Saturday, October 31, 2009

TRICK OR TREAT?


Hope you all had a Happy Halloween today. It was a good day to stay inside here in Atlanta. The bad weather didn't seem to hinder the little ghosts and goblins around our neighborhood. They showed up in all types of costumes including a little 2 1/2 year old Tinkerbell that was so squeezably cute! The spider web that my son and his girlfriend designed was a big hit along with our motion sensored mummy that screams bloody murder. Too bad all of the Baby Ruths are gone!

Friday, October 30, 2009

GOOD MORNING COFFEE


AWWWWW a nice hot cup of coffee on this blustery fall morning. The wind is picking up before the storm and the leaves are twirling around like little tornados in the driveway. It's good to hunker down with a hot cup of coffee this morning. What could be better?







Drinking it out of my new Barbie coffee cup of course!!! Recognize the photos? Of course you do! I know, I know, I'm such a nerd. My son told me already!!! I uploaded my photos and ordered it through Kodak Gallery with a free $15 coupon. Nice! Get your coupon here.



Wednesday, October 28, 2009

VTT - a glass heart, 102 year old blouse and carved bed

Thanks for visiting and thank you to Coloradolady for hosting Vintage Thingies Thursday. Today I am showing a few things that belonged to my grandmother (paternal). I remember the two glass and silver pieces always sitting on her vanity in her bedroom. It was kidney shaped with a pink shirred fabric below. The fabric was shirred onto an arm rod that swung out and I remember it was a great hiding place. My grandfather's initials were "ECW" which is engraved onto the top of the sweet little heart shaped container.



My grandmother bought the heart box from an antique dealer who was a friend of hers. It already had ECW engraved on it and when my grandmother saw it, she knew she had to have it. The sides of the heart container look like sandwich glass but I'm not sure. The little demitesse cup and saucer were hers also along with the other glass vanity piece.


She and my grandfather also used this bed. My grandfather worked at a lumber yard at one time. He cut down several huge Black Walnut trees on his property, dried and cut them into lumber. A friend of his, Kenneth Axtel, of Jackson, Mississippi carved the headboard along with the rest of the full sized bed. My husband and I use it still.


My grandmother found the pattern of the grapes she wanted carved into the headboard.


He also carved each of the four posts.


Below is a blouse that was made by my grandmother's mother. My grandmother was born in 1897 and her mother died when she was 10 (1907) so the blouse was made sometime before then. I have her old treadle sewing machine that this blouse was made on, although I can't get it to sew anymore.


The blouse is made out of a very thin organza, I think. I hung it up on a hanger in the window to show you how sheer it is. She sewed tiny, tiny pleats on the bodice. The sleeves are very long, I guess she had long arms, unlike me.


Here is a close-up of the pleats on the bodice. I remember my grandmother telling me that her mother would make clothes without a pattern. There are a lot of pleats on the back of the blouse and near the cuffs as well.


The sleeves puff where they attach to the shoulder and I'm sure there meant to be a band at the bottom of the blouse, but she never got the opportunity to finish it. She taught my grandmother how to sew and this is the only garmet my grandmother saved that belonged to her mother. It is sad to think that my grandmother was left motherless at 10 years old but sweet that she kept her mother's blouse all of her 94 years! Now I would like to preserve it and display it for my family. Any suggestions?
Thanks for stopping by my VTT and be sure to check out all of the other wonderful vintage items on Coloradolady's blog.

SPOOKIE YARD DECORATIONS


I love Halloween decorations and have passed by some really creative ones in the neighborhood. This house is so impressive from the street! There are several things going on but what catches my attention first is the pair of eyes in the garage windows. From the street it looks like a huge boogie man looking at you through the window.

This scary guy is also hanging in the yard by this same house. It is a little deceiving in the photo because the face is huge......about 24 " high. It sort of flaps in the wind and looks like it follows you. I can just imagine some trick or treaters looking up and dropping thier candy bag when they see this guy!


This was a nice display.........notice the hands lining the walkway!


And this was very realistic looking hanging in a side tree of this house. At first the face looked like Homer Simpson!


This was a really cute display of a family of ghosts made out of netting.


These little ghosts were a surprise in a side yard just hanging out!


The leaves were beautiful today. The leaves were brilliant gold and are probably at their peak this week in Atlanta.

IT'S GETTIN' COLD OUTSIDE

Another "Cinderella" gown for my niece. This one is burgundy velvet, gold brocade and white fur collar and cuffs. What fun to play dress up for little girls........and big!

Monday, October 26, 2009

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

BLAAAAAAAAA! A quilt I made several years ago to hang for Halloween. Have a fun holiday!

Saturday, October 24, 2009

HALLOWEEN IDEAS

Yummy little mummies for Halloween. I found this cute idea on Apartment Therapy. A variation on Pigs in a Blanket using refrigerator bread dough cut into strips and wrapped around little sausages. Fun little finger foods for the goblins before they go Trick or Treating.

.......and aren't these pumpkins cute? Who said they had to be orange and carved? This was also found on Apartment Therapy. Such cute simple ideas anyone can do at home!


Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Vintage Yarn Crocheted Barbie Skirt

Welcome to my blog and Vintage Thingies Thursday hosted by Suzanne at Colorado Lady. Visit her site and see all of the wonderful vintage fabric she found. Also, be sure to visit the other blogs to see what they are sharing this week. Enjoy and thanks for stopping by.........

My friend Lisa (Molto di Moda Designs) who is so sweet, crafty, thoughtful and talented made a skirt for my Barbie out of vintage harvest gold and burgundy yarn. She crocheted it from a vintage Barbie skirt pattern that she found online. She knew that I have been collecting vintage Barbie clothes for my restored doll. Isn't she the sweetest thing? In the background is an album from 1969 titled "The Super Hits" featuring Wilson Pickett's "Sugar Sugar" and Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" which I listened to over and over in high school. I know, I'm dating myself. OK, how many of you remember those songs too? I sure do wish I had a record player right now! The little book that Barbie is sitting on is titled "Historic Tales of Olden Time: The Early Settlement of New York City and State". I found it in a box of books donated to our library. It is falling apart, the spine is peeling off, the cover is cracking and the pages are yellowed but I loved the patina and size of the little book. I had to have it! When I looked at the publication date I couldn't believe it was 1832! One paragraph describing New York states "The city stretching street on street as in her present grandeur and magnitude, enrols a total population of 180,000 souls". Boy, has it changed! I can't wait to read more.


When I helped move my mother-in-law to an assisted living facility, I kept a few of her National Geographic magazines. I thought this back cover of the October 1964 edition was appropriate for this season. I plan on framing and hanging it up for Halloween. You can click on the photo for a larger view.

Thanks for stopping by for a few minutes. Enjoy all of the other Vintage Thingies Thursday posts.


ELLIJAY APPLES

There's nothing better to do on a Fall day than drive up to the Georgia mountains and visit an apple orchard in Ellijay or Blue Ridge. You can pick up a peck or two of so many different kinds of apples to make apple pies, applesauce, apple butter, apple bread, etc. etc. etc. My mother brought these back for me and I don't think they will last too long around here. Can't you just imagine biting into a crisp sweet and sour apple? And smell the apple cinnamon candle I have burning in the background? Enjoy the Fall smells and colors!

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

BARBIE FANTASY

Now wouldn't every little girl like to dress up like a princess, ride off in a carriage or on the back of a white horse? I bought these "princess" dresses for my great niece who is 3 years old and wants to grow up to be a Princess.






Sunday, October 18, 2009

GEORGIA TECH HOMECOMING 2009

Georgia Tech played Virginia Tech for Homecoming tonight. We started out at my son's fraternity house. They smoked a pig all night and had a huge feast for all of the parents, alumni and brothers. There was a ribbon cutting ceremony to dedicate their new fraternity house. Then off to the game..............



This is Bobby Dodd Way in front of the stadium filled with fans before the game.
Tech fans cheering for the Yellow Jackets.
Tech is looking pretty good. Since we were surrounded by Virginia Tech fans in the stadium, it was really fun!
Tech comes away with a win. The fans go wild. VA Tech fans leave early!
Fans start pouring over the rails after the game.
ALL of the students jump over the walls and fill the field cheering with the players.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

FRIDAY NIGHT DATE DRESS

This is my childhood Barbie that has been restored and is wearing a vintage Friday Night Date dress. If you are interested in restoring your doll contact Krista at www.dollrestoration.com. I've enjoyed taking photos and plan on doing some small gallery wrapped acrylic paintings soon, so check back. Thanks for stopping by!




Tuesday, October 13, 2009

BARBIE'S NEW OLD DRESSES



When I was little one of the few Barbie dresses I owned was the striped #912 "Cotton Casual" dress pictured above. I'm not sure what happened to my original dress so I decided to purchase another one on ebay. I feel like I'm 6 years old again and ready to play with my friends. We had so much fun playing with our cardboard Barbie house and making clothes. Amazing these dresses are 50 years old! The blue flowered dress below is #978 "Let's Dance".