Blog Salad, Yummy Yummy September 11, 2008

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I just counted, out of curiosity, and I have 12 bags in my living room.  Strewn about there are 12 bags full of random things we haven’t put away from various outings or have shoved junk into them in an effort to “clean”.  It’s crisis point.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I went to an estate sale last weekend and one of the women working there wouldn’t sell me a huge stack of ephemera I collected from a monster sifting session in the hot dusty garage.  She said, “It was too personal!”.  So the underwear in the drawers and the sliver of soap in the bathroom are okay but me trying to ‘rescue’ these photos and keepsakes is “too personal”?  Good to know.  Better to know before the other estate sale lady pointed me to the trunk in the garage in the first place.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Why does my fishtank stink?  What’s the easiest way to clean a 30 gallon tank?  Want some free fish?

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I have a toe infection (I dare you to google image “ingrown toenail”) and it’s making me grumpy.  Appointment at noon.  Update sure to follow.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I am still obsessing over this blunder:  During morning at drop off at my son’s school I said to two snazzily dressed moms, “Wow!  You both look so fancy.  Off to somewhere special?”  They looked at each other and replied s………….l………….o………….w………….l………….y, “Just work.”  Ouch.  Total stay at home mom moment.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Did I mention my toe really hurts?  Like in a cartoonish throbbing way.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Winnah = Ari’s Art

And in non-toe related news, Adriana at Ari’s Art won the PIF, check her out at her blog that is full of her cool artwork!  Thank you all for entering for your chance to win!  But really, we’re ALL winners here. Please contact me with your mailing address Ari and I will get this off to you!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This concludes my blog salad.  It’s a lighter and less filling menu option.

Next time I’ll try and throw in some croutons or maybe Baco-Bits if you’re good.

edit+++++++++++++++++++++++++++edit++++++++++++++++++++++++++edit

I now have a podiatrist.  I will add that to the list of things I never imagined would come out of my mouth when I was a teenager.  The good news is that I have a little doctor crush on him!  He’s a COLLECTOR!  The office is in the first floor of his house and immediately upon walking up the steps and into the lobby (no ramp which I thought was odd in his line of work) you are greeted by tons of STUFF.  My kind of guy.  He collects cameras, vintage sock forms, ink wells, painted postcards and tons of other stuff I didn’t get to peek at I’m sure.  After being shown to my room, I pawed around my bag and pulled out my business card! I know, crazy right?  I have a business card.  I have a kick butt business card.  I will post it tomorrow for you but today was the first time I handed it to a non-friend.  It felt good, super good.  There was only the tiniest bit of the impostor feeling, really really tiny.  Mostly I felt proud.  Okay, back to the real reason you are here – my TOES.  He asked me how well I handled pain, upon retrospect I think it’s a very good doctor trick to phrase it that way.  I immediately wanted to be the best pain taking patient EVAH.  ***Warning***:  not that graphic but don’t read if you have a toenail thing.  I have a teeth thing and would want a warning if you were going to write about your teeth.   So I forwent the Novocaine shot and he proceeded to lift and then clip off half my big toenail.  Not to disclose too much about myself but it wasn’t altogether unpleasant.

addendum+addendum+addendum+addendum+addendum+addendum+addendum+addendum

This is a never ending toe post but I had to write about the loving care I got last night from my Kindergartner.  He is the medic of the family.  He excitedly gathered the appropriate tools for the job and ordered me to recline on the sofa.  He wrapped my foot in an ace bandage, propped my foot up on pillows and then covered my leg in washcloths and bean bags.  He got a wet cloth for my forehead and gently applied some pressure to my head to help me feel better.  Not only was it cute as all get out, it was actually therapeutic.

Notice the label he wrote for my bandage, “TO NJRE” = Toe Injury.

And I appreciate all the SAHM support, I just wanted to clarify that I was obsessing because I felt like I made the blunder.  I was the one who had my SAHM blinders on and wasn’t seeing past my own circumstances.  I felt like I was being insensitive to moms who may or may not be wanting to head off to work.

Okay, I now declare this post officially ended.  I am off to take photos of some of my recent super trash grabs!  Bum toe or no, I’m all about trash day scores!

Snippets of Brimfield September 9, 2008

Sometimes something is so great it’s just hard to write about.  I’m having greatness block.  It also doesn’t help that my (few) photos from the trip are crappy.  But it was so much fun that it didn’t even occur to me to take a photo until we sat down for lemonade and a yucky gyro.

Well not that you were were so excited for my photos, what with that kind of send up, but turns out they’re not in my iphotos.  I did want to share a photo of my friend Lauren modeling some colonial bling I picked up for my favorite little Red Coat but nada. I will keep searching and add them if they turn up.

Found!

Kate, Lauren and I piled into my car and we set out early but not before we bageled up.  We got on the highway and Kate, who I was told by Lauren knew how to get there, turned and asked, “Anyone know how to get there?”.  Turns out Kate pulled through and got us there (she was a little less successful at estimating the miles until the next bathroom on the way home but some stories aren’t for sharing).  We got there and encountered no lines into town, got a choice parking spot (there is ABSOLUTELY NO parking on the street, remember this as it’s important later), and got a jump on the shopping.  As much as someone can get a jump when they go on the LAST day of the sale.  We were supposed to go Saturday but we postponed due to F.O.R. (fear of rain).  I will admit that I cried a little and took a nap on Saturday due to disappointment but rallied on Sunday.

Kate and Lauren both have great taste which was to my advantage as they helped me find scores for the shop but was heartbreaking when they purchased items I coveted for myself.  I will try and get a photo of the artwork Kate bought.  Painfully wonderful.  I can’t complain though because I cleaned up.  Mostly I got things for the shop but I did get a metal top kitchen table.  It has blue legs and a seriously cool faux bois top.  It remains to be seen if we can figure out a way to get it through our back door though but let’s stick to the positives.

This is the artwork that Kate grabbed from the same stall I purchased the table from.  Just look at the burlap, the circles, the teal and the red!  Oh be still my jealous heart.

The favorite shop of the day was this, dare I risk sounding like an old lady, cute couple from North Carolina.  We were all a little jealous of our perception of their lifestyle, freewheelin’ secondhand stuff across the country and looking good while doing it.  They had some really cool stuff.  Lauren bought a playing card sorter, cigarette holder, soap dish mystery tray and cover with funky mod birds that she cradled for the rest of the day.

Here’s a sneak peek of some of my purchases.

This is a Popsie Doll.  You pull the little guy’s body down and a sign reading, “Happy Birthday Gorgeous” pops out of his head.

Lauren picked out this beauty and it sold almost as soon as I listed it.  Wine’s on me.

And speaking of wine, this is a bar set with corks, a wine opener and a bottle opener.  I am developing a thing for little wooden men.  Don’t worry about it.

I am a sucker for original packaging.  I’m planning on selling this Scrappy 16mm film on Etsy but I am worried it will be chopped up for “assemblage” art.  Which I enjoy but only if it uses stuff that’s already busted. Is that obnoxious to say something to that effect when posting in my shop?  I feel that way about old books too.  Breaks my heart to think of them cut up.

This metal shoe has a screw hole in the top like maybe it was part of a mannequin. Anyone seen anything like this before?  Any information welcome.

Again with the faux bois, this is a mechanical bingo caller. You pull a lever and it generates a square.

I got tons more stuff that I’m excited to share with you but I haven’t taken photos yet.

The final story of the day, which involves the parking I asked you to remember, takes place when we were leaving.  We pulled over (and parked) on the main road to load up the kitchen table.  We had a plan, I’d get the table, Kate would run and get her uncut Monopoly money she was sorry she passed up, and Lauren would get us some of Grandpa’s potato skins and Grandma’s apple brown betty.  I packed up the car and Lauren came back with the yums and we DEVOURED the skins while waiting, still by the side of the road, for Kate to come back.  I had the plate in my hand and a skin in my mouth when I heard a loud rap at the window.  I looked up to see an annoyed bike cop.  I got the window down, while still holding onto the the plate, and explained that we were just loading up.  And with perfect timing after he left Lauren said, “ON POTATO SKINS!”  I will admit that we were hungry, tired and a little punchy but never have I had better fake cheese nor giggled so hard in the face of the LAW.  We moved on down the road a bit to catch up with Kate, who may have made a stop at the fried dough stand – who would request such a thing?  We got another aggrivated cop at the window, it wasn’t as funny with the brown betty.

So that was our Brimfield trip.  Good friends, good finds, good fun, good food, and an all around good time.  We’re going to do it again in May.

Skins and scores for all my friends!

A Trip with the Girls September 5, 2008

I am off to Brimfield and hopefully I will have lots of treasures to brag about share with you when I get back!  Enjoy your weekend and send me some Flea Market Fairy Dust for good luck!

From the Brimfield Antique Show homepage:

What IS the Show, Anyway?

The Brimfield Antiques Show began in the 1950’s and has become the largest and best-known outdoor antiques show in the country.  Brimfield is a quaint, picturesque rural New England town, home to 3,000 residents.   Founded in 1731, (the year before George Washington was born), the town’s 35 square miles are surrounded by apple orchards and wooded hills in an area known as the foothills of the Berkshires.

During show-times, the town’s population balloons to over 250,000 visitors and over 5,000 dealers for the 6 days the Show operates.   The Show has a carnival-like atmosphere, appropriate for all ages, where good vibes prevail, (and few, if any problems ever present themselves).

Dealers come from all over the world as do visitors. From millionaire world-famous rock stars, to the local resident down the street, the Show is a Mecca for serious and casual collectors of all kinds of antiques.

I’ll let you know if we see any world-famous (or otherwise) rock stars.

And I’ll leave you with a story cause I know you’ll miss me.  Today on the way home from my big guy’s first day of K, I saw a sign for an estate sale and promptly banged a uey.  From the back, my son piped up with, “Someone is forgetting that they are going to Brimfield tomorrow!”  Just turned 6.  Sometimes I am just so damn proud of that kid’s smart mouth, even when the zing is aimed at me!

My Mosaic Broke September 4, 2008

All the cool kids are making them (or they were 6 months ago) so I tried my hand.

I broke it.  It’s supposed to tell you who took which shot, link to ’em and scratch your ass.

This is what I do instead of whole host of otherness.

I Hope Not Son, I Sincerely Hope Not…

This morning my Halloween obsessed son asked me if I wanted to be a “puffy gravestone” for Halloween.  How is your day shaping up?

BBBBBBBEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPPPPP September 3, 2008

I interrupt this blog with an important question.  I am feeling very short bus today.  Maybe you can help me.

Is your name Mitzi?  Did you send me an envelop with 2 floral print notebooks?  Did I win a blog give away and forget?  Did an etsy or ebay order get mixed up?  Are we related?  College roommates?  Do you think I’m pretty?

Drop me a line if you can help me solve this mystery.

Now back to the regularly scheduled nonsense.

EDIT: They kicked me off the bus!  Thanks to Glamoure Damaged and her amazing Google skills the mystery is solved.  I won a contest.  A mannequin naming contest (Lashes LaRue) and won something from this VERY COOL ETSY SHOP: VIntage Goodness

Like a dolt, I forgot and when I got the package in the mail I was flummoxed.  So leave a comment and I am going to PIF (pay it forward for those who don’t already know – I just learned it today on ETSY).  I will pick a random number and send these vintage floral notebooks with a little something extra on to you!

Fells & Friends

We said “good bye” to summertime with a hike in the Fells with our good friends last weekend.  I’ll let the photos do (most) of the talking today:

First fall leaf.

We welcomed the new member of their family (and there was only minimal swinging of the sack-a-doodoo)

First game of Hide and Seek

Best buddies since birth:

Been waitin’ for that dog a loooong time!

Love you guys!

ps – To everyone else, I will calm my Picnik obsession soon. Maybe.