We All Scream for Ice Cream!

Deb and the boys spent the night and a couple of days at mom and dad's this week. I'm already back at work (how did that happen?), and Kevin's been working the Pony Palomino World Series tournament since late last week. It's been a busy time!

Deb called us Wednesday night to see if we wanted to meet them at the Fair Oaks Pharmacy and Soda Fountain for ice cream. Ice cream? Us? ABSOLUTLEY!

If you've never been to the fabulous vintage soda fountain, you must put it on your to-do list. It's such an old fashioned, charming step back in time. The pharmacy has been there since 1915 - and it's still an active pharmacy, but the big draw is the soda fountain. A number of years ago, the man who bought the pharmacy somewhere along the way, decided to incorporate a soda fountain into the pharmacy. Lo and behold, he found an in-tact vintage soda fountain in Joplin, Missouri, and had it shipped out here. And here it has remained - and thrived, I might add! When we went on Wednesday, the place was packed! And, if you're an ice cream lover, you'll not be disappointed in the selection of flavors, or the myriad choices of concoctions on the menu.

Deb and Drew had the classic hot fudge sundae; I enjoyed a rootbeer float; Kevin and Pat were a little more adventurous in their selection with a Banana Blitz and a Banana Royal. The soda 'jerk' (and I use that affectionately - he was great!) was kind enough to suggest making a smaller-sized version of each of these behemoth delights. Great suggestion! By the time we left, we were all absolutely stuffed - with ice cream, nostalgia, and fun =)

Thanks for treating, Deb!

Bits and Bobs

When I was growing up, my grandmother always had what I call a 'Bits and Bobs' basket. It wasn't particularly fancy, but in the eyes of a small child, that basket held pure magic. Every time I was allowed to look through it, I found new treasures. It was one of my absolute favorite things to do: spend a rainy afternoon sorting through all of the trinkets in the basket.

A couple of weeks ago while cruising through the Goodwill store, I came across a charm bracelet. A Halloween charm bracelet to be more precise. It caught my eye the minute I looked at the case and asked the clerk to take it out. Upon inspection, it was clear to me that my grandmother wasn't the only one who had a Bits and Bobs basket! Each of the 'charms' was both glorious and goofy in their own right. In reality, they are just small pieces of plastic, glass or metal, but when combined, they form a very charming vintage-y charm bracelet. At just $2.99 I couldn't resist. I bought it. (You knew that was coming, right?) Here it is - see for yourself: Kitschy, no?

So. As you might have guessed, I was inspired. As it so happens, I have my grandmother's old basket. I thought what better use than to fill it up with Bits and Bobs?! I headed to yet another Goodwill store to see what I could find. Luck was a lady and I came upon a florist's vase filled with baubles - who knew what treasures would be inside?! - for just $14.00. Sounded like a fair price to me, so I bought it, brought it home ... and was thrilled! It was exactly what I'd had in mind; inside there were cute bobby pins with embellishments, actual charms (9!) with clasps, a couple of funky pins, a menagerie of vintage clip-on earrings, necklaces of all shapes and sizes that can be used as fun beads, a broken strand (but with LOTS) of black vintage glass beads, and so much more. Next stop was Patty's Antiques (which is closing - boo/hiss) where I came across a couple of $5.00 grab bags that had more fun vintage-y Bits and Bobs. Plus, I came across some old Monopoly game pieces, so I added those to the mix, too.

WHEW! Here's are a few photos of the new generation Bits and Bobs basket: Isn't it fun?!

Now I ask ya, who wouldn't want to spend an afternoon sifting through all the treasures in this basket? Not only that, I'm pretty sure I see some fun, funky, vintage-y charm bracelets on my crafty to-do list ;o)

Now *THIS* is an Estate Sale

Yesterday after our investment club meeting, mom told me they were having an "Estate Sale" (a REAL one this time, not a yard sale like last week's adventure!) at a house not far from theirs. She described the location and I knew exactly which house she was talking about - it's a house that, having grown up there, I've driven by at least a million times. I've always loved this particular house. The front is now a bit overgrown by shrubs (for that matter, I guess it always has been - to some degree at least), but the shrubs don't overshadow the beauty of the house. It's a two story brick colonial with window boxes outside the rows of upstairs windows. I've always wanted to go through that house and yesterday I finally had my chance.

As much as I love estate sales, there is one thing I really don't like about them: it typically means that someone has passed away. It always makes me feel a bit guilty - not to mention melancholy - to walk through a home watching people paw through things that someone took a whole lifetime to collect. There's just something about it that makes me really sad. When I do go to them, I'm always very careful to treat both the home and the items being sold with a great deal of respect. I go through the home slowly, trying to imagine the family that lived there - who they were, how they lived their lives, celebrations they had - and I'm very careful when picking up items for sale. I treat them very gingerly and only touch things I'm really interested in buying.

Yesterday's sale was a big one. Lots of cars parked along the street and lots of people mulling around the house. And what a house it is! It's even more beautiful on the inside than I'd imagined. Several of the rooms were closed off, but the most of them were open and had lots of things for sale. I was talking to a guy who was helping to run the sale and I told him that I'd grown up in the area and had always admired the house. He told me that it had been in the same family since it was built in 1936. How cool is that?! I mentioned that the home had clearly been lovingly maintained and he countered with the fact that it was desperately in need of some upgrades: the home still has STEAM heat! Oh my. I do hope that whomever ends up buying the house maintains the integrity of it's vintage. Something tells me they will ;o)

Anyway --- on to my finds. I picked up a bag of assorted flatware (remember last week's fiasco?), a darling pair of vintage women's gloves with sweet little bead and pearl details, an aqua celluloid vanity box and a charming little vintage Baby Ben windup alarm clock. As I was at the sale on the second day and they were getting ready to wind down, I asked the man if he was able to give me a better price. He added everything up - for a total of $28.00 - and said 'How about $20.00 for everything?' DEAL! 'Wow!', I thought to myself 'This is exactly what I tried to accomplish at last week's sale, but no dice.' Funny - it's definitely one of those times where fate stepped right in and did it's thing.

Another fun find from yesterday ... Last week I read a new-to-me book and re-read an old favorite. They're both focused on war time cooking - methods, rationing, etc. The author happened to mention that, during the 1940's, women would triple sift their flour and cake flour. In fact, they made a specific type of sifter - a three screen sifter - specifically for this purpose so that women would only have to sift their flour one time, and it would still be triple sifted. Huh. I'd never heard of such a thing. As luck would have it, I stopped in at the Goodwill store in Pasadena. I walked up and down the housewares aisles and suddenly, something jumped out at me like a beacon in the night: a three screen sifter! Now I ask you, what are the odds??

Here's a look at 'the goods':(49 pieces, all told - and many of them are initialed. What are the initials? W, M, L - too crazy, right?!)

Isn't that what you do at a YARD sale?

So Saturday morning after the gig, Vicky and I let Kevin sleep in and we headed to an - ahem - "Estate" sale and to Pavilions to pick up a few things for breakfast.

We thought the sale looked promising - there were many cars parked all around and it was early (or at least relatively early, 8:00 a.m.). We hopped out of the car, crossed the street and hunt was on! I quickly gathered a card of vintage buttons, a shoebox with some pieces of mixed flatware (about 40 pieces), a small glass citrus reamer and a foldable yardstick. The shoebox of flatware had a sticker that said $20.00; I thought that was a bit steep and asked the woman running the sale if she would take a bit less. She quickly and abruptly answered 'NO'. Okay. I continued. There wasn't a price on the buttons so I asked about those. As I was considering my purchase, I added everything up and said the amount under my breath 'twenty seven dollars' -- to which she replied "IT'S $27.50". I asked if she would take $25.00 for everything I'd gathered. She looked at me with a cold stare and said "NO!" Ooooooookay. I told her she could keep the whole darn thing! I said to Vicky, isn't that what you do at a YARD sale? Barter? I said it loudly enough for her to hear. ESTATE sale my pitute. It was a bunch of stuff lining the driveway. I've had many a yard sale and called it what it was - a YARD sale.

I should have known even before I asked that she wasn't open to negotiation. Case in point: The sale started Friday morning at 7:00 a.m., so by Saturday morning when we got there, things were mostly picked over. She had several cool vintage hats (think circa 1940's) and a customer asked her how much for the hat? I didn't hear the amount she'd given, but the customer counter-offered another amount. The woman said "NO", to which the customer replied 'Well, this IS a yard sale' as if to remind the woman that you typically barter prices at such a sale. The woman running the sale then replied snarkily 'But the 'VALUE' is still there.' The customer asked if she'd left the items out overnight and the woman said 'Yes'; it was a cool, damp morning with lots of dew and the customer again picked up the limp hat and said 'No value there!' and walked away.

Shoulda known.

Lazy Weekend

Kevin and I have been enjoying a very lazy weekend. While I was out Friday night, Kevin stayed home and did all of the laundry! THANK YOU, honey!! What a fun treat that was. Saturday morning, we got up late (well, late for us) and just lazed around.

Around mid-morning, we decided to go check out our favorite thrift store. I have a few craft projects that I'm working on and was looking for some specific things and thought I'd see if I could find them there. Linda has often remarked that it's uncanny - whenever I think of a project, I can go to that particular thrift store and find exactly what I need for the project. Guess what? Yesterday was no exception! I was looking for some nice vintage silverware and was thrilled to find that they had just put out a wooden case filled with it! The whole shebang was $25.00 - which at first I thought was a bit steep. However, once I got out my trusty little cal-cu-lator, I discovered that it was really a great price. I can make at least 6-sets of my project (which will become gifts) and still have a few pieces leftover for myself. Not to mention the wooden box everything came in. (I'm sure I can turn that into a project, too. Have any ideas for me?) Sooooo we bought it. Hip, hip, hooray!

Included in the box was a very cool butter knife, and a mother of pearl handled relish fork. SCORE! I knew I'd be keeping those for myself. You would too. Wanna see how cute they are?
Pretty cool, right?! Heck, I almost think those were worth the cost right there!

After we left the thrift store, we had a bite of lunch (Jim's - YUM!), and then headed to our library book store. Just inside the new library to the left, there is a really cool Friends of the Library book store. They've got a huge collection of books for sale, very inexpensive. They also have a FREE basket - YAY! The first thing that caught my eye was a freebie - an old clothbound book of the short stories of John Steinbeck. Pretty cool freebie! They also had a few other books that I'll be using for craft projects. Here's the day's take: All in all, we had the most wonderful day! It was perfect - we got to spend some fun time together, and it was a very casual, relaxed day. What more could you ask from a weekend really?

I guess it's not too late...

for a little Christmas tour of the house. I mean, it's getting close, but it's still before Christmas ... right? It's funny - I have no idea why it's taken me this long to post Christmas decor in the house. We decorated the weekend of Thanksgiving, but I didn't even take any pictures until just yesterday. Oh well, better late than never, right?

Here goes ...

The kitchen window:I love the little 'JOY' figurines. They were a gift from my friend Linda a few years ago. They're perfect for the little ledge in the kitchen window. They're actually tealight holders, but I don't use them that way. This year I thought it would be fun to take all of my ornaments that have a food or beverage theme and hang them in the kitchen. I thought the valance would be a perfect spot to show them off:Yep, purdy cute =)
Another friend of mine gave me this cute little gingerbread girl:She's been the queen of the kitchen this season. Several years ago we gave a few family members these cute little gingerbread house cookie jars. I couldn't resist keeping one for myself:Mom bought these darling gingerbread aprons for both Deb and I a number of years ago (huh, I seem like gingerbread themes, whatdaya think?). We've both been wearing them at our annual cookie bake ever since. The other apron was a gift from a friend at work who retired last year: Now ... on to the livingroom. We have a large, gorgeous picture window across one wall of the livingroom. I love it! The windows let in a ton of natural light and they face our beloved foothills. I put a few cutsies in the window this year to show them off:I think our front door looks charming all year round - very '50's ranch style with the window on top: Just inside is the hutch which is filled with family photos ... and a few seasonal touches: I love our tree! In my mind, it's the perfect tree -- just the right shape, tall enough, full but not too bushy ... just right. I love the little white lights, the gold star at the top, and I love hanging decorations that I've gathered for years. Each year I add one or two new ones; it's fun taking them all out every year and deciding just the right spot for them:It's the perfect fit for our wall with the fireplace and antique secretary: Inside the secretary is the perfect spot for this cute little teacup and saucer that Aunt Lou gave me many years ago:The 'JOY' banner as well as these 'NOEL' and 'PEACE' banners I made right after Christmas last year. I made four sets so mom, Deb, Vicky and I all have them in our homes this year: We also gave all the girls these cute little white trees for their birthday this year; they're fun to decorate for the seasons!A few other new additions this year ... this cute little elf. I nestled him among the tall candlesticks next to the armoire:And probably my favorite new addition is this: Don't you just love it?! I saw it at my favorite little thrift store over the summer and just had to have it. It looks larger in this photo, but it's really just a small, framed vintage Christmas card. I just loved the colors in it and the fact that it looks so old fashioned. It's perfect on the mantle with our nativity scene, tall candles and an angel watching over everyone. Even the dining room china cabinet gets a little Christmas:And last but not least, the bath is all dressed for Christmas, too:I love the cute little wired silver stars hanging up along the shower curtain. Kevin and I bought those during our last trip to Mammoth. I've not found the perfect spot for them until this year.

Well that's it for the tour. Thanks for stopping by to take a look. I hope your home is all dressed up and warm and cozy for Christmas. Enjoy the season!

Old Town Temecula

If you're meandering through southern California and you want a fun little side trip, find your way to Old Town Temecula. You won't be disappointed!

Kevin and I took a day trip two weeks ago (has it been that long ago ... already???) to this quaint, charming little town. As you may have heard on the news, though other parts of the country are suffering through one of the hottest, muggiest summers in years, we here in soCal are enjoying a phenomenally mild summer. Thank goodness!! During a 'normal' summer, Temecula would be unbearably hot. This year, however, we were lucky in that, the day we went was very mild. Warm, but not blazing hot. And there was a wonderful breeze so that, when you were in a nice shady spot and you caught the breeze, it was absolutely delightful!!

Before going to the Old Town area, we stopped at a local artisan cheesemaker. They make gouda. And yes, it's VERY good-a! Delicious! They have samples of all of their varieties in their small reception area. You're welcome to help yourself. Kevin and I bought our faves: smoked gouda, garlic gouda and medium aged gouda. They're all delicious. I see a little wine and cheese evening in our very near future!

Next we headed to Old Town. It's so charming! There are lots of wonderful antique stores that Kevin and I enjoyed browsing through. We didn't buy much - a few things, but those cannot be discussed since they will be gifts ;o) It was fun sifting through all of the goodies. Kevin found many collectibles - such as Beatles and baseball memorabilia - that he would have LOVED to add to his collection, and I found this and that would have been fun to buy. "Ahhhh, if only we were rich!", we lamented ... and then just left the goodies sitting on their shelves ... until next time.

One shop where I could DEFINITELY go crazy is this one: Oh.My.Ga. A girl could just go crazy in here!
After much thought, I decided to be realllllly good and I only bought one small quilting kit. But, oh my, is this place a temptation palace! I vowed to go back soon, though. And, in fact I will! On October 2nd, they will be having a quilt show in Old Town Temecula! If you're in the area, stop by. I'll see you there!

Vintage Cotton Pillowcases

Shortly before Kevin and I got married, I happened to spy a pair of the sweetest vintage cotton pillowcases on ebay. Though the cases themselves were white, the crocheted lace and embroidery were that luscious shade of green - jadeite, seaglass, aqua (choose your favorite description) - and, unbelievably, they were monogramed with Kevin's initials, so I couldn't resist!

As much as I loved those pillowcase, I packed them away. Why? Because, though I love that color, we didn't have anything really in the old house that went with it. But I kept them figuring that, one day, I'd find just the right spot for them.

Flash forward to last summer. You may recall the photos I posted of our new house ... and it's white and green (jadeite, seaglass, aqua...) bathroom. Hey ... that bathroom also had a vintage hotel towel rack. Hmmmm. You know, when folded, those pillowcases look an awful lot like vintage cotton guest towels. Hmmmm. FINALLY! I finally found a home for those fabulous green-and-white-vintage-cotton-pillowcases-with-Kevin's-initials!

Yesterday, for the first time since I bought them nine years ago, I washed them; this morning, I ironed them. What a joy! I'm not sure why they're so different, but there is just something about vintage cotton that is delightful. When washed, it is sooo soft that you just want to wrap yourself up in it. And ironing it was so much fun! Taking wrinkled cotton and smoothing it perfectly with a hot iron - it's almost like magic!

I think I need to revisit eBay ... and look for a whole set of vintage cotton sheets. What a treat that would be!

"Art ...

... enables us to find ourselves, and lose ourselves at the same time." ~ Thomas Merton

That's me at the moment - kind of at a loss as to what to do with today's stand out thrift store find. Here's the find:

Aren't they incredible!! The series of books is "Metropolitan Seminars in Art" by John Canady. It's a 12-book series and this set is missing portfolio number 11; the remainder of the set is intact and in great condition! Each book covers one artistic concept; the book contains about 25 or so pages of text, and then, on the inside cover is an envelope that contains prints of famous paintings that serve as an example of the concept covered in the book. The books are first edition and they were printed in 1958. Each book was a bargain at just $2.00 each!!

Why am I at a loss? Well initially, when I began looking at the books, I wanted them for a project that I'll be working on soon. The large format of the books makes them perfect for this particular project. However - using them in this manner would entail my taking the books apart . GASP! They are such a unique commodity, I'm really not at all sure I want to do that. And yet, they would be so perfect for my project! Over and above the large book format, there are many illustrations on the pages that would really make the project one of a kind.

So, there you have it. Betwixt and between. What to do?? What would YOU do?