Rainy Days

This morning dawned grey and chilly. It rained again. 

And so we went for a drive.

 I found this vintage cotton and lace baby dress.

 To say that the bonnet has seen better days is an understatement.

Thankfully, it has a new home :-) 

And thankfully, the sun came out late this afternoon.

:-) 

Have a happy, sunny week.

Karen 

When I have a porch...

This chair asked to come home with me a couple of months ago. 

The stain on it had become so dark it was almost black and the finish was crackly like alligator skin.

It had paint spatter on it and some obvious repairs. - like a metal bar screwed all the way across the front.

But its a very cool old school recliner. 

:-) 

There's a metal rod that you can adjust to recline the chair.

I was going to paint it white to match the rocker that I like to sit in...

but it's for Mike to sit in on our porch so I refinished it instead.

I wanted to keep some of the original patina. 

Stripping and sanding it down to new would be like disregarding it's whole storey. 

This chair has earned every dent and chip. 

It's still an old chair and I love it. 

Glad I didn't paint it.

I still have to find the right cushion. 

When the porch is finished, I'll be ready! 

p.s. you can see some green in our very grey lawn - come on spring, you can do it!

<3 p="">

Karen 

Sweet Surprises

You never know what you might find when you least expect it.

We were rushing about running errands trying to make the most use of a cherished Saturday when low and behold...

a new antique store has opened.

I found an ironstone serving dish,

a beautiful deep platter that will be perfect for serving pasta,

and a beautiful white eyelet lace coverlet.

Unexpected and lucky finds.

All for $18. 

Sweet! 

have a good week, K

My Treasures

For the most part everything I've ever collected is all packed up and fills this 3 car garage and the chicken coop turned shed ( one day it will be a little guest room ).

You can see the elliptical right there in the front. I brought it in to town to our temporary home when the weather got too cold to run outside in the fall. 

It sat in the living room until 2 weeks ago when I started using it again.

I've managed to collect a fair bit more in the near year that we've been in our temporary home.

I can hardly wait.

Just think how much fun it will be to unpack those 17 boxes of china :-) 

I really can't remember what I had that takes up so much space. 

I imagine it'll be like christmas. Or a reunion. 

We should have insulation by the end of this week - I'm beyond anxious.

Random thought - I ate my first fresh fig last fall - Wow.

  Don't you love figs? 

I cut them in quarters, wrapped them in prosciutto and drizzled them with a little honey. 

:-) Karen 

Collecting

I find myself fllled with nostalgia,  longing for a simpler time. I'm a crazy romantic and so I've designated myself to be the keeper of a Mothers Love.

I have a small collection of vintage baby clothes. They're very special to me even though I don't know who they belonged to or who made them. I imagine a young mother sitting up evenings, hand stiching. Creating little works of art from modest means.

This is a beautiful example. It's white cotton broadcloth with a little lace around the neck and sleeve edges and down the front placket.

Isn't this lace beautiful. And look at the buttons. They shine a gorgeous rosy pink.

This gown is a little more delicate. It's cotton batiste - very fine and sheer.

This is the hem...

...this is the yoke.

This is a little white batiste dress.

The hem...

...and the yoke

The next are probably circa 1930 or 1940. I love that it's pink, of course, but also the dotted swiss collar and sleeve trim is so pretty. And lots of pin tucks. Even in the back.

Quality was important, even in a little diaper shirt. You can't really see it in these pics but the edges are all hemmed in a scalloped shell pattern. And it's embroidered too.

Boy's clothes aren't as easy to find. I love this!

The value of these things lies not in the value of the materials it took to make them, but in the love and time it took to transform those materials into little works of art.

Why do you collect the things you do?

<3 

Button Love

I'm a button freak. I love vintage porcelain and abalone buttons. They're all over the house.

I have some framed, like these gorgeous calico petticoat treasures.

I have some in jars on the windowsill...

some in a wood bowl...

and some in a ceramic bowl...

and some have found they're way into this pink milk glass pedestal dish along with a string of pearls.

mmmmm pink milk glass ( but more on that another day ).

isn't this a shame? I'm going to have find a prettier home for the rest.

Once while out on a treasure hunt with my young daughter, we came across a display where the vender was asking about 10 cents each for some sweet little pearl buttons. She proudly exclaimed that if we sold all our buttons we'd be millionaires.

"But then we would have them any more!" I said. :-)

Tell me, do you have a special collection that you wouldn't part with, even for a million dollars?