Pink Roses

trick or treat

Halloween 20 years ago...

...seems like yesterday...Elizabeth was 6 months old and crawling, so I made her a dinosaur costume out of pink and green corduroy and stuffed the tail...she was so cute crawling around...I used to sew all of their Halloween costumes, and made my own patterns...now I'm lucky to sew on a button...and speaking of buttons...

I sewed all of my favorite buttons on that black sweatshirt...I wonder where in the heck it is now? Maybe the attic... Sorry these pictures are blurry-I don't have a scanner, so I took a picture of a 20 year old picture... 

That was then...this is now...

the best picture I could get at 6:30 this morning of my son going to school as a cowboy, or 1/5 of the "Village People", think 1970's YMCA...They get to dress up for Halloween in high school-trust me, not much learning going on today...on a positive note, I've had such will power...

 I haven't opened the candy yet...

Oh, and the kitten is dressed as a princess/queen/movie star...

Hope you have a Happy Halloween!

negotiation...

The following is an actual conversation I had yesterday..at a flea market, on the side of the road, on a mountain, in Tennessee...

The seller was an 80 something year old man in overalls...

me:hey there!

him: hey there yourself

me: whatcha got that I need today?

him:well....I don't rightly know

me:what about this little birdcage here?

him:what about it?

me: how much do you want for it? (it had a tag on it for $5.00)

him: a couple a bucks

I start to pull money out of my pocket...I pull out a one dollar bill...

him: that'll do (he takes the dollar)

me:but that's not a couple of bucks, that's just ONE buck

him:that'll do for today...

me:well thanks a lot...I'll come back to the flea market and see you again...

him:well don't come on Saturday

me:why not ?

him: I'm just here on Sunday...

thank you...

I want to say thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for the kind thoughts, comments, and prayers for my daughter.  My daughter has ulcerative colitis, and has been in remission for 6 years.  About 4 weeks ago she got sick again.  She has lost 17 pounds in 30 days.  I have been with her this past week as she had testing (colonoscopy, blood work, biopsies).  She had the testing done in Nashville, because that is where she goes to college, and I wanted her doctors to be close by. She has amazing doctors here in Atlanta, but when you are sick, you need doctors who are near.  She will still be in school another year and a half.  We got good news/bad news from her tests.  The bad news in that her colitis is severe, but the good news is that her biopsies were negative, and that she does not have cancer.  She started heavy doses of medication on Friday, and we hope to see some results soon.  I brought her home with me for a few days, and she is resting. Thanks you again for your thoughts and prayers...they were felt, and appreciated. 

pink chair

 I bought this pink chair at the flea market recently...didn't know where it was going to go...love the chippy paint...right now I have it in my bathroom holding towels...my daughter says her favorite thing about taking a shower at home (vs. college dorm), (and other than not having to wear flip-flops, and having a clean floor) is getting out of the shower to a stack of lavender-vanilla scented towels.  Thanks Downy for helping me create fond memories of home!

I will be gone for the next 5 days or so...I will be with my daughter, she is very sick...she is going into the hospital tomorrow for tests...take care...

thrift finds...

I ran by Goodwill yesterday, and then to the little indoor flea market next door, and found a few things...

the white footed pedestal and child sized cup and saucer were $1.00, and the plate was 77cents...

this little doll was $2.00-she has a big netting skirt with satin ribbons...her eyes close when you lay her down...

the pictures and bowl had orange in them-not a color I decorate with, but I thought they would make a nice fall display...I don't really decorate for "halloween" as much as I do "fall"...here is a close up of the small picture- it is a framed needlework...

 

a close up of the bowl...$3.00...

an old cabinet card photo of a delicious fat baby...love the lace...

 

a close up of the paint-by-number picture...I know you might think it is SO tacky, but there is something about it...I just love that someone made it...

 reminds me of a fall drive in the countryside...I am making my children go with me to buy pumpkins today (she came home last night for fall break)...they complained, but secretly I know they still want too...I wonder if they will pose for a picture?...hmm...probably not...hope your weekend is wonderful!

lipstick...

I love lipstick. I do. I wear it all the time.  Pink is my favorite color, and I'm not picky on the brand.  My local pharmacy, CVS, has been enabling me lately by running buy-one-get-one-free specials on Revlon lipstick.  Then the people at Revlon have been encouraging me, by giving their lipstick cute names...pink in the afternoon, gentlemen prefer pink, paparazzi pink, raspberry freeze, full bloom fuchsia ...Have you ever make a color choice based on the name? I do it with paint all the time...

Lately I have been finding vintage lipsticks at the flea market.  No, I wouldn't use them, many are empty, but the cases are beautiful....

...no plastic cases here...just beautiful gold or enameled metal, heavy cases...so now I have another collection...but one that doesn't take up too much room!

the tops are little works of art...

 I love the rhinestones and the little crown..

 ...this one had its original cardboard box...

 The lipstick names were not as creative on these...there was "clear red", "medium clear red", "medium", and "dark"...did everyone just wear red?

I think I might display them in my master bathroom, on a little shelf... any suggestions for a creative display? 

this boy...

This boy, just got accepted into college

and I am happy, proud, excited...and a little bit sad.  It means he's going to college, and I have less than a year to prepare my heart.  It means that this boy...

 the one that wears size 13 shoes, but still scuffs his toes like he did when he was a baby...will be leaving...

 it means that this boy...

 the one that makes me laugh, and makes me smile, and fills this house with more happiness and love than you can imagine, won't be here anymore.  I've let go before, I can let go again...but I'm just saying...I already miss this boy...

decision maker

I bought this piece of folk art about 9 years ago from a Mississippi folk artist named Elayne Goodman. She named it "The Decision Maker". It stands about 7 feet tall and is made from an old porch column that "fell down in a storm"...

 It has 3 large wooden circles on it that you can spin, and get a "decision" made for you... (yes/no)...

 (stay/go)...

 (loves me/loves me not)...

 the base and post are covered in paint and old metal tins...

 I love Elaynes art and have several pieces.  She inspires me to see the possibility in unexpected things.  She makes me want to be more spontaneous in my art.  I just wish all decisions could be made by spinning a wheel....let's make some art this weekend!

sneak peek...

I am such a procrastinator...I signed up to do an ornament swap at Silver Bella next month, and I am just getting started (I have to make 12)...It is a "shabby bella" theme-something shabby, vintage, sparkly...right up my alley, you would think...I have had lots of ideas, but honestly the thing that keeps holding me back is my own insecurity...I've never done a swap before, and everyone else is sooo talented.

Here's what I am working on...

I have this oval idea stuck in my head-it has to be oval for some reason...I was going to make a shrine sort of thing with empty sardine cans, except that I hate sardines (O.K., I've never actually tried one), and it seemed like a waste to buy 12 cans and throw them away...so now I'm using foam core as the base, and cutting it out with an exacto knife...I'm still going to buy one can of sardines, just to see...please tell me I'm not the only one that gets an idea in my head and can't let it go...Can't wait to show you the finished product, and all my other swaps next month!

wedding shelf...

I like to make "themes" on my bookcase shelves..little displays or collections of things amongst the books.  This shelf is one of my favorites..the wedding shelf...

I have pictures of my parents...

My parents were married in 1957, and will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in December.  I framed one of my moms calling cards from before marriage, and placed it on the book "Popular Girl"!  She was like a living Barbie doll!  I also have pictures of both sets of my grandparents...

my moms parents look like Lucille Ball and Ricky Ricardo...

My other grandparents, my brother and sister-in-law, framed wedding invitation, and my collection of wedding cake toppers..

an old pink ring box and a Limoge porcelain wedding cake...this is my favorite cake topper...

I love the lace and ribbon and little flower on the bride-so sweet.  I guess you could say that this is my version of 3 dimensional scrapbooking...(or just stuff to dust)!