A 4-year hunt comes to a Happy end!

After being out of bed at the crack of dawn the past few weekends to chase Antique festivals, such as the one in Dublin, Virginia last weekend, it felt pretty great not to have anything on the agenda today. When I opened my eyes at five-thirty this morning, my first thought was, thank God we get to sleep in... And, after I fed sweet Bingee his weekend fancy feast treat, that's exactly what we did. Until noon!

Now there was a couple of things on the agenda today... A friend I work with loved the birdhouse we have in the front yard when she came to visit so I offered to contact my birdhouse connection to order one for her. Of course, I called Frankie whose husband, Darrell builds the most beautiful, handmade birdhouses and feeders! I ordered it earlier this week on my friend's birthday with a promise for delivery today - Such great service! 

Any way, I ordered this one for my friend, which is exactly like mine here; however, as I was scanning Frankie and Darrell's website, I couldn't help but notice this new style... Oh, my! 

Needless to say, it was a Must-have. So we picked

up the one for my friend... And, a new one for me!

After our visit with Frankie and the birdhouse pick, we decided to take a

little ride out to the Liberty Antiques Festival. I know, we can't help it! Ever

since the boys left home, antiquing has become our hobby! But Liberty was

a mess... The festival is held twice a year on pasture property and since it's

done nothing but rain for the past three days, it looked a little like this...

And, I wanted No part of it! So we paid our fee and then ran back to the truck. Then,

we told the nice guy at the gate that we had a pick-up to make at one of the vendor

booths so that we could drive through without getting our shoes dirty... Genius,

I know! However, the weather and the conditions of the grounds had taken

their toll on this festival, so what we found were dealers quickly packing it

in and heading out. So we followed their lead and got out before the herd

had a chance to get moving. On our way home we stopped at a relatively

new antique mall in Greensboro where I found this beautiful piece!

I have been looking for one for four years! Ever since I saw one similar at

the home of a nice woman that hosted a baby shower for a lady I work

with. She had just the meat dome sitting on top of a cabinet in her dining

room. When I asked her where she found it, she told me it was a wedding

gift from her mother who bought it at The Bombay Company. Of course,

The Bombay Company liquidated and closed all stores in 2008. So I've

been hunting... It's the piece I'm always watching out for. But all of the

plated meat domes I find at estate auctions and in antique stores have

never been priced less than $400. I began to think that I'd never find

one at a reasonable price. And then today, out of the blue... I saw this!

It's beautiful. And, nearly perfect! And, not only is it the meat dome I
have always wanted, this is a set that includes the warming tray too!

There is a screw-cap on one end of the tray where it can be filled with

hot water to keep it warming the meat during service, or on a buffet

Have I mentioned yet that I love it?

I really, really do!

This is a piece you build dinner parties around!

This is engraved on both sides...

Latin for, Love of Country Conquers

And, English for, So meant for Me!

I still can't believe it's sitting in my dining room... So worth

getting out of bed for... And, so worth waiting four years for!