... and THREE makes yet another...

Saturday was a WONDERFUL fix!

I got to the SPCA rummage sale 15 min. before it was to open, and there were already about 50 people in line.... Yes it has been a L~O~N~G Winter here in the NE!! I didn't have my hopes too high, but was pleasantly surprised!

These were just TOO Cheery to pass up on a cold winter's day! Measuring spoonholder is plastic and the two ashtrays are china.

-SORRY NO PHOTO-

A lovely lot of 30 Hankies!

'Charming' solitaire 'mad cleaver yielding chef' and an unsuspecting elf posing in front of a nice Brush-McCoy Pot!

Last but not least, THREE unused, Large size scented candles - not Yankee, but still good ones from Maine! When the house is sealed up tight all Winter it is fun to have a yummy smelling candle lit!

ALL of these goodies for $5 - gotta Love it!

As an added bonus, while out running some errands Sat. we stumbled upon an estate sale. It was later in the day, so just as we got there they were lowering everything to half price!!

Does anybody know if old, 'new' in box paint by numbers of Clowns do anything in the resale market? I did a little research, but haven't had much luck!

FUN finds! Two metal lined trash cans that I think may sell nicely when title Mid Century Moderne (who am I kidding, I'm already picturing the metal liners different colors and which rooms I could use them in!!)! AND a few 'summer porch' additions - Coconut Pirate Head, Clay hanging planter with a goofy Monkey and an older pottery Kahlua Tiki! At .50c each, how could I go wrong?!

Now is probably the perfect time to introduce you to our PORCH. We do not have a typical front porch, but rather a secluded back porch. Full width of house x Approx. 10' deep. We LOVE the porch and we spend WAY more time there in warmer weather than inside!! (warmer weather being above 40 degrees!!) The porch usually consists of a table and 4 chairs, and 4 comfy chairs, an ottoman, a couple of small wicker end tables and a couple of tall iron shelves for plants. Each year it is decorated in a 'coastal motif'or 'warm motif' (depending on recent vacations/finds!!). Some years it is done in SW hazy orange browns & Donkeys (ie Arizona or Mexico), some years Maine Coastal Salty fishermen and Lobsters , some years a Tropical Motif of colorful birds & flowers, OR often my own blend of 'D. All of the above'. Of course porch season only lasts April - Nov (in a good year!), and then it ALL gets packed away to the depths of the basement, so that those nasty Arctic blasts that dump the snow on the porch don't ruin everything. Packed away until that long awaited first warm spring day when... The fiberglass 'wind block' panels from either end of the porch get taken down! A good sweeping! ... a few pieces of furniture in place! ~sorry, I'm daydreaming. we have a LOT of cold weather before 'that Spring day'!~

In the past year I have picked up two coconut heads... just because 'they spoke to me' and were too funny not to pick up! They ended up getting positioned on one of the joists of The Porch. Saturday, I found another. That makes three. It's 'Not really' another collection, is it?!

8-)

... a little CA Sunshine!

...do you ever have one of those days, or more accurately one of those WEEKS when just nothing seems to be going smoothly?! THE BEST cure was waiting for me Friday afternoon when I got home from work, in the form of a 'sunny little care package from CA'!! THANKS YSP (Yard Sale Princess) !!! Lookie what she found for me.....

VERA calendar! ...and not just your usual 'towel calendar', but an actual fabric wall hanging calendar! This is a first for my collection - I've never even seen one of these before - WAY COOL!

And... an adorable little England tin egg filled with 'egg-shaped' tags - too cute to use, maybe they will be displayed in some way-shape or form as Easter/Spring decorations! Isn't the accompanying note card enough to put a smile on anyone's face??!

What a way to start the weekend! THANKS LeAnne! As for the weekend... I just spotted in the paper an SPCA fundraising rummage sale this morning - YIPPEE!! Never been to this one before, but I think I better get ready to go, as I'm sure it will be packed. I'll report back with my finds!

Hope you all have a Happy Weekend!!

back of notecard from YSP - do you think she knew we have two goldfish? (Fred-8yrs and Stand - 5yrs)

...mmm? Yes.

Nothing new or exciting to report, but I'm tired of that 'pink' VD post being the first thing that anyone sees! PLUS, I wanted to check in to see if everybody is Loving that Full 'SNOW' Moon as much as I am?!

In my cold weather delirium, I've been dreaming up 'new' things to add to my 'gotta find - 2008 LIST' . I've come up with two. Not sure how successful I'll be, but a challenge is always good!

NO. 1 : I decided a while ago that I wanted to pick up a few old OUIJA BOARDS - in different designs - to use as decoration amongst the rafters of my attic studio... 2 months into 2008, and still no luck! I did find a cool/cheap old TWISTER game the other day for $1.50 - I'm thinking picnic tablecloth?! (Yes, Yes! - I'll sanitize the hell out of it first!!)

NO. 2 : (I have absolutely NO EXCUSE for my sudden obsession for NO. 2!!) METAL CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS. Not just any metal ornaments though! Only those 'nasty', paper- thin, cheap, gold-toned/tarnished, metal 'cut-outs' (preferably with an engraved name or message). These beauties were ever-so-popular in the 1970's & 80's. Perfect 'personalized' Gift. Often sold at Kiosks in the mall, ready to be engraved for that 'special' last minute gift. I thought that 'Thing's Remembered' used to carry them, but alas, I can't even pull a photo from their site to show you what I'm referring to (none to be found on E-bay either - imagine that!!)! In the past they completely disgusted me... now I'm thinking that if I can acquire enough, they might be doing up one of my aluminum trees next X-mas!!

Hope everyone gets a peak at the Lunar Eclipse Tonight!!

...V-Day

More Sweet Inspiration...

(The baked goods have got to STOP if I'm actually going to fit into a bathing suit for a vacation that is only 2 weeks away!!!!)

Nothing new or interesting, so in honor of the Day I've dug into my photo archive- This is a wall from our pre-remodel kitchen (2005). 'Part' of my 100+ Red-Handle Utensil collection (one collection that was sacrificed for the sake of the 'NEW' Kitchen!). Where these once hung, there is now a door.

Some 'current' glimpses of our upstairs Hallway...

These Flirty cuties with the long eyelashes and bright red lips just scream VALENTINES DAY to me (1950's bathroom style Valentine's Day, that is!!). These are just a couple of my favorites that I thought I would show off today!!

Have a Wonderful Day !!

...not quite time yet

A couple of Monday morning thoughts...

"It's not about what happened in the past, or what you think might happen in the future. It's about the ride, for Christ's sake. There is no point in going through all this crap, if you are not going to enjoy the ride. And you know what... when you least expect, something great might come along. Something better then you even planned for. " (Along Came Polly)

~and~
a great excerpt from another blog (VINTAGE CHICA) I was reading this morning...

"And the daffodils are poking their little heads up. Which means spring is right around the corner. Every year when they start to show up here and there I find myself wanting to whisper to them, "Its not quite time yet, go back to sleep". And every year they slow their growth with the cooler temps and bloom right on time.
Nature has always been my best teacher. Maybe I should take a hint from the daffodils.

...Ta Da...

Red Velvet Cupcakes...Half for at home... proudly adorning my MacKenzie Childs cakeplate...

...and half heading to work for coffee break Monday Morning!!

...sweet inspiration!!

When my day started out with finding a partial set of 3 VERA napkins, I really didn't think it would get much better, but...

3 VERA napkins - not an exciting 'VERA' example, but for $1.99...

In preparation for V-Day baking (Valentine cutouts are a long-time family tradition, and a new recipe for Red Velvet cupcakes has me inspired) , I have been looking for baking decorations. Have you checked out the prices on these lately? It's OUTRAGEOUS!Not V-day related, but I did find these on sale for $1 each (Halloween, Generic & Patriotic) to save for future use.

Then I stopped by a tag sale at a 'Country Bakery' that was going out of business... picked up a few goodies for resale, some kitchen linens for me and 'stuff' for future projects - then, what should I spy ????

...A LARGE box full of cake decorations - many new, others mostly full Red/White/Pink Hearts! Fall Leaves! Orange & Black Pumpkins! Patriotic! Pastel Eggs! Retro colored Spring flowers! Every rainbow color of sugar! - 33 Total. Now, I normally won't go anywhere near food items at your average sale, but these were from a known bakery, clean, a lot were new & sealed, and well under expiration dates. Plus a couple of packages of cupcake papers and a couple of number candles! "HOW MUCH?"... "Two dollars if you take the whole box."

I guess I better get busy baking.

...Standing in the rain...

; The temperature reached 48deg yesterday - which by CNY (Central New York State) standards is a heat wave in February!! It was Pouring *a*l*l* day long, but without the threat of a SNOW storm, I had to venture a few towns away to get a MUCH need 'stuff' fix!

First stop - Linden Exchange Consignment shop... TWO!! VERA scarves @ $1 ea - YIPPEE!!

2nd stop - The SecondHand Shop ... nothing.

3rd on the route - Center of Concern... Found this cool grey & pink bag - perfect for keeping in the car for 'grocery shopping'. Nice alternative to those plastic store bags that I am trying to stay clear of! I was thinking that it is an easy enough pattern, that I could 'whip' up some of my own creations and clear out some of my fabric horde, but... after more consideration, I'm thinking 'hunting' for bags may be more fun than 'sewing' bags!! You never know though, stranger things have happened!! The Bag + a Moderne Italy knife = $1.00

Pulling out of the parking lot to continue on the hunt, I hear on the radio...

"...Standing in the rain...".

Instantly the volume dial is maxed out (...well, almost.).

Blame it on the fact that ALL of my teen years (+) were enveloped in the 80's.

Blame it on the fact that I was raised in the outskirts of Rochester, NY .

Blame it on the fact that I have seen Lou Gramm in concert TOO many times to count.

Whatever.

JUKE BOX HERO by Foreigner, for those of you youngins out there (Yes, yes, I can hear it now 'Cheesy 80's hair band..." yeh, yeh.), just HAS to be cranked. That's all there is to it.

Okay, so revitalized, I had two more stops which produced...
... a retro filigree metal tissue cover (.49c) + a couple of retro mugs (.19c each) + retro OWL spoonrest (.25c) + a couple of New containers of candle 'glue' for holding tapers in the holders (.25c) = $1.62.

There you have it folks. My $4.62 fix! (well... and the cost of gas, but I don't count that 'cause some of the things are for E-bay, so hopefully they will balance out!!).

until next time, remember...

Gotta keep on rockin

That boy has got to stay on top

And be a juke box hero, got stars in his eyes

...HAPPY S.B.S.!

HAPPY SUPERBOWL SUNDAY EVERYONE!

In honor of the occassion, I ventured into the kitchen this morning - I don't do well at 'cooking', but I LOVE to bake, so...

Here's the scenario... we're off to the annual SuperBowl party this afternoon - to which we always take our 'Chicken wing dip' and 'sugar' - 'cause after enough beer Everyone NEEDS something sweet! Hmmmm... what shall it be this year? I'm craving gingerbread. How about some cutouts? Men?, no - too Christmassy. Hearts?, no - this is a 'Man's' sport. Footballs! that's it. What to use for a cutter? After much searching for the perfect shape, I found that a soft-plastic aerosol can cap mooshed would work. Making sure to form the 'points' well, or they kind of look like easter-eggs (yes, I AM speaking from experience!!).

Then, being the football 'no-mind' that I am, I had DH sketch out a frosting design - yes, this was a Hi-Tec process all the way!!

The frosting is still drying, so I couldn't 'stage' them properly - but isn't my Haeger football planter cool?! I didn't think the cookies turned out half bad either!

Almost as exciting as 'watching frosting dry' was the Estate sale that I chiselled the ice off the car to go to yesterday morning... For the effort I dug out (3) .25c dish towels - or in our house 'hand towels', since I DON'T DO dishes! If it can't go in the dishwasher, it's not allowed! (okay, okay, there are a couple of exceptions!). Oh, and a Yankee Candle tart for .10c . Yes Y.C. are Way overpriced, and I won't pay retail, but I DO Love the strong scents - so when I can grab Y.C. for cheap - I DO!The towels aren't old - from the 80's and they are TAG brand. I have about a half dozen of this brand towel now (all found at sales) and I love them. I tried doing some research for a store which carries this brand (I was thinking Target or Kohls), but no luck - does anyone know??

That's it. Enjoy the game!!