a friend from afar

This weekend was a whirlwind. Spent all of Saturday with my in-laws, convincing my mother-in-law that the hospital was a better place to be... thankfully she listened. Her situation is improving daily. On Sunday, we had the pleasure of meeting a friend from afar, Maaike from Crejjtion. I picked up a few things for her, that I thought she might enjoy.

Originally from The Netherlands, she and her husband are spending a few years in Canada.  A business trip to the States brought them to Chicago, luckily. Maaike is amazingly crafty and a beautiful photographer.

What a pleasure to meet them both. The girls really enjoyed speaking with them and hearing all about their interesting lives. Newlyweds, they were both so charming. 

Maaike generously presented me with the most beautiful pair of handknit wrist warmers from a pattern of her own design. Rosie was happy to try them on holding the book of stickers she received...

It was such a treat to spend an afternoon in the city. We decided we need to do it more often.

...

Can you believe February is almost here? 

Let the Valentine 'making' commence!

daisy tole

I've a thing for vintage toleware. Whether it be lamps, trays or hooks, I like it.

Occasionally, it hasn't weathered the years well and needs a little work.

Such was the case with this vintage daisy rack I found recently, let's just call it 'rough and rusty'.

After a bubble bath, a good scrub, and lots of sanding...

I carefully primed and painted each petal.

Happy to see fresh daisies once again. Although some might prefer it chipped and shabby, I knew I wouldn't be happy having the girls hang their towels on something so rusty. 

Have you tried Martha's new line of crafty paints?

I used her white enamel paint, and her 'peridot' metallic glitter paint on the leaves for dimension. 

I'm pleased with the end result. Now, if they can only remember to hang up their towels...

I'm joining the fun at the following:
 Very Merry Vintage Style,  French Country Cottage, Charm of Home,
 Common Ground, and  My Romantic Home.

in the mailbox

Our postman, Dennis, looks too frail to deliver the mail. Extremely skinny, with stooped shoulders, thick glasses, scant grey hair, and a matching wispy moustache, he cheerfully walks his route carrying a ginormous mail bag in all kinds of weather. Occasionally, he knocks on my door to use the phone or the facilities. Never a word of complaint, he shares news of the neighborhood, his wife of forty-some years, and his many nieces and nephews.

I like him even better, when he delivers darling surprises in the mail...

Kim, of Musings from Kim K, was kind enough to send a sweet cherry teaset. Be still my heart, it's perfectly pint-sized and just the thing for dolly tea parties aplenty. 

When Elyse, of Tinkered Treasures, heard that our Rosie was ill, she promptly dispatched one of her stellar 'Clothespin Doll Kits'. Cleverly packaged in polka dots, she included everything needed to create sweet clothespin dolls of your own design. Rosie loves every last bit of it, and hesitates to commit to cutting any ribbon for fear of 'using it all up'. 

While Susan, a sweet blog reader, found a darling bluebird house music box adorned with posies. She kindly thought of us, and sent the sweet prize in the mail. Rosie, who longingly admired a music box that Gracie received from Grandma Sis, couldn't believe our good luck. She was thrilled to the tips of her toes.

Thank you so much, my sweet friends.

I'm joining the fun at the following:

Common Ground,  French Country Cottage,  Charm of Home, and  My Romantic Home.

a princess party

On Sunday, Miss Frances Rose attended a party.

To celebrate her friend Katie's birthday, the girls were invited to her home for cake and party games. The invitation specified princess attire. Rosie was thrilled. During her long illness, she missed a number of her friend's parties. 'Not this one', she declared.

A few years ago, I gave away all of our assorted princess dress-up clothes to my nieces. In our dress-up box, we have lots of fairy, ladybug, assorted flowers, bumblebee, angels, mermaid, doctor, bridal and other finery remaining. No longer, any proper princess paraphernalia.

As part of their Spring line, Target had this pink tulle pouf dress. For far less than the cost of a princess dress at Disney, my friends. Check the clearance section for the silver sparkle maryjanes and the glittery tiara.

Miss Rosie, as you might've guessed, had a fabulous time at the party.

sweetheart bunting

Perusing the aisles at Target, my eyes alighted on the Christmas clearance aisle. Marked down ninety percent, most of it was worth skipping. Until I spotted felt hearts, three in a pack, originally a dollar, now only ten cents. Exactly how, could I pass that up? Furthermore, whoever issued the edict that Valentine's day colors should be strictly limited to shades of pink? Not Martha, the proof is in her newest book, Handmade Holiday Crafts. Even on the cover, she's displaying her hearts in shades of red, orange, and maybe even 'tangerine tango', Pantone's color of the year...

Once home, feeling a little bit crafty,  I pulled out some rick-rack and some red and white twine. Removing the gold loop included with the hearts, I simply attached the hearts evenly to the length of rick rack using the twine.  Et voilà...

I'm wearing my hearts on my window, as opposed to my sleeve.

I'm joining the fun at the following:

Common Ground,  French Country Cottage,  Charm of Home, and  My Romantic Home.

making the team

via revidevi

All she wanted was to be on the team. Try-outs were hard. She practiced and practiced the convoluted dance routine. Up way past her bedtime, she kept at it, till she could do the routine fifteen times without a single mistake. 

At her Middle School, Poms is the team to make. Poms, or the Dance Team, had over forty girls trying out for only eighteen postions. Six from each grade of the school. Results posted on the door of the school for everyone to see.

Devastated, when she didn't make it.

The following year, she tried again. Practice, practice, and practice some more.  Arms aching, concentrating on sharply executing every move. Willing to fail, but hoping not to... 

So happy to say, she made the team.

Saturday, they placed second in a major competition. Only four points behind the first place school.

 Congratulations, Miss Mary Kate.

We're soo proud of you, and your talented team.

clean & bright

With the Christmas tree retired to the curb for recycling, I gave the whole house a 'going-over'. Those little pine needles like to get everywhere, don't they? It involved moving most, if not all, of the furniture. Rearranging things, makes everything feel fresh.

I'm thinking I either want to re-paint this vintage French cabinet, or switch it out entirely.

Change is good. The problem is, it holds quite a bit, so I hesitate to get rid of it entirely. 

Lots of vintage china posies and a quite a few favored gardening books. The drawers are filled with vintage china, mostly the 'Forget-me-not' Haviland set. It used to have a white interior filled with lots of white, back in my 'white' days. But I've realized, there is such a thing as too much white. At least, for me.

The soft colors and flowers speak to me of spring. 

Soon, they seem to say. But not too soon, I hope.

With temperatures in the fifties, it's hard to believe it's January in the Mid-west. Where's the snow, my friends?  This weekend, I'm looking forward to heading to the antique market with the girls and to the return of Downton Abbey. Part Two starts this Sunday on PBS. Did you catch Part One last year?

january blues

She turned her can'ts into cans, and her dreams into plans...

But first, she had to get out of bed.

I love the winter holidays, but I find them a little on the exhausting side. Maybe, it's a touch of the post-holiday blues. The only known cure, in my opinion? Getting busy, really busy.

The girls went back to school today, even Rosie. She's been out of school since October. She's still on the mend, but desperate to jump back into things. I miss her (and her sisters). My parents have flown the coop, for a three month sojourn in the sunshine. Lucky ducks. In one of my patented distraction maneuvers, I've decided to take everything out of the closet and give it a good 'going-through'. The last time I did this, I inadvertently gave a brand new pair of jeans (which I rarely buy for myself) to the charity thrift. Do you know what brand they were? 'Lucky', in my case, we'll call them 'Not-so Lucky'.

What are you working on this week?