Happy Easter

Wishing you all a very Happy and Blessed Easter!

Jennifer ♥

Vintage Beauty

Our cottage is a hodge podge of vintage and new items. I have a soft spot for old things. Things that have stood the test of time and may or may not be used for their original purpose in our house. For instance, I have an old bon-bon sweets box that now holds laundry items and another vintage box that was re-purposed by a previous owner to become a tool box, but has now been re-purposed by us as a CD holder.

When I came across this post, it made me smile. I love to see old things gain a new life and not only that, but have a life where they are enjoyed every day and not tucked away. This has inspired me as one of the many things I collect are old linens, I have a few that would look absolutely beautiful on a lamp shade. So, now, I just need to find the right one!

To see Annalea's complete lampshade how-to click here.

Rides A Bike

Rides A Bike, is fast becoming one of my favourite sites to visit! Maybe it is because of my love of nostalgia and the romance of old Hollywood? Maybe it is because I want a bike so badly of my own to tootle away on. Whatever the reason, here are just a few images from their site that have brought a smile to my face, I hope they bring one to yours too!

The "hills are alive" with the fact that it is Wednesday! And that means we are almost riding into the weekend...

(1.Carol Lombard 2.Genevieve Bujold 3.Ginger Rogers 4.Glenn Ford & Rita Hayworth 5.Grace Kelly & Jimmy Stewart 6.Sean Connery 7.The cast from The Sound of Music)

Merry Christmas

MERRY CHRISTM♥S

(Image: Christmastime in Pixieland, found on Flickr)

Santa Claus is on His Way...

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.

I am going to bed extra early tonight and I will do my best to sleep if the excitement of tomorrow doesn't get to me first! I wish you all a Very Merry Christmas Eve. 

(Image from Christmas in the Country, by: Barbara Collyer & John R. Foley, 1950)

A Christmas Hat

Now, who doesn't want a Christmas hat that looks like this? What a hoot! In my Nana's Altar Society there is a very lovely woman, named Dottie, who always wears the most beautiful vintage hats.

My favourite is one she wears every year to church at Easter time, it is like an Esther Williams swimming cap. It sits close to her head and is covered in multicoloured flowers. I just bet, she would have had a hat like this in her collection!

(Image found on Flickr)

Turkey Day

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Blackbird LetterPress

I adore Blackbird Letterpress.  This is a company that I have been paying attention to for a little while now. Their cards are simply beautiful. Maybe, I am so in love with it all, because I did printmaking in College?

I have an appreciation for running things through a press, for pressing patterns into paper and the feel of it in your hands as it comes out the other side. The sensation in your fingertips as they gingerly touch the depressions in the paper. Or, what it feels like to peel back the layers of padding, to see how your print has turned out, after inking it for the first time.

I love paper, I love pressed paper, it gives your chosen item a vintage air and these cards certainly have that.

The yellow grizzly bear looks as if he has crawled out of the pages of your Grandmother's photo album as a memento she stuck in from their family Summer trip to Yellowstone. There is just such a simplistic beauty to these cards. I don't know if I would be able to give them away to someone; they would have to be another lover of paper items, like me.

I plan on getting a few of these and framing them to hang around my house, because one's house should never be without a fox and a grizzly bear adorning the walls!

(All images copyright: Blackbird Letterpress)

Halloween Kitsch

I was perusing the lovely Danielle's site: Thompson Family Blog the other day, when I spotted this:

Now, if this colourful retro Halloween set-up doesn't make you smile, I don't know what will! It is deliciously kitsch!

(Images copyright Thompson Family Blog)

What's for Lunch?

In keeping with my Back-to-School theme and the oilcloth lunch bags I wrote about the other day, I thought I would do a post on the ever important lunch box! This was one of the most crucial decisions made at the beginning of the school year! Which one did you choose?

My sister lives near a wonderful hole-in-the-wall restaurant with sandwiches to die for and it is completely filled with treasures. One of the many is a collection of lunch boxes, one of my favorite being a vintage Mary Poppins tin lunch box, and I know I would have chosen that one if I had it as an option, the pinks and blues in it are so happy.

I used to have a She-Ra lunch box one year, she was just so cool, and I had a plaid tin one with a little matching thermos. Some of my husband's favorites were his Transformers, Star Wars and the most important of all a He-Man Master of the Universe lunch box, even then we were meant to be together, me with She-Ra & him with He-Man.

I love the old tin boxes they are so much nicer than the plastic ones today, and so much more durable! I think your lunch just tasted better out of the box, especially if it included a smiley face note from your Mom, and an oatmeal cream pie like mine would!

I could have used one of my Mom's notes today, it has been a long week, but I got something better; a wonderful Back-to-School package from her that was a treasure trove of delights! Did you have a favorite lunch box?

*The image of the 3 women is a Flickr picture found on dlundbech's Flickr page, the woman in the middle is Ana Grimshaw and this photo was taken around 1900 in Vermont. I have no idea who Ana Grimshaw is, but she was beautiful, vivacious, and has breathtaking Anne of Green Gables Gibson Girl hair. She looks like a hell of a gal to have a picnic with!

(All images found on Flickr)

The "Bobbi"

I think we might all need need a new "do" for summer and this car to go along with it, what do you think ladies? I'm loving this Rosemary Clooney, "White Christmas" bob, too cute!

Mr. Owl

"Hoot-Hoot!", said Mr. Owl, who would like to be hoot-hooting on my kitchen counter filled with oatmeal cookies in his tummy!

I love this 1970's-ish orange owl cookie jar from Anthropologie. He has a lot of personality. I keep searching for the right cookie jar to put in our kitchen.

Something vintage, something cute or cool or retro looking that brings with it a bit of charm and character and hopefully a story or two to tell about all the hands, big and little, that reached inside for a cookie or three.

(Wise Ol' Cookie Jar image copyright Anthropologie, embellished by -  J. Michie)

Woo-Hoo!

Thank God it is Wednesday! That means we are halfway to the weekend and I am ready for that to be here right now, this has already been a roller-coaster week and we are only 3 days in...

(Image by Philippe Halsman, embellished by J. Michie)

Recycled Vintage

I love the idea of re-using things, even if you are using them for something other than their original intended purpose.

There are a few vintage pieces in our house that are used in a new way, like my Victorian pine cutlery tray; it has become the catch-all "pot" on the table for scissors, tape, pens; an old train box now holds cds and a vintage sweets crate is now the holder of my laundry items...

I have had this little project idea on the back-burner for awhile now, I can't seem to find the right metal tray, but I know the one for me is out there.

In the mean time I thought I would share the Farm Chicks project idea with you that I want to do. Enjoy!

(Image and directions copyright Country Living Magazine - The Farm Chicks)

Heart Day Countdown

There are only 13 more days to go until Valentine's! YIPPEE! I love celebrating Valentine's, especially the fun of it when you were little. We made shoebox "mailboxes" and got to decorate them in our classroom. Covering them with Valentine's colored construction paper and hearts and glitter...

My mom would take us shopping and we got to pick out what box of Valentine's we wanted to give. One year I picked a box of retro Valentine's cards to give away. The box was filled with cute cowboys, puppies, girls cooking in the kitchen. I loved the designs. Maybe that really started my love of vintage, I don't know? But, I have always collected vintage postcards and I have a nice collection of Valentine's & Christmas ones I dot around the house.

I would work hard one evening writing out my little cards for my classmates and then we had a morning where we all walked around and deposited them in the owner's mailbox.

Oh! the anticipation of pulling open the wee door to see what awaited us inside. Some people would have cards that held heart shaped lollipops and I savored it as I worked at my little desk, legs swinging underneath.  Sucking away until all the white writing came off... Or, I would be munching away on a little box of love hearts, reading the messages on top (because those are the rules) before I popped them in my mouth!

Two Crazy Crafters have been doing a really nice job of putting up all kinds of vintage Valentine's images and they have a list of projects to create with them as well. So, if you are looking for a little vintage Valentine inspiration, check them out.

Ice N' Spice N' Everything Nice

I love vintage Ads, especially Christmas ones. I have a fantastic Christmas Schweppes Ad that hangs in my kitchen and I smile every time I see it.

I found this old A&P Ad in Found in Mom's Basement for spiced ice cubes.  I am not sure what I would think of my ice tea once the cubes started to melt, with all the little bits floating around in it, but, I love the idea of these ice cubes.

It is probably because of the adorable little girl in her Eskimo coat showing us the recipe. This would be a fun thing to make for your girlfriends at a Christmas lunch or just to have in the house when Holiday visitors drop by unexpectedly.

Still Snowing

Well it is still snowing. We have bundled up and stayed cozy and warm tonight inside. We have about 6 inches at the moment.Will it be a White Christmas? I hope so! The wind is whistling away and the snow is swirling around in mini white tornadoes.

The wind is so strong it sounds like the snow storm in Rudolph, I am waiting for the shingles to start peeling off and presents to go rolling by as the wrapping is torn off of them.

I love these frosty wintery nights and the unique peace that a snowfall brings.  It seems to nestle all the houses in a blanket of love and brings a gentle quiet to the world.

(Illustrations by Richard Scarry)

School's out for Summer

Summer is finally here in"Merry Ole' England"! School is officially out for good and it will be a long time till September 1st comes knocking at the door!

Summer holds so much more promise; staying in bed later to read a good book, going on long walks in the evening to see if we can catch the montjacs going to take a drink from the pond, breathing in the calmer atmosphere that generally seems to be around and a house not covered in papers to be graded and reports to be filed. With a glass of wine in hand I raise it to SUMMER and all that it holds!

If you like the picture posted above, please visit: Victoria Leslie, who sells vintage children's book images from her website. The illustration is by the English Artist Molly Brett