A taste of Spring!

We have had such nice weather the past few days, in the 70s. Today is still warm, but overcast and drizzley. So, nice weather means no work! Yeah! At least no indoor work. Saturday, my Dad put up my birdhouse in the front yard - see photo to the left here. It's a big one, on a ten foot pole, hopefully some little birds will move in soon.

I spent some time raking a ton of leaves out of the garden area out back and a little out front. I paid for it later in the day when my back and leg hurt. It was just too nice to set inside at a computer. Although Spring is really still a few weeks away, I couldn't help dragging out all of my little Fairies and garden things and setting them out around the yard. I also bought a shephards hook to hang one of my birdfeeders. I thought the squirrels wouldn't be able to get up the pole, but I was wrong. By the end of the day there was a squirrel hanging upside down on the side of the house eating up the sunflower seeds, with another squirrel on the ground eating up whatever he dropped. Here is that cute little cottage feeder, I bought it online at Christmas.

Some other things out in the yard - a cute bulldog welcome - and the bulldog garden stake was a gift from one of my vintage friends when our old gal Ms. Fatty died. He's not stuck on the ground though, he has a special place on the railing right next to our door.

I bought this cute windchime from Collection Etc. It's made of floral granitewear (of course they were all facing the opposite way when I took the photo) It has silverware hanging from it too, and it's pretty big.

And one more bulldog in the yard (actually there are a few more) but this is a new one, a weathervane. I didn't want it on the roof, because I wouldn't be able to look out the window and see it. So we drilled a hole in the railing of the back porch and put it out there (even though the house will block some of the wind) I'm not really interested in which way the wind is blowing, I just like the bulldog!

Project Runway - Wow, Chloe won! I was surprised at that. Each collection had some nice pieces, but I generally don't like runway clothing anyway, so I guess that I'm not a very good judge. I think they chose Chloe because she has more design experience with her own shop and she'll probably be easier to work with. She seemed like a fun girl and she is talented, so I'm glad that she ended up winning.

Altered Vintage Theme Book - well, we were off to a bumpy start on this project because 2 books were late/missing. But now I think everyone is back on schedule. We mail out our current books on the 15th, so I'll have a new one to work on by the end of the week. Here are the 2 pages that were done in my book (1920-40s Lingerie & Summer Wear)

Turkey update - we broke the count record this week, we had 24 out in the yard one day. A few of the boys face off and strut, which is really cool to see them with their feathers all spread out. Must be because Spring is coming, they're showing off for the girls. The girls eat, and then one day they all layed down in the leaves to rest for awhile. A few took dirt baths, throwing dirt all over themselves. One day the crowd came late and the sun was setting. Instead of walking off into the woods, they all flew up into the trees in our backyard and roosted there for the night! Very cool, have you ever seen a turkey fly? It seems impossible, and I don't know how they manage to hang onto the tree branches all night. But they were still there at sunrise the next morning.

Bye for now, Carol

The internet really is a great way to find stuff that you want! I run a website about the history of a little shore town called Strathmere. A man who had an old photo album was trying to identify the photos in it. No dates, nothing written in the album, but a building in one of the photos had a sign that said 'West Jersey Cottage' on it. So he searched that name online, and found my Strathmere website. The West Jersey Cottage was an old hotel in the town, and our house was actually once part of the hotel, it was built as an annex to the hotel in 1902. So this very kind guy took the time to scan all of the photos in the album and sent them to me, so that I could use them on my Strathmere website. The photos are really a fantastic find, they were taken around 1912-14. They show several men fishing and hunting, and they stayed at the West Jersey Cottage, so there are several photos of it and our house too. One of the photos was of this very fashionable young lady. She is standing on a walkway that use to run between the hotel and our house. You can see the hotel on the left, and our house would have been on the right. In the background is the old boathouse, which has now been converted to a 2 room efficiency cottage. WWII and a hurricane in 1944 put the hotel out of business. The larger hotel building was moved up the street, and our house remains in the same place.
So I spent several days this week getting these photos and a bunch of others ready to put up on my Strathmere site, putting off my money-making work until the weekend, typing like mad on Sunday to get the vintage clothing update ready for Monday. I also moved both my website and the Strathmere site to bigger servers. Zoinks

Cute stuff that you really do not need to buy alert - Collections Etc - this place has the cutest little junk for your house and garden. Everything is $14.99 too. I've bought several cute fairy garden things from them over the years. I just bought this cute set of birdfeeders that look like cattails, they are stakes that you stick in the ground and seeds go in the tops. I also bought a windchime that looks like old granitewear. Do not go there if you are weak for cute unnecessary stuff like me!

Some fun items that I spotted on ebay -
Cute guitar print 50s dress - with a 34 inch waist
Watering can circle skirt
Sea Shore border print skirt
Owls in the Trees skirt


Project Runway - well, I had been thinking that Daniel was going to win, but after seeing last week's episode (and searching online for photos of their fashion shows) I think that Santino is going to win. It looks like he really listened to the judges about toning down his designs, because his collection actually looks very nice, nice enough to be the best.

What happened in the last 15 minutes of the Gilmore Girls? I missed it. I missed the previous week too because I had a migraine. The last I saw, Rory was pouting (what's new?) because she found out that her obnoxious boyfriend hooked up with other girls while they were broken up and Lorelei volunteered to babysit Christopher's daughter. Gilmore Girls is one of the few primetime shows that I watch regularly, but I really don't like either of the Gilmore Girls. I find them both very immature and spoiled. How old is Rory now? I think she can stop with the baby talk, and does she have to succeed at eveything she does? Oh, and poor Rory can't tour the Orient this Summer because her boyfriend actually has to get a job. If I had to choose between the two of them, I would choose Lorelei, because she's less annoying, but really very selfish and immature. So your parents tried to control your life when you were 16 and pregnant, get over it! So why do I watch this show if I don't like the 2 main characters? I love everyone else on the show. I love Mr. & Mrs. Gilmore, Luke, Lane (hey Rory, remember your best friend) and Lane's band, and all the kooky people who live in the town. L&L are alright really, they just really bug me sometimes.


Carol

I promise, no turkey pictures this week!
I'm really looking forward to Spring now, I'm tired of dressing in jeans and pajama bottoms and worn out pilly t-shirts. I want to shave my legs and start wearing some dresses and fun stuff. I don't wear much vintage in the Winter, because I am usually just working around the house. Not that I go out much more in the Summer, but nicer weather calls for a little more thought in my dressing. Now that I live closer to the shore, I want to expand my Summer wardrobe, tropical prints, capri pants, fun sandals. I haven't made much progress on that yet.







I spotted Barbie in this cute outfit and thought it was fun, it's a special edition designed by Lilly Pulitzer. That maxi gown looks good on Barbie, and I love her purse! This is how I want to dress this Summer, maybe not in a maxi gown though. Lilly is a little bright for my taste though. You have to be very happy to wear bright colors like that, and I'm usually crabby. But you get the idea, Summery, fun, headed to the beach.







I've kept several cute handbags from the vintage lots that I bought just before Christmas. I usually don't keep alot of stuff for myself (my closet is not overbrimming with vintage, as you might imagine) But sometimes I cannot resist! Here are a few keepers -

It's a bit of a squeeze to get my wallet in these first two little guys, but so cute!














Ahh, Summer, when will Summer be here! You can never have too many big straw bags.















That turquoise one is a little wild for me, but I'm going to give it a try (If I end up thinking that it's a little too bold for me, you'll see it up for sale on the website!)


















Project Runway & Project Jay - I finally saw a repeat of the two shows this weekend. The first airing is usually a little too late at night for me, so I have to wait for the repeat showings. So, the reunion show for Project Runway, who is more bizarro Lupe or Zulima? Lupe seemed like she had a few too many drinks before the show and Zulima was going on about her alter ego, who she says comes out whenever anyone gets in her way. Please, let some of the air out of your inflated ego and be for real. Saying that you have an 'alter ego' is no excuse to be rude and cruel to people.
And the Project Jay show, was about last year's winner. I really like Jay, he seems like a cool guy, a little biting sometimes, but funny and down to Earth. I think hearing the comment from his father about him being a sissy may give some insite to his life and why he bites sometimes. He turned down the 100K prize to try to start his clothing line on his own terms. It seems that whoever gives out the 100K has alot of control over the designs and the business, and I imagine that they take some of the profit too. So apprarently Jay didn't like the control factor and wants to do it on his own. It seems like he is struggling though, but maybe Project Runway wanted the show to look that way, kind of 'you'll get nowhere without us' I hope he succeeeds.

I finished the 2 page layout for my first altered book! The theme was 'It's a Lucy Thing' and here it is -

I did a black lace background with a little ruffle down one edge. Then I did kind of a mosaic with an early photo of Lucy. Then accented it with some little purple flowers and pink sequins. The quote is “Luck? I don't know anything about luck. I've never banked on it and I'm afraid of people who do. Luck to me is something else: Hard work - and realizing what is opportunity and what isn't.” and the quote is printed on a photo of Lucy that I made negative in Adobe editor. That's hard to see because of the glare of the flash. Click the image for a larger view.

Hey, this blog is kind of fun if I actually put some time into it! Well, back to work, non-paying work, I have to move my Strathmere website to a larger space. Then I have the boring task of scanning some old photos to upload to that website. I bought this great scrapbook from 1932, of a girl's school that spent the Summer in Strathmere. It has some great old photos.

Bye for now, Carol