Thursday things: daffodils and a silver egg

Nest update: No additional eggs today. Phew! It's going to be awfully crowded in that nest once the eggs hatch, even if the babies are tiny (the eggs are teeny!)

On my happy list for today are the bright yellow daffodils I have arranged in vintage blue glass canning jars throughout my house. They're like rays of sunshine in botanical form, aren't they?Now that I look at this photo, I realize I never blogged about the little silver object to the right in the photo, by the picture frame. I bought this little treat at Patina back when they had their sale a month ago. The item is a little silver toothpick holder that looks like an egg. Here's a close-up:There's a wee birdie head poking out of the egg, and the whole thing rests on a silver wishbone. A little bit curious but a whole lot charming, so it had to come home with me. As a bonus, it's monogrammed! Although I can't quite make out the second letter, it looks an awful lot like "M G" which are Maren's initials, so that clinched the deal for me. The shop owner told me that she had purchased this piece (and a few others) from an estate sale, where the original owner had a collection of something like 2000+ toothpick holders. Can you imagine?

Tomorrow I'll be back with a contest and hopefully my Marie Antionette swap partner will receive her package soon, because I'm dying to show you all the collage I made!

Estate sale loot

Nest update: There's another egg! That makes five total. Apparently Momma Bird is gunning to be my yard's version of Octomom. Really, it's getting crowded--I don't know how five little baby birdies are going to fit in that tiny nest!

The weather lately has not been conducive to the start of Garage Sale season. We've had lovely weather during the week and then by Friday afternoon it all falls apart. Last weekend I did happen to spot a sign for an Estate Sale on Friday morning not too far away so I packed up Maren and we went for a visit. Unfortunately, the previous owner was an older man, so there were none of the vintage craft supplies or lovely embroidered linens I always hope to find.

I did get lucky in the kitchen and found this great old jar for $1.The top is a bit vague as to the original contents, but I think it might have originally held applesauce. Take me home? Righty-o!

The woman running the sale also had a large amount of costume jewelry that was very reasonably priced--especially for an estate sale! I picked out a few treasures:I adore the wide rhinestone bracelet on the left. Now I just need somewhere fancy to wear it, as it might look a bit outre under the yellow rubber gloves I wear to do dishes and scrub toilets. Among my finds were two great old sparkly shoe clips, two bright enamel flowers in great condition, and a very old, very unusual bird pin (bottom center). It's made of metal but feels very light and the metal is soft. It's missing some stones but I think that just adds to the charm.

The weather this weekend is scheduled to be wet on Friday but hopefully it will clear up by Saturday morning. Mama needs her junk fix!

Oh, and I finally got sucked in and joined Facebook. I held out this long but the lure of sneaking peeks at old boyfriends finally got the better of me! I still don't know what I'm doing (I can barely manage a blog and an etsy shop, now I have one more thing to figure out) but if you want to be friends or whatever it's called, let me know!

Nesting

I was just tickled when Linda from My Vintage Soul contacted me to let me know that I won a giveaway on her blog! The package was waiting for me when I came home from Disneyland and opening it was just the icing on one big layer cake of a weekend!Like Christmas in April, I tell you. Maybe these beauties will be like priming the junk pump so I'll find lots of great vintage Christmas stuff this garage sale season. Thanks again, Linda--I love them!

Another thing I discovered upon our return last week was that a little birdie had built a nest into the (thrifted) wreath on my front door! At first I couldn't believe it was real, as we'd only been gone for a few days and most of those were filled with one heck of a Spring blizzard.
Sure enough, it's real, and it's interesting to see all the bits and pieces the bird used to construct the nest. I can see twigs, Easter grass, string, dryer lint, and lots and lots of hair (yuck).

I've been worried about the safety of the nest because my front door is banged open and shut all afternoon each day as Maren and the little girls next door play and go in and out of the house. I've been afraid that Momma Bird would abandon the nest for somewhere a little quieter. Not sure I could blame the poor thing--don't all of us mommas just wish for a little peace and quiet?I was surprised then to find two little eggs on Sunday morning when I went out for the paper! The Momma Bird flew away to the tree in the front yard, where I could hear her scolding me all the time it took me to run for my camera and lift Maren up to see the eggs for herself.

Yesterday there were three eggs! By this time I had decided to move the wreath to the wall of the house nearby where I normally have a plaque hanging. It wouldn't be far but it would be more secure than on the front door. I carefully moved the wreath but worried that even though it was just about 18" to one side, that perhaps the Momma Bird wouldn't find it or would be fed up and abandon the nest altogether.
This morning I opened the door to let a guest out and was delighted to find yet another egg! I'm relieved that Momma found her nest and didn't seem too bothered by its slight relocation. The eggs are teeny and the palest grayish-blue with speckles, much lighter in color than Shara's eggs. I wonder if there will be any more? It's getting kind of crowded in there! I do hope they hatch so we can see the babies.

I told Maren that we have to be careful and leave the nest alone, so we don't scare the Momma bird. She suggested that we buy a bird costume--that way we can sneak up on the nest, and the other bird won't see us. Brilliant! I think she's been watching too many cartoons, that one. When I asked her where we could get a bird outfit she replied, "The costume store, of course." Of course. Duh, Mom.

The Happiest Place on Earth

We talked to Maren about our trip to Disneyland for months before we actually left and even watched the informational DVD with scenes from the parks so she'd know what it looked like and what to expect. I think Maren was ready for Disneyland, but I'm not so sure Disneyland was ready for Maren!She may be only four years old and doesn't even weigh 35 lbs, but I'm telling you, she took the place by storm!

She charmed the socks off Mary Poppins and Bert (Bert even took her two doors down for the express purpose of growling like a T. Rex at Cruella DeVille, leaving the rest of the people in line behind us bewildered and likely annoyed)
She stole the show center stage at the Jedi Academy as the littlest padawan with the cutest hairdo
And she had the audience rolling with laughter when she was chosen to wake up Jose in the Enchanted Tiki Room (this isn't the whole thing; I was laughing too hard to remember to get out the video camera before this)

Our whole trip was just perfect. Really--for those three days, Disneyland certainly lived up to its moniker of The Happiest Place on Earth for us. What I came away feeling was such gratitude that I have a family who love each other and genuinely enjoy spending time together. I know not everyone has this happiness, and I am truly thankful that I do.I am also reminded just what an incredible little girl I am lucky enough to have--Maren was a dream kid! Not once did she cry, whine, complain, or beg during the entire trip. She rode happily in her stroller (that thing was worth EVERY penny; I'm now a total Maclaren convert), was game for anything (she went on every single ride and attraction for which she was tall enough, including all of the roller coasters, Haunted Mansion, and Tower of Terror) and kept up with us even until after midnight the last night. She was absolutely amazing!

And nobody guessed her favorite ride--it was Space Mountain! Not many four-year-olds would be brave enough to go on it once but little miss EXTREME Maren laughed and squealed with glee each of the three times she rode. Unusual, but perfectly fitting for her fearless personality! This is what I got when I asked her how she looked when she rode:

I'm up to my elbows in pink, blue, feathers and jewels working on my Marie collage, so until I post again about Disneyland, here are some pretties to look at:I am in love with the old metal escutcheon plate--it's the perfect shade of chippy aqua blue! It needs cleaning so I'm trying to figure out how to do it gently without taking off the paint. The itty bitty flower frogs were a thrill to find; each is not quite as big around as a quarter! They are the smallest I've ever seen. I bought all I could find and I hope to offer some in my poor neglected etsy shop sometime very soon. And the vintage pink fabric measuring tape is a little treat I picked up at my favorite local shop, Patina. I've never found a pink one before and I'm smitten!

Back to the salt mines for me!

Back from the Mouse's House

We went, we rode, we saw, we ate, we walked, we laughed, we had the most fun and we can't wait to do it again in a few years!

We're all moving a little slowly and I've got to get my nose to the grindstone on my Marie collage (due out Friday! eek!) so I'll share more later. In the meantime, anyone want to guess what Maren's favorite ride was? She rode it three times, and I'll give you the answer in my next post!

Three things for Tuesday

First things first: Shameless Mommy Brag photos of my beautiful little girl on Easter Sunday. It was rainy, gray and cold here but with her bright yellow bow, she was a ray of sunshine!
The photo with her arm raised is funny--we told her to stand still as a statue (hard to get no-flash photos of her that aren't totally blurry) and she immediately put her arm up and stood still. I didn't get it at the time but later realized that she was being a statue, all right--the Statue of Liberty, to be exact! What a funny kid she is.
Second: We're going to Disneyland in two days! Squeeeeeeeeeal! I had a Disneyland dream this morning and I'm starting to get butterflies in my stomach, both from excitement and anxiousness. I ended up ordering a new Maclaren Volo stroller from eBay and it's on the UPS truck for scheduled delivery today. I tried to buy a used one off Craigslist for $70 but wasn't fast enough; now I'm glad because this brand new one was also $70 and I got free shipping! Also, I got to choose the color: turquoise, of course! And now I know that if for some reason I don't like it, I can easily sell it on Craigslist and recoup my costs. I'll still be a little freaked about it getting stroller-napped while I'm enjoying the Jungle Cruise, but hopefully everything will be okay.
Third: Check out this awesome fabric I found at the thrift store last week! I don't normally look at the fabric since I don't sew, but I happened to see this and grabbed it fast. The colors are so perfect for my front room! I LOVE it and wish I could buy more, as I think it would make really fun curtains. Unfortunately, there's no name on the selvage. It's very thick, kind of like canvas. I don't suppose anyone out there recognizes it? The piece I have is long and narrow so I think it will become pillows for the brown leather chair I'm trying to find to go in that room. The red is the color of my walls, the aqua is my accent color and the brown will match the chair and the light fixtures and the other wood furniture in the room. I hadn't thought of using the apple green before but I really like how it looks with the other colors.

Now it's off to do laundry and start making my packing list so that we don't forget anything important. I'm also trying to get started on my Marie Antoinette collage before I go because the mailing date is only a few days after I get home next week. Time to get to work!

Eggs, Sparkly-side up

It's funny--a month ago, I couldn't wait to get out my Easter decorations but I held off, thinking that if I did it so early I'd be sick of them by now. I think I should have gone ahead and gotten them out then because as it was, I finally dragged the Easter box downstairs last Friday. There it sat until Wednesday, because I just couldn't muster the interest to do anything about it! I finally did set out a few of my very favorite decorations, but 80% of my Easter decor stayed in the box. This is strange for me, as I normally LOVE to decorate for each holiday (and I have some Easter stuff that I really adore) but this time I just didn't feel like taking down and putting away everything else first and then putting it all back out after Easter. I guess this way it will all feel like new when I get it out next year.

One of the few things I did get out of the box were my two big foil egg candy containers. (And you know, as I'm typing this I could have sworn that I have three of those eggs--where is the other one? Hmm.) These are two of my favorite Easter decorations and every year I desperately wish I could find more at the thrift. I was inspired by Andrea's gorgeous eggs and decided they needed to be fancied up a bit.This is how they ended up. As I look at them I think maybe they need a bit more trim around the openings but mostly I like how they came out. On the aqua egg I used some of my favorite pink foil Dresden trim and on the purple egg I used some fun aqua blue velvet ribbon that I bought at Archiver's. Each sports a vintage earring jewel and I finally managed to use some of the vintage millinery flowers I've been hoarding.


They were fun and easy and I definitely like them even more now that they've been gussied up. Now I just need to find a few more giant foil eggs to add to my collection!

Another fabulous sparkly egg came my way courtesy of my sweet and talented friend Shara! Would you look at this glittery goodness?
I love it! I adore the glittery little birdie on top and the fluffy tissue festooning trim. It's the perfect color to coordinate with my foil eggs!

Wishing you all a lovely Easter weekend!

Bunny crafting

I've mentioned before lately that I feel like my crafty mojo took a hike when baby #2 took up residence. I haven't completely shaken that feeling, but it's getting a little better! I wanted to share a fun little Eastery treat I made for a dear friend.
I literally woke up with the vision of this project in my head...stumbled downstairs in my jammies and started dragging things out of my craft closet. This is a 5" square stretched canvas. I covered it with vintage ledger paper and a stacked rosette made of a cute pink cupcake paper and vintage blue crepe paper. The crepe paper rosette is edged in pink German glass glitter and the middle has another bit of ledger paper and a gold foil dresden bunny. The edges are finished with some of my favorite pink foil dresden border.
I'm very happy how it turned out and think the recipient is pleased too. ;) I have another 5" square canvas in the closet so I believe maybe I'll do another one before I put all the bunnies away.

The Sad State of Thrift Stores

I don't know about your area, but around here the state of the thrift shops lately has been just pitiful! It used to be that I couldn't wait to go at least once a week (more if I could sneak it in) but after so many experiences lately of walking out empty-handed and disgusted, I just don't bother. It's disappointing, because it's a long time from October to May when the garage sale season starts up in earnest again, and I need my junk fix! Normally I've been able to count on my thrifts (there are four or five within a short distance, more if I want to drive a little) to get my fix but this year I've been coming up dry.

Yesterday I popped into a thrift in search of some plates for a project. The first thing I noticed is that it looked like a bomb had gone off in there--it was a pigsty! Normally that thrift is kept pretty clean so maybe they'd had a particularly busy Sunday or something because it was a disaster. Adding to the chaos were at least a dozen little kids running wild, crying, leaving toys all over the store, and generally behaving like a bunch of heathens while their mothers ignored them completely. I almost left, but did find one treasure that it was worth waiting in line to purchase:
A bag full of tubes of vintage sequins, rickrack (not pictured), glitter, and beads. I love the older sequins and these are great! The red beads in the front are mercury glass.
My favorite thing in the bag was this little glass bottle of glitter. It's marked "StarTwinkle" by Elizabeth Arden in great pink script. I did some googling but can't figure out what was originally in the bottle. I think the vintage gold glitter is a perfect replacement for whatever it might have been!

In this store yesterday I was looking at the children's clothing and found a plain white Hanes under-T, size 4T, marked $2.99. Seriously, can't you buy a package of three for about that much? It was hanging right next to a Hanna Andersson sweater that was also marked $2.99 (which is perfectly reasonable) so what kind of moron do they have doing the pricing?

I wonder if instead of donating, people are holding onto their stuff and hoping to sell it this summer at garage sales to make some money. If so, maybe that's a good thing--more garage sales, where prices are much lower than the thrifts anyway, right? How is the thrifting in your area? Have you noticed any change in inventory levels or prices?

Vintage black and white dress

Of all the places on the earth, the dinky farming town of Spanish Fork, Utah is the last place you'd expect to find a store full of really great vintage clothing, but that's what I found when we visited family there last Christmas! I love vintage clothing but I'll admit I don't buy much because it usually doesn't fit me. People were smaller 50-60 years ago and although I'm average size for an American woman now, I'm also 5'8" and unwilling to wear a girdle, so that takes me out of the running for much of the vintage clothing I find.I loved this 1950s-era black and white dress from the minute I saw it, but there was no tag so I couldn't immediately tell the size. A quick trip to the dressing room showed that, wonder of wonders--it FIT! And not only did it fit, but it was very flattering (and inexpensive!). I was so excited for spring to come so that I could wear it with some fun bright colored heels.
I love the fabric! What a fun print. (The photo is not upside down, the pattern runs both ways)
The black detail on the collar and bow is actually thick black velvet. LOVE the shape of the neckline.And then a few short weeks later, I found out I was pregnant! I knew there was no way this dress would fit for much longer--there would be no waiting for Springtime for this dress, so a few weeks ago I poured myself into it and wore it to church. Oh man, it was a tight squeeze! I could hardly breathe (that was a LONG three hours) and I'm surprised that I didn't pop the 50-year old stitches on the zipper. But I wore it, and now it has been retired to the closet until next Spring, when I will hopefully have my body back and be able to wear it again!

Strollers, a Marie swap & garage sale linens

Thank you all for your suggestions on the strollers & handles--I knew you would be able to help! Would you believe that the idea to check Craigslist didn't even cross my mind, a fact that is particularly ironic considering that I have something for sale in the baby/kids section right now? DUH! I looked yesterday and there was a Maclaren Volo for $65, but it's WAY across town (as in, it would take me an hour to get there) so I'm going to cross my fingers and hope maybe another one shows up. I know the Maclarens are well-made but I just can't stand the thought of paying full price, because I know that I would be paranoid the entire time at Disneyland that someone was going to steal my $125+ stroller. That would not make it the Happiest Place on Earth for me.I signed up for the Marie Antoinette collage swap over at Maria's blog and I'm totally excited! Since my creative mojo has been on hiatus for approximately 16 weeks now, I'm glad to find something that finally sparked my creative interest. We won't get our partners until April 6 but I'm already mentally going through my supplies, pulling out pinks and blues, ruffles, foil dresdens, and feathers. I think I need to go rent the movie again for inspiration. This should be FUN! Maria's taking sign-ups until April 6th so there's still time if you're interested.

Today I head to the OB for a checkup and to hopefully schedule my ultrasound in 4 weeks! I think I finally felt the baby move yesterday, which is about right because I recall I felt Maren around 17 weeks. I thought maybe it would be earlier this time because I knew what to look for so I've been paying attention to all the swishy feelings in my tummy lately, but this pregnancy my tummy has been generally very *bubbly* so it's been hard to tell if it's the baby down there doing the boogie, or just my lunch.

And because this post needs another photo, here's an old one I never shared of some fun garage sale finds from last summer. Have a good Wednesday!