Jug

If I were a member of a Jug band this would be my instrument. I walked into TJ Maxx the other day to browse (as if). I approached this oversized recycled glass jug and spent the rest of my time in the store trying not to drop it.

Treasure Find Tuesday: Helen Marie

"It is a curious thing, the death of a loved one. We all know that our time in this world is limited, and that eventually all of us will end up underneath some sheet, never to wake up. And yet it is always a surprise when it happens to someone we know. It is like walking up the stairs to your bedroom in the dark, and thinking there is one more stair than there is. Your foot falls down, through the air, and there is a sickly moment of dark surprise as you try and readjust the way you thought of things."

— Lemony Snicket

I am blogging while drinking Red Rose black tea. This is the tea I grew up drinking during tea parties with my grandma. In May, my grandma passed away peacefully five days after my last visit. I needed to take a pause from blogging in order to spare you my unfiltered emotions. I hope that you are still eager to hear more as I am eager to share!

Todays treasure is a salute to Helen Marie. You will undoubtedly learn more about her as this blog goes on. Not only was she quite a character, I wouldn't be at all who I am today if she hadn't shared so much of her love with me.

She read me many poems as a child, but this one was our favorite. I even looked it up on my i phone and read it to her on my last visit. Please enjoy.

The Sugar-Plum Tree

By: Eugene Field

AVE you ever heard of the Sugar-Plum Tree?

'T is a marvel of great renown!

It blooms on the shore of the Lollipop sea

In the garden of Shut-Eye Town;

The fruit that it bears is so wondrously sweet

(As those who have tasted it say)

That good little children have only to eat

Of that fruit to be happy next day.

When you 've got to the tree, you would have a hard time

To capture the fruit which I sing;

The tree is so tall that no person could climb

To the boughs where the sugar-plums swing!

But up in that tree sits a chocolate cat,

And a gingerbread dog prowls below--

And this is the way you contrive to get at

Those sugar-plums tempting you so:

You say but the word to that gingerbread dog

And he barks with such terrible zest

That the chocolate cat is at once all agog,

As her swelling proportions attest.

And the chocolate cat goes cavorting around

From this leafy limb unto that,

And the sugar-plums tumble, of course, to the ground--

Hurrah for that chocolate cat!

There are marshmallows, gumdrops, and peppermint canes,

With stripings of scarlet or gold,

And you carry away of the treasure that rains

As much as your apron can hold!

So come, little child, cuddle closer to me

In your dainty white nightcap and gown,

And I 'll rock you away to that Sugar-Plum Tree

In the garden of Shut-Eye Town.

Treasure Find Tuesday

Now that I have made a trip to Texas to deliver my Mothers Day gift, I can finally share it with you. My mom is amazing. It's a fact. She is surrounded by a husband, six children, a daughter in law, son in law, grandchildren, mother, mother in law, and fantastic friends who all adore her. The idea for her gift came to me as I was sifting though the bins at Goodwill Outlet. When I tell you the backstory of my idea you may think I am mean, but it is all in good fun.

Mom and I never resist an opportunity to get an annoying song stuck in the other persons head. We walk past each other humming "we're here because we're here because we're here because we're here ...", "soon and very soon", or "john jacob jingleheimer smith". When I pulled this beautiful piece of sheet music for "Skip to My Lou" from 1959 I knew I had to work it into her gift somehow.

Further digging produced this frame that I knew could be beautiful with a little but of work.

After a trip to the craft store for paper, lots of windex, and a bit of wood polish, the gift was ready to make its way to Texas.

It goes great in moms family room by the piano. I love the graphics. Now every time she walks past it, she will begin tapping her toes to Skip to My Lou and know how much her daughter loves her ... or loves to torture her ... but after all what are kids for. Think I'm mean now? Like I said, its all in good fun.

Love you Mom

*just in case you are not familiar with the song here is a raffi version

Treasure Find Tuesday

I came across a stack of what I thought was plain writing paper while thrifting with one of my dear friends in San Diego, CA. I was sold with the twenty five cent price tag when I thought the pages were blank. Once I unbound the pages I discovered that quite a few in the pile had decorative borders and images. I LOVE letter writing. Wouldn't you love to have one of these designs pop up in your mailbox?

Fortune

My fortune last night was pretty amazing.

I busted out laughing when I read Chris' after mine.
Apparently we both have good things coming our way ... Chris just has to work harder for his ... unless bad things are included in my "everything", but that's not how I first read it so that can't be right.

For some reason there was a third cookie which we split.
This is a fortune we can both live with.

Enjoy your first May weekend!

The Mess Above the Fire

The other morning when I clicked onto one of my favorite reads { Pinecone Camp } I had to laugh at myself because I immediately looked up and saw this:

The post was all about collecting. Now, I know everything on the mantel doesn't go together as a cohesive collection per say ... but I am sure I can create a convincing argument that it is a collection of stuff (or "duff" as my adorable niece would say). All of this business ended up on our mantel because I am not sure where to put it next. I set it there to get it out of the way. The longer it sits there, the more I think I like it. I know that simple mantels are supposed to stand out in a room, but there is something about the clear chaos that keeps me staring. What do you think? Jumbled mess? Should it stay or go?

I have also got quite a few wine bottles I am about to take to recycling ... something tells me I should peel off the labels and keep them around somehow. Any ideas on what to do with them? I would love to decorate with them, but then again I don't want people to walk in and think gee ... that's a lot of bottles ... awkward. (CONFESSION: that is usually what I think when people openly display their alcohol, I can't help it. It's an automatic reaction.)

Treasure Find Tuesday

Happening at this moment: Goose on the water, duck in my house.

I made an amazing discovery a few weeks ago. After dropping Chris off at the airport, I began to wander around town. Driving around exploring our area has become one of our favorite past times in Ohio. This particular day I was on the lookout for thrift shops. I am sad to say that Chris is not as fascinated about sifting through items as I am, which is why I was going it alone. While I was out, I hit the crazy jackpot - a Goodwill OUTLET. I know! You would assume Goodwill already has the lowest prices possible, but how much you pay at the outlet depends on how much everything weighs. All clothes are on racks and are less than $2 an item. The only shelves in the place house electronics and artwork EVERYTHING else is dumped in bins that you have to dig through. This place is literally a workout. Each bin is madness filled with glass, action figures, movies, crutches, games ... you name it, it's in a bin. What you do is fill up a shopping cart and roll it up onto a large scale at checkout. Items are priced by the pound. Trust me there are many treasure finds to come from these blue bins!

This is a wooden duck I threw into my cart on my first dive into the bins.

After a coat of light pink paint (Paint color = Romance) I have let the duck live inside.

I forgot to take a before picture of this wooden frame that I thrifted at the Base thrift shop, but it was the wood color that you can see in the upper left corner of this blurry photo. I painted it white after falling in love with Anna's white coffee table at Your Trash, My Treasure .

The frame is perfect for our mini hallway.