Our Week In Reno

Last week we had the privilege of visiting Nonie and Grampy in Reno, Nevada.  It was Grampy's 60th birthday and we had to make an appearance.  Luckily Grampy was born at a really fun time and we were able to hit up lots of festivals and events while we were there.

I live in Alabama now (which I love) but I grew up in Reno.  I enjoyed growing up there mostly because there was always some sort of street festival going on.  You may have heard of the recent tragedy at the Air Races where a plane crashed into the crowd.  It's very scary to think of because these festivals in Reno are always packed.  Luckily these types of tragedies are rare (keep those people in your prayers!) and most of the events are fun, fun, fun.

 

We went to the Rib Cook Off.  These Southerners approve.  The BBQ was gooood and there was so much of it!

We swam at Lake Tahoe.  Always beautiful.

We went to the Camel Races in Virginia City.  They raced ostriches and zebras too.  This ostrich bucked off its rider then proceeded to spin in circles.  It was wild.

We even panned for gold and struck it rich!

We also saw lots and lots of balloons at the hot Air Balloon Festival.

We even got up at 4 am to see the dawn patrol light up the sky.

It was a great week.  Y'all should really check out Reno sometime.  There is always something going on!  I enjoyed my time spent with family (they're the greatest)  but it's always good to be home.  Now maybe I can get back to my true love - crafting and blogging about it.  :)

Antique Week: Clocks and Books

From the looks of a lot of the pins I see on Pinterest there is a big fan base for all things books.  Here are some more to add to the drool pile. 

There were so many on my parents shelves to choose from but these were my favorites of the day:

The Practical Guide To Health by Frederick M. Rossiter, B.S., M.D.,  1913

{From top to bottom}

Jean Valjean from Victor Hugo's Les Miserables edited by Sara E. Wiltse, 1898

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, 1944

The Rains Came A Novel of Modern India by Louis Bromfield, 1937

The Last of the Mohicans by J. Fenimore Cooper, 1897

The Prince and The Pauper by Mark Twain, 1882

The American Dictionary of the English Language by Noah Webster, 1849

Just look at this beautifully stamped leather cover!

 

An enjoyable excerpt from The Practical Guide to Heath, "Children who are indulged and who are allowed to satisfy the senses simply because it gratifies them, are early taught to live for the mere pleasure of life.  They are not taught to say, No, to the appetite.  Later in life the habit is foxed, and they become a prey to every passion and storm of the soul."

How's that for a medical book!  I'm certain Dr. Rossiter is shaking his head at my parenting skills.  A good reminder for us all, I think.

Love books but how about another picture of the insides of a beautiful clock? 

Sigh...

Antique Week: Delicate Flowers

It's Antique Week at my mom's house.  It's not possible to show you all the pretty delicate floral things my mom has.  She has quite an extensive collection of tea cups and gorgeous china.  Some of these items are not antique but definitely weren't purchased yesterday.  These are just a tiny sampling of some of my favorite pieces.





Leaf cup and saucer, and heavily floraled sets that make me oh so happy.

Love this English tea tin and seed packet tin.

Teeny tiny kerosene lamps on a crocheted doily.  Mom's Royal Albert tea pot is in the back.  She has nearly every piece in the set.

The tiny little white plates with pink flowers and gold plating on the rim are so delicate.  My mom has a large set of this pattern.  We are very lucky to done with them at Christmas.

Flowers, flowers, flowers. 

What's not to love?

Antique Week: Crafting

Continuing on with Antique Week, I had to include some antique craft supplies!  I know that there are so many more little treasures in my mom's house but after rummaging for just a short while I found all of these little beauties.

Hand cross stitched table cloth.  Maybe done by my grandma???

What's more swoon worthy than an antique jar filled with antique buttons?  The lid is to die for.

Tiny ivory crochet hooks perfect for making doilie after doilie.

A very heavy little iron.  This is how it used to be done folks.  You know, when women actually ironed clothes instead of shoving them in the dryer 15 minutes before leaving the house.

A tiny leather knife box lined in blue velvet, a gorgeous, ornate brass lantern to light up your craft room and {gasp!} a wooden thread carousel with wooden spools of antique thread.  And what's that on top?  Why it's a tiny little bowl to hold even more little treasures like these gorgeous lion crest embossed buttons.

I wonder how it will go over when I tell my husband that I now need two craft rooms?  My functional modern one and my display craft room to show off little gems just like these. 

Yep.  Definitely need two craft rooms.  Sorry babe.



Antique Week

I love when people post their thrifted items for the week.  There are so many fun treasures.  I have to admit though, I've developed a slight phobia of thrift stores lately.  I'm always afraid I'll be robbed.  I built up the courage to go with my friend a few weeks ago and guess what?  I was robbed{pick pocketed actually}.  I know.  It's crazy. 

So since you won't be seeing many thrift store finds from me in the near future I thought I would show you something better.  Antiques and family heirlooms!!  I'm visiting my mother and she has so many fantastic things just lying around her house.  I can't wait to show you just a tiny sample.



Brass and wood bell, wash basin pitcher, photo from Nelson photography, Santa Rosa, Cal., leather baby shoes, crochet doilie, rose tapestry and crochet doilie.



I can't start Antique Week without telling you about the wonderful lady behind it all, my Grandma Rosie.  My Nonie {that's Italian for Grandma} was born in 1917 and was the best.  She was actually the only grandparent I ever knew until I got married and inhered grandparents.  She was married to my Grandpa Charlie but he died before I was even born.  He was born in 1899.  He even served in WWI.  Nonie lived on Hopkins Street in Berkley, California most of her life in a house my grandfather built.  The home is gorgeous.  Grandma was an avid gardener and had an elaborate and perfectly manicured rose garden.  It was stunning.

Sadly, my Nonie passed away when I was just a little girl.  When she passed we were able to hold on to some of her belongings.  It meant so much to me to see all of these antique treasures growing up because they reminded me of her.  These things gave me a reverence for the past and for family.



My mother's baby shoes, 1954.



I hope you enjoy looking at these treasures as much as I do. 

Check back throughout the week to see lots, lots, more!

Glass Etched Bake Ware for Wedding

This past weekend we were able to attend another wedding.  You should have seen it.  Gorgeous.  1,000 yards of tulle, wooden ovals with pink and black silhouettes of the bride and groom and tea cups and saucers glued to brass candle sticks of varying heights as centerpieces.  I wish I had taken pictures to show you because I know my description is terrible.

For their gift I made glass etched bake ware.  You can view the tutorial HERE.  My computer is broken so I can't use my Sure Cuts A Lot software this time.  I used my Plantain Schoolbook Cricut cartridge for the letters and Accent Essential cartridge for the scroll design.  You can't see it in this picture but the same design is also at the end of the name.  I cut out two stencils (since I was making two dishes) of the regular image and then hit the "flip" button on the Cricut and cut out two more. 

Because I wanted this

< name >

and not this

< name <

Does that make sense?

Since both of the cartridges I used come with most Cricut Expressions, if you have one you can make the exact same bake ware yourself. 

Grilled Corn Salsa

I had some leftover grilled corn from dinner the other day and knew it needed to be made into a salsa because everything is better with salsa.  I mean, Jerry Seinfeld had an entire episode dedicated to it!

Grilling corn is super simple.  Just lay your corn (husks and all) on the grill.  Rotate occasionally.  I don't even bother to soak them or remove the little strings because there is enough moisture in the husk already and the strings either singe off or they are super easy to remove after it's been cooked.  I do however trim off the floppy outsides of the husk.  No sense in starting a fire with unnecessary extra husk.

It tasted great with tacos and quesadillas.  The sweetness of the corn made it perfect. 

Want the super simple recipe??  Here it is. 

Ingredients:

• 1- 1.5 ears of grilled corn kernels
• 1 cup diced tomatoes
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup cilantro
• olive oil
• lemon juice
• salt
• chili powder

Directions:

1. Combine first four ingredients in a bowl.
2. Drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice.
3. Season with salt and chili powder.

Make Your Own Coupon Keeper

Whether you're a major coupon clipper or just use a coupon here or there it's a great way to save money.  I used to be a big couponer and sadly after I was pregnant with baby #2 I just fizzled out.  I do use coupons when I can but I don't collect them from the paper anymore.

Here is what I would use to store my coupons in an organized and easy way. 

I was in desperate need of a larger coupon holder and I didn't want to have to buy a binder and business card holder inserts. I estimated that to do so would have cost me around $10-$15 which would have defeated the point of all my coupon clipping these past few weeks.

 

 

I went digging in an old drawer and found a picture holder from the 7th grade (yes, that would be over 15 years ago). Thank goodness I didn't throw it out! There were a few crummy pictures in it and I hadn't touched it for years. I took the pictures out and created paper tabs (I cut my tabs using my Cricut but you can just fold over rectangles of paper) and stapled them to the inside. I then sorted my coupons.  The labels are for the sections of the store, baby, dairy, meat, cereals, toiletries, medicine etc.  The photo book spaces are the perfect size to store irregular sized coupons too. 

 

 

Simple as that! They are now organized, easy to view, and easy to find. Now I'm not flipping through my messy stacks of coupons trying to find what I am looking for.  And it's a great way to reuse all those picture books you are not using.

I bet you're wondering if I dropped off the face of the earth. The truth is my computer is broken and I have just had my iPod to work off of or I have to wait until the hubby surrenders the lap top. Between a PhD, video games and fantasy football I obviously don't get to use it much. :)

Would you forgive me though if I told you that I have tutorials coming for which you can make yourself a new dress, leather purse and a bunch more stuff to help you keep your house clean and cute?? I hope you can. I may just throw in some giveaways too.

Thanks for your patience and keep an eye out for awesome stuff to come.

Y'all are the best!!

Homemade Play Dough from The Worlds Best Cookbook

You've probably seen lots of recipes for homemade play dough but this one is the best because it came from the best cookbook there is.

I got this cookbook when I was 4 years old.  Throughout my childhood I poured over its pages and made nearly every recipe in it.  The first thing I ever made was guacamole.  Since then I've been perfecting the recipe and it's one of my best dishes.  I'll share the recipe with you just as soon as avocados don't cost a million dollars.

Well worn but in pretty good condition considering it's 25 years old.  I still use it all the time.  It also came with a set of colorful measuring spoons which I still use every day.

Here's everything you need, taken straight from the book. 

Ingredients:

• 1 C. white flour
• 1/4 C. salt
• 1Tb vegetable oil
• 2 Tb cream of tartar
• 1 cup water
• 2 tsp food coloring

Directions:

1. Mix flour, salt and cream of tartar in a medium pot.
2. Add water, food coloring and oil.
3. Stir over medium heat for 3-5 minutes.  Don't worry if the mixture looks like a globby mess; it'll turn into dough.
4. When the mixture forms a ball in the center of the pot, take it out and put it on a floured surface.  Squish it and punch it around a bit; this is called kneading.
5. When you're done put it in a plastic bag or airtight container.

This play dough works beautifully and lasts forever.  The only time we make more is when we want another color.  Have fun making this with your kids.  You'll all love it!