My mom and my aunts doing the garter thing.
My grandmother helping out.
Looking more than a little scared.
My favorite one!
Snowy Day in Harvard Square February 17, 2010
Or alternately titled, the day I did NOT get my tonsils out.
Valentine’s This Year February 14, 2010
My oldest made his hands into a heart and I took a shot with my iphone. I used the lo-mob app to give it the vintage photo look and then picniked the message. For today’s purpose, I blurred out my eldest son’s name in the bottom right corner We printed these up and he handed (ba dum cha) them out, easy peasy.
My youngest wanted his face on the body of a bear for his Valentine this year but I had neither the talent nor the time (next year my little bear, next year…) so we went with a photo taken last year of my little guy in his big brother’s Kindergarten Valentine hat and Valentine sucker. I really like the way it turned out.
I used Picknik on this one as well. Both to color isolate the pop and to write the message. That little toddler pudge of hand is melting my non-sugar heart.
Hope you are all enjoying this Valentine’s day. I went to bed with a stomach bug (geeeeze) and am just now crawling out of the bed. Bed —-> blog.
I did get a lovely handmade card from my love and a beautiful 3-D glass star to light up and hang on the porch. I am grateful to be the mom of 2 sweet and funny boys and the partner to an amazing love.
Lucky me.
I’m in the Mood to Brag February 13, 2010
It’s been written about before, by myself and more eloquently by others, but thrifting is a modern day treasure hunt. People either have the hunger or they don’t, more scores for the rest of us! A few weeks ago I scored big. I was in line to pay for a couple of vintage children’s books at the Good Will when a woman dropped off a couple of big blue boxes.
The boxes looked beat to hell but what was inside was unused.
I imagine she got them as a wedding present and they had been sitting in her basement for ages. The biggest box contained 4 column candlesticks.
I paid $9.99 for them. SHAZAM.
I have not added candles yet (or taken off the blue paper on 2 of them, tacky!) but slapped them up on the mantel as a trophy, like the head of a beast.
The other box contained a set of hand-blown champagne flutes. Also unused and nestled safely in their original box. I paid $4.99 for those.
The woman who dropped them off was still there as I snatched them up and appeared horrified at the price I paid. She kept saying, “They are Tiffany!” “Stop thrift blocking, Lady!”. I wanted to say but did not want to antagonize her. I tried not to make eye contact and scurried out with my spoils as quickly as possible but I could sense that it may have been her last thrift donation. Pleased as punch I got to be her send off!
Do I like crystal? Not really. I had some non-Tiffany sitting in my basement for years up until our move last summer. It was over cut and not my style at all. Would I have looked twice at the candlesticks had they not been Tiffany? Maybe not. I am not ashamed to say that I am caught up in the wonder of the blue box just a little bit. Not enough to buy anything at retail but thrifted? You bet.
Plus they really are elegant and just calling out for me to rustle up a dinner party…
Craft Room, In Progress January 24, 2010
You’ve seen this space as it has progressed, here and here.
If I waited until it was “done” we’d all be done with blogging so I thought I’d put up what I’ve got up.
I’m standing in the doorway, taking this shot. The room is longer than it is wide. A funky little space that came with this great built-in bookcase. The previous owners used it as a little girls room:
I FEEL THE NEED TO CAP THIS – BEFORE AS IN, I DID NOT PAINT THE ROOM YOU SEE ABOVE. Okay, I feel better now.
I had some much needed help from my friend Kate and son painting the walls and shelves. It was a bigger job than I anticipated and hence, the only room I have repainted thus far. Kate?
A lot of these shots are taken on different days at various times of the day. Plus I am sure I punched up the color on some of the ones in my rare, non-lazy moments.
Decoupaged the closet door with sewing tissue paper. I had planned to do the backs of the shelves with the same treatment but realized it would take forever and wouldn’t showcase my collections as well as just the blue (am looking up the color in the basement, will report soon).
I have yet to hang this blue door I found on the curb. I am replacing the entry door with it. Big plans for that puppy. Will unveil that after February break, it’s on the list.
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Some of my collections.
Antlers and wooden bits on the left and wooden men with moustaches on the right. Line ’em up!
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I am still digging on my granny smock curtains. I got them at my most favorite thrift store (miss you Charlie and Pat) and saved them for a year before I moved without a clear plan but when I painted this room the Dark Celery color, I knew they would be perfect! I love it when it when stuff works out. My collection of faux bois metal boxes, not working as much. Not even going to talk about my attempted IKEA hack on that little yellow table.
Craft corner. I did not clean up for you. Trying to show all the bits, not just the pretty posed bits (and there are TONS of them as well). I keep all my stamps, thread and various other little bits of crafting crap in the tangerine crates. Luckily my youngest can eat his way through a crate a week so I have no shortage of storage.
“No Soliciting”, a nicer way of saying, “Leave me alone!”.
Just got a new Brother sewing machine from Costco. Still trying to figure out how to thread it. I think I can, I think I can…
This is a shot of my old craft room focal wall. I took it TTV (through the viewfinder) and it might be one of my favorite photos I have taken, not including the kiddos. I loved the fabric hoops on this wall but wanted something a little different this time around. I had planned to put Fishel up on the long wall in my new space but couldn’t figure out how to a fix him to our plaster and lath walls.
Here is what I could hang using twine and push pins. Thanks to Meg (and Stacy) for letting me “store” these amazing finds in my little craft room.
And this is what I love best about my craft room.; room for my boys to join me in crafting fun and memories. And since I am still in that “keeping it real” phase, moments after this was taken I believe I made my oldest cry because I was too impatient with his sewing skills. Well, here’s to more and BETTER memories in my craft room!
Mantel January 12, 2010
I have never lived in a house with a mantel. I am kind of stumped. What do you put on the mantel? Do you rotate collections? 
This is Valentine’s inspired. Why yes, little astounded 17 year old self, I DO decorate for Valentine’s Day.
Got the tin in a box lot at an auction, cheap. The striped box is an old record case, FULL of old 45’s. Including some children’s music with great graphics I am going to put into our shop.
I love all things vintage metal. Particularly when they are red. Thrifted at various spots. Starting a collection. Wish I had not donated some old ones in the move.
Not mantel related but a follow up on the evolving guest room walls.
Do you decorate for Valentine’s Day? Are we dorks? Leave links!!! Plus, any mantel advice would be much appreciated.
Playroom December 30, 2009
We were lucky enough to be able to buy our first house last summer. After being crammed into a little apartment for 7 years, which was worth it because the trade-off was I got to be a stay at home mom, it has been a whole new world of quality family time. A lot of it has been spent in the attic. We had it converted into a playroom for the kids and a music room for my husband (he is a good sharer though). Links to before posts: 1 & 2
And my little blur of motion going down those same stairs.
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This is the building zone. Blocks, games, people, etc. Go ahead and say it, I’ve heard it before. I don’t feel like my kids have an excessive amount of toys and I will proudly tell you that most of them are craigslisted, freecycled or thrifted. A bit defensive, perhaps. 🙂
The book area over there behind the rubber ducky collection. Okay, you have me here. It IS excessive. The boy loves his rubber duckies, what can I say?!
Dress up and dramatic play area.
This is the playmat area. Our hope was to leave a big blank space that the kids could manipulate and rearrange as the game and their creativity dictated. Also we wanted a place they could get their energy out in the winter. Here they are this morning, building a house out of the of the playmats I scored off Craigslist (I searched for about a year and got lucky one day last summer!).
And here are the little ones getting some of that energy out the other day.
Can’t type much, too nervous. Going to get an emergency root canal in an hour. Arrrrgh.
Paint By Numbers December 28, 2009
I finally found a home for my (growing) collection of vintage Paint by Number paintings.
Here is a quickie iphone shot of our guest room.
I would take some more but my parents and their 2 large dogs are inhabiting the space at the moment! My mom is a great hunter and found lots of these for me in NC. (thanks Ma)
I just found this great online exhibit and thought I’d share. I was going to post it to Facebook but those folks are tired of my chatty a**.
I particularly like the part where they have included peoples’ memories of PBN.
