A study in black and white...

black and white cat shaped tin boxes that recently sold in the Etsy shop. (I had a hard time parting with these beauties, being the cat lover that I am)...

a vintage copy of Little Women, a beautiful prismed candle holder (thank you, Jill!), and a button vase on the mantel...

my lady head planter, 1950's hat, and ceramic hand (all thrift store finds), also on the mantel...

some old family photos (I love the dated short 50's bangs in one and the old 40's car and legs in the other!) along with a vintage wedding cake topper from the same era...

a couple of vintage Bibles and an old religious statue (all originally intended for the Etsy shop, but I'm having a hard time parting with them)...

the St. Francis of Assisi wind chimes that hang in my office window, again, thrift store decor...

Baby (literally the baby of the family) taking over 18-year old Tiger's bed...

and Tiger trying to decide whether to let Baby stay or not...(she did. such a good Tiger girl.)

Pop over to see all the other Show and Tell Friday participants at My Romantic Home.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Donna

Thrift store bowls and platters

We love salads and I serve most of them in the bowls and platters I've picked up at thrift stores...

Tonight we had a simple tossed salad, served in this large glass bowl. Perfect for salads - wide but not too deep.

On Father's day we had a hummus, artichoke, tomato and romaine salad with black olives and mozzarella cheese...

... served on this gorgeous blue and white platter.

I love the gold trim and design against the blue and white. The fact that it's worn is a bonus.

Bon Appetit! Be sure to visit My Romantic Home to see Cindy's gorgeous Show & Tell post and to find a list of all the other bloggers participating!! .... Donna

A little brass "book" bird,...

... bought during a day trip to Connecticut, looks right at home on the stack of books I also purchased that same day.


Last month I took Courtney to Connecticut for a weekend visit with a college friend. After dropping her off, Amanda and I set out to find a few junktique shops before heading home.


How lucky we were to find Blueberry Hill Antiques in Old Saybrook, CT! That's where I found my little brass bird (marked down to $1.50) and the majority of the books I bought. Most of them were from the FIFTY CENTS PER BOOK ROOM (actually, it might have been 25 cents - at least that's what Amanda remembers! I meant to post about this trip over a month ago, but with all that has happened I just haven't had time. Scary that in a month's time I can't remember if they were 25 or 50 cents!) I'm not sure if we hit a special sale or if those low prices are ongoing in that room, but we had a blast looking through the shelves of books!


This is my favorite - Little Miss Joy by Emma Marshall. It was originally published in 1892, but for the life of me I cannot find the copyright date in my edition. In doing a little on-line research I discovered that copyrights were not required prior to 1900, so I'm guessing this was printed some time in the 1800's...


I love it when the used books I purchase have inscriptions (everyone had beautiful penmanship back then!)... This faint pencil inscription reads, "Agnes Paulson, A Merry Xmas + Happy New Year. Your Aunt."


A pressed clover marks pages 94/95. Is that as far as Agnes got? Or does it mark a favorite passage, I wonder? The other books I purchased were One Jump Ahead, c1956; Lovely is the Lee, c 1945; The Cardinal's Snuff Box, c 1900; and My Friend Flicka, c1941 (that was one of my favorite TV shows from the 60's... yes, I was a complete horse nut)...


And look at these yummy children's books I found! The Lord's Prayer (copyright 1940), Hello, Joe (copyright 1961), and Through the Picture Frame (copyright 1944). "Nutty Sam" is the squirrel's name in Hello, Joe! (I think he lives in my yard now!)

And just look at this illustration from the Lord's Prayer book where the little boy is offering Sammy a peanut.... isn't it the sweetest?

One Jump Ahead, a book about horses by Pat Smythe, belonged to "Mimi Spencer" at one time, and here is the inscription in her book, dated June 1958, fifty-one years prior to me purchasing it.

I'll share some photos of Blueberry Hill Antiques in an upcoming post. It's an adorable shop and if I ever find myself back in Old Saybrook, CT, I'll definitely be popping in again (as well as another shop, Saybrook Recycled Furniture, Etcetera, that we didn't get to spend nearly enough time in before heading home!)...

Have a great week, everyone!

Donna

My embellished Mary print - a vintage treasure...

Last year, during my search for the elusive Staffordshire dogs, I stumbled upon this vintage framed Mary print at a junktique shop.... I have a great fondness and love for all things Mary. Some day I'll share my small collection of Mary statues and art...

(click any photos to enlarge)

This was so different from anything I'd ever seen before. Some very creative soul had hand-painted a delicate floral border around a black and white print of Mary and then glued robin's egg blue crinkled paper around the print and painted border, giving it a lovely dimensional effect.


I love everything about this image - the serene expression on Mary's face, the delicate position of her hand, the flowers in the background, the overall simplicity of the design...


More than likely the person who handpainted the border is the same person who hand lettered "The Power of the Agnus Dei... To help efface sin... To guard against a sudden or unprovided death. To turn away the thunderbolt" below the artwork.



The frame itself is old and the back is quite primitive, with small nails holding everything intact.

Mary hangs among family photos in a corner of my office. (I know I have way too many things hanging on the wall, but in my office I tend to let my packrat mentality take over)... And in case anyone is wondering... yes, that is a framed photo of Colin Firth but no, he's not family. It was a gag gift from someone who knew that Darcy (of both Pride & Prejudice and Bridget Jones's Diary) makes my heart go pitter-patter!

I'd love it if you shared some of your favorite actors since I'm the odd duck among my friends, who are all huge Johnny Depp fans... I can't possibly be the only one who prefers a clean cut image to a bad boy image... can I???

And don't you just love Trish from Clean House?? Oh my gosh, she's such a hoot! I love that show, and everyone on it... (although I don't think Mark would care too much for the look of this cluttered corner!)

Be sure to head over to Smiling Sally's blog to see her Blue Monday listing and to find a list of all the other blue-loving bloggers! Have a great week, everyone!

Donna

Stripes and Flowers - Pink, of course!

Spotty asked if he could show you this little throw that we use on our loveseat.


It's fitting that he should show it to you since it covers up the slipcovered seating area that's all pulled from "pussyfooting" kitty claws...


I found this at a second-hand shop when I switched over from prim to cottage...


It's actually a reversible, ruffled baby crib comforter... (I don't remember sweet little crib comforters like this back when my girls were babies!!)

I have always loved stripes and florals together, and the colors in this comforter are cottage perfect!!

I think I'd use it even if I wasn't trying to hide kitty damage!

Be sure to visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound to see her Pink Saturday post and to find a list of all the other pink-loving bloggers who are participating in today's Pink Saturday!!

Donna

Office bookcase...

I've spent some time organizing my home office this past week, including the top of my bookcase... Some photos were taken today, some last night (the lighting difference between day and night photos is amazing!)...

The bookcase itself is a $5 junktique find (the shelves are packed with books and 'stuff,' so I'll spare you looking at my stash and just show you the top!)... I fell in love with this etched mirror at Target several years ago, so of course it came home with me; the beautiful beaded "Create" sign hanging on the mirror is from Lori at Katie's Rose Cottage (I love everything in her shop!!)...


This mug, embossed with roses, was made by Amanda in a high school pottery class... she realized too late that the handle was put on upside down but, to me, that makes it all the more charming! I also love the intricate pattern on the tall table lamps, a vintage store find at $15 for the pair, including the shades!!


I have a favorite photo of my mom, along with a pair of white birds (which are actually napkin rings)... I bought the two flower prints from a catalogue (the flowers looked blue in the catalogue). When I received them, they were purple rather than "cottage blue," but I still love them...


I've had this scalloped table runner forever! For the longest time I used it in the dining room, but I really like it on the bookcase... Like so many of you, I'm always moving things around and using them in different places around the house...


Here's a "bird's eye" view so you can see the eye on the lid of the tall blue jar, which I think is so neat!! (Another high school pottery piece made by Amanda)


This is the ceramic Mary I found (from this post), sitting on top of a beautiful hand-painted, repurposed cigar box that Amanda bought for me at a lovely Cape Cod shop. The vanity tray used to be shiny gold, but I thought I'd like it better pink, so I painted over the gold... Ahhhh, so much better :)

Donna