The Sound Of Music Live

Is anyone else looking forward to this as much as I am?
 I am really quite excited about it!

After watching the NBC television program "The Making Of 'The Sound Of Music Live!" on the night before Thanksgiving, and then seeing the pair who will portray Liesl and Rolf  perform in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade yesterday morning, I can hardly wait. I have been a Carrie Underwood fan since her very first song on American Idol, and I adore Tony winners Audra McDonald and Christian Borle, as well.
I have known - and loved - this Rodgers and Hammerstein musical for my entire life. From the Broadway soundtrack album with Mary Martin that Mother had  (a copy of which I also own myself, of course), that we listened to when we were growing up, to the fabulous film and soundtrack with the iconic and unsurpassed Julie Andrews, I have never tired of the music, and have seen every possible local production I could over the last 30 years.
I was absolutely fascinated and enthralled by the "making of.." show the other night, watching as they selected the cast of Von Trapp children, constructed the sets, rehearsed, etc. - and I can hardly wait to see the live production on December 5th! That behind the scenes peek definitely has whetted my appetite, just as I am certain they intended. Hey, NBC - it worked on me!
How about you?

Count Your Blessings This Thanksgiving Day

Here's wishing all of you the greatest of blessings and thankfulness, as we gather together to celebrate this special holiday with family and friends.

 With the exception of the addition of whatever Thanksgiving decorations I manage to glean from thrift shops and the like throughout the year, my Thanksgiving decorations do not change a whole lot from year to year.

Turkeys of all shapes and sizes adorn the dining room buffet. 

The two little turkeys below were a lucky find this year ; they pair sweetly with my little Gurley pilgrim:

 The huge hand -painted  turkey platter made in Italy seen in the next photo is my favorite - it belonged to my in-laws and will remain in this house always - the star of the show! (And I am also rather fond of my large Salvation Army ceramic turkey you see in front of it):

 The one below is a pretty good match for that one - it's another find from a few months back. It actually is a covered dish - I could serve gravy in it, I suppose:

The little turkey salt and pepper shakers in the final photo were found at Sur La Table last year after Thanksgiving, and were marked down 75% or more. Lori bought a pair, too: 

Happy turkey day to you!!

Are you stuffed by a turkey or is the turkey stuffed by you?

Good morning, Tina here, happy Thanksgiving Eve!

You might remember last week when I showed you centerpieces from our Placerville Shakespeare Club luncheon. I fell in love with the stuffed fabric turkey below.

I loved the way the striped fabric made the tail feathers, with the eyelet lace as the tips, as he spreads his lovely plumage above the table.

So I went searching at my favorite shopping venue, ebay, and found a pattern.  This pattern is from Kathy Pace and is dated to the 1980s.  I haven't purchased it yet, but I am thinking about it.

My search for stuffed turkey patterns brought up quite a few ideas. Above is a cute idea from 1983 for napkin holders if you want something a little smaller on your table. Or perhaps you could use them as placeholders.

Here is another pattern using the striped fabric. This one is made by My Sister & I and dates from 1985.

This adorable Mr. Turkey by Patchwork Place is from 1978. His gingham body really stands out.

Above and below are two McCalls patterns, very similar to each other, the upper is from 2005, the lower from 2007. These turkeys are almost like cartoon characters. How could we think of eating them?

Below is another one I fell for, I just find the feather tail a lot of fun.  I could see myself in Joanne's fabrics picking out the various colored calicos.

The Yours Truly pattern is also from 1978, the same year as Mr. Turkey.  The 70s, with their peasant tops, granny and gunne sax dresses, were very fond of earth tones and calicoes.

Below is the pattern I actually ordered, I was drawn in by the fact it came with a lovely brown calico and ball trim.

This Ozark Calico Turkey is from the 60s. I haven't received it yet, so it isn't going to make it to our Thanksgiving table. Next year, watch out! If I make all the ones I like, I will have three turkeys to preside over the festivities.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and get stuffed by a turkey!

Vera For Burlington In Red, White And Blue

I discovered yet another wonderful Vera Neumann for Burlington sheets advertisement in one of my vintage Seventeen magazines. I DO feel compelled to share these with you when I find them, you know.
I'm not sure how many sheet designs she did for them, but they're pretty cool.:

Pleasant Dreams, for sure. (Bright, yes - but pleasant, just the same.)
From the Vera Collection By Burlington.
Pop Art. Op Art. Cool.

Guess What I Brought Home From Disneyland?

Here's a hint - it's got Mickey and Minnie on it:

 Did you guess it?
It's A Vera Bradley Disney bag!

I love Disney.
I love Vera Bradley.
And I love my new bag.

I had only heard about these new designs back right around my birthday in October, and I was very happy to hear about them at the time - all new to me.
Never did I dream that there would one day be a Disney - Vera Bradley connection/collaboration/collection.
But when I laid eyes on this at Disney Clothiers on Main Street at Disneyland, I was like "Ohhhh, yeah!"
I had carried a different bag around at the park the day before, and it really was not working for me. At all.

This one, however, did work for me.
 Very well, in fact.
It's Vera Bradley's "Hipster" style, a cross-body bag with an adjustable strap. I bought it and went immediately to our locker to transfer things from my other bag to this one:

This bright, beautiful, new DISNEY one.
Mama's got a brand new bag, all right.
(And she's pretty happy about it, in case you couldn't tell. )

Models, Revisited: More Of Season Hubley

For the latest in my "Models" series, this one is another look at the lovely Season Hubley. First up, you see her in a Cover Girl  Make-Up advertisement, circa 1972:

In the next one, she appears as the cover girl on "Seventeen's Make It Magazine" from the spring/summer issue which came out that same year:

In the shot below, from a Coty advertisement  (1973):

Another shot from a Clairol Frost N' tip ad:

And the next two are from inside that "Make It!" magazine:

Last of all, you see her in an episode of "The Partridge Family"! She played a princess who dated Keith, David Cassidy's character. (I took a  picture of the TV screen - which did not turn out too well!):

Even with my bad photo, she's still pretty cute!
(All of the other pictures shown in today's post are from my own "Seventeen" magazine collection.)
As soon as I have the time, I will "revisit" some more of my other favorite models from the sixties and seventies.

A Craft Fair

Hi!! Sister Lori here! I did a craft fair recently and was hoping to earn some good money. I was a little unsure of the venue and had not done one in quite a while. My prices were good, however it was not well attended. I am scheduled for another in a few weeks, so hopefully it will be better, and my inventory is up, so I don't need to make much more. Here is an overview of our table. I shared it with a friend who makes beautiful beaded bracelets and earrings. She did pretty well!!!!

              I made these cards which had a cocoa packet inside along with a choc. mint stirring stick.

Here we have altered clothespins, I glued pretty scrapbook papers on the front and there is a tiny strong magnet on the back. Underneath are post it note pad books with a mini pen attached, great for your purse.

These are snowmen ornaments, made with a battery operated tea light, so simple and easy, aren't they cute!!!! Also some key fobs, super easy to make, the hardware I found on Etsy and most all my ideas were from Pinterest, gotta love it!!!!

Inside these note books are a half of a junior-sized legal pad, I used a lot of my beautiful scrapbook papers from Close To My Heart, The stamping and scrapbooking company I am a Consultant for.

These are adjustable button rings I made. I have collected lots of vintage buttons over the years, most I glued another pretty in the middle of the button, Love them!!!!

Here we have calendars, I made 2 different styles, one an easel that stands and the other is on a coaster with a magnet on back for refrigerator or file cabinet or?????

These are file clips, small or large, that I covered with papers and added some ribbon. They can hold a recipe card on your counter or a photo. Also, not shown are some pretty file folders that I altered and they open up to hold a junior legal pad, like a small notebook.

                Here are my friends beautiful beaded bracelets and earrings, she does great work!!!

                                                                     
Thanks for looking!!!!!!

Thanksgiving Centerpieces ala Placerville Shakespeare Club

Good morning. Tina here. I am enjoying our first heavy fall rain this morning. But yesterday I was working at the Placerville Shakespeare Club. It was our second day of preparing a wonderful early Thanksgiving luncheon. Nine of us were on the November luncheon committee, and we prepared quite a feast.

Part of our job was for each one of us to provide a centerpiece for one of the tables.  I had forgotten about that part, and Sunday night I was on the phone to Lori (God bless sisters!) asking her if she had any fall-type items I could use as a centerpiece. Well of course she did.

This is my centerpiece below.

Lori provided everything except the vintage vase, which is mine. I think it turned out pretty well.
The tables were wonderful!  All different, but all fall or Thanksgiving themed, so they worked well together.

I love the cornucopia above, just touches of orange, and an abundance of natural color.

A pumpkin becomes a vase stuffed with daisies.

Squash as a still life.

Gourds which were simply cleaned and lightly varnished.  Beautiful!

The shiny black expanse of our grand piano called for a larger centerpiece.

The little purple birdie looks mighty proud of her golden eggs.

A pumpkin skeleton of metal encloses an arrangement of autumn delights.

Another bright cornucopia spilling mums across the tablecloth.

I love the colors and the sparkle in this basket of goodies!

A cute little pilgrim, boy on one side, girl on the other, smiles at us from either side of this copper pumpkin.

I fell in love with this calico turkey, and hope to make one of my own someday. It was so clever how the fabric pattern was incorporated into his tail!

Another turkey, surrounded by colorful bounty.

One last look at my creation, just because I am proud of it, and as a thank you to Lori for helping me out!