Score!

You can only imagine my reaction when I came across this most wonderful vintage beverage cart! The best find in some time for me folks. I am super excited! It fits perfectly in my kitchen and goes along with my retro decor. Perfection.

The added bonus to this cart is.....

Electricity! It has an outlet! I havent tested it out just yet but when I do I hope it works!

Cheers!

Farmer's Market and Junk

I am a sucker for a good Farmer's Market and for Vintage junk. So, since my sis is in town we went to the Cowtown Farmer's Market and then on a whim decided to go Estate sale shopping. The Market has grown a lot over the past year. The vendors grow the best produce too. From goat cheese to tamales, this Market has it. 

We were pretty hungry this morning so we stopped at the Artisan Baking Company and picked up some of the best scones I have ever eaten and biscuits. Both melted in our mouths.

There were tons of blackberries too...we couldn't pass those up!

We tried to hit up a few Estate sales afterward, however, it was a complete bust. Our first stop should have been a sign. It was a bit disorganized. The house itself was really cool...in a 1970's way. I do like old houses, mine was built in the 50's. But, there was one room that was really needing the cast of Studio 54 or Boogie Nights to top things off. We left because frankly...it just got creepy.

A few more bad Estate Sales later, we decided to check out a few new shops. Bingo! We should have done this first! There is a cute new Vintage/Antique store that is only open on the weekends and I have been wanting to go check it out...so we did. Junker Val's, it is the cutest and Junker Val is so super sweet!! Her prices are pretty fair considering how people like to crank up the price on Antiques since it has become really trendy.

After Junker Val's we went to the Junketeria which is just down the street. 

This place is awesome. There are so many things which again are really fairly priced. The man that runs it is really nice too and terribly creative with his layout and how he has decorated. 

Next time, I am going back with more cash because there are some diamonds in the rough in this place.

After a long day of shopping, I needed a pick me up. So, since I had a plethora of blackberries from the Market, I made cobbler! 

The recipe is super easy and so delicious. Courtesy of the Pioneer Woman.

Cheers! 

Sweet Gifts

I know I have not been consistent in my blogging lately but, I have been working on a rather large project! Once I am done, I will reveal!  I have been missing blogging and actually had a moment to sit down and get caught up. Me blogging during the weekday? What gives? Well, I woke up this morning the sound of running water between my kitchen and bathroom wall and a very large puddle of water taking over my bathroom floor. Fortunately, I got to it before it made its way to the hardwood floor in the hall. So, I called my friendly local plumber who we have become rather close to over the years (hence friend flushing her keys down my toilet a few years back). Now, here I wait for them to rescue me which means a little blogging time!

My sister, BIL, and niece recently visited for the holidays. We had a great time. They are very thoughtful in their gift giving and handmade practically everything this year! I am not certain where they find the time!  

During their visit I discovered how great Violet is at embroidery. She is quick and consistent! My sister made this adorable pot holder and Violet did the embroidery. She is just 7 years old! 

My sister has some great antique stores where she lives so she picked out a few vintage planters for me.

They also made Lemoncello from scratch...as you can tell it is yummy!

This raspberry chipotle sauce is wonderful! I put some on cream cheese and served it with crackers, it has a nice kick! I may use the rest as a marinade for chicken one night. 

Even though things were different this holiday after the passing of my Grandfather and Uncle, it was still a very nice and quiet holiday season. I was able to have a few days off and relax with my family. 

On one of my days off us girls went to the Benbrook Antique Mall. It is a great place to find sweet things! I could have stayed in there for hours. But, we were on a time limit so that kept us in line. 

I found these cute fairy lamps and also a candy dish to put some of my jewelry in.

I also came across this adorable planter! 

When it warms up a bit I am going to put a succulent in it and stick it on my front porch. 

Well, the plumber just called and he is on his way. This should be interesting! 

Cheers! 

Handmade Bridal Shower

Let me start off by saying everyone's generosity and enthusiasm about my upcoming wedding has been amazing. I just really never imagined how exciting it all would be and how gracious those involved would be. The wedding day is getting so close and I have had so much fun these past several weekends working on things to give the wedding a personal and crafty touch. While I am on the subject of personal and crafty, I must tell you about this wonderful shower my mother's friends from work threw for me today.  It was lovely. 

As I walked up to the doorstep I saw this dress form. I have one just like it but this one is painted in one of my favorite colors.  I immediately commented on it and guess what? It was mine to keep! What a fantastic and whimsical decoration for a bridal shower! 

Her home is in the Historic Fairmount District and it is beautiful! 

When I walked in, I noticed little handmade cupcake pincushions!  This was the shower favor.  Everyone got to pick one out to take home! 

My pincushion was a wedding cake.  It has a vintage piece of lace from her grandmothers wedding dress on top for good luck. So very sweet. 

She also hand made a vintage linen tussy mussy's for everyone to take home. There was so much thought put into this shower! She had the tussy mussy's hanging on various knobs and hooks throughout her house. 

A tussy mussy was popular during the Victorian era. From what I gather, they were usually a silver cone shaped holder that held a small small bouquet of fresh flowers and herbs. Such a creative idea to re-design the tussy mussy with vintage linens instead of the silver cone shaped holder. What a lovely decoration!

To eat, we had petit fours from the Bluebonnet Bakery. Oh how I love these petit fours, they make the best. They had little rings on top! I probably ate about 4 of them. Oh they are soooooooooo good!

We also had mixed nuts, punch, and wedding mints. I immediately noticed the sweetest vintage hand made doily that the punch was sitting on. It had punch cups (from what I gather knitted or crocheted) around the edges. The mints and nuts were in little paper cupcake liners nestled in the punch cups.  Little did I know at that time that the doily was going to be given to me! I can't wait to use it. I need to have a party at my house soon so I can use all of my newly acquired household goods!  

Since I love all things hand made, this shower was just perfect. Thank you! 

Cheers! 

Happy Memorial Day

For all of you 8-5'ers out there, isn't sleeping in on what is usually a workday fabulous!?! Happy Memorial Day to everyone. Did you know that Memorial Day was once called Decoration Day? It was called Decoration Day because people would decorate the graves of those who lost their lives defending their country with flowers of springtime. If you want to learn more....venture over here.

Speaking of springtime, I have a new mama bird! She has been such a good mama and has been sitting in her nest for about 2 weeks waiting for her babies to arrive! She is really calm and seems to like me and Jeff. I can't wait to see her babies! We had a bluebird nest that hatched about 3 weeks ago. They have since moved out of their nest. Birds really seem to like this live oak tree.

This morning after I woke up, I enjoyed my ritualistic morning coffee, french toast, and Regis and Kelly. It has been a while since I have made french toast for breakfast and since I have watched Regis and Kelly. Yes, yet another guilty pleasure.


After my mind was freshly awake, I cleaned a bit and then finished off some yarn that I have been spinning for the Etsy shop. It is hanging to dry now and should be ready to post in the next few days.

The color of this yarn reminds me of blue cotton candy so, that is what I am going to call it! I may fancify it just a bit and call it blueberry cotton candy. I love spinning and my yarn is getting better and better every time. I have been spinning for about a year now so, I think it it time to branch out and start practicing spinning more difficult yarns. It is rather disappointing because here in Funky Town, there really are not many yarn shops and the few that we have do not sell roving. I usually have to order it online but, I am a feeler. I like to touch and feel the roving before I purchase it so, ordering online makes it a little difficult for me. I'm super excited though, my trip to Santa Fe is just right around the corner and there are several places where I can get roving so, I plan to stock up! I can't wait!!! To me, it makes the hand spun yarn more special when I travel to get it!

I also worked in the back yard a bit. I am still in the process of getting my new kitchen garden ready and will post pictures soon! It is coming along rather nicely and I am very excited about it. Soon, I will be able to go outside and pick tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapenos, and strawberries!

So, I tried to work a bit more on the Taxi tote I talked about a few blogs ago. I made a horrible discovery. Seems I was not paying too much attention when I started cutting this fabric and cut right down the middle! So, I need to hop over to the Cabbage Rose one day after work this week and get more fabric. Duh!

Instead, I am going to start a new purse project because, you know, one can never have too many purses. I have had this Robert Kaufman fabric for some time now. I have had every intention of using it but I tend to hoard stacks of fabric. I am running out of room to stash all my hoarded fabric so it is about time I use it! I am also going to find a way to sew some of these vintage buttons that my sister gave me for my birthday on the purse.





I was searching for handbag ideas and came across this cute little blog. She has some great tutorials! She is coming out with a new book in 2010. It seems that many people are coming out with new crafty books and I always wonder to myself, why can't I do that? It would be fantastic to have a crafty book!! Alright sis, it is time to put our brains together. We have been talking about this for months now, lets get on the ball!


You know, off the fabric and sewing topic, there is nothing like grilling on a holiday!! Today, I have also been watching my secret boyfriend Bobby Flay grilling it up on the Food Network, which has given me some inspiration for this evenings meal. I plan to throw some corn and steaks on the Bar B tonight!


Cheers!!




***Update***

What better way to spend a holiday than sewing!! I finished the purse. I really like how it turned out and the big vintage buttons add a lot of charm! I use my own pattern, which I tend to do. I am nooooo good at following a pattern. I just have to make it up as I go along. I really wish though, that I could follow a pattern!






I have had these tortoise handbag handles for a while now and have been waiting for the perfect moment to use them. I actually think I purchased them to use with this fabric.







I sewed little vintage buttons on the inside to so the inside would not feel left out. I also added a pocket with 2 sides. One side is for my cell phone and the other is for my lip gloss.





Now I just need a snap wallet to match!



The grilled steaks and corn with red onions also turned out mighty fine!







Today has been a fantastic day off!!

Warning, An Official Geeking Out About to Occur, Proceed With Caution...

Boy, did I do some damage today! It was a lovely day. First, I got up bright and early and made some coffee, drank my coffee while enjoying the hilarious Joel McHale on the Soup. I did a bit of power house cleaning, made a yummy breakfast, got all gussied up (well as gussied up as I get for the weekend), and hit up a few garage sales with my family. Then, after the garage sale, we went a fantastic estate sale in the Ryan Place area. The house was lovely on the outside and inside. It almost looked like a castle. I love estate sales but to me they are very surreal. Most of the time they mean an end to a life or the drastic change of a life, sometimes both. You can tell alot about people by what is in their house. I think that is the most fascinating part of estate sales to me. I imagine the lady of the house to be an artist of some sort. She had soooo many wonderful things. There was a room full of sewing fabrics and notions, knitting needles, yarn, embroidery floss and supplies, sewing patterns, and knitting patterns. There was another room full of art supplies such as paint, water color paper, crayons, and scrap booking supplies. It was amazing. The kitchen was fabulous too! Everything about the house said that the people who once lived there were world travelers. They had a lot of artifacts from different countries. I think they were probably very interesting people and I almost felt like I was intruding by rummaging through their belongings. I even saw a flapper dress with the shoes, headdress, and everything!Now, I think she must have been one cool lady!

I was very fortunate to find some fantastic things! So, here is my geek out, prepare yourself.....

When I got to the sewing/knitting room I immediately saw this...and, of course, totally geeked out.

It is full of knitting needles! I think she must have made it herself out of some vintage fabric. I have always wanted a knitting needle roll and I have really been wanting to make one for myself too. I am not sparing anyone at this point and am showing more pictures of this fabulous knitting needle roll so...hang tight for a minute.

I even found 5 pair of double pointed needles for a buck 50! So, I stuck them in the roll too. Ok, major geek out now....just for the sake of it, this is how you roll it up...wow...I am such a dork. Is anyone reading this?? I think I may be embarrassed after I post it. Blushing now......

Okay...on to the next thing. I have always wanted a fondue pot and "lows and behold" as my grandma would say, my destiny was awaiting in the kitchen pantry!

I also picked up a bright red Krups coffee grinder, for a steal by the way. I think I will use it to grind my herbs in...that was my mom's idea.

There were also tables full of kitchen linens and I found a few vintage linens that I absolutely adore. They will be perfect for throwing parties. Come to think of it, the holidays are arriving, I have a fondue pot, and new linens. I need to have a fondue party!

I like to keep my oils, vinegars, and homemade dressings in old beer jars. So, needless to say I was thrilled when I saw this. I don't have one in green yet and can't believe I found it. Normally, I just find them in amber. So, it is a nice addition to my collection.

I swear this is the very last thing! Vintage spools of thread and measuring tapes!

Ok, the official geek out session has ended!

Cheers!