Won't You Be My Neighbor?

With the summer winding down, I am now free to do the projects I have been thinking about.  When I was originally in design school my goal was to create window and store displays. But at the time I could tell that the economy was going in a difficult direction, meaning that there would be a major cut in jobs in the world of planning and design.  I then became a hairdresser and always kepted up with interior design on the side for friends.  Since moving to central Illinois I have met wonderful people and have been given wonderful opportunities.  I have had the pleasure this past week to dress the windows for my lovley friends at The Neighborhood Thrift.  This is the fulfillment of one of my dreams, their dresses are for sale as we speak.  Hopefully this will be a collaboration we can both enjoy.

 Off I go with my hat boxes my husband lovingly loaded.

 No room for the Wolf-man in the back seat.

 A naked window

 Hanging the dresses.

I love the magenta and red dress from Neiman-Marcus circa 1960

 Mini cubbies filled with knick-knacks!

 Paint by number print (hopefully coming home with me ).

 Wig block and rotary phone...swoon!

Finally finished.

Any suggestions of things or dresses you'd like to see? Let me know,  I am open to feed back.

Afternoon With Great Grandma

Not everyone gets the privilege of having longevity in their family.  As for myself, I am that lucky to have had relationships with relativies that have outlived all their peers. My Grandma Sally is a young eighty-four years of age, she got to see me grow up and now she gets to enjoy my son Wolfgang.  Grandma and I share two very common passions:  Scandinavian food and Scandinavian knick-knacks. So while my Grandma was house-sitting for my parents, we decided to head up to the 2nd city to visit her favorite Swedish restaurant, Tre Kronor Restaurant

 Ready to eat Swedish pancakes!

 Don't forget the smoked salmon.

 Wouldn't be a Scandinavian restaurant without a folklore mural.

Wolfgang and Mum dressed in vintage button up shirts.

 After lunch it was time to hit up The Sweden Shop

 Pippi Bird pots.

 Rainbow of textiles, yum!

The power trio!

The heat was tolerable, and the sun was picture perfect.  I hope Wolfgang will look back at the photos from this afternoon and smile.

Thrifted For Wolfgang

Here are three little outfits especially thrifted for my Wolfgang. Oh, so cute!

 Pale blue cardigan

 Tee with bubble overalls 

Blazer with mini elephant embellishments 

The Week over 90 Degrees

This week has been ridiculous to say the least.  I have now experienced a new version of uncomfortability.  Ninety degree plus weather every day is starting to get out of hand, and with the humidity the heat index is nearly one hundred and twenty degrees.  With that said,  my little family is starting to get a little restless.  We were all just a little extra slap happy this week.  So we needed some activities to distract us from the heat wave.

Toasty relaxed on a chair, while the rest of us took a dip.

 Broke out the sewing machine to do a little project from one of my favorite blogs Smile and Wave.

"Shot through the heart" garland made from old pillow cases.  Total Jovi tribute!

Retro t-shirt and umbrella in attempt to keep cool.

Wolfgang's first attempt at standing on his own, and a quick trip to a friend's house to play .

Mid-week one of my thrifting buddies and I went to a sale to pick up a few things, here are my few findings.

A sewing kit that was like a vintage time capsule .

 A fun waste paper basket and an owl mobile for Wolfgang 

 While Wolfgang played with toys I played with chalk!

 Headed to a friends wedding on Saturday 96 degrees out!

New favorite accent color to pair with a bright color... Beige!

With only a few days a head of us that are are only going to be in the eighties, hopefully we will get a little bit more time outdoors this week. I miss our adventure walks.

I Was Left A Dress

Aunt Lil' was my great aunt on my dad's side.  Since I was pretty much the only relative to her younger than the age of 60 she left some personal belongings to me.  After her passing we went to her apartment to finish up going through her few things  One of my father's cousins said that she left me a dress in her closet since she knew I always wore them. In my life time I had never seen Lil' in anything other than polyester slacks and a matching blouse. As I walked over to her closet , and there it was, the only thing left in her tiny closet.  A pale yellow dress with brown dots on it.  She had not worn this dress since the seventies, but still kept it in case something special came up. There it hung just for me, aunt Lil's modest party dress, a very special keepsake indeed.

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In My Own Little Corner

In my home,  my husband lets me have free range of decorating.  The only problem is sometimes I am a little lacking in the storage department.  Since I now work from home full time, I kindly asked my editor/husband to share a small corner of his office with me so I have a home base for all my current projects and artwork.  Here is my little creative way of keeping it all together.

Old crib spring turned bulletin board, idea from Better Homes and Gardens

Old book case painted in a neon yellow,filled with office baskets.

Amongst Bev's Knick-Knacks : Guest Blogger

I met Bev on instagram, and we connected immediately over her photos of her kitchen.  Here is her amazing story of her Knick-Knacks.  Take it away Bev.

I'm 33 – married of 6yrs. to David and mum to 3.5yr old Robyn. David & I were friends before we got together and are the best of friends ever since!

We run a small business selling & installing car accessories – like Trackers & Car Alarms, hands free kits & so on! David is very technical & I do the books. We both yearn to do something more creative.. one day we will!

We both love good design and our house is very much a retro jumble – we don't restrict ourselves to one era. We don't like to pay full price for anything so we are always on the hunt for 2nd hand or at the very least a discount! Weekends more often than not we’ll be found at a car boot sale or a collectors fair! I call in at the local Charity shops a few times a week and my family isn't allowed to throw anything away without running it past me!

My nan was my mums mum and I spent many happy hours with her in her kitchen. Her house was walking distance from ours; across a field so mum could see me get all the way there! Id sit looking at those shelves- hers wrapped in 40’s turquoise paper with duck egg blue painted walls- the cold from the walls was palpable without even touching them.

The mugs hanging from the lower shelves – the stacks of plates where only a few matched- it wasn't stylish then.. it was “needs must” and  “make do & mend”

Her recipe books & notebooks with corners turned and scraps from magazines sticking out- all well used & loved. Things were used and appreciated – didn't sit long enough to get dusty- there wasn't much there that got away with just being pretty – it had to have a use!

I used to giggle at her drawer full of string & elastic bands and bags to be used over- now I know she was just ahead of her time- re-use don't throw away. I learned so much from her but I yearn to go back and learn more-   remembering Nan makes me appreciate my Mum so much more & I cherish time with her so much- and I listen & learn from her whenever I see her. Which is two or three times a week and I'm walking distance from her too- but not in a line of sight this time!

  Visit  the blog salvagepatch.co.uk/

Curbside

Our curb-side find from this afternoon's walk was actually pointed out by my debonair, dashing editor/husband.  He seems to have some sort of an attachment to old televisions.  Most men go gaga for old cars, but for my husband there is nothing like T.V. set.  The T.V.'s we were brought up with were often large and clunky and the manufactures would try to disguise them as furniture. This beauty out on the curb fell right into that stereotype, this pride of Chicago Zenith was once the front and center to the family living room.  The very zenith of technology was sitting on the curb like a pup at the pound, too big for us to carry, it waited for its ride to the island of misfit electronics.

Collections Part 4

My next collection is one of my personal favorites.  Not only is it a cheap one, but it adds a healthy dose of retro to any room.  California pottery is next on the list.  With its atomic shape, and sometimes wacky color combinations  it is an instant room perk me up.  Many times these lovely gems can be found for as little as a dollar at your local junk shop.  They come in a variety of possibilities such as lamps, ashtrays, dishes and planters. I love the ones with odd shapes and colors!

 This one looks like a cartoon steak!