Vintage Obsessions

 I am such a sucker for vintage linens so when I came across this little resale shop on a recent visit with my girls at their college, I couldn't resist grabbing this tea table cloth.  It's ALL hand sewn and embroidered . . . hemmed by hand and the rickrack applied by hand!

Then there was this lovely pillowcase, also completely hand stitched, hemmed and the lace applied by hand.  I don't know what kind of fabric it's made of but to me, it feels like butter! Amazing that people actually MADE their own pillowcases at one time.

A pretty doily never gets past me.  The hand worked edging always amazes me.

My latest obsession:  Vintage salt shakers.  The three crystal ones WERE going in my Etsy shop but never made it, nor could I give up these silver ones with "Chicago, IL" on them!

 But, I do have two sets of these adorable, tiny cut glass ones in my Etsy Shop but I don't imagine they'll last long!  The linens are also available there so stop over and don't forget to check out my sale section.  If you purchase from there, let me know you are from my blog and you'll be entered to win a $10.00 gift certificate to my shop.
And finally . . . my most favorite purchase of all . . .something I've been looking for for a long, long time . . .

 A pair of vintage sunglasses!!  And as if that weren't good enough . . . they're PINK and came with a matching case!

So what are YOUR vintage obsessions?

Fall Cleaning Sale and Give Away!

I'm having a sale in my Etsy shop . . . many of the items on my "Sale Page" are discounted 20% or more (price shown is the discounted price).

 I have several of these repurposed vintage ink wells

Repurposed vintage bottles and more!

Each person who places an order will be entered to win a $10.00 gift certificate to use in my store.  Thanks for stopping by!

 

 

Treasures . . . In More Ways Than One

 

Every once in awhile you find a place where you feel like you've stepped back in time . . . and you just want to park yourself there for awhile and drink it all in.  That's how I felt last weekend when while visiting our daughters at college, we stumbled upon a tiny shop that said, "Quilts and Resale".  The store was PACKED with great treasures (which I'll show you in a second!) so as we dug through tables, boxes, bins, shelves, we piled . . . and piled . . . and piled our purchases on a table for this dear lady to add up and box.  Here is some of what I came away with and all of these are listed in my Etsy shop with more to come!

 After researching, I found this is a vintage Lefton porcelain cigarette box with matching ash trays.

 This darling little cup and saucer still have their original stick on labels on both the cup and saucer.  They were produced in occupied Japan.

 A two yard piece of flat lace from a manufacturer in New Jersey

 Vintage Bridge Tallies and Score Pad - these are lovely with such beautiful details and printed in Italy.

 I adore vintage jewelry and it's hard to part with these! They are seed beads that were strung on string and then wrapped around wooden balls -- not a single bead is missing!

 I love milk glass and this pedestal bowl is another I've added to my shop showing how I use these to store earrings (hung in the lace openings) and jewelry in the bowl. SOLD

Now are you ready for this?  This sweet gal is 93 years old; she completed her 1000th quilt in June of this year; her quilts are in 37 states and 4 countries; one of her quilts is in the estate of Red Skelton (if you're under 50, google that one!).  I wish I had gotten her name and photographed more of the shop but I was just overwhelmed by it all! A treasure of a lady with a store brimming with treasures -- what a lovely time we had!  I have SO much more to list so check back often as I hope to get them added in the next week or so.

If you're ever in Oquawka, Illinois, stop in for a real trip down memory lane!  The resale shop and town are right on the Mississippi River -- it's a beautiful, little spot (especially with my hubby and girls there!)

Linking to these parties this week . . .

The DIY Showoff   http://diyshowoff.com/

Knick of Time Tuesday http://knickoftimeinteriors.blogspot.com/

Marvelous Mondays http://www.jamscorner.com/

Uncommonly Yours http://www.uncommondesignsonline.com/

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/

Cedar Hill Ranch http://cedarhillranch.blogspot.com/

Savvy Southern Style http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/

Ivy and Elephants http://ivyandelephants.blogspot.com/

From My Front Porch to Yours http://frommyfrontporchtoyours.blogspot.com/

The Brambleberry Cottage http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/

French Country Cottage http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/

The Charm of Home http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/

At the Picket Fence http://www.atthepicketfence.com/

While He Was Napping http://whilehewasnapping.blogspot.com/

Funky Junk Interiors http://www.funkyjunkinteriors.net/

Sisters of the Wild West http://www.sistersofthewildwest.blogspot.com/

Under the Table and Dreaming http://www.bystephanielynn.com/

Guilt-Free Pumpkin Chai and Bread

 

 Sadly, summer is gone and there's not much to like about this cold, rainy, blustery weather we're having in the Midwest today except for . . . Homemade Pumpkin Chai Tea and Pumpkin Bread!

I found this super easy recipe from Barnes & Noodles although mine is a fat free version as is the pumpkin bread.

To make the chai you will combine 1 1/2 c brewed, black tea (I made mine extra strong but you can brew it to your taste.) and 4 c milk (I used skim).  The original recipe calls for 4 T canned pumpkin -- I added about 1/2 c because I wanted more pumpkin flavor.  Add the pumpkin, 4 T sugar, 2 t vanilla and 1 t pumpkin pie spice.  I didn't have the ready-made spice so I made my own.

4 T cinnamon, 1 t ground nutmeg, 1 t ground ginger and 1 t ground allspice.

Simmer in your crockpot for 2 hours on low and then serve with fat free whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon and you have a totally guilt-free drink, perfect for a chilly day!

The pumpkin bread was adapted from a recipe I had and I just changed it up to make it healthier.  HONESTLY -- I could not be happier with the taste and texture -- trust me, you will NOT miss the extra fats!

Healthy Pumpkin Bread

2 c all purpose flour

1 1/2 c whole wheat flour

1 c sugar

2 t baking soda

1 t baking powder 

1 t lite salt

1 t cinnamon

1 t nutmeg

1 t allspice

1/2 t cloves

1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin

1 c skim milk

3/4 c egg substitute

1/4 c canola oil

1/2 c plain, fat free yogurt

1/2 c chopped walnuts (optional) 

Heat oven to 350°F. Spray bottoms only of two 9x5-inch loaf pans* with cooking spray. In large bowl, mix flours, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves until well blended. In medium bowl, mix pumpkin, milk, egg product and oil and yogurt until well blended.Add walnuts.  Stir into flour mixture until well blended. Spoon batter evenly into pans. Bake 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Loosen sides of loaves from pans; remove from pans to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

*I used two, 8" round cake pans.  These only took 45 minutes to bake.  I like the presentation of the slices using round pans.

Linking to these parties this week . . .

The DIY Showoff   http://diyshowoff.com/

Knick of Time Tuesday http://knickoftimeinteriors.blogspot.com/

Marvelous Mondays http://www.jamscorner.com/

Uncommonly Yours http://www.uncommondesignsonline.com/

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/

Cedar Hill Ranch http://cedarhillranch.blogspot.com/

Savvy Southern Style http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/

Ivy and Elephants http://ivyandelephants.blogspot.com/

From My Front Porch to Yours http://frommyfrontporchtoyours.blogspot.com/

The Brambleberry Cottage http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/

French Country Cottage http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/

The Charm of Home http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/

At the Picket Fence http://www.atthepicketfence.com/

While He Was Napping http://whilehewasnapping.blogspot.com/

Funky Junk Interiors http://www.funkyjunkinteriors.net/

Sisters of the Wild West http://www.sistersofthewildwest.blogspot.com/

Under the Table and Dreaming http://www.bystephanielynn.com/

Decorating With Hedge Apples

 These crazy 'apples' have always fascinated me and this year, I decided to add them to my fall decorations . . . after all . . . they were free, picked up by the side of the road in our town on a stretch of public property so you can't beat the price!  I did a little research on them and found they are actually called Osage Oranges.  They are not edible nor are they poisonous.  In reality, it seems they don't serve much of a purpose except as a delightful treat for squirrels. HOWEVER,

I found dozens and dozens of testimonials where people claim they completely eliminated spiders and other insects from their homes!  Most people put them in styrofoam containers and leave them around the basement, even after they've turned brown and soft and claim they never saw another spider in their homes!  I must admit, I'm going to try it as just posting the picture above made me squirm!

The other most common use for these is decorating with them and having an abundance of them, I put them just about everywhere including some on my front porch for the squirrels to enjoy.

In my bicycle on the wall . . .

In my 'nook' in the living room . . .

Yep, pretty much everywhere!

I also got a chance to use some of the spindles I picked up months ago at a junk yard for about 1.00 each.  I stapled some fall 'foliage' on them and added them to my nook display.

Here's a little secret . . . I don't REALLY think autumn is delicious (I'm a summer-lover!) but I love this quote so I printed and stamped this to go inside the frame in my nook.

Do YOU have Hedge Apples where you are and have you used them to decorate?

Linking to these parties this week . . .

The DIY Showoff   http://diyshowoff.com/

Knick of Time Tuesday http://knickoftimeinteriors.blogspot.com/

Marvelous Mondays http://www.jamscorner.com/

Uncommonly Yours http://www.uncommondesignsonline.com/

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/

Cedar Hill Ranch http://cedarhillranch.blogspot.com/

Savvy Southern Style http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/

Ivy and Elephants http://ivyandelephants.blogspot.com/

From My Front Porch to Yours http://frommyfrontporchtoyours.blogspot.com/

The Brambleberry Cottage http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/

French Country Cottage http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/

The Charm of Home http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/

At the Picket Fence http://www.atthepicketfence.com/

While He Was Napping http://whilehewasnapping.blogspot.com/

Funky Junk Interiors http://www.funkyjunkinteriors.net/

Sisters of the Wild West http://www.sistersofthewildwest.blogspot.com/

Under the Table and Dreaming http://www.bystephanielynn.com/