Christmas! Week 4

Happy Monday! It is also happy birthday, so I didn't get as many holiday decorations done over the weekend as I would have liked. Nonetheless! Santa appeared at my door... with a TREE! A wonderfully smelling, sappy little fir. He also brought a darling vintage deer ornament, which is fast friends with the other two deer ornaments I found at the antique mall. Couple in some red velvety bows, a makeshift lace treeskirt, and my trusty antlers, and find the perfect little Christmas corner. Then, I filled some glass ornaments with twine and hung them between my french doors and doilies.

Though I scoured for mistletoe, to no avail. So! I made some. It sure seems to do the trick.

13 sleeps til Christmas!

Christmas! Week 3

Christmas is coming! Christmas is coming! And my humble home is slowly getting in the spirit. This weekend, the beau and I made stockings. When my parents were newlyweds, they made adorable felt sneaker and heel stockings. It's a fond memory of the holiday spirit fireplace-we-never-had. Danny and I sewed dark burlap together and trimmed them with native fringe (and lace!). We like to think of ourselves as "Buck" and "Doe", so we made silhouettes from some felt and glued them on for each of us. A sweet gold "made with love" heart and some jingle bells give each stocking just enough holiday cheer. Hope your stockings are full of goodies this winter season!

Just 20 sleeps until Christmas.

Deerhouse

I finished my birdhouse for the auction! Things did not go entirely as planned, but I'm still happy with it. I whitewashed the house with two coats and drilled holes in the roof. I papier macheéd the antlers from a recently delivered phone book (who uses those anymore? Only me... which is why I received 5 of them) and used a strong adhesive to secure them in the holes. Two coats of classic gold leafing later.. and.. ta da!


We had to name our birdhouses in our short bio. Obviously I named it Deerhouse. It matches my home decor perfectly so it's a bit of a shame I must give it up. ...to the highest bidder! I cannot wait for the event. Obviously I have my outfit for the black tie affair all picked out.

Cardboard Safari

Months ago, my friend Erin mailed me this cute weekend project. Why, it was just perfect for a wintry Sunday while I was feeling under the weather. I had thought about modpodging vintage book pages onto the pieces to match my fireplace, but the corrugated cardboard was so lovely as is. Sweet details down to the tiny imprinted numbers. A welcome addition to my deer wall.

Dia De Los Muertos

Happy day of the dead. It was my work/play/weekend costume, and I sure had fun being dead. (plus I'll take any excuse to wear a Betsey dress) I spent Saturday afternoon at Cheekwood, taking in the last days of Chihuly and soaking in the mexican culture festival with some co-workers. I had a lovely time, especially furthered by calavera mask making, mexican dance recital, cookie paleta, and avocado mas tacos. Que divertida! (I'm working on my Spanish, I promise.)

A friend sent me a link to Vivant, a fellow vintage and deer lover. I just adore her costume creativity. & check out her kissing film stills! What romance.

It is autumn. I was settling into nice, happy, comfortable routines and lifestyle, but that was not meant to be for now. Leaves are dying, new leaves are being turned, and it is not time for hibernation. Winter! Full speed ahead! Oh dear life, I will make the most of you. Whatever you throw at me, I will learn to embrace.

Modern Dear

Rather than trying to make one ridiculously image heavy (and explanation soaked!) entry about my ever changing abode decor, I'm going to share bits and pieces with you now and again. New projects, findings, creations, and repairs are a constant, anyhow.

This book, Modern Clothing, is a 1938 original I found at an antique shop in a small town somewhere between here and Atlanta. If you know me, you know my obsession for old hardcover books. The older, the odder the language. The golden deer candle was found for less than a dollar at the Fairgrounds, and the doily is one of dozens I have acquired from Grandma.

Excerpt: Problem 4: What are good buying habits?
Courtesy. What would you list as first in the list of desirable shopping habits? Certainly if you were a saleswoman you would place high on the list, and probably first, the habit of Courtesy in one's treatment of others. The impatient shopper who announces after a brief wait, that she hasn't "all day to spend and why doesn't the store get some live ones so people can be waited on some time in the natural lives," stimulates by her lack of courtesy a discourteous retort from the saleswoman. She may find her shopping attempts made difficult because no one wants to wait on a troublemaker, and so she is passed on from saleswoman to saleswoman, as rapidly as possible. Her own discourtesy has cost nervous energy and has led to disappointment and wasted hours.
The shopping list. Second in the list of desirable shopping habits should be the practice of making and using a shopping list. Such a list may be made to express one's needs, and to indicate the relation of the mode or fashion to those needs. For example, the shopping list may read:
1 blue tweed coat, unfurred, leather buttons, not over $35
1 felt hat to match, not over $3.50
1 pair blue shoes- sports wear- not over $6.50
1 pair pigskin gloves (advertised at $1.50)
The detail as to color, buttons, and lack of fur has been previously determined from fashion notes. With such a statement of her needs in hand, there is no occasion for the shopper to spend time looking at fur coats, Japanese kimonos, or Turkish bath towels. She knows she wants to look at blue tweed coats of a given price range, and proceeds forthwith to the matter at hand. She may have to forego the leather buttons or make other concessions, because of the limitations of the store, but in every way the possibility of getting what she wants is greater because she knows what it is.

I love these books. They make such wonderful bedtime reading. I also love knowing the costs of things and the necessities of other periods.

This old George Washington was found at a thrift store for about a dollar. I kept him in a closet for a long time, while considering painting over his face to save the frame, or trying to fix the unattractive scratches. Eventually, I pinned on a bow with some vintage lace I had found at the flea. (I collect old lace, I wish I knew how to place them in decades!) The sweet little deer was given to me by a friend, and the heavy damask gold curtains are a secret.


My fireplace is made of unsightly yellowed tile, very unfitting to the lovely rich wooden frame, and a first matter of business was masking that with pages from a 1950s heath and business book. Until I found a better solution. Which I still have not. Here upon the mantle sits a handmade leatherbound journal I bought at a street market in Florence, Italy, a framed and lace-embellished page from a 1930s screenplay, a wooden Cloverbloom cheesebox (rare, circa 1940s?) I found at the Fairgrounds Flea to house some tea lights, a music box from Sloane, and scrabble letters from my table at a friend's recent wedding. Offset by old bronze deer, Fairgrounds Flea (I think these were $3?!), old books from a friend, including "Due to Lack of Interest Tomorrow Has Been Cancelled", weathered brown tags which I use to label items and instructions around the home and for gifts, flowers in a tiny Dulce de Leche jar (another gift from S). I keep lots of old jars around the house for flowers. I think that's very important.

People keep telling me to google specific things and I just keep forgetting because it is such an affair. I still love not having the internet, but it is still quite inconvenient for a small percentage of my week.

Spools of Lilac

Home sweet home... nesting is fun. I do wish that I could share more of my creations lately since I was on such a blogging kick, but I'm really enjoying my limited (eh hem, very very limited) access, (as in if I'm online for more than 3 minutes you'll see a post from me here). I'm enjoying summer, and I'm enjoying work. I'm also enjoying quality time with friends. And specifically, my darling friend Lori.


I could gush for hours about her, but I will basically let these photos of her home do the talking. She is so creative and good at spilling her vivid imagination onto everything she touches. I wish I could be more like that. Lori is an aspiring children's storybook writer, and you can see sparklings of that here! And OH MY GOSH. Look at the photos of her parents with deer?!



If Martha Stewart came out with a Barbie Doll, it would look like Lori, head to toe.

Today a wish sat next to me on the train ride home.
She didn't say much.
Just smiled.
Ever so sweetly.
Ever so simply.
I didn't need words.
I didn't need a touch.
I just needed to know she was close.
And within my reach... when I was ready.
(by Lori)

I have some great little updates on Say Ooh. Be on the lookout!