favorite things

Feathered Friends Party

August 11, 2009 at 8:17 pm by Claudia

I’m joining the Feathered Friends Party today. Gina at The Shabby Chic Cottage is the lovely hostess – please stop by her blog to see who’s participating! I took a little trip around the cottage to snap pictures of all things bird-related. Let’s see….how about some real bird nests?

This little nest is one I blogged about – we found it on the backside of our Christmas wreath (I was away – my husband left it up a tad too long.) The egg is from Michael’s.

This tiny little nest was found in one of the hanging plants on our porch – it was abandoned at that point – so I brought it inside and put it under my cloche. I love nests – they are little miracles.

Next to the cloche is my little Bakelite bird napkin ring.

Birds in paintings: the top one is by Christie Repasy, the middle is a Stellar Jay painted on tile that we bought in Flagstaff, the bottom is in a large flower painting hanging in the den.

My vintage birdcage – I love this sweet cage made by Hendryx. Inside is a bird made by my friend Joy…

Finally, I collect McCoy Pottery – I’m totally crazy about it! Several pieces have birds in them, or like the photo above, are birds.

Thanks so much for visiting! I am so looking forward to visiting everyone taking part in the party!

Heirloom Party

July 31, 2009 at 12:00 am by Claudia

Welcome to everyone participating in the Heirloom Party and to all my readers! If you want to see who is participating, please go to Marie’s Blog, with the great name of Emmacallsmemama and have fun.

For the purposes of this party, I decided to define ‘heirloom’ as something passed down from a family member. I have other things that could be called heirlooms, but today I will concentrate on those things that have a little story.

This is my Mom’s Shirley Temple doll. Yes, her hair needs a bit of work and its on my To Do list. My Mom (who turns 82 today!) got her when she was a little girl. And…my Mom’s name is Shirley. Mom told me she was disappointed that her Shirley Temple doll wasn’t the one made by Ideal, but was a Canadian design. My Grandmother was Canadian, and my Mom was born in Canada, so I guess Grandma went for her native country’s version. I bought a new dress for her a few years back. I love her.

Those of you who read my blog regularly might remember a post I did about this tea chest. This has been in my Mom’s family for many years – I know it goes back to my great-grandmother, at the very least. Tea was a valuable commodity, so it was stored in a chest that was locked. By the time I knew this piece, it was on a shelf at my Grandma’s. It holds letters, the death notices of her two sisters, Maggie and Rhoda, who died in the 1918 flu epidemic, a lock of her youngest sister Rhoda’s hair, a copy of my Great-Grandfather’s estate. Precious, private things. I keep it just the way she kept it.

This was my Grandmother’s baby shoe. I only have one.

These two books are kept in protective bags. The one on the left, “Alices Adventures in Wonderland” was given by my Grandma to her sister Rhoda on Christmas in 1912. Grandma kept it after Rhoda died at the age of 15. Now I have it. The other, “Little Greycoat” was given to my Grandmother in 1904 as a prize for memorizing the second largest amount of Scripture verses in her class. The inscription is too faint to show you, but the handwriting is absolutely beautiful.

This was my great-grandmother’s syrup pitcher. I’ve always loved it. The lid is made of pewter.

My piano. First it was Grandma’s, then it moved to our home so we could all take piano lessons, then my Aunt held onto it for me until I settled down, then I had it shipped to San Diego (where I lived at the time) and then it eventually moved to Mockingbird Hill Cottage. When I was growing up, our piano tuner used to ask if he could buy it, because it has such a beautiful sound. Many of my loved ones have played this piano – I will never part with it.

Finally, my Dad’s toys. This Model T was his toy as a very young boy and Dad will be 86 this September. I don’t have many of his things, so this is doubly precious to me. He made the train car himself as a youngster. I keep these two together on a shelf on my sideboard.

Thanks for stopping by! I have to add this: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!!!! I love you!

She’s Moved In

July 17, 2009 at 10:19 am by Claudia

Remember this sweetie from Heidi’s shop? When we did our dual Pink Saturday posts, I made it clear that I wanted her. The story behind the doll: Heidi and I were on an antiquing jaunt and we spied this little honey. Heidi immediately thought she would look perfect in the baby room. When we took her up to the counter and remarked on her wonderful condition, we were told that doll collectors would pass on her because she had two left feet. Not ‘two left feet’ as in she can’t dance, but two actual left feet. Often times well-loved dolls needed replacement parts and this little girl had a replacement leg sewn on that had another left foot. Oh my. That only made us love her more. We took her back to the shop and Heidi placed her in the room, where she looked adorable.

I loved her. When I came home in April and visited the shop, Heidi and I got to talking about her. I decided I really wanted her. Heidi marked her sold and I brought her home yesterday.

There was a frenzy of sniffing going on here, hence the blurriness of the photo. Are their noses out of joint? Are they excited at the thought of a sibling? Or do they want to nibble on her?

We have to think of a name. And it has to start with an ‘H’ since that seems to be the theme at Heidi’s shop. I have some ideas, but I would love to hear yours.

Update: My sister suggested Tressa, which was the name of my Grandfather’s sister. She’s absolutely right – that name means a lot to us, so Tressa it will be. My Aunt was called Tress by those near and dear to her.

Feathered Friends Party

Heirloom Party

She’s Moved In

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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