Have you ever had a night where you dreamed so vividly and so vigorously that you don't feel rested when you wake? That's me right now. I suspect that a good portion of my sleeplessness was caused by this:



That would be half of my garage, covered in bags and bags of clothing and other random items, with a few large pieces of bedroom furniture thrown in for good measure. (Oh, and I love Maren cheese-ing it up in the background!) My neighbor Alice is organizing a yard sale to help the teenage girls in our church raise money for Girls' Camp. Last night was the deadline to drop off donations and as they completely filled her garage, we volunteered space in ours to help out. Alice said that several people asked if they could still drop off things today so it looks like the pile in my garage may grow! This afternoon all the girls are coming over to price things and then this evening there is a "preview" sale for ward members before the big sale officially begins tomorrow morning.

I would be lying if I didn't tell you that it took all the restraint I had not to be over there pawing through the boxes helping the girls sort last night, but I kept my nosey self out of there. Heck, if I thought the bags in my garage held more than clothes I'd have probably been in there until the wee hours of the morning! I will offer my help this afternoon if they need me--I have to be here to open the garage anyway, and I think that the organizers received much more stuff than they anticipated, so an extra pair of hands might be appreciated. Maybe I'll find a few treasures, or at the very least a few interesting photos for my blog!

You still have 3 hours to leave a comment on this post to be entered in this week's drawing! Right now I'm off to do some glittering on a little extra treat for the winner. :)

Trash pickin' and a-grinnin'

It's time for this week's installment of "What Did Heidi Dig out of Someone's Trash Pile?" Today's featured junk is:

Flowerpots!!

I was on the way to an appointment this morning when I saw these in a neighbor's trash pile. I turned around and loaded them up in the back of my car without a second thought. It drives me crazy that someone would throw away perfectly good pots like these! They may not be the style I would choose to buy but for FREE, guess what will be holding my herb garden this year?

Don't forget to enter this week's giveaway by leaving a comment on this post. I've received comments from so many new people--thanks for un-lurking! :) I love to meet new blog friends.

5-13-08

Due to weather, a 3-year-old and a chocolate festival, I was only able to visit one garage sale this past weekend. My friends Kayla and Lindsay and Kayla's mom had a sale on Friday. Kayla and I have discussed our mutual love for *junque* so I knew I needed to check it out! They had lots of fun things, and I ended up with a big oval mirror and this cute vintage lard can.


I think it will be just charming with some flowers planted in it. It's quite large--about as large as a paint can. Now I just need the weather to cooperate so my flowers won't freeze. I'm hoping for July, at this point.

Yesterday I was able to make a run to the antique mall sans grabby-handed toddler. We were there last Thursday to find a Mother's Day gift for my mom when I saw an interesting table out of the corner of my eye. Because I was busy trying to keep my kid from smashing hundreds of dollars' worth of antique pottery I was unable to give it a good look, but I thought about it all weekend and so I went back yesterday with my measuring tape in hand. Alas, I didn't buy it. It really was the shape and size I've been looking for and it was reasonably priced, but its condition left much to be desired and I am just not up to dragging home another piece of furniture that needs refinishing (much to my long-suffering DH's relief). I did find something else I couldn't live without:


Does this not look like something your grandma would have had on your bed? (See again: Long-Suffering DH) I LOVE IT! It's the most beautiful shade of turquoise satin and it's in great shape, and it was a great price to boot! I have a thing for these old smocked pillows so I was thrilled to find such a nice specimen.

It's cold and drizzly today so we're having dinner in the slow cooker. It smells delicious! The recipe is from Real Simple magazine, March 2004 issue and it's one of our favorites:

Spicy Country Ribs
1 small onion, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 c. ketchup
1/2 c. cider vinegar
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 Tbsp kosher salt
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp ground chipotle chili powder *(I just use regular chili powder)*
1 tsp dried oregano
4 pounds pork country ribs

Combine all ingredients in the bottom of a large slow cooker and add the ribs. Cook on low heat for 6 hours. Using tongs, remove ribs from the cooker and arrange on a broiler pan. Heat the broiler, and pour the juices from the cooker into a bowl. Place in the freezer for 10 minutes to hasten the separation of fat. Remove and discard fat. Pour the juices into a saucepan; boil over high heat until reduced by half, about 15 minutes. Broil the ribs until browned and serve with the sauce. Makes 4 servings.

We just finished eating and I wanted to add a note: I cooked the ribs for 6 hours on low and they were a bit overdone. Still yummy, but a bit on the dry side. My slow cooker seems to cook things really quickly (ironic, no?) so I usually cut the suggested cooking time way down. For this one I'd probably be good with just 5 hours, but YMMV depending on your slow cooker. Also, if you use regular chili powder instead of the chipotle they are not spicy at all, in case that was a concern.

Andie asked if you could skip the boiling/broiling part at the end--I think you can definitely skip it and they will still be delish!

In a little while I'll make some buttermilk biscuits and I'll serve it with baked beans and potato salad. Yum! I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!

Giveaway May Week 2

The windows are open all over the house and a wonderful cool breeze is blowing through. It's so nice to get some fresh air in here! We'd better get our fill of it today because tonight a storm blows in and tomorrow's high temp might make it to 50 degrees. If we're lucky. Seriously, there's a Winter Storm Warning for much of the state tonight and snow is predicted. Let me just remind you all that it is May 12, not March 12, and I live in Colorado--not Alaska, for pete's sake! I don't mean this to turn into a Complain-About-the-Weather blog, but this is honestly the lousiest excuse for a Spring that I can even remember and I'm just about fed up! I want so badly to get out and plant some flowers and some veggies in my new garden area but I can't for fear that they'll be frozen at best or snowed on at worst. In mid-May, mind you. On the plains of Colorado. Pffffft.

Moving on....what's black and white and red all over?

Why, it's this week's Giveaway May prize! This package includes cute damask-patterned sticky notes and a picture frame, polka-dot note cards, fun ribbon and felt rick-rack, and my new favorite black and white birthday candles. It will all be packed into a sweet velvet vintage-looking handbag. There may also be a few other black and white surprise goodies included! As before, if you'd like to win this Happy Mail, just leave a comment on this post sometime before Friday, May 16 at noon MDT.

My sweet husband made sure I had a wonderful Mother's Day. On Saturday morning he arranged for a babysitter for Maren and took me on a surprise date to the Colorado Chocolate Festival! We had such fun sampling chocolate goodies from the different vendors. Free chocolate--does it get better than that? Then he and Maren gave me a gift of the softest, fluffiest bathrobe. It feels like being wrapped in a fleece baby blanket! I love it and I'm feeling properly spoiled now.

Back tomorrow with a fun yardsale find!

Giveaway May Week 1 Winner!

Thank you all so much for your comments and for entering the giveaway for this week! I had my little helper draw a name for the winner (out of my new Shawnee aqua-colored planter that I LOVE):

And the name that she drew was:

Congratulations, Wendy! Email me at fraulein_h AT hotmail with your address and I'll get it in the mail to you on Monday! Here's a little peek at some fun tags I made today to include with the other items:
If you didn't win but can't get enough of chandeliers, may I suggest:

• this super-cool vinyl wall decal from Blik
  
• this fun set of pillowcases from Urban Outfitters
• rub-ons and transparency overlays in several colors from Hambly
• the rubber stamp I used on the tags from Impress Rubber Stamps

Don't forget to check back on Monday for next week's giveaway!

Springtime in Paris--ooh la la!

I was just thrilled to be matched up for the Sweet Goodness Paris in the Spring swap with Jen from Rosey Little Things. She and I love many of the same things so I knew that I would love whatever she picked out for me--and I was right!

My swap package was waiting for me when I returned home from Utah and I wasted no time in tearing into it! Jen packed everything into this adorable little black and cream Paris-themed suitcase--how perfect! She included beautiful blue ribbon on an antique spool, the prettiest color of aqua Martha Stewart ribbon, a yummy-smelling biscotti candle and much more! I especially love the rickrack-trimmed black and cream plaid apron and the tres chic aqua bag that Jen hand-crocheted herself! It's so neat--she embellished it with black seam binding ribbon and a piece of black flowered vintage jewelry. I love it! Jen says it's a market bag that will really expand when I put things in it--I can't wait to take it shopping to try it out! :)

I rediscovered one of my favorite blogs today and this time I'm going to put it into my Bloglines so I don't lose it again! Bent Objects are amazingly clever little creations that never fail to make me laugh, usually out loud and alone at my computer like a total loon. This little gem is one of my favorites. What can I say--I'm easily amused!

Tonight I'm teaching a class at church about how to make your own natural cleaning products. I'm feeling a bit like a fraud since I don't actually, you know, make my own natural cleaning products. I've wanted to learn about it so I volunteered to teach because I knew that would give me the impetus to do the research and I like what I've read so far. Now I just have to put it all into practice, which is easier said than done. I'll let you know if the natural recipes actually work as well as the icky chemical stuff. I'm all for healthier living, but if it means that I have to scrub my bathtub for an hour because I'm using baking soda + vinegar then it's just not worth it to me.

**Don't forget to enter the drawing in the post below! Deadline is noon MDT on Friday!

Announcing Giveaway May!

I mentioned in my last post that I would be holding a giveaway today and that's true, but there's more! I've decided to do Giveaway May on the ol' blog here, which means that every Monday in May (today is the exception since I didn't get home from UT until late last night) I'm going to announce a different giveaway for the week. You'll have all week to enter by leaving a comment on that post and then on Friday at noon MDT I'll pick a winner! Now, we're not talking about crazy Pioneer Woman-esque prizes here--just little packages of happy mail to brighten up your mailbox.



The giveaway for this week is a nod to my obsession with anything that has a chandelier motif. When I saw these I went a little crazy and bought more than I can ever use, so I am passing them along to some other lucky person. You'll get the journal, the notecards, the felt chandelier, and a few other surprises that I have in mind. To enter, just leave a comment on this post sometime between now and Friday at noon MDT!

Yard sale treasures

Two Saturdays ago I was able to leave Maren with Daddy and go out junkin' by myself for the first time this season. I checked the online classifieds to see if there were any estate sales in my area and found a listing for a sale that advertised tons of vintage kitchenware. Hello! Luckily, it was not too far away (most estate sales around here are in the older parts of town, which are quite far from me) and I made that one my first stop of the morning. It was amazing--the kind of sale that I literally dream about. The owner had a business selling vintage kitchenware on eBay but was moving in with her boyfriend and couldn't take it all with her. I was there on the second day of the sale and there was still a ton of stuff and by then, she wanted it all GONE and was more than willing to deal to get it out of there. Music to my ears! I grabbed a box and set to digging.I hit the kitchen first and was immediately amazed by the amount of dishes and glasses for sale, and at the cheap prices! I was tickled to find this vintage strawberry tablecloth (it's a Startex--still has its tag) for only $2! It has a small hole in one corner but the colors are nice and bright.

I also started grabbing vintage painted drinking glasses. There were probably two dozen, some in sets and some singles. The two in the middle are Anchor Hocking and match the juice carafe I already own. They have great Halloween colors! The little one on the right was by itself and the color combination is unusual (pink, yellow and burgundy?) but I couldn't leave it there! Can you guess which one is my favorite? The turquoise and red one on the left, of course! Also in this photo are strand of red mercury glass Christmas beads, a pink Royal Haeger candlestick (marked 75¢!) and a bunch of vintage millinery lilies of the valley from another sale.

Here are the other glasses I bought--this set of four with stripes in pretty pastel colors. I think I paid maybe $2 for all four! I'm not sure what the pale green ceramic square piece in front is--doesn't look like an ashtray, but I'm not sure. The white milk glass bottle in the back is an old Pond's cold cream jar and was 25¢--it has a great metal lid with shabby red roses printed on it. The poodle in the middle is a Christmas ornament from another estate sale, and the vintage Hazel Atlas tulip sour cream? container in the back was 25¢ at yet another sale. In the middle of the photo is some pretty green vintage seam binding and a pile of Trader Vic's swizzle sticks.

Also from the kitchenware sale: the aqua planter, round dish, and a pile of vintage colored metal icicles to hang on a Christmas tree. The cute vintage playing cards in front were from the same sale as the lilies and the seam binding. The Victory cookbook in the back was $1 and is from 1945, while the Solitaire cookbook is from the late 1930s. I also found 3 of the old jars with zinc lids for $2 each at a different sale (and narrowly missed out on buying 11 more zinc lids for a quarter each...that made me sick).

The vintage ornaments were from the kitchenware sale, as was the vintage printed dishcloth. I also found a pretty pink & aqua tablecloth at that same sale but it has a large stain in the middle. I've already soaked it in Oxyclean once but the stain didn't budge, so I'm going to get some Biz and try again--hopefully then I can get a photo. The item in the top right corner is a vintage satin hankie holder. It's so pretty! I bought it from an elderly lady who said it belonged to her mother.

And the last photo--a vintage Christmas apron I bought from the hankie holder lady. It looks like it was homemade from a printed panel and it has old prong-set rhinestones in the centers of the poinsettias.

I had such a great day! That kitchenware sale was to.die.for. In the basement were rows of shelves just filled with stacks of mid-century kitchenware of every kind. Amazing! I looked and looked for my beloved Lu-Ray but all I found were three saucers. I wonder if maybe there had been more the first day but it had been snapped up by the time I got there. The basement was a mess and there were still boxes that hadn't been unpacked--who knows what treasures were waiting in those!

I'm still in Utah (it's actually Sunday night, I just started writing this yesterday morning so it will show up as a Saturday post) but we leave for home tomorrow (Monday) morning. I hope to post again on Tuesday with a giveaway, so be sure to check back then!

Pretty in Pink baby shower

I'm trying something new--I'm blogging on the road! I'm coming to you from snowy (yes, you read that right) Salt Lake City. Actually, the snow has finally stopped and the sun is out. None of the snow has actually stuck as the ground is still too warm, but I have to say that it's rather disconcerting to look out the window at giant fluffy snowflakes falling on May 1!

I wanted to share some photos with you of the baby shower I helped to give on Saturday morning (click on any photo to see it larger). The guest of honor is expecting a sweet little girl and it was such fun to have a PINK party! Here is a little vignette I put together for the gift table in the front room. The boxes were made using the same technique as the glitter h I made a while back--papier mache, lots of tacky glue and glass glitter. They turned out just as neat as the ones I saw selling for $20+ each in February! I tied mine with pretty pink satin ribbon and topped them with ribbon & pearl flowers. The boxes were displayed on a pink cake plate with a vintage hankie and an antique silver baby cup and spoon.

Lindsay, my co-host, made beautiful chocolate cupcakes with glossy marshmallow frosting in the prettiest pale pink. The cupcakes made the perfect holders for the pink crepe paper rosettes I made. I LOVE how these turned out! I used glittered letters from K & Co. and simply glued the wooden skewers in between folds of the rosette. After the party I broke off the skewers and I think I'm going to make the rosettes into a banner for the guest of honor.

For the party favors I found a pattern for these adorable little paper baby booties. Lindsay and I made them using cute pink scrapbooking paper from JoAnn's and filled them with pastel butter mints. I think they are adorable all lined up on the tray!

In the middle of the tray was an antique salt shaker filled with pink glass glitter. The shaker held pieces of curled wire used to hold up a matching crepe paper and glittered sign I made.

For the food Lindsay made the cupcakes, the most delicious homemade cinnamon rolls and yummy bread pudding with fruit. She knocked herself out and it was all wonderful.

After reading all of your responses to my earlier post, I decided to make quiche, but because we were expecting at least 2 dozen people I decided to let Costco's frozen food department do the cooking for me. These little mini-quiche were yummy and EASY! We also had a lovely fruit plate and juice to drink.

For dishes, we used my great-grandmother's glass luncheon trays (like these) and silver forks (this pattern). It was such fun to have an opportunity to use all the pretty 'things' I've collected and stashed away.

Catching up

I know I disappeared unceremoniously from Blogland, but it was a crazy week. Here's a rundown:

Monday: cleaned and got ready to pick up my mom from the airport that evening.
Tuesday: Quin and I left Maren with my mom and went on our very first kid-less getaway since Maren was born! That's over three years, folks! It was long overdue. We drove up to a small town called Leadville to explore and stay in a B&B. More on the trip later.
Wednesday: continued our little trip, then went home later that afternoon. That morning my grandparents drove up from Southern Colorado to take advantage of my mom being here and stayed at my house Wednesday night.
Thursday: Grandparents left, dropped Mom off at the airport. Came home and did some shopping to get ready for party-palooza on Saturday. Found out some terrible news--a dear friend who lives up the street lost her baby, at around 38 weeks, so basically full-term. It was completely unexpected and quite devastating news, as you might imagine.
Friday: Continued to get ready for the baby shower and other party on Saturday. Worried that the topic of conversation at the baby shower would be the tragic events of the week. Worried that no one would come to either party.
Saturday: Had the baby shower. It was fun, the decorations were cute and the food was delish! Attendance was really low--we sent out over 40 invitations and we had maybe a dozen there, including the hosts and guest of honor. We only had about that many RSVP in the first place, and half of those were regrets. Get REALLY PEEVED at the pathological inability to pay attention to an RSVP that seems to be the norm these days. Worry that this does not bode well for my party that evening, a Scentsy open house for which I sent out 25 invitations and had only a small handful of people RSVP. Get ready for party #2 of the day, drive all the way downtown to pick up the consultant, and then only 3 people showed up. They were 3 good friends and I'm thrilled that they came and we had fun chatting and sniffing wax, but 3 out of 25 is a pretty poor showing and I'll admit that I was a bit embarrassed. Nothing kills your self-esteem like inviting 25 people to a party and then having only 3 attend.
Sunday: Maren wakes up at 5:30 a.m. after having stayed up past 11:00 p.m. the night before. Try hard to shake it off and plan a last-minute Sunday School lesson, attend 3 hours of church, attempt to clean up the mess from Saturday's activities, and work on the swap that is due out today.

So yeah, it was a bit crazy and blogging just didn't quite fit in the schedule. This week won't be much better, I'm afraid--we're leaving on Wednesday to go to Utah for a few days for my brother's college graduation. The house is still a disaster, the swap isn't quite ready to go, I have errands to run, laundry to do and suitcases to pack, and tomorrow is a graveside service for my friend's sweet baby. I'd like to squeeze in one more blog entry before I leave--I had a great junkin' day last week and I've been itching to share photos! That means I've got to get moving!

Out of the mouths of babes

Yesterday morning, Maren took a shower with me. When we got in and the warm water hit me I got goosebumps. At that moment, Maren grabbed my leg and said, "Ooh, Mama! You have spikes on your legs! Just like a dinosaur!"

Guess I should think about shaving, eh?

Basket-itis spreads AND baby shower menu help needed!

Picnic-Basket-itis seems to be catching! Look what I found this morning when we stopped off at a garage sale on the way to the commissary:
This red basket was $5.00. It looks to be a little newer than the one I bought yesterday but I can't really tell. It does have metal handles where the others are wood. I do love how they look stacked on top of each other!


I cannot keep buying these big huge baskets! So no more, really. Okay, maybe if I see another, I'll let myself buy just one more. But that's it! I mean it!

I am co-hosting a baby shower next Saturday and I need some help with the menu, so I hope you all can give me some suggestions! It is a brunch, held from 10:30 to noon. I know that in some places in the country, showers are frequently held in restaurants and such but in my culture, baby showers are pretty informal affairs. It will be here at my house and I think there have been about 40 invited, but I doubt we'll have that many attend. We're not doing games or anything, just visiting and watching the guest of honor open gifts. The food is just buffet style.

The other co-host has volunteered to make cinnamon rolls, chocolate cupcakes, and bread pudding--they are all specialties of hers. You can see we're heavy on the sweet/carb side of things, so I need to balance that out with what I make. I was thinking something savory, like a breakfast egg casserole? Also a fruit plate or a veggie plate might be a good idea. Do I need something else, like little chicken salad croissants? I need to get it planned out now because I have a lot going on next week and so my time will be limited. I'd love any suggestions and/or recipes you'd like to send my way!

Thrift Thursday

I'm back from thrifting, and I had so much fun! My friends Jennifer and Rachel must be good luck charms because I found good stuff at great prices. In a last-minute bit of luck for me, Quin was home so I didn't have to take Maren! Three mommies - kiddos + two thrift stores full of treasures = a great morning! We had so much fun that we're planning to do it again, and maybe even meet up on a Saturday for some garage-saling adventures.


I spotted this picnic basket across the room when I was literally in mid-sentence, and I had to say, "hang on!" and run to get it! It's quite large and even has a removable shelf inside that I assume is to keep crushable food safe. The top has some water damage and needs cleaning, but otherwise it's in good shape. $2.99


All of this trim came in one huge bag--what a treat! Tons of rickrack, lots of (evil) narrow bias tape, some seam binding, zippers, patches, elastic and velcro. Great stuff! I was surprised to find the four little bottles of Zirh products in the bag as well. Zirh is a fancy-schmancy men's toiletry line that Quin really likes--I actually bought him a bunch of stuff for our anniversary. So this bag was great--something to make us both happy!


Since Maren moved to her big-girl bed, I've been on the lookout for some colorful vintage floral sheets to dress it. This pink flowered sheet is exactly what I had in mind! It was $2.99 and may also end up serving as a tablecloth for the baby shower I'm throwing next weekend if I can't find another I like better. The pink napkins are also for the shower, and were 40¢ for the package. Don't they go great with the sheet? The BakePacker was a 50¢ gamble for eBay and the LeapPad cartridge was 80¢--they are normally about $15. I also got a new spool of brown satin ribbon for 50¢ and this book for Maren for $1. It's one of my favorites! The brown tube is a container of new wooden skewers from Williams-Sonoma, and it was 50¢.


The sucker sticks (just what I'll need to make these) and the little picks were in a baggie together. I couldn't tell if the picks were for cocktails or cakes but once I saw the pink poodles, I was sold! Now that I've looked at them closer they seem a little juvenile to hold a cocktail onion or an olive, so I think they must be cake picks, although I've never seen any like them before. I think they are darling and they may be my favorite find of the day!

The snow has mostly melted and the storm is on its way out, with sunshine forecast for the next few days. Hopefully that means there will be garage sales this Saturday, and Quin will even be home to watch Maren. Not sure if I'll go solo or with my friends, but either way I'm itching to get out there and find some more good junk!

4-17-08

This is the view out my back door this morning. Let me just note that it was 80 degrees on Tuesday! Then yesterday around 3 p.m. the snowflakes started to fall and this is what happened. The clouds have lifted somewhat but the forecast is for it to continue to snow today, with the storm finally leaving this evening. All the flowers that finally bloomed because of the lovely weather on Monday & Tuesday are now dead, covered in snow. This weather is about to make me lose my mind! I hate Spring!

This morning I have a little field trip scheduled at my favorite thrift with 3 of my friends from church. I've never thrifted with a friend before, so I'm excited! Hopefully I'll be back later with a few treasures to share!

The Talent Show

After trying all weekend to get my talent show video to post, I finally read the tiny print in the upload box that says that videos are limited to 100 MB. I just checked and my video is well over 300, so now I finally see the problem. Reading comprehension--it's a good thing! I just signed myself up for YouTube and uploaded it here. Now, I may be shameless, but I'm not stupid so I have disabled comments on the video and I will be deleting it after a week. If you want to watch me be silly--do it now, before it's too late! A note--my friend Michelle held the camera while simultaneously wrangling a few little rascals, so there are some camera wiggles. Also, the spotlight was really bright, giving me the appearance of a ghost. I'm pasty, but not quite that bad!

04-11-08

Tonight, Maren and I will bundle up (it's COLD here!) and head to the church for our ward's Talent Show, in which I will be performing because I am shameless and love to be the center of attention. I'll be reciting this poem, which is one that I learned in high school and have never completely forgotten. Initially I thought I'd go all out and find a costume and props but as it turns out, I have no idea what an Alaskan gold miner from 1910 would wear or if such apparel would be available at the local thrift shop. So instead I'll just brush my teeth and put on some lipstick and hope that's good enough. Quin has to work so I'm going to have someone video my performance, and maybe if it's not too humiliating, I'll post it here as well. I am shameless, after all.

For a photo today I want to show you something I bought back before Valentine's Day. I was browsing a local antique mall and found a booth where everything was marked 50% off, including this old dresser. I bought it completely on impulse--in retrospect, I think I paid too much, even at half price--and even managed to wedge it upside down into the back seat of the little compact Mazda I was driving that day.


The dresser is small (you can see how large it is in comparison to Maren) and from the hand-written measurements I found on the inside, it appears to be homemade. I think it must have been stored outside at some point because it's in pretty rough shape. And once the weather here warms I need to take it outside and paint it with a coat of polyurethane because every time I move it, the paint flakes off and it's probably full of lead.

As it was an impulse purchase, I really didn't have an idea of where I'd put it--I usually buy first and sort that part out later. :) I still haven't figured out the perfect place for it, so for now it's in my front room, decorated with an old oak-framed vintage mirror and various thrifted ceramics in aqua blues and green. I have been looking for some sort of a console or buffet to put in this spot but haven't found anything perfect, so this will do for now. It's not ideal but I do enjoy having another horizontal display space to fill with my thrifted goodies.


Time to go brush my teeth and find the lipstick--wish me luck!

04-09-08

It never fails when I buy bananas that there are 1-2 that we just don't eat before they turn black and yucky. The customary remedy for this problem is to make a pan of banana bread, but I will admit that I have only found one recipe for banana bread over the years that I really love. That's why I was thrilled to find this recipe several years ago. It's a perfect way to use up those black bananas on your counter top in a way that is different from a traditional banana bread. The recipe is called "Marbled Banana Bars" but in texture it's closer to a moist coffee cake than a bar. I like to add chocolate chips to the chocolate batter--no set amount, just toss in whatever looks like enough to you. I especially like to use mini-chips if I have them.

Marbled Banana Bars

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter -- softened
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas -- (3-4)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
Powdered sugar -- if desired

Instructions:

Heat oven to 350°F. Combine sugar and margarine in large mixer bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy (1 to 2 minutes). Add bananas, egg and vanilla; continue beating, scraping bowl often, until well mixed (1 to 2 minutes). Add flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; reduce speed to low. Beat, scraping bowl often, until well mixed (1 to 2 minutes).

Drop 1 1/2 cups batter by spoonfuls into greased 13x9-inch baking pan. To remaining batter in bowl, add cocoa; beat on low speed until well mixed (30 seconds). *Add chocolate chips if using.

Drop spoonfuls of chocolate batter in pan over banana batter. Swirl chocolate batter through banana batter using knife. (DO NOT OVER-SWIRL.) Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely.

Just before serving, sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cut into bars.

Yield: 36 bars

Nutrition Facts (1 bar)

Calories: 80 Fat: 3 g Cholesterol: 5 mg Sodium: 105 mg Carbohydrates: 12 g Dietary Fiber: 1 g Protein: 1 g

I love this cake! It's quick, easy and makes a whole 13x9 pan so it's a good thing to make if you need to take a treat to a meeting or play date. That is, if you can keep from eating it all before you get it out of the house!

And because every blog post needs a photo, here is a picture of the cute wreath I bought at the thrift last week for $3.83. I was looking for something to spruce up the outside of my house until it gets warm enough for flowers, and this pink faux berry wreath is just the ticket!

Weekend craftiness

I had occasion this weekend to sit and listen to the TV for four 2-hour periods, and it's times like those that I wish I knew how to knit or crochet. I just don't do very well with sitting still and not working--it drives me nuts! I went looking for a few projects I could work on while still listening and found this, my last unfinished project left over from Silver Bella in November. It only needed a little bit of work and now it is finished and I can finally wear it!


This was the Bella's Bracelet class I took from Teresa McFayden. It was a class I was so excited to take but when the day came, I was all thumbs and could barely manage to thread my needle, let alone sew gorgeous creamy vintage velvet ribbon into a flower. Sewing the lace to the brown ribbon was ridiculously difficult for me, and sewing that fiddly ball chain on with a loop between each ball? Beyond impossible. I stuffed it all away and although I did make a few more ribbon flowers in December, mostly it has sat in its bag on my desk since I unpacked in November. But it's done and it was fun and easy this time around, and I think I might even make a few more while I'm in the mindset. I had to go to two separate craft stores yesterday to find fabric glue and more ribbon clamps for the ends, so I might as well make my search worth it.

The other project I worked on this weekend was another smock for Maren. I have had this cute thrifted fabric and the matching thrifted bias tape for months and months now and since I made the George Curious smock last weekend I figured I might as well get to it. I think what was keeping me from getting to it sooner was my dread at working with narrow-width bias tape. Bias tape is my sewing nemesis to begin with, but the narrow stuff is like my arch enemy! LOL On the very first smock I made for Maren I used narrow bias tape and it nearly did me in. I couldn't get the fabric caught securely in the fold of the narrow tape, especially around the rounded corners so it's in pretty sad shape right now. I was more careful this time and really tried to pay attention and go slowly, but I will readily admit that I said some naughty words while fighting with the stuff.


The lady at the cutting counter in JoAnn's once said that she tells everyone that if they can drive a car, they can sew. That analogy certainly doesn't ring true for me, unless you say that it's like driving a car where the wheels fall off and the hood flies up in your face every time you're trying to make your way down the road. My sewing skills are limited at best, and then I kept having my needle come unthreaded or the tape get caught and not advance in the beginning, causing the needle to sew the same place over and over and get all snarled in the thread. Add that to Maren who was changing the settings on my machine when I wasn't looking and trying to "help" while I was dealing with very sharp scissors, pins, and the machine needle, and well--I think you can see why the swear words just slipped out.



I do believe this will be the last smock I make for a while until I forget how much I hate to sew and drag it all out again. I predict that will be right before the start of pillowcase dress season. Those require bias tape sewn around the armholes, ack. Let's hope the memory loss happens quickly.

Things making me happy today...

....this aqua barn star from JoAnn's. It's the perfect color (it is greener in real life) and looks aged, even though it is new. It was $12.99 and I used my 40% off coupon. Now I'm trying to decide if I want to go get the smaller stars to go with it.

....surprise Happy Mail from Sue (svelteSTUFF)! She sent two darling red and white crocheted potholders and the sweetest red and white enamel flower pin. Love them! And she had it all wrapped up and tied with these old spools of thread in my favorite aged aqua blue. What a treat!


....My new haircut! I went today and got several inches chopped off and very blonde highlights put in. I'll have DH take a photo later. It's a big change and I think it's just the boost I needed. Doesn't it feel great to have a new haircut?

Hope you're all having a good weekend!

04-03-08

Considering the fact that it has been snowing off and on all day, I'd say it's pretty obvious that we're still months away from having warm enough weather that we can go to the pool. Even so, Maren is all ready to claim her title as "Cutest Girl in the Baby Pool" thanks to this little number, a birthday gift from Ham & Papa Chris:


It's actually white with red polka dots, not pink as it looks in the photo and it has the cutest little dangling cherries! I wish it came in my size but I realize it will be a lot cuter on a 3-year-old than a 30-year-old with stretch marks and cellulite. Oh well! At least one of us will be a bathing beauty.

For Maren's George Curious birthday party this last weekend I served cupcakes with chocolate frosting, which I knew was wardrobe disaster just waiting to happen if I let her eat one without protection. Thanks to my trusty smock pattern, a George Curious smock came to the rescue and protected her outfit from both the P.B. & J. sammiches and the nefarious chocolate frosting.

I wish I could say that I just whipped it up but I'm a slow sewer and this took me a couple of hours, even though it's a really easy pattern. It didn't help that I was trying to keep an eye on Maren and about four other things at the same time so I didn't read the instructions closely and messed up a couple of times, but nothing that couldn't be fixed and no one will ever know.

And last, I'm excited to say that my partner for the Sweet Goodness Springtime in Paris swap is none other than Jen from Rosey Little Things. I'm so tickled to be partnered with Jen because I know we love a lot of the same things! Jen and her family just moved all the way from California to North Carolina and they're just getting settled in their new home. Stop by her blog and say hello!