Sweet and Spooky Dolls

TGIF!!!  It is a misty, cold, and dreary morning here in SW Virginia today.  The weathermen are even calling for snow in the mountains!   

A couple of weeks ago at the auction where we bought the Victorian buffet (a couple of posts below), they had several of these French boudoir dolls.  There was one in particular that I fell in love with because she looks like me!  Fate and luck were with me that day because I was able to buy her!  I would like for you to meet Bridget...

 Isn't she adorable with her hat and glasses?  And those hoop earrings, pink taffeta dress with lace insets!  I was so happy that I was getting to keep her but decided she shouldn't live alone, so I also bought a little lady I call Helene....

 Isn't she stunning with her blue polka dot dress with lacy slip and that jaunty red beret is just the cat's meow.  These dolls were made in the 1920's and are composition and cloth with painted features.  I had never seen any before except in pictures and really like them.  The auctioneer said he would have some more for auction next month as he had just grabbed a couple out of a house he said was totally full of dolls.  I can't wait until his next auction!

And this little lady was purchased simply because no one would bid on her and I stuck my hand up and said $1.00 and the auctioneer yelled SOLD!  I am so glad she got to come home with me.  She looks a little like one of the Little Women.  I named her Sally.  That was my great grandmothers name.

Now I have to say Yngwie and his friends do not like these dolls sitting around at all!  When he was home last weekend with friends they thought I just had them out as spooky Halloween decorations!  He also thinks it's weird that his 50 year old mom names her dolls.   My sister even said they were positively scary!  Really??  I think they are adorable!  I guess it's a matter of perspective.

I actually have NOTHING planned for this weekend.  WHOO HOO!!  A free weekend.  I am soooo looking forward to it! 

Blessings

Linda

p.s. I am linking up to Romantic Homes Show and Tell Friday!  You can find it here:  http://romantichome.blogspot.com/

Good Monday Morning!

I say that "tongue in cheek" as I most definitely got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.  UGH...  I hate when I get up grumpy.  Fortunately, coffee was made when I got to work and after about 3 cups I am finally starting to act human.  Kinda..

I have no reason to be grumpy, yesterday was a glorious day in Virginia.  The sun was sifting throught the beautiful fall leaves and it was the perfect day for a day trip.

Our family hit the road about 10:00 on our way to Paint Bank, VA.  A beautiful little town about two hours from where I live and very close to White Sulpher Springs, WV.  On the way, we stopped at the VA State fish hatchery.   They had ponds full of every kind of trout you can think of.

 This is an inside view of the restaurant.  The restaurant is on the ground floor and upstairs is the swinging bridge and gift shop.  The restaurant is called The Swinging Bridge and is in an old converted general store.  The specialty of the house is buffalo and that is exactly what we had.  Buffalo Burgers!  They were delicious!

This is the view of the top of the restaurant from where I was sitting.

 Yours truly standing on the swinging bridge.

 There are lots of scenes like this in the restaurant.  It is truly very pretty.

 On the property stands an old corn mill.  You could go inside and see how the grain was ground.

 The landscaping outside the restaurant is just lovely.  There were several ponds, streams and waterfalls.

 Yngwie was home and went with us!

 This is a view of the restaurant from the parking lot.  Look at those mountains in the background!

 We drove on into Sweet Springs WV where this place used to be a resort.  The area is known for it's "healing" springs and many presidents and famous people came to Sweet Springs to relax and heal in the waters.

 This is the old bathhouses around the pool.  All of this has fell into disrepair and is abandoned now.  Apparently there is no money for it's upkeep, which is such a shame considering it's history.

All in all it was a fun and relaxing day and I should sit back awhile and reflect on the blessing of living in such a beautiful place and getting to spend the day with my loved ones.  I have no reason to be grumpy.

Blessings

Linda

Finally Found It!

What is it you say???  It is a victorian buffet for my dining room!!!!  I have been searching for at least 15 years for a walnut victorian buffet that was in my price range and unfortunately, all the ones that I liked, well... they weren't.  So last Friday DH and I decided to go preview the furniture that was going to be at an auction on Saturday and low and behold there was a buffet.

I felt my heart going pitty pat and the auctioneer came over and was showing it to me and I asked how much do you think this will bring?  He said not under $2000!!  My heart dropped like a rock.  Waaaayyy more than I wanted to pay.  I said I wanted to pay less than $1000 and he just laughed and said no way would I get that buffet for less than $1000.

But Saturday morning we decided to head over to the auction anyway.  We were very surprised that there wasn't very many people there, but there wasn't a whole lot for sell, mostly all furniture.

The buffet was item number 97 on the list and as I watched the items being sold before it, I was surprised to see that they weren't bringing near as much money as I thought or the auctioneer thought.  As a matter of fact I bought a couple other things before the buffet even came up.

Finally, the buffet came up on the block and I could hear my heart pounding in my ears!!! "Up next is a Victorian Buffet from the early 1800's, solid walnut" What's the bid??   $100, 200, 300, 400, 500 that was by bid... going once, going twice,.... people you aren't looking here cried the auctioneer!  SOLD!!!!  I got my buffet for $500!!!  The auctioneer just looked at me and shook his head and smiled.  I was so excited I practically jumped for joy.

It fits perfectly in my dining room!   See those bottom doors?  You push them and they are like Lazy Susans... 

 Look how the doors swivel!

The detail on the back is just gorgeous!

You can't imagine how happy I am to have finally found the buffet that I have been wanting for much less than I ever expected to pay!  I am so looking forward to decorating it for Christmas!  And don't hve to wait too much longer to do that, do I?

Hope everyone has a marvelous weekend!

Blessings

Linda



Halloween Treat Bags!

One of the most magical things about Halloween when I was little was when you would go Trick or Treating and someone would give you a treat bag!  Those mysterious bags, ususally stapled at the top and you would have no idea what would be inside until you got home and opened it up. 
Would it be a delicious Hershey bar or the much coveted BB Bat taffy stick?  Or one of those yucky orange and black molasses chews?  Perhaps Bazooka bubble gum and a Tootsie pop? 

I loved getting those bags and would save the bags until my mom would clean my room and pitch them away.

 I decided to make treat bags for all the employees of our company this year.  I purchased clear plastic treat bags and made the cardstock toppers for them. 

 If was so much fun to put together all the fun elements for these little treat bags.

Yummy candy inside, Milk Duds, Reese's Cups, M&M's, Fruit snacks, etc...

But no nasty molasses chews!

Blessings

Linda

It's Time for the Halloween Happy Shelves!

I am so excited to show you my Halloween Happy Shelves!  I hope they make you smile, like they make me grin every stinkin' time I walk by them!

 The very top is my extremely tacky silver glittered skulls that I love so much along with those creepy gargoyle candle holders and a few other gruesome friends.

 BEWARE!  of all the scary or not so scary goblins that occupy this shelf!

 My rendition of a Halloween Village.  I bought a plain birdhouse and dressed it up with scrapbook paper and fun embellishments to create the ghostly house in the center.  So much fun, I am making one for Christmas too.

 A couple of my newest occupants are this years Peanuts Halloween figures.  I love Peanuts, do you?

And last but certainly not least, most of my Halloween stuffies!  New for this year is the little orange cat I made on the right.

I can't believe Halloween will be here in a couple of weeks and all my creepy and cool friends will have to be boxed up for another year. 

Blessings

Linda

Spring Violet Dinnerware

Last weekend I attended an estate sale in our town and when I entered the house into the kitchen I saw these dishes sitting in the cabinet.  I was drawn to them instantly and decided right then and there that if the price was right, those dishes were coming home with me!

 Luckily, The price for the entire set was only $35.00 and then it was the second day of the sale so I got 25% off, which came to $26.25!  There were 10 dinner plates, 15 sandwich plates, 12 saucers, (oddly enough, no cups!), 12 bowls, 2 vegetable bowls, 2 platters, 2 creamers and sugars, and 12 dessert plates!

I was estatically happy with my purchase and immediately went home and tried them out with my fall decorations in the dining room.  I think they will look better in the spring, but I am going to use them for Thanksgiving this year.

Later that same week I went over to spend the day with my Aunt who had surgery on her shoulder.  She sent me into the living room for something and on her wall was hanging one of these plates.  I picked it up and took it to her to ask where she got it and she said it had belonged to my grandmother, that the Spring Violet pattern was her Sunday dish pattern!   It must be genetics!  The original set now lives with my cousin.  So, now I am on the search for the cups.  I'm sure I could find them on ebay, but the physical search is way more fun!  And the guy who ran the estate sale said the basement of the house was still packed up and he would be selling it soon.  Maybe those cups are hiding down there!

Blessings

Linda

June??? Really??/ June??? or Welcome to Fall!

I can hardly believe that my last blog entry was in June!!!   Good Grief! 

I had an extremely busy summer!  My garden was just fantastic!  I truly had an over abundance of vegetables that I spent nights and weekends canning and still had plenty to give away to friends and family

 Lots of Pickles, both cucumber and beet!

 Zucchni relish, squash pickle, bread and butter pickle.....

 Canned tomatoes and pickled beets.......

 Tomatoes and cucumber galore!

 Lots of beautiful peppers!  Aren't those purple ones gorgeous?

One packed freezer!  I'm ready for winter!

Blessings

Linda

Not so Itsy, Bitsy, Orange Polka Dot not Bikini!!

I have a confession.  I am a swimsuit hoarder!  Now, granted, we live on the lake and we have a pool, but really, 22 swimsuits??  Really????  I can't help it.  I am in them almost every day and I like variety and now that I know that I can make them, I can see that number climbing!!!  I really, really love this orange polka dot 2 piece suit:

I made it out of a poly/cotton blend and it is fully lined.  I used this pattern for the top:

I've had this in my stash for quite some time, but for some reason thought making a swimsuit would be hard. But it was easy peasy.  The bottoms were made from another vintage pattern that belongs to my niece and I returned it without photographing it first.  Oh well.  This suit fits perfectly and isn't too revealing.  I do admit however, that I will only wear a 2 piece if NO ONE is around! 

This was actually 3rd swimsuit attempt.  Here is my 2nd one made from the same pattern using the bottoms on the pattern as well.

I don't like this one as well because it's a little bit too big in the hips and the elastic in the legs is too "puffy".  I may take the bottoms apart and redo them, because I really like the fabric and the fit of the top.

I will show you my first suit, which is made from a 1950's pattern another day, I still need to photograph the pattern!

This weekend is full of wedding activities for me as my cousins son is getting married and I am chauffering grandparents around all weekend!  My DS and DH are out of town for the weekend for a boat race (please say a little prayer for their safety!)

Blessings

Linda

The Dogwood Skirt

I love dogwoods!  Did you know the are the state flower for Virginia?  Springtime here is just beautiful when the dogwoods are in full bloom.  I have 3 of them in my yard that my Grandfather planted for me 25 years ago.  So when I saw some fabric with dogwoods on it at the thrift store, I knew it had to be mine.  There were 3 yards and I paid $1.50 for it!  Quite the bargain!

A few weeks ago my niece and I attended an estate sale not far from where I live that advertised sewing stuff!  When we got there, she started digging through the closets and we came up with 120 vintage sewing patterns!!!  There was no price on any on them so I asked the lady running the sale and she said $15 for all of them!!  OH YES!!!  I gave Rebecca all but about 7 of them, since she is becoming quite the seamstress.

Here is what I made with my "new" pattern and fabric!  Simplicity 7394 from 1976.

I loved this skirt that was made with the front panel and two side panels!  Upon looking into the envelope I found this:

It's an ad from a 1976 magazine showing this pattern made up! I can just imagine the women who owned it before me seeing this ad and knowing she loved it so much she wanted to make it.

Anyway, I decided to use my beloved dogwood fabric and I couldn't be happier with the way this pattern went together and how it turned out.

This is a terrible photo, but you will have to trust me that the skirt is really cute and I've worn it a couple of times already and feel so springy in it!  I will definitely use this pattern again as I was able to make this cute skirt in about an hour from start to finish!

Hope everyone had a grand weekend!

Blessings

Linda

The Kitchen Garden

(Edna Jaques)

A row of onions raising up their heads,

Green pepper in their special beds;

Long rows of carrots, cucumbers and chard

Make such a lively showing in the yard.

A hill of beans with crisp transparent stalks;

Borders of thyme and sage along the walks;

A row of chives...lettuce in a leafy clump,

A bed of radishes, rosy and plump.

Tomato plants staked up in tidy rows

To protect them from the wind that blows,

Long rows of turnips, neat and trim,

For all the world like ladies, cool and prim.

For he who tils a garden comes to know

That there is magic in a tiny row

Of sproutiing beands and miracles seem

Present everywhere, bright and serene.

Cream Dressing

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon grated onions

Dash of Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon vinegar

1 tablespoon chopped chives

Mix well and serve with a green salad.  Combine lettuce, green pepper, tomatoes and cucumbers.  Garnish with radish slices and chopped onions to taste.

An Abandoned Blog!!!

It seems that I have all but abandoned my blog.  But you know what, sometimes life gets in the way of the things you have good intentions of doing! 

I have been very busy in my greenhouse and garden.  I raised over 400 tomato plants!  Some green, red, yellow, purple and chocolate peppers, jalapenos, haberneros, banana peppers, eggplant, etc....

My garden has done so well this year!  I had tons of the most beautiful radishes and I don't even like radishes very much, but these were not too hot and were so good in salads with my black seeded simpson lettuce and spinach, fresh from the garden with tiny green onions, also from the garden!  I have 92 tomato plants in the ground and a couple of them even have some teeny, tiny tomatoes on them!  I can't wait for that first tomato sandwich!

Now on to the crafts!  I am still making my tags for the year long tag-a-long!!!!!  I haven't taken any pictures of them yet, but I will get to that and get them posted!
I have been doing a lot of sewing!  I have made two bathing suits, and while I will post a photo of them, it won't be of me in them!  I am very modest, which is why I made my own bathing suits, they cover everything that needs covering!  I have also made 3 skirts and a dress, again, I have taken no pictures but hopefully by posting today it will give me the kick in the butt I need to get photos taken!

Some very exciting news is that my niece Rebecca has started sewing!!!  She just turned 23 yesterday.  I gave her some basic instructions with an apron last year and she has taken the ball and ran with it!!!  She has made aprons, skirts, tops and dresses!  You can find her blog here Rebeccas Blog .

So today I am posting a recipe and photo of the cutest little cookbook I got at an estate sale this weekend.  It's just a small booklet by Ideals but the photos are so pretty and they have really good recipes!  I have already made this one.

Baked Beans

2 lbs navy beans

1 teaspoon soda

1 onion

3/4 salt pork

3 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard

3/4 cup molasses

Soak the beans overnight and parboil with the soda in the morning for about 15 minutes.  Rinse in cold water.  Cut the salt pork in small pieces and place about half of the pork on the bottom of a bean pot. (luckily I have my husband's grandmother's bean pot!).  Place half of the beans in the pot, then the onion ( I sliced my onion), the rest of the beans and the balance of the pork.  Mix the seasonings with enough hot water to cover the beans.  Bake for 6-7 hours (I only baked mine 2 hours and they were more than done) at 300 degrees, adding water when necessary to keep the beans moist.

My Kitchen

(Caroline S. kotowicz)

This is my kitchen where meals I prepare,

Well seasoned in old fashioned brown earthenware;

My daily haven of joy and bliss,

Where everyday toil finds happiness.

This is my kitchen of honey and spice

Here in my cupboards stand glassware and rice.

This is where duty sways with the sun,

And laughter is shared by everyone.

This is my kitchen where abundant love

is in accord with the Master above,

Where neighborly spirit seems to abide

And a hearty greeting invites you inside.

Blessings!

Linda

Late to the Party!!

I swear I had these ready and then totally got busy and forgot to post them!!!  These are my February tags for Elizabeth's Happy Homemake Tagalong Bluebird Papercreafts.

                I went with a pink and blue color scheme for my February Tags!  And a kitchen theme!

 Of Course I made two of them!!!  One for me and one to share!

No pictures of the process, but do I ever make a mess!

 I continued using my Mod-Retro stack.  How I love these papers!

                                           I did add some of this gorgeous glittey ribbon!

And here is my latest antique store find!  Another Big-Eared Mouse to go with my collection!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Valentines Day!