posies

Ring around the rosy, a pocket full of posies....

Isn't she just adorable? This is one of the few family heirlooms my husband has in his possession. His is a difficult situation--a blended family after they were adults. His dad re-married a wonderful lady (Gracie) after their mom died, but she has two kids. When his dad died, Gracie's family quickly moved her out of state. This first move, they tossed or gave away everything they didn't think she needed.... Or maybe it was just those items that belonged to Mike's side of the family that wasn't needed.... After Gracie moved, she still had a few items that belonged to Mike's side of the family.

Recently, Gracie's family moved her into an assisted living home, and has since had a garage sale and pretty much given away all her other belongings. With no regard to Mike or his brother or what belonged to their side of the family. It was just given away, tossed aside as if it had no history, no family value.

It's heartbreaking when blended families can't acknowledge the other side. There was no regard for Mike or David or their family heirlooms. All Mike wanted was a vintage Red Riding Hood cookie jar that he cherished. It was his grandmothers. It had memories. But his step-sister decided she wanted, or needed, it more....

So Mike got this posy girl. Sadly, it means nothing to him. It's nothing he wanted. Nothing he remembers. Nothing that brings back fond memories. But it's all he got.

Personally, I think she's adorable and love it. I tried researching her on-line, but couldn't find anything about her. All we know is Mike's uncle purchased her in Italy. There's one word engraved on the underside--Delfino. She's about 15" high. Maybe one day I'll find some history about her.

a visit to the store

I found this cute little primrose at the grocery store the other day. It's called Obconica Primula. I've never seen one quite like it before with its frilly little leaves and candelabra stems. Cute. Cute.

Another "first," is this Tea Time magazine. Ohhhh, if you've not picked it up before, do! It has some lovely tea party ideas, yummy recipes, and beautiful decorating. I'll definitely search this magazine out again.... maybe even subscribe to it.

I often dream of having tea parties, or garden parties, with dreamy tables covered with lovely tablecloths flowing freely from the top of the table. And vases everywhere overflowing with peonies and lilacs. And no tea party would be complete without the perfect pitcher of lemonade or iced tea. I just know my little granddaughter and I will have lots of tea parties in our life time. Until then.... I can always dream.... and start planning!

Have a great day! Nancy

pansies

Many, many years ago I bought an antique china hutch from Mr. Mitch. Mr. Mitch was a local character. Imagine, if you will, a community of fishermen, miners, hunters, lumberjacks, and others who aren't so concerned about what they wear. An every day "outfit" could include XtraTuffs (boots) and Halibut coats! Really, we're not so much into fashion here regardless of who we are. Now, take Mr. Mitch. He's British. Has longish hair. And an accent. And always, always, wore a purpleish velvet blazer! Not bad looking and ladies swooned over him. But he was a scoundrel. And the only place in town with antiques.... I found an old china cabinet for $190 which was overpriced to begin with but then take into consideration that the shelves were horribly buckled and it was questionable whether they would even hold my little bits and pieces.... Still.... it's not like we have choices here.... and it was the prefect size (small)..... So I took it home and lined the shelves with this Merlot shade of velvety material thinking it made the cabinet look Victorian.... Over the years it's gotten terribly overcrowded and it came time to do something about it.

So the other day I took everything out and rearranged it; trying to find new homes for some of my treasures.

Like this cute little set. I bought this beautiful teapot with some birthday money I received one year. I fell in love with it but it was $48 and just not affordable at the time. I didn't notice until cleaning out the cabinet the other day that this cup and saucer almost match the teapot! Totally not on purpose and I had no clue!

I'm thinking it's time to re-line the shelves with some new material.... something not so Victorian looking!

Thank you, ShabbyInTheCity for sharing that my little mini plates are called Butter Pats. What a cute name!

little plates

One of my favorite collections is these small little plates. They're just over 3" across. I wish I could remember when I even got them, but I don't. Mostly I'd like to know what they were used for.... I thought maybe tea bags or for mints.... Do you know? The one with blue forget-me-nots is from a demi-size cup and saucer set because it has the indentation in the middle where the cup would set. But the others don't have that indentation and are fairly flat. The only writing on the back is Japan. The rim is raised a tad and gold trimmed.

The cute little pink plate with the rings laying inside is a Limoges; Chefield Haviland Limoges. It's more of a bowl shape so could be for nuts. What do you think?
Have a happy Friday! Nancy

abingdon

Isn't this a precious vase with the little flower bouquet wrapped in a ribbon? I have two of them. On the bottom it reads Abingdon USA 520. I spent the last couple days looking up some of my vintage heirlooms on the internet to find out more about them, and found this vase selling on eBay. I haven't always cared much for it because of the bright gold trim; it just isn't "me." But it's one of the few heirlooms that I have of my grandma, my dad's mother, so will forever hang on to it. It's about 8" tall.

It's one day closer to spring! Have a great day! Nancy

the season for red

Yesterday I promised I would try to get some color (other than dingy gray) into my posts for a change. Our winters can be so dark and dreary, and so gray.... that some times it's hard to see anything but. But here are some of favorite red colors.


You might recognize this little basket of hearts from the French General. They're filled with lavender and smell so yummy. I'm trying to add a little more color into our home by using accent pillows and was excited to find this front one, with the flowers, in the 40% clearance table at Fred Meyer recently. It was only $7 so I bought two of them.

Ask and you shall receive. I've found that I no longer need to spend all that money in airfare traveling down south to feed my shopping addiction. All I have to do is go to my favorite blogs and see what they have for sale this week and, of course, there's all those Etsy shops to find all the crafty and vintage items my heart desires. So not only am I saving $500 in airfare but all that gasoline driving from store to store, paying 8% in sales taxes, and just having to fight with the traffic and the shopping crowd! And on the chance that I don't find what I'm looking for on-line, all I have to do is send a note to my personal shopper and she'll find anything I want! Like these hankies. I read on someone's blog the other day that they use them for napkins..... Now I'm not certain I can actually go so far as to wipe greasy hands on these beauties, but maybe a little dab at the mouth.... For now I like them sitting in my napkin holder where I can look at all the colors of pink and red.

This screen serves many roles. In the summer months I might put it outside on the back deck to hide my garden hose. But inside it hides the ugly printer that sits on one of the bookcase shelves. It also is a great place to display my vintage quilts and table covers. It's hard to see how cute the table cloth is on the left side, but it's berries of some kind. I also hang my aprons from here.

So there you have it. A post without gray! Have a lovely day! We're expecting another 7-12 inches of snow today.... It's so beautiful but I promise, no more snow pictures for awhile!

favorite arrangements

There's this blog -- Things Look Like Things -- that has the most incredible series of photos, connecting one photo to the next. If you read the profile, it looks like they're all taken off flickr. Check it out.


Here's some of my favorite arrangements around the house.


This is just my messy bookcase but it's MY messy bookcase! I love books. I love to read. I mostly love just looking at all my books. I have them categorized by subject: gardening; nature; Alaskana; westerns; classics; romance; series; biography type; travel; miscellaneous. When we go South, Barnes and Noble is usually our first stop where we will buy a dozen or more books. I love light reading; nothing that requires deep thought. The best part about reading is just that, reading. Finding a good book to curl up with and letting everything else go to the wayside until that book gets done.

This is one of my favorite photos. I love the connection of the colors from the plate to the little photos and then back to the marbles. My sister gave me this collection edition of the plate many many many years ago; the picture in the little black frame is me and my best friend, Karin, that was taken at my daughter's wedding; the little white framed photo was given to me by my best friend; and the marbles are just a collection of marbles.

I also love this collection of white and black. Some of the bottles were found in the hills of

Juneau where mining used to take place. Some garage sale finds. The two door plates were also found in the hills of Juneau amid old mining shacks.

This display changes with the seasons but one thing is always consistent: single, seasonal flowers in the bottles turn these bottles into a prettier display. These are from my garden. Soon there will be fall colored mums and then..... red carnations for Christmas!

Have a great day! Nancy

fat free cupcakes

I haven't been to Gottschalks in months and months but I went the other day to look for a blanket and found this cute little plate. It was on a sale rack for .94 cents. How could I resist?




Then I found this cottage looking candle holder. Also .94 cents. How could I resist this as well?


I knew it wouldn't be used for a candle but I thought just maybe the cute little plate could sit on it and when we had company I would use it for cookies.


Then I thought of cupcakes.


And what better way to display these adorable crocheted cupcakes from Splendid Designs than on this little stand and plate. How cute is that? A perfect display! Don't you agree?

I thought it was such a clever idea but with fall coming, would want some cupcakes in a fall theme. So I put my order in to Splendid Designs and this is what she came up with:


Aren't they cute? I can hardly wait to get them. They're just too cute for words.

By the way, I returned to Gottschalks yesterday because there was a second candle stand I thought I might as well get if it was still there. Plus more plates! I got three plates and one stand all for $4.03! This is about as good as it gets in Juneau!

cupcakes and clothes pins

I wanted to show you some of the cutest finds I recently purchased from the Firefly Farm. Aren't these pincushions so precious? When I first saw the vintage bark cloth pincushion on Debra Andriulli's blog, Homespun Living, I instantly fell in love with it (the one on the right). But they were sold out.... So I emailed her with my interest in owning one and now I do! It's made from a vintage bark cloth curtain panel and cost $13.

When I visited her on-line store, I saw the blue toile pincushion and knew I had to have that one as well. Isn't it the cutest pattern? Thatched cottages, bridges, river, and waterwheels are pictured on this vintage toile and it, too, sells for $13. They're both about 8" tall. Lovely.


Now, keep in mind that I don't sew.... so why do I need pincushions you ask?! There are so many creative people "out there" making pincushions and I just can't help but fall in love with them. I gave my daughter, Tracy, the blue toile pincushion because I thought it would look lovely in her new craft room.
I've also purchased a few of these adorable crocheted cupcakes from Splendid Designs Etsy shop. They're just so cute in real life. I have them sitting in my cake holder with dome lid..... so you know they aren't going to be used for their original purpose! They sell for $10.50.

I also saw this clothes pin bag at Firefly Farm and knew I had to have it too..... Never mind that I don't have a clothes line.... The pattern is so cheery and inviting. It's just too darling and I'll find some use for it. Who knows, I might just put clothes pins in it for looks! It sold for $18.

I love collecting things and these pincushions are just perfect.

sentimental journey

Do you ever put something away, in a safe place.... a place you'll know just where to go to retrieve the item again.... only never to find it again???? I've been looking for my birthday list for days now.... I always have a spiral tablet (with pockets) close by where I keep all my lists and important papers.... like my birthday list. This tablet went to work with me every day and even when we traveled. Because I'm learning to travel lighter, I removed the birthday list the last time we traveled and put it in a safe place. A most obvious place where I could always find it.

Do you think I can remember where that place is???? I've turned this house upside down looking for it. Every drawer has been checked, every nook, every cranny, every conceivable hiding place. I just can't find it. And I'm afraid of the birthdays I'm missing... But I wanted to look up the date my grandma passed away. It was a long time ago, maybe 20 years.

Grandma H. was a farmer's wife. She was a hard worker, an incredible woman. When she passed away, us kids (the grandkids) each got to pick one of her plants as a keepsake. I selected a hoya plant she had hanging over her kitchen window. It didn't have any sentimental value to me at the time; it was just a plant I selected.

But over the years it has become sentimental to me and every time I look at it, it brings back fond memories of my grandmother and the good times we had at her home.

It's a beautiful plant and I love it. But it hardly ever blooms. This is the first time in years. Usually you smell it before you see it because it has a very strong, sweet smell.

This first picture is a little blurry, but I wanted to get a close up to show you how rubbery it looks; almost like a fake, plastic flower. It looks like a solid piece of plastic.


A few days later it opens up to this most incredible cluster of flowerets. Isn't it precious? You can see one of the flowerets still closed as well. They look like bowls here, still curved, still in the process of opening. In a few days, each floweret will lay flat.

This last picture is just a close up.... again a little blurry but I wanted to share how intricate it really is.

FREE! to a good home

I've been absent a few days. Been busy doing "stuff" but nothing interesting enough to put on paper. It might not surprise you that it's been raining since my last entry. Every day. It's been raining. Nonstop.... I feel like I'm growing webs between my toes! I'm tired of it. We deserve better!

We went to our neighbors, across the street, for a Wine and Cheese party last night. It's an annual event. They fill their garage with treasures-no-longer-wanted and invite their friends over to preview and shop prior to the garage sale. There's usually drinking involved.... you know, to loosen the pocket book a bit, and plenty of finger foods to munch on while you deliberate on what you can or cannot live without.

Okay, so here's a most pathetic story about these cabinet doors. I was visiting the previous night as Jean was setting up and I saw these cupboard doors. Instantly I knew I had to have them but thought it would be tacky to shop before the preview. They're just ordinary cupboard doors out of their bathroom that she had tried to paint white at some point. Hence, the chipped paint, which is what gave it the charm.

Anyway, I could see all kinds of possibilities with these doors. And, like what, you ask? Simply attach a couple handles and you have a cottagy serving tray. Or add some broken plates for a mosaic look. I'm sure the ideas are endless. I returned home that night thinking of these doors. I laid awake half the night thinking about these doors. I told you this was a pathetic story! I was so worried someone would beat me to them.

So last night.... the party started at 6:30.... no one had arrived yet.... At 6:31 we nonchalantly headed across the street. With a quickness to our gait. (I say "our" gait, but you know it was me leading the pace for my husband!) We walked inside, said our hellos, gave our hugs, and I ran.... did not walk.... into the garage to retrieve my treasures! You can only imagine my horror when I saw them in the FREE box! The FREE box! Like they had no value! I have to say my whole being slumped just a tiny bit as I grabbed my treasures and tucked them safely to my chest, assuring them that their new home would be so worthy of their presence. And that's my pathetic story of the day.

Still in the mood to find great treasures, we donned our coats and hats and headed out the door at 7:30 a.m. this morning, looking for garage sales. It was pretty sad pickings but I did find this cute little white plate. It's only about 6" tall but so adorable with the red and white gingham ribbon. I just love it!


And this white cottagy basket. It's made of some kind of metal and quite heavy. Not certain where I'll display it or what will find a new home in it, but I know I'll love it for a long time.

Lilac and Cabbage Rose

Disclosure: I hate to admit it, but I love to shop. I love to look at things, touch them, pick them up, oohhh and aaaahhhh over the selections, and, occasionally.... will purchase something. Okay, often.


Our first day in Sedona, we went uptown to wander through the shops. The first store we went into.... Talk of the Town.... I saw.... fell in love.... and bought these two darling fairies.


Please meet Lilac and Cabbage Rose, the newest addition to our home. Aren't they adorable? Lilac is about 18" tall and Cabbage Rose about 12". All body parts are wired to allow for a magical and fanciful pose!


I agonized for a good half hour on which one to buy. There were dozens of fairies hanging from fishing line off an upside down Christmas tree. The poor sales lady very patiently nipped one after another down so I could look at them, pose them, and finally decide which one I wanted. Actually, I couldn't decide which one; it was my husband that finally said, "get both of them!" (I think he was tired of my indecisiveness....)


So I did! These are no ordinary fairies but a limited edition from the Mark Roberts collection. Not that that makes any difference. I would have bought them from a thrift store had I seen them.


I wanted to show you a close up of their eyes and face.... they talk to you.... they stare at you and bore their souls into you.... I didn't intend on buying two of them.... I was forced to! They made me! They wanted to come home with me!


And they did.

i've lost my marbles!

No, not really! Just wanted to share a photo of my marbles with you! Don't you love marbles? They're so bright and just the sight of them can cheer you on any dreary day. I don't recall where these came from but suspect some are quite old.

Do kids even play with marbles anymore....?

In the "good ol days... " we played with marbles, pick up sticks, lots of board games. We didn't have a lot of store-bought toys. We rode our bikes almost everywhere, or walked. We read a lot, maybe they were just comic books, but we were reading. We didn't sit in front of the tv all day nor did we play games that alienated us from our family.

But what goes around, comes around. Look at this old skateboard! This was mine when I was a kid; from the 60's. I set this cute candle-in-a-teacup on top just so you could get an idea of how small it is!

I worked outside for a few hours this morning but the bugs are so bad this year that it makes it so not enjoyable. The mosquitoes are HUGE and the no-see-ems.... rightly named because they're so small you don't see them... you just feel their bite....well, the no-see-ems are out in force. Now I'm waiting for a rhubarb crisp to come out of the oven.... It's smelling really good! If you like rhubarb desserts, you'll love this recipe!

Bon Apetit!

today's a better day

Today is going to be a better day. Yesterday is done and over with. I can think of the past nine months without bawling. I had so many great things to share yesterday.... and then one word.... breathe.... took it all out of me. Being acknowledged.... knowing someone understood....

My daughter knew yesterday was tough and she stopped by last night just to give me a hug, and this hydrangea flower. I love hydrangeas; they're so romantic and so vintage; and I can hardly wait for ours to grow!

Yes, it's going to be a good day.... Plus it's my day off work so I can go to garage sales if I get going.... It's not raining, so I might plant a few more plants that followed me home from the nursery yesterday.... It's an addiction, I know. But it's my only addiction and it's only a seasonal addiction and my gardens really do delight others.... so I guess you could look at it, that I'm doing it all for others.... Yea....

I wish I had some craft projects to share....but we know that isn't going to happen! But the truth is, I love visiting your Etsy shops, looking at all the creative doodads, and since I'm not so crafty, I love buying your stuff. Makes me feel almost artsy crafty!

Look at this adorable frame I purchased from Jane Says. This is my favorite new Etsy shop. I was a little hesitant when I bought it.... but it is so much cuter than I ever expected it to be from the on-line picture and I'm so thrilled to have it. It arrived so cutely wrapped in tissue paper, yarn, and a little note. You guys are just too nice!

It arrived yesterday and is just too sweet! Not certain where I'll hang it. For now, it's on my bedroom window sill along with other recent purchases--Frazzle the Bird, my crocheted cupcake, and my vintage chenille kitty pillow.

After I saw how adorable it was in real life, I quickly went on line to see what other "bird" crafts she had and found this White Bird Frame for $14.00 and this Sweet Bird Magnet for $6.50. Please visit the Jane Says Etsy store and see what other creative ideas she has. For now, I can hardly wait for them to arrive.

Let's see, oh, yesterday we also observed the first bloom on our rhododendron bush! Yes, it's very late to bloom this year, but it's been trying. You can almost hear it chant.... "I think I can, I think I can...." See, yesterday I had all kinds of good things to share with you!

my attempt at vintage finds

As I visit all your blogs and drool over all the great flea markets that you go to and picture after picture of great finds, it makes me wish we lived down south so I could find such treasures as well. We do have quite a few garage sales in Juneau, but normally you won't find vintage items so guess I'll have to plan a trip to Texas or somewhere next summer! How fun would that be!

Saturday I had good intentions of visiting some garage sales but got involved in doing nothing that day.... As a last effort to feel like I accomplished something, ran to the consignment shop and found this cute little magazine holder for $10.99. It's not the same as going to a garage sale and finding it for $2.00!

Next door to the consignment shop is a used book store, Our Friends of the Library, and found these fine Gardening magazines tucked under one of the tables. What a find for only .50 each! Now.... I just need to find the time to look at them....

While looking in the gardening section, I also found this great book! I love love love vintage gardening books more than anything. And vintage cookbooks. And vintage bird books! This was published by the National Geographic Natural Science Library: The World in Your Garden, copyright 1957. Look at the pictures! I haven't had a chance to read it but it appears to be a story of which country our plants originated from. I can hardly wait to start reading it.

In case you haven't noticed, I'm not such an artsy crafty kinda person. I would like to be.... and I have done my share of arts and crafts projects over my life time, but then my eyes got bad and doing needlepoint and crochet was no longer so much fun looking through trifocals! But I still see art projects I want to do, drive to Joann's to get the project pieces, bring it all home, take it upstairs to my craft room (YES, I have a craft room!), and there it sits.... But arts and crafts is more of a fall and winter fun thing to do anyway. Our winters are so long and so dark that when spring and summer are here, we're outside as much as we can be, gardening, fishing, walking on the beach, picnicking. Anything to help us forget that another long winter is just around the corner. This time of year all I can think about is gardening. I love to garden and that's where my creative juices come into play.

I found this great website for yard art -- English Creek Gardens -- and can hardly wait to start shopping! I mean, look at this great apothecary jar and just imagine the uses for it!

Marbles.

Vintage buttons.

Crocheted cupcakes.

M&Ms.

Weathered beach glass.

Ribbons and lace.

Beads.

Lemons.

Cotton balls.

Well, you get my point. Anything will look great in this jar!

I hope you all had a safe Memorial Day weekend and did something fun to bring in the summer months. I worked, came home completely exhausted, sat down on the couch in my wet, dirty, stinky work clothes and promptly fell asleep. Today is my day off and I can hardly wait to see what the day has in store for us... besides rain.

more of my favorite things

I love collecting! And the best part about collecting is it can be any silly little thing or an extravagance. It can provide a memory of a romantic trip to Sedona, the great food of New Orleans, or maybe someone special you met in Mexico. It can fulfill the present and give you something to look forward to in the future. Collections are great! The problem is I'm running out of places to put more "memories."

And I really don't need to accumulate any more.... My first collection was house plants. Yes, house plants. We lived in a single wide trailer with over 50 plants. I was addicted to them! Every weekend each and every leaf of each and every plant would get tenderly washed, transplanted if need be, and treated gingerly. That was before kids.

Then I moved on to teddy bears and had well over 30 collector bears. Not the cheap kind. They filled a bay window. Now... sadly... they just take up room... and many have been sold in garage sales over the years. I did keep my favorites though and every year they put on their little red bows and come downstairs and share Christmas with us.

Here's some of my favorite collections:

Tea cups and saucers. Love love love them! Any with flowers will suit my fancy. These aren't vintage but bought over the years and brought out for special occasions--like Tracy's bridal shower. I don't know what I love the most--their daintiness, their flowers, or the fact that they portray something special.

Decorative plates. I love decorative plates especially with flowers on them. This is one of my most favorite of all times. It was my mom's.... and I was so excited to have been able to call it "mine" after she passed away. It's so beautiful and I will always treasure it.

Wall pockets. Tracy is actually collecting these for me. Those are the best kind of collections, when someone knows you and your tastes so well that they can start a perfect collection. At Christmas I put sprigs of cedar and holly in them.

These are just some of my favorite collections. And although I don't necessarily need any more, and I'm not actively adding to them, if the opportunity arose... and I found the perfect addition to one of my collections....

But I think it's time for a new collection... I'm thinking... something pink!