Pink Roses

texas...

I'm headed to Texas my friends...I'll be back with stories to tell,  and photos to share, and hopefully some good junk!

See you soon!

vintage bloom...

Several months ago I was contacted by a publishing company in England, who wanted to purchase one of my photographs for production.  It was a photo I took of my vintage enamel pin collection, and they found me from Flickr!  They offered me a good bit of money for a limited 2 year term, with me getting full photo credit and maintaining original copyright.  Heck , I was flattered they liked my picture!  They were going to use my photo for note cards and gift wrap.  Yesterday a package arrived from England and my heart skipped a beat.  Inside were the notecards... I have to tell you that these are SO beautiful...a big 6" x 6" card on heavy glossy paper, with bright green envelopes, each wrapped in cellophane.  I am so happy that my image is being used on something of this quality....and my name's on the back!

Anyway...thanks for letting me share this news.  I'm still in shock that I got paid for taking a picture!  Just another reason to collect more junk! :)

edit: I have NO idea where you can buy these-I think they are just in the U.K., but the website is : www.cardmix.co.uk.  Sorry!

 

details...

I'm a big fan of small details.  A great button on a sweater, the perfect mix of fabrics, a little embroidery, yummy ribbon, a bit of lace...and I love to photograph details...

I am currently fine tuning the details for my upcoming trip to Texas with my sister...don't want to miss a thing! 

I'll be taking my camera, so I can share all the details with you when I get home!  I still need to tend to one small detail before I can go...it's called: packing!

postcard : 3

I saw Carrie Underwood as the musical guest on a SNL rerun the other day, and she inspired this...

O.K. actually she inspired this...

here's the song...All American Girl by Carrie Underwood.

{unlike the song, I always wanted a girl...}

b-a-n-a-n-a-s...

You know what they say...when life gives you overly ripe bananas, make banana nut bread.  O.K., no one says that, but I had some ripe bananas this morning,  so I decided to make my moms Banana Nut Bread.  Now because I live in Georgia, I always use pecans- I think that's a law, but you could use walnuts.  I also used the small loaf pans, and it made 4 loaves of bread instead of 2 (more to share).   With the smaller pans I cut the cooking time to 35-40 minutes. I tried something new today...I put a handful of chocolate chips in 2 of the loaves...pretty darn delish, if I do say so myself!  I wrapped 3 of the loaves up to give away (and so I wouldn't eat them all)...And yes, today is the 18th, not 16th... Banana Chocolate Chip Pecan Bread...now that's what I'm talking about! Here's the original recipe...

Banana Nut Bread

Cream together:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

2 eggs

add:

3 mashed ripe bananas

1/4 cup cold water

add and mix well:

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

2 cups flour

1 cup chopped nuts

 

pour into greased pans...makes 2 loaves

Bake @ 350 for 1 hour

goodbye ugly...

When I first walked into this house (almost 12 years ago), I said the first thing that has to go is the ugly chandelier in the entry.  It was a brass and glass octagonal monstrosity.  I finally replaced it last week.  12 years and I finally said goodbye to the ugly. Even the guy who was working at the Goodwill donation center where I dropped it off,  said it was ugly...and I'm thinking, he probably knows ugly.

I bought a ceiling medallion and Luke painted it for me to match the fixture...he did an amazing job.  The medallion is over 24" wide.  My local electricians, Sam and Don,  came over with a really tall ladder and installed it for me, and even put it on a dimmer.

I never thought a light fixture could make me so happy, but it does, and I only have two words to say...hello pretty!

Pink Saturday {UK edition}...

Beverly is once again hosting Pink Saturday, and today I'm going to show you some of my favorite pink photos I took while in London last April.  This pink car was parked outside of our hotel for several days...I have no idea what kind of car it is, but it is adorable!  These flowers were at Spitafield's market, and again...I have no idea what kind of flowers they are...the centers were black...stunning!

Fabric banners in a shop window...

A pink tree blooming in St. James Park, in front of Buckingham Palace...

A hot pink rooster pillow...

And these two adorable German teenaged girls...

I saw them in  a shop on Portobello Rd., they were looking at bracelets...they pushed up their sleeves and they both had their right arms FILLED with colorful bracelets, and their left arms were FILLED with all silver bracelets.  You have never seen so many bracelets in your life!  I spoke to them in English and asked if I could take their picture to show to my daughter in America...they smiled and said "yes, thank you", and then held hands and posed just like this...so cute! 

So there you have it...PINK...London style!

postcard: 2

  This postcard was inspired by Sara Evans and Galla's pizza, our favorite local pizza parlor...

Every time we got Galla's pizza this summer I cut the wings off of the pizza box.

The wings were wider than the postcard, and I was afraid they would get knocked off in the mail, so I put this in a mailing envelope to be safe, and sent it that way.  Since it was being mailed in an envelope, I decided to use some elements I wouldn't normally use...

like scrabble letters, and tiny pom-pom trim I sewed on...

I rubber stamped the words and cut out her photo, which was just the right color and proportion for the pizza box wings.  This was very simple, but I think it makes a strong graphic statement.  One of my favorites so far.

Hers too...mission accomplished!

I'm going...

After many years of wanting and wishing, I'm finally DOING it...my sister and I are going to Texas for antiques week, and yes ...the JUNK GYPSY PROM!  We leave in about 2 weeks...I am so excited.  Let me know if you will be there...I would love to meet you!

polishing...

At the risk of sounding crazy, I will make a confession.  I was worried that when the kids left, I would be sad or lonely, or even...depressed.  I made myself lists of "things to do when the kids leave", in case the day ever came that I needed a reason to get out of bed.  I'm happy to report that life is good, and busy, and full, and the only thing bad is that I now have a really long list of things to do!  So yesterday I polished silver for a few hours (it was on the list), and I have to admit that I actually enjoy polishing silver...in the same twisted way I like ironing...only if it's something vintage!  I have been collecting vintage crystal dresser jars with silver lids for about 25 years...here are a few from my collection... 

I love them with monograms or embossed flowers...all shapes and sizes. This is the first jar I ever got, my mom bought it for me one year for Christmas...  It's probably the prettiest one I have...I love the cherubs.

I bought these two small pieces in London last year at the Portobello Road antique market.  My favorite souvenir.  I love the detail on these...

It always makes me happy when I polish these little jars, and they are all shiny and clean.  I could be Martha if all I had to do was tend to frivolous details like this everyday, but somehow the reality of a home (cooking/cleaning/washing/bills) sucks all the fun out of being a domestic goddess.  Oh well, back to the list...