Charmed, I'm Sure

I was rattling around in my mum's jewelery box today looking for a vintage enamel pin. (MMMC)  I didn't find it.  However, I found my mum's charm bracelet.

This led me to search for mine.

Does anyone wear these anymore?  It was a great record of my life as a teenager.

I traveled the world.  Well, a few countries at least.  I was a bridesmaid.  I loved to take pictures.

I went to Greece and all I gave my mum was this dumb charm. 

Oh look!  I gave myself one too.  Do you see the tiny heart?  That was from my necklace when I was a baby.

Gentle Readers, do any of you have a charm bracelet hidden away somewhere?  Send me a photo at debracripps@gmail.com and we'll show it off.

Meet Me at the Playground

When I was a little girl I received a playground for Christmas.  Complete with kids.  Wanna see?

There's a teeter totter.

Hold on, children!

There's a swing.  This kid looks kind of creepy.

Don't go too high!

This poor child has to play by himself.  I've had this toy for a very long time and I lost one poor child just a few years ago.
The set still works and I have the key to wind it up too.

The graphics on it are wonderful.

I wouldn't let my girls play with this when they were small.  They could now if they wanted to.

I've decided that these children are all boys because they have no shirts on.  They must live in Australia because it's summer there.

Okay, I've finished playing now.

More and More

Gentle Readers,
I am afraid that once again you will be subjected to the nostalgia of my childhood.  All of this sorting and purging is becoming a  mammoth task.  The further I dig, the more I find.  Stuff is mutating, I'm sure of it.

I give you.....

The Viewmaster!

I just realized that in my excitement I photographed it upside down. Hmm.  Do any of you remember these?  Please?  Anyone?

I found a ton of shall we say, rather boring reels. Bermuda, Rural Connecticut, Colorado, Cypress Gardens...

Boring for a child, anyway.

I might have a look at this one now.

Huh?  I'm not even Catholic.  There's one of the Vatican City too.

Now this is the good stuff.  Who doesn't love Mary Poppins and the Beverly Hillbillies?

My brother went to expo 67 and all he bought me was this lousy picture reel.

Oh, and a Monkees t shirt too.

Vintage from a Vantage Point

 I am still sorting and purging around our house. Today was a great day for it because we've been snowed in. I decided to tackle #1's room. Daughter #1 adores anything vintage.  Especially clothes and accessories.  She is a pack rat.  Her grandmother was also a pack rat.  I was cleaning out another dreaded box from #1's old bedroom and came upon these:

 These look like perfect accessories for the girls on Mad Men.

Moving on.  I then pulled these out of the box. I never considered my childhood items to be vintage until I was informed of it by my daughter.  I don't want any nasty comments about them being antiques either.

My bingo game still in the original box from when I was a little girl.  I also found this in the game box:

Alas, it was empty.  Mum wouldn't let me have these when I was a young girl because I might grow up to smoke.  My great aunt lived with us then and she always bought them for me whenever we went up town.  I loved her.

I guess I was going to grow up to be a cigarette smoking Bingo player.  Who knew?

p.s. I'm expecting an urgent phone call from #1 forbidding me from the disposal of said items.

Broken Item of the Week

Gentle Readers,
May I present to you a seasonal version of the Broken Item of the Week:

In the interest of full disclosure I submit that I may have done this one myself.

Broken Item of the Week

M.I. Hummel figurine:

Retail value approximately $300.00.

Mine? Priceless.

Dutch Delft

My amazing Aussie friend is having a giveaway on her blog.  The lucky winner will receive a beautiful Delft ornament for the tree.  Looking at one of the ornaments she had reminded me of my own little slice of Dutchness.
We have a lot of Dutch farmers around the countryside here.  Several years ago there was a massive influx of them buying farms from retired farmers or from people just wanting to sell their farms.  Land is at a premium in Holland and was not easily attainable so they chose to come here and live the dream!

They keep their properties so neat it puts the rest of the farms to shame.  They have started their own businesses selling organic milk and cheeses,  it's wonderful.
I think one of the reasons why they chose to come to Canada was because our forces liberated the Netherlands at the end of World War two.  They love Canadians.
So, because of all the immigration here, the Dutch people missed their native foods like gouda and all different kinds of things.  One enterprising individual rigged up a big truck and would go around the province selling Dutch delicacies from the back of his truck.  You could just walk inside the back and feast your eyes.  A Dutch friend of mine convinced him to stop at my house.  Every month!  This is what I would buy:

Little houses!

I could just see them all lined up along the canal.

There is so much detail on them.  Even on the sides.

I like to keep them all jammed together though, just like the real ones.

See?  I would love to visit there some day.

So come on up those steps and trough the crooked door and share some gouda  with me.

                                                                      einde!

Just Thinking.....

Aren't they cute little doggies?  My favourite aunt gave these to me many moons ago.  She had a real dog just like them.  This is a problem I have with purging my stuff.  Most of my things have a sentimental value attached to them.  They are often not valuable or beautiful in the eyes of someone else but when I look at them I remember the person who owned them before I did.

I am thinking of starting  a new segment on my blog entitled Things That Got Broken This Week.
           Case in point:

Remember the moose fiasco?  I can see a trend coming.  I think he's helping me purge in his own, misguided way.

The Best Gifts Come in Small Packages

Do you remember how when you were small, the biggest gift seemed so exciting?  My mum always told me       " The best gifts come in small packages."

Well, she was right!  Look inside:

Do you see that copy of Flea Market Style in there?  I received all this mini goodness just because I offered to send a life size copy to a gal in New Zealand  as they were not available there.

Mercedes has the sweetest little shabby chic dollhouse and she makes so many things in miniature it is unbelievable.

The little magazine even has pages in it!  She made all the little rusty jugs,  the sweetest little birdhouses, and the dear little nest!

She is so sweet that after she accepted my offer of the magazine, she was contacted by the editors and sent one by them, she said she was going to send me some minis anyway!

So I sent her a copy of Cottage Style instead.  Mercedes said magazines are so expensive in New Zealand that she just doesn't buy them.  I hope she will be pleased, she hasn't received my parcel yet.
I am continually amazed at the kindness of strangers friends we have met online.  Everyone is so sweet and generous.

Please hop over and visit her blog.  Even if you are not into minis, you will be inspired for your real sized home!  Thank you so much Mercedes!

A Place of My Own part two: Mini Bedroom

When I posted pictures of my dollhouse living room I got a chuckle because some of you thought it was my real house! I'll take it as a compliment.
This is my mini bedroom. I tried to make it kind of cottagey, shabby chic style. The pink bedspread is a silk hankie I found at an antique shop. The little dresser and the crates came from Jemjoop, she has a wonderful shop on Etsy.
The armoire came from Michael's. I just painted it and papered the inside back.
The rug came from Ebay and was super cheap. I searched high and low for the spool bed, I had one like that as a girl and then Daughter #2 used it when she came along. I don't know if you can tell but there is a diamond ring in a box on the night stand. I can (waste) spend hours online searching for minis!
Sorry for the picture quality, I'll try and take some using daughter #2's camera while I still have it.

Lovely Things

I love to collect vintage pitchers and tablecloths. They make me happy.

This little jug is one of my favourites.
My aunt did the embroidery on this cloth a long time ago. She gave it to me because I love pansies. She just passed away a short time ago so it is extra special to me.
The rest of the cloths either came from my Mum or at yard sales. I never paid more than $2.00 for any of them.
I have lots more little pitchers I will show another time. Does anyone else like to collect these things?