Happy Halloween!

Didn't get around to carving the pumpkins this year, so here are last year's designs:

That would be Napoleon Dynamite and The Cheat. I found the Napoleon Dynamite stencil online somewhere and used the little saws from one of those pumpking decorating kits you can buy. It turned out really neat!

My little brother did a really neat pumpkin this year, but I can't get the photo to load. It's Steve Irwin (the Croc Hunter) and it says "RIP STEVE" on the side. Pretty cool.

It's starting to get dark here and it's about 35 degrees out. I'm expecting our first trick-or-treater to ring the bell any time now. Our church is holding a Trunk or Treat so we'll head there in about 40 minutes and stay until we can't stand the cold any longer. Then it will be home, bed for Little Miss No-Nap-Today, and pop in the "Shaun of the Dead" DVD.

Have a SPOOKY night!

Retail therapy

This afternoon I was able to slip out of the house sans-bebe for a few hours so I headed to Old Navy. I've found that shopping for clothing with Maren in tow is an excellent way to work on giving myself an ulcer, so I try to do it by myself. I need a couple more pairs of pants for fall/winter and I can usually find something at ON that is cute and not too expensive. I probably tried on 10 pair of pants today and not one single pair fit me well enough to consider spending money on it. Man, that was depressing.

Instead, I bought a few clothes for Maren and 3 super-cute tees for myself. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the one to the left with the chandelier on the front! You can't tell from the photo but the white part is actually sort of pearly, like an oil slick (bad description but you get the picture). It's so pretty! There are 2 other chandelier styles and I'm half tempted to go back and get them both.

Old Navy has their Christmas wrap out and they had sheet wrapping paper and boxes in white with black chandeliers all over. I bought some of the wrapping paper, which I think is really only 3 sheets but I thought it might be good for some kind of art project--no way am I wasting that cool stuff on a gift where it'll just be ripped and crumpled! I even saw a pair of pajama pants with the chandelier pattern! So very cool. Reminds me very much of these, which I think are incredibly gorgeous and funky.

I also got this shirt which I love and another one with gold foil designs that I couldn't find pictured on Old Navy's website. That one is brown. It's funny, up until just about 3 years ago I HATED the color brown and refused to buy anything brown other than shoes. The silly thing is that brown looks good on me because of my coloring, but still I thought it was yucky and only boring people wore brown. Then brown came IN again and suddenly, I love it! Now I have several brown tops and at least 3 of the pairs of pants I tried on today were brown. Funny how tastes change.

Conveniently located next door to Old Navy is a huge shoe store so I headed in and bought the cutest pair of round-toe ballet flats--in gold leather! Yikes. They really are adorable and they were on clearance--hooray! Do you think I could wear them with the white shirt, or is that too much gold going on? Fashion advice gratefully accepted.

Now I have shirts and shoes and nothing in between. A new Ann Taylor Loft is opening up on Wednesday so I'm hoping to sneak away when Quin gets home from work and do a little more shopping, for pants especially. Wish me luck!

Swap goodies

The snow has melted almost completely, though there are still a few sad little patches here and there. Today was sunny but quite windy, and that wind was cold! Tomorrow for Halloween our high is only supposed to be in the 40s, and by Trick-or-Treat time it will be down into the 30s. Brrr! I wish I'd checked the weather forecast before I bought candy. I'm afraid the cold will keep the kids away and I really, really don't want to be left with extra candy around this house. The lucky ones who brave the cold to ring my bell will be getting sweets by the handful, I believe.

I took the weekend off from blogging so I am a little late in posting that I received my craft swap from Lisa-Gabrielle over at Jungle Dream Pagoda. She sent me the most delightful box! It came on a day when I really needed a lift, and her box most definitely provided the boost my spirits needed. Lisa-Gabrielle included 4 absolutely adorable outfits for Maren. Let me tell you, her girls must be little fashion plates if what she sent is any example of their wardrobe! You can see the little outfits in the top row of the photo. My favorite was an adorable little smocked dress with a squirrel and fall leaves--Miss Maren will be wearing that one for Thanksgiving dinner! She also included the cutest little ponytail holders! Love the little deer!

Lisa-Gabrielle also sent me a fall tablecloth, which is just what I needed! I was actually thinking earlier that I have a Halloween tablecloth but no general 'autumn' cloth to use in September and November. Now I do, and somehow she even knew I have a rectangular table so it fits! Yay! Lisa-Gabrielle included a huge stack of vintage embroidered and appliqueed linens, so I am going to get up all my courage and actually CUT THEM UP (eek!) to use in other projects. First I think I'll just admire them for a while, though. :) She also sent a cute little Chinese pincushion and a huge pile of ribbons, thread, rickrack (my fave!), sequin appliques, buttons, and all manner of bits and bobs that I will squirrel away like the little raccoon that I am until I have the perfect projects for them. Lisa-Gabrielle sent such a wonderful package, and I am thrilled to have taken part in Rebecca's swap! Thanks for organizing it!

Speaking of Rebecca, I got a package from her on Friday! Two good mail days in a row! Rebecca sent me a fun package and included wonderful vintage linen tea towel, a table runner with leaves (this matches my bedroom, so I may use it there), a darling pillowcase which will be perfect for a pillowcase dress for Maren, a pretty pink linen hankie, wonderful buttons, cute ribbon with oranges and lemons, and a stack of really neat origami paper (how ever did you know that I like origami)! What a fun package it was to get, especially since it was "just because"! You're right, Rebecca--we definitely do have similar tastes! :) Thank you so much!

Winter white?

This is my front door as of about 2 hours ago. Hard to tell from the lack of depth, but those are 12"+ drifts up agains the side of the house. We are on the tail end of a blizzard, folks, with a National Weather Service Blizzard Warning and everything! The news folks have been warning us for 2 days now about this storm and they were right. The storm hit during the night and made the morning commute a disaster. I think the roads through the mountains are still closed, in fact. Lucky for me, my morning commute is from my bedroom to the kitchen! I would have liked to go to the grocery store today as we're out of bread and nearly out of milk, but even if I wanted to venture out onto the wet, slushy roads, the Air Force Base where the commissary is located is shut down due to weather. Okay, then, I'll just be staying here. Quin is hoping to fly in from Salt Lake City this evening but we'll have to keep an eye on the flights; many were cancelled or delayed this morning during the worst of the storm. For now, it has stopped snowing and blowing, leaving us with 7" of wet, heavy snow to deal with. Yuck.

Book report

I recently read a most fascinating book: Who Are You People? by Shari Caudron. I first read a review of this book in Entertainment Weekly and it piqued my interest enough that I put it on hold at the library. It was a fun read and the Sociology-major nerd in me found it fascinating. The premise is that the author felt that she lacked passion, so she went around the country spending time with different groups of people who exhibited a real passion for what they did, collected, etc. From pigeon racers to rabid Josh Groban fans to Barbie collectors to people who dress up in furry costumes and more, she explored each group and what it was that made people so drawn to it, and why they had such passion for these seemingly bizarre things. At one point she even visited a Social Psychology professor to talk about the psychological reasons behind all of this fanatical passion. It all comes down to belonging, to fitting in, to finding your place. The social psychologist, Anne, said:

“That sense of rapture you talk about? That’s related to connectedness, to meaning. It’s important for people to feel connected, to feel they’re not alone in life. Whether that sense of connectedness comes from God or spirituality or their ice-fishing buddies almost doesn’t matter. People can find meaning in a myriad of ways. What does matter is that they’re not alone, that they’re part of a tribe, and that they’re doing something that’s deeply satisfying.”

That quote very accurately describes how I (and I’d venture to guess, many of you) feel about blogs—for me, thrift blogs and craft blogs most of all. When I discovered the world of crafty blogs, and subsequently the world of thrift blogs, I was absolutely blown away to find so many people who could get excited about finding a great piece of vintage Pyrex or an old children’s book at a thrift store or yard sale. It’s been so much fun to find people who think the way I do, who like the things I like, who understand my desire to drag home other people’s junk—because don’t we all seek understanding and acceptance?

I don’t have many friends in real life. Oh, there are plenty of people that I’m friendly with, but no one who shares my interests; who I can call up to share my excitement and thrill when I’ve found something great or finished a really cute project. However, I know I can post on my blog and there will be people who will read it and see the pictures and get excited along with me and leave encouraging comments just like I do when I look at their blogs. This whole blogging thing (both reading others’ and writing my own) has been so very fulfilling for me in so many ways.

So anyway—check out this book! The author’s style is fun and easy to read. I got through it really quickly, partly because the whole theory just struck such a chord with me. Try it—you’ll like it!

Get shakin'

When I hit that dreamy yardsale last weekend I picked up this set of salt and pepper shakers for $3. It's hard to get a good photo of them, but the white tops where the holes are is made of mother of pearl and is very pretty! I thought perhaps the rings might be silver and attempted to polish them with no success, so they're some other type of metal.

We don't use salt & pepper shakers here--I prefer to keep my S & P in Pyrex refrigerator dishes on my counter for easy access when I'm cooking. However, I couldn't leave these little cuties behind and when I got home I remembered an idea I'd torn from a magazine long ago and tucked away in my files.(Apologies for the bad photo--the scanner's not hooked up--but you get the idea.) I believe this was a Better Homes & Gardens Christmas publication from a couple of years ago.

The instructions don't specify what gauge of wire to use but assume something around 20 or 22? It needs to be stiff enough to stand up straight but pliable enough to be made into loops and swirls. A few turns of the round-nose pliers and -voila!- you have a darling little vintage-y photo holder. I think it would be even cuter if you put rice or even German glass glitter in the body of the shaker to hide the wires. I think these would make cute little gifties.

I checked eBay this morning to see if I could find any other shakers with the mother of pearl discs and found a few at reasonable prices. Uh-oh, do I feel another collection coming on? Danger....

Victory!

The results of the pie contest are in...I took first place! Woohoo!! I know it wasn't the Pillsbury Bake-Off or anything more than a little church contest, but I was pretty darn excited. My other pie actually tied for 3rd place, to boot!

After all the rhubarb mess last week I ended up going with a couple of recipes from a book I've been reading about a woman who drove around America looking for pie. I only chose the recipes because I had all the ingredients to make them and didn't need to run to the store! The winning pie was Pumpkin Apple and the 3rd place pie was Lemon Pecan. Funny, because I don't like pumpkin, apple, or pecan pies! Actually the Lemon Pecan pie was pretty darn good, but I think it was because of the addition of the tart lemon. One of the guys from my church told me that night that it was the best pecan pie he'd ever had! There was only a small slice left of that pie to bring home. That's ironic because even though the Pumpkin Apple was the winner it must not have been popular with the crowd-- only half of it was eaten (and I threw the other half away! Told you I don't like pumpkin or apple pie).

This morning I made another pie. I know, I know--enough already! I had actually planned to make three pies on Saturday for the contest, since I had 3 crusts still in the fridge. The third was to be a chocolate pie from the same book as the others and called for a prebaked crust. Tragically, I forgot to dock the crust with a fork and when I prebaked it, it shrank terribly and pretty much collapsed in on itself. Whoopsie, especially since I had already mixed up the ingredients for the filling. I hated to let that go to waste so I just stuck it in the fridge. However, I was out of shortening and I don't shop on Sundays so I had to wait until today to get to the store. I ended up just buying pre-made dough and made up the filling this morning. I prebaked the crust and took it out of the oven so I could pour in the hot filling. I then took leave of my senses, apparently, and grabbed both handles of the pie plate with my bare hands, completely forgetting that the pan had just spent 15 minutes in a 450 degree oven. OUCH! I managed to get a couple of good blisters from that brilliant maneuver to add to the cardboard papercut I gave myself yesterday from the granola bar box. Sheesh.

After all that, I just had a piece of the pie and I am underwhelmed. I think it will be better when it is chilled but I was impatient and had to taste it NOW. I made a chocolate pie last Sunday that was also mediocre. I think that perhaps this tells me that when it comes down to it, I just prefer the run-of-the-mill Jello pudding pies in a graham cracker crust. How very unsophisticated of my palate, but at least I can say I know what I like!

Fike's Lemon Pecan Pie (from The Best of Ruby Jones cookbook, by way of American Pie)
1 unbaked pie shell
3 whole eggs (unbeaten)
1/3 cup melted margarine
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup of pecan halves or pieces
1 tsp of lemon extract
juice of 1/2 lemon
a pinch of salt
*I added about 1 tsp. of lemon zest

Mix ingredients for the filling with a fork. Do not use an electric Mixer. Pour into unbaked pie shell. Bake at 300 degrees for 45 minutes.

Pumpkin-Apple Pie (fromthe December 1965 issue of Kitchen Klatter magazine, by way of American Pie)

Cider crust: (makes 2 crusts)
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup shortening
1/4 cup cider
*I didn't use this recipe but it sounds interesting!

Filling:
4 large tart apples, peeled and sliced
2 Tbsp apple cider
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup mashed pumpkin (canned or fresh)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup light cream (I subbed evaporated milk)
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves

In a medium saucepan, combine apples with cider, sugar and salt. Cook 10 minutes over medium heat or until just tender. Allow to cool. Pour cooked, cooled apples into prepared pie shell. In a separate bowl, combine pumpkin, salt, cream and egg. Add sugar and spices. Stir to blend well, then pour over apples. Bake pie at 425 degrees for about 45 minutes. Serve at room temperature. **use a deep dish pie plate if you have one, as this makes a lot of filling.

Ribbon Topiary, version two

I made this topiary for my grandmother's birthday last week. Now that I'm sure she's received it, I can post the picture. I used a cute little green pot I got at JoAnn's on clearance and ribbons in shades of greens and pink. My Gram loves those colors and has decorated her house with them, so I'm confident she'll be able to find a place for the topiary.

The topiaries are fun and easy to make. For anyone who missed my first foray into ribbon topiary-making, I found the instructions in a book by Making Memories called Ribbonrie. You need a styrofoam ball, a dowel, straight pins, a pot and lots and lots of ribbon that you've cut into 4.5" lengths. Make the ribbon into loops of varying sizes and use the pins to secure them to the styrofoam ball. Cover the ball with ribbon, poke the dowel rod into a piece of floral foam in the pot, glue on a little moss and you have yourself a ribbon topiary!

We woke up this morning to about 3" of snow on the ground. Ugh. No yard sales for me! I think this just about puts the final nail in the coffin for the season--I'll be shocked if there are any sales next weekend. At 12:40 we have an appointment to get Maren's photos taken in her cute little Broncos cheerleader outfit. That's right during naptime, so her behavior could be iffy but I'm hoping to get her down for an early nap. That was the only appointment time they had left when I called a few days ago, so it will have to do.

The Fall Festival & accompanying pie contest are tonight, so I'll be making pies this afternoon. I think I'm going to have to scrap the rhubarb idea for the time being, but have found a few other recipes that sound promising: Lemon Pecan, Rosy Raspberry& Pear, and Pumpkin Apple. I have three crusts still in the fridge so I can make all three; the catch is that I won't be able to taste-test them before I take them tonight; wouldn't be very good form to show up with three pies, each missing a sliver!

Pie and pumpkins

Thanks, everyone, for the suggestions and the sympathy about my poor little pies. The recipe did call for 2 Tbsp. of cornstarch but I guess it just wasn't enough to counteract all that liquid. My grandma (who gave me the rhubarb) said she makes her pies with frozen rhubarb and doesn't have that problem. She's sending me her recipe but alas, it won't be here in time for the contest. I do plan to try it however, because I'd like to get to the bottom of this mystery and I've still got plenty of rhubarb in the freezer. For the contest, I'm going to have to switch gears. I did buy a graham cracker crust at the store yesterday and I think I still have enough key lime juice left in the freezer to make a pie. We'll see; I'm waiting for ins-PIE-ration to strike!

And for a Friday afternoon--gratuitous cute baby pictures! These are from our trip to the pumpkin patch on Monday afternoon, before the weather turned and the snowflakes fell. Apparently it's been a terrible year for pumpkins here in Colorado--the drought really did a number on the crops so most of the pumpkins are still very green. We went to this same farm last year and I was astounded by all of the pumpkins in the fields. This year, I was astounded at how empty the fields were! We did manage to find a few good 'uns, and I got to take a few photos of Maren before the wind made us too cold.

Enjoy your weekends, everyone!

Howl-o-ween

If you need a good laugh (and who doesn't), check out this link to PetSmart's Halloween pet photo contest. It's a hoot!

Rhubarb pie update

I'm beginning to think the rhubarb thing isn't going to work out.
This is today's pie. When I took it out of the oven it looked nice and firm but when I cut into it (after it had cooled for a good hour) it is another soggy mess. Boo! You can see in the photo above the little puddle of liquid that filled in the place where I took out my slice. I couldn't even use my pie server--I had to use a spoon to scoop out the innards because they were so wet and gloppy. The bottom crust didn't get crisp but I suspected that might happen as the recipe didn't call for any pre-baking. I don't like soggy crust!

The flavor of the rhubarb was good, nice and tart, and was a good foil for the scoop of vanilla ice cream I topped it with. But no matter how good it tastes, I can't enter a pie like that in a contest! It looks terrible. I'm pretty sure now that the problem is the frozen rhubarb. The only other thing I can think to do is thaw it and then drain off the juice but I'm not sure that will even work. Perhaps 2006 will have to be the Year of Rhubarb Crisp, not Rhubarb pie. I knew there was a reason I've always preferred cream pies over fruit pies. Grrrr.

Autumn in Colorado

Well, I'd say that's about the end of the geraniums.

Pie in the Sky

I've just put a Rhubarb Custard pie in the oven, and I'm on tenterhooks to see how it will turn out.

Been making a whole lotta pies around here lately. On Saturday night we're going to a Fall Festival at church, and one of the activities is a pie contest. I tend to be a *wee* bit on the competitive side, so I'm trying out pies right now to see which one will be my official contest entry. I have lots of frozen rhubarb that I'd like to use up, so I thought I'd make a rhubarb pie of some sort. Rhubarb is unusual, and that could work for or against my chances--it could be a good thing because there likely won't be any other rhubarb pies, but a bad thing because not everyone likes rhubarb. I'm convinced I lost last year's contest because I made a Key Lime Pie. It was an awesome pie, but I think the judges didn't choose it because they didn't like Key Lime, not because it wasn't good. My 2 Key Lime Pies were completely eaten after the judging, unlike some of the other entries. I think the winner was some sort of cheesecake or some similarly pedestrian creation *sniff*.

So 2006 is the Year of Rhubarb. I started out the pie-making on Monday, when I did a Chocolate Cream Pie to get my fingers flexed, so to speak. I hope that pie wasn't a portent of things to come, because it was horrible! The chocolate filling wasn't so bad, but the crust was terrible. Easily the worst pie crust I have ever made. It was a recipe I know I've used before so I'm not sure where I went wrong, but it was BAD. So bad in fact that I threw the whole thing away. I'm not going to waste dessert calories on substandard pie.

Yesterday I made a new batch of piecrusts using another recipe and they turned out much better. I found that my pastry cutter was leaving the shortening and butter in too large of chunks (one of the fatal flaws in Sunday's piecrusts) so I used my bare hands and I think I got a much finer consistency. Last night's pie recipe was from the good old standby, the red and white gingham BH&G cookbook. It was the only rhubarb pie recipe in the book. I used frozen rhubarb that I thawed first, and I think that was a mistake because the center of my pie is completely watery. I think the eggs in the recipe set, but the extra liquid from the thawed rhubarb threw the whole thing off. I haven't even cut into it because it's just a boggy, soggy mess.

That's why I'm hoping this current pie will be better. I used frozen rhubarb again, but only slightly thawed--just enough to get the ice crystals off. I just checked it and the center is still loose, so we have a ways to go yet. If this isn't a winner, I'm going to look for a Strawberry Rhubarb pie recipe. Oh, and to prevent 'pie thighs' I'm sending all my rejects to Quin's office. Bless their hearts, the guys there will eat anything!

For my Sweetie :)

Walk alongside me, Daddy
and hold my little hand.
I have so many things to learn
that I don't yet understand.

Teach me things to keep me safe
from dangers every day.
Show me how to do my best
at home, at school, at play.

Every child needs a gentle hand
to guide them as they grow.
So walk alongside me, Daddy -
We have a long way to go.

-unknown-

Technical difficulties

Things look a little different around here, I know. I just had to choose a new template for my blog and I decided it was time for a little change. If you visited my blog anytime in the last 24 hours you might have found either lines and lines of code or a completely blank page! I have no idea what happened. Yesterday morning everything was fine. Then later in the day DH noticed that all that showed up was lines and lines of code! Weird, and while I was posting on a few message boards looking for help, the whole thing completely disappeared and was replaced by a blank screen.

I kept hoping maybe it was a Blogger problem that would work itself out, but this morning it was still blank and most of my template was missing. I went looking and found help on the Blogger site--apparently I'm not the only one that has ever happened to! To remedy the problem I just had to choose a new template and -poof!- everything was back! Blogger says that I must have somehow deleted important parts of my code (like, ALL of it) somehow, but I maintain that it was FINE yesterday morning, when all I was doing was using the link to Rebecca's blog. I touched nothing! I deleted nothing! But whatever. The good news is that I get a shiny new template. I've been liking the white ones lately--photos seem to stand out better.

My laziness served me well in this instance, because in choosing a new template you lose any customizations you've done--and I've been too lazy to do any! Hooray for sloth. Maybe now that I have all this white space I'll be motivated to finally read the instructions I have saved somewhere on how to make a customized banner up there at the top. I'll be sure to save a copy of my template if I do. Ironically, laziness my have saved my hiney, but industry will be rewarded with sorrow if I lose everything!

Introducing...

My husband! He's jumped into the blogging world with a blog for his business, Guardian Gear Equipment & Consulting. I've put a link over in my sidebar, if you get curious. Love you, sweetie!

Yard sale of my dreams, day 2

Saturday morning, I was ready to go shopping! I packed Maren in the car and we drove over to our favorite yard sale at about 9:00 a.m. The owner had told me the day before that he hoped to get lots out first thing in the morning, and I was late by yard sale terms but when I got there they were just pulling stuff out of the garage. There wasn't much that I hadn't seen the previous afternoon but I did get three old blue glass canning jars and a Krispy Kan for $1 each. One of the jars had a broken lid but they're hard to find for that price around here. I promised to return later in the day when they had more out.

From there, Maren and I drove over to a small scrapbooking expo where my friend Beth was teaching a class. Beth and I knew each other when we lived in Savannah; our husbands worked together but we actually found each other through a scrapbooking website! She and her DH left Savannah shortly before we did and they are now stationed in Alaska. I haven't seen her in more than 2 years and it was such fun to visit with her again! We weren't able to visit long because Maren had reached her limit for being strapped in (carseat, then stroller) so she was making her displeasure known in various naughty ways. We tried to take a photo with Maren but she would not cooperate. I bought a few things from one of the vendors and then we were on our way.

The place where the expo was held was just a few blocks from the Salvation Army store where I bought this stuff a couple of weeks ago. I am rarely in that area so even though Maren was being a stinker I stopped. I shopped quickly but found a few goodies: The large blue glass canning jar to the right was $1.50. It's missing its zinc lid but someone replaced it with a homemade lid that is cross-stitched with cherries. If I can't have the original lid, that's about as good a substitute as I could hope for! I also found a little frame for a dollar (not pictured) and a .25 gray teacup to match the aqua one I found before. Still don't know the maker, but it looks so familiar. (The red tin in this photo is the Krispy Kan from earlier in the morning).

We headed home, poor little Maren's head bobbing in the carseat as she struggled to stay awake. She took a long nap and I puttered around here for a while. Finally at 3:30 (she went down for her nap at just after 12:00) I got Maren up and we headed over to the yard sale one last time. The weather was turning a little ugly and I was hoping to shop more before he packed up for the day. There was lots more out than had been there in the morning, including jewelry and linens. I spent another $10 and got a whole bunch of stuff. This sterling silver and black enamel (I don't think its onyx) necklace and earring set was .75! It's cute and the necklace is the perfect length (short!). It's marked "Mexico" and I know it's not old but it is sterling, nice and heavy and I can wear it with a lot of things.

At $3.oo, this ring was the most expensive thing I bought. It is set with a rhinestone and I think it is some type of old plastic like Bakelite. Not sure and I'm out of 409 so I can't do the 409 test but it definitely looks old.


Love these little guys! They were $1.00 for the pair. They're little pins and are made of some kind of old plastic. The little loops make me wonder if there was a chain between them and perhaps this was some type of a sweater clip? I don't know, but they're charming! Love the little sailor hats.

This neat bracelet was .50. I know it has to do with either Brownie scouts or Girl Scouts, but I'm not sure which. It's in the shape of a trefoil and has "Be Prepared" stamped into it all over the front and the back in different languages! It's really pretty neat. I think this one's going on eBay.

And the last of it. I'm not sure how much the Scottie dog towel was--maybe .50? It's missing a few stitches so I'll keep it for my use, but the pattern that makes up the dog is really cute! The little Colorado tea cup and saucer were $1.00 and they will go up in my guest room that's decorated with vintage souvenirs. The necklace is made of yellow, orange and coral-colored glass beads and it's not as heavy as the big green one I bought last week! Don't know how much it was. And the salt and pepper shakers are really pretty, but you can't tell from the photo. The part of the lid with the holes is actually made of mother of pearl and they are really neat! I have plans for those that I will post about later.

So that's all of it. I spent $24 total at that sale and I think I got some great stuff!I know he's bringing out more today but I don't shop on Sundays so that's it for me, and I'll just have to try not to think about all the goodies that are over there! I do know that next time I see a garage sale sign pointing down his street, I'm going without a second thought! And I've got to get in on this auction thing--the stories he was telling me had me licking my chops! With yard sale season largely over, I've got to find another source for junk to get my fix!

Yard sale of my dreams (literally)

On Friday afternoon I was out running errands with the Li'l Monster when I drove past a sign advertising a "BIG SALE". Normally those garage sales end up being 2 tables of overpriced cassette tapes and dirty stuffed animals, but as I drove past I could see that indeed there did look to be quite a lot of stuff out. I turned around and as soon as I stepped out of the car, I knew that I had hit a good 'un. I could tell that the people were collectors or something, because everything for sale was vintage or antique. I started talking to the man running the sale and he told me that he & his girlfriend have a little side business going to auctions. They often have to buy box lots, but they are usually very inexpensive--a couple dollars at most. He said that he had boxes and boxes and boxes of STUFF in the basement--most of it the remnants of the box lots, after they'd gone through and taken when they really wanted. He knew that many of the things he was selling could be sold on eBay, but he just didn't have the time or inclination because there was just so darn much of it. So this weekend he was just trying to get things cleaned out and make some room, and he had things definitely priced to move.

• old wooden chinese checkerboard
• vintage Kenner Star Wars toy, still sealed in box
• 1950s movie titler set (that's what you see on the right in this photo)
• vintage canister with strawberries
• 1963 metal lunchbox Thermos with space images
• very cool old wooden spindles made into a pipe stand
• Western Stoneware pottery jug
• silver baby cup

The owner was really great--he and I had a good time talking about collectibles and such. My stuff actually totaled $13.50 but he rounded it down to $10. He said they had been bringing boxes out all day as the tables emptied, and that they would be bringing lots more out on Saturday morning. I was so excited about my finds and determined to go over there first thing in the morning to beat any dealers that might get the good stuff first that I actually dreamed about yard sales all night long! I slept terribly and woke up early because I was so anxious about it. Obsess much, Heidi? Sheesh.

eyeball update

Went to Target yesterday to get a couple of bags of the squishy eyeballs to make a wreath (I ctown is reading my blog (Ha!) or Martha showed something else using the eyeballs. Last year they had them in stock almost until Halloween. I'll have to check another Target store and hope for the best. Pooh!

Here's looking at you

For Friday the 13th, another creepy Halloween craft/decoration! This is from Martha Stewart's show last year. You spray paint a twig or grapevine wreath black and then stick the eyeballs on the ends of the twigs--super simple! The eyeballs are squishy and gummy so you just poke them right onto the sticks. Target sells the eyeballs in bags with the other Halloween favors--I think they're around three or four bucks for a bag. I think they come individually wrapped because of their sticky texture. I don't know how well they'd hold up in storage because of the stickiness--you might have to remove them and do new ones next year, just buy an extra bag of eyeballs this year, I guess. I'd love to make one of these but I really don't have anywhere to put another wreath! Last year I bought 3 on clearance after Halloween (a black one to make, a black feather wreath and a small black one with little mirrors all over it) so I'm kind of maxed out in the wreath department. Thought I'd share though, in case it inspires anyone to do something similarly creepy!

Vulture Culture

Just wanted to share a picture of one of my favorite new Halloween decorations for this year. I got the feathered buzzard at Michael's crafts for about $6, which isn't bad--I've seen them in catalogs for much more. He's not very tall, but he'll do. I put floral foam in this old (thrifted) champagne bucket and the covered the top with dried Spanish moss (also from the craft store). The buzzard has two long wire prongs coming out of his feet so I poked those down into the foam, tied on a bow of black tulle that I bought on clearance after last Halloween, and there you have it! He's up on top of my china cabinet right now, peering down on passersby with a hungry look in his beady little eyes!

Today I had another LASIK consultation at a new place. They actually gave me 2 pair of soft contact lenses to start wearing. I put in the first pair at the office and wore them home and to Target and Joann's, but by the time I got home they were driving me nuts and I had to change back into my hard lenses! My vision was horrible and I kept feeling like I couldn't focus my eyes. I will have to get used to them, I suppose. I am still hoping to visit one other clinic before I make my final decision as to who gets my money, so I may hold off wearing them for a little while longer until I decide that. I can't put it off forever, though. Ugh.

Weekend thrifting

Saturday morning I got up early, determined to hit what were probably the last garage sales of the season. I may have been a week too late--I hardly saw any signs, and didn't want to drive far to reach the ones advertised in the paper. The weather was actually quite nice if a little on the windy side, but I think that for the most part, the garage sale season here is over. I was forced--forced, I tell you--to hit a couple of thrift stores to get my fix. Since Maren was home with Daddy I was able to spend a little more time looking at things than I usually do. I found a few goodies.



Green multi-strand necklace, 4.99. I love this necklace! Some of the beads are glass and some are plastic and it has really pretty clasps. It's big and chunky and definitely makes a statement. I actually started out today wearing it but it's actually quite heavy and was making my neck feel funny, so I had to take it off! Maybe I need to build up my neck muscles or something, LOL. The necklace at the right is turquoise and was 2.99. I really don't need another turquoise necklace but it was pretty and the stones look real. Figured I could restring it or add a pendant to fancy it up. The necklace on the bottom is choker length and looks like moonglow lucite. It's pretty! I'm wearing that right now instead of the heavy necklace.

A closeup of the pin. This was 1.99 and I think it's rather old. It has an old-style pin on the back which is more like a safety pin as opposed to having the little round locking catch. It looks like it was some sort of name tag because on the side there's a slot where you could slide a tag into that rectangular area. It refers to the "Rushmore Memorial," rather than today's common name of Mount Rushmore. There is a manufacturer's name on the back but I can't find much information about the company. This will probably go on eBay, but I'd like to find out a little more about it first.

Vintage rickrack, trim and buttons, 1.50. I bought this mainly for the rickrack (there's some great mini-rickrack in yellow and brown) but the other stuff was in the bag too. Love the needle paper--it opens and it's still got quite a few of the old needles inside.








This was actually from a garage sale I stopped at on Friday. I'd gone to a sale at that same house earlier this summer and bought my two Tupperware cupcake keepers for a quarter apiece. There was tons of Tupperware at that last sale but they must have sold it all the last time. I did buy 10 various Tupperware gadget-things for Maren to play with in the tub for a dime each, a clipboard for a nickle, a South Beach Diet book for a dollar, a cooking magazine for free, and this cute juice pitcher for a nickel as well. the colors are perfect for Halloween! If I can scrounge up some flowers it will make a cute vase. The little Halloween sign is mine from last year; the pitcher just looked so lonely there that I added it at the last minute.

The weather here has been ugly for the past few days. Last night the Denver Broncos played the Baltimore Ravens for Monday Night Football. My grandpa (who lives about 4 hours south of here) has season tickets and invited Quin to join him at the game. Although the weather was iffy, he and my grandma drove up yesterday morning with the hope that maybe the weather would improve enough that they could still go to the game. Well, it didn't--in fact it got worse by gametime. I think temps were in the 30s and it drizzled rain all day and all during the game. They decided not to go (smart) and instead we went to an early dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Maggiano's. We dressed Maren in her little Broncos cheerleader outfit and got so many smiles and nice comments--she really did look adorable! And she behaved remarkably well. After dinner we went home and got our warm jammies on and watched the game. By the end of the game Quin was having regrets about not going--even though the weather was obviously miserable, it was a good game and it probably was pretty fun, plus my grandpa's seats are Club Level and you can go inside and watch the game on huge screens while you're sipping hot chocolate and eating nachos. Ah, well. We had fun anyway and it was nice to spend time with my grandparents. We're lucky to live so close to them.

Friday night

Taken off our back deck on Tuesday evening after a rainstorm.
Busy today, I ran lots of errands. Quin had the day off so I was able to be baby-less for about 3 hours, which was nice. I mostly ran errands (Wal-Mart, bank, grocery store) but I did squeeze in a pedicure (the salon is inside WM) and a trip to the new Ulta store. They were having their grand opening this weekend and I got some fun free samples. I actually bought some Bare Escentuals make up at the other Ulta store earlier in the week. I can see now why so many people buy all their BE off of QVC--that stuff is ridiculously expensive! It's a WAY better deal off of QVC, plus you can usually buy great kits that come with brushes and stuff. Even with their expensive shipping, it's still a much better deal. I know that's what I'll be doing next time.

I went to a fun home party the same night I took this photo. It was for a new company called Uppercase Living. They sell vinyl lettering to be used in home decor. I'm no stranger to the whole vinyl lettering trend--I'm from Utah, where it has exploded in popularity in the past couple of years and where Uppercase Living is based. If you're familiar with WallWords or Wonderful Graffiti then you'll know what I'm talking about. I LOVE the way it looks on walls! It's such a cool, personalized way to decorate your house with words that are meaningful to you. I'd have it on every wall if Quin would agree to it (which he won't). I know I want to get a large quote to hang over the large opening between our front room and kitchen, something about families or home. If you know of any great quotes/scriptures/song lyrics that fit that theme, please share!

The vinyl lettering stuff is very cool, looks very professional and is SUPER easy to put up. It's great for apartment-dwellers who can't paint their walls because it is completely removeable (although you can't reuse it once removed). It can also be used on containers and windows and mirrors and just about any hard surface that you can think of. So cool! I have a little wall space in my downstairs powder room that I've been unable to fill and now I'm toying with the idea of ordering a new seasonal message to put in that spot every couple of months. The lettering is pretty affordable, so it wouldn't break the bank and it would be fun and different! Listen to me, I sound like I should be selling the stuff! Anyway, if you haven't heard of this stuff before, check out one of the links above! I think you'll love it.

Tonight is the season premiere for "Battlestar Galactica" so Quin and I are going to get our nerd on and just hang out. Depending on if the weather holds (rain is predicted) I may actually haul my behind out of bed early tomorrow morning and go yard-saling. Before too long it will be too cold to yard-sale and tomrrow Quin will be home so I can leave Maren and we don't have anything planned, two things that haven't happened on many Saturdays this summer. I love fall, but I hate the end of yard-sale season!

TP &Thrift finds

Yesterday morning I was awakened when the phone rang at 6:15 in the morning, well before my usual wake-up time. It was my father-in-law, who had been at our house the evening before. He drives trucks and had a load to drop off here in town Tuesday morning. He called to tell me that when his truck was being unloaded, three of the cases had been damaged and the receiver rejected them. The cases were filled with toilet paper and were going to just be trashed, so my FIL called to see if I wanted them. We can always use more TP, so I said yes and later that morning I packed the baby up and set out.

The truck yard was quite a ways away--it took me about 45 minutes to drive there. I loaded up the back of the Pathfinder with 3 huge boxes of toilet paper--80 rolls each--and realized that we were near a Salvation Army store that I've seen several times from the Interstate but never had the opportunity to stop at. From the outside it looked like it would be huge, but I found out that is because it's a big sorting center where they also do the training for the people who work there. The thrift store itself wasn't actually very large and was pretty disorganized. I did manage to find a few goodies however. The two candlesticks are by a pottery in Colorado Springs (about an hour from here) called Van Briggle. I vaguely remembered reading that name in a Kovel's Pottery book I checked out from the library a couple weeks ago and they were only .50 apiece. They are not very fancy, but they should sell. I'm sure I'll at least make back my dollar! The other stuff is to keep. The 4 yellow Pyrex hostess bowls, the books and the teacup were all .50 each as well. The teacup isn't marked but I just love the shape of the little handle! Plus it's the aqua color I love so much right now. The Mary Poppins is a hardcover of the movie and is just for decoration in the guest room upstairs. The other little book is a newer book made to look vintage. It's cute and clever and made me giggle. Maren hijacked that one as soon as I put it in the cart. I had a similar book (same size, same cover material, prob. same publisher) that she took some inexplicable liking to and carried it around for weeks. She loved this little book as well and insisted on holding it the whole drive home. She managed to gnaw a place out of the top already, so I'm going to have to keep this one put up lest it meet the same fate as the other book (ripped into shreds all over the living room floor.)

The necklace is kooky and kitschy and made of clear plastic or Lucite beads in yellow, orange and green. It was 1.75 and it just makes me smile! I don't have a single thing to wear with it so it may have to wait until next spring or summer when I bring out my yellow shirt and kelly green knit skirt again.

In other news, Monday morning I went in for a LASIK consultation to see if I'm a candidate for the surgery. I am, but I did hear some news I wasn't prepared for. I wear hard gas permeable contact lenses and have for about 14 years now. All contact lenses (but especially gas perms) can actually cause your cornea to warp slightly from wearing them. Because it's important for your cornea to be it's true shape when you have LASIK surgery, you have to go without contact lenses for a minimum of 2 weeks before the surgery to let your corneas relax. For me, I would have to probably be in soft lenses for a while and then glasses for that last 2 weeks. That would be fine--annoying, but fine--except for the fact that I have no glasses. The last time I had glasses that I could see through was 9 years ago, when I broke one of my contact lenses right in the middle of finals and right before Christmas break. I think I wore them for as long as it took for my new lens to come in and then shoved them in the back of a drawer. So now I find out I'm going to have to spend $200 on glasses so I can wear them for 2 weeks, and then never again? You have got to be kidding me. I don't think there's any way around it, though. Heck, what' s another $200 when it's already going to cost me something like $3000 to get the LASIK done? Drop in the bucket, I guess. I did find my old frames this morning and so maybe I can just use those and get new lenses, so it won't be quite as expensive.

I have another appointment with another LASIK place next week, and I may try to set up at least one or two more. When we got the front room painted I got 3 estimates, and that was just for walls. These are my EYES we're talking about, people! I want to be sure I'm going with somebody I feel comfortable with. I'm hoping to get it done by the end of the year but if I have to wear soft contacts for 6 weeks and glasses for another 2, I need to get that started ASAP. Time is a' wasting, and I'm ready to just get it over with, already!

Making a case for pillowcases

While it's true that I was on a pillowcase-dress-making kick for a few weeks this summer, the weather has cooled and it won't be suitable for Maren to wear a sundress for about another 9 months. So why, WHY, can't I stop buying pillowcases? I have one daughter to sew for, not six, and I live in Colorado, not Florida! What is wrong with me? I just can't resist them, especially when they're hand-embroidered like those on the top row or brightly colored like that on the far left, or made of linen like the green one, or just printed with pretty sprays of roses in a rainbow of colors, like the yellows and purple? I've been buying them and stashing them in the dresser in the spare room, and when I went to put these away I discovered one more that I recently bought but didn't photograph. Really, it's getting a bit ridiculous. I've long since run out of pillows in this house that need covering. I may have to use the winter months perfecting my pillowcase-dress sewing technique, then list them on eBay next spring, because I just don't think I can go cold turkey and quit buying them!

The weather here this weekend was just beautiful--warm and sunny and decidedly un-autumn-like. I think it hit 85 on Saturday, actually. Quin's office had a family party so we went to a park and had a cookout. Maren loved being outside at the park! She LOVES going on slides--the higher, the better! She's just so fearless, a quality I hope she keeps as she grows. She climbs straight to the top of the slides all by her self--no help from mommy or daddy needed--and stands at the top of the slide with absolutely no apprehension. She launches herself down the slide, secure in the knowledge that someone will be there to catch her. It's so fun to watch her play and laugh and explore the world. Makes up for the times she ruins my carpet, that's for sure.

I love this picture of Maren and Quin. Look how far in front of him she is! He had to hustle to keep up. That's just her personality--she has an agenda; an idea in her head of what she's going to do next, and the rest of us are welcome to keep up if we want. Hard to believe she's only 18 months old and already so very independent.