Thank you for following little me as I go about each day on my adventures!



Thursday, June 25, 2009

never again


Never again will I hoard vintage treasures!
I swear it.
I have spent all day, ALL DAY, in the old studio that I am quickly vacating, going thru boxes and boxes of stuff. Awesome stuff, but nonetheless, argh!
Why do I do this to myself? I have 5 days left to the end of the month and I hardly made a dent! Two full trailer loads and still I am wading thru vintage hats, teacups, gorgeous old linens.....double argh!

What is worse, I keep finding crafting stuff - don't get me wrong, crafting stuff is fantastic but this much of it? I don't realize that I already have loads of felt and buy more, or saucers to turn into little mirrors, or linens to be reborn as pillows....the list goes on and on.

I will take photos to show you my madness. Then it will be out there and official and I will be shamed into being a good girl. Walking the straight and narrow...

(Of course, all this drama didn't stop me from hitting a thrift store this morning and finding an old fisherman's creel! woo hoo!
I've been wanting one of these for ages!
Gonna hang it on the front door and put flowers in it. It's gonna be awesome!)

Now, what was I saying?

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

a work in progress


That's what my house is, a work in progress.
Unfortunately, with a small baby, not much progress.
It seems to take me forever to get anything done - I think that is the single hardest thing to accept with my new role as mommy. The sheer number of hours to make a dent in any given project.
Gone are the days where I could apply myself to a task for hours at a time, uninterrupted, till it was done.

I would not change my state for anything - I adore my baby and this adventure I am on - I just wish I could wave a magic wand and have dishes wash themselves, laundry fold and dinner prepare itself!
Notice how I would not use the magic on my many craft projects....I want to do those myself!
Magic is for getting the mundane out of the way - not the creative.
Doing the creative has it's own magic....


Unable to throw anything out.
That's what Gordon, my Dutch husband, says is my biggest problem.
I protest, but secretly, I agree.
I just can't help myself - I find uses for things, I see beauty in the ugly and worn.
Funnily enough he's almost as bad as I am - this past weekend we finally managed to get the boulevard garden started.
I may have contributed the shabby wicker chair/now spiffy planter to the project, but HE dragged home the slabs of concrete he'd found to use as our stepping stones.
Me: shabby chair
Him: hunks of concrete destined for the landfill
Uhm.....isn't that the pot calling the kettle.....

I am really pleased with my little garden so far.
It needs some ground cover around the 'steps' and the jasmine vine to grow over the chair to be spectacular, but we'll get there.
We moved some unhappy lavender plants and pansies to this new spot and it looks like they have cheered up immensely. A small lilac cutting from a neighbour will also be added shortly - my hope is to have a lush little tableaux to look out on (instead of street traffic) when we are dining on the front porch.

Our neighbours one street over have the most amazing boulevard - in front of almost every home is a wonderful garden. It's so lovely to walk down the sidewalk surrounded by lush greenery and the jumbled scent of blossoms.
There are only a few of us on this street with plants out on our boulevard - but it's a start!

Tuesday, June 23, 2009





I have been busy digging into boxes and boxes of my horded treasures.
(I have the excuse of hording items because I like to say that they are to sell in the shops, but I find that I don't seem to ever let them get to the shops)
Till now.

As a result, I have been doing allot of polishing of silver.
So much so, I find I am beginning to dislike polishing all this silver.
This is outrageous comment for me as I adore polishing silver.
I like to have it gleaming and on display around my house.
I am humbled by the sheer volume of stuff that I have accumulated.

I am trying very hard to let go of these pretty things and fill the shops with these treasures.

The only way I am allowing myself to keep anything is if I can use it. Right now. Preferably in some unexpected way. I must either replace and 'upgrade' what is existant or find a way to use the new piece immediately. I end up having to 'think outside the box' and now my makeup is safely hidden from view in a silverplated entree dish. Q-tips artfully arranged in a pretty gravy boat and my cottonballs in a lidded sugar pot. It makes for an awesome bathroom!
I've also hit upon the idea of using the "missing it's twin" sugar or creamers as little vases. To make this work I have to superglue a florist frog into the bottom of them.
So far, so good.