White Wednesday - ironstone and Little House on the Prairie

I think it is amazing that Kathleen at Faded Charm has kept up with her weekly White Wednesday party, even today as she tends to her son who broke his leg.  We are all thinking of you and your boy, Kathleen, and wishing him a speedy recovery!

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Do you know much about ironstone?  I don't really.  Just that I love it.

Chipped, cracked, and all crazed up.

Pitchers, creamers, plates, platters, tureens, compotes.

I love them all!

 Growing up, Little House on the Prairie was a big part of my life.

After school, my mom always had a snack ready and Little House on the TV.

It was my wind-down time from school.

I still watch re-runs and have a collection of the shows on VHS.

I loved the show and the books.

I identified with each of the characters a little bit.  Even Nellie.  :-)

 I've always wondered what it must have been like to grow up in the 1800's like the Ingalls girls.

My in-laws live in Missouri, and when we visited them, they took us to a small town there....Mansfield.

We toured the historic adult homestead of Laura Ingalls Wilder and went through the museum which housed so many memories and belongings of the Ingalls family.

No cameras were allowed inside, so I can't share any of their actual things.  But I can tell you that I was intrigued when I came across a showcase in the museum filled with beautiful old ironstone.  

Laura Ingalls Wilder chose English ironstone as her wedding china!  The museum had a wonderful assortment of her pieces of ironstone on display.  It was amazing to me.  I wonder why she chose it?  Was it affordable or a splurge?  Was it because of its durability or simplicity?  Was it her everyday dishes or her formal pieces?

While I was standing there reveling in the simple beauty of the ironstone dishes on display, I couldn't help asking myself these questions.  I suppose I will forever wonder the answers.  It just makes my ironstone all the more special to me!

 

If you're ever in Missouri and you have a soft spot in your heart for Little House on the Prairie, include this place on your itinerary.  You will be taking a step back in time.  You will be humbled.  And you will be in awe of the lives of this pioneer family!

 

 

Stop by Faded Charm to see everyone's White Wednesday posts!  It's always a treat!

Until next time ~

 

hey soul sister

Has life ever made you feel a little bit caged in?

Trapped?  Stuck inside a great big box of expectations?

Wondering what else is out there in this great big world?

Looking for something that's missing?

And just aching to feel the wind in your hair again?

I've been there.

But then someone does something for you that is so sweet and thoughtful, it's like a great big awakening.  A reminder of  the wonderment of friendship.

I have been given a gift recently.  This good woman brought a smile to my face and joy to my heart by featuring this teeny weeny little ole blog of mine.  Her kind words erased my insecurities and elevated my spirits.  I am so glad to have her be a part of my days!

Thank you Anne from Fiona and Twig!  You are truly one-in-a-million!

"Friendship is a single soul dwelling in two bodies." - Aristotle

Greeting card organizer

 Hello friends!  Hope your weekend was good!

I've had this little project in the back of my mind for a few weeks now but just haven't had the time to make it happen.  I'm feeling a little under the weather today with a sore throat, so we've just stayed around the house tinkering around.  Thought I would take advantage of the extra few minutes with my husband, my built-in technical support help desk.

I have a nice stash of greeting cards that I have tried to corral and organize in every way possible!  I bought one of those organizing accordion files but just had too many cards and it wouldn't stay shut.  So then I had them sort of organized in a drawer, but realized I could really use the drawer space for something else.  Then when I got my new office cupboard, I found some baskets that I thought might work well to organize my greeting cards.  Tonight's project was just creating some little dividers for inside the basket to separate the greeting cards by category.

I started with this never-before-used vintage order book that I picked up for 99 cents.

 

The inside pages were all blank with pink and blue lines and Mr. Sassafras scanned one of these blank pages...

Mr. Sassafras used Paint Shop Pro to then add my category names onto the top line.  We used a font that looks like vintage typewriter print.  Once each was printed onto card stock, I just trimmed them down to the size I wanted...

This is how the page looked before I trimmed it...

And here's the after....

Added them to my basket...

And this is how it looks on the bottom shelf of my cupboard...

Quite easy actually!  Just a little time consuming to print each card individually and then hand trim them.  But worth the effort!!  

And I just had to show you this last picture of my new furry little friend, Chase the teacup Maltese!  He's not my dog, but I would take him home any day of the week!  This little guy weighed in at about two pounds and just loved to be held.  As soon as he was in your arms, that little head laid on your shoulder and he just rested.  Sooo loveable and sweet!

 Thanks for visiting!  Have a great week!

Linking up to Cottage Instincts......Make it for Monday

~ sweet bluebird dishes ~

Happy Friday!  For those of you who are heading out to the Country Living Fair today, have fun!!!  It's supposed to be a beautiful day here in Central Ohio with no expected rain or tornadoes!  

A couple weeks ago, I shared photos of the the two vintage bluebird dishes I found at The Olde Shoe Factory Antique Mall where I work part-time.  I mentioned that it was really hard for me to choose because the vendor had a really nice selection to choose from.  I know these dishes are super hard to find, so I stopped in yesterday afternoon and took a few pictures of what is still left.  

If you love birds, prepare yourself because these pieces are sweet!

Have you ever seen anything like this pitcher?  

 And then there's this Sugar canister!

 On another note, what about this cool card catalog?

Have you ever noticed the card-catalog on the set of The Big Bang Theory?  It's situated in Sheldon and Leonard's apartment kind of behind their couch.  I drool every time I see it!

 Wouldn't these dishes be adorable at a baby shower?

Good day all!

Chat soon!

xo

~ galvanized tin, feed sacks and funnels ~

We've all been scurrying about the antique mall this week!

Lots of new displays and fresh-to-the-floor merchandise!

My co-worker Matt and I worked on this display in the basement.  We both love the industrial look, so we decided to go in that direction.  We dug around in the back room searching for funnels to hang from the ceiling, feed sacks, gears, and other cool things that spoke to our inner industrial selves.  Matt is super creative and figured out a way to illuminate our display with a cool vintage trouble light!  The cubby you see to the left is about 6 feet tall and has galvanized tin as the backing. 

Check out the cool light fixture we found...

Matt created this out of an oversized vintage glass beaker, a light bulb, and some twine...

Wonder what these giant strainers were used for?  And how could they be repurposed today? Or if they're even strainers?!?!

Thanks for visiting!

 peace,

the Great Blue and Brown Blog Bonanza with Cottage Instincts

 Hello!

Today I am linking up with Cindy at Cottage Instincts for her Great Blue and Brown Blog Bonanza!  If you already read Cindy's blog, you know she loves to use the blue and brown color combination in her home decorating.  And it always looks lovely!  Her home is full of cottage style.....pretty muted florals and hand painted furniture.  I always enjoy seeing what she's been up to!  That girl's got wicked energy!

When she announced she would be having a special linky party to showcase how people have used blue and brown in their home, I immediately knew I wanted to do a post on my guest bedroom!  I've showed photos of it before, but it's been a while and I've changed a few things, so what they hey!  Ya'll get to see it again!  :-)

When I decided to change my formal living room into an office, I had to find a new home for my custom drapes that have a blue hue in some light and a green hue at other times.  I moved them to the guest room, and unexpectedly, I love that the green hue is predominant in this lighting.  It kind of added another layer of color and texture.

 This is one of those pre-fabricated benches that I had picked up at Tuesday Morning eons ago.  It was black with white flourishes on it.  I painted it with leftover paint from my guest bathroom, and then wiped on some dark stain, which I promptly wiped off.  It is now being used as a side table in this room.

I love this old aquamarine blue hamper.  It's been with me since before I was married and has served many purposes over the years....including kitchen trash can!

 

This old desk was in my kitchen for a while, and has since been repositioned here.  Originally, I had an old enamel top table here, but I ended up stealing the table top to serve as a bulletin board in my office!

Found these blue and brown bird prints at a thrift store.  The frames were a little dinged up, but nothing I couldn't get past....

Well, I'm off for another busy day at the antique mall!  We spent yesterday spiffing the place up with some new displays.  The Country Living Fair is this weekend in Columbus, so we hope that many folks attending the show might make a weekend of it and include The Olde Shoe Factory Antique Mall on their excursion!

Happy Wednesday!

xo

Let's hear it for the boy!

Meet my buddy Tim, pictured here and accompanied by his sweet sisters, Sara and Mary.

Tim is following his dream!

At just 21 years old, Tim has opened a local cafe called Happy Penguin!

I am so proud of his ambition and drive and wish him all the best as his business is now open!

Who doesn't love a place with fresh flowers in mason jars on each table?

My first order at Happy Penguin....hot homemade shredded chicken on whole wheat with a crunchy dill pickle on the side.  I took a cup of chicken noodle soup to my mom and she loved it!

Washing it down with one of these was such a dose of nostalgia!  Back in 1986, I took the fall for 4 missing cokes from my best friend's mom's fridge.  It was really the neighborhood boys who chugged 'em, but we couldn't tell her that!   Sigh.  Ahhhhh, the memories a simple bottle of coke can conjure up!

And, if you need a little break from your day, the game room is a great place to decompress.  Free wi-fi, foosball, and television!

 If you're in Lancaster, think of Happy Penguin located at 1531 Granville Pike (in between Lancaster High School and Lancaster's Ohio University Campus)!  It's a little off the beaten path, but worth the extra few minutes in drive time.  Plus, you're supporting an entrepreneurial young man who's following his dream!  You can even "like" them on Facebook!

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams" ~ Thoreau

Good luck Tim!