I saw this car at an autobody shop on the Hill. I’ve always dreamed of owning a British racing green convertible MG.
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My good friend Rachel just visited from Seattle and brought along a hostess gift to die for. She found it on her travels in California at a place called, Francesca’s Collections. As she said, horrible name, but amazing boutique! I’ve hardly taken it off my finger, except to wash dishes and photograph it.   I promised to post the outfits I scored at Jinglebobs and I didn't forget, it just took me awhile. The shirt and belt I already owned but I bought the skirt. I'm into pencil skirts right now. All my A-line skirts have been remade into pencil skirts.  I thought this was a fun little number that I think the owner said was from the '60's.  The blouse is Anthropologie and the skirt is Jinglebob's. I'm pretty sure that it's dupioni silk and I really love the acid yellow color.
I saw this poster in a magazine a long time back and ripped it out and put it in a little file I have of clever ideas to make use of some day. I thought it might be appropriate in every room in my house; maybe become my mantra so it would seep into my very being. Today I found this and could absolutely not pass it up!
The story is that in 1939 Britain was on the brink of war. In anticipation of this the British Government’s Ministry of Information commissioned a series of propaganda posters to reassure the people that they would be protected. The Posters were to be displayed all over the country using only the crown of King George VI. The poster was never officially issued and never displayed across Britain. A crumpled copy of the poster was later found amongst other papers in a book store in Northumberland, England.
I knew the character was a scruffy looking, straight haired, knobby knee-ed thing who I really identified with. I knew she had a wonderful imagination and played the sort of games I liked to play. My favorite childhood book is all spotty in my mind. I remember my mom’s voice telling the story as I stared at the sepia colored illustrations. But that’s about it. I couldn’t remember the title, or the name of the author, or even the scruffy haired girl’s name. When I asked my mom, she knew exactly what I was talking about, but couldn’t remember the details either. Low and behold, as I glanced through the children’s books at my favorite thrift shop (and at that very moment thinking “Dang it! What the heck is the name of that book?? Something about a cardboard box. . . .”) there it was– two copies! Mint condition! Christina Katerina and the Box. I bought both. When I look closely at the pictures I can remember what it was like to see them as a child. To feel like Christina Katerina and I were friends, maybe neighbors, and she had invited me over to play for the day. I’m struck by the fact that it doesn’t look like anything incredible through the eyes of me now - a mom who has read her fair share of children’s literature. It is a sweet little story and cleverly written. . . but to my five year old self, it was AMAZING. So, even if it’s hard to grasp why your kid is dead set on reading that beat up copy of _______ (fill in the blank) for the 600th time, know that through his eyes, that book is another little world to him. A world he will treasure away deep inside himself, perhaps forever. Comment below and you’ll be entered to win my second copy of Christina Katerina and the Box.
 Beautiful fungi Aileen brought Jarrett Taite and Matthias down for the long weekend and I kind of wondered if we would be able to find enough to do now that we don’t have the sights of Seattle to entertain us. But between a bon fire, squirrel shooting, late night games, Saturday farmer’s market, and a package of stamp on tattoos, we had as much together as we always do. The weather wasn’t great but we took advantage of Saturday afternoon’s break from rain to go mushroom hunting north of where we live near Joseph Canyon. After a couple false alarms in which all 7 of us would tear through the forest toward the yells of, “I got one, I found one, everybody come over here!! . . . .oh, wait never mind. . . . it’s a toad stool ” we became expert morel mushroom hunters. These odd little fungi look like small brown Christmas trees with a brain-like texture and grow around Wallowa County in late May and into June. They are a rare delicacy because they can’t be farmed, but instead have to be searched out on the forest floor. After a couple hours of “shrooming” we turned up with 25 morels, roughly a pound which could sell for $20 an ounce! Dried Wild Morel Mushrooms The thrill of the hunt got to us and we started identifying where the fungi liked to grow best. Not too dry, not too wet, with a little undergrowth and m0ss in the surrounding area, and dark rich soil.  The happy hunting party
 Aileen turned out to be a natural morel finder  Jarrett Matt and I (with Jude's help of course) found a small jackpot on an exposed bank of rich soil.  Zac's findings We hiked, discovered streams, animals, birds and lots of poop that Matthias was good enough to identify for us at every point, and then the boys reverted to putting moss up their noses and any other clever place they could think of. Next Jarrett entertained us with his back flips off of stumps. Then everyone decided they were hungry and we headed home to fry up our prize in a little flour and butter to serve with cocktails and soda before dinner. Perfect end to a perfect day.
 The drive home
I can’t remember who first introduced us to Jinglebob’s Vintques, but whoever it was, I’d like to shake her hand. And buy her a drink. And maybe a really nice car too. Jinglebob’s was top on our list when Meghan and Taite came to visit the other week, Meghan was looking for pencil skirts, Taite just wanted something that would fit (she’s in that pesky in between size- not a kid, but not grown up yet either), and I wanted some colorful things for summer. All of us came away with a hefty addition to our wardrobes, and I’m not going to name numbers here, but you might drool on your computer a bit if you knew how little we spent. Jinglebob’s really is the best bargain I’ve ever found in vintage fashion. Clothing of less quality will sell for twice the price in Seattle. Now, you do have to get over the idea that someone else once wore these things, but let me quote this wonder of a book “The Little Guide to Vintage Shopping” on the subject of old clothing:
( This book is a ton of fun, my mom gave it to me in my stocking last Christmas and of course you kind find it online, here) “[Modern] Manufacturers also increasingly rely on spandex-infused fabrics to eliminate the need for a range of sizes, opting instead for the catchall S-M-L. But unless you have a perfect body, stretch alone will never replace a decent fit. Without proper proportions and well-placed seams, shoulders will strain or droop, necklines will gape, waist and bust-lines will ride up or fall down. Vintage clothing by contrast was made in all kind of sizes for the mature figure. With such a range, you’re bound to find nice-fitting clothing in vintage.” I’ve really found this to be true and because of the superior quality, I’m amazed at what good condition the clothing is in even if it’s 60 or 70 years old. Besides that, there is something pretty wonderful about knowing no one else will be wearing that delicate 1950′s sun dress this summer but you. Even if you decide the Rothschild sorbet orange wool coat really isn’t you after all, you can usually re-sell things easily at stores or online. After one winter in said coat I re-sold it to a vintage store in Seattle for almost what I bought it for. If you love finding designer pieces and high end vintage fashion, here’s a great resource for researching brands and the history of different labels. The Vintage Fashion Guild online.  The shop owner is your best friend, ask her for help and you won't be disappointed. She has an incredible eye for what will look good on you.
 Half the fun is poking though all the clothes that she has. Some things are hillariously funny and worth trying on even if you'd never buy them. You might even be suprised.
 It's not just clothing she has but also vintage purses, books, hats, decore and even this darling swim cap. (I wanted to buy it as a hat but couldn't hear a blasted thing with the rubber over my ears!)
 Perfect for a wedding I think.  The details on some of the vintage dresses is just beautiful.
 Meghan desperately wanted this little '50's housewife dress to fit, but alas, both our ribcages were just too big.  The dress had embroidered roses all along the bottom. Really, it was quite adorable. Are you a vintage junkie or an energetic novice to old clothing shopping? We want to hear about your shops for finding the best out there! (That is of course, if you are willing to share your secrets. . . . ) East coast or west, tell us about your favorites! I’m not sure if you’re like me, but I like to see people’s trips documented by the purchases they made along the way. Is it food they love to bring back home, or perhaps clothing and shoes, or maybe postcards or shirts with the names of the most memorable places they saw? So while in D.C. we got to see the usual sights Ford’s Theater, the Magna Carta, and of course the art museum and they were all very wonderful, but I got to shop. I love to shop. I told Erin I wanted to go to the second hand stores in D.C.. I figured I could find some real treasures there. She warned me, though, that they are all pretty scrubby and I have to admit, they were. I did find some things. So I could show you some pictures of the Capital, which you have all seen, but I thought it might be more fun to show you all the things I found, stuffed in my suitcase and still managed to come home 5lbs under the limit.  I found these little vintage cups at the secondhand store and was completely smitten. There are times I wish I was sophisticated and had only white on white, but the truth is I gravitate toward colors. I love them. So I bought these and think they will make lovely children's cups.  I'm particularly taken with this tomato color. Even the writing on the bottom that says "Perma Hue" is in a charming font that I like to look at.  I got this this artist's print at the secondhand store. Originally I thought it would be great in the boys' room but when Eric saw it he wanted it for his new office. So that is where it will be going.  This I found at an antique store while shopping with a friend. She said she had one and loved it, so I thought I had better get one too. It seemed such an odd whimsical piece.  As you can see it is a triptych that opens up to the Virgin Mary with baby Jesus flanked by two angels. It looks Russian Orthodox to me. I was pretty amazed to see that this lowly kitchen was Julia Child’s domain. It is lacking counter space, has just a single sink, pretty minimal storage and not many gadgets and yet what a gourmande. This was definitely the highlight at the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian.
Julia’s pots and pans were nothing like what chefs today have, and generally famous chefs today design, produce and sell their pots, pans and gadgets- Paula Deen, Mario Batali, Rachael Ray, Wolfgang Puck, Jamie Oliver… But not Julia, she bought some copper pots and she was good to go. My recent House Beautiful featured various designers and chefs with their favorite pot or pan. Mostly they were ugly, worn and loved. A few, I think, were trying to hype their own line of cookware. But the old ugly ones you knew were the ones these people could not part with. This beloved pot of mine was a gift from my parents when Andrew and I got married. The colors were very in. So, we’ve had it thirty years and somewhere in the midst of those years it became the popcorn pot. That is all it’s used for now. But every time we have popcorn, this is the pot we use. Like a lot of cooking around our house, popcorn was Andrew’s domain, but lately I have kind of gotten the hang of making it and I’m not left with a cup of old maids in the bottom anymore.
Do you have anything like this, ugly and worn but you love it best and can’t bear the thought of replacing it with new?
 This is my sweet little juicer that I scored at an antique store. It was so pretty that I just wanted it to sit on my shelf. Happily, though, I also use it. I have been wanting to try out a lemon pound cake ever since I began anticipating spring. The problem being that Eric and I couldn’t possibly finish a whole pound cake between the two of us but we had guests and so I finally got to make one. Perhaps the real reason for wanting to make a lemon pound cake is that I get to use my zester and my little juicer. The juicer I found at an antique store and thought it was so adorable that I couldn’t resist buying it. It is true that a fork works just as well to juice a lemon, but why use a fork when you could do it so much more beautifully? I think that every kitchen should be equipped with these two tools. Served with fresh strawberries, whipped cream, and lemon curd, the pound cake was all I had hoped for and more. It was quintessentially spring. (I more than doubled the lemon zest that went into the cake and it was perfect.)  Perhaps a lovely Easter gift? I think these are positively adorable and since I have four little guys I have a wonderful excuse to get all of them. What little boy wouldn’t want to ride an alligator or tame a zebra or elephant? Anwyn is more into the blue spotted pony. I just need to brag for a minute about Zac’s grandmother, my kid’s great grandmother, who we all call Nana. She can turn out unique handmade gift for anyone, from knitted children’s hoodies, to re-usable fabric grocery bags, to full-sized quilts. She’s made things that are are so clever I wonder why I’ve never seen such a thing before. Freyja’s Christmas gift was no exception: a coloring book bag, sized perfectly for a book to fit into, with a pocket for each crayon, all made up in the most adorable vintage fabric ever.
 Freyja is now a traveling artist
I’ve already warned her that I will be beating down her door for sewing lessons soon. Here are some craft patterns for similar little bags.  This is truly a great CD. If you don’t have this CD, you should. The songs are beautifully done by three very talented girls from Canada who sing harmony in these folksy, bluegrassy songs. My two most favorite on the whole disc are Long Time Traveller and The Devil’s Paintbrush Road. I’m planning on getting 40 Days but I have to say I think this is their best. Amazon has all their CD’s with listening clips should you want to sample the music. Andrew will often say to me, “Did you check the label?” ”Course I checked the label.” It’s just that I check the wrong thing on the label, like I read ‘Egg Nog’ clear as day and yes, that’s what I mean to buy; the “fat free” is what escapes my notice so everyone is left to endure egg nog without fat. Yuk. Second time around I grabbed the Pumpkin Spice Egg Nog instead of the plain old regular Egg Nog. Or at a different store I fail to notice that the red cap now means fat-free milk and the blue one means whole milk. I buy the red cap as I always do and end up with blue milk. Yuk again. I buy body lotions for all the females in our family and recognize it for the tube shaped container it’s in at Bath and Body Works only to discover when I lavishly squirt it out that it is instead body wash. That is a soapy sudsy mess when applied in the living room. Underwear for guys- wrong size (but I’m liking the colors) They are L for boys not men and turns out that that matters a lot. T-shirts for Andrew I want to get white, can I manage that? You bet, but at home I realize I bought crew neck and Andrew likes V-neck. So when I want to restock my cold cream I was sort of not surprised to find my hand glomming onto the body cream- in the exact same size and shape container as the cold cream except that the lid is a tinge more blue than green. ’Body,’ ‘Cold’ who’d notice!? But for once a pleasant surprise! I love this stuff, the price is right and the consistency is thick and creamy.
Well… enough about all that purging and not purchasing; let’s go shopping!! Got any children’s birthdays coming up? If your children are into tattoos like my grandchildren are and love to have things drawn all over their hands this idea is perfect. Like smaller temporary tattoos, these hand puppets go on and come off easily with water.
All this fun stuff and a lot more is available at a very clever online shop spoonsisters.com. And the prices are incredibly reasonable! |
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Did you ever make these when you were in grade school out of real eggs? We planted grass seeds and waited until our eggs grew green hair. Now you can kick it up a notch with these cute little egg heads. What a fun little guest to have sitting on a windowsill.
I had one of these pencils when I was a kid and loved writing with it.