vintage — Page 39

Forgotten Treasures, Dollhouse Update

January 24, 2011 at 12:35 pm by Claudia

Good morning! It was 9 degrees below zero when I woke this morning. During the middle of the night the temperature was supposed to go to at least 11 below; I have a feeling it went even lower. Don had to go into Manhattan today and I have to go in tomorrow. You’d better believe I will be rewarding myself with cupcakes from the Magnolia Bakery!

We all have little treasures that we are used to seeing around the house. We get so used to them that we don’t really see them anymore until something makes us look at them with fresh eyes. That happened to me the other day. I ‘saw’ this box which has a home on our spinet desk. I bought this little cigarette box when I was in Edinburgh in 1991 – oh my gosh, it’s been 20 years! I well remember walking into a little antique shop, hoping to discover some little treasure that would always remind me of my trip.

The copper has transformed into that wonderful blue patina that I love. The flapperish female figure is looking elegant while enjoying a cigarette. Isn’t she fabulous?

A confession: When I gaze at this lady, I get that little twinge that reminds me how much I loved smoking years ago. Don’t worry. I haven’t smoked in 26 years and I’m not about to start now.

The inside of the box is wood.

It’s full of memories: chaperoning a group of Boston University students who were performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, staying in a lovely flat for 2 weeks and having the luxury of time to explore that gorgeous city, traveling to London for 5 days to explore some more. Those students were members of a class that I adored teaching. We had such fun together – at Boston University and in Edinburgh.

This weekend, I painted the roof of the dollhouse.

I wanted the shingles to look a bit weathered, so I used 2 different shades of gray. It’s subtle, therefore hard to see in the photo. I hope this gives you somewhat of an idea of what I was going for.

Today, I’ll start painting the house itself, which will be white, then the shutters, which are on order. I’m not sure what color I’m going to use on the shutters – maybe a turquoise mixed with some gray? After all this is done, I will start on the inside and that, my friends, will be the biggest challenge.

Hope your weather is a tad warmer than mine!

A Cold, but Sunny, Sunday

January 16, 2011 at 12:30 pm by Claudia

What’s that? Sun flooding the living room with light? Yes, the sun is shining. It’s still very, very cold…but the sun is shining. Is it only January 16th? That means at least 2 more months of winter, doesn’t it? I keep reminding myself that harsh winters are what make spring all the more beautiful and appreciated.

I used to live in Southern California. Where it was in the 70’s yesterday. What am I, nuts?

Did I ever share this find with you? I don’t think I did.

I won this vintage doorstop at auction a couple of months ago. I bid on it thinking I might offer it in an Etsy shop someday. Of course, I also fell in love it.

And it’s really heavy. I mean, heavy. The shipping costs would be prohibitive, don’t you think?

I’d better keep it here. It’s the smart thing to do.

I’m going to resume work on the dollhouse today. It has remained in the same state it was in last February when I had to stop work on it to start my prep work for the Shakespeare Festival in San Diego. It needs another coat of primer and then, gosh darn it, I’m going to paint the rooms and start furnishing this baby. I will have to remove the crochet that is currently on the roof. I put it there each evening so that a certain furry boy who loves yarn cannot get to it.

When we adopted Riley we were living in rented cottage in Westchester County. At some point during the first night he spent with us, he wandered into the office/studio and ate some of my yarn. Luckily, there were no side effects. Whenever I have yarn out, he immediately comes over, sniffs around and tries to lick it. That boy.

I’m off to get some work accomplished. Tuesday, I will post a book review. It’s a new mystery that I think you will like.

Getting Away Helps

January 9, 2011 at 12:41 pm by Claudia

I’m not one to let a somewhat sad blog post linger too long on MHC. I’m still battling the blues a bit. Yesterday, Don and I decided to get out of Dodge for a few hours. That helped enormously. It was cold and gray but beautiful at the same time. We drove south to a little town we used to visit much more frequently when we lived in our rental cottage. Cold Spring is situated right on the Hudson and is charming.

In the summer time this little town is packed with visitors but yesterday we had it almost to ourselves. We decided to grab some lunch at a favorite restaurant, The Foundry. It’s funky and wonderful – my kind of place. (I’ve never been one who is drawn to elegant restaurants. I like warm, inviting, slightly off-beat places.) I wanted to stand and applaud when I saw this message on their chalkboard:

We ordered our favorite dish, Lentil Cakes. I cannot tell you how much I love these.

I don’t know how they do it, but they are scrumptious. Several years ago we asked the chef what he used when making them and he reeled off a list of ingredients. We tried to recreate them and failed miserably.

Cold Spring has lots of wonderful Victorian architecture. Some day (when it is considerably warmer) I’ll take lots of photos of the wonderful buildings on Main Street. I did manage to take this photo.

And this one of the very icy Hudson River.

As we drove home, we saw an Ice Breaker chugging down the river, clearing a lane for river traffic.

There are several antique shops in Cold Spring and we ran into one that has a little area with vintage clothing. I had seen this hat when we were there a few months ago. I wanted it then but didn’t buy it. When I saw that it was still there, I took it as a sign. It was designed by Hattie Carnegie – a famous millinery and clothing designer who died in 1956. I think it’s fabulous!