SHOWERED IN SILVER

When I got married some 18 years ago, my mother offered to buy me a set of Sterling silver tableware. That was before my girlie gene kicked in and I foolishly said, "No thanks."

I have leaved to eat those words. (And without Sterling silver, I might add.)

A week or so ago, my mother said she had something to show me. She unwrapped a little bundle of tissue and bought out a spoon with a little rose on the end of it. "Ohhh! Pretty," I cooed, "where did you get it?" I figured one of her friends had an odd piece and had given it to her. Sadly, one of her friends had fallen on hard times and was selling the silver. Did I like it enough for her to buy it for me as a gift?

Whoa! That was unexpected. But I was thrilled and this time I definitely said, "Yes!"

Yesterday, my mother picked up the silver in its handsome wooden box, and gave it to me. The pieces say "Heirloom Silver," but I don't know what the name of the pattern is.

What do you think?

This is the silver with my best china (Royal Albert "Silver Maple.") Years ago, my mother gave me her Silver Maple tea set, that my (paternal) grandmother had given her. I bought the rest of the set (lacking some serving pieces) from a China Replacement company in Canada. (I'm on the lookout for a Silver Maple teapot.)
Don't they look fine together?

I love how they look -- but they need to be hand washed. Not so lovable. But, why should they just sit somewhere gathering dust, eh? I'm having company for dinner tomorrow and I'm using them!

To Etsy or not to Etsy?

I'm still learning about blogging and am fascinated by all the "giveaways" that seem to be going on around me. (Maybe someone can explain them.) Is it just people with Etsy stores that do this? Do other people do this?

I have to admit, I've thought about opening my own Etsy store, but I don't know what much about it (and am not sure how to find that information). I used to have a booth at an antiques co-op, and I still have a lot of leftover stock. Maybe that would be a way to part with it -- and recover my investment. Hmm.

Maybe I should just have a garage sale. But that takes a LOT of work. (Like an Etsy store doesn't?) Sadly, I have no crafting talent, so I can't make things like some of the stuff I've seen. I was invited by Wanda to enter her latest giveaway and she had the most gorgeous stuffed pink strawberries. *Sigh*

The things I have aren't cute and sweet. I'm a sucker for stuff like figurines--like these little guys. I bought them in a box lot just to get the little Bride & Groom (I collect brides and grooms--mostly wedding cake toppers). Now I'm stuck with these guys and need to find them a home.

Hmm.

JONSING TO GO JUNKING

There's still at least another week -- maybe two, before the garage sales in my area start up, and boy am I hankering to go junking. Okay, Friday I did go to an estate sale, where I bought a stars and stripes windsock for $1 and a little blue-and-white bowl (without a lid) for $3 (I figure I'll toss my loose change into it), and that got me searching the streets for more estate sale signs.

I'm currently into roses, and it was the blue rose on the "front" side that captured my attention.

Of course, I always feel a bit guilty when I go to an estate sale. Almost always someone has died, and you see the sad remnants of a life now over. Boxes filled with sensible shoes, bed pillows nobody is going to buy. But I tell myself that the family needs to clear out a home and move on, and I'm there to help them out, in my own small way.

It was late afternoon, and the pickings were slim. I'm particularly interested in unique plates, either blue-and-white (that I've been hanging in one of the bedrooms) or roses or other hand-painted flowers. And I've decided I want to put a couple of pretty pictures in my main bathroom. So I'm on the hunt.

What do you look for when you go junking?

THE FIRST DAY OF SPRING

I like to take a walk around the garden on the first day of spring and see how things are developing. Yea! The snow drops are out! (And wouldn't you know, it snowed overnight.) We planted crocuses a couple of years ago, but there's no sign of them, and last year we only got a few. Time to plant to some. (Or it will be next fall -- if we remember.)

The daffodils are also up and raring to go. Here's one of the clumps in the backyard.

It's sunny -- it's spring. How can you not feel hopeful?

A WASTED LIFE

Feeling blue...and brown

Okay, it's only been four days -- but no one has found me so far. Shall I throw myself on my fainting couch and weep tears of sorrow and frustraction?

Nah!

Meanwhile, here's a picture of some of my brown transferware. I started collecting it after seeing a display in a magazine. I only have about 10 or 12 pieces, and I paid more than I would like for most of them. But I do like them and they look nice against the beige paint in my dining room.

TEA ANYONE?

I love my collection of bone china teacups and saucers. One of these days I'm going to make a photo collection of all of them. In the meantime, Ive taken just one of them, but isn't it pretty?

MY NEW BLOG SPOT

Hello,

If you've found me here on Blogspot -- welcome! I used to have a blog on Typepad, but no one ever found it, so I'm now here on Blogspot and liking what I see so far.

I love to go junking for neat stuff. Who can afford to buy new these days? I live in New York state near the shore of Lake Ontario, and I'm counting the days until yard sale season starts. I'll be sharing my finds here on my blog and hope you'll share yours, too.

In the meantime, I've posted some of my older posts so that people can see what I've been up to over the past year or so.

Hope to hear from you soon!

MY ENTRYWAY

Okay, I finally took a picture of the new entryway. Compare the paint color with that of my post on June 6th.

Quite a difference, eh? It took a while to get used to it, but now I like it. This picture doesn't give a true representation of the color. It's more a teal.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Better late than never. My sadly neglected Christmas Cactus has finally decided to bloom.

I got this cactus from a woman at work -- about 28 years ago. It was a LOT smaller then. I gave it to my mother and she kept it for 27 years, but last summer decided it was too big for her to handle and she as going to toss it out. NO WAY! So, I took it in. (And keep for getting to water it.

It may be named a Christmas Cactus, but it didn't know it and has just decided to bloom.

I'M BACK

My goodness, I couldn't believe it has been so long since I blogged -- July! I've been busy with other aspects of my life. I'd like to start here again, but suppose I've lost whatever audience I had accumulated.

Worse, one of my favorite blogs has changed -- and it's now only open by invitation. This must have just changed, because I only accessed it yesterday! I'm so sad I won't be able to read Blushing Rose Antiques anymore.

I've been reading up a storm--both blogs and magazines. One of my favorite fiction authors is Mary Kay Andrews, who also has a blog. She bought a beach house this past fall and has been busy renovating it. I love seeing everything she posts about it. It's supposed to be done this week -- and I'm hoping she'll share lots of new pictures.

Meanwhile, I haven't done much decorating. We did finally finish our entryway. I should take a picture and post it. It came out well--although the color is nothing like we originally pictures. It's a Sherwin Williams deep teal (my description, not theirs) from their craftsman folder. We did the trim in gold, as they suggested. Looks nice, though.

I hope to start blogging here on a regular basis once again. Hope some of you will come back.

OVER THE WEEKEND

I had fun over the weekend going to a community garage sale. Now that I'm not in business any more, I don't buy half of what I used to--so I'm buying stuff that I need, or at least pretend I need. (Like the date bars and peanut butter cookies.)

The magazines were a steal at a nickel each, 3 new cat bowls, a make-up bag, doilies up the wa-zoo, Rubbermaid spatulas, a veggie brush, pumice stone. The Mary Engelbreit book was only 50 cents.

Why do I need a wedding guest book? I'm going to put something over the top and use it for another purpose where I want to collect names and addresses. These things are sooo expensive new, that I buy them whenever I find them. This one was only a dollar.

We also decided to get a barn star for the family cottage. It was a great price but the wrong color. Luckily, I had a can of Ivory Silk paint. Four coats later, and it looked good. I had to get on the ladder to hang it. That was a little scary--but I'm a brave woman. Now I'm wondering if it should be lower. What do you think? (See my beans on the left side of the picture!)

MY CORNER CABINET

Whoa! Is it Thursday already? I meant to post this on Monday. Where did the week go?

Last weekend I was able to put the corner cabinet back in its place. I wanted to give it time for the paint to harden before I put anything back on it.

If you'll remember, it was originally painted forest green. I saw this "leapfrog" green in a magazine and though it might make a nice contract in the yellow bedroom. I really like the way it turned out. What do you think?

A BUST ON CRAIGSLIST

I've posted four things on Criagslist so far and for the first two I had people who e-mailed me and said they wanted them. Then they found out how far away from them I am and decided, "eh, fuhgetaboutit."

Last week I posted two of my display pieces from my old booth at the antiques co-op. I didn't even get one call or e-mail. I posted best offer, but apparently nobody wanted my little orphaned pieces.

Hubby says it's time to take them to Goodwill.

Sniff.

STILL HERE

Not much to post about. I spent the weekend painting my corner cabinet, but I didn't want to put anything on it until the paint had hardened for a few days, so I will post a picture next week. I forgot to take my other paint, so I didn't get all my projects done. They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions ...

Meanwhile, it's a holiday week! Wow--can it almost be 4th of July already?