Violet Annie's Cottage and the Pop-up Shop

If you were very lucky and you lived in Hawke's Bay you just might have been fortunate enough to have received one of these gorgeous invitations in the last week or so:

My dear & innovative friend Gaye has been preparing her little cottage "Violet Annie's" for some time as a Home Stay & in the midst of her industry had the lovely idea to have a Pop-up Shop, just for one day. I was delighted to be invited to join in as a bringer of magpie things : ) So, with my little car loaded to the roof with tea trolley, card table, vintage suitcases & the such-like I arrived on the door step on a glorious, well, quite scorching really.. summers day. I knew I had arrived at a happy place when I was greeted at the top of the (bumpy..it's rural) drive & at the Violet Annie gate by these fluttering scarf bunting.

 an old tin bath filled with salvaged china & summer white petunias

hollyhocks & lace

 and then there were visitors, lots of visitors through the morning & afternoon

 including a wee friend..

and a lovely
grand daughter

With all of Gaye's effervescent, creative flair & a little essential help from good friends the cottage had been transformed in to a magical retreat-in-progress & cute-as-anything temporary shop. Pretty treasures & beautifully hand made things on every surface & around every corner.

just a little of Gaye's lovely work

  cute little row of knitted slippers..they were Pene's innovation

this lovely table & chairs have seen a very recent revamp & will be part of the Home Stay setting

 so much fabulous vintage linen

love this blue door in the kitchen

& this perfect picture on the living room wall

a "Port'O'Call"
style ensemble : )
Funny that.

Such a wonderful setting; private, rural, yet not very far out of Napier.

Olive, walnut & apricot
 trees spill down the
 hillside.

 .. such lovely old fashioned plants in the gardens. How intriguing to discover this double head on this moss rose growing over the fence.

a delightful double red geranium thrives in a hot dry spot just outside the door & is wonderful for picking

my little stall : )

 such sweet, very good friends, these two

the four of us: me, Gaye, Christine (veteran supporter, ironer & fab florist!) Pene..treasurer extraordinaire!!
& perennial teller of tales..many a murmmuring from those lips of 3 or 4 Pop-up Shops a year! ; )

there'll be more tales from Violet Annie's Cottage in the not too distant future, of that I'm certain.

'til then

 very MUCH

 XX

 22/2/11 PS .... a wee update: you can now book a romantic stay or relaxing getaway (should you not require romance ; ) at Violet Annie's Cottage here: http://www.holidayhouses.co.nz/properties/20030.asp
Yahoo!!