Monday, January 30, 2012

Couldn't you just go for . . .

A nice, big mug of cocoa--with marshmallows?



 Or how about with whipped cream?



Of course, plain will do in a pinch.



I mean, it is the end of January, and it's COLD.

How do you like your cocoa?

Friday, January 27, 2012

Cut the cake ...

And since we're on the subject of weddings, what would a wedding be without a cake.

Here's what mine looked like.



These days, I might go for something like this.



Or this.


I'm pretty much a purist.  I'd have white cake. But I've been to weddings where the cake has been chocolate, or had a jelly filling (raspberry), or didn't look like a wedding cake at all.  (One wedding had ten different wedding cakes and guests could choose what flavors they wanted.)



What did your cake look like?

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Always a Bridesmaid

To fill out my bridal collection, I decided that not only did I need the bride and groom, but also figurines that represented the rest of the bridal party.



Sadly, this little lass is the only one I've found.  But isn't she cute?

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Marriage is a Serious Affair

Look at the expressions of this bride and groom.  They bear out the phrase that "marriage isn't a word, it's a sentence."



I bought these guys for $5 at an estate sale.  They were mounted on a green circular box with faded green crepe paper glued to its side.  That got tossed before I even entered the house with my new-to-me bride and grom.

They look so solemn. I had hped giving them a loving home would have made them happy, but, alas, they will never smile.  I wonder why the Japanese factory worker (for they are maked Napco). gave them such dour expressions.

Care to speculate?

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Modern Bride ... okay, just a little dated

I bought these guys at a yard sale in Wisconsin.  They are about 30-40 years younger than most of my collection, but they're still old-fashioned because the bride isn't bare shouldered.



Most brides today opt for dresses that don't cover their shoulders, let alone their arms.  (Whatever happened to the modest, blushing bride?)  Worse, unless the bride is very thin, these dresses show every molecule of fat. And in summer, tan lines.  Can you say "tacky?"




Wasn't Kate Middleton's dress gorgeous?


I hope more brides take a cue from her lovely dress.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Happy Happy Wedding Day

The other day I was asked about my collections.  One I don't think of often is my brides and grooms.

I probably would have never started collecting wedding cake toppers if one of my cats hadn't broken my own.  It was a glass heart.  Larry knocked it off the shelf and it broke into a million pieces.  It was rather unique.  I've never seen another one like it.

So is it any wonder that wedding cake toppers--and especially vintage ones--fascinate me?

I thought for the next couple of posts I'd share my collection with you.  This one is the first topper I bought.  I got it at an estate sale.  I'm not sure what I paid for it, but I know it was $5 or less.  I figure the real bride must have married in the late 1950s or early 1960s.



What did your wedding cake topper look like?









P.S.  Happy Happy Wedding Day was a song by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters.  You can hear a sample right here.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Fighting the urge to bake

Did you put on weight during the holidays?  I did ... but worked at losing it.  (All those leg lifts have to be good for something, right?)

And yet ... I feel deprived.  I didn't bake up a storm this year.

 
I did make one batch of sugar cookies, but I used store-bought dough. They were okay, but I learned to my horror afterwards that the frosting I bought had transfats!



So lately I've been thinking a lot about baking a cake.  A delicious, lovely cake.   I took down not one but about five of my recipe books and couldn't decide.  So instead, I went online and looked at cakes.  Beautiful cakes.  Lovely cakes.  FATTENING CAKES.



Isn't this one gorgeous?  But it's unlikely I could pull off that kind of decoration.  (What?  Am I kidding?  I'd never in a million YEARS be able to decorate a cake as pretty as that.)  But this one ,,, maybe ...



Then again ... I DID do all those leg lifts and kick backs ... do I really want to have done all that for nothing?

*Sigh*  At least I can dream about cake while I eat my bowls of lettuce.



How about you?  Is dreaming of dessert enough?  Or do you need the real thing (too)?

Monday, January 16, 2012

Winter takes its toll ...

Winter seems to go on forever, doesn't it?  One of the things I hate about winter (besides being LONG, COLD, and DARK) is that ...my ski gets really dry.  We're talking alligator skin.


I feel like I need to slather my skin with hand cream day and night just to keep up.  But worst of all are the tiny little, but extremely painful, cuts I get around my thumbs.






These suckers are PAINFUL!!!! But I have finally found relief.

The first time I applied it, I thought, "Gee, this smells like nail polish."  (And guess what?  It comes with a little brush just like nail polish.)  The instructions said, "To remove, use nail polish remover."

You mean I spent my hard-earned bucks on special liquid bandage fluid when all I really needed was to coat the wound in a little clear nail polish?


The wonders of modern science.

Have you tried any miracle cures lately?

Friday, January 13, 2012

Growing Old Sucks, Part III

Okay, I promise -- after today I won't do another growing old sucks post ... well, not for a while at least.

What's today's topic?  Cholesterol.

My last bloodwork showed my cholesterol was a little high.  We're not talking in the 400 range.  It was 233, and since 200 should be the high end of normal, my doctor has threatened me.  "Get it down," she said.

So, I'm eating oatmeal every day.  (Ick.)



Actually, I don't like my oatmeal too sweet, so instead of brown sugar or even maple syrup, I've been eating it with raisins to sweeten.  And you know what ... it's not half bad.  I can eat it for a few months and not get too bored with it.  (I hope.)

Meanwhile, I also eat a handful of almonds every day. (Well, 10 actually.)


And in case the oatmeal and almonds don't do the trick, I've also resorted to . . .

(Double ick.)

Have you tried natural means to try and curb the forces of nature?

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Growing Old Sucks, Part II

Another of the wonder things that happens as you age is that your eyesight departs.  Well, partially.  In fact, while my close-up vision has deteriorated, my long-range vision has improved.  So much so that I no longer have to wear glasses to drive.  Yes, I once again have 20/20 vision. 



YAY!

However, as mentioned above, I can no longer read anything in small print.  Not without my cheaters.  That is, reading glasses.


Another thing about aging is that you forget where you put stuff, so I have to have about 20 pairs of the things scattered around the house so that wherever I perch to read, reading glasses will be ready and waiting for me.  Luckily, The Dollar Tree sells them for a buck each, so having so many pairs lying around the house (and in my purse, etc.) wasn't a huge expense.  But why, oh why, can I never seem to find a pair when I need them?

How about you?  Do you have cheaters, too?

Monday, January 9, 2012

Growing Old Sucks

No doubt about it, growing old sucks.

First, women have to suffer with menses for a very LONG period of time.  (Um...about 40 years.)  And then we are blessed with menopause, which is like having a volcano exploding inside you 5-10 times a day, bringing with it lots of heat and no comfort.



So far the only thing good about menopause is that it has allowed me to start collecting fans. Boy, do I have a LARGE collection of fans.  I have electric fans placed strategically in my house. . . .



. . . but I also have a lot of the hand-powdered models, too.


Of course, not only do I have rattan ones like that above, but I also have quite a collection of paper fans that I've picked up at yard sales all over the area.

They come in all shapes and sizes, and one thing they have in common is that they are pretty.  And they actually work, too.

I don't believe in hormone replacement therapy, but I am trying Flaxseed Oil capsules.


... so far so good.

What natural remedies have you  used to fight off the dreaded hot flashes?

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

It's about (scheduling) time ...

Did you all have a wonderful Christmas?  I sure did.  And not only was santa very good to me, but so were my family and friends.

My friend Tonya Thomas gave me this super keen calendar.  Since we go junking during the summer months, tt seems quite appropriate.


What's the subject of the calendar in your kitchen?

Monday, January 2, 2012

Toss it all away?

On Saturday, the Rochester newspaper ran a story that more or less said that to get your life under control you must go through every room in your house and TOSS EVERYTHING OUT.

Um ... that doesn't set right with me.  Okay, they weren't quit as ruthless as that.  They suggested you go through junk drawers (on my list of things to do) and medicine cabinets, and clear out all the clutter.  Yeah, yeah, yeah.  (And by the way, what are we supposed to do with all these outdated drugs in the meds cabinet?  They tell you not to flush them, and not to toss them in the trash either.  How about mixing them with dirty kitty litter?)

As someone who has spent a lifetime collecting pretty things, it's heresy for me to even think of getting rid of my treasures.  Although ... I must admit that pruning the collection would allow for new additions.

Will I start my Etsy business this year?  It's on the docket.  I just need to find another 10-12 hours in the day.

How about you?  Will you do your spring cleaning early this year?