L'Chaim!

This morning I was outside in the backyard pulling weeds and cleaning up dead plants to get ready for winter. Maren came out of the house holding a peeled banana, which she'd gotten herself for a snack. I made note of it, and then she disappeared back into the house, only to reappear holding another peeled banana--this one was for me, she said. I took off my gloves and began to eat it--didn't really fancy a banana at that time, but there wasn't much I could do with it otherwise. When I had eaten about half of it, she held up her remaining half and *clinked* mine with hers, saying "Cheers!"

I have no idea where she learned that--the only toasting that goes on at this house is the variety that I eat topped with peanut butter for my breakfast in the morning. I almost choked on my banana, I was laughing so hard.

Photos taken yesterday afternoon. The first one is what I got when I asked her to smile, the second is when I told her to "say cheese."

Silver Bella day 2

Yikes, I didn't think it would take me a full week to post my Silver Bella review, but here we are. Friday morning began bright and early. My alarm rang at 6:30 am but I was awake long before that, due to the alarm clock in the room going off at the unholy hour of 5:15 am. I never really got back to sleep, and combined with the late hour at which I finally drifted off the night before, waking up was pretty painful. However, my grogginess was mitigated by my excitement for my the day.

My first class was entitled "Christmas Vignettes," taught by the talented (and tall!) Rebecca Sower. We made a series of six "Christmas Vignettes" using vintage images, silver glass glitter, and various trims and mirrors and bells and other fun little things to embellish them. I didn't finish my vignettes (actually, I didn't finish a single project the whole weekend!) so I don't have a photo to show you right now, but hope to soon. Another highlight for that class for me was meeting the darling Amy Powers of Inspire Co. Amy's blog was one of the first I started reading and I've loved it ever since. Amy is charming and delightful, (which you know if you read her blog) and it was such a treat to meet her! Her happiness is infectious!

After Rebecca's whirlwind class, my next stop was Teresa McFayden's "Bella's Bracelet." In this class we learned how to make a bracelet out of beautiful vintage velvet ribbon, tulle, buttons, and beaded chain. Now, I don't really sew, nor do I embroider, so I don't have a lot of experience with a needle & thread beyond sewing lost buttons back onto my pants. However, I do have experience with beading and working with my hands in general, so I thought I'd be able to make my bracelet with no problem. Wrong! I don't know what happened, but I was all thumbs and while everyone else at my table was confidently sewing their pleated ribbons, I was fumbling along, just trying to get started. I think my awkwardness was partly that I had just broken several fingernails all the way down to the quick, and without my nails my fingers feel like stubs and they just don't function right. Silly, but it's true! Also, the room was cold and I was nervous so my hands were alternately cold and clammy, further rendering them useless appendages. Everyone at my table finished their bracelets, and I...well, I didn't even come close. I need remedial Bella Bracelet-making class or something! You can see a photo of what the finished product was supposed to look like here. I've since found an easier way to make the flower ruffle so I'm just going to unpick all of my stitches and start again from scratch. Maybe I'll wait for my fingernails to grow in again, just to be sure! Here's a photo of the ladies at my table and Miss Foof (Teresa) in the middle. Notice that everyone else is modeling their bracelets, and I'm holding mine together. Ha! I will finish it and it will be fabulous, you'll see.

After class we hightailed it to the ballroom for our Bella luncheon. We had a lovely lunch (I was starving!) and we were able to hear more from the two Country Living editors who had been hanging out in our classes that morning. They were really great and answered questions from all of us about the magazine, how they spot trends, where they go to do stories, etc. It was really interesting, and it seemed like they had a really good time all weekend! They told us that the Silver Bella story will be published sometime next fall, maybe October or November. I can't wait to see it! Another fun thing at the luncheon--I won a door prize! I never win anything, so I was thrilled, and when I saw my prize I was even more excited! I won this daddy-o, which I saw at Michael's the other day priced at $59.99! I have been wanting a large paper cutter for a while, so I am just tickled. Now I just have to find a place to put it where Maren can't use it to cut her fingers off.

After lunch I had one more class, this time with Jenny & Aaron of Everyday is a Holiday fame. I absolutely adore their work, so I was so excited to be in their classes! They designed the cutest project for us with hand-painted snowy cottages and trees, all in their signature pastel colors. I didn't finish mine but if you click on Jenny's blog and scroll down you can see what it will look like. I didn't finish mainly because I wanted to do a little more customization, but didn't have the tools I needed with me.

By the time class was over it was 4:00 pm and I'd been going non-stop since 8:00 am, so I was beat! I had just enough time for a quick rest and then my mom and I had to get dressed for the big Bella ball that evening. I've already shown you what we looked like, but here's a link to one more shot taken by cute Hope of Paper Relics. Vendor night was just amazing and it was such a treat to see everyone all dressed up. What fun!

After the vendors packed up we all met back in the ballroom to exchange our swap items. I participated in two swaps: Aquabella (Christmas ornaments made in a silver & aqua theme) and the Christmas tag swap. For the Aquabella swap our hostess, Tammy Gilley, provided the prettiest Tiffany-blue paper bags for us to divide out our swaps. Don't they look inviting, all stuffed with ribbon and cellophane? There are some amazing creations in that bag, let me tell you! The tag swap was a little chaotic, and I'm not 100% sure that I ended up with one from everybody, but the creations are really wonderful and now I have 20 little individual works of art from some of my fellow Bellas.

After the swap we went up and went to bed--it was at least 11:00 pm at that point and we'd had a busy but exhausting day. I slept like a baby!

Back later with day 3 and photos of all the goodies I bought!

Catching up: Tablecloth Thursday and Friday Fiver

We interrupt your Silver Bella recap to bring you:

Tablecloth Thursday! I took the photos yesterday but didn't get them posted, so I'm a day late.

This week it's my vintage Thanksgiving tablecloth, an excerpt of which you see here. I bought this last year sometime at a thrift store and I feel so lucky to have found it, as I know it probably wasn't a common design. It has a mustard-colored panel in the middle and a design of orange and mustard fall squash & veggies in the border, punctuated by cute little Pilgrim village scenes like this one. It has a few stains that I now suspect are rust, so if I can get hold of some Whink I'll see if I can get them out. Otherwise, I love it!

And today's Friday Fiver:

1. What's the last thing you threw away?
A sodden diaper and the eggshell from Maren's scrambled egg breakfast.
2. Have you ever been to Paris?
Yes, almost this exact time of year, but in 1998. We spent Thanksgiving there. Can't believe it was so long ago! Maybe I should get working on that scrapbook, eh?
3. What do you stare at?
My Bloglines, waiting for it to update. :) I'm addicted!
4. What do you hurry for?
I hurry get things done during Maren's naptime, my only chance for a little peace & quiet.
5. Friday fill-in:I could have been ___.
I could have been showered & dressed by now if I hadn't gotten sucked into looking at the extra clearance items on Talbots.com.

More Silver Bella to come!

Silver Bella day 1

My Bella adventure began Thursday morning, when my DH and Miss Maren dropped me off at the airport. We met my mother, who had just flown in for Salt Lake so she could get a quick Maren 'fix' to hold her over until Thanksgiving. Together, we flew the 59 minutes to Omaha--who knew it was that close? My US Geography gets kind of muddy there in the middle of the country. I knew there was at least one other Bella from my area and I kept my eyes peeled to see if she was on the same flight. Once we got to the airport and were waiting for our luggage, I looked out the window and saw two woman waiting outside with piles of suitcases. My Bella radar kicked in, and somehow I just knew those ladies were going to the same place we were! We collected our bags and walked down to where the hotel shuttle was to collect us, and lo and behold but who came walking up behind us? It was those ladies, plus a few more! We met Sharon, Janey, Natalea, Hope, and Sarah, and then Michelle hopped on at the last second. It was so funny--we started to giggle and laugh like old friends from the minute we realized we were all Bellas! I think the guys sharing the shuttle with us were a little scared. ;)

When we got to the hotel to check in we met even more Bellas! Our first official event was a 6:00 pm private shopping event at a local antique store in the Old Market part of town. Some of us decided to catch the shuttle over there early to beat the rush, and I got to meet a few more Bellas--Linda and Kimla. Our first stop was Fairmont Antiques, which turned out to be the most enormous antique mall I've ever seen! No kidding, it seemed that every time I turned the corner a huge new room opened up in front of me, and every booth was simply packed to the gills with great stuff. I knew I needed a brooch for my outfit on Friday night so that is what I set to finding. One of the neatest things I saw was a case full of these amazing, gorgeous vintage Czech Christmas tree pins. Wow! The sparkles and colors were eye-popping.

It didn't take me long to find some treasures! Prices were very reasonable compared to similar items here in Denver. After Fairmont, we walked across the street to Second Chance Antiques for our special Bella event. We arrived at 5:00 pm, an hour before the official event's start and already it was packed with Bellas scooping up bargains!

Let me stop and tell you about Second Chance. Second Chance--Ha! More like Second Home for most of us that weekend! I've never been a store like it and doubt that I ever will again, unless I get to go to Silver Bella 2008! The store is large, but to say that it was packed would be a gross understatement. It was unbelievable--antiques and vintage items piled all over each other, stuffed under furniture, stacked to the ceilings, in every nook and cranny you can imagine. It was actually a little difficult to navigate the narrow, labyrinthine aisles--I was terrified I was going to knock something precious and breakable to the floor with my purse. The basement is filled with vintage clothing, sewing notions, and cases of the most beautiful, sparkly rhinestone jewelry you could ever hope to find in one place. Honestly, I think I walked around with my jaw agape for the first 30 minutes I was in the store, as agog as I was at the sheer amount of STUFF there was. Now, it was dirty and jam-packed and dusty and I know I saw at least 4 cats wandering around, so it is not for the faint of heart or faint of dirt. But it's the kind of place where if you're willing to dig, you'll be rewarded.

It didn't take long for the ambient temperature to get way above the comfortable range, and the noise and crowding got to be a little too much so we paid for our purchases and left, though I was already planning when I'd be back. Before we left I did notice a couple of photographers, and knew that my suspicions about Teresa's hint about "company" coming to Silver Bella were true! A team of two editors and two photographers from Country Living were there taking pictures for a future story on Silver Bella!!

It felt delightfully cool and quiet once we escaped the chaos of Second Chance, and we met up with some of our new friends to go find something to eat. We ended up at Julio's, a teeny-tiny Mexican place, with Linda, Natalea, Sharon, Janey, Jessi and Tiffany, sharing chips and salsa and chatting away like old friends, until it was time to summon the cute shuttle driver to deliver us back to the hotel. We got back fairly early--I don't think it was even 9:00 pm yet, but my mom and I went back to our room to get unpacked and ready for our classes the next morning. I had a hard time getting to sleep that night--visions of rhinestones and vintage Christmas ornaments swam in my head for a long time until I finally drifted off, well past midnight. I knew that if that day had been any indication, it was going to be an awesome weekend!

I'm back, and I'm covered in glitter

I wish that I could say: "Silver Bella was horrible! Don't go! I couldn't wait for it to end so I could just come home and get away from all those crazy ladies. Don't sign up next year, you'll regret it for sure!" if only that would make it so that no one else would want to go next year so I can get in! But you know I'd be telling a fib. :) In reality, it was wonderful, fabulous, magical, and SO MUCH FUN that I can't imagine NOT wanting to go again after hearing all about it. I'm going to be prepared with my quickest fingers next year at registration time, because I have a feeling I'm going to have a lot more competition to get in, once word gets out!

I still haven't unpacked all my projects and treasures because I want to get photos of everything before I put it all safely away and out of reach of a certain 2-year-old, so I will share those later posts. I do have a photo of my mom and me dressed up for our big party on Friday night.


The dress-up theme for the evening was "Junk Gypsies" so all the Bellas wore our cowboy boots and hats along with gobs of jewelry and poofy skirts and crinolines. My mom and I decided we needed to go a little more toward the rodeo queen look and she made us some glittery sashes to wear--mine said "Mrs. Silver Bella Colorado" and hers said "Mrs. Silver Bella Utah" and we got laughs out of them all night long! If you look close you can see that I'm even wearing a corsage--the head Bella, Miss Teresa, picked me as one of the best-dressed and so I received a pretty corsage of pink roses and aqua ribbons, with added rhinestones, of course. :)

That night was Vendor Night, and we were able to shop at 40 tables of the most amazing, talented artists and vendors that etsy has ever seen! It was just eye-popping to see the displays and the wares that people had brought and I think I'm already kicking myself for not buying more. :) I know for sure there are definitely some some etsy shops I'll be visiting again and again! After the vendors had cleaned up, we all went back to exchange our swap items. I don't have photos of those yet either, but I will post them soon! It was like Christmas to get bags stuffed to bursting with beautiful, glittery creations from my fellow Bellas! That was just the capper to the most amazing day--I went to bed that night SO happy I just wanted to burst!

While you're waiting for me to get some more pictures up (hoping to get it done during Maren's naptime today), here are some other Bellas who already have photos posted:
Jennifer Stewart
ArtsyMama Kari Ranstrom
Jana Perenchio
Kim Haynes (official Bella photographer)

And I'm Off!

Off for three days of glittery, crafty fun--and best of all, I get to enjoy it all with my mom! I'll see you all on Monday, hopefully with lots of fun photos and stories to share!

Silver Bella crunch time

Greetings from Santa's Sweatshop!...er, Workshop, that is. I've spent all weekend with glitter, glue and feathers stuck to my fingers and clothes as I've been preparing goodies for Silver Bella, which I leave for on Thursday! I am participating in two swaps and although I swore when I signed up for them that I'd get my items finished well before the deadline, it somehow snuck up on me and here I am, scrambling at the last minute (as usual). DH joked about the "Silver Bella Sweatshop" labor I was putting in while we caught up on Season 2 of "Heroes" and the multiple trips to the local craft stores I've made over the past few days (three trips on Saturday alone).

I finally got it all done last night and now comes my traditional "swap angst" period in which I stress and worry that everything I made is crap and when I see the amazing, fabulous creations everyone else has made, I'll want to commit seppuku to spare myself the shame and embarrassment that comes from making inferior craft items. Hey--I didn't say it was a rational fear.

Since I've been crafting all weekend the house is a disaster, so today and tomorrow I need to pack, clean up this mess, do the laundry, and I really want to take down the Halloween decorations before I leave because as much as I love them, I am tired of seeing them. That means I need to get moving, but before I go I must show you the lovely Sister Swap package I received from Laurie last week (sorry I'm so late in posting it, Laurie!):

Laurie sent me lots of yummy chocolate (most of which has been devoured), some fun Halloween decorations like a scary skull (perfect for my creepy decor!) and the foil spiral things (which Maren loved). She included a cute little package for Miss Maren that included cool bugs and spiders and cute Snoopy fruit snacks. But my favorite things in the package are the little bat (in Maren's bag, but swiped by me) and the darling owl! Laurie is a very talented maker of wool softies and I am just tickled to receive some of her work. The owl came complete with costumes for the holidays--you can see them all here on Laurie's blog where she has a better photo. When I put the pig nose on the owl I laughed and laughed--yes, I am that easily amused. :)
And now, I must fly!

Halloween report

I'm a day late posting Halloween photos, but I have a good excuse--yesterday I had LASIK enhancement on my left eye. I had my original surgery back in March but my left eye was stuck at about 20/35 (right eye is 20/15) so they decided it was time to fix me. It was kind of spur of the moment--the girl at the office called on Tuesday to ask if I could come in Thursday. Luckily DH was able to get some time off work on short notice and I had it done, otherwise I would have had to wait until a few days before Christmas for their next opening. I will say that it was much, much easier the second time around. Still no treat, but much less traumatic and my recovery was even quicker than before. When I went in this morning for my follow-up, I could already see 20/20 in my left eye and it's likely that will even sharpen up to 20/15 as the swelling goes down. Hooray!

And now, on to the gratuitous cute Halloween kid photos. :) Maren made a darling little mermaid! She was so excited to put on her costume and asked all day if it was time to go Trick or Treating yet. We practiced all morning and she was a pro by the time it got dark. We had only intended to go to our neighbors' houses, but she took to it like a duck to water (or should it be a mermaid to water?) and soon we were running to catch up with her!
She had SO much fun, and we had even more fun watching her. Daddy took the video camera so we could catch all of the cuteness in action. She is just a doll anyway, but put her in a cute costume and teach her to say (in her cute little chirpy two-year-old voice), "Thank you! Happy Halloween" and I don't care who you are, if that doesn't make you melt then you have no heart. Then when we came home, she had as just much fun handing out candy to the kids who came to our door. Halloween--the best night of the year to be a kid. :)


And to end, an appropriate Friday Fiver:
1. Did you celebrate Halloween? Silly question! ;)

2. Do you like to dress in costume? Love it! I dressed up for our party but didn't dress up in costume to go ToT with Maren. I did wear a Halloween shirt that day, though.

3. Favorite chocolate? Neuhaus (fancy schmancy hard-to-find Belgian chocolate) but the past two days it's been anything I can swipe from Maren's ToT bag.

4. Best scary movie? "The Changeling"

5. Friday fill-in: ____ scares me. You want the truth? The thought of having another baby anytime soon scares me! I don't know how I'd deal with a newborn and Maren. yikes.

The Spookiest Day of the Year

Hooray for Halloween! I woke up this morning all giddy with excitement--you'd think I was 9 years old or something. :) I watched the costumes on The Today Show--those were great! Only saw the first two sets of costumes on Regis & Kelly, so I'm off to look up the rest. I completely forgot to watch Martha--I can't believe it! D'oh. I was totally looking forward to it so I hope I can watch the streaming video on her website later. Darn.

I'm wearing my cool orange shirt from Target with the big black crow on the front. Wish it was white instead of orange, but for $5 I was willing to wear orange for one day. Miss Maren is wearing her cute glittery pumpkin shirt and stripey pants and has already pulled the black & orange ribbon out of her hair--big surprise. We made pumpkin-shaped pancakes this morning and I tried to put chocolate chip faces on them but ended up with a mess. We compromised by just eating the chocolate on the side. :) You can eat chocolate for breakfast on a holiday, right?

This will be Maren's first year for Trick-or-Treating and she's been practicing all morning. It didn't take her long to get the hang of it--candy is a BIG motivator for her. :) We'll just take her to our friends' houses up the block, more so we can show her off than anything! She's got a cute mermaid costume to wear and hopefully it won't be so darn cold that she'll have to wear a parka and ruin the whole effect. I made her a pair of seashell hairclips and just whipped up a matching bag for her to tote her treats. When she wakes from her nap I'll get her all dressed up and attempt the usually-fruitless task of trying to get her to sit still so that I can get a decent photo or two to send to the grandmas. Wish me luck!

In the mean time, I'm working on projects for Silver Bella and listening to some of my version of Halloween music. Here's one of my faves:

The Monster Mash

This weekend we held our 2nd Annual Halloween Bash. The 1st Annual party was actually in 2005 (we skipped last year) but we really do hope to make it a yearly event. The first time we held the party, we invited whole families. All of our friends have at least 2 kids, so you can probably imagine the chaos! We did a pinata and donut-on-a-string to keep them busy while the parents visited and we all ate. It was fun, but it was a ton of work, the kids were kind of wild and the house was trashed when it was all over. We vowed then and there that the next party we did would be adults only!

And so it was--a grown-up party and I have to say that I think we all appreciated being able to visit and have fun without having to keep an eye on the kiddos or worry that they were spilling punch on the carpet. I very nearly canceled the whole thing when I found out that DH would possibly not be there, as he'd be working at the World Series game that night. I contemplated doing it by myself anyway, but in the end he was able to be there and it's a good thing--no way could I have done all that on my own!

We used a Mad Scientist theme for the party, both for the invitations and the decor. DH was able to borrow some lab items from work and set up a bubbling, steaming "experiment" in the living room--something we probably couldn't have done if there had been kiddos with curious fingers in attendance. On the table you can also see a collection of bottles I filled with various strange-looking spices (from the dollar store). I had hoped to make labels for all of the jars with spooky ingredient names but I just ran out of time. Maybe next year!

For food we had various appetizers, like spinach-artichoke dip and guacamole. I made the brain cupcakes from my previous post, and they were a hit! They were really quite easy and they looked great. I used both homemade buttercream and canned frosting and I found that the canned frosting gave me better results because of the consistency. I frosted the cupcakes first before piping on the squiggles so that the cake wouldn't show through--just in case any of you want to make them someday.

I also made a favorite recipe from our 2005 party: Sweet and Spicy Spider Eggs. These were also a hit--we didn't have any left over! The recipe calls for heating the sauce in a skillet, but I just mix it together and dump it all into a slow cooker with the frozen meatballs. The recipe says it makes 48 but I had plenty of sauce for the entire bag of 80 meatballs.

We asked our guests to come in costume and almost everyone obliged. There were some really funny, clever costumes! One lady was a tornado--she dressed in black pants and a black sweater. She used black thread to sew through the sweater and left 4-5 inch lengths hanging out the front, which she tied to toy farm animals, fence pieces and tractors. When she stood up, she spun around and all of the toys flew out on the ends of the threads--it was hilarious! :) We also had a guy come as this kid. Here is a photo of DH and I all dressed up; he was Dog the Bounty Hunter and I was June Cleaver. I had really hoped to find one of those cleaver things on a headband but I looked at several stores with no luck. I would like to have been a Mad Scientist to go with our theme but I just didn't have time to look for a lab coat. I also considered dressing as Beth Chapman (Dog's buxom blonde wife) but couldn't figure out how to suitably stuff my bra. :)

One last recipe: I wanted a green punch to serve in my big cauldron and found this "Green Grog" recipe. It was really yummy and it looked great with dry ice making it bubble and steam. If you omit the bottle of rum (like we did) you'll want to have another bottle of soda on hand or you'll run out of liquid too soon.

I think all of our guests had fun, it was a manageable amount of work for us, and we hope to do it again next year!

Brains....braaaaains!

Thank you all SO much for your advice on the blue jeans! I went through all of your helpful comments and wrote everything down, so now I have a great long list that I can refer to when I go shopping. Next time I can steal away sans toddler, look out--I'm a woman on a mission! Several of the stores on the list I never would have even thought of for jeans--Eddie Bauer, White House/Black Market, Coldwater Creek--so thanks for mentioning them. I'm on the hunt and I will leave no stone..er..pants..unturned! One other thing--Sam mentioned a website called Zafu.com where you can answer 8 questions and then it brings up a huge list of jeans that might fit you. It's really neat, and it also does Plus size jeans and Bras (they're currently doing research on pants). Head over there and see what they have to say!

Lots going on around here. We're hosting a Halloween party tomorrow night so I'm running around like crazy trying to round up food, decorations and costumes. We're doing a mad scientist theme and among other things, I'll be making these delightfully disgusting cupcakes. I hope they won't be so disturbingly realistic that people won't eat them! They kinda give me the heebie-jeebies, but I think they'll be perfect if I can get the frosting consistency just right! Can't decide if I'm going to give them a cream filling or leave them plain. Maybe a red jelly filling? Ack, now I've really grossed myself out.

I mentioned a few posts ago that I found a fabulous vintage dress at the thrift, but had to have it tailored. I was finally able to pick it up this week and I have to show it to you! (Click on it to enlarge) It is a gray wool sheath and the armholes and neck are completely lined with iridescent beads and rhinestones--the older kind that have to be sewn on individually by hand. It's quite ornate and nicely done, although I couldn't find a tag inside so I don't know if it's store-bought or homemade. When I bought it, the arms and bust and neck fit perfectly but it was too big around the middle, so I had the tailor take it in and put some darts in the front and back, and now it fits great! The dress itself was $5.99 and the alterations were $45, which is a little more than I had hoped it would be, but I still think it was worth it! In the photo I'm wearing a black long sleeved t-shirt but I think I'm going to take that back and try a mock turtleneck instead. I also have some fun black tights to wear but I couldn't be bothered to squeeze into those just for a quick blog photo. :) I love it, and I can't wait to wear it!

And last, a Friday Fiver:
1. What makes you feel exposed?
Looking at photos of myself, thus seeing myself as others see me. I swear I'm cuter in the mirror than in photographs.

2. What do you have to force yourself to do?
Clean the bathrooms, and get a babysitter for Maren. I have the hardest time getting her a sitter, I feel like I'm imposing on people.

3. Where do you like to spend your time outdoors?
The beach! On a boat in the middle of a lake with my family. Geocaching with DH.

4. What surprises you?
How quickly Maren picks up new words and concepts. We can say something once and she'll be repeating it in no time. Better watch what we say from now on, huh?

5. Friday fill-in: Late at night I'm ____.
First, let's define Late. Anymore, late for me is about 10:30 p.m.--not the same as when I was in college and late was into the a.m. hours! Late at night I'm usually getting my second wind. I'm not nearly the night owl I used to be but I still find myself getting really productive starting at around 9:00 p.m., just in time for DH to want to go to bed (he gets up at 5:30 a.m.)

Another reason why bloggers are the best + The Eternal Quest

In the same vein as yesterday's post, I give you yet another reason why bloggers are just some of the best people out there. Several posts back I mentioned that I was looking for one of those vintage sequined felt tree skirts to put under my aluminum Christmas tree this year. The Vintage Hunter herself commented that she had one that I was welcome to have! I received her package this week and not only was there one funky vintage tree skirt, but TWO! And she also included a vintage hankie and a whole pile of fab old scrap Santas and Christmas labels and cards. It is all tied up in twill tape and adorned with poinsettias, a darling stamped tag and a safety pin with a vintage glass bead. I haven't taken it apart yet because it's just so pretty. :) So there you have it, folks, reason #874 why Bloggers are the Best.

Last night I left the Li'l Monster at home with her Daddy and embarked on a Quest...a Quest of mythic proportions, a Quest which I have been on for a good three years now, a Quest which has led to frustration, heartache, and the swearing off of all foods other than celery and sugar-free Jello. The Quest of which I speak: Shopping for blue jeans.

Seriously, why is it so darn difficult for me to find a pair of jeans that don't 1) expose all my bidness when I bend over and 2) make my fanny look a mile wide. What is the deal? I must have tried on a dozen and a half pairs of jeans last night between Ann Taylor LOFT, Old Navy and Talbot's but not one single pair came even close to fitting correctly. I had this same problem last fall and that is why I'm still wearing the jeans I bought back in 2005, but they are now too short and generally looking shabby. I can't wear them for another year, so this year my Quest has taken on more urgency than before.

I appeal to you, dear blog friends--where can I go to find good jeans? In addition to the stores I went to last night, I know that I don't care for Gap jeans, but other than that I don't know where to look. I'm not looking for anything crazy--mid-rise, dark wash, flare or boot-cut (no skinny straight jeans for these thighs), under $100 a pair. Sounds easy, right? Help!

In praise of blogs and bloggers

Oh my poor, neglected little blog, how I've missed you! I know I said I would be posting on Thursday but obviously, it didn't happen, as my weekend got in the way. The weekend--well, it was physically and mentally exhausting and very stressful. It was a combination of things which taken alone wouldn't be such a big deal, but crammed all on top of each other into a 48-hour period resulted in a Perfect Storm-type situation that left me longing for Monday afternoon, when I knew I could take a long nap. And nap I did--one of those coma-type naps that take a while to shake off; I felt like I was moving in Jello for a good hour afterwards. I'm feeling much better now and I'm ready to get back to normal life and normal blogging again!

I'm long overdue in mentioning that sweet Shara thinks I rock! Shara and I first became acquainted on the Yardsalequeen.com message boards. Not long after that, Shara started her own blog and we became fast friends. She is one of the sweetest, most thoughtful and generous souls it has been my pleasure to come into contact with and I just adore her.

I started this blog almost 2 years ago and have been just blown away by the number of wonderful people I've 'met' in the blogosphere. Finding people who not only like the same things I do, but who have also become my friends has been a huge blessing for me and has really filled a need in my life. Man, I love you guys. :) Thank you for offering your suggestions when Maren wouldn't sleep, for listening to me crow about my latest yard sale finds, for answering my questions, and for providing a much more interesting alternative to housework with your own great blogs. :)

Here are some bloggers who also rock:
**Kimberly Ann at Nostalgic Homemaking. I really like her writing style and the interesting topics she posts about.
**Brenda at Brenda's Little Cottage. I just recently found her blog and we like a lot of the same things. Right now she's redoing a dark china cabinet by lining the back with pretty scrapbook paper--how clever!
**Candice Carpenter. If I could instantly adopt any style, it would be hers. Candice is a paper artist and I absolutely love what she does. She's going to Silver Bella and I can't wait to meet her! I feel like such a groupie.

Speaking of my friend Shara, I received the sweetest Halloween package from her last week. Shara puts together the most amazing packages of treats and her ability to pack a Flat Rate Priority box is unrivaled. :) Many of the contents of the package had a black cat theme--a sparkly mask, a vintage Gurley candle, a cute handmade cat trick or treat bag, and the most adorable glittery black cat treat cone that Shara made! There were other fun things--honeycomb pumpkin decorations, an old MSL, candy, a yummy pumpkin clove candle, and even treats for Miss Maren. I love that now my Halloween decor includes wonderful things sent by dear friends (Shara and Rebecca) so when I look at my decorations, I'm reminded of them and how lucky I am to have met such wonderful people through blogs! Blogs, how I love thee. :)

Hello again

My goodness, I didn't realize it had been almost a week since my last blog post! No wonder my mom was worried about me. :) Do you ever have things to post, but just feel lazy about it? That has been me for the past few days.

I received a fabulous, out-of-the-blue Halloween package from my friend, Miss Thrifty Goodness herself! Rebecca knows that I adore Halloween so she sent some wonderful goodies to help me celebrate! She included the cutest woolly bat, one of her darling handmade paper rosette pins, two of the cute 'crackers' that she blogged about today, sparkly little spider candle holders, a neat enamel sign, a Glitterville ornament, and the most adorable little cupcake picks and paper umbrellas! Her package was a surprise and it was such a treat! Rebecca was one of the very first bloggers that I ever connected with and is one of the most generous, creative people I know! Thanks again, Rebecca! :)

I did a bit of thrifting on Saturday morning and found some neat stuff! I decided to look through what the thrift store deemed "Halloween costumes" and actually found some really great clothing items. I don't normally look at clothing in the thrifts because I just don't have the time when I'm shopping with Maren, but this particular morning I was alone so I was able to take my time and try things on. I ended up with this Pendleton wool plaid cape for $5.99. I'm not sure it is particularly old--it has a "Dry Clean Only" tag attached--but I thought it was neat and you can't beat Pendleton for quality and classic styling. I was tickled to open up my November Country Home magazine the other day and find a feature on plaid! How au courant. :)

I also bought a great vintage dress that is currently at the tailor being fitted so I can wear it. I'll show a photo when I pick it up next week. It's a gray wool sheath and around the armholes and the neckline and down the front it is lined in sparkly rhinestones and iridescent beads. It's really very pretty and very unusual, and for $5.99 I couldn't pass it up! I hope the tailoring goes well because I think it has really great potential.

The last thing is a length of vintage fabric with a border of the sweetest little pink cherubs. I have no idea what to do with it, but it leapt in my cart and I brought it home. I am curious as to what it is intended to be made into--the fabric width is rather narrow, so it seems unlikely that it would have been for a baby blanket. It is thin, smooth cotton--reminds me of sheeting, actually. Any ideas?

Somebody thinks I rock! :) More about that tomorrow!

Thrift Thursday

Last October we had Maren's portraits taken, an experience so stressful that we haven't had professional pictures made since. One of the backgrounds they used was orange with fake pumpkins and Maren was dressed in a cute little black onesie with a white spiderweb on the front. I want to hang up one of the prints as part of my Halloween decor this year, which means I have to find a picture frame. For reasons that escape me now, I had the portrait printed 11 x 14, so if I want a frame with a mat I'm going to need one that's what, 18 x 20? All right, that's just ridiculous. I really don't want to pay retail on a frame that large that I'm only going to display for one month each year (not to mention I don't know where I'd even put a frame so large), so I headed to the thrift store this morning to see if I could find something suitable, or something that I could even paint black in a pinch.

I didn't find any frames, and I think I might have better luck if I go back to the photographer and have them print me an 8 x 10 instead. Honestly, what was I thinking? My trip to the thrift store with a wild toddler was not completely in vain; I did find a few other treats to bring home.

My best find was the pie pan for $1.00. I don't know if there's a name for this pattern but I love it and I snap it up whenever I see it--so far I have a muffin tin, a heart-shaped cake pan, a neat fluted tube pan and now this pie pan. I can't get enough! I also found a pom-pom maker for 99¢ (seriously, who calls them pom-poNs?) and a brand-new boxed set of E.B. White books that includes Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little and The Trumpet of the Swan, all books that I loved and read many times as a child.

Under my finds you can see my Halloween tablecloth--does this count as a Tablecloth Thursday post? My sweet mom sent me this gorgeous cloth from our favorite store. It is two layers, one of orange and an overlay of sheer black with flocked spiderwebs. The edges are bound in black velveteen and there are tassels at the corners! Each spiderweb has a sparkly bead sewn in the middle and the bottom orange layer has jack o' lantern faces embroidered on it. It's beautiful and I love it!

Flea Market Adventure & I only have EYES for you

Thank you all for your kind words about my project! I must admit I'm still pretty tickled about it; I keep going into the closet just to look at it again. :)

Today Maren and I went on an adventure to the local flea market. I've read with envy about all the neat goodies Sarah finds at her local flea and I've been meaning to go for months now. The weather forecast for the day was good so off we went! The Mile High Flea Market is open on Wednesdays and Saturdays, all year-round. I'm sure their big day is obviously Saturday so I was surprised to find as many cars in the parking lot as there were. I'd say more than 50% of the permanent booths were closed but those are the ones most likely to be selling ugly hoochie mama clothes and cheap crap from China, so that didn't bother me. The open air spaces are where anyone can pay a couple bucks and unload their yardsale leftovers, and those were where I looked for treasure.

Honestly, there wasn't much. Lots of junk that I can't believe someone would actually take the energy to pack into their car and schlep to the flea market. There were a few booths with folks selling vintage or antiques but they were few and far between; I'm sure there are more vendors on Saturdays. It bothered me that in most booths, most items were unpriced--I'm a timid haggler so I hate asking for prices. I did manage to find one treasure:

Another beat-up old window to add to the pile growing in my garage. This one was only $8.00, which I consider to be an excellent price, especially since the architectural salvage place in town has their windows priced starting at about $20. One side is chippy old white paint and the other has been painted a really unattractive shade of mauve. Normally I'm okay with pink but this particular shade is just horrible! I'll be using it with the white side out, although at present I'm not sure what exactly I'll be using it for. See, there I go again with the unfinished projects! I think they might actually be breeding out in the garage.

And now, for a little Halloween decor. This is inspired by a similar photo I just saw in a magazine, BH& G maybe? I can't remember.

The silver tray is thrifted, the sticky eyeballs are party favors from Target and the hotel silver fork is from my collection. As I was unwrapping all the eyeballs and placing them in a pile on the plate I have to admit to finding myself completely grossed out. Perfect! Effect successfully achieved! LOL

Transformation

On Friday I was headed to the library when I saw a big YARD SALE sign. The car swerved (of its own accord, I'm sure) and turned down the street indicated by the arrow on the sign. The first thing I saw when I got out of the car was this:

A beat-up old piece of wood. They're wanting 50¢ for this? I thought, and then I turned it over:
I could not dig two quarters out of my pocket fast enough! Would you look at that perfect, chippy, scuffed aqua-green paint? Yum. Oh, I have plans for you, my pretty.

I got it home and the first thing I did was take off the casters. Then I used a screwdriver and a hammer and pulled apart the three other small pieces of wood attached to the painted board, and pulled out the old nails. I gave it a good scrub down with Murphy's Oil Soap and it was ready to go.

I bought a wood appliqué from Home Despot and painted it with cream-colored acrylic paint. I rubbed umber paint into the recesses and wiped off the rest to make it look aged. Glued the appliqué on with my trusty Gorilla Glue, screwed in the cool Anthropologie letter hooks I got from my brother last Christmas and I had this:

Ta-da!! The perfect place to hang all the thrift-store necklaces I've been accumulating. My brother gave me the hooks because I'd asked for something to hold my necklaces and said that he thought I could find an old piece of wood to attach them to. I've been meaning to go to the architectural salvage store and look for some old molding for oh, about 9 months now, but this board ended up being exactly what I wanted in the first place, and for a whole lot cheaper than it would have cost at the salvage place.

I love how it turned out, and I'm pretty darn pleased with myself for actually starting and finishing a project in just three days! As my long-suffering DH will attest, I have a garage full of 'projects' that I've been ignoring, some for as long as three years now. I can't promise to finish any of those in just a weekend but at least I didn't add this one to the pile!

Silhouette love

I know that many of you love vintage and vintage-style Halloween items, which is why I have to show you these awesome handmade etchings. They're all done free-hand on scratch board and framed in vintage frames. They feature silhouette images of vintage-inspired Halloween scenes and I think they are just amazing! They are so charming and the level of detail is just out of this world.

This original art was done by a fellow member of the Yardsalequeen.com message board and I just love the pieces so much that I think that more people need to see (and bid!) on them! The auctions end on Sunday evening so you only have a little bit of time left if you want to snap them up to add to your Halloween decor! Which is your favorite? I can't decide! Click on the titles to see the auctions.

"Bobbin"

"The Dance"

"Masquerade"

"Ready, Set..."

Friday Fiver

Today's Friday Fiver:

1. What's your favorite cereal? Cinnamon Toast Crunch. At one time after a really great sale I had something like 25+ boxes stored in the basement. When Armageddon comes, I'll still have a yummy breakfast! I also like Kix. I'm not a huge cold cereal fan in general.

2. What is too gross to eat in the morning? Steak and eggs. Seriously, the last thing I want to hit my stomach with as soon as I've woken up is a big, greasy slab o' beef. Yack.

3. What time do you go to bed? Usually between 9:30 and 10:00, a far cry from my single night-owl days. When DH is gone I usually stay up until 11:00. Whoo, what a party animal.

4. Where do you put your keys? In my purse or in the little red Pyrex bowl on the counter.

5. What vegetables do you love? My favorites are broccoli, asparagus, corn on the cob, baby spinach, and most winter squash. My taste in vegetables has definitely gotten broader as I've gotten older. I still don't like green bell peppers, kale or most 'greens'.

Tablecloth Thursday and Good Mail

I swear I do own an iron, but you wouldn't know it to look at my tablecloth photos today. Nice. This rooster and farm cloth is one of my favorites in my very small collection. I found it at a thrift and it is in perfect condition and the colors are still really vivid--it doesn't show any signs of its likely 50+ years of age. It's one of my only cloths that has a label (made by California Hand Prints, who also produced beach towels. It's not particularly rare--they pop up on eBay all the time--but I think it's charming and I love the bright colors. I normally use my tablecloths on my table and we even eat on them, but this one is in such nice shape that I just can't bring myself to chance spilling salad dressing on it, so it lives in a dresser drawer for now, until I can find a neat old ladder like this to display it on.

I received a wonderful surprise thank you treat in the mail the other day from Kirsten of Preppy Pink Crocodile, who won my pie giveaway earlier this summer. Kirsten sews really fun stuff and she sent me an envelope just stuffed with goodies! She made me a luggage tag and coffee sleeve out of the most darling fabric printed with pies, a cute tissue holder with chickens, a neat bookmark made of ribbon and tiny green ball trim, and a very cool pink and orange reversible smock for Miss Maren! Kirsten's package was totally unexpected and absolutely delightful!

More Tablecloth Thursday here and here and here!