This morning, I was up early to prepare breakfast for our overnight guests. As I was moving around the kitchen, I looked up as I always do to look out of our large window towards the river and the horizon. To my great surprise, there stood one of two twin deer. I ran from the kitchen to grab my camera. As I made it back to the kitchen, I noticed that she had moved over to the sun room just off the kitchen. There she stood just at my back door! It was as if she was thinking about coming in. It is the closest they have ever come to the mansion. It was just amazing!

She moved to the side of the mansion and joined her twin and grazed for a few minutes. I so much wanted a good shot of them as the grazed, so I quietly opened the door and stepped out. Just as I bent down to view them under the branches of the tree, I caught sight of their white tails as they bounded into the woods beside the house.

What a great start to the day!

Yes, you guessed it!

We had another furniture deliver today from Gates Antiques!

Look what came today!

The Corner Cupboard we won last week has arrived!

An Inlay Chess Table for the library!

A 1776 Chest for the Hipkins-Bernard Room!

A Wardrobe to place the 32 inch television in for the Hipkins-Bernard Room!

The Conway Room now has a 1730 rare Acorn Tester Bed! 

It is made of Poplar but stained to look like Mahogony. 

We just need to finish the Canopy for the top!

The Conway Room has a Linen Press to hide the 32 inch television!

We are going to add curtains to hide it behind the glass.

A Card Table for the Library

The Madison Room with its new blue wall color is almost done!

We received this 1730 Mahogany Tester Bed.

We just need to add the Canopy.

Remember this Federal Line Press they were working on?

It is finally here and done!

A Tilt Top Table for the Madison Room!

Two End Tables for the Madison Room….

But there is a surprise with these!

They are wash stands!

Got the marble end tables and lamps in place in the Turner Room.

And added a Wardrobe to hide another television!

Check out these hard working guys!

They are from Gates Antiques!

They have worked up a sweat moving furniture around the Mansion!

Thank you Jamel and John!

We also got some mirrors in place

Two Gilded Mirrors on the West and East walls of the Formal Dining Room

And another larger mirror over the fireplace in the Formal Dining Room.

What else could we ask for today?

Wait there was a little

“Surprise”

this morning when I went to let Hurley out!

Yes, we have decided to call our little skunk “Surprise” which was suggested by one of our readers!

But I don’t think “Surprise” is going to get to stay. 

We can’t have “Surprise” showing up to greet guest.

That would be Hurley’s job!

So tomorrow I will be contacting Animal Control to trap and relocate “Surprise”.

Hurley has agreed not to go on strike.

To see more purchase for Belle Grove

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I have to tell you, things are starting to move along at a faster pace now. We are down to about 30 plus days before we open. We have had to push the date several times due to delays, but I think July 1st is going to be the date!

I almost feel like I am neglecting you because I am not writing as much or being able to read your blogs as much. I hope you will understand my absence for the next month or so! I am trying to get pictures in everything I do so you will have a chance to enjoy the fun with us!

This week, I have had my nose in the computer most of the day working on our Official website text. We hope to have it complete and ready to launch by mid-June. I’m not sure if we will have the photographs ready by that point, but at least we can get the site up. Depending on how firm the July 1st opening date is, we may even be able to start taking reservation by mid-June! So get ready and watch for the launch date!

I did get a break yesterday. I needed to go to Richmond for the day to finalize the fabrics for the rest of the rooms. It was great fun! Of course I didn’t have to look at tons of fabrics since we pretty much picked out the whole house last time. We just needed to get a few rooms done that we didn’t get to before.

I also got to see some of the furnishings that we have already purchased. It was so cool to see them standing in the shop with at red “SOLD” tag on them!

I got to see some of the items we are having restored. They are doing such a great job with them! One was an Acorn Bed we purchased for the Conway Room. They have been working on the finish and had the first coat on! It was amazing! Just to see it together and with the details just took my breath away. I knew it was beautiful, but never knew it was going to be this beautiful!

They have been working on our bed for the Madison Room. They showed me the rail from this 1810 bed that they were adding some length to. It is amazing how they do it and make it look like it was always a part of the bed!

They had our Federal style Linen Press for the Madison Room in the workroom. They had it broken down and were making adjustments to the shelves so we can house a flat screen television in it. They were also making repairs to the details that were missing. Can you believe the work that they have done to make this look so perfect!

We needed to pick out a chest for the Hipkins-Bernard Room. Jay, one of the owners of Gates Antiques, showed me this beautiful chest from the late 1700s! I love it and can’t wait to see it in the HB Room! It is going to look so perfect! And the best part is that the family this room honors was at Belle Grove between 1790 and 1839!

Jay also showed me a serving table he has found for the parlor. The base is mahogany with an Egyptian Black Marble Top that has Gold Veining running through it! The top was out for repairs, but the base is just beautiful! I can’t wait to see it together!

One last piece that Jay just called me about. We purchased a sideboard from an old, prominent Richmond family. The previous owner was looking for just the right person to purchase it. He didn’t want it to go to just anyone. In fact if he didn’t find a good home for it, he was thinking of donating it to a university! I am so glad we made the cut! But it has just arrived at the shop and they sent me pictures of it. It had a gallery added to it that isn’t original so they are going to remove it for me. I can’t wait to see it at Belle Grove!

So now I am off to pack up and head back to the plantation. Our goal this weekend is to get the Madison Room painted. It will be going from green to a beautiful Presidential Blue, Gold and White. Brett will be joining me later today after he gets off work. He will be working on pulling the rest of the bricks from the riverside and pulling the old fountain out. We need to get this done really soon too. The company that will be making the final repairs to the mansion will be starting on June 3rd. They will be putting in our sidewalks and arrival pad at the front door. All the bricks we pull will be used to do the sidewalks and arrival pad.

A Couple of Quick Announcements!

We are excited to announce that we will be at a Bridal Show with the Virginia Wedding Network on June 2nd!

It will be in Fredericksburg at the beautiful Riverside Conference Center from noon to 4pm!

Come out and see us if you can!

We are also planning our own vendor fair soon too!

Watch for details to come!

To see more photos of our shopping adventures

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