Welcome Spring!

Sunny daffodil faces in a thrifted milk glass vase

Metal bird candle holder

Speckled eggs in a moss lined basket

I hope you're enjoying every bit of spring like we are!

Dreamin'

I can just imagine this beauty sitting in my dining room.

Unfortunately, it's a bit out of my price range.

This desk is the next best thing, however. I do need a new desk.

Deal of the century: new window panels for $1 each in the perfect shade of blue. Yahoo! A case of being in the right place at the right time.

With the money saved on those, maybe it'll get me a little closer to buying a new desk. We're settling in to our new home quite nicely. It's so much lighter, cheerier, and updated than our last one, and yet retains the charm and character of an old house. We love it already!

On another note, the lampshades in the picture above are just a bit too big. I'm looking for something taller and narrower. If you have a great source for lampshades, let me know.

It's good to be back! Thanks for your patience.

Scrub, Scrub, Scrub

Love the look of this retro laundry sign!

I've been doing laundry all day and packing away clean quilts, sheets, pillows, etc. We're moving to a new place and I want everything to be fresh. I can't wait to start settling in and posting more than I have lately (or more like in a long time). A clean slate. What fun! I'll be back soon.

National Pie Day

was Friday, January 23rd. When I heard that, I couldn't resist doing an old-fashioned pie social. I sent homemade invitations out immediately and began pulling out the vintage aprons and tablecloths I had.

The following pictures aren't that great - we had a grey day and the only way to get a decent picture was by using the flash. Of course I didn't get as many pics as I'd hoped either.

My hubby, a landscaper, brought home little potted primroses that I used for centerpieces. I was originally going to use fresh cut flowers, but with a tiny budget, I thought these were pretty cute! I added vintage black and white photos found at thrift stores, vintage (and not so vintage) pie recipes, and some pie trivia to each centerpiece.

I asked ladies to bring their recipes and some showed up with their vintage cookbooks - how fun!

We had 27 people and 15 pies (2 showed up after these pics were taken). I told them they could double up if they wanted to. I imagined we'd have 10 apple pies or something like that, but I'm delighted to say that not one was the same! We had something for every taste bud - cream pies, fruit pies, chocolate pies, etc. I shouldn't have been worried because even if we'd had 10 apple pies, I realize now that each one would have still been different. I doubt anyone makes the same thing the exact same way.It's the first time I've ever done something that big without help from somebody so I was a nervous wreck. Thanks to the pie bakers and a couple of helpers (a whipped cream maker and Coralie who let me use some vintage recipes and a picture of her sweet mother) it was a wonderful success! It was the perfect pick-me-up to a grey January day!

Thrifting Once Again

These don't exactly go on the blue wall (ignore the bad trim job), but that's where they are for now. I think these are the sweetest vintage prints! They say "Printed in England". Close up, you can tell they're old - even the frames. They are backed with crackly, peeling old paper. I suppose they must be redone to preserve them, but I even love that feature! They're both approximately 11" x 14". I thought about repainting the yellow and pale green frames, but can't bring myself to do that - at least not yet.

The Tryst

Good Night

Aren't they romantic?