Giveaway May Week 4 Winner

I'm still out of town but promised I'd do the drawing for the Giveaway May Week 4 Cupcake package before I return home. Oh great and powerful Random Integer Generator, what do you have to say tonight?

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:22
Timestamp: 2008-06-02 04:30:46 UTC

And commenter #22 is...April B!!! Congratulations April--I'll email you to get your mailing address!

I do want to thank all of you who read my blog and entered the contests during May. I have discovered so many new bloggers that I'm excited to read more about. I truly do appreciate each and every comment that you all leave here. Thank you so, so very much. :) I had such fun putting together the giveaway packages and still have a few things I'd like to send to a new home, so I'll be doing those periodically over the summer.

And now, to bed. We're leaving for home in the morning and for some reason Maren has decided to wake up at ridiculous hours while we've been here--today she was up at 5:34 a.m. Ugh. I've had a lovely weekend and have some fun things to post about this week!

If your name is Angie S. you should probably skip this post

You may recall that about a month ago, I hosted a Pink baby shower here at my home. One of the decorations I made for the shower were these fun pink glittery rosettes that we poked in the top of the cupcakes. I used pink crepe paper, silver glitter on the edges, silver glittered chipboard letters and pretty pink scrapbook paper to make them and then glued skewers onto the backs.

Well, I couldn't let them go to waste, as cute as they turned out! I used a pair of wire cutters and broke off the skewers. I did have to sand one down a smidge so it would be hidden but then I turned them into this:

This is a little giftie for the friend for whom we gave the shower. Her sweet baby's room is done in pink & brown so I used some fun patterned paper in those colors from my stash. I decorated the pennants with beautiful German pink foil dresden borders from here, and pink tissue fringe from here. I cut some pom-poms off of some pink pom-pom fringe that I think I received in a swap and hot glued those to the points. I used hot glue to attach the rosettes to the pennants and tied it all together with pretty satin ribbon that I received in another swap.

It was such fun to make, and really quite easy! The hardest part was the the rosettes, and those were already finished and out of the way. I used some scrap chipboard and just guessed on the size of triangle to make for the pennants. I've wanted to make a banner like this ever since I saw some at Silver Bella last November but there has always been another project in the way. I do hope the recipient likes it! Here are some closeups--click the photos to enlarge them.
One other little crafty project before I go:


These were little treats for the ladies I visit teach. I have been collecting the blue glass bottles--I am physically unable to pass them up, it seems--but I realized that I really do have too many right now. I found a recipe for "Seaside Brownie Mix" in one of my Gooseberry Patch cookbooks and just layered it in the jars. I printed the instructions on sand-colored paper and cut them out with my giant scalloped circle punch, then tied them to the bottles with some twill tape. I wish I'd had a few sea shells to tie around the necks of the bottles but I was trying to use what I had. Hope the brownies are yummy!

And now, I have to go. I am leaving at some point today to drive 4 hours to visit my grandparents and I still haven't packed. And it's oh, almost 1 p.m. I've just had too much that I needed to get done today, plus for some stupid reason I am exhausted and have no energy so I'm finding it difficult to get motivated. But really--I need to GET MOVING! I will post the Cupcake Giveaway winner from the road but otherwise, I'll be back on Monday!

I have long had this junking theory that old people have good old junk. Ergo, if you want to have the best chance of finding cool vintage stuff, increase your chances by going to sales run by older folks. My theory has proven itself time and again, so it makes my junkin' heart leap to see a sign advertising a church rummage sale, especially when it's at a long-established church in an older part of town.

I put my theory into action on Friday morning when Maren and I ventured downtown to such an event. This particular church holds a sale in the summer and then again in the fall. I missed the autumn event but still remember the goodies I found at last summer's sale, so gas-prices-be-damned, we packed up and journeyed forth. The way this sale is run is that there is a preview on Thursday night but it costs $5 to get in. Friday is free, and Saturday afternoon is a bag sale. I always wonder what I'm missing on that Thursday night--is it attended solely by dealers, who swoop up and snatch anything good? Sometimes I think I'm better off not knowing what I might have missed.

We got there Friday morning not long after the sale opened. I could tell immediately that attendance was down from last year, since I was able to find a spot in the parking lot. Overall, there was far less merchandise than last year. There were still a ton of clothes, but that's just not what I'm looking for (although I did flick through the coat racks to make sure I wasn't missing any fabulous vintage coats), and they didn't have any children's clothing. Everything else was pretty thin, and since I was early to the sale I don't think it was all bought up before I got there--I think they just didn't have as many donations. The upside--the smaller crowd and emptier space did make it much easier to keep an eye on Maren!

I did find a few things that made the drive and the toddler-wrangling worth it to me.

This great pink Shawnee planter is very similar to an aqua one I bought in Utah at the antique store at the beginning of this month. The pink is so pretty and reminds me of the inside of a conch shell.

To fill the planter, I found:

My old favorite, vintage Christmas ornaments. :) I picked out all the pale green, aqua and pink ornies--about three dozen in all. I was tickled to find the silver tree topper (I may actually have a bowlful by next Christmas!) as well as the smaller red and gold one--which unfortunately Maren dropped, thereby breaking the tip and nearly bringing me to tears. I love how the ornaments look in the planter and I'd absolutely leave them that way if I had a place to display them that was safe from little fingers.

I picked up a few other things--an unused candle, six bricks of floral foam (for 50¢ for the lot I couldn't leave it) a copy of a book that I love, and a big box of random envelopes for a nickel (good because I live with a rampant and unrepentant little envelope thief). Not near as much as last year, but still good stuff and I was happy with my haul.

I'm going away for the weekend. My parents are driving down to southern Colorado to visit my grandparents so I'm going to meet them there and stay for a few days. I'm excited to break up the monotony of 2.5 weeks sans husband, see my parents, and do some small-town junking! We've already got a Saturday-morning garage-saling date and I'm itching to get back to the junk shops.

I'll be back tomorrow with a photo of something crafty I've almost finished. I'll have access to a computer so I'll do the Giveaway drawing this weekend as well and post the winner. You still have time to enter if you haven't done so yet!

Giveaway May Week 4--the Grand Finale

Happy Memorial Day, everyone! Hope you're all enjoying a day off. I'm afraid it's not much of a holiday for us--Quin is gone and the weather is bad. (Uh-oh, she's going to complain about the weather again...) It's a chilly 55 degrees, overcast with rain showers. The neighborhood pool opened for the season on Saturday but obviously that's out of the question. I told Maren that we'd go to the park today if the weather was nice but it looks like that's out too. Blah.

To brighten things up, how about a giveaway? Drumroll please....


Ta-da! Here is the prize for Giveaway May Week 4--I believe I've saved the best for last. :) The lucky winner will receive a thrifted-but-brand-new cupcake stand, a spool of cute pink and brown cupcake ribbon, a fun cupcake iron-on, the most adorable little cupcake lip gloss, a box of cupcake mix (in my favorite--chocolate!), cute pink & green cupcake papers and pink sugar sprinkles. You can whip up a batch of cupcakes and decorate them, then display them on your new stand! You could even do so while wearing cupcake lip gloss, cupcake ribbon tied in your hair, and a cupcake shirt made with the iron-on. :) As always, leave a comment on this post sometime between now and Friday at noon. Note: due to the size of the box needed for shipping, I'm going to have to limit this giveaway to US folks only. Sorry! Good luck!

Giveaway May Week 3 Winner!

So, ya wanna see what I made for this week's giveaway?


I've had this stamp set for a while but have never used it, even though I think it's darling. What better reason to dust it off and make a few cards than a sewing-themed giveaway? I think they turned out really cute and the lucky giveaway winner will get a set of four cards (two of each design) and envelopes.

Speaking of that winner, it's time to consult the Random Integer Generator:

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

4 

Timestamp: 2008-05-24 23:46:22 UTC

Commenter #4 is bunny b! Congratulations! I'll be in touch so that I can get your mailing address.

It's shaping up to be a quiet weekend here. Quin is gone and the weather's not great so it doesn't seem like a holiday weekend. I did a bit of garage saling today with Maren but found nothing more than a couple of books. Total spent: 50¢. I did find a few fun things at the church rummage sale yesterday but even that had far less stuff for sale than when I went last year. Oh well, I'm planning on a bit of small-town junking next weekend so I'll just save my pennies until then.

Hope you're all having a lovely weekend and be sure to check back for the final Giveaway May package on Monday. I think I've saved the best for last!

Junk, glorious junk

I promised to share what I dragged home from the neighbor's yard sale last weekend.


This darling wool kilt was the only thing I dug out of the giant pile of children's clothing on my lawn. It's a size 4, so I'll put it away for Maren for next year but just look at that little kilt pin! That was definitely worth a quarter. I also bought a neat pair of vintage shoes for $2.00 (eBay-bound because at size 6 they'd fit about half my foot), a tall Haeger aqua vase (not the "good" kind of Haeger, the florist kind but still looks great with my aqua pottery collection) and what I believe to be my very first ever Fenton glass find! I think that is a Silvercrest footed candy dish. I also found this darling brand-new Pottery Barn kids frame (perfect for my Americana displays which will go up just before Flag Day), a book on ukulele songs (bought for eBay but it's a dud), a fun vintage coloring book, a big pile of old seam binding and twill tape, a neat pair of old scissors with very ornate handles (bought as a photo prop for a future project) and a fun old reading book with vintage illustrations that I plan to cut & use in collage.

Quin left on Wednesday for work and will be gone for 2.5 weeks. {sigh} That would explain why when I got home last night at 7:15 p.m. after a very long, busy day in which Maren had no nap, the garage door decided to be broken. Thank you, Mr. Murphy, you big jerk! The back slider door was latched, and the front door was not only deadbolted but the anti-Maren-escape latch at the top was slid to, making my keys useless. After I cried a little, I summoned my Hulk strength and heaved up the garage door just enough so I could get in and unlock the front door. At least it didn't happen when I was home, trapping both cars inside the garage--there's nothing that will unhinge me like being trapped in a house without the possibility of escape. (Even if I don't want to go anywhere, knowing I can't freaks me out.) It's not a crisis, but it certainly is an inconvenience, so I'll be putting in a call to the ol' Home Teachers this afternoon.

This morning we're heading over to a big church rummage sale downtown. It's a bit of a drive but it's an old church with people who've been members forever, and generally old people=good old junk! We went to this church's sale last year and picked up some fun stuff. I'm not sure how I'm going to wrangle Maren--the sale is held in the church's social area and it's pretty packed. Last year I strapped her into a small stroller but even that was difficult. This year the footrest on that stroller is broken, plus she can get out of the buckles anyway so it might prove to be more hindrance than help. I know I'm going to really wish I had gotten a babysitter, but I'm going to take her anyway. Hopefully I can find some goodies to make the drive & the hassle worth it!

You still have until noon MDT to enter into this week's drawing! I'll pick the winner when I get back later this afternoon and I promise I won't take so long to announce it this week. :)

Happy Mail

Lately, my mailbox overfloweth with Happy Mail!

From Shara I received this fun little packet with flowery note cards and zinnia seeds. I've heard that zinnias are fast-growing so I'm looking for a place in my yard where I can plant them. These arrived last week when it still seemed like Spring was never gonna happen, so it definitely brightened things up!

The next round of Happy Mail came all the way from Australia! The Shopping Sherpa and I did a little one-on-one swap and she sent me this package full of goodies. She included a vintage apron in the cheeriest floral fabric and a set of dishtowels with aprons on them--how perfect! She also included vintage trim and coasters, the most adorable little cupcake-shaped soap and yummy koala-shaped candies & chocolates. Why is it that other countries always have better candy? Now I'm hooked and I can't get them around here! LOL


I think what prompted our swap in the first place was this beautiful vintage Valentine. It's just wonderful--the little girl's parasol is actually a honeycomb that opens up. It's absolutely charming and will be a prized piece in my collection!

The last (but not least!) package to brighten up my mailbox was my Vintage Apron Swap package from Anne. She sent me not one, but two great vintage aprons--she said it was one to display, and one to wear. This one is to display--be sure to click on the picture so you can see the turquoise and red fabric up close. I am in love with the fabric and it is just the perfect apron for me! Anne also sent this apron to wear. I mentioned that when I cook I always wear a full bib-style apron because I am messy, and she found one! I'm impressed because it seems that bib-style vintage aprons are much more rare--the half apron seems to be norm. This will happily go into the regular rotation. Cooking dinner is much more fun when you wear a cute apron, don't you think?
Don't forget to enter the giveway for this week if you'd like a little Happy Mail from me!

Giveaway May Week 3!

Sorry for the delay in getting this week's giveaway package announced. Quin was gone all weekend for work and then leaves again on Wednesday for 2.5 weeks so it's going to be a long while until I get any Maren-free time and I had things to do. Things which may or may not have included shoe shopping. :)

Without further delay, here is this week's giveaway package:

This week's giveaway has a sewing theme! It includes a brand-new copy of this fun book about sewing all different kinds of purses and bags. The book has so many cute ideas but I must admit that the very idea of sewing a purse with the lining and the handles and the clasp and all? It skeers me, I tell ya! Sewing a purse and climbing Mt. Everest are about equal in my mind as far as Things I Will Never Be Able To Do. I know there are far braver folk than I out there in blogland, so I'm happy to pass this book along to one of you for whom the idea of making your own purse is a totally realistic goal.

In addition to the book, this package includes a cute embellished bottle full of vintage cream & white buttons and this fun quilted wall pocket organizer-thingie. The consignment thrift where I purchased it labeled it as being purchased originally at Anthropologie. It would be a perfect place to tuck letters, patterns, trims--anything, really! And as with the previous packages, there will also be a handmade goodie to be shown later. You know the drill--if you want to be included in the drawing, simply leave a comment on this post between now and Friday, May 23 at noon MDT.

So...this weekend's garage sale. Whoa. Friday evening was the preview sale, so that afternoon at about 5 pm we laid down tarps on my driveway and grass and dumped all of those giant bags of clothing out onto them. I personally hate looking through piles of clothing on the ground at a garage sale--I simply refuse to do it--but in this case there were just SO MANY that it was really the only option. After my house was ready I walked over to Alice's house to help and to shop. Over the course of the sale I picked up a few fun things that I'll share later in the week. There was lots of traffic on Friday night, even though we didn't pull everything out (because it had to put all put back in the garage that night). By the time we ended things and I got Maren to bed it was 8:30 pm and I was worn out!

Friday night I didn't sleep well again. I was up at 5:45 am Saturday morning because I just couldn't sleep, so I got up and glittered the rosettes for the giveaway package. Sometime after 7 am I went and helped at Alice's house. I couldn't believe how much stuff there was! Tons of furniture, lots of knick-knacks and picture frames and such. Alice's yard was absolutely covered, and she has a big corner lot. We opened up shop in my driveway around 8:00 am for the clothing. The day was warm and sunny and there was an incredible amount of traffic for the sale and people were buying things left and right.

After things got started, I came home and decided to make some cupcakes to sell. Any excuse to make cupcakes is good enough for me! I broke out the jumbo pans I bought last summer but hadn't yet used. They make cupcakes or muffins the same size as the big ones you get at Costco or Sam's and they are yummy! The first batch of seven were gobbled up almost immediately so I sent the other four over (a cake mix makes 12 jumbo cakes--Maren and I split the last one) and I got to making more. The next batch I did six jumbo and 12 regular-sized cakes, with homemade chocolate buttercream frosting--YUM! They all sold as well.

By about 3 pm the traffic had pretty much stopped and I think that everyone had just had enough, so they packed up all the remainders. There were four truckloads of leftovers sent to Goodwill--really enough for another good yardsale. Even though there was so much unsold, they really did sell a ton! We finally got everything cleaned up by 5:00 pm and then at 6:00 pm Maren and went over to Alice's again, this time for dinner. We visited until past 8:30 pm and by the time I got Maren to bed again, all I could do was lay on the couch with the massager on my extremely sore back before falling into bed.

In all, it was a great success! The girls raised over $2000, so they met their goal and were thrilled. I was reminded of why I far prefer going to garage sales to actually running them--it's just so darn much work! I really wish I had taken a photo of Alice's yard when we brought everything out that morning--it was astonishing! I was glad that I was able to help, but I know I'm not alone in saying that I'm really glad it's over!

Giveaway May Week 2 Winner!

Yikes everyone, I'm sorry to be so late on the drawing for Giveaway May Week 2. The garage sale started out by taking over my garage but ended up taking over my entire weekend! I was busy with it almost all day Friday and Saturday and was so wiped out that I spent Sunday either at church or on the couch with a terribly sore back. It was fun though, and the girls met their fund-raising goal so it was a success. I'll post more about the sale later, but for now let's get to the drawing!

This time there were 44 entrants who made it before the deadline so instead of cutting up 44 little pieces of paper, I'm turning to the trusty Random Integer Generator to do my dirty work:

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

20 

Timestamp: 2008-05-19 14:55:57 UTC

Commenter #20 is.......Brooke, from Living the Happily Ever After! Congratulations Brooke! Please contact me at fraulein_h AT hotmail dot com so I can get your address! Here's a little photo of the handmade, glass-glittered crepe paper rosettes I made to include in the package:

Giveaway #3 will be up later today, so be sure to check back later!

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?