from Leaflet's house

this little paint-chippy table came from the country cottage of my great-great aunt Leaflet (isn't that an amazing name?!). the table is solid oak, and even though it is small, it is quite heavy. it is the perfect height to be a plant stand or a little end table, though i always wonder, with old things like this, what it was really intended for.

that little rhinestone hair comb also came from Aunt Leaflet. i have had it for so many years, but never had a good place for it until i found this little silver saucer and glass dome. the wildflower card was a sweet little surprise included with the dome/saucer from Little Byrd Vintage, who has such amazing things in her shop.

just in case you thought i was done talking about Aunt Leaflet, i'm not! perhaps the most precious thing that i "inherited" from her is this wonderful canvas painting that she painted herself almost a hundred years ago. it is very special to me because not only am i a horse lover like Aunt Leaflet, i am also an amateur painter.

i just love her signature! it's so pretty and old fashion-y.

i have some more treasures from Aunt Leaflet, but i think i will save them for another day.

Pete

i wasn't planning on posting today, but i came across this photo while going through some old file folders, and it made me smile, and so, i couldn't keep it to myself.

meet Pete...



i wish i could take credit for this photo, but alas, it was taken by my dad, who befriended Pete a few years back. Pete is an old curmudgeon who is from the small town where i grew up. i've never actually met Pete formally, as he is a bit of a recluse, but i always saw his white fisherman's hat off in the distance as he was mowing his many properties around town. and from the many, many stories my dad has shared, Pete is a real character and does things his own way.

and from this photo, he seems quite content with that, no?

i just love that he is wearing this fabulous Starbucks earth month shirt, given to him by my dad (oh yes, we have some Starbucks-ites in our family). and it doesn't get much better than those plaid pants.

fess up time

lest i mislead you all to believe that i have some sort of fancy schmancy new camera (like i'd know how to use it anyway), here's my secret:

the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS1 10 MP



Source: www.supremeva.com

i've been down the fancy camera route anyway. my old Canon Powershot A4, with all its bells and whistles, lasted just shy of 4 years.

the Lumix, just about as simple as me, actually takes quicker, better pictures than the Canon. i am quite pleased!

have camera, will use

oh the places they've been!






(see that sweet little bird stamped on the old sheet music? i can't take credit for her. she showed up with that glass dome and silver plate bought on Etsy from Storybookcharm!)


wonderful little glass cloches

obviously i am loving the new camera, which arrived today.

also loving::

South Pacific, the old Rodgers and Hammerstein classic, which i am watching for the first time

a hint of a coming thunderstorm in the air

windchimes chiming

eating our favorite Chinese takeout (i must say that eating wonton soup in my Orla Kiely mug especially rocked)

triple chocolate cake and a glass of organic milk for dessert

i leave for Seattle in less than a week now!

Begin the Beguine and spectator shoes

tonight i am listening to Artie Shaw and his orchestra play one of my favorite songs ever: Begin the Beguine. i am no longer in my hothouse of an apartment. instead i am in a garden, swirling around in the peony-drunken air. and all the gentlemen in the garden are wearing spectator shoes, an absolute must. (did you know, my Sweetie bought a pair of spectator Docs to wear on our wedding day? sigh. what a man.)

where does your favorite song take you?

coffee nostalgia

so it's been a rainy couple of days, and it's feeling quite Fall-ish. i really do love the weather, but today required a little Starbucks pick-me-up for the gloominess. a grande Pike Place roast and a cranberry orange scone. it's heaven, i tell you.

now i do like the taste of coffee, but can i let you in on a secret? i really buy it for the smell as it reminds me of my grammy and grampy's house. one deep inhale of that smoky rich roast and i am waking up in vintage floral sheets to hear my grammy puttering downstairs in the kitchen. so many memories from that big white house surrounded by oak trees.

obviously my grandparents are avid coffee drinkers (hence my nostalgia). they set the timer the night before, so that their Maxwell House is waiting for them, piping hot, in the morning, in their retro little kitchen no less. (it's almost too perfect!)

it was grammy who gave me my first taste of coffee. i was a little surprised at first because i imagined it tasting more like hot chocolate. but i was hooked. and so grammy and i would sit in that kitchen. me with my bowl of "fun" cereal (usually Lucky Charms) and grammy with her black coffee, steel-cut oatmeal, and a side of dry powdered milk (yes. i said dry). we would talk about the salamanders i found in the creek, how she hoped it would rain because the garden was dry, how we needed to get the laundry hung before it got too hot, and snakes. grammy has the best snake stories. looking back, i realize that our talks were never grand, but rather simple every day stuff. all the same, those conversations meant the world to me. and still do.

i hope i can be a grammy like her someday.

so, here's to you grammy. drink up.

still no camera. sigh. i feel a little lost, even though i am by no means a photographer. i was always the kind of girl (who am i kidding- still am) who went through each book twice. the first time to look at the pictures, the second time to actually read it. so naturally, i need to have something to look at on my blog, besides my own boring drivel.

i do, however, have something fun to share.

a couple months ago, two mysterious packages arrived on my doorstep.

i was pleasantly surprised to find these inside:

anyone recognize them?

they made their debut in Starbucks stores last Christmas.

someone very near and dear to my heart happens to work for Starbucks and was given an opportunity to purchase these.

and because she is just so fabulous, rather than keeping them to herself, she shipped them off to me.

thank you, dear friend. you know who you are!

so it's been a while...

yep. sorry about that. i've been feeling uninspired. and then my camera broke. which left me really uninspired.

i just ordered a new camera, so hopefully the dryspell will be over soon.

also have some fun new treasures to show off (when said camera arrives): a fabulous vintage fan, floral frog, Big Ben alarm clock, and some surprises!

though i may not get some pics on here until after i get back from SEATTLE!

i leave in just over 2 weeks with my darling mom to visit some dear family. i am so excited to see them and to be in Seattle. i've never made it there, though i have been to Portland, OR a couple times.

this summer is flying by too fast. eeks!

what have you been up to?

i hope to frequent blogger much more come Fall...