Under a blue moon

Happy Birthday Elton John

The title of this post has nothing to do with this post.  Just thought I would do a shout out to Elton because today is his birthday.  I always remember his birthday because when I was 14 years old I *LOVED* Elton John.  My girlfriends and I used to listen to his albums over and over and over again.  And on his birthday in 1974 we tried to call him to wish him a happy birthday. 

We didn't get to talk to him but we did get to talk to a male operator in the UK who had the whole British accent thing going on and that was almost good enough. 

Sorry for the lack of posts lately.  It's been one of those swamped at work weeks.

I did managed to get to the Japanese Dollar Store (Daiso - Japanese Yen Store?).  I was starting to get nervous because even though it is a dollar store there was a lot going into my basket.  But my haul came to just over $20.  

Pretty Cath Kidston-esque lantern (temporarily in the corner of my office).

Lovely coasters with a strawberry print.  Now I can stop tearing out the subscription cards out of magazines to use as a coaster....

Baking supplies - little tart pans and the hard to see the thing is a package of cupcake holders that have a white gingham pattern.  

Lace tape.  They show it used on a little presents - how sweet is that?

This is hard to tell but it is a gift bag.  For cakes.  I bought it because I liked the pattern on it and didn't really pay attention to the instructions on the bottom of the bag. Guess I'll have to bake a cake for someone. 

Envelopes - I bought small white labels to write the address on.  Love the muted colors. 

And finally - Korean scrubby washcloths.  Guess Daiso is a multi-cultural dollar store.  

Well that's all I got.  I hope things lighten up work-wise next week and normal posting can resume. 
 

Friday's Favorites

Flickr Favorites

 

• About stinkin' time!  They have made a movie about Ramona and Beezus!  I LOVED those books growing up.  Awesome cast too.  I just need to borrow a small child to take to the movies with me...
• I'm thinking of this weather vane for the top of the chicken coop.  What do you think?  I had my eye on a flying pig but a friend suggested this might be a little more sophisticated.
• I'm not sure if it is the colors of this camera or the Holga-esque, lo-res images it takes that makes me want it - I just know I want it. 
• Anyone you know getting married (ahem)?  How is this for some inspiration:  Daisy Pink Cupcake

Happy Friday Everyone!!

 

Another quick DIY project

This project was inspired by this post on the Oh Joy blog.  I just loved the little bird vase and the bright pinks of the ranunculus (which is one of my all time favorite flowers).

Unfortunately the vase in her picture was a very limited edition and I couldn't find anything similar.

Until I was browsing the vintage section of Etsy (some gorgeous finds in the vintage section, and some really good buys) and I found this little brown bird.

Poor thing is a wee bit stuck in the 70's, don't you think?  Well something being the wrong color has never stopped me before.  Even though I am the world's worst painter I just forge ahead and start slapping paint on things.

I bought a very inexpensive bottle of glossy acrylic paint from Michael's and started painting.  It took four or five coats to get it completely covered but I am very pleased with how it turned out.  And an excuse to buy some ranunculus.

 
 

Puppy borrowing

Remy's people went on a much needed and deserved vacation so I got to borrow Remy for the week.  

He really is the funniest, sweetest little guy.  Except the part where he wants to eat her majesty, Miss Belle.  They haven't warmed up to each other. 

I had all kinds of plans to orgazine my sewing closest (formerly the craft closet) but yeah, that didn't happen.  Instead we played fetch and went on walks. 

Rick was productive though, and hung my $18 Ikea chandelier in the dining room.  About three or four years ago I bought these chandelier shades and they immediately discontinued them.  Otherwise I would have bought a couple more.  For $18 they are pretty fabulous.  The "crystals" are glass, not plastic.  

It is near impossible to get a decent shot of the eating area.  But I think you get the idea.  

I bought an inexpensive light fixture that hung over the table for years, always thinking I would replace it when I found something I liked better.  It occured to me that I had this shade collecting dust in the garage and that I should use it.  When I bought it a few of the crystals were broken but since they had discontinued it, and there weren't any to be found, I decided to hang on to it. 

I found some replacement crystals at an antique store last weekend and Rick hung it (supplying the light fixture part) for me.  Not bad for $18.  

 
 

Friday's Favorites

Flickr Favorites
 

 

• I don't know where to start with the Bell'occhio site.  Maybe this perfect addition to an Easter basket.  Or this cadre noir.  Or this teeny little quilted hat box. 
• Back in the 70's my dad went to Korea for a business trip.  He went a wee bit wild with the souvenirs and sent back a number of antique clocks, trunks and other assorted curiosities. One of the things he brought back for my mother was a pendant with a smoky topaz the size of a duck egg.  We called it the Hope Topaz.  Here is its twin.
• Another one of those sites I can't just pick one thing to showcase.  I think I found the USUiSU Japanese stationary shop via Martha's Craft Blog.
• Lovely lifestyles blog (and one of those "Why didn't I think of that name" blogs:  Sparkling Ink

Happy Friday Everyone!!

Migratory patterns of the rose-nesting silverbills

Are these bird precious?  They are a salt & pepper set.  I just thought they were so adorable I had to have them.  Even though I'm not really a salt & pepper shaker collector (I say that while mentally counting the dozen or so sets of silverplate or glass and silverplate shakers I have...).

I guess I have a thing for birds.  My oldest son was visitng a year or so ago and as he wandered around the house he noted that I have quite a bit of bird related decorations going on.  I hadn't really noticed but I guess it is true.

I just thought this set was adorable and would be a cute addition to my tablescapes.

The only thing that could be cuter would be two sets:

After I ordered the first set I saw that the status for the item was set to "Sold."  A few days later I saw it back on the site and grew alarmed because I hadn't received a shipping notice and I was afraid that there had been some sort of computer/ordering glitch.  I emailed the owner and she said that mine had been shipped and she had another set so she added it to the shop too.  

I quickly snapped that one up and it is now flying South and is going to retire in Florida. 

Hmmm.  Wonder what that could mean for someone dear to me living in the Sunshine State?
 
 

Treasure hunt

On Saturday I spent the day in one of my favorite ways.  It started off by sleeping in (aided by alarming amounts of wine and the 2:30am bedtime on Friday night), then a leisurely sushi lunch, followed by an afternoon at the 57th Street Antique Mall in Sacramento. 

I found mostly small treasures.  An old cupcake pan that I plan to use to sort small objects when I am being crafty.   Some replacement chandelier crystals for my Ikea Rimfrost chandelier shade (sadly no longer carried by Ikea.  I have one in the entry way and the repaired one will go in the eating area.  Best $18 I ever spent).  A gallon zip-lock bag filled with lace for $3.50.

My very favorite part of the 57th Street Antique Mall is the linen booth.  Rick was telling Kath (my lunch and antiquing partners for the day) that whenever we go there he always gets separated from me and he always finds me at that particular booth.  I made a bee-line for it and horrors!  It was gone! 

Fortunately there was a sign directing people to another booth in another part of the store where the linens had moved to.   I finally found it after perusing the rest of the store and it was an entire room devoted to my beloved linens. 

I found a gorgeous, white crocheted table cloth that has a few small holes in it for a bargain price.  I am repurposing it as a coverlet for the guest room bed. 

Oh yeah - she's thinking about it.

If you ever come visit me this is where you will stay.  You might have to share the room though.

 
 

 
 

Friday's Favorites

Flickr Favorites

(Is it just me or did it seem like it took FOREVER for Friday to get here this week?)

• This picture has me all obsessed with collecting a bunch of these lanterns (look at the first group of lanterns).  I need $300 worth.... (Note:  Please go to Ngoc Minh Ngo's website to see more of her fabulous work)
• If I was going to set a beachy/seashell themed tablescape I think I would want to have this somewhere on the table.
• A blog devoted to decorating with white.  Sigh.  :  Dreamy Whites
• I almost hate to share this link with y'all.  I want to keep it all to myself.  Pink Pig.  Check out the vintage good sections in particular.  Prices are great, shipping is fast and the customer service is very personal.  Lovely, lovely people.

Happy Friday Everyone!!

 

 

Menu cards

I have been on a mission to whittle down my monthly grocery budget.  I use the term 'budget' loosely here because I really didn't have a budget at all.  Around 3:00 or 4:00pm I would start thinking about what I wanted to make for dinner that evening and then I'd hop in the car and go buy the ingredients. 

You know how that goes, eight other things manage to hitch a ride in your grocery cart and the next thing you know you are handing over $50 for that evening's meal.   Multiply that by four or five trips a week and you can see where this is headed.

I sat down a couple of weeks ago and counted all my trips to the grocery store, and how much was spent, over the past six months.  I was horrified at the amount I spend on average in a month. 

I've come up with a plan.  On Wednesday morning I sit down and figure out the meals for the rest of the week (Wed-Sat - I'm usually down at my Dad's on Sun-Mon and Tue is a forage for dinner night).   Then I figure out my grocery list and then I head to the store.

The hard part is coming up with a list of meals for the week.  I try to be practical about it and pick meals where I can duplicate ingredients.  Poach some chicken for two meals.  Steam some rice for one meal and make enough to throw into the soup for the next meal.  

I decided what I needed was about 30 meals that I could have in rotation.  I thought I would print them on recipe box sized cards and include the grocery list for that particular meal on each card.  Excluding staples like salt, pepper, oil....

Now each week I can go through my box and select a handful of meal cards, write up that week's grocery list and go.  I can be judicious in my selection, still picking meals where I can utilize ingredients more than once.  

If anyone would be interested in the Word template I created, leave me a comment and I'll email it to you.  I created it so you just have to fill in the blanks and then print it.

If you are MS Word savvy you can play around with different fonts, colors and even add your own graphics.  I use a font on mine that I downloaded so the template will have a more universal font. 

I'm still fiddling with the size of the cards (so they fit in a standard recipe box) and I'm thinking I'll come up with a matching grocery list template to go with it and I'll include it in the email to you.  Note:  I see your email by default when you leave a comment so no need to include it in the body of the comment for all the world to see.

I'll email them out on Saturday. 

 

 

Pizzelle

 

Thank you for all the shelving love on my last post.  There is something about getting organized that releases all kinds of endorphins in me.  Such a nice, happy feeling.

Not less than an hour ago Rick walked into the room with a big box of craft stuff that had been stored in the garage for the last ten years.  I must have packed it up when we moved here and never unpacked it. 

All kinds of metal charms, German diecuts, watch parts, rubber stamps, seashells, markers, ribbons, trims, felt, sketch books.   My taste in craft bits and pieces hasn't wavered much over the years.  Except there was a lot of black lace and trim - not sure what is up with that.

On Sunday we visited Rick's mom (Patricia) and her husband (Richard) and while we were there Patricia made pizzelle with leftover waffle batter.  She let me take the pizzelle iron home so I could make some myself.

I wasn't thrilled with the recipe I made.  I wanted the house to smell like a Stone Cold Creamery.  You know, that waffle-cone scent.  They were okay - just not vanilla-y enough even though the batter called for a tablespoon of it.

I have to say that they are a bit tedious to make because the iron only makes two at a time.  They should have made it bigger so it makes four.

I broke the latch on it when I was making the second batch so I guess I own a pizzelle iron now.  I'll get Patricia a new one.  I noticed on the reviews for it (Cusinart) that other people had the same problem with the latch just breaking in half. 

Does anyone have a tried and true recipe for these?