on monday

I woke up at nine o'clock this morning.

9:00.

Nine in the ayem.

I am discombobulated on so many levels by this turn of events. Usually, I am a wake up at six without an alarm kind of girl, and on a rare day, my alarm wakes me up at seven. This morning, I woke up with a wrinkle in my cheek that I fear may never go away, and an instant axe in the noggin caffeine deprived headache, so it's probably best if we all keep our expectations of this post making any sense at all to a minimum.

I know I've blogged about my kitchen and its remodel before, but two things happened on Monday that have led me to blog about it again today.

First, I pulled something off one of the open top shelves in my kitchen, and a shower of dust bunnies came down with it. It was time. Time to take everything down, wash it all in hot soapy water, wipe down the shelves, and then put it all back and feel good about the cleanliness of my kitchen shelves for at least a week. I remembered that I planned to do this particular project right before the wedding, but along with about 267 other projects that I planned to do right before the wedding, it didn't happen.

Since everything was all bright and shiny and clean, I might as well take a picture or two.

Secondly, again on Monday, (I feel the need to point out the Monday part again, in order to justify my post title), I was digging out my stash of Christmas magazines, and in the process I found an old and extremely tattered issue of Country Living magazine that brought me straight back to our pre-remodel, pre-Montana move days.

It features a kitchen that served as very heavy inspiration for our soon to be new home.



It was fun to look through the pages and see the ways our kitchen turned out to be similar, and also the ways it is different.


Obviously, one major difference is my heavy handed addition of lots of aqua....my favorite color ever.

Ever, ever.

But the pink was a little trickier. If it was not for the fact that I found the pretty pink bowl for a whopping five dollars, I probably wouldn't have even gone there at all.

For a while, I was really hung up on the pink. In my mind, you either go more primary with a color scheme by leaning to the red side, or more pastel by going to the pink side.

But then I took a closer look my two very favorite vintage tablecloths, and noticed that they each had a touch of pink mixed in with red, and as I love these particular tablecloths more than a person should love any sort of fabric object, I decided to follow suit and add a few pink touches here and there, and therefore overcome my pink and red issues once and for all.

(Can someone please fix that sentence/paragraph? I still have a bit of a headache, and therefore am in no condition to cure it of its run-on-ishness.)

In case it's not clear, my first favorite tablecloth is the cherry beauty in the above collage, and my second favorite is this little fella.


Believe it or not, this cloth was a bonus that the seller threw into the package when I purchased another tablecloth on Ebay. Pure craziness.




(Does anyone know what that little aqua chicken is supposed to be? He is about the size of a salt shaker, but has a hole in his back that is filled with some kind of plastery substance. I don't know his purpose, but I love him anyway.)

Almost everything in my kitchen is vintage, but back when we were remodeling, Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware were really doing some fun reproductions.

Speaking of which....

Dear Restoration Hardware,
What has happened to you?
I don't even know you anymore.
Sadly,
Teresa

The wall phone was a Pottery Barn find. I also have a reproduction desk phone that I love, and while I don't miss all the sales calls since we canceled our home number, I do miss talking on the old school style tellies.

Thanks to Martha, jadeite was also making a big comeback, and everyone from Sears to Linen's and Things, to Marty herself were selling new versions of the old favorite. Butter dishes, batter bowls, ball pitchers and cake stands were a few of the new things I added to my collection of vintage goodies.

It took years and years of antique show hunting to totally outfit my kitchen, and I truly enjoyed every minute of it. I'm still on the lookout for fun tablecloths and dish towels, but other than that, I feel like my little cottage kitchen has totally come into its own, and I love it.

And now I'm off to snuggle up to my Costco sized bottle of Ibuprofin, because I have to go to the grocery store this afternoon and we all know the grocery store on the day before Thanksgiving is its very own headache inducing experience.

Have a truly wonderful Thanksgiving!

dear pinterest

(source)
I finally get it.

I'm still kind of new to this pin crazy world you've got going, but I have to admit that at first you had me a bit irritated.



(source)
Now, I'm not a person who particularly enjoys being forced to do something I don't particularly want to do.

Therefore, I initially rebelled when you required me to "describe my pin". I didn't want to describe my pin. I didn't want to be slowed down. I didn't want to have to think that hard.

Or think period.

I just wanted to stay in my own little pin-board zone and be left alone to enjoy the first sweet moments of what would soon become a raging addiction.


(source)
But now I get it. I get that your search system needs our pin descriptions in order to function. I understand that when I took the easy way out and quickly typed in the * instead of typing in an actual description, I wasn't really helping you or my fellow searchers out.

I'm sorry I'm so dumb.

I hereby vow to appropriately describe my pins forever and ever.

Sincerely,
Teresa

So how about the rest of you....are you addicted? Do you have Pinterest self control? Or are you like me and once you start down a Pinterest rabbit trail, the rest of the world instantly fades away? Please tell me I'm not alone.

* My chaotic and totally unorganized pins can be found here.

* If you want to see amazingly wonderful pinboards, go visit this girl.

* In fact, just skip my pinboards and go straight to hers.

* Actually, let's just pretend that her pinboards are MY pinboards.

* Is that okay, Mary? It is? Thank you!

Have a wonderful weekend!

let's talk soup

Is it soup weather at your house?

It is definitely soup weather at my house. It's snowing and windy and gray. Perfect weather for a pot of soup.

Soup which, by the way, I cooked in my brand spanking new Caribbean Blue Le Creuset Enameled Cast Iron Round French Oven.

The manager at Macy's gave me full credit for my four Marthas, and the 7.25 in Caribbean was on close-out, so I got the deal of the day all the way around. I still have enough of a credit to get another smaller pot if I feel so inclined. It's a little slice of Le Creuset heaven.

I'm always on the lookout for a great new soup recipe, so if you've posted one on your blog, please feel free to leave the link in the comments.

Let soup season begin!

thank you

get your holiday on

I love Ruche.

I love their clothes. I love their accessories. I love their home goodies.

I especially love their lookbooks. Gorgeous, gorgeous photography in dreamy locations, and pretty clothes on pretty girls.

Vintage fashion photography heaven.

Up until about a month ago, I did not know that Ruche had a blog, because I'm oblivious like that.

The day I discovered that Ruche had a blog, I immediately devoted the next 427 hours of my life to scouring the archives. Among many other delightful things, I discovered that they were accepting submissions from bloggers for a holiday guide they were putting together.

On a lark, I drug out a very large portion of my vintage Christmas collection and started taking pictures. I pretty much leveled my house. Boxes and ornaments and glitter everywhere.

In October, no less.


I wrote up a little diddy, attached some photos, emailed it to the proper folks, shoved all the Christmas decorations in the guest room, and hoped no one would come to stay before December.

Then I kind of tucked the whole thing in the back of my mind and went about my business.

Well, this afternoon, it all went from the back of my mind straight to the front of my mind because, amazingly enough, my submission made it into Ruche's holiday feature, A Homemade Holiday.


The guide is bursting with fall and winter holiday ideas, and I think you'll enjoy what each and every page has to offer. It's pretty exciting to be included in such a beautiful collection of holiday inspiration.

The additional benefit for both you and me is the fact that, at least for today, I have something besides Dave's bread and Martha's soup pots to blog about.

Rest assured Dave and Marty will be front and center again very soon, but for now, it's nice to add something fresh and pretty to the mix.

Happy Monday!

groundhog day

If you find yourself scratching your head and wondering why this post seems oddly familiar, it's because it is basically the same post I wrote last week, with a few minor updates.

Whoever said that bloggers should keep their content fresh and new obviously has more happening in their life than I do.


First up, the Dave's Killer bread update.

Y'all are the best carbohydrate induced coma enablers on the planet. You've offered to go to Costco and mail me some Dave's. You've offered to cross state lines so we can do a clandestine cash for Dave's deal at a secluded highway rest stop. In the case of my friend Valley Girl, you've given me two more types of Dave's (Peace Bomb and raisin) that I need to hunt down and subsequently add to my addiction.

You understand the pain of being hooked on something, and then having it snatched away with no warning.

As my son said, "Mom, you have found your people".

Why yes, son...yes I have.

I'm happy to tell you that I'm going on a little road trip tomorrow and that road trip will take me past at least five different Costcos, so I will be able to stock up on enough Dave's to get me through the winter. If, by chance, I run out before the spring thaw, I now have a list of awesome internet friends that I can count on for re-supply.


That same road trip will take me past at least as many Macy's, so I'm taking my Marthas with me. I'm still not totally sure what my game plan is though. If I can get a full value credit for my pots, I think I could trade them for a Le Creuset without laying out any cash. My plan B is to keep my aqua blue chipped up Martha, which resides full time on my stove top because it looks so cute there, and just use it for a cookie jar or breadbox or something. Then, I'd get the Costco enameled cast iron for actual cooking.

I know you'll be beside yourselves with anticipation, waiting for me to return from my road trip so you can see how this story ends.

You're on the edge of your seat.

I can tell.


As of last night, Once Upon A Time is on my television must watch list, right alongside Revenge.

I'm intrigued. I'm confused. I had to watch it twice, and actually pay attention the second time. I think I'm hooked.


To keep up with the "update you on every tiny detail of my last post" theme, I will tell you that my soldier made it back from his field trip with out mishap, and my back-up Harvest Yankee Candle has been burned down approximately three more inches.


Or maybe it's more like four.

I'll double check and let you know next time.

Have a wonderful Monday!

fall has fallen

Has fall arrived at your house? It is definitely fall around here, that's for sure. Pretty colors, crisp temperatures and cozy fires burning. The furnace came out of hibernation just this very morning.


Speaking of burning, I've already burned through my very favorite Yankee candle (Harvest - it's the best!), and have had to dip into my emergency, back-up Harvest candle. I always stock up because I don't think I could live if they ever discontinue it. Now I'm running without a spare, and that makes me a bit nervous.


While we're on the subject of discontinued items, my Costco no longer carries Dave's Killer Good Seed bread. They carried it for a short time - long enough to get me hooked - and then Poof! Gone.

Other Costcos in the more civilized parts of the world still carry it though, and anyone who comes to stay at my house has to bring at least four loaves as their entry fee.

I need my Dave's Killer. Every day.

It makes the best toast. It makes the best grilled cheese. If you are a seedy, nutty, substantial slice of bread lover, give Dave a try.

The loaves come in a two pack at Costco, so feel free to keep one for yourself and send the other to me.


In other news, Blogger is eating my comments. Every time I hit preview, my comment disappears. If I skip preview (and we all know the typographical dangers that lurk when you skip preview) and go straight to publish, my comments still disappear.

Anyone else out there not feeling the Blogger love? I guess I'll find out if there are no comments on this post. At least I'll hope that's the reason if there are no comments on this post.


At this point, can I just continue changing subjects, but discontinue the "on a totally different subject" and "speaking of" nonsense?

I can? Good.

My favorite show of the new TV season is "Revenge". I started watching because it's set in The Hamptons, and I thought maybe I could get a few tips on how to fit in during my visit there last month. I was disappointed to see that no one on the show was wearing black Converse Chucks or a blue Gap hoodie, my official daily uniform. Regardless of my Hamptons dress code issues, I immediately got hooked on Revenge. It's not my normal kind of show, but now Wednesday is my very favorite television night. I can't wait to see who Emily wreaks her havoc on next.

I'm a little bit ashamed.


My middle son has asked me to send him some "non-American" looking civilian clothes as there is a possibility that he may or may not be going on a field trip of some sort, sometime in the near or not so near future and he and his companions need to be as inconspicuous as possible if they do indeed end up going wherever it is they may or may not be going.

Now that's my kind of planning.

Dear Junior Number Two,
I've got news for you. You are a pale white boy with a military buzz cut. I have a feeling that you're probably not going to blend in, no matter what you are wearing.
However, as requested, I have sent you two shirts. One is pale blue, in the hopes that in comparison to the pale blue, your skin will look a bit less white.
I have also sent you a brown shirt, thinking that perhaps the brown will help you to blend into your sandy surroundings and disappear from view altogether.
Have fun on your field trip.
Love,
Mom


Okay, last but not least, I need your input.

Apparently, Macy's has recalled my Martha Stewart enameled cast iron Le Creuset wanna be soup pots.

This is the wording on the recall.

"The enamel coating on the cast iron casseroles can crack or break during use. This can cause the enamel to crack and fly off as a projectile, posing a risk of laceration or burn hazard to the user or bystanders."

Now, I'm not so concerned for myself, but I'd truly hate for any of my bystanders to be lacerated by hot, flying porcelain projectiles. That's just the kind of girl I am. Always looking out for my bystander's best interest.

And now that I've made fun on the internet, I'm sure to get a porcelain projectile to the eye the very next time I use my pot.

So....I went the Martha route instead of the Le Creuset route simply because of the cost difference. Le Creuset is very expensive. Martha via Macy's was not. Back then, I had no clue just how madly in love I would fall with my enameled cast iron soup pot, and I don't think I can survive a winter without one.

So here's my question. Is Le Creuset worth the price? Has your Le Creuset ever chipped? My Martha chipped on it's first use, which was very disappointing. Even if I trade in all three of my Martha pots, I'll still have to fork over some dollars to get the 7.25 qt Le Creuset.

Do I take my flying projectile chances and ignore the government's mandate to "immediately stop using the casserole"? Or do I pony up the bucks in order to instantly become as cool as Giada and Ina and The Pioneer Woman?


Please tell me what to do.


If Blogger lets you leave a comment, that is.