Dime Store Chic

Little Rummage/Estate Sale Surprises

Hello, My Friends~~~

I love rummage sale season, don't you?

Yesterday I hit a large church rummage sale where everything not marked was a dollar. All I picked up from that sale was this beautiful vintage birdcage.

I love the shape! It is in pristine condition.

 

Made by Crown as the tag reads. I originally thought I would paint it, put a plant in it and hang it from a tree. But I decided since the cage is in such lovely condition, I would display it somewhere in my house with a plant and saucer to keep the water out of the cage. And the cage cost me a dollar!

I went to several estate sales and found a few goodies, including a wonderful child's book with cute graphics.

 

But what I love is the sweet bookplate inside!

I also found a cute cookbook and these pages fell out.

I looked closer and saw these were drawings in pencil of houses and shops.

So charming! But what were they plans for? Stage sets? Embroidery? A mural?

There are color notes, but I can't figure out what was their purpose. Maybe you have a guess.~~~Aren't little surprises wonderful?~~~XXOO, Beth

One Month Left In My Forties

Hello, My Friends!~~~

I glanced at the calendar and noticed that in one month from today I will cross the bridge from my glorious forties into what I hope will be my nifty fifties! The above photo was taken in 1966 on May 23 as I waited for my guests to arrive for my 6th birthday party. I look thrilled to bits. I was in kindergarten at the time. Dig the FAB mid-century furniture! We have the table and chairs in our dining room and they will be used for my 50th birthday party in one month. Until then I am forty-nine!~~~XXOO, Beth

Happy 40th Earth Day!

Hello, My Friends!~~~

I feel like we've been celebrating the 40th anniversary of Earth Day ever since January when we began planning our gardens and reading garden books!

Planting our own food is one way we have gone green, and I appreciate you sharing that journey with us! In the spirit of Earth Day I am giving you a small garden update.

Our organic garden is full of compost. Here is our pile. Not too exciting to us but thrilling for the plants!

 

Smiling Buddha overlooks the leeks in pots which I gave a recent tall layer of compost to blanch the leek stems.

Our first harvest of the season is from our vintage wheelbarrow full of spinach that I began from seed in late February. My favorite lunch recently has been whole wheat pita with hummus and handful of freshly picked homegrown spinach!

Our raised vegetable garden is growing right along! Everything is up and happy! You may have spied a metal Tiki mask in the garden. I got it from the dollar store and it acts as our scarecrow!~~~Happy Earth Day!~~~XXOO, Beth

New Pin Cushions!

Hello, My Friends!

I finished the new pin cushions I blogged about last week! I really like how these painted figurine pin cushions turned out and I hope you do too!

 I have listed six pin cushions in my Beth's Bagz etsy shop today. If you have a minute please stop by and take a peek!~~~XXOO, Beth

Getting Healthy--Mostly--Thrift Style!

Hello, My Friends!~~~

I visited the American Association of University Women's annual used book sale in Falls Church, VA the other day! The great majority of my purchases were cookbooks, and most of those were healthy eating cookbooks. As you may know from previous posts I began a healthy eating lifestyle change one year ago today. At that time I weighed 162 pounds on my 5'4" small-boned frame. Too much! Today I weight 128 pounds and went from a size 14 to a size 8. I know, I know this sounds like a Jenny Craig ad, but I am the same age as Valerie Bertinelli and if she can do so can I! I am done with the weight loss and now I'm concentrating on toning--doing a regular schedule of pilates will be more challenging than losing the weight!

Eventually I'll post a new photo in my sidebar sans the double chin!

Here are the books I purchased:

 

OK OK the top book, Julia Child's "French Chef Cookbook" isn't about a healthy eating lifestyle, but once in a while I like to make a fun--and buttery--meal for my family and friends! The "Nitty Gritty Foodbook" is one of several cookbooks in my library that I call the "crunchy granola" books--great hand drawn illustrations and a lot of recipes for using foods from your garden. "The Trellis Cookbook" is from a restaurant that I have been to quite a few times in Williamsburg, VA. Their desserts are Heaven and I do love to bake--even though I limit myself to one slice of whatever I make, and family and friends get the rest!

I purchased two vegetarian cookbooks because the great majority of what I eat is vegetarian, and I would love to take it up a notch and cook savory vegetarian dishes for Hubby and Son.

I did get one other cookbook...

Would you believe I have the first "White Trash" cookbook? I love the recipes in these books although I think they should be made sparingly! The first one I'm making is "Potato Chip" cookies!~~~The thing I've learned most about weight loss is that it's a matter of lifestyle change. I know you've heard that over and over before, but it's true. Now that the weight is off, I eat healthy with the occassional indulgence found in cookbooks like the one above. I hope this doesn't sound too braggy :) Now pass the broccoli!~~~XXOO, Beth

Busy as a Bee

Hello, My Friends~~~

I really should put blogging on the top of my To Do list. I realized that it had been over a week since I last posted. I have been so distracted with other activities in my life. You all know how that goes. BUT I am back and will make blogging a priority~~Promise!

One of the many things I've been doing this week is working on new pin cushion designs. Here is a sneak peek~~

Yes, those are painted figurines and deflated pin cushions.

 

I will be altering the figurines in other ways. Hopefully they'll be done by mid-next week :) Hopefully...

Off to a used book sale and then lunch with a good friend!~~~Hope your day is full of things you truly enjoy!~~~XXOO, Beth

Crafty and Cakery

Hello, My Friends!~~~

When I am not in our garden, I find myself either in the studio or kitchen. In the studio I made more pin cushions including this one:

As you can see, the garden theme flows into my studio! I went a bit over the top with this pin cushion I think.

And speaking of over the top, I finally made a cake I had thought about ever since I found the recipe in the Washington Post.

Yes, those are ten layers of cake with gooey chocolate icing in between. This is a Smith Island Cake from Mrs. Kitching's cookbook. Each layer is made individually. That what takes the longest if you only have 3 cake pans like I do. I took this photo before I covered the layers with the rest of the icing.

 

And here is the cake fully frosted and sliced. And in case you were wondering, it IS yummy! Go get the recipe here!~~~And if you like my new pin cushion, I have listed it and others, including more totes, in my etsy shop!~~~Have a great day!~~~XXOO, Beth

How Does Our Garden Grow?

Hello, My Friends!~~~

As many of you may know, it has been unseasonably warm here in the southeast. And our veggie garden has sprung to life!

The kale plants I bought at the garden center are getting bigger every day!

One of several container lettuce beds are flourishing and soon will be ready for salads! I also planted more lettuce the other day so we can have succession plantings and a longer harvest before summer bolts the lettuce.

The spinach is happy in the ancient rusted wheelbarrow with a plastic hen keeping watch!

The peas are climbing away!

Leeks in these pots are quite content!

These are shallots in the foreground and yellow onions in the background. Garlic is in this bed too next to the shallots.

The pole beans burst from the soil less than a week ago and are inching closer to the strings on the bean tower. The secret to small urban gardens, I have learned, is to go vertical as much as possible.

These are a few of our strawberry containers. We have them in hanging baskets too. Soon, after the plants flower, we will have to cover them with bird netting to protect our harvest.

The latest addition to our garden are these two tomato plants, Big Boy and Early Girl. I'll know that summer is here when I bite into a tomato hot off the vine!

Clever hubby built this wonderful trough garden for herbs and lettuce. I bought these herbs, basil, safe, and two kinds of parsley to get some green in the trough. The chives and lettuce I planted are coming up!

So there you have it! We took full advantage of this very warm sunny weather and got our garden started. AS long as we don't have a freakishly cold late April or May, then our harvest is safe!~~~XXOO, Beth

This I LOVE!

Hello, My Friends!

I recently purchased the most adorable repurposed tin paint box rack from my friend Jenny who turns printed tin pieces and scraps into the most gorgeous works of art!

The cup hooks Jenny put on the bottom are PERFECT for storing and displaying my necklaces which at one time where jumbled inside a box.

This paint box lid is ADORABLE and fits perfectly in my bright green tiny bathroom!~~~Have a lovely weekend, my friends!~~~XXOO, Beth