Happy Birthday to Me!

Yep.......its the B*I*G one! But hey* 50 is the new 30!

She always gives the best gifts!

This is me and Susie....my former partner from our flower shop Vintage Rose. She now lives in the Chicago area and we get together every year over Christmas. She always brings my birthday present also. She bought me this shabby chic crown for my birthday. For Christmas she gave me this pink robe and pink travel case.....just so fun! For my birthday she gave this fun crown and this birthday book a homemade card of course....and these wonderful charms.

Check this out.....is this so wonderful or what? My initial monogrammed, pink glitter, hearts, keys that say love and happiness, wonderful beads and a rose from some vintage wallpaper I gave her and since its my big birthday this year..........fifty. And the other side...........

is the rose wallpaper, the Eiffel towel, a picture of 2 angels that is on a vintage photo album that I have and on the other side of fifty says.......not shabby just chic! I just love it!

Wishing you and your family a Wonderful Christmas!

MMMMMMMMM.........These are the B*E*S*T

This recipe is the best for popcorn balls. We got snowed out from having Christmas at my moms....it is postponed til January. I was suppose to bring popcorn balls. I decided to make them anyway since I was hungry for them. Here they are.....normally I make them red and green but decided for home to not color them. I decided to share the recipe with all of you. This recipe is from an old church cookbook......they have the best recipes don't they?

POPCORN BALLS

10 cups popped corn

4 marshmallows ( cut up)

2 TBSP butter or margarine

6 TBSP white corn syrup

2 cups confections sugar

3 tsp water.

Place popped corn in a bowl. In a medium sauce pan, combine sugar, syrup, butter, water and marshamallows. Bring to a full boil over medium heat stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and continue to stir until marshmallows are melted. Add food coloring if you want them colored. Pour syrup over corn; toss lightly until well coated. Let cool until easy to handle. Grease hands and shape into balls. Makes about 15 good sized balls. These are not sticky.

I usually double this recipe and then double it again........I like them a little bigger so the 2 double batches makes about 30-35 popcorn balls..

Christmas is almost here....

Are you ready? I have been ages ago. I know, I know.....people hate people like me! LOL! That's what I keep hearing at work anyway......I can't believe you are that organized! I won some great shabby chic reindeer plates yesterday at a work get together because of a game.....Do you have all your presents bought......add 5 points. Do you have all your presents wrapped.....add 10 points. Is your birthday in Dec.....add 5 points. Do you have your work pin on ......add 3 points. Etc, Etc, Etc. I blew everyone out of the water! LOL!!!! I sure hope I don't get sick tho by Christmas...we have surround sound coughing, sneezing and blowing noses at work.....YIKES. Here's another snippet of my Christmas decorations......isn't she adorable!

Lovely old tablecloth......

As you know.....I have a large collection of vintage tablecloths. I found this great old old vintage felt tablecloth with sequence....I just love these cloths and this one is so pretty. The trees and bows are brown and the reindeer are all sequence. It is round with gold fringe...just so pretty! Heres some close-ups of it.

Some more Christmas pics of my house.

I didn't completely remove all my other decor items this year in my living room, I just added some Christmas things among them. Since I'm doing gold and white I wanted to leave those tall vases with the curly willow, white ribbon and white feathers. Below are some close ups.

WHAT A SURPRISE!!!!!

Oh my gosh! I am turning 50 the end of this month, and my boys and husband planned a surprise 50th party for me today. I HAD NO IDEA! Nick said he had to work and left, Brandon said he had a class at the church and we went to church. We ran a few errands after church and came home to a house full! There were 37 people all together....they aren't all in this pic as some came later. As you can see......they all have black on and my 3 antiqueing girlfriends even wore vintage hats and furs..what a wonderful day we had. I can't believe it.......the boys got the whole house ready, tables set up, decorations and picked up the food and cake in an hour and half...they even had a list made....I taught them well! LOL!

As you can see........I was totally taken off guard..



Here I am with my crown and my cake.

my boys.......Brandon on the left and Nick on the right and my nephew Matthew.

My cousin Lauri, Aunt Kay and my mom Ann.

Opening up the fun cards and gifts.....my friends with their vintage hats and furs...

the fearsome foursome......

A glimps inside my tree. We always used to get a real tree......at least a 9 foot one as we had 10 foot ceilings. When we moved here....we don't have near the room. So I took out my vintage aluminum trees....yes, I have a 2' , a 4' and a 6'! So we used those the last couple of years. Now last year I got a bug that I might want a white one....pre lit. So after Christmas we got this $130.00 tree at Kohl's for $30.00. So .......here is a continuation of my gold and white theme this year. Believe it or not..........I passed up some vintage Christmas ornaments at an estate sale yesterday! LOL! I don't have to rescue all of them! LOL!!!

I have all my decorating done. My cubicle at work is done also. I will start to share some of my Christmas decorations with you. I am doing gold and white this year....... heres a little vignette in my living room. More to come...........

Update on my friend Lila from work who had several strokes. Praise God.......she can talk! and she can see! That is such great news! She is still having trouble swallowing because of the strokes and her right side is still paralyzed but they are doing a lot of therapy. She has been in the hospital now for 2 1/2 months. Last year her and I took turns thinking of a Christmas song each day for December. I started singing Christmas carols to myself today and thinking about her. I decided I am going to post a song a day for her on the Caring Bridge website they have set up. Her sisters read her the posts everyday and this way she can have a Christmas song stuck in her head all day....

I really miss her.

DAY 30

This is my last day for my photo~a~day for November. I hope you have enjoyed little vignettes of my home. I posted this picture awhile ago but wanted to end with roses. I made these roses using coffee filters and then painted them. I love the vase they are in~ I got it at the thrift store. I hope you are enjoying your Sunday.

DAY 29

This is a vignette in my living room. I love the white rose laying down with one petal that has fallen off. Tomorrow is my last day of my photo-a-day of my house.

DAY 28

This is a fun find of mine. This wonderful vintage dome light is so sparkly and shiny. I added a millinery corsage and a pretty ribbon underneath.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

DAY 27

Oh, I have so much to be thankful for....a wonderful family, good health, a good job, great friends and a home that is warm and safe.

These are my Grandma Nielsens dishes that I bought at her auction. I just love them. She is 94 years young and doing good. She is still very sharp and I keep telling her I just know we will have a 100 year birthday party for her.

I am wishing you and your family a Blessed Thanksgiving Day.

DAY 26

This is my tea set that my Grandma Wellberg painted for me when I was 10. Only 2 of the big plates have broken and one of the handles is glued on. She painted each of us girls a set. I got the blue because that was my favorite color. This has been displayed in every house that we have lived in. We always recieved ceramic painted gifts from her ~ wonderful heirlooms. I got my love for gardening from my Grandma Wellberg. I have her birdbath displayed proudly in my garden ( you can see it above in my banner) ........she was such a neat grandma!

DAY 25

This is a corner of one of my rose oil paintings. I wanted to show a close up of a corner of the frame.....I just love this frame......and of course the P*I*N*K roses.

DAY 24

Can you tell I love old vintage candle holders? LOL! I just couldn't pass this one up especially since it has roses on it and is creme and rusty......love it!

DAY 23

Who needs to buy new candle holders when you can use vintage? I love this old light I turned into a candle holder. I just added some vintage bling and a candle. I have another mismatched one next to it........the best part is the chippy paint!

DAY 22

well.........this is what is happening in my home today. We had a leak and it was coming down through the ceiling and walls in the downstairs bathroom. So....trying to get a plumber CHEAP on a Saturday is an all morning job. Some wanted our first born just to come out and give an estimate and then time and half since its a Saturday. I called the neighbor guy to see who to use as of course.....my husband is out of town hunting. Thanks goodness for cell phones tho as he is happy I am using the cheaper guy that the neighbor recommended and he is just a single owner too so I'm glad to patronize the small business owner who has been in business for years. He is here now and this is part of what he is doing. There is sawing and pounding going on as I write this. So after its all said and done.....we have to have the ceiling redone again in the downstairs bathroom just like we did after our bathroom remodeling was all done.....RIGHT! Thats another whole blog entry though....the bathroom remodel! LOL! So ......at least I can soon jump in the shower and brush my teeth so I can get some errands done and be presentable in public! LOL! I had another photo ready but hey* this is a part of the house too! LOL! I just never knew where we had all these pipes!

p.s. a helpful hint from my new BFF.....Mr. Plumber Man. LOL!

For safe drain maintenance once a month :

Mix 1 cup of baking soda into a gallon of warm water.

Pour 1 cup of vinegar in drain first,then pour your baking soda and water mix second and walah.......hopefully no clogged drains.

Like he said, its only maintenance...it doesn't unclog drains....if no clogged drains.....he wouldn't have a job. I also know how much him and his mother lost in the stock market. I told you he is becoming my new BFF! LOL!

Don't you love the frame and swirls on this pic.....now it doesn't look so bad....pretty ShaBBy JuNQuE CHiC.....don't you think! LOL!

DAY 21

CuTe AnGeL BaBy FeeT

The angel on the left in my banner was a Mothers Day gift this year. Here is a close up of one of her feet and the great roses. She is vintage and she hasn't made it to my garden yet....I like her in the 4 season porch where I can see her everyday.

DAY 20

This is a wonderful vintage oil painting I have hanging in our bedroom. I love the angel sleeping in the garden bed of roses. I didn't get the frame in the pic but it has a wonderful vintage gold frame.

DAY 19

This is another rose oil painting of mine. I just love the white roses. The millinery rose in front goes perfect with it.

DAY 18

This is a picture of the top of the dresser in the Paris room. I just love the vintage perfume bottles....some of them I embellished with a label, ribbon and of course rhinestones. The Eiffel tower was bought in Paris.....I wish I would have bought another larger one too ....oh, well.

DAY 17

This is one of my favorite vintage baskets. I love the chippy pink paint with red underneath. I absolutely LOVE the barbola rose wreath on this.......just so fun.

DAY 16

Here is a buy of the century. I got 2 of these columns at a yard sale about 12 years ago for $5.00 for both! They were in our floral shop Vintage Rose for awhile, now one is in our living room and one in the Paris room. I just love them!

DAY 15

Wow.....the month is half over...where does the time go. This is just a small sampling of my tablecloth collection. I have a tablecloth for every flower in my garden.....and then add about 225 more! at least....I love roses as you know....and have many many beautiful rose cloths, great ones still with the original tag, some in the original boxes, some whimsical ones.....you get the idea....I have a LOT! LOL! I change out my tablecloth every week...it's so fun to put the matching tablecloth to whats blooming in my garden or for the changing seasons.

DAY 14

One of my vintage old candelabras. I just love the old chippy paint and rust.

DAY 13

oh.....I love my mannequin that is in the Paris room. When I bought her she was all white and the black was all shiny and I got her all aged and ready to go. She is decked out in her black velvet, her rhinestones and fur shawl.......getting ready for Christmas.

DAY 12

This is a fun velvet pink rose tucked into a vintage pink coil bracelet and accented with a wonderful flower pin that I got in Paris......I forgot all the great things I got there! Nothing prettier than a pink rose!

DAY 11 ~~~ 11/11/08

I wanted to combine my photo of my home a day and a tribute to our veterans today for Veterans Day. Then I found the perfect photo of a vintage suitcase I have. Please remember all the veterans who have given their life for our freedom and all those who are still at war and away from their families and loved ones.

DAY 10

I am a china painter. This is a rose cup and saucer that I painted. I painted this one in 1999. I made a whole set of 6 cups and saucers each with a different flower. You can barely see it in the picture.....but there is a little bud on the inside of the cup. The millinery flower is from Paris. It sits on top of one of my favorite milk glass cake plates. Oh, how I love roses!

DAY 9

This is a vignette from our living room. It is decorated with alot of gold, white and creme and of course vintage millinery, feathers and crystals.

I found these wonderful old ribbons white out antiqueing. Aren't they just the B*E*S*T! I have never seen fancier ones like the ones with the white and pink.....just so wonderful and so resonable too..........woohoo!

A close up of these gorgeous ribbons.

DAY 8

This is a portion of a great old oil painting of violets. It is written on the back of the canvas......April 01, 1912. I got this about 10 years ago for .......are you ready? $15.00! This estate sale had others that weren't flowers.......now I am kicking myself for not getting them all.....live and learn I guess.