Someday I'll learn to stop procrastinating. Not right now, though. Maybe later.

Despite my best efforts at procrastination, it looks like I actually got everything done that I wanted to before we leave tomorrow to spend Christmas with our families in Utah. Oh, I still have to go to the grocery store, the post office, take around our neighbor gifts, wrap presents, and pack, but I really think I might be able to get it all done without becoming a shrieking banshee and being up all night long. Well, I hope, anyway. Better make this a short post!

The photo at left is a display sitting on my kitchen island. It's a series of three stacked glass cake pedestals, and clustered on it are my 'special' ornaments. These are the very best of my vintage ornaments; the ones that are anything besides just a plain, shiny glass ball. I actually changed it after I took this photo, and the reddish-pink indent ornament on the second tier is now displayed atop an upended glass candlestick that I placed on the top layer to make one more tier. It's probably my favorite ornament, so it gets the place of honor. All of these ornaments came from thrift stores or garage sales over the past couple of years. They've been hard to find, so that is why they are special to me.

I don't know why, but this year I have found almost NO vintage ornaments at all, with the exception of the pink and silver centerpiece and the 2 Shiny Brite boxes from my Thrift Store Extravaganz a couple weeks ago. I don't know if it's just not out there, if I cleaned them all out last year (which I find hard to believe) or if everyone else is just beating me to the good stuff. Oh well, my plastic boxes are about full anyway, and I didn't even get them all out this year because I didn't have a place to put them. Must work on that for next Christmas.

And now, off to turn my TO DO list into a TA DA list!

Serendipi-tree

I mentioned in an earlier post that I decided to forego ornaments on my small tree this year, as they would most definitely be fodder for Destruction by Baby And/Or Hound. The tree looked so forlorn and naked though, that I had to do something. I found some leftover torn fabric strips that I had been using in this cute little garland we made at Enrichment Night. I was going to throw them out, but in a moment of serendipity, I realized they'd make great, non-lethal tree decorations!

I tied the little strips here and there on the tree and used the remaining larger piece of the fabric to make a tree 'skirt'. The fabric is a cranberry and cream plaid, and works perfectly with the other reds in the room. I grabbed a handful of raffia from my craft closet, tied a quick bow, and -voila!- a cute, country tree that I really like. Plus, if Maren pulls it on top of herself again, the fabric and raffia won't hurt her. I've never heard of anyone losing an eye from fabric strips or raffia. Well, not yet anyway.

Bathing beauty

Somebody get those Johnson & Johnson people on the phone...I've found their next model! (photo taken by my brother Kristjan)

Thrift Store Thursday

I know it's Saturday, but "Thrift Store Saturday" just doesn't have the same alliterative ring to it, now does it? I did do the majority of my shopping on Thursday, so I think it fits. I hit the thrift stores with a vengeance this week. A month ago, when Q had his surgery, I had to drive back and forth from the hospital a couple of times in an area where I don't normally go. On my drives, I noticed a large number of thrift stores all on one street within a couple miles of each other, and ever since then I have been eager to go check them out.

Tuesday night I ran across this blog: http://tagsaletales.blogspot.com/ It got me so excited that I laid in bed unable to sleep until well after midnight because my mind was just racing with possibilities and inspirations. Finally, people who look at thrifting the way I do--as the ultimate treasure hunt, a way to be creative and to save money. They thrift for the thrill of finding a treasure among all the crap. I was all jazzed up and inspired and was dying to go thrifting on Wednesday, but the daytime temperature of +3 degrees kept me in. I couldn't justify taking my baby out in that kind of cold, even for killer deals. Finally, I was able to go on Thursday, and my patience was rewarded!

In all, between Thursday and Friday, I visited 7 thrift stores and frittered away a quarter of a tank of gas and about 6 hours of time. It was much fun, though, and although I probably won't go all the way over to the "new" stores very often, I may go once a month or whenever I'm feeling in need of an adventure.

So, do you want to see what I bought?


Vintage apron, Goodwill, $1.99. It's in good condition and has the cutest little pleat in front that conceals a contrasting fabric and a heart-shaped pocket. Great bright colors!










Vintage Bing Crosby Christmas record, ARC, $1.99. This is interesting because although it is a 33 1/3 record, it's much smaller than any I've ever seen. The colors are great; pink and green, which is so in right now! The downsides: the price sticker on the front, which I hope I can carefully get off with a liberal application of Un-Du, and the pencil marks on the front and back. I'm hoping that I can use a good eraser and some time and get them off or at least lighten them up. I thought this would be fun to display with my other Christmas decorations.


Vintage nightie, St. Vincent de Paul, $3.59 (40% off $5.99).
The photo doesn't really do this justice. It's really quite sweet and floaty and lovely. It's a pale ice blue, with spaghetti straps and a full skirt. The bodice has kind of 'smocking' (for lack of the correct sewing term) and little silver beads all along the pleats. It's in perfect condition! No stains, holes or missing beads, even. I'm going to hang it on a fancy velvet hanger in one of my guest bedrooms that has a blue quilt on the bed and a very feminine theme. I adore this and was so thrilled to find it!









Vintage Shiny Brite ornaments and boxes, St. Vincent de Paul, $1.19 each (40% off $1.99).
I bought these for the boxes, which are in pretty good condition. I can't imagine why ornaments were ever sold like this, as it seems pretty inefficient--you really can't stack the boxes, and the ornaments themselves aren't very protected.






Vintage sewing patterns, ARC, $.49 each. The three childrens' patterns are in rough shape, but I loved the illustrations on front. I'd say they are maybe from the early 1950s, but I'm not certain. Maybe even the 1940s. The pattern on the bottom right is actually for a woman's 4-H uniform! Must be for a leader or something. It makes me giggle, as it seems like such a fancy outfit to wear to 4-H. This pattern is in good shape and was never even cut apart. I think that one might go on eBay.










Fill-a-bowl, ARC, $1.99 (50% off $3.99). This is nothing too special, but I remember seeing these on QVC a couple of years ago and thinking they were cool. It is a plastic bowl with two layers and separations all along the 'longitude' lines of the bowl. The bottom is removable and the idea is that you can fill the little compartments with different things to match the holiday or occasion you're using the bowl for. It's not something I'd display, but it would be fun and festive for taking to parties or church functions.



Crazy centerpiece, Savers, $2.99. This appears to be some misguided attempt to make a classy, festive centerpiece. It's a block of styrofoam covered with metallic leaves, glittery white bells, pink balls, and the silver glass bead picks. The border is attached with straight pins, and is some sort of silver fringed mylar. Oh, and there's a hole in the middle of the styrofoam that I assume is for a taper candle. Really, it's bizarre. I bought it to cannibalize the parts. You can't find the blass bead picks any more, and the white bells have definite kitsch value. This once graced someone's holiday table. Yikes.
Wool afghan, Savers, $4.99. This is actually much prettier in real life; the colors didn't photograph well. This is a small blanket done in 4 shades each of green and an orangey coral. I'm not sure if it's knitted or crocheted, but the stitches are nice and tight. It looks to be well-made. It appears a little felted, which only tightened the stitches. Not sure where I'll put this as it matches NOTHING in my house, but I liked it. I think the colors are pretty.





Vintage Christmas tablecloth, Unique Thrift Store, $2.45. I say vintage because I think it is--it has the right style, graphics, and edging. Not 100% sure, but even if it's not, it's close enough for me. It's a little busy, but I think it's big enough for my kitchen table, so I'll probably use it rather than just display it.












Santa quilt, Goodwill, $2.99. This is a throw-sized quilt with Santas appliqued on the front. It's not old, but I thought it was cute. The bright colors and the graphic Santa shapes appealed to me.















Old spool, Goodwill, $1.49. I'm not sure what kind of spools these are, but I've seen them before. I actually have a slightly smaller one already, so this makes a nice companion. I've seen them used as candlesticks or even as hat stands.

Christmas plates, Goodwill, $3.99. This is a set of 4 salad plates from one of last year's Target Christmas lines. (Target gives its leftover clearance stuff to Goodwill.) They're in perfect condition and I plan to use them when I give holiday goodies to the neighbors this year.


Quilt/Blanket rack, ARC, $7.99. I actually saw this on Thursday, and didn't buy it. Friday morning when I was up at 5:30 am feeding Maren I thought of it again and decided I must have it, so I went back and luckily, it was still there! It's not super high-quality and it's a little wobbly, but I think I can fix that. Maybe someday I'll sand and repaint it, but for now it's fine as it is. Not sure where I'll put this; it will probably end up in one of the guest rooms until I can figure out what else to do with it.










Wicker arm chair, Goodwill, $1.99. Yes, you read that right--$1.99! This is another item I went back for on Friday morning after thinking about it at 5:30 am. As far as I can tell it's in perfect shape, no broken wicker anywhere. It's hard to tell scale from the photo, but it's actually quite tall. I'm going to have to find some pillows for the seat, but this is going in my guest bedroom where I've been needing a chair. What a steal!









Still with me? Your eyes haven't glazed over yet? Whew! You can see why it took 6 hours. Total damage? $49.40. I got about 20 items for that amount though, so that's not too bad. Hopefully I can sell the 4-H pattern on eBay for a couple bucks, so that will offset a little bit. I've definitely spent my junk store allowance for the month, however, so I think that will be it until January!

Brrrrr!

It is cold here. Not just cold, but what I believe the incomparable Dr. Evil would refer to as, "frickin' freezing, Mr. Bigglesworth." About 5 minutes ago I came inside from getting the mail and scraping the driveway, and I'm just now able to feel my face again, although my cheeks are still very, very cold.

When I went outside about 25 minutes ago, the temperature was -1. Now, it is +1. Wow, the temperature has tripled in 25 minutes! Normally such a drastic increase would be cause for much alarm, and possibly be the premise behind a really crappy movie-of-the-week on network television, but today, well, it's no big deal. + 1 doesn't really feel much different than -1. It's still frickin' freezing.

The real spirit of Christmas

"It is a desire to sacrifice for others, to render service, and to possess a feeling of universal brotherhood. It consists of a willingness to forget what you have done for others, and to remember only what others have done for you; to ignore what the world owes you, and think only of...your duties in the middle distance, and your chance to do good and aid your fellow-men in the foreground--to see that your fellow-men are just as good as you are, and try to look behind their faces to their hearts--to close your book of grievances against the universe, and look about you for a place to sow a few seeds of happiness and go your way unobserved."

(Improvement Era, Dec. 1919, 155)

NEW!! For 2005

I tried a few new things this year with my decorating. First (apologies for the lousy photo) is the chandelier over my kitchen table. Earlier this fall, I successfully changed it from the icky brass to a much nicer faux-wrought iron and added the beaded shades. I was looking for a way to show off the pretty teardrop shape of the vintage red glass ornaments I bought last year, as you can't really appreciate the shape when they are clustered in a bowl. I used three different types of red ribbon from my stash and suspended the ornaments over the kitchen table. I like that you can see the shape of the ornaments now, and the red goes well with my kitchen. I have this feeling that it needs something more, but I'm not sure what. Maybe if I live with it for a few days it will come to me.

Second is a new piece of furniture for the front room: my antique wood greeting card holder. I wanted to show off some of the old Christmas cards I've collected, so I mounted them on red and green scrapbook paper and put them in simple glass frames. As I receive Christmas cards in the mail, I plan to display them on the shelves amid the frames. For the spaces in the front, I have a few of my boxes of vintage ornaments displayed. The boxes have great graphics, and I wanted to show them off. It's not perfect, but it will do for this year.

I decorated all day, and I am exhausted! I feel creatively wiped out. I tried hard to think of new ways to display the things I love. I'm happy with the way my house looks. Now, to get all the boxes back in the basement and enjoy!

O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum, how shiny are your branches

The tree is up! I'm hoping it stays that way, but with a big, doofy dog and a daredevil 8-month-old, I have my worries. So far, neither Maren nor Bronco have shown even the slightest bit of interest in it, which is a good thing. I debated whether to put ornaments on it, since I decorate my vintage aluminum tree with--what else?--vintage glass Shiny Brite ornaments that I've scavenged from thrift stores and yard sales, and are therefore pretty difficult to replace should they meet an unfortunate, splintery end on the hardwood floors. I threw caution to the wind however, and hung a few dozen ornaments starting from about three feet off the ground. Hopefully that is high enough to escape waggy, out-of-control tails and curious little fingers.

I do love my aluminum tree, and don't miss having a green tree one bit! I love the way the afternoon sun comes in the window and makes the tree just sparkle--it's quite lovely, and I never get tired of it. It does have a tendency to make the room look a little like a disco, but hey--it's festive. My only regret is that you can't see my tree from the outside of the house at night, as it is unlit. I do have a vintage light wheel that goes with the tree, but because it rests on the floor and is quite fragile, I didn't want to chance it getting destroyed. Maybe next year.

We do actually have a small, 4 ft. green tree in the family room.0 As Maren has pulled it over on herself once already, I'm thinking we'll be going for the extremely minimalist look this year. It is pre-wired with white lights, and I threw a length of silver tinsel on it, and that will probably be it. Even if I put non-breakable ornaments on it, I know they would be too much of a temptation for Maren to resisit. Even with just the white lights and the sparkly tinsel, it is still quite pretty. I love the white lights; they add such warmth to the room.

It's beginning to look a lot like....well, you know.....

Casualty count: 1

What you are seeing to the left is the remains of one of my cherished vintage Christmas ball ornaments, smashed into a zillion little pieces when I dropped it today. Delicate glass ball, meet Hardwood floor. Ouch. I did find out thatthose sticky lint rollers are good for more than just taking the dog hair off my black coat; they do a darn good job of picking up infintesimal shards of glass from the floor, thereby keeping them from embedding in my baby's hands or Bronco's pads. Hope this is the first and the last ornament casualty of the year.

FangS?

This morning, Q sighted Maren's second tooth! It's on the top, also on the left side (right above the one she has now). It's just barely through the skin. The pediatrician said she thought Maren would get another tooth soon, and she was right! Maren hasn't shown any more signs of teething (runny nose, crabbiness) lately, so I'm a little surprised. I'm thinking the days of breastfeeding Maren are definitely numbered, now. There are parts of my body that I just do not wish to have gnawed.

In other news, this morning Maren learned how to climb OUT of the bathtub. Fabulous. She already knows how to stand up against the side, and loves to do it so much that I spend most of the time sitting her down again, lest she slip and smack her face on the side of the tub. Today, she stood up and leaned as far over the side as she could, then just sort of slithered over the edge, helped along by her wet, slippery belly. Now I fear bathtime is not only going to be a struggle to keep her sitting down, but IN the tub at all! Too bad it's not summer so I could just take her out in the back and hose her down. That's generally frowned-upon when there's snow on the ground.

Happy girl

My dad took this picture of Maren while we were visiting last weekend. She actually looks this happy about 90% of the time. How on earth did I get so lucky to have such a pleasant, good-natured baby on my first try? Beginner's luck, I guess!

Score!

On the way to Utah for Thanksgiving, we stopped in Cheyenne at the Sierra Trading Post store, where I found these little beauties. I've always loved Cole Haan shoes, but they have always been (and will always be, I'm sure) WAY out of my price range. I have been meaning to get a new pair of black heels, and had decided to take the plunge and go for the uber-trendy pointy-toed variety. You can imagine then how thrilled I was to find these gorgeous shoes for such a great price (check out the MSRP!), and what was even better was that they rang up at $39.95! Sweet!

Dang Paparazzi

" No pictures, please."

Fang

Do you see it? One little pearly tooth, peeking up from the lower gum. Sharp as the dickens, too! If anything, it only makes Maren cuter. We've taken to calling her Fang.

I'm Maren the Sailor Man! -toot toot-

Last night Maren had spinach for the first time. I doubted she would like it, as the other green veggies she's had so far (green beans & peas) are coincidentally the only food she hasn't eaten with great gusto. I don't blame her, the green beans and peas were absolutely revolting. They smelled nauseating and tasted even worse. So I was shocked when she seemed to not only tolerate the spinach, but she actually liked it!

That and the apples/blueberries she ate for dessert should lead to a very, uh, festive diaper sometime this morning. Ick.

Thrift store finds of the week

I ~heart~ thrift store treasure hunting. Here are this week's spoils:

A pink vase with pale blue-gray flowers. The flower centers still have remnants of the orginial glass glitter. The glaze is completely crackled, but I love it. Very Shabby Chic. Price: $3.99

A vintage printed Christmas tablecloth. Love the graphics! The colors are still pretty bright. There is a stain, so I'll try to soak it in some Oxyclean. Even if it doesn't come out, I'm thinking I can still display it folded. Price: $.99

Good hunting! Five bucks can buy me a lot of happy.

Mmmmm....cookies....

Got this yummy recipe from my friend Kim P. a couple of weeks ago. She brought me over a half dozen cookies when she came to visit teach and I promptly ate them all. It's funny, I HATE pumpkin pie (no, on second thought, loathe is more accurate) I loathe pumpkin pie, but I like pumpkin bread, muffins, and cookies, especially when there are chocolate chips involved. It's a texture thing with the pie. That and the smell. Ew. Pumpkin pie stench.

Pumpkin Cookies
Kim Powell
Makes 20

1 c. sugar
1 c. pumpkin
½ c. oil
1 egg

2 c. flour
½ tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp soda
1 tsp milk
1 tsp. vanilla

1 c. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375.
Mix together first 4 ingredients in the mixer bowl.
Mix together dry ingredients, then add to the wet ingredients.
Dissolve soda in milk & vanilla. Add to mixture.
Stir in chocolate chips.
Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes

The cookies are very moist and cakey. The batter will be very sticky and moist.

This is me! 

Vacuuming in high heels & pearls: Diary of a Suburban Housewife

Vacuuming in high heels & pearls: Diary of a Suburban Housewife

So here we go, the very first entry in my very own blog! I'm hoping I can get the hang of how to use this darn thing. I've been wrestling with a webpage for my daughter, and the program provided to build the webpage appears to have been written entirely by monkeys (monkies? monkees?). My patience with figuring this stuff out is pretty much shot at this point, so I'm hoping this is much easier and more user-friendly. And by user-friendly, I mean "the words pretty much leap directly out of my brain onto the screen".

The purpose for this blog? Well, everybody else is jumping off a cliff and it looks like fun. No, really, I am just vain enough to think that anybody cares what I have to say about anything! I've been keeping a blog of sorts in my brain for a while now, and so I need a place to post pictures of my exceedingly cute baby, bore readers with the minutiae of my everyday life, and pontificate on a variety of topics. Heck, I need a place where I can use words like 'pontificate'. If you're not interested in anything else, just stay for the baby pictures. They're exceedingly cute. You can hold me to that.