sheppard girls

Muffin tin lunch

A playdate lunch for the little one and her guest.  (There were sandwiches too!)

Hearts on the mantle

 

I picked up some tulips for the mantle, which made the glitter snowflakes look ridiculous, so I had to come up with something else for the mantle.  So I switched to Valentine's Day.  Wool felt heart, my  chalkboard (still on the hunt for paint chalks),

tags with wedding pictures from our families and a white crown, from Pier One! 

I have been looking at vintage ones - really expensive, or the ones from Cody Foster - really cute, but I really like the white one, and after I saw it was $20, I liked it even more.

Snickerdoodles

The quest for perfect snickerdoodle continues.  When we were growing up, my sister, who gave me the vintage plate, and a neighborhood friend made them all the time.  They were so good, they were going to start a business.  This recipe is from the Martha Stewart cookie book from last year.  One of the few I've found that didn't include Crisco. 

Happy, and not so happy, coincidences

After months of thinking about it, I finally took a few hours to make the new pillows for our family room.  I have been buying fabric and trim for a long time now.  Some fabric that I know I bought, I have since lost, including a beautiful grey linen.  I know that if I finally give up and buy more, it will show up.  I pulled out some of the fabric and was ironing one piece when I realized the selvage said ThomasPaul.  I love ThomasPaul, I thought to myself, even though I didn't know this was his fabric.  Of course the fact that the fabric design is the actual logo of his company, should have given it away.

 

I also went back to check out the pricing of my beloved Designer's Guild wallpaper.  The woman helping me said "oh just checked on this for someone else".  Seriously?  I live in the suburbs of Minneapolis.   Who else, could possibly love this wallpaper out here?  Not for a person, she said for a display at ShopNBC.  Lordy.

Get out of my way

Orla Keily at Target.  And I was doing so well on my household expenditures this month!

Edited to add.  In stores the first week of February.

A vintage shoppers problem

Last month I went to one of my favorite occasional stores.  Do people in other parts of the country have them?  They are really popular around here - open for just one weekend a month.  I don't get to this store every month, but fairly often.  It is on the edge of town and the prices are always amazing.  I ran into two women who have their own spots in another local shop that I love.  Coincidence?  Hmmmm.  It was about 10:45 on opening day and their little stickers were already all over the store. 

This month I went again and a whole caravan of dealers were there!  Great for the store owners, but not so great for people like me, who just want some fun stuff for their house.  Plus I really really like the other store and the women who work there, so will they get mad if they see me at one of their haunts every month?  The amazing deals may put aside any concerns.

 

A new table for the Playmobile house.

Cream colored mirror with rose.  It is metal!

A new tray for the kitchen counter.  I can't stand the paper towel holder.  I am pretty sure it was from the dad's apartment.  The dad says the tray it too large and wastes counter space.  He might be right, but it looks great.  If I do move it and I am not saying that I am, just be sure that he doesn't think he won a design decision, I went back out and bought two more trays today.

 

Everything for under $100.  I should keep going right?

You've got to be kidding me

I mentioned earlier this fall I was thinking about wallpapering our mainfloor guest bathroom.  I was leaning toward the Orla Kiely blossom wallpaper from Anthropologie,

but was a little afraid someone would recognize it.  When I was trying to explain the design to someone at the wallpaper store, she said "like your purse?" 

Um, yes, exactly like my purse actually.  So I decided to pick something similarly graphic, and definitely black, but not so recognizable.  I went through every book at the store and came up with some contendors, and then I picked up a totally different book and fell in love with this -

 

Not exactly graphic, modern or black, but I could instantly imagine what the bathroom would look like and what accessories I could add.  This was Sunday.  Today,Tuesday, I got the Swag email from Minneapolis.St. Paul magazine.  They profiled a bedroom for a nine-year old with the very same wallpaper.  How can that be!? 

Although that bedroom is better than any single room in our house.  We repainted our 9-year old's bedroom this weekend.  Benjamin Moore Amulet.  Her little sister said it was the color of boogies.

Oh the shame

This fall I got into the habit of lighting a lemon-scented candle after I finished cleaning the kitchen each evening.  As a results, I quickly burned through my basement stash of Lemon Verbena scented Mrs. Meyer's candles.  And then I couldn't find anymore!  (I have since found that you can order them from the company on-line.)  I looked everywhere for a plain lemon candle. 

It became painfully clear that I would have to make a trip to - GASP - Yankee Candle.  The only thing worse than Yankee Candle was the year that they partnered with Thomas Kinkaid, the painter of light, to make Thomas Kinkaid Yankee Candles. 

Sure enough, Yankee Candle has Lemon candles.  They made that label so sticky you can't even peel it off.  Val and Jeannie, look away.

Now this is love

Last weekend, the dad decided to re-make a mix tape I had given him when we were dating in 1996.  He had lost the tape but was pretty sure he could remember what was on it.  He came up with about 12 of the songs, when I thought that I might have saved the tape case somewhere.  Sure enough!  Some of the songs - yeesh, what was I thinking - others totally funny.  We were able to put together all but three of the songs.

1. Garten Mother's Lullaby, sung by Meryl Streep on the first For Our Children album.  I had a tape of it and can only find the case.  You can't buy the song separately and a CD was almost $80 on Amazon.

2. Take my Time by Peter Mayer (not the one who tours with Jimmy Buffett) who is a local folk singer.  I had a tape of his first album which was a copy from someone at bible camp.  It is not available anywhere.  It isn't even listed on his website.  Once I talked to his wife at the Kinko's on Snelling and Grand right before a concert, but I don't think that connection is going to get me anywhere.

3. Love Train by Holly Johnson.  Also not on iTunes, although you can see the video on YouTube.  I spent a J-term in the Soviet Union and the girls I roomed with played this album all the time.  I loved it.  I also lost it.  He was the lead singer for Frankie Goes to Hollywood.  Does the mention of that band make anyone else think of the scene on Friends when Ross and Rachel break up and he takes back his Frankie says Relax t-shirt?  The CD was $.01 and Amazon.  Look what came in the mail yesterday!

Just plain January

We are back from Portland and back to our regular schedule.  I have put all the holiday decorations away, except for the inevitable tree or candle that I find weeks later, which then just sits on top of the Christmas boxed in the basement until next year.

My visit to Fabric Depot was great, although my visit corresponded with their 20% off sale, when I am pretty sure most of the time stuff is 40% off.  Bummer.  I also very much enjoyed my trip to Ink & Peat.  It was styled so beautifully.  I would even love to take home the signage and display pieces!  You can see more of the store on the HouseMartin blog. 

 

You can also see a few of the items that had to come home with me.  Yea for after-holiday sales.