of mice and men (and women)

hey y'all,

have been in a funk lately (hence the lag between posts). hubby's recovering from his surgery this summer but just not as easily and quickly as we'd hoped. i think the whole experience has gotten us both out of sorts a bit.

anyhoo, the plan (as teased in my last blog) was to have a contest, complete with a fantabulous prize for the winner. okay, so the best laid plans of mice and men ... blah blah blah ...something something ... go astray. there. a bit of literature for you.

okay. the plan. let's get back to The Plan. it was to be a Naming Contest of my sweet lady bust/statue that i bought at the Best-Estate-Sale-I've-Ever-Been-To in fort worth a few weekends ago. i posted a pic of her at the end of my last blog. isn't she beautiful?!

here's her story, as promised. she used to be owned by a dallas millionaire by the name of bill waugh. yes, i'm naming names. his fortune was in building restaurants. his Casa Bonita in fort worth was apparently legendary for its flamboyant decor and ambience (sadly, not for their food, as i've read).

mr. waugh was an antique collector who traveled internationally to purchase pieces for his restaurants. my sweet lady adorned his Casa Bonita restaurant for many years.

how did she land at this estate sale?

the brother of the deceased was mr. waugh's builder of choice for his restaurants. when Casa Bonita closed, the builder somehow acquired this piece from mr. waugh. it eventually made its way to his sister, who kept it until her death.

her family decided to sell it at the estate sale ... and now she's all mine, for a song too!

i wish i knew more about her. her history before Casa Bonita. how old is she? where did mr. waugh find her? though she doesn't look hispanic, her hair and clothing say differently. never mind that she sat and watched people eat mexican food for years and years ...

the FAGs (and family) think it's obvious that i should call her bonita, as a nod to her past. but (no offense if your name is bonita, bonnie!) i just don't fancy the name. ick, in fact.

i've been mulling over names recently, in hopes of finding the perfect hispanic lady's name for her. and this is where i was GONNA say, "let's have a naming contest! send me your ideas and whoever wins, gets a prize!"

but i lost interest in the contest when the FAGs went out this weekend. we hit a large church jumble downtown and a couple of yard sales. as we were cruising the greater (and i use that term v. loosely) downtown killeen area in search of nourishment, we passed right by a quaint little old house with this sign:


now. don't even get me started on the quotation marks. i mean, what IS it exactly, if it's not "fine mexican food"?!?!

anyhow, the point is, that's my name! i mean, HER name! my bust lady. rosita! can't believe i didn't think of it sooner. as some of you might know, i have an affinity for roses (esp. pink). but i also love the name rose. it was my mother's middle name. so roses have always been v. special to me.

rosita is perfect ... rose with an hispanic flair. love it.

so that's my story and i'm stickin' to it. if you're still with me at this point, good for you! because i'm still having a give-away, it just won't be a naming contest.

here's whatcha gotta do: leave a comment. yes, a comment. on. my. blog. (emails and texts and face to face comments won't count!)

here's what i'll do: put all names (of people who left comments) in a lovely vintage bowl and draw the winner. i will announce the winner next monday (aug. 24, 2009). you have until then to leave a comment.

what you win: okay, this one's difficult. people have differing tastes (and there's no accounting for them either), so i thought i'd offer a variety of items and the winner may choose which one she'd prefer (see pics below).

how fun is that?! i'll mail the item to the winner as soon as the contest is over, barring any unforeseen circumstances that might prevent me from doing so, blah blah (legal crap) blah blah.

good luck!

love and hugs to all,
terry lee

my lovely rosita!

close up of her sweet face

this scary clown pillow was at the church sale. clowns give me the creeps!

this gorgeous painting was on the wall of rosita's "fine mexican food" restaurant (yes, we ate there!). as it happens, rosita's son painted that for her. sweet, eh?

~*~*~*~*~*okay, here are your prize options, should you be the lucky winner! i made them small to save space. click on the pics for a closer look:~*~*~*~*~*~

gorgeous vintage china cup with yellow roses (sorry, no saucer with it)

sweet wall hanger/hook ... says "a family is a little world created by love"

another hanger thingy ... says "dreams are the fruit of the imagination"

suh-weeet blue springy decorative plate (from hobby lobby)

adorable vintage hand-painted salt and pepper shakers