What Is A Sears Roebuck House???

Well, after a trip to the emergency room this morning, I hope I will be feeling better soon! As you may know, I've been suffering from a case of poison ivy for almost 2 weeks, and I was still getting new breakouts. Sunday morning I woke up with a little swelling under one eye. This morning, both eyes were swollen, and so were the sides of my nose. As soon as I looked in the mirror, I knew something wasn't right, so I jumped in the shower, got dressed, and went to the E.R. Turns out this is more reaction to the poison ivy. I am now on steroids, so I guess I won't be playing for any major sports team right now!
Have you ever noticed the picture of our house on my sidebar, with the caption "Our Sears Roebuck House"? I had planned on doing a post about our house for a while now, but I've just been too lazy! So when Holly asked what a Sears Roebuck house is, I thought I better get my act together and tell you all about it! What it is, is a house that was ordered from a Sears catalog! The above picture is a reproduction of one. What you did was pick out which house you would like, and then all of the parts, from the wood to the nails to the windows, were delivered to you by train. That is why most all Sears homes are near a railroad station. We live a block away from our train station. So when all of the pieces were delivered, you would build it yourself, or hire someone to do it for you.

You could pick the Glen Falls. Isn't it gorgeous? As much as I love our house, I certainly love this model too.

Or maybe the Sunbeam suits your taste. I love the names of the models. So old-fashioned. But who's gonna hang out that upper window and water that windowbox?!

How about the Chesterfield?

Or maybe The Fairy? Looks more like a little cabin, but very cute!

Our home is The Conway. I love the style of the house, and the generous front porch!

Here is a picture of the furnace that was ordered for the house. I am friends with the man who grew up here, in the forties, and he said that that furnace had eight arms (pipes) and was very scary to a little boy!

This is a copy of the actual paperwork. Total cost of the house? $2443! I bet that was alot of money back in 1927!

Love the letterhead on this paper. I had a color copy made, just because I thought it was so neat!

I wish I could find the picture that I have of the house shortly after it was built. But this is what it looks like today. We love our home, and think it is the ultimate antique!

Garage Sale Goodies and Ask Me Anything!

I saw this beauty before I was even half way up the driveway of the garage sale! It called my name. I asked if it was for sale, because it was sitting behind all of the tables. The owner said yes. Now I was afraid to ask the price, because it's huge. 3' x 4'. I had $50 tucked away in my wallet, just in case I was ever to find one. I never see the big square ones at antique stores. I had given up hope. The one I really wanted, my Mom won't let go of. So when the lady having the garage sale said " $4, is that ok?", if I had opened my mouth and let out the scream of joy, you would have heard it wherever you might be in the country!! $4!! I'm so blessed that this seems to happen alot to me. I'll say that I would like to find something, and shortly thereafter, I find it! Blessed indeed!

I also got this old glass shelf for $2. I have no idea how old these things are, but it makes me feel pretty snazzy, almost like a Hollywood starlet!

I got two of these hooked rugs, for $5 each. Again, no idea how old they are. They're in great shape, and I have to keep shooing the kitty off of them, because it would be nice if they stayed fur-free for at least a couple of days, but I don't think that's going to happen!

A cute strawberry tablecloth for my fruity kitchen, for $1.

More vintage fruitiness, in tablecloth form, for $1.

These old blow molds were 25 cents each. The Santa and snowman both say 1968 on them. I especially like that jack-o'-lantern, because I loooove vintage Halloween things! And speaking of Halloween....

I got this magazine by the Queen of Halloween! Nobody does Halloween like Martha! Her Halloween issues are always a must-have, as is the Country Living issue. I can't wait to dive in there, because I always get great ideas from her!
Now I would like to try something here. I feel that maybe alot of you don't really know me, and would like to ask me a question, to get to know me a little better. You can ask me anything, and I will answer all of your questions in my next post. Holly at Girls at Heart did this on her blog, and it was really fun! I feel like I need to open up a bit more here so, I am an open book! Ask away! But please, no questions about politics or religion!

Weekend Finds-Some Found At The Curb!

Garage saling was the pits this weekend! I didn't buy a single thing while antiquing on Thursday either. I've decided not to buy so many little things, and just save my money for the big stuff. Like a round pedestal dining room table. It would be so much more roomy in there if the table was round. And I'm saving for a BIG etched mirror for the living room. I've seen the one that I want, and it's in my Mom's living room, but she won't let me have it! Can you believe the nerve?! Anyway, my sister found this mirror for me while she was out antiquing with her husband. She just gave it to me and wouldn't take any money for it! She's the best sister ever, and this is another great addition to my collection!

She also found this book for me. I had no idea that Jane Austen had written so many books! I will be diving into this baby come winter, and I'm sure I'll like all of the stories, because Sense and Sensibility is one of my favorites!

I found these next three things curbside. Such a cute little birdbath! It's about 18" tall, and made of resin. I'll need to scrub it a little, but I can't wait to fill it up for the birdies!

Next is this cement poodle statue. It's poor little tail was broken off, but it was sitting right there. How kind of the people to leave it there for me! Does anyone know how I woud go about performing a tail reattachment? Do I need to use cement? Even if I can't reattach it, I still love Fifi. That's what I've named her. I'm so obsessed with cement statues this summer! So far I've found a cat, a goose and her goslings, and a girl. I would love to find some old cement urns at a garage sale too!

These two old Christmas tins were also sitting at the curb, waiting for me to swing by! I love these, and I always buy them when they're cheap. FREE today!
For those of you that saw in my previous post that I have poison ivy, an update: after 3 itchy, tossy- turny nights, I think I might sleep peacefully tonight. A friend told me about Zanfel, which her father had used. Her father lives across the street from me, so I went over to see how it worked for him, and he gave me the tube to try. Let me tell you, it's been an hour since I used it, and I've not been itchy! God Bless the makers of Zanfel!!

Look What I Got!!

I was the lucky recipient of three things this week!
1. POISON IVY!! Tuesday night I had a couple of itchy spots on each arm. That's nothing unusual for me, so I thought nothing of it. Until Wednesday morning. Both of my arms look like this, I've got it on my chin, and my upper lip. Yay! My niece is turning 1, and I think I just might terrify her at her party this weekend :-( I've had this several times before, so I know I'm looking at 2 weeks of trying not to scratch.

2. A DIGITAL PICTURE FRAME!! I won Shara's giveaway! I'm having so much fun playing with this thing! As soon as I opened it, I started loading pictures on it. And look at the other cute things she included in the package. I love the old popcorn and peanut bags, in my favorite colors. How did she know?! And what's inside that red, white, and blue striped package?

It's a cute vintage apron, modeled by my daughter Liz. It was really hard to get a good picture of the frame doing it's thing, so...

Here you can see the apron, and Liz, so much better. Isn't it so stinkin' cute? The model, too! I wanted to take a picture of myself wearing the apron, but, as you read in #1, I am all bumpy and itchy and not very photogenic right now. Thank you Shara! I love it all!

3. A VINTAGE RED PLAID TOWEL!! I won this towel from Joan at Anything Goes Here! Didn't she wrap it so cutely?! I don't want to take the Bingo card off yet, because I like it as is! Thank you Joan!
Well, that's it for me! I hope I can sleep through the night without waking up scratching! Tomorrow morning we move Liz back to college....sniff, sniff. I'll miss her so much! She's such a sweetheart, and such fun to have around! She.......oh, I better not cry, because it will only make me itch!!

20 Years Ago Today....

two very different people tied the knot. The bride was young, inexperienced, a baby really. The groom was basically a cradle robber. Ok, not really.This is just the way I like to tell the story! Here's what really happened:
1. Boy meets Girl in friend's apartment building, while Girl is carrying laundry basket down to the basement to do laundry. Girl thinks Boy is sexy-looking, with his Coke bottle glass lenses. Boy thinks Girl is the most gorgeous woman he has ever seen, in real life, and Girl agrees.
2. Boy and Girl fall madly in love shortly thereafter, over many dates to various rock clubs.
3. Boy decides he must get Girl off the market, and proposes.
4. Girl says "Ok".
5. Boy and Girl get married, and add a beautiful baby girl to their little family.....

and since then, they have been living happily ever after!
Happy Anniversary Sweetie! I'd do it all over again in a second!

Wednesday Is Rednesday!

Today is Wednesday, but it's really Rednesday! For those of you who still don't know what that means, please join me over at It's A Very Cherry World, where Sue is our hostess, and we all share our love of the color red. Maybe you have something red that you would like to share? Well, join the party!

Once again, my red things are from the kitchen. I love this plaid enamel pot! It usually sits on the stove, but my stove is filthy right now from making spaghetti. There are just some things that I am not willing to share with you all!

I call this a timer, my daughter Liz calls it a torture device. I think she's right. My Grandma told me that Liz was such a skinny baby, and so immediately after she said that, I proceeded to basically shovel food down Liz's mouth. It suddenly became very important for her to finish every single morsel of food on her plate. Thankfully I didn't turn her into an overeater! I wish I could use the stupid thing to turn back time!

Finally, my lovely Pyrex covered dish. I originally bought it to sell on Ebay, because it was so cheap, but I'm crazy about it, so it ain't goin' nowhere! Did you enjoy seeing my red stuff? If so, head on over to Sue's, and maybe show some of your red treasures!

Weekend Finds & Reclaiming My Garden

I must say, this is probably the weirdest assortment of things I have ever found! The garage sales were awful this week, so all of this came from antique stores. Every Thursday, my Mom, sister and I go antiquing. I found this old wrapper from a loaf of Wonder bread. There is a thick piece of foam in there to keep it's shape. Does anyone remember when loaves were sold like this? I just love the colors, and it looks great in my kitchen!

Next is a little red transistor radio. I set out on Thursday with a mission to find a transistor, after I saw Nicole's cute blue and white one. I couldn't believe my luck! I don't think it's real old, maybe the 70s? I don't care. It's RED!

I have been looking for barkcloth in my price range, and Thursday I found 3 panels for $6 each! I love the pattern, and the colors are perfect. Only problem is....

I don't know if I want to use them for curtains, or to use to make covers for chair cushions. So I have one panel hanging along with the current curtain. I don't think this is helping me decide at all, and is probably confusing me. And it looks stupid! I need to put the other barkcloth panel up there!

I found this Bill Shakespeare figurine. I wish I could find out more about him. I spend about 30 minutes online trying . He has alot of what looks like silver hallmarks on the bottom, and it also says "D Whitton" on it. Does anyone know anything about him?

For those of you who read my previous post, about being scared and intimidated by my neighbor, and afraid to work in my back garden for almost 2 years, here is what I did on Friday.

Come take a little walk with me, through the arch, into what was once my Secret Garden, and which I am now reclaiming.

I put a little picket fence, reclaimed from another neighbor, between the yard and the thug's garage. I wish it could be an 8' fence. Normally, you are supposed to put the good side of the fence facing your neighbor. As you can see, I didn't do this, and I DO NOT CARE. I saw him yesterday looking at the fence, and I must confess, my heart still races when I see him, from fear, but mostly I think it's anger at myself for living in fear for so long. My garden is going to be cute again, I swear it!

Finally, say hello to my little friend, Chester the Cicada! I found him in the garden, and alas, he was dead when I found him, so he is going in a frame, to be preserved forever. He won't be alone though, and I'll show you some time. Because I like bugs!

My Very First Award!!

I was so excited to receive my very first award in blogland the other day, from Nicole at The Armchair Housewife! I was so happy the first day I discovered her blog. Not only does she love all things vintage, but each and every post is so inspiring, and you won't find a nicer person! If you don't believe me, check out her blog yourself! Well, now I'm supposed to share five things that I am obsessed with right now, and that's why it's taken me so long to do this. I had a hard time picking just 5 things!
1. I am obsessed with ripping apart my back garden! I know that sounds crazy, but I'll explain, and it'll all make perfect sense! Almost two years ago, I went to my neighbor's door, to ask them to stop their dog from barking at 2AM, like it had for the previous three nights. I was yelled at and threatened, and I have been too scared and intimidated to go back there ever since, because I found out he is in a gang. So that's 2 years worth of weeds to contend with, but I am determined to take my garden back!

2. I am obssessed with Masterpiece Theatre on PBS! I am so excited that Sense & Sensibility is going to be on Sunday!

3. I am obsessed with magazines! I love all of the BH&G special publications, like Country Gardens, Flea Market Finds, 100 Makeover Ideas, etc. I mourn the loss of Home Companion and Country Home!

4. I am obsessed with reading other blogs! It seems I find a new one every day to fall in love with, because I like all styles of decorating, and I really like the ones written by women who find the humor in day-to-day living!

5. I am obsessed with reading at least 1 good book every week! But it's so hard in the summer! I am the type to slog through a boring book, because I hate to not finish one! I've recently read the lastest one by Maeve Binchy(my favorite), Firefly Lane, The Other Queen, The Constant Princess, any about Henry VIII.

Now comes the really hard part. I get to choose 5 blogs to pass this award to! Sooo many great ones, it's hard to choose. I'm listing the blogs that are making me happy right now. Here goes:

1. Tammy's Sweet Life- I love checking in with Tammy every morning, because she is the sweetest lady there is! She always leaves the nicest comments on my blog!

2. Shiny Red Houses-Sara is one of those funny women I was talking about, who can find the humor in any situation!

3. Susie's Country Cottage and Garden- Susie's blog satisfies my love for everything British! It's fun to watch her and her brother renovate their country cottage, and her gardens are GORGEOUS!

4. It's A Very Cherry World- This blog always puts a smile on my face! Sue loves cherries, the color red, and all things vintage!

5. Penniwig's- This gal has got a different graphic for you to use, every day, for FREE! That's right. FREE. And they're gorgeous. And she's hilarious!

Whew! That was hard! Thanks again, Nicole, and YOU'RE FABULOUS!

Vintage Thingies Thursday!

Please join me at Coloradolady, where Suzanne is our hostess, to see vintage thingies! After I found my pink dollhouse last week, I started to get nostalgic for some of my old dolls.

So I dug out my old Barbie lunchbox, and my Barbies. I had ALOT of Barbies when I was a little girl, and I would line them up all along the front porch, playing with a couple of them at a time, then moving down the porch to play with the others. I wish I knew what happened to the rest of the dolls I had.

This Barbie has wigs. I wish I had taken a picture of her without a wig. She always kinda scared me when she was wigless. Maybe that's why I bit off a couple of her fingers!

Here are all of the clothes that are left. My Mom knitted alot of clothes for them. Can you see that my name and room number are still on the lunchbox?

I also found these in the lunchbox. Very disturbing...Now for this next doll, if you have a weak stomach, you might want to look away, because she is U-G-L-Y!!

This is Poor Pitiful Pearl, or Poofalah as I called her, because I couldn't pronounce her real name.

Is she not the ugliest doll you've ever seen?! Yes, yes she is, but I loved her!

Here are the Liddle Kiddles that I have left. I remember having more, but I guess they went to dolly heaven. The one on the left is Sweet Pea, which is the flower for April, and she still smells faintly flowery!

Does anyone remember Dawn Dolls? I loved these dolls so much! They had such glitzy clothes, like they were made by Cher's designer, Bob Mackie! Remember Dawn, and Angie, and Gloria? Don't they look so fashionable, and put together, like they're doing a photo shoot for Chico's?

When in fact, they are complete slobs!
Did you enjoy seeing my vintage dolls? If so, then go to Suzanne's right now, and see more vintage thingies!