Great Stuff From Beth's Shops

Isn't that Fisher Price Railroad car just the sweetest little thing?
How could I resist? I found it on Etsy, in one of Beth's shops, Dime Store Chic. When I saw it, I knew I had the perfect use for it - it is now my business card holder:
And I also had to get these shakers, below. Those tulip tops have become increasingly hard to find at a good price, and Beth's prices are always very fair:

No sooner had I received those items, than what do you suppose she did? She offered a great sale in another of her shops, Beth's Bagz, and I had been admiring her fabulous bags for quite some time, so I jumped on that deal as well, and now these two are on their way:


Gorgeous. Thanks, Beth!
(P. S. - Her 50% off sale at Beth's Bagz is still good through tomorrow - head on over and take a look!)

Lunch with an Old Friend

Good morning.  Tina here.

Just a very quick post.  I am meeting an old friend from high school in Placerville today for lunch.

Her name is Linda, and we haven't seen each other since we graduated.  We caught up with each other on Facebook recently, and found out we live across the river from each other.

We are meeting at The Brick restaurant on Main Street, which is across the street from the old City Hall buildings.

Here is a picture of the building, from the days of the Wagon Train parade:

This old brick building has a lot of Gold Country Girls history within its walls, and I plan a post on it coming up soon.  Jim, you may want to note that our elusive old tower house is there on the upper right.

Linda and I went to school in an old brick building:

So I figure it is fitting we should meet again at another one.

Enjoy your day!

Do You Recognize Her?

One week ago, I walked into a thrift store and I saw her. Leaning against the wall, on the floor, with other stuff mostly obscuring her from view. Though I barely saw a glimpse, I knew her immediately.

Do you recognize her?
With a tear in the canvas, and no price, I set her back down after taking a closer look. Later, I asked the price. Five dollars. None of the people working in the store knew who she was. But I did - and Marcia (my dear friend who was with me at the time) did, too.
Why, it's none other than the completely fabulous Peggy Lipton, of course, whom I practically IDOLIZED when "The Mod Squad" was on TV. I considered making the purchase, and then I decided against it, since five seemed like too much to me, with the torn area in the canvas, and all.
You know how I am, right?
I couldn't stand it, I mean - she was practically haunting me - so I went back the next day and brought her home. I think it's a remarkable likeness, painted on November 21st, 1968 by John Large.
I have no idea where I am going to put the painting, but I am very glad I went back for "her".
Peggy Lipton was recently on "Who Do You Think You Are?", the TV show about celebrities exploring their genealogical histories. The show featured Rashida Jones that evening, Peggy's daughter with Quincy Jones. It was a very moving program, and I was delighted to see Peggy again. I just read last week that that show has been cancelled, and I was so disappointed - I was looking forward to another season. Perhaps Lisa Kudrow will shop it around - The History Channel would be a good fit for it, I think. I'll remain hopeful.
Oh well, at least I do have my original, one-of-a-kind Peggy painting. Yes, indeed, she is right here with me where she belongs, with somebody who appreciates her.
(Edited to add: I'm sorry, I didn't make that very clear. Lisa Kudrow was indeed one of the producers (Thanks, Jim!) of "Who Do You Think You Are?", the fabulous program I mentioned above. I'm hoping they find another station that will want to carry the show so that they can keep producing more episodes, because I found the family history discoveries absolutely fascinating. And I know I'm not the only one.)

Peonies and Iris Celebrate Spring

Good morning.  It is Saturday on a holiday weekend and I am just here with a few shots of some peonies from my garden.

 Most of our peonies were brought here when we moved, they had lived in Diamond Springs for about 15 years, and now have been here in Kelsey for about 12 years.

 I have added a few more from nurseries when I run across one I like a lot.  I plan to put a few more into the middle of the garden bed this fall.

 Slow growing but once they decide they are staying where they are they live for years and years.

 The white ones are a particular favorite of mine.

 Sturdy and historic, and boy do the ants love them!

 Before the buds open the ants just crawl all over them.  They don't seem to hurt them at all, so it keeps the ants busy.

 Okay enough of those.  Below is our favorite of all our irises.  Lovely brown with brilliant yellow trim.

 And again, as with the peonies, white is a favorite.

 My dear hubby actually called me from work one day and wanted a photo from this side of our house.  I was happy to be able to scale the hill and help with that.  So here is our house looking west.

Just a quick weekend post.  Have a great Memorial Day, eat some barbecue, and enjoy your holiday!

A Lovely Mother's Day

Lori sure had a nice Mother's Day!!! After a wonderful Brunch with my Son and his Fiance, I met my Daughter and Granddaughter at Ikea. I had a small snack while I waited for them to arrive. This chocolate truffle cake was 'to die for'!!! I paired it with an iced coffee.

This is what I was really after, I bought 3 of them and put them all together in my craft room for another surface area and lots of storage in the baskets. They even fit my 12" scrapbook papers!

Addison fit right in with the color scheme and tried out an adorable tea set.

This table and chair was just her size.

Owls are really in right now, this print was bright and cute!!

Some bright and colorful paper and plasticware.

I was after some of these for a pretty picnic one day.

These are my favorite colors together and this color scheme was everywhere!!

Very reasonable tiered dish for displaying cupcakes or????

Here are my colors again on some comforters.

And also on these planter pots, I bought one of the lacy ones.

Some beautiful lighting....

And a chandelier my Daughter was eyeing for her new home.

I may have to go back soon for some of these shades, they were very reasonable and I need some new ones in my main room.

If you have never seen an Ikea store, please go, but allow lots of time, it's huge, and plan to eat, they have a wonderful cafeteria!!!!

What's Penny Wearing? #70 More "Thrifted" Tops

I seem to always manage to find nice, inexpensive tops or blouses when I go to the thrift stores. Like this one, below, a nice cool sleeveless in a tropical floral rayon print:

And this cotton one - in gorgeous colors:

Another rayon floral, that looks nice with the brown pants I found:

Cute in black cotton, a peasant style:

Another pretty rayon print that also pairs perfectly with brown pants:

And one more, a black and white floral in linen:

I hardly ever buy new tops at regular retail stores. I mean - why would I? There are so many nice clothes to be found at the "thrifts"!

My Step-Grandma Anita and her L.A. Bungalow

Good morning. This is Tina, and I am going to take you on a little trip to Los Angeles, California, home of the California Bungalow.

When I was a very little girl, before my sisters came along, my Grandpa Pop remarried.  His wife was Anita (which is "A Tina" when you turn it backwards, and that always fascinated me for some reason).  Anita and Pop lived in the most wonderful tiny (2 bedroom, 1 bath) little Spanish-style bungalow in Los Angeles.  Anita worked for the telegraph company for many years.

It was not fancy, and they never remodeled it or had a gardener, or anything. It was just as it was built, in all its tiny splendor.  To the right side was the driveway, which led to a wonderful big garage which was filled with all kinds of interesting wood-working tools and lots of fishing gear.

On the right back corner of the house was a little service porch, which if I remember right had a roaster oven sitting on one of those special holders that put it up at counter height, a small refrigerator, because there was no room in the kitchen, and a washing machine.  There was a door that led to the driveway.

The front door in the round tower led to the living room on the left, the middle front was the dining room and the right front had a teeny tiny breakfast room, with barely room for a table and a little shelf on the wall.

The backyard had a small patio and a very tiny little guest house. No bathroom, just a bedroom and a closet area.  Grandpa Pop used to barbecue for us out on the patio when we came to visit.

I am going to leave Anita's for just a minute and show you pictures off my television (which is not HD, by the way!). These two shots are of the house from Fran Drescher's show "Happily Divorced".  The minute I saw the show I thought, that's Anita's house!)  It isn't, of course, and the house on TV has been remodeled, but it is definitely very similar and now I watch the show just to see the house.  In her show the garage has been turned into a florist shop.

So many similarities, driveway on the right.  The tower door in now on the outside of the tower to make the inside a vestibule entrance.  Good idea for a small house.

Anita and Pop's living room had a wonderful center fireplace, with small windows on either side, and a nice big hearth.  On that hearth stood the most wonderful large ceramic cat.  As a small girl, probably only 2 or 3 years old when I first saw it, it stays in my memory as the biggest, prettiest kitty I had ever seen.  In the photo above, taken in the 90's, it sits in the guest room on a dresser.  I wish I had asked Anita if I could set her kitty  back in the living room for a picture as I remembered her best.  She dwarfs the other knickknacks. This cat is by Kay Finch, a Southern California artist who I plan a blog on someday in the future.

Anita's tiny kitchen had barely enough room for the sink, with the window above looking out to the driveway, and the wonderful old stove shown above.  I think that is when I fell in love with the lovely old white gas stoves, especially if they have a griddle in the middle! Pancakes at Pop and Anita's anyone, served in the breakfast room off the front patio, please.

How in the world I managed to get Anita to 1) let me take photos in her bathroom, of all places, and 2) let me take a photo of HER in her bathroom (?) I will never know!  But I guess I must have impressed upon her how much I LOVED her bathroom.  Wonderful blue tile, gorgeous pink fixtures, Darling art deco tile trim. It is similar to Heidi's bathroom, the shower is a lot like hers.  Made for little teeny tiny people, not Tina sized people, but Anita must have fit in there just fine.

 Black soap and cup holders built-in.  Lovely blue and black tile counters.

 Now that is a comfortable looking bathtub.  I am SO jealous!

Note the great art deco light switch surround.  Anita had given up showers by the time I took these photos, and with the addition of a rod, it made a good closet.

Anita and my dear hubby in the backyard in front of the guest house as she explains the facts of the world, or tells him what she is growing in the tomato cages.  We tried to get over to visit her whenever we went to Southern California for a visit to friends and relatives.  This may have been our last visit.

Our Step-Grandma Anita is now in heaven, but I hope she has the internet up there so she can visit her old home again, and know how fondly I remember her.