Rick Rack Love

Sister Lori here, with a great love of rick rack in all sizes and colors!
Recently I found the pattern below and am definitely inspired to make some of those flowers! There is a great tutorial inside.

I have certainly collected plenty for my own use, wouldn't you say?

Maybe I could also make some flowers for earrings such as these shown below, from Heidi's collection:

You just glue them onto non pierced backings:

Heidi and I saw this trim at a fabric store recently and thought the use of buttons and rick rack was adorable!

Now to get busy on a rainy day............

Purple Paisley Counterpane

I did a post back in 2009 , when my guest room bed looked like this:

And when I found a gorgeous chenille bedspread I loved at a thrift shop, I changed it and it looked like this:
But today, it looks like this:

All of the purple vintage pillows at the head of the bed were here in the house when we moved in. This is the first time I have been able to display them all together.
The purple paisley coverlet was given to me by our elderly neighbor when she was moving away. She lived in the home next door for over sixty years, and my husband went all through school with her youngest daughter. When I said something about how much I liked one just like it that had already been sold at their estate sale, Muriel insisted that I take the one that had been on her own bed as a gift. She passed away earlier this year.
I think it's absolutely gorgeous, and I treasure it. It is heavy, quilted, and warm, and is made of a soft flannel-like fabric. The underside is solid purple.

I have showed you the pretty embroidered pillow before, but it looks so wonderful on this bed that I have an excuse for showcasing it again today.
Here's wishing sweet purple paisley dreams to all who stay here in our guest room.

Models From The 70's - Ingrid Boulting

I wish I had more images of this gorgeous lady to share; she is another one of my favorite faces from the magazines of the 70's.
(She is STILL absolutely beautiful, and if you would like to see a gallery of lovely images of her, pleases click to go to IngridBoulting.com , her own website, where you will find all sorts of loveliness.)
Here are a few; some are pages from my vintage Seventeen magazines, and also a couple of great Vogue covers:





She is stunning, isn't she?

A New Lady Arrives

I promised I would keep you abreast of the situation with Klara, George, and The Colonel (if you recall).
Well, I simply MUST tell you that the recent arrival of Klara's oldest, dearest friend has created quite a stir.
Lady Piper Pinkerton of Pembrokeshire traveled some distance for an extended visit with her dear old friend.

When Colonel Mustard first met Lady Piper face to face....
...he fell head over heels,

..... so to speak.

These days, they are seldom seen separately about town.

And , it was even overheard in one of the pubs on the square that a double wedding may be coming up in the not-too-distant future.
Once again, all is well in the village.

Then And Now #83 Duncan Hines Cake Mixes

It's all about Duncan Hines cake mixes today.
First up, here is an advertisement for white cake from 1954:

And one from 1956; that Blitz Torte looks pretty good to me!

This portion of an ad from 1964 shows the variety of mixes that were available at that time:

The next advertisement is from 1965 - sorry it looks so bad, it was on the back of a well-worn magazine:

This ad from 1967 features a photo of a Lady Baltimore Cake and a George Washington Cherry Cake, and also a recipe for Chocolate Cream Torte:

From 1968, "Cookies from a cake mix? Here's how!"
with a recipe for chocolate chip cookies:

And here's another one from 1968, with a recipe for Pineapple Upside Down Cake:

And yet another from '68, with yet another recipe:

Here's how their Classic Yellow Cake Mix looked in 2006:
And Spice Cake in 2006, with a recipe on the box for Old Fashioned Applesauce Spice Cake
And this is how they look "Now" , below in the next three photos which were all taken recently at the supermarket:

I think you'll agree that they still have quite a variety to choose from!

The Latest Finds

Here I am again with pictures of some of my recent finds. Above you see an ivy lap tray, pillar candle holder, rose party plates, and two pristine vintage floral tea towels or runners.
And below: my own sort of "Mad Men" version of a little cocktail set, with a decanter from one thrift shop and the set of small tumblers from another. All I need is a glass stirring stick (I have one - just forgot to include it!)

Pyrex, and three gorgeous vintage pottery pieces that I still cannot believe I got for less than five dollars!
Apparently, I have turned into The Candle Holder Queen. I was tickled to find the copper ones, because they are just like the ones Mother had. And I love the vintage fabric remnant in the background:

A lovely afghan in fall colors:

I found a number of great vintage greeting cards. These colorful ones would look great framed:

Here's a close-up of the tweed fabric you see in the background, above. It was being used as a tablecloth at a yard sale, and I asked if I could buy it. I think it would make a gorgeous vintage-style ladies suit with a short jacket; I absolutely love the colors.
And I found a lovely green and gold plate from England, a pretty tile trivet, and the cutest vintage fairy party plates:

That's all I've got for today.

Leoni Meadows Field Trip, Part Three: Nature Center

I must admit that I do not often visit museums nor natural history centers, so I found the taxidermy birds and animals on display at the Leoni Meadows Nature Center very interesting. I wish I had taken more pictures, because the number of creatures they have is much more than you might expect at this off-the-beaten-path location. An owl and a kestrel:
A big buck:
This beautiful peacock:


Another owl:
A bobcat:
A hawk with his prey:
A fox:
A coyote howling at the moon:
And a black bear:
This painting on velvet, below, is on display at the center. I took a picture because it was probably the prettiest velvet painting I have ever seen. Looks like the sun's rays barely making their way through in the shadows of the redwoods. I have been in places like that. Gorgeous (better than my photo shows!)
I wish I had taken a picture of their bird display!
Maybe next time.