Mighty April

April is starting to get on my last nerve.  It will be glorious for a day.  Sunny, radiant, nearly 80 degrees, even.  Then come the rains, the 40 degree weather and the sinus infections to go with it.  I'm creeping up on two weeks with this blessed condition.  Looking and feeling like a human poster for infection.  Delicious.  

Screw spring.  I want summer.  Full-on summer.  85 degrees, blinding sun, boob sweat, the whole shebang.  I want to wear sandals and bracelets again.  I want to remember what it's like to hear those delightful bangles chiming away on my arm.  I want to wear huge earrings with pointy bits that I can't wear during the winter on account of the fact that they will get caught on my scarf.

If it doesn't happen soon I'll go out of my gourd.  I'll dress in my finest white jacket and sit in a very plush room.  You hear me, April?  I'll do it, I swear I will!

Anyway...

There have been a lot of church sales this month, much to my delight.  It's not enough to save my brain from the knowledge that it's freezing and raining like ark time out.  But,  I've gotten tons of stuff for the Etsy shop, though I won't bore you with those details.

Check out what I did get, though: 

Please don't miss the red Cape Cod fish coin purse.  I cannot wait to use it.  At yard sales, obviously.  You are used to seeing the vintage picture frames.  I really want to stress how amazing these look all spray painted up in some crazy bright color.  So unique.  You should really try it.  Plus, this one was like a quarter.  You can't even get a crappy picture frame that will break in two seconds at the dollar store for a quarter.  It being the dollar store and all.

Now, you might think this is all one glorious study in plastic.  And it is.  But it's not one piece.  There are two Christmas pieces which have white plastic holly, silver holly, glitter and red Christmas balls.  Who doesn't love Christmas balls?  Eh?  Eh?  

This picture really isn't doing justice with regard to the bird house.  Let me break it down for you:  It's a brown plastic faux wood birdhouse coated in white glitter snow.  I know, right?  I could stop right there.  But no, there's more!  One yellow plastic bird greets you from side A while side B sports a blue plastic birdie.  Then, there is the grass on the bottom made of cellophane tipped in, you guessed it, white glitter snow.  Despite all the snow, I'm making it an Easter decoration next year.  Because really, it's more honest here in upstate NY.

Recently we've had a very big piece of news here in Ra-ch-cah.  A Mighty Taco opened.  Now, this is a fast food taco chain from Buffalo, NY.  The husband, like all Buffalo natives, is in love with it.  Would defend it to the death and ask for it as his last meal before said death.  He used to work there, ate there nearly every day and it was and is both his favorite job he's ever had and his favorite restaurant.  On earth.  Ever.  A fast food taco joint.  I'll just let that disturbing information sink in.

So, as you can imagine we were there on opening day.  With bells on.  We waited an HOUR AND 45 MINUTES for food we've had one million times.  Food that we just had two weeks prior, actually.  It would have been faster to drive to buffalo and get it.  But the husband was just ecstatic the entire time.  Witness:

So, now it's five days later and the line is still out the door.  No lie.  People, let's get it together here.  Fast food tacos, ok?  I mean, even if they are the best fast food tacos on earth, they are still fast food.  See?  No?  No.  They don't see.  Well, congrats Mighty Taco, and welcome.  Apparently you are well loved here in the Flower City.  Hopefully I don't see you every week, but it looks like there is a slim chance of that.

So, in summary:

April kills dreams, puppies and unicorns

Plastic is a balm for what ails me

Fat Americans

Back to Basics

The day after we returned from our vacation we went to a church sale. It happens every year as part of a church festival and it's usually pretty good. It's right in our neighborhood and the have night hours. Have you heard of this? Some of the larger church sales in my town have night hours. On Friday. So you can go after work! Someone was really thinking.

A vintage frame, a paisley pouch, corn...holders that cradle your corn ever so gently and allow it to steep in butter and a very heavy metal icon. If you know me you might believe that the corn cradles were my idea. I do have a very real and abiding love of corn. But, alas. It was the husband who found these gizmos and he who purchased them. We've used them already and they were very much worth the quarter. Everything we got totalled $4.50, including the following...


Here we have one of a set of eight glasses featuring a black horse and metallic gold designs. These are for a friend of ours who loves horses and barware. The thing on the right is a plastic floral pic. It's kind of hard to see all that's going on with it. And, there is a lot going on. So, I'll itemize the pieces and let the dramatic scene unfold. Now, please hold your applause until the end. (Just so you know up front, all the items are plastic and ... covered in iridescent glitter. )1-Three pieces of peppermint candy, wrapped. 2-One white apple. 3-White holly sprigs. 4- Two tufts of pink hearts on stems. 5- One large ice cream cone with pink ice cream. Now, the best part is that I know someone who will love this thing. To death. I actually took a picture of it before I bought it and sent it to her via text (I can do that now) just to be 100% sure. Turns out it wasn't necessary because she was more than excited about it.

Turns out happiness can be bought. And the price is a quarter.

The Avon Flea Market

I've been visiting the East Avon Flea Market since I was in high school. That was a lot of years ago, but don't expect me to tell you how many. My family all started collecting stuff at the same time, I'm sure I've mentioned that before. The Avon Flea Market was one of our favorite hunting grounds. We used to go at least once a month. Now, I'm lucky if I make it there once a year. Generally we have brunch at the Avon Inn first. It's a delicious buffet at a great price. Incidentally, it's also where I got married, the Guru got married and it's where our friend Meggles will get married this August. It's a great place, you should go there. (we actually didn't go there this time)

Anyway, we went to the Flea Market on Sunday. It was a glorious day. Warm, bright, not a rain cloud in sight! the fruit guy yelling, "Bo-nana, Bo-nana, Bo-nana!" You can catch his act at the public market on Saturday mornings, too. Not many of the vendors have garage sale pricing, but they do love to haggle, so you end up getting some fun things at reasonable prices. Take a look!

In attendance: Me, the husband, Sarah Mae and Andrew.


Nick got manly things. A cigar (his first, and he still hasn't tried it yet) and a hand warmer for winter bike riding. You fill it with flammable fuel and it gets warm. This seems like a stellar idea to me, but he assures me that it's safe. He was going to get some records but the seller wouldn't stop telling him how old and valuable they were. We all hate that. 'Oh, it's old? Really? I could have sworn I just saw the same thing in Walmart yesterday!' Dummies. That attitude will throw anyone off the scent of your goods lickety-split. Some people bring their stuff, set it all up and just wanna show it to people and tell them how great it is all day instead of selling it.

Sarah Mae got a wicked etched belt buckle. "Rock, Flag, Eagle!" ($3)

There was a vendor who had buckets of plastic goods like these. Sarah Mae purchased these fine looking Santas and motorcycles on card. ($1) I didn't buy any small plastic things! Can you imagine? It's a testament to my character and strength of will...ok, I did buy something. But it's not...the same. I'll show you later. There is also a pair of blue cameo earrings in the picture if you can spot them in Santa's bag.

She got these vintage enamel earrings for $2.


Sarah Mae got art. Wooden. $4


My new necklace. Yep, Intercourse, PA. $2

Vintage Christmas ornaments! There was a woman who had a whole host of vintage Christmas stuff for sale. It was sorted by color and it was like the gates of heaven. I bought $9 worth of stuff.


The bookends of this picture were included in the $9 Christmas haul. You know how I like those putz houses. Mouse chimney sweep? Thank you, gov'nor! And in the middle you can see my plastic $1 purchase. Nudie lady food picks. Yep.


And the coup. $10. Pops, a Muppets action figure. One of the only ones that I missed buying in the stores. I got it for cheaper than it originally cost! This makes me very, very happy.

Easter Decorating 2011

Last year, I felt like I maybe had too many Easter decorations. This year I don't have enough. Let me tell you how I worked that magic. One word: expansion. New areas, new frontiers. An no, I'm not talking about the bathroom or garage. Yet.

This year I put decorations in the cabinet. I did it with Christmas, why not Easter? The real beauty part of this is that I don't even have enough to fill said cupboard. Room to grow baby, room to grow! So let's jump right in, shall we? Vintage candy containers. Vintage Strawberry Shortcake minis, a little chick sitting on a bunny (the chick is covered in....glitter!) and a felt crafted egg.


Middle cupboard: What is it with plastic? God, I love plastic. Plastic chicks in plastic baskets with plastic flowers. Oh mama. I made the chick and the bunny in the metal wire basket out of eggs. Real eggs. Then there's the box of mini chicks.


Last cupboard: More plastic. Chick head easter basket. For an actual easter basket it's a bit...much. But as a decoration, pretty cute!


Look at how skimpy the green cabinet looks! Oh so much room to fill!


This is the top of the cabinet. Would anyone care for a darling amuse bouche?

Cake plate and sundry trinkets.

I just love the things in this pre-made Easter basket. I bought this from a thrift store. What we have here is a card, a hat on a stick, a plastic rabbit, two plastic chicks in plastic eggs and a knit easter egg. Then there is a bracelet like thing covered in yarn. I have no idea what that is. I can imagine some kid in the 60's getting this on Easter morning and being like...., "What the shit is this? No chocolate?"

Red shelf. Middle top bunny made by me!

This garland always reminds me of a picture from the Little Golden Book, "Baby Dear". The baby has a chew toy that looks a lot like this garland. Which I'm sure you all find very fascinating.


I have a string of Peep lights. They are covered in the sugar-like glitter that I love so well.


Turns out I had a ton of tiny little things that fit nicely into my shadow box. The rule is, if it's tiny and plastic, I'm probably going to love it.

The Easter Mantle.

Happy Spring, everyone!

Finale

Well, that's it. Christmas has come and gone. Time to get excited for Christmas next year. Don't think I won't do it, either. I love me some Christmas.

Here you will find all the lose ends that I have been meaning to tie up, with regards to Christmas.

The bedroom decorations:

A small shelf with tiny pastel hued trees.

My mom made this ceramic light up tree for me. It's white and pink with iridescent sparkles on it. It's blindingly beautiful. It's holding court on top of a vintage lucite purse that the husband bought for me one birthday.

This shelf sits high on the wall, near the ceiling. I bought a mini string of led battery powered lights for it this year. I'm not unhappy with the final outcome. The angel is a vintage tree topper. I don't use a tree topper on my tree. I always like the leave the slightly Seussian natural top. One long finger extending up.

Details of the bedroom tree village.

This tree was given to me by my grandmother. I think it may have been painted by my great grandmother back in the late 60's when this type of ceramic craft was all the rage. It's pretty large and sits atop the husband's dresser at Christmas time. He loves it.

I'm a great one for databasing and enumerating and listing. I have an ornament book. A book that I keep track of all the Christmas tree ornaments I get each year and who gave them to me. This is the kind of thing I do. The kind of thing I have to keep in check or it will become a real problem.

So, my first instinct is to, of course, list out all of my Christmas presents, the time and date I opened them, the type of wrapping paper that kept them secret, the gift giver, their date of birth and address, along with their blood type and social security number. I'm not going to do that. Know why? Because I'm strong. Oh, yes. I have will power.

I'm only going to show you a few. A very few. Because I'm strong. Even if it gives me the shakes and the sweats, I can do it.


These are my new pillow covers. I asked for some for my stocking. The husband and I exchange stockings as well as a gift. These are gorgeous and most definitely the nicest I have ever owned. They are organic as well! If you know anything about me, you know that organic is big. Green is good. I washed them up today and plan to pop those suckers on the pillows any minute now.

Muppet ornament! Of which I received two to add to my collection, this year! I have long coveted this particular ornament. The husband got him for me. He tried to win him on Ebay last year and was not successful. This year he was determined. It payed off. Gonzo is gorgeous. He was made the same year I was born! Not a scratch on him.


This little mouse sits on a match box. I think I have another accidental collection. If I'm counting correctly I have six Christmas matchboxes. Dear, oh dear. But, give this little guy a once over and you'll know why. You'll understand and won't judge. Right? I mean, because, if you were in my situation, you'd do the same thing for sure.

What's this? A busy Christmas elf! What is that he's making?

A beautiful pouch with fabric you might remember from here. You might wonder what was in the pouch.

Peek-A-Boo! There you are, you silly Kindle! What a lovely felt-lined protective pouch you came in!

And that genius boy even incorporated a holder on the back for comfortable reading. How thoughtful! He's the best!

I was a busy Christmas elf, too. The latest creation is the octopus with the beret. For my nephew Walter.

There is still one more gift to make and I'll be working on it all week!

Living Room

Yep. That's how it's going to be. I just wanted to let you know up front. Plus, if I get it over with right away, it's less apt to give you nightmares. I hope. I'm sure you'll feel better when you find out that I didn't pay for this particular gem. I'm not even real sure how or when I got it. But the important thing is, that I did. And, in case you are wondering..it's plastic, not porcelain or ceramic. I'm not the queen of England, over here! That's 100% unadulterated, painted plastic. With glitter. I feel like I could end most sentences that way. With glitter.

Next we move to the snowman vignette. These guys sort of developed into a collection without my knowledge or participation. One day I didn't have any, the next I had a whole family. They just sort of showed up. *shrug* The little angel is a candle. My grandmother had one just like it when I was little. She had another which was composed mostly of brown wax, where this one is yellow. I was convinced that they were, in fact, treats. I cannot tell you how many times I held them, smelled them and placed a tentative tongue to their surfaces. They never tasted like treats, but I tested them every year, just in case. I think they reminded me of pudding.


The mantle. More trees, lights and little houses. This is where the more subdued trees reside. No flashy red and white trees here.

Exhibit A.

Lots of vintage stuff.

The little truck is the husband's. It delivers trees to little paper houses every year, without fail.


The tree. This year we tried to rein it in a little. Ever since we moved in we've been getting progressively larger trees. Our house is small. But, on the other hand, our ornaments are many. This is our favorite type of tree to get. A Frasier fir. They are very skinny, fit well in small spaces and the needles are not sharp, they are rounded. The branches tend to be sturdy, too. For heavy ornaments. Of which, I have a few. I won't even bother to tell you about the very nearly avoided Christmas Tree Crisis. Suffice it to say it involved creating a large, tree sized flower frog. That's what we get for dialing it back.


This is one of my favorite ornaments. The husband got it for me, early in our relationship. I'm not sure if we were even married yet. I think it came from Pier 1. It's pretty big, but light as a feather. It reminds me of the claymation Christmas special: Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. You know? It's not perfectly round. I don't think it was made in a factory. Probably some little Chinese kid made 2,000 of them for 12 cents. Nicely done, kid. Nicely done. Probably someone from Pier 1 is going to come and have me arrested for saying that.


This is another favorite. My brother and I both have one. It's from Avon. I can't tell you how much I love Avon products. Just look at this guy! LOOK! It's ridiculously cute. Firstly, I love things that look like cookies and aren't. (I mean, I love things that look like cookies and are, too. Especially if I get to eat them.) Plus, the colors cause me joy that is close to physical pain. "Sea Green" as I call it, thanks to Crayola, was my favorite color when I was little. And it is again, now that I'm all growed up.


I ganked this guy from my mom. A teacher gave it to her when she was little. He's Humpty Dumpty. I believe he's Italian. He's actually listed in one of my Christmas collecting books. (Yes, one of them. As in, I have more than one.) Look at him. Little cutie. Over there flirting it up with Strawberry Shortcake. She's a strumpet.


This is our tree skirt. It's Martha Stewart. I think it was only like $20 or something. I had looked everywhere for a fun tree skirt. It took me forever to find one that I liked which was not $100. I nearly choked on tears of joy when I found this. It's got these trees all the way around, too! Come on people! Felt? Ric-rack? Mini pom-poms? The only way it could be made better? Come on, say it with me: With Glitter!!

Too true.