When Life Gives You Lemons...Make A Hot Toddy!

I am not a happy camper. Tuesday is Jenn's birthday and we were going to celebrate as a family today, but guess who had to go and get sick? You got it! That means until the temperature returns to normal...

NO THIS.....

OR THIS!!!!! RAZZLE FRAZZLE!!!

Ahh-Ahh-Choo!

Bewitched, Bothered, and Bifocaled

Debra's added a twist to her VIF with a Porch Party this week. Since my home away from home is Winnie & Tulula's and my window could be perceived as my front porch, I thought I would share what I'm brewing up for Halloween!See Debra...it even has steps going up into it! That constitutes a porch...right? There are two windows at the shoppe and this is the small one. I prefer working in the smaller of the two because...well...just because! Maybe since my own home is so tiny, I work better in encapsulated spaces...or maybe it's because I am the queen of "I think I can squeeze one more thing in"!

I've told y'all how much I love the movie Practical Magic, so it seemed natural to go with that as my inspiration. Not that I could ever do anything like the sets of that movie....consider mine a poor gal's rendition!

I'd really love to see all this stuff practically and magically disappear! That's the only drawback to a window...folks worry about messing up the display. Please...feel free to destroy it. I relish it being destroyed...for a price!

Are y'all digging the bookshelf as much as I do? I didn't know it at the time I bought it, but it's actually a signed and dated collector's piece called "Barbaric Bar and Beastly Bookshelf". It was designed and made by sculptor Jim Rumph back in the early '70s to be used as a display for perfume bottles. He made it specifically for department stores. My California readers may be familiar with his work as that is where his studio was located. I have to be honest with y'all. If it doesn't sell...it won't break my heart. I love it that much!

The chippy, black pedestal is another cool piece I found at the Red Shed. (Wait until you see the magic Grace has dreamed up for Halloween now on display at their store!) When I saw it, I knew it would be a perfect prop for Halloween. Got a little secret I'll share with y'all right now if you promise not to kiss and tell...IT'S STYROFOAM! Is that not a hoot? I can lift it over my head with one finger! Hercules ain't got nothin' over me!

Do y'all ever shop this way? See something and think...hmmm...I need to get that and stick it back for something special? My problem is remembering where I stuck it in time to actually use it when I need it!

I decided Sweetie Pie needed a little R&R...she was getting a little pruney from so much time in that tub! I used a dress form Cat Daddy had bought a couple of months ago and made her a skirt from pattern paper...while I was sitting in the window.

"That's right folks...step right up...come on, come all! Watch the strange, little, chubby lady make a little prestidigitation right before your very eyes. Don't point and laugh children...it's impolite!"

Squirrel Alert!

If any of you REAL photographers can help an old gal out and tell me how to take photos through a window...I sure would be obliged! In the meantime, you have my permission to either:

A. Go blind trying to figure out what the heck I'm showing!

OR

B. Skip these photos all together!

Your call...just don't say you weren't warned!

While we're on the subject of photos...is anyone else having problems getting Blogger to cooperate when uploading photos? It's driving me batty...get it...batty!

You can't tell it from my sorry photo skills, but this is a Fab U Lous witch's hat that Jenn made. She used vintage feathers, jewelry, a buckle, faded and dried roses, an owl AND the kitchen sink to create it. (I'm just kidding about the sink, but it truly is loaded down!) Believe me...it would make the Aunts proud to be sporting one like it while jumping off a rooftop!

These bubbly, globe lamps from the '60s are the greatest thing since cornbread! I have used them for so many holidays...I've lost count. They've held snow, trees, shells, sand, and now crows! There is a tiny light in the top and if something shiny (and we all love shiny) is placed inside...Sparkle-A-Plenty with a capital S happens! There are only three words to describe 'em...Fun...Fun...Fun!

The last crumby/crumbly photo is of a lamp shade I bought from Liz and Fran a year ago. It's fringed out the wazoo and tattered like nobody's business. If it doesn't scream decayed elegance...I don't know what would! F&L always come up with the coolest things and it's best to buy it from them quickly!

Keep in mind this is only the second layering. I still have to go back to W&T and apply the final layer. Window dressing is kinda like putting makeup on a face as old as mine. You gotta keep piling it on...hoping and praying you'll stop traffic for the right reasons!

I'll call this a wrap before y'all start thinking you're seeing things! I hope you've enjoyed a little ghoul's night out with me and thanks Debra for being such a great hostess!

Pumpkin Cheesecake!

Q: How do you fix a broken jack-o-lantern?

A: Use a pumpkin patch!

Ba dum dump...ching!!!

Q: Where does a trashette sit?

A: Anywhere she wants to!

My prettiest melon head sitting...where else...on a gigantic, orange melon!

(Photo taken at Dallas Arboretum courtesy of The Amazon)

Postcards From The Ledge

While trying to decide what to do as a post for Debra's Vintage Friday Inspiration, it hit me what gets my motor running...Y'ALL! So many of my "real" friends don't understand why I blog. To say they don't get it is an understatement! They wonder how I can relate to cyber-friends...'cause after all...to their way of thinking...y'all exist only on a screen.

How do I explain to them that so many of y'all share a cup of coffee with me each morning or stay up late with me at night?

You're risk takers, stepping out of the boat and following your hearts which in turn, inspires me to move out of my comfort zone and try new things.

(All photos are from SweetT's blog party.)

How do I make them understand how clever, smart, talented and wonderful y'all are...tell me that? How about how y'all have stood by me through thick and thin...or listened to me ramble on and on about nothing...or put up with my Squirrel moments? How you inspire me with your creativity, make me laugh with your silliness and challenge me to reach for the stars. Tell me...how do I explain to them the prayers, laughter and tears we've shared?

Have I actually met some of you...proving you do exist and not just in my imagination? A big ol' yeah buddy would be my answer. Will I get to meet every last one of you...if I'm blessed...YES...but if not...you still hold a special place in my heart! You've reached out to this chubby, Texas lady and given me the gift of your friendship expecting nothing in return but a visit from me in my gimmee tee and sweats.

Through y'all I get to experience life in a whole new dimension...see things I will never get to see...visit places I can only dream of...taste exotic foods...and be young again.

Your words and photos inspire me to reach for the unreachable. Your art inspires me to look at the possibilities surrounding me. Your hearts inspire me to love unashamedly and to look for the beauty that lies beneath. Simply put...by each of you being special and unique, I become special and unique in your presence.

To be inspiring, one has to look for inspiration. I need look no further than my monitor and I can soar!

SQUIRREL ALERT!!!

A huge, big, special Happy Birthday to my Crazy Cajun who I cannot spend enough time with! Jodie is the perfect example of what can happen when the dream meets the reality. She is the epitome of everything I want to be when I grow up! How on earth would I have ever been so fortunate to have her as a "real" friend without blogging first? Thank you Blogspot!

I LOVE YOU BABY GIRL! BONNE FETE...LAISSEZ LES BON TEMPS ROULER!!!

Cat Bite

Just how much fun can one tomcat on the prowl have at The Greatest Show On Dirt?You tell me!

Photo courtesy of Amy Boland...prettiest photographer in Texas!

A Cat With Nine Lives!

Somebody is a birthday boy today...I wonder who? How old you ask? Can you say dirt? What about cheese or the Pyramids? He is, however, not as old as say...Sir Mick AKA The Lips!

The Man has found his pose...how about y'all?

The line forms to the left at SweetT's blog party Sunday for hugs! I'll have him hosed down, Texasified, and waiting for you!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAT DADDY!

Cabinet Meeting

Good morning glories! We're getting packed up for our long weekend at Zapp, but I wanted to do a post before we head out tomorrow. I'll be back on Tuesday with photos of all the wonderful things...and people we saw. In the meantime...I'm always fashionably late for parties, so why change now. I'm gonna cover a lot of ground in this post...so tighten up those bra straps and let's get started.Everyone could use an extra pair of hands in the kitchen...right? We live in a tiny house and the kitchen and (ahem) dining area is no exception! I have virtually no counter or cabinet space. What's a girl to do you ask. W-e-e-l-l...she visits her local salvage yard weekly in hopes of remedying that unfortunate situation.

Y'all know me. Nothing in my house or life comes without a back story and this one has a happy ending! Cat Daddy and I were at our local salvage yard looking for anything when what do my wandering eyes see, but this cabinet. Talk about having my skirt blowed up...come to mama! I was excited beyond belief! We took measurements...('cause like I said tiny)...and hurried home to measure.

I couldn't believe my luck...she would just fit with inches to spare on each side...sweet serendipity! There was only one small problem...the yard closed at noon and it was 10 after. That meant I had to wait until Monday...be there when the doors opened...and hope no one had bought her out from under me!

For the record and just to keep it honest...folks...meet my dining room! This was all we had until I confiscated the living room! I look back now and wonder how on earth I ever raised two children in a house this small. Thank goodness we loved each other or all that togetherness might have been a problem!

BTW...do you like the table and chairs. My big junk hunter drug those Italian chairs home from a garage sale and the Saarinen table he dug out of one hot mess in a thrift store. (Don't bother asking what he paid...if I told ya, I'd have to kill ya...if the price didn't! Same goes for the cabinet...don't ask-don't tell) I'm telling ya...the boy should have lace on his underwear, he has such a good eye for style!

After an agonizing weekend, fate smiled on me Monday! She was just sitting there waiting on me. She must of loved me as much as I loved her otherwise she would have sang her siren's song to someone else!

Cat Daddy picked her up that afternoon and brought her home where she belonged. All I had to do was give her a bath and she was ready to be installed.

The hussy came backless and since I already had the wallpaper up...instant backdrop! All those drawers just waiting to be filled...cabinets above and below. I promise y'all up and down...she doubled my cabinet space in one fell swoop! (TINY!)

I immediately began filling her shelves with all my favorite things beginning with ironstone my mother and grandmother had bought at yard sales for me before I was married.

My grandmother's Fostoria crystal given to her as gifts for years and years. Not my favorite pattern, but definitely my favorite grandmother!

Silver collected over the years from Dallas hotels...many of those grand old ladies now just a memory of luxury past!

Photos of loved ones now gone. This is a photograph of C.D.'s grandmother and mother back in the day. Remind me to tell you about this pair some day. They were a couple of ring tail tooters!

Speaking of tooters...someone very near and dear to me has a birthday tomorrow! Here's a hint...he's tall, dark and...well he's tall!

My small collection of French enamel coffee pots...I'm always looking for more!

I've collected church plates for years. It always saddened me to see these discarded, so I made it my mission in life to try and save some. I look for the sepia tinted and black ones...preferably Texas ones. There's so much history printed on these plates. I use them on occasion for Sunday dinners just 'cause I can. I call them my Sunday school plates!

C.D.'s mom had the most beautiful, naturally curly, auburn hair. She was a petite woman, barely 5'1"...but man alive...she was a pistol! Jenn is so much like her to the point we called her A.R. (another Roberta) when she was small!

When you have a Munchkin kitchen, you learn quickly how to make do and boy howdy...did I make do with this beauty.

Like I said in the first part of this post...I'm always late for a party, but hey...better late than never! I'm linking up with Kathleen and her White Wednesdays...

Debra and her Vintage Inspiration Friday (lookie here...I'm actually early for this one!)....

and Jen's Hutch Party!

Whew...that's a lot of partying even for this chubby lady with the middle name Party!

(Hidden deep within this post is a little test to see if y'all actually read the words I agonize over or if I'm just talking to myself!)

Adios for now and I'll be back Tuesday. Y'all be sure and behave while I'm gone!