know that time will heal our pain.

Barney darling: We know you are at peace and we know you are in heaven. We found your red ball today, after it was lost for 17 years. It bounced right into your mamma Sherrill's hand, bringing us all some comfort during this difficult time.




I believe cats to be spirits come to earth. A cat, I am sure, could walk on a cloud without coming through. ~Jules Verne

Thank you our darling princess for being such a wonderful part of our lives. We will love you and miss you forever. Rest in peace our baby girl.



Barney, 1989, paying a visit at the peach tree.

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad

Happy Anniversary to our parents, Jim and Louise Murphy! They were married 52 years ago today at St. Paul's Cathedral in Worcester, MA!
We wish them many more happy years together and shower them with love and God's Blessings!



Love one another and you will be happy. It's as simple and as difficult as that. ~Michael Leunig

Fall is Around the Corner: A Season Adorned

As we poured through the recent edition of our favorite magazine, Victoria, we discovered this beautiful wreath! It somehow makes the idea of a waning summer seem almost bearable, as we look to embrace the next season...fall. For directions to make this wreath, visit: http://www.victoriamag.com/features/a_season_adorned.php

We're off this afternoon to the Red Apple Farm to pick early apples, buy some wonderful homemade jam, and take in the ambience of a late summer day!

Silk: A Class Act on Main Street - Democracy & Dress in America

We were delighted to be able to view a wonderful exhibit on fashion at Historic Northampton, in Northampton, MA. The exhibit, of 18th and 19th century fashions was curated by costume historian, and author, Nancy Rexford. Rexford is author of detailed books on antique shoes and antique clothing, and wrote the forward to one of our favorite books, "Dressed for the Photographer: Ordinary Americans and Fashion, 1840-1900," by Joan Severa. The book contains many of the rare and unusual daggeurotypes from the H-N collection.



Back to the exhibit...our hearts skipped a beat as we saw a pink 1840's two piece ballgown with gold and pink fringe and an exquisite 19th century silk wedding gown replete with wax orange blossoms. The exhibit explored "democracy and dress in America", focusing on class differences as seen in early silk textiles. The exhibit was was artfully arranged and the gallery notes were wonderfully written, with many facts and details.

If you have a chance, you must visit! We guarantee you'll fall in love with the pink gown too!

“O, this life

Is nobler than attending for a check,

Richer than doing nothing for a bribe,

Prouder than rustling in unpaid-for silk.”

William Shakespeare

Our Favorite Things...Faded Fancies

The summer has brought with it many thunderstorms, and we couldn't help but be reminded us of one of our favorite movies, The Sound of Music. In the classic scene, during a thunderstorm, the frightened children join governess Maria in her bedroom. She sings "My Favorite Things" a song that helps her when she feels sad... Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens;
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens;
Brown paper packages tied up with strings...
Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes...

So, these are a few of our favorite summery things...all things old and sepia toned...faded fancies...whites and creams.
White lilies glowing in the moonlight;
A string of Japanese lanterns illuminating a nighttime garden;
A scarlet taninger perched on the back on an antique wicker garden chair;
The splash ring on the tile terrace under the bird bath.
The chickadee wearing its black mob cap as it tucks into our side porch roof each night before twilight.


Little girls with their best loved dolls

Ruffled white dresses (our Great Aunt in 1919)


Brides from long ago




Antique toile


All things French




Old lace


Seashells, white flowers, carousels, tea in the garden, old garden statues...

Kevin J. Murphy, Rest in Peace, 1952-2008

In loving memory of our first cousin and friend, our antiquing buddy, Kevin Murphy. May he rest in peace with his Lord at his side. We will never forget him and his kind heart!

THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD
The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want;
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters;
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for His name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil;
for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the
Lord forever.

Psalm 23



As our family mourns the loss of Kevin, let us pray to St. Therese....From heaven a shower of roses. (St. Therese)

Vacation!

Robins in the Trundle Bed at the group shop at Country Mischief Plus in Templeton, MA will be closed for vacation from July 1 to July 13. The shop will reopen on July 14. As always, you can visit us online at http://robinsinthetrundlebed.com or visit our ebay site at http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZshemarielizabeth to shop for treasures.

Happy Father's Day!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Father's Day to our Dad, Jim Murphy!!! Thank you for being a wonderful, caring, loving and giving Dad! We have been blessed to have you as our father, and wish God's Blessing for you!

Be kind to thy father, for when thou were young, who loved thee so fondly as he? He caught the first accents that fell from thy tongue, and joined in thy innocent glee. "
-- Margaret Courtney

Pray for Peace

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,

In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

John McCrae (1872-1918)

Be Like a Flower and Turn Your Face to the Sun

"The world's favorite season is the spring.
All things seem possible in May."
- Edwin Way Teale

Happy Mother's Day!!!!!!!!!!!

"God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers."

Happy Mother's Day Mom! We love you. Thank you for being such a loving, caring and giving mother! We are blessed to have you as our mother and we wish you God's Blessings!

Sea Shells and Summer Dreams

We're expecting a shipment of seashells and can't wait until they arrive. They'll soon make their way into the shop for you to enjoy! Starfish (blue and white), green and pink sea urchins and other delightful shells are on their way!

Sea Shell

Sea Shell, Sea Shell,
Sing me a song, O Please!
A song of ships, and sailor men,
And parrots, and tropical trees,
Of islands lost in the Spanish Main
Which no man ever may find again,
Of fishes and corals under the waves,
And seahorses stabled in great green caves.
Sea Shell, Sea Shell,
Sing of the things you know so well.
Amy Lowell

May 1 is around the corner!

It's our birthday on May 1, May Day, so help us celebrate! Take 20% off an item on the "Goods' section of our website now through May 15.


Myspace Glitter Graphics



There are three hundred and sixty-four days when you might get un-birthday presents ... and only one for birthday presents, you know.
Lewis Carroll

La Vie en Rose...Nothing Like April in Paris

Even if you can't spend April in Paris, you can close your eyes, listen to this and dream. Il n'y a rien aussi beau que Paris dans le printemps.

first jumble sales of the season!

We dusted off our tote bags and marketing baskets and headed to the market. Not for fresh bread or produce but for fresh finds for our shop! This was our first marketing weekend after what seemed like an interminably long winter. Sunday morning at 5:00 A.M., it felt like winter, still dark out and in the high 20's!!! But the cardinals, robins and sparrows sang the sun up and made it sound like a glorious spring day, even though the heavy cloud cover and brisk wind seemed to suggest an entirely different season! Armed with steaming coffee, and wearing winter coats and gloves, we braved the field, and unearthed wonderful treasures!!! The first market was well worth the wait and the rather ungodly hour! We found three beautiful Mary and child prints (we always seem to gravitate to these and to old leather bound bibles on Sunday morning...guilt that we should be at service?).




We thought we had discovered an early eraser (Sheila decorates her office with these (not every find makes it into the shop!), but on closer inspection after wiping off the dust, we found that we had unearthed an early clothes brush for removing street dust from ladies' skirts. (We could have used this ourselves as the field is entirely comprised of sand!) Other finds included uncut stained glass in beautiful amber and dark green; a handmade box, featuring two women in Edwardian costumes, cheekily plucking a feather or two from a caged parrot to adorn their fancy hats (Imagine!); a candlestick phone table with the original swivel mount still intact; rolled magazine containers with pale green wicker accents (worthy of a Martha Stewart seal of approval); and a wonderful jumble of other finds!!! Keep checking the shop or drop us a note if you see a little gem that intrigues you and merits "gottahaveit!!!" status, as we clean, cobble together, repurpose and price....

tarnished silver, crowns and cabbage roses

This spring we are stocking the store with tarnished silver, edwardian white nightgowns, aprons strewn with fat pink cabbage roses and white wicker rockers. We have a beautiful antique green tray decorated with black silhouettes, perfect for your first patio party of the season! Check out our antique trio of wonderfully shabby cake and bread tins spilling over with antique shredded almanac pages, tintypes and antique brown bottles, with a few beautiful feathers thrown in as if a bird has just flown by! One of our favorite items is a large turn of the century French candy box in rich sepia tones depicting a beautiful woman in a langourous pose. We love the colour of an antique skein of robin's egg blue yarn, just waiting to be made into a shawl to wrap around you on your fisrt boardwalk stroll in June. And as always if you stop by you will find repurposed items, like a locker basket hung as a peg rack to display dresses, or powder pink ballet slippers hung as wall pockets, trailing ivy and hyacinth...

Marketing

Spring is here and it is time for rummaging, marketing, brocanting, treasure hunting, and lawn sales. We can't wait to show you what we discover!

Spring Has Arrived at Robins in the Trundle Bed

How fitting that we at Robins in the Trundle Bed spotted our first robin, the harbinger of spring, a few days ago! We were driving by an abandoned stone church when we saw Mr. Robin on the lawn. We were so thrilled to see him that we turned the car around so we could go back and get a better look at him!

The birds are singing in our neighorhood...a true sign of spring that robins bring is their gift of song. It is said that a robin seen is passing through; a robin heard has come home!

We're excited that spring is here and we are still busy adding touches of spring to the shop. Enjoy some new photographs of the shop.

This wonderful chalkware lamb has a new wreath for spring



Nests filled with eggs are all around the shop to remind us of spring.







This beautiful portrait of a little girl is currently available in our shop. She is framed in a wonderful original antique walnut frame.








This whimsical garden statue sports a 1920's wedding veil and floral crown. She stays incognito with this wonderful vintage mask.





We adore old clocks, whether they are in working order or not. This wonderful clock case has become a nesting place.



Our shop mascot, an Edwardian deco statue, is filled with our calling cards...She awaits your visit as do we....