My Little Treat

On Friday last, April 25th, I treated myself to a little "R&R". You know I love all things vintage, Victoriana, lace, frills, ruffles..............

One of my favorite places to indulge this habit is my beloved antique mall, THE SHOPS ON WEST RIDGE  www.theshopsonwestridge.com  I visit there on my "special days" like my birthday, Mother's Day, and any other day that I need to be pampered. My dearest vendor there is a huge shop called Maison Fleur de Lis. Practically everything in the shop is some shade of white. The shopkeepers of Maison Fleur de Lis repurpose, reimagine, reinvent, and remake vintage furniture. Loooong buffets, carved and embellished dining room tables, elegant dining room chairs, lounge chairs, sofas, plant stands, tea tables, desks, vanities and so much more. They recover, restore, and of course, paint. I believe they use "chalk paint" (more on that in a future post). They carry a charming supply of shabby chic tchotchkes too, like cupcake servers, birdcages, recipe holders, cloches, etc.

Entering their space is like Alice walking through the looking glass. Everything is heavenly, ethereal, restful, elegant. I practically swoon.

These charming shopkeepers had a special sale last Friday and Saturday. They staged it in an old landmark theater. All time-worn, dark wood, vaulted ceilings huge windows, double door entry. Wonderful building. I visited on Friday. I wasn't looking for anything in particular. Just wanted to be inspired. And my desires were abundantly fulfilled. Tables set for lunch and others for tea, restored wicker setees with lush floral cushions, garden furniture, garden accessories, wall art. It was a feast for my eyes.

The shopkeepers, themselves, were wearing vintage inspired attire. Maxi dresses, lots of lace and florals. And, best of all ! high heels. What devotion to their aesthetic. Some even wore fancy white aprons.

This single sized bed was painted with the white chalk paint and covered with the most elegant white linen vintage bedspread I've ever seen and folded, at the foot of the bed a stunning hand crocheted vintage counterpane. I can just envision this in a little girl's bedroom.

I took some pictures with permission and they have wonderful pictures on their facebook page, too.
https://www.facebook.com/MaisonFleurDeLis

 Luncheon is served ~ I have a hunch that the chairback fabric has handpainted roses

Above is a very old, rusted stove, lovingly transformed into a sofa table by the addition of a glass top.

                                           Musical dress form



As I was meandering through the displays, on a small, white (of course) occasional table were three, 3 piece place settings of a child's tea set in the blue willow pattern. It was priced very reasonably as one dish was cracked. I snapped it up as if it were the last one on earth. I have two dollies who are desperate for a cup of tea and in dire need of a tea set and since there are just two of them, it didn't matter one bit to me that one of the dishes was cracked. I wrapped up the entire third place setting and packed it away. Here are a couple pictures of the dollies enjoying afternoon tea with their new tea set. They are delighted with it.

Vintage Pot Holders

Dictionary.com definition of pot holder: a thick piece of material, as a quilted or woven pad, used in handling hot pots and dishes, an insulated pad for holding hot pots.

These vintage pot holders make a total mockery of that definition. They aren't thick. They aren't insulated. I cannot even imagine pulling a hot pan out of the oven with these little dainties in each hand for protection. Yet in the 1930's, 40's and 50's, this was de rigueur (strictly required, as by etiquette, usage, or fashion.) for what we now call "retro" kitchens.

These "kitchy" linens were crocheted by the homemaker with heavy cotton thread. Oftentimes, they were a gift to her. Perhaps even a wedding shower gift or housewarming gift. They were crocheted with patterns for wee dresses, skirts and bloomers, attaching a small ring with which to hang them on a hook near the stove.

I was fortunate enough to inherit the ones you see here from the home of a 90 plus year old homemaker when she went to be with the Lord. I consider them most precious. Firstly, as a memorial to her to whom they first belonged and secondly to a simpler time gone by.

As you can see, I have given them a place of honor in my home (hanging above my kitchen sink - a place where I spend lots of time). I lovingly laundered them to get them pristine once more. Then I stretched them out on a mini "clothesline" of hemp cord, hung them with tiny clothespins, making of the collection a kitchen garland or banner. Perfect for my "shabby chic" décor.

Apologies for the gray day in the pictures. Nothing I could do to change that. I did give you a shadow of the lamp over my kitchen table, though - in this picture.

5 Minutes for Mom Ultimate Blog Party

This is a milestone for me - joining a "linky" party. Reason being: I am almost completely technology challenged. I did not grow up with a tiny hand-held computer for a toy. I played with dolls, hopscotched, hid and seeked (sought), played school, bathed my dollies, went to the library where I borrowed all the Madeline books, almost never went to the movies, took piano lessons, put on plays with my playmates which we charged our parents to attend and all those sorts of things. We had no computers in school or university. I never even saw one until my kids got an Pong game on a small Atari computer for Christmas one year. And the computer invasion has amplified since then until it has taken over my phone, my TV, my desktop, my lap, my purse, my shopping habits, my recipe collection, my communication with friends and relatives on Face Book and on and on...............

I solicited technical help from my dear sisters on the castteam   http://www.castteametsy.blogspot.com/          (Christian Artists Street Team) on etsy to help me understand just how to get that little pink badge that you see over on the right column of this blog. If you click on that, it will take you for a visit to the http://www.5minutesformom.com/  5 Minutes For Mom blog home page. Two sisters blogging about Mom Entrepreneurs. If that's you, too, pay a visit to their blog. I think you'll like it.

For the "linky" blog party, I am supposed to share a little about what sammysgrammy is all about  https://www.etsy.com/shop/sammysgrammy?ref=si_shop. It all started because I'm a "collector". I collect vintage linen. My collecting fever started when I wanted all handmade lace trimmed napkins for setting my dining table. I didn't want plain linen napkins. I wanted them embellished with the hand crocheted lace made in the 1920's, 30's and 40's.

I began going to estate sales. I discovered plenty of lace trimmed linen. More than I could ever use. I began to re imagine the napkins into other things. Mainly angels. Angels were in vogue then. Everyone wanted them. Either to trim their Christmas trees, or to give as a Christening gift or hostess gift or just to hang on a door knob. I sold a lot of them at craft shows and on consignment at local gift shops. I had not heard of etsy yet.

My estate sale habit got bigger and bigger and I began to branch out to collecting other than just napkins. But I was and still am in love with vintage linen. The more embellished it is the better I like it. Handmade lace, embroidery, fancy needlework, monograms, stitchery, etc. It always gets re imagined and reused to make something that will delight a modern bride or homemaker. Fortunately, I discovered etsy and sammysgrammy was born.

                  This purse is completely re imagined, using vintage handmade lace doilies.

               Banner made with vintage lace trimmed hankies

Bride's wedding garter re imagined from a strip of handmade lace. Interestingly, young girls practiced their crochet skills making strips of lace. The mama's then used these strips to festoon everything linen in the household -  towels, pillowcases, table linens, bed sheets, and petticoats.

It delights me no end, to rescue these treasures at estate sales before they end up in a landfill. Sadly, many have. I delight to remake them into something that can still be used today - almost 100 years later. A true heirloom.

The Walk

I recently spent a week in a warm, sunny clime visiting my granddaughters. The weather is so pleasant there and, oh, so different than where I live (southwest shore of Lake Ontario). Where I live it's still winter. Spring may or may not arrive on or about the end of April. Then you'll see daffodils, tulips, lilacs and all the flowering trees bursting into bloom. But where the granddaughters live, sunny, balmy, blue skies most of the time and never, never any snow.

So little 4 year old and I took a walk one day while her sisters were in school. We walked to the grocery store to purchase supplies so grammy (me) would have materials to make dinner. These are some things we saw on our way.

                                        A Pond

There were two turtles on this pipe with the blue heron but they dove in when they heard us. I wonder if this is the blue heron that made off with the goldfish in my backyard pond.

                       She loved seeing her shadow in the bright sunshine.

Split leaf philodendrem and mother-in-laws tongue grow naturally and heartily outdoors. You'll see them in the landscape plantings around the neighborhood.


Where I live, we keep these tropicals in clay pots INDOORS and they never look as happy as they look in these pics taken in the south.

        She "rescued" a hibiscus from a roadside planting and made like Dorothy Lamour

This beautiful tile mosaic scene is on the wall outside of the grocery store. It was a lovely walk. She got her free cookie at the bakery department, grammy got her dinner fixins' and we made out way back home.

A VISIT TO THE SHOPS ON WEST RIDGE

I give myself presents every once in a while to pamper myself on what I consider to be a “special day”. This past week one of those "special days"occurred . And my gift to myself  was a trip to THE SHOPS ON WEST RIDGE  www.theshopsonwestridge.net  which is a huge, two story space that was once a furniture store but now houses 200 vendor spaces filled with antiques, home accents, artisan works, home furnishings, gifts, treasures and more. It’s a lovely place to get lost in for a couple hours of retail therapy. 

There’s lots of walking. Thank goodness, there is a small restaurant on the premises where you can rest your weary feet before tackling floor #2, you can get a cup of coffee and a sweet while resting. Blow are pics of the "rest area".

I just love this place and always have more favorites than money. Another plus about the Street of Shops is that there is usually some kind of special event going on. At Christmastime, they have a huge Dickens Christmas, with costumed Victorians moving about and scenes from Charles Dickens' “A Christmas Carol” seen through steamy windows into the story scenes.

When I visited last week, the special event was a table setting contest. It was totally charming. Several vendors of vintage china, linens, etc. set their own version of a fancy table. The shoppers voted on which one they liked best.

                            Red toile and red transferware china

                                  Wedgewood Blue

                               Aubergine Glass

      This setting seemed perfect for a Springtime luncheon or perhaps, Easter Brunch                                                                                                                                                                     

                                                                                                                                           

The red toile was my favorite and I voted for it.   

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                       Personal favorites of the day.

The two pictures above are of two things that caught my fancy. The secretary desk is like one I have but this one has this heavenly trompe l'oeil cherub scene painted on it. And the white bedroom - all painted white furnishings, white tulle canopy and white lights - is like I died and went to heaven ~ swooning..........

I did buy myself some tchotchkes. A beautiful clipboard  with a rose encrusted clip and covered in a vintage song bird book cover, I bought a recipe holder, a gift for my sister, and a baby gift.

Baby gift has already been given to the adorable tot. And the last pic is what I purchased for me and my sister. 

             I had a lovely, memorable day and fitting celebration of a special day. 

Bringing a Dream to Life

I had a dream a couple days ago. In it I saw a wrist wrap wallet with several inside compartments. It was a very thin/light, flat, envelope purse that wrapped around the wrist to tuck in your driver’s license, a couple dollars and a car key to wear when you workout at the gym. Or when you run or go to pilates, or have playground duty or to walk the dog.

I made a mock-up out of muslin of what I saw in my dream, worked out the kinks (or so I thought). There were still some kinks  after I made my first one using real purchased fabric and beautiful lining. I had to scrap it. The Velcro was in the wrong place and there was an engineering defect where the flap was concerned. So you can see there’s a bit of a struggle to give birth to a new product.

I hope you didn't notice that I need to change the date on my camera. Get out the instruction book again.

But today I am ready to launch a new etsy offering. I hope I have created something that people need and will purchase.

I have embroidered a little stick figure “runner” on the front face of the purse. 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/181487445/cuff-wallet-workout-wallet-runner?

Exercise - My Least Favorite Thing To Do

Another one of those unpalatable New Year's resolutions. I'm trying to live a more healthy lifestyle. Eating lots of vegetables and fruits, as little processed foods as possible. I'm interested in dropping a few pounds too because I am not at a heart healthy weight. Exercise is the catalyst that brings all these efforts together.

But, I haaaaate exercising. I have a stationary bike in my bedroom that makes a lovely hat rack. It is the most uncomfortable thing in the world to sit on. I even bought a new gel filled seat that doesn't make it any more comfortable. And I don't think my knees like all that pedaling very much either. It's facing the TV so I can zone out while riding but I keep looking at the clock to see if it's time to get off the torture seat.

I do like to walk, though. I understand walking is a very beneficial work out. At the moment, this is what the weather looks like where I live.

            So I won't be doing any outdoor walking until around end of April.

I have, however, devised a plan. I'll walk indoors and take my mind off the distasteful chore by giving myself some "eye candy". Purposefully walking the mall is painless. I don't even know I'm working out. My imagination is busy taking in all the storefronts. After my workout, I can stop and rest on a comfy sofa or chair with a grande' latte' and people watch or read or even knit. This does count as "exercise" even though it's painless.

I have discovered another great place to walk-work-out and I go there often anyway. The supermarket is a great work out venue. Our local ones are huge.

I don't just run in and get what's on my list and run out. I intentionally walk up and down each and every aisle in the supermarket, I'll walk all around the perimeter. If I do spy something on a shelf that I want, I will stop and put it in my cart but I walk many aisles where I know I am not interested in the merchandise. But groceries are not my primary purpose, burning calories is, getting my heart rate up, warming and stretching my muscles, is: the purpose. Once again, eye candy. I'm distracted by the merchandising and not really annoyed by the fact that I'm working out.    

Here is where I worked out today:

This guy just happened to be outside the store. I had my camera with me and asked the officer if I could take his picture. The horse looked right at the camera and smiled for me.

Another venue where I took advantage of the shear size of the indoor track was Hobby Lobby on Saturday. Intentionally, whether or not I was interested in what that aisle held, I walked up and down each and every aisle in the store and around the entire perimeter.

I have never had a good, reliable pedometer. They always go kaflooey on me. But I do think a purposeful walk around one of these stores is at least half a mile. I know the mall is a mile. They have it posted there. Many "exercisers" walk the mall in the early morning before the stores open for the day. The mall opens specifically for this purpose. That's too early for me though. I don't mind dodging crowds.

Another bonus or "plus" to this type of work out is you get to throw all your stuff in a cart and walk around leaning on it. So winter coats, even boots and heavy purses do not weigh you down. You're free to exercise unencumbered.