...LIFE IN A SNOW-GLOBE

This is what it looks like outside, today FEBRUARY 22, 2021, in The FingerLakes region of NY State..

...about 20°

which is NOT enough degrees (in my book) for much of anything,

NO GARDENING.

NO YARD SALES.

NO SHORTS & FLIP FLOPS.

(you get the idea!)

~BUT~

I really SHOULDN'T complain, because FEBRUARY 21,2021 looked like this...

PERFECT BLUE SKIES!

SUNSHINE!

NO WIND!

an AWESOME DAY, that we enjoyed by walking some waterfall trails!

We should have KNOWN there would be an EBOR!!

OH WELL, we must enjoy it when we can!!

When the weather allows, I have been out Diving for Treasures...

GOODIES for the local soup kitchen...

...and MORE Goodies for the local soup kitchen

scratch post for neighbor furballs...

Greeting Cards GALORE!

GOTTA stay hydrated in these cold months!

.... even some Goodies for the Grand(?)-fur babies (LOL)

enJOY
& 
be well!

 

...THE Wedding Dress - a dress with soul.

 

Recently, my Mother and I have been discussing the fate of Her My OUR 1950's wedding dress (NOT Plural!)...

~FLASHBACK~

• Christmas Eve 2000 - I got engaged!
• October 27, 2001 - The Wedding.

During that time there was a whirlwind of planning, decisions, and World Wide turmoil (911!).  One of the first things a girl is 'supposed' to do is find her 'perfect dress'?!  I had never been the young girl that had Dreamed & Planned of HER DAY, I had just been concerned with finding MR RIGHT.  Okay, that was done, now onto The.Planning.  At 33yrs old, & 6'-0" tall, the thought of searching for a dress, with an entourage of onlookers, in Bright lights, with Large 3-way mirrors just turned my stomach!!

Then, The.Perfect.Answer!  I remembered that box in the attic - The dress that my Mom had worn down the aisle on 3-14-53.  I had tried it on when I was in my teens, when Mom was cleaning out 'junk'.  She was going to toss it, but I had told her to hang on to it - you never know.  It had fit perfect at that time - just a little long!  Well, as luck would have it, the dress had survived, and I found a GREAT seamstress - a Serious WIN-WIN (Mom was beyond Thrilled that I would want to wear her old dress!). 

10-27-01

 I remember walking down the aisle with my Dad, and joking 'Bet you never thought you'd be walking this dress down the aisle TWICE - in different directions!' (almost 50yrs later!!)

and now it is 2021!

~ Dad passed away a couple of years ago, but Mom & Dad had a wonderful 66yr. marriage...

~ J & I are going strong, and will be celebrating our 20yr anniversary this Fall...

~ Mom is now 87yrs old, and continually curious as to what will happen to her 'stuff' when she's gone, and trying to get things settled (?)!.

~We have both decided to set The Dress free, and let it bring Good Luck to someone else (we don't foresee future generations having any desire for this MidCentury dress - they will have their Mother's to wear!!).  The dress is headed to Ebay & ETSY - For Sale

I pulled the BOX from storage, and I enlisted the help of Sesame Shimmer (mannequin) for a photo shoot (I am certainly not fitting back into that dress again in the foreseeable future!!)  I think she did quite well.

During this cleanout, much 'reminiscing' has taken place with my Mother (priceless!).  She asked what had ever become of her 'GOING AWAY SUIT'?

For those not familiar with the term / tradition:

 "The tradition of the going away outfits where before the bride and groom leave they change out of their dress and tux and leave in more comfortable clothes, especially if they are heading straight for the airport that night or the next morning following the Wedding."

"Whereas most wedding dresses are commonly only worn once by (especially by modern brides), in all likelihood, your going away dress or suit is something that will then be folded into rotation in your usual everyday wardrobe. As such, feel free to spend a little more on it then you might if you were only going to sport it one time."

I let Mom know that it still hung in My closet.  NO,  I didn't wear it for it's original purpose, but in the late 80's -90's it was 'folded into rotation' of MY work wardrobe.  Mom's GoingAwaySuit was the Original 'Capsule Wardrobe', consisting of 4 interchangeable pieces - Houndstooth Jacket, 1 solid red skirt, 1 houndstooth skirt and a reversible vest (you guessed it - houndstooth/solid red)!  This was my Power Suit!  I wore it during my co-op position @ Kodak, and I even wore it to my 'Real-Just Graduated College' job interview at Beardsley's (which I got!).  In this suit I felt invincible.

•   I can no longer fit into it.
• I no longer have an Office job that requires this attire
• Since the Wedding Dress is going, WE decided the time was right for The suit to go as well.

~AND~

In the old Wedding Dress Box, I had found a little bag tucked off in the corner - a Classy, light pink PEIGNOR SET.

peignoir

[ˌpānˈwär]

NOUN

1. a woman's light dressing gown or negligee.

   synonyms:

   housecoat · bathrobe · dressing gown · robe · negligee · kimono · robe de chambre

Since it too had a correlation to 3-14-53 & deserves a New Life, we are giving it the same treatment, and will have it it's own listing, for sale on-line!

HOPEFULLY, these vintage pieces will continue on for many more years.

enJOY!

& 

be well

... 'J' is for...

Contrary to popular belief,  'J' is NOT for J.U.N.K (remember, that is a 4-Letter word!) LOL

and, though 'J' generally refers to this Great Guy, who is currently outside digging us out - on his BIRTHDAY, we must keep on tract with Alphabet COLLECTIONS!!

Todays featured collection goes to....

JONATHAN GASH / JOHN GRANT

and his LOVEJOY Mystery novel series!

Lovejoy is a series of picaresque novels by John Grant about the adventures of Lovejoy, a British antiques dealer and faker based in East Anglia. A less than scrupulous yet likeable rogue, Lovejoy has a reputation in the antiques trade as a "divvie", meaning one with an almost supernatural talent for recognising exceptional items as well as for distinguishing fakes or forgeries from genuine antiques. Lovejoy's first name is never mentioned in the books. In the TV series based on the novels, he insists on being addressed by all solely as "Lovejoy".

ANTIQUES + MYSTERY + BRITISH SETTING (+'bit' of Harlequin) = WIN! WIN!

  I can't remember 'exactly' how I stumbled upon this series, but it was around 2004. Each 'mystery' involves a bit of 'Obscure Antique History', quick/easy reads...  I was hooked!

HOWEVER... The first in the series came out in the late 70's.  You would think they would be a common site at Sales & Thrifts, but (to my knowledge) they have only been published by PENGUIN, and so they aren't common in the USA :(

To date, I have 17 in my posession, most of which were purchased on eBay.  Yes, SHOCKER!, but I enjoy them That Much!! 

Now, we are off to see what we can find for BIRTHDAY FESTIVITIES!

enJOY!

& 

be well

...MINIMALIST's Nightmare

 Maybe this article by Mary Randalph Carter should be titled

A MINIMALIST's NIGHTMARE

'The Art of Collecting

I am taking stock of what I own: the things that I possess that fill a house in the country, an apartment in the city, an office. There are objects old and new, large and small; things acquired, things given or bequeathed or simply passed along. Some are sentimental, others utilitarian, but all are evidence of how I have spent my days, of where I have been, of what has inspired me, of what I have loved and who I have loved and who has loved me. They, more than words or pictures, suggest an image of who I am, of what I have become. And though I am a firm believer that there are no hard-and-fast rules when it comes to collecting, I am happy to share with you some of the lessons learned on my own collector's journey.'

This '30 Day Mins Game' that I have been participating in, has really led to a LOT of introspection... 

How much stuff is TOO MUCH?

Do I really 'want' to be more minimalist?

I think that you can all guess the answer to that question!

"They, more than words or pictures, suggest an image of who I am, of what I have become."

My 'stuff'  "sparks joy" (ie: Marie Kondo Approved - LOL)
I really have no desire to change my design aesthetic, and really have no desire for more 'open space' (other than that being a blank canvas for me to fill!!).  The 'svelteSTUFF' is staying!

~BUT~

(yes, always that Big Butt)

This 30 day challenge has opened my eyes to just.how.MUCH 'behind the scenes' excess that I have!! Socks! Clothes! Tupperware! Candles!  This kind of 'stuff' has been no problem letting go!!

I'm sure that anybody who comes to visit our home (once social distancing is no longer required!!) will find it hard to believe that I purged over 500 items in January 2021, but That's Alright with Me!

enJOY!

& 

be well

... 'I' is for ICONIC (oh, the Irony of it...)

 

INFANT of PRAGUE

and

Iconic Irony!!

icon

[ˈīˌkän]

NOUN

1. a painting of Jesus Christ or another holy figure, typically in a traditional style on wood, venerated and used as an aid to devotion in the Byzantine and other Eastern Churches.

   synonyms:

   image · idol · portrait · likeness · representation · symbol · figure · statue · model

   
   

~~~~~FLASHBACK to the Late 80's~~~~~

I was freshly out of college, finding my way in a new city, with a new job, and MY OWN APARTMENT!  ThriftStores were my friend!  I was searching high and low for design ideas... reading every magazine I could afford to get my hands on (desktop computers were a thing of the future still!!)  This MARY RANDALPH CARTER had a JUNK Book out... I found it - in a book store!! (AMAZON? Ebay? What are those???).  I became absorbed by her style, and learned SOO much!!  I think she had an influence on MANY of us 'STUFFers'! She opened my eyes to MANY, MANY things, including this 'funny little guy in a dress'  ie: Infant of Prague.

  Have you ever found, that once your eyes are opened to something, you start seeing it EVERYWHERE??  That happened with me and IoP, and they started following me home (they are generally slightly damaged & not in high-demand = CHEAP).  

When I spot them, they usually have some of their 'friends' gathered round - other Saints and Spiritual Icons from various beliefs, in various forms: statues, paintings, rosaries...  OF COURSE, they too were looking for a good home!!

ROSARIES!

and MORE ROSARIES!!

  Now for the IRONY.  I do not believe in organized religion.  Yes, I was raised in a devout Methodist home.  I HAD to go to Church every Sunday; did the Full gamut of Baptism, Sunday School, confirmation - i even taught a grade in Vacation Bible school one Summer !?!!  As much as I hated it at the time, I do thank my Mother now for exposing me to this whole experience, from which I was able to make my own 'educated' decision on how I would proceed..  I do believe in the basics: "Be good to one another" "Cause no harm (to anything!)", but beyond that - NO!  I still have a LOT of questions, and a LOT to learn - about all religions. Bit-by-bit, my curiosity has led me to learn a 'little' about a 'lot' of 'faiths/beliefs'.  It is actually quite interesting, with a historical value.

         So, yes, I do 'collect Iconic pieces' - but my home is NOT Filled with them!  Since we took a booth at an Antique Co-op, our 'Yellow Wall' section has been devoted to all things Spiritual - IoP, Buddha, Tarot Cards, Ouija...  and with every item we purchase, there is an education waiting to be uncovered!  Prime Time Treasure Hunter has a great YouTube video on identifying religious statues that we refer to often.

enJOY!

& 

be well