What I like is odd........

very odd, like this old wooden time card holder. It was in a local antique mall and I let my dd know quite some time ago how very smitten I was with it. 

So every time I went to this mall I'd peek in and see if it still was there....it always was. But being a bit out of my price range I just wrote it off.

I dug these grungy old cards out of it as best I could.

You see, I was gifted this beauty for Mother's Day. As it sat in front of me folded up I had no idea on earth what it was. It looked like a huge wooden slab. It weighs about 20lbs.

I can't think of a better way to display my favorite little pieces of ephemera and pretty cards than on this. Aren't the numbers cool?

This monster is 3 feet tall....now to find a place to display it....wish me luck?

I'm crushin' on this china pattern~~~~~~~~!

While on our coast vacation last year I found this huge platter at my favorite antique store in Gearhart, Yankee Trader. I fell completely head over heels in love with it which I don't normally do with china....but this pattern is special.

I love the pink rose clusters, the delicate branches, and of course, the bluebirds! I vowed to look for more. The thing is, even though this is marked on the bottom this particular manufacturer isn't that easy to figure out. It has become my fun challenge to find more pieces of this and yesterday, on Etsy of all places, I found the piece below!

Can you stand it? Can you believe how lucky I was to find this?
And it's even here in Oregon, shipping to me today.....I'm so thrilled. It's my early Mother's Day gift to myself.

On another note, I spent my afternoon yesterday making cheese enchiladas and homemade refried beans. See, my sweet MIL is from Texas and we're heading up to see her on Saturday to celebrate Mother's Day with her a day early. So she doesn't have to cook I'm bringing the food and since she's a Texan through and through she loves her mexican food! My SIL (thanks so much Heather for the tip!) told me that she loves cheese enchiladas.
I made my own enchilada sauce from scratch and it is yummy and super easy to make and oh-so-much-better than that canned stuff from the market! Trust me on that! Then I made the refried beans from scratch as well. Heavenly, they are......no comparison there either as to taste with the store bought.
Hmmmm, what can I make today?
If you'd like to know where I found my recipes I'm happy to share.
http://www.cooking-mexican-recipes.com/index.html

Estate sale heaven? I went back twice.......

Last friday I hit an estate sale...it started at 1:00 and by the time I got there it had already begun and there were about 15 people in line in front of me......it was o.k., a beautiful day to be outside.
This was a smaller, older home that proved to be one of a 'hoarder'.  Lucky me!!!!!
Doll head, tiny pincushion, glass shaker, rare card game, tart tins, antique powder box, Flinch card game, antique velvet jewelry case, large laundry or locker pins.

Huge floral serving bowl, I bought a smaller one too that I forgot to photograph.

Lots of ephemera, I especially love the Night Before Christmas booklet.

2 old composition notebooks, the blue one someone used as a recipe book.

Fabulous old hymn books.

Humongous bound magazines from the 1800's.
This heavy book is 16 inches tall.

Anyone need an antique Bible?

The amount of books in this little house was astounding.

I was in hog heaven with all these books.

So I came to this sale totally unprepared and within moments my hands were full.....a nice man offered to start a pile for me and then gave me a basket.....hmmm, he must have known that I'd find a ton more. He was right.
I had to make 3 trips out to my car and then I went back the next day for more.
Note to self.....must attend more estate sales.....:)

Thanks to those who added helpful comments about my blog. For some reason all of my sidebar had disappeared so I couldn't see anyone's blog.....weird, now it's back thankfully.
Hope you all have a great week, don't forget to check out my etsy as I add these goodies to my shop!!!!!!

Just when I wanted to ramp up my blog......

Blogger goes all wacko on me.......I'm growing tired of blogger....not sure when I'll be back.
I can't seem to access my blog when I want to so I'm exploring another platform to host my blog on.
Hopefully see you soon.

Coincidence? I think not...............

Today our weather is absolutely gorgeous! We worked on our yard so took a drive out into the country to one of our favorite nursery's....well, that was the plan anyway. On the way, my dh and my dd spotted a sign advertising a new nursery that was farther up the road. They wanted to check it out, so we travelled on. The minute I got out of the car I saw this bunny planter....and the memory it brought me was so sweet! It reminded me of one that my Mom used to have, that I always admired. She's been gone awhile now, and when I mentioned it to my dh, he quietly asked the owner if it was for sale. She said that she had been making those from a mold for a few years now, but her mold had so deteriorated that she stopped.....and this was her last one.
It's made of concrete (very heavy) and it's now in my courtyard!
I filled it with some purple pansies and a white verbena.
This will make me so happy every time I come up my walk.

The book you see in my first photo was found shortly afterwards in a tiny antique store in Coburg......it's so stunning with it's red leather covers and it's called 'Flowers of Memory' from the late 1800's. The books intro talks about the death of a Mother and how at the time they couldn't find anything soothing to read so they wrote their own book with all sorts of poems and stories about motherhood. It's really quite special and has gorgeous black and white illustrations.
I thought it was interesting how those two purchases entertwined today and had a common theme, my sweet Mom.
Mother's day will be here soon, if you still are blessed to have your Mom around give her a huge hug, appreciate her while you can........

A Spring-time project......

I'm not at all sure why I've become obsessed with ballet toe shoes lately. It could have something to do with my new Vintage by Nina book (although her shoes aren't embellished).
Isn't it pretty hanging in my lilac bush?

They're just such a pretty blank canvas to work with...and I have lots of laces and bits of fabric to use on them.

This one has some vintage velvet berries and leaves on it's toe.....

This will be listed this evening in my shop.
So cute to tuck a sachet into and hang in a special spot.

A flea-ing fool......

Headed out by myself to the flea today.
Found some great pretties and great deals.
This doll is stunning in person, 16" tall and filled with sawdust.
I love her dress....well, I love everything about her.

Sweetest old Avon dusting powder tin (puff is inside).

Gorgeous little Bible missing it's clasp.

Darling child's book.

Cutest box filled with the cutest blocks (and they're all there).
Amazing.

And fresh off the farm stand. This very old bushel basket lined with the happiest oilcloth...parts of it have been mended and taped back together because that's what people did back then.
Instead of throwing it out and buying new (because who could afford that?) they fixed what they had and made it last.
This basket is to die for. Almost hope it never sells.
These items and more, in my shop soon.