Treasure Box Wednesday: The Best Things in Life Are Free

This is my absolute favorite time of year. The world has gone bright with blooms, showcasing some of the treasures in life you just can't buy.

Well, okay, yes, sometimes you have to buy them to plant them. But not always! Like these little fellows in my neighbor's yard...


I don't know what they are (anyone know? Greg?), but I love how they've just nestled themselves in her grass and then run rampant. The reason she hasn't mowed the grass yet is because of an attachment to these free-roaming little purple and white lovelies...


And who can blame her? When nature puts on a display like this, forcing it into submission just seems wrong somehow.


And here are some more rogue flowers. Little violas that have infiltrated the neighborhood, and have embedded themselves wherever there's dirt and a drink of water-- even between the cracks in my driveway...


I just can't move myself to root them out. It's so cheery to come home to a driveway populated with little purple blossoms. :) As you're probably already getting the impression, I try to roll with nature's whims a bit; I like to think we're both happier that way.

The backyard has also given forth a pretty amazing display of mossy phlox. Here they are after some morning rain, dripping down my back wall onto the plaster seat. I wish they stayed this vibrant all summer long.


Also, the bleeding heart this year has gotten large, and is loaded with hearts. No Victorian garden is complete without one!



And lastly, here you can see the front yard, filled to bursting with more mossy phlox-- and the infamous mosaiced stepping stones.


Well, I hope you enjoyed this somewhat different Treasure Box Wednesday. I think it's nice to take a step back and appreciate all the natural beauty around us now and then. It's not all about the thrift store. (Though that's fun, too!)

Oh- for those who have children of your own, or who just remember being a kid, I thought you might enjoy a post this week on my humor blog entitled, "Stealth Mom and the Mayonnaise Infiltration of 82."

• If you've ever tried to make your kid eat something he or she didn't like-- or if you were that kid (pick me, pick me!)-- I believe you'll be able to identify. Click here to check it out.

• Also, if you didn't get a chance to see Sunday's post on the Cottage Living forum's spring swap, you might find something of interest by clicking here.
  

May there be an excellent day ahead of you!

Treasure Box Wednesday: The Best Things in Life Are Free

This is my absolute favorite time of year. The world has gone bright with blooms, showcasing some of the treasures in life you just can't buy.

Well, okay, yes, sometimes you have to buy them to plant them. But not always! Like these little fellows in my neighbor's yard...


I don't know what they are (anyone know? Greg?), but I love how they've just nestled themselves in her grass and then run rampant. The reason she hasn't mowed the grass yet is because of an attachment to these free-roaming little purple and white lovelies...


And who can blame her? When nature puts on a display like this, forcing it into submission just seems wrong somehow.


And here are some more rogue flowers. Little violas that have infiltrated the neighborhood, and have embedded themselves wherever there's dirt and a drink of water-- even between the cracks in my driveway...


I just can't move myself to root them out. It's so cheery to come home to a driveway populated with little purple blossoms. :) As you're probably already getting the impression, I try to roll with nature's whims a bit; I like to think we're both happier that way.

The backyard has also given forth a pretty amazing display of mossy phlox. Here they are after some morning rain, dripping down my back wall onto the plaster seat. I wish they stayed this vibrant all summer long.


Also, the bleeding heart this year has gotten large, and is loaded with hearts. No Victorian garden is complete without one!



And lastly, here you can see the front yard, filled to bursting with more mossy phlox-- and the infamous mosaiced stepping stones.


Well, I hope you enjoyed this somewhat different Treasure Box Wednesday. I think it's nice to take a step back and appreciate all the natural beauty around us now and then. It's not all about the thrift store. (Though that's fun, too!)

Oh- for those who have children of your own, or who just remember being a kid, I thought you might enjoy a post this week on my humor blog entitled, "Stealth Mom and the Mayonnaise Infiltration of 82."

• If you've ever tried to make your kid eat something he or she didn't like-- or if you were that kid (pick me, pick me!)-- I believe you'll be able to identify. Click here to check it out.

• Also, if you didn't get a chance to see Sunday's post on the Cottage Living forum's spring swap, you might find something of interest by clicking here.
  

May there be an excellent day ahead of you!

Llama llama LLAMA!

More Llama photographs on Flickr

I know I confused you with my doodle posted on Saturday, I thought I was rather clear with it. How could you not tell that Heather and I, were taking Emma Llama trekking. Okay there was no alligator/crocodile or wedding dress and the sun had no grumpy face, in fact I didn't even see the sun. Other than that, I think its pretty spot on depiction of Saturdays activity.

What's up with the Llama's anyway? Well Heather and I wanted to do something special for Emma as she is getting married, hence this being a Hen Weekend (Bachelorette). Emma just wanted a nice quiet weekend in the cottage, doing face masks and sitting in front of the fire.
Of course that meant Heather and I had to look for something fun to do as a surprise, the problem was Emma doesn't like anything! Extreme sports were out as I wasn't taking the blame for Emma drowning or crashing a quad bike.
So on searching for things to do in surrounding area of the cottage, I stumbled upon this website Lakeland Llama Treks. On one hand Emma doesn't like walking, the outside, fresh air, on the other hand it's me and I can't resist planning something! So after consulting Heather, in which I agreed to accept the blame if Emma hated it. We decided to go ahead and book it.
During the build up to this weekend I asked a lot of people what they would think about a llama trek and the response wasn't good! Mostly 'wtf are you doing that for' and 'She is going to kill you'. So Heather and I decided to keep quiet about the llama surprise right up until the very last moment.
The fateful day arrived on Saturday, Emma was given a post code to put into her sat nav and we arrived at the car park by the lake. It had been very quiet in the car on the way with Emma looking very worried indeed and not happy at all about wearing wellies.
Once we managed to get her out the car and towards a trailer, she exclaimed 'Horses!', I said 'Nope!', then she said 'Camels!', I replied 'erm no, camels? weirdo!. Then she went with 'Llamas?' that definitely shocked us. The good thing was she was actually smiling, even though it disappeared a little bit once she found out we weren't riding them.
The weather may of been crap, Emma may hate outside and walking, but we had a great time! Llamas are gorgeous! They do not spit at you and they are cute and lovely and fluffy. The guides pair you up with a llama and then it was a lovely walk around the lake, with a stop for a very nice picnic. The llamas love the lake so we took them down to the lake shore for a splash and they love to wee in the water.
It was over far too soon and I would definitely recommend it to anyone, but most importantly Emma loved it. Check out the video below for a quick snippet of the fun we had and the link to my flickr photographs underneath the collage.
I will be doing another post on what else we got up to this weekend, as there is a lot more photographs to see.

Check out Lakeland Llama Treks!

To keep you amused

The photographs and relevant posts are taking longer than I thought, so here is an interesting shot of my sister Heather abusing Emma(bride to be).

Round Robins and, er, Round Robins

A couple of times a year I participate in a decorating swap on the Cottage Living forums. The ladies there are super-nice and even though our tastes range from streamlined utilitarian to country to cabin-rustic to Shabby Chic, we all have a lot in common-- we all like a house to look and feel like a home.

So this spring "round robin" swap was a fun challenge. We were supposed to think "fresh" in our choice of items. "Fresh" as in clean air, cut flowers and newly budding trees-- and not in something designed to make the other person blush, in case you were wondering. We were also supposed to include one textile for the kitchen, one handmade item and something to help enable old-timey correspondence.

My swap partner, however, had indicated that she didn't have very good handwriting, (I know how that is myself!) and that she already had a lot of notecards she didn't use. She shared that her kitchen was in country blue and yellow, and she had a teacup border on a wall.

So this is what I went to work with.

The textile part was easy. Blue and yellow being abundant in choice, I selected a crisp new oven mit, a pretty apron in blue with yellow sunflowers, a nice hand-done tablerunner, and even thrifted a set of curtains (new in the package) with blue and white dishes on them. (I thought it might go with her teacup border, or could be used for the fabric.)


To further her teacup theme, I added four pretty yellow sandwich plates and a yellow printed cup and saucer...


You'll also see in the pic above a small blue and gold item... This is a cute little vintage address book -- perfect for a purse-- that I found and freshened up with a bit of paint. The book was a bit scratched to start with-- a bit too shabby and less chic. You can see before and afters here.



The final touch was two color-coordinated notecards, one bearing this cheerful bird friend... Yup, he's a round robin, all right.

Now because the swap itself WAS a "round robin" this meant my swap package would go to one person, but a wholly different person would be sending to me. I think the person sending to me has gotten tied up with other things this season-- it's been a really busy time of year for us all. So should anything arrive to round out this swap, I'll be sure to post.

But amusingly the swap almost didn't stop here. You see, in spite of the fact I sent my package just one state away, I waited two days... three days... four days... Still the package didn't arrive in the hands on my online friend. I was starting to think it had been rerouted to the Bermuda Triangle. Worse, I had been stupid enough to not have tracking on the package-- because again, it seemed to be such a simple transaction. Who could have known?

So because it certainly wasn't my swap partner's fault the postal service had a serious oopsy along the way, I'd started trying to pull together a second package. I thought you might enjoy seeing the cute Pyrex bowl and teacup I found for it...



I'd had no luck finding textiles to go along with them, but it turned out just as well. As when I returned home from shopping and checked my email, I had a joyous message saying the package had arrived. That was day five from when I'd mailed the thing, if you can believe it.

At least my swap partner didn't think I was some kind of fibber! :)

Well, anyway, that's the scoop on the latest swap. So like the red, red robin, it's time for me to go bob-bob-bobbin' along.

I hope you'll join me again this week for Treasure Box Wednesday. And if you missed last Wednesday, that post can be found by clicking here.

Hope spring is treating you well so far!

Round Robins and, er, Round Robins

A couple of times a year I participate in a decorating swap on the Cottage Living forums. The ladies there are super-nice and even though our tastes range from streamlined utilitarian to country to cabin-rustic to Shabby Chic, we all have a lot in common-- we all like a house to look and feel like a home.

So this spring "round robin" swap was a fun challenge. We were supposed to think "fresh" in our choice of items. "Fresh" as in clean air, cut flowers and newly budding trees-- and not in something designed to make the other person blush, in case you were wondering. We were also supposed to include one textile for the kitchen, one handmade item and something to help enable old-timey correspondence.

My swap partner, however, had indicated that she didn't have very good handwriting, (I know how that is myself!) and that she already had a lot of notecards she didn't use. She shared that her kitchen was in country blue and yellow, and she had a teacup border on a wall.

So this is what I went to work with.

The textile part was easy. Blue and yellow being abundant in choice, I selected a crisp new oven mit, a pretty apron in blue with yellow sunflowers, a nice hand-done tablerunner, and even thrifted a set of curtains (new in the package) with blue and white dishes on them. (I thought it might go with her teacup border, or could be used for the fabric.)


To further her teacup theme, I added four pretty yellow sandwich plates and a yellow printed cup and saucer...


You'll also see in the pic above a small blue and gold item... This is a cute little vintage address book -- perfect for a purse-- that I found and freshened up with a bit of paint. The book was a bit scratched to start with-- a bit too shabby and less chic. You can see before and afters here.



The final touch was two color-coordinated notecards, one bearing this cheerful bird friend... Yup, he's a round robin, all right.

Now because the swap itself WAS a "round robin" this meant my swap package would go to one person, but a wholly different person would be sending to me. I think the person sending to me has gotten tied up with other things this season-- it's been a really busy time of year for us all. So should anything arrive to round out this swap, I'll be sure to post.

But amusingly the swap almost didn't stop here. You see, in spite of the fact I sent my package just one state away, I waited two days... three days... four days... Still the package didn't arrive in the hands on my online friend. I was starting to think it had been rerouted to the Bermuda Triangle. Worse, I had been stupid enough to not have tracking on the package-- because again, it seemed to be such a simple transaction. Who could have known?

So because it certainly wasn't my swap partner's fault the postal service had a serious oopsy along the way, I'd started trying to pull together a second package. I thought you might enjoy seeing the cute Pyrex bowl and teacup I found for it...



I'd had no luck finding textiles to go along with them, but it turned out just as well. As when I returned home from shopping and checked my email, I had a joyous message saying the package had arrived. That was day five from when I'd mailed the thing, if you can believe it.

At least my swap partner didn't think I was some kind of fibber! :)

Well, anyway, that's the scoop on the latest swap. So like the red, red robin, it's time for me to go bob-bob-bobbin' along.

I hope you'll join me again this week for Treasure Box Wednesday. And if you missed last Wednesday, that post can be found by clicking here.

Hope spring is treating you well so far!

A clue to what I am up to this weekend

Remember I am not actually here, the magic of auto post brings this information!

Uh Oh!

 

I am off today on another adventure which involves something that gets blown up, actually two things that blow up (which will remain a secret for now) AND strange beasts, talking animals and booze!

Just a normal weekend for Claire you wonder? Don't be daft, its a Hen weekend for bride to be Emma, the namesake of Blow Up Emma mentioned here in this post Non rude blow up doll.

I am back on Monday but will be in college that night so photo's and stuff will have to wait till later that night/Tuesday.

I have set up twitter on my phone so keep your eyes glued to my twitter box posted up top!

I will be giving the Blogger in draft scheduled posting a whirl on Saturday to post a clue to what I am up to.WTF is Blogger if draft scheduled posting I hear you wondering, its just auto posts something for you, its very very easy to use! honest.

*Click here for info on Scheduled posts*

Forget Doodle Day, it's now Doodle Week!

Forget Doodle Day! It is now Doodle Week May 8th to the May 14th.

For those who use entrecard read this post over on the entrecard blog written by
Laura aka That Grrl
*Doodle Week*

For those that just want to participate on one day in the great doodle week, then just go doodle mad and doodle what ever you fancy. If you are doodling more than one day and want a theme just let me know, I am more than sure I can inspire you.

I am not going to neglect all you non entrecarders, so I will be making a lovely collage of all the doodles and link to the doodlers that join in. It will be more fun than poking yourself in the eye with a straw I promise. For those that don't join in that wasn't a veiled threat or was it?

Other posts you should read for more information and ideas.
Let's Have a Doodle Day!
What about a doodle day?

Any questions?
Please leave me a comment or email me if you do.

Treasure Box Wednesday: Cool Coasters, Covers and Carnival Glass

Oh, I was all over Tarnation this last weekend-- yep, Upper, Lower, and even Little Tarnation, I believe. And while not all of the items I'm going to show you today were thrifted, a few were. Best of all, even the antique mall goodies were had at an excellent price. How fun is that?

Well, the first of the antique mall finds, the coasters above, are from the 50s. The magnolia pattern on them, and the cheery aqua, lemon yellow and vintage pink just said to me "backyard barbeque." They remind me of the 50s pastel hotels you see on Miami Beach when the planes fly into Miami International Airport. Anyway, now I'm all set for having a very cheerful retro meal outside this summer. Wanna come? :)

Speaking of that retro meal, now I have salt and pepper shakers, to match my Hazel Atlas Moderntone Platonite set...


I've been looking for these for a while at a price I actually wanted to pay. I've seen two sets at a crazy $15 a pair, with rusted metal tops. These I found for $2.99 a piece-- MUCH more reasonable. And as you can see, they're in nifty condition!

At the Graham Antique Mall in Ligonier I found a set of six marigold colored Carnival glass dinner plates for $16...


It's not easy finding Carnival glass plates-- lots of bowls but no plates-- so I was pretty excited about this. At not quite $3 a piece, that seemed really good to me.

Hm... What have we next? Well, this hankie bag was certainly nothing to sneeze at. It came from the Jeannette Antique Mall in, er, Jeannette. (Well named.)


Oh, and I uncovered a chenille bedspread at the Salvation Army...


And lastly, speaking of the Army... well, okay the Armed Forces at least... I had a hit with two World War II pillow covers. One to good old mom,

That reads:

Mother
There's a dear little house inviting
In a dear little place I know.
And a welcome is always waiting
When to that little house I go.
For there lives the dearest lady
The sweetest I ever met.
And to-day, if I cannot visit
Dear Mother, I don't forget.

It's from Camp Lee, Virginia. The other is an airforce piece from Miami Beach, Florida and is dedicated to dear mother and dad.


The poem there reads:

Mother and Dad
You're the very best couple
That ever was paired.
Whatever was given
Alike you have shared.
Many more years
May your hearts be made glad.
And may your blessings be many
Dear Mother and Dad!

And with that sweet, sticky sentiment from the 1940s, that about puts to rest Treasure Box Wednesday for this week. Will you join me next time for the spring Cottage swap? I sure hope to see you again.

• For folks who missed Sunday's post, a little review on a crafty book for the whole family, you can dig into that here.

• And if you didn't get a chance to see last Treasure Box Wednesday, you can always check that out here.

Enjoy that beautiful spring weather! The mossy phlox are ploxing here at my house. I hope beauty's in bloom for you, too.