Sunday, September 27, 2009

Show and Tell Tuesday

About a week ago I went to an antique street fair in Roseville put on by The Tattered House. Every single booth was wonderful! On my way out, just about when I thought I'd seen it all, I spotted this birdhouse and it's stand. The person running the booth was on a break, so I negotiated with her husband--and bless his heart, he has no idea what a great deal he gave me.
Anyway, I decided to line the bottom with some wrapping paper that I love. I had lined my desk drawer with it, and had some left over. After I lined the bottom of the birdcage, I added a birdnest and a battery operated candle (with timer!). Okay, some people might not care for the battery operated candles, but I love them-- especially the ones with a timer! (QVC is where I buy mine!)
This is the base of the stand. I really like it. The design is not too fussy, but decorative enough for me.
This is the whole stand. I haven't hung the art yet because I still need to paint the walls. I feel like everything is on hold until those walls are painted!
These are two more finds from the street fair-- a plant stand and a hand-made broom. The vendor said she bought the broom in England. I love the broom because it reminds me of Harry Potter. I'm going to use it as a Halloween decoration! I'd like to put a collection of pumpkins on the plant stand for fall. I'm thinking that if I purchase fake carvable pumpkins, I can carve one side for Halloween, and then turn them around for Thanksgiving. What do you think?
As you can see, I don't have landscaping in my front yard, but I do have some fall decor out there! I had a tree removed (one of many projects around here), and no longer have a lawn. I'm hoping to get it landscaped soon so I don't have a mudslide on my hands!
Just a little gratuitous picture of Hagrid. He just makes me smile. I hope he makes you smile too!

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Show and Tell Tuesday

The other day I went shopping at a few of my favorite local vintage shops, so I thought that I'd "show & tell" my fun finds with you...
It was instant love when I saw the pink apron. The fabric is actually a dotted swiss but it's hard to see in the picture. The shop keeper at The Homestead said it had been part of her own collection and that it had been hard to part with. She was glad it was going to a good home! The sugar and creamer was found at The Red Door. I'm not totally sure that they are vintage, but they're vintage enough for me. I love them!

And then there are these little jell-o molds-- so cute! I've framed some vintage jell-o cookbooks for my kitchen, so I think I'll turn these into something cute for the kitchen.
I think I'm going to try to make "Show & Tell Tuesday" a semi-regular thing. (What do you think? Would you like that?!) I love to shop and I love cute vintage things. Some Tuesdays I'll show off some of my recent miniature finds also.
Thanks for stopping by!

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Happy birthday dear Hagrid

Hagrid turned two this week, so figured a party was in order. Who doesn't love a party? We invited some friends from the dog park, and our new neighbor pup.
The guests were greeted with balloons and a banner...
There were streamers, party hats, bubbles, and a wading pool...
I found this bubble machine at Wal-mart in the wedding section-- isn't it great?!
Charlie was eager to party with his hat on. The silly boy kept that hat on almost the entire time! Amazing!
My friend Krista and I baked cupcakes for the people-guests... we even made dog-themed chocolates to adorn the cupcakes!
We hand-dipped dog treats for the goodie-bags... note, each baggie has a bottle of bubbles tied to it with paw-printed ribbon! I served people food indoors, safe from the fur-babies. The dips were served in stainless steel (sterile) dog dishes!

(If you are wondering what's up with the blue stripes around the bookshelf and windowsill, I'm getting ready to paint the walls so the edges have been masked. I'll be sure to share "after" photos when the painting is completed.)

This is my new neighbor and friend, Krista, and her sweet Nellie...

I made "pupcakes" for Haggie and his friends. They're topped with peanut butter-cream cheese frosting and kibble sprinkles!
Charlie made himself at home and tried to sneak up onto Krista's lap... she looks a little surpised at his sly attempt! He's such a love!
I love this shot of Nellie licking the frosting off of her pupcake!
This is Gracie enjoying Haggie's pupcake! So sneaky!
Here's Charlie enjoying Gracie's pupcake! (Notice: hat intact!)
Okay, Charlie's sporting a new look with his hat! What a party hound! I think this might be the dog version of "wearing the lampshade"!
Oh, happy birthday boy! I think he had a really great time with his friends. Thanks for stopping by his birthday party!


Monday, September 7, 2009

Saucy Sprinkles, I am not...



... but I wish I had even an ounce of her talent and style! For those of you who aren't familiar with her blog, she is a wonderfully fun writer and fabulous cupcake diva-- check her out. (Check out her flickr site to see her beautiful laundry room, complete with chandelier!) For you miniaturists out there, she has a darling dollhouse too-- and get this, the electricity goes on when you turn the little fire hydrant by the doghouse!

Anyway, you're probably wondering what this giant melting cupcake is all about and who it's for! The other day when I was slaving away painting my bathroom, my sweet neighbor Krista came over with dinner. Talk about awesome... the girl can cook! But you know what really warmed my heart? No one has ever brought me a homemade dinner- ever. I always thought those delivered-to-the-door-steaming-under-tinfoil-dinners were reserved for mommies with new babies or ailing grandmas. I was so touched that she would think to do something so sweet for me. I guess in a way, this new little home of mine is "my new baby" after all.

The other day I realized that it was time to return the tray and dish to Krista, so I decided that I should be a gracious, good neighbor and bake her a cake to return with them. It happen to be about a hundred degrees out but I thought, "Oh, I have air conditioning!" and baked that cake anyway. It gave me an opportunity to try out my new giant cupcake pan, and I really felt the need to do something creative. (I had put off creative endeavors since the move.) Everything went well, but I noticed as I was taking pictures that it was melting. I stuck the little flag (it says, "A little yummy for your tummy") and ran that cake over as fast as I could!

Luckily, it didn't collapse until after it had been sliced into! (Whew!)