I blame it all on spotting those Roseville Pottery bookends in that antique shop. Remember? That little encounter got me thinking about how much I loved Roseville and its lush, flowery patterns. And, as is my wont, I started obsessing. Just a wee bit.
Last week, my steal of a deal arrived in the mail:
This gorgeous vase in the Magnolia pattern.
Yesterday, a vase that I knew I shouldn’t bid on but could not get out of mind because it was, to me, so beautiful, arrived here at the cottage. It was late in the afternoon, so this isn’t the best photo, bear with me:
It’s flawless. A pattern I am inordinately fond of – the Water Lily pattern. The vase is 8 inches tall. I couldn’t help it. I tried to stop myself, but I was powerless. Isn’t it beautiful?
Must stop. But I’m a firm believer in surrounding myself with the things that I love. Roseville is making me very happy at the moment. And I’ve needed something pretty that makes me smile. So be it.
You’ll be thrilled to know that we finally took the window air conditioners out of the windows yesterday. We’ve never left it this late. Don then took two non-working air conditioners to our recycling center. I also cleaned off the porch and stored the glider cushions, and dumped all the dead potted plants on the mulch pile. Don fired up the snow blower to make sure it’s working.
All this just might have happened because I read the forecast, which predicts 5-8 inches of snow for Monday night. Then ice. Then it warms up for a few days.
Crap, crap, crap.
We also spent some time in the soon-to-be-office-space, moving some of the things from my studio into the space and moving some other pieces out and into their new home in the hallway.
I also assembled one of my IKEA purchases. A sneak peek:
It’s full of the paints and tools I use when working with miniatures. Today, we just might assemble the desk. There’s much to be done in this space, including finding a place for five guitars. And a mike and speakers and…
One other thing – if you like pine-scented candles, Target is carrying a seasonal group of Mrs. Meyers Clean Day soy candles in Iowa Pine.
I bought three of them earlier this week. Hopefully, Target is still carrying them. They also had a cranberry scent and one other that I can’t remember. But I’m a pine girl, so whenever I find some, I snap them up. I’ve used Mrs. Meyers products for a long time, so I knew the candles would be good quality.
Ads on blogs differ according to the reader’s browsing history, but my ads keep showing Doc McStuffins on Hulu. Did you know that the creator of Doc McStuffins, Chris Nee, is a former student of mine from my Boston University days? She was and is a terrific person. So proud of her!
Okay. I’ve yammered on quite enough for the day.
Happy Sunday.
The waterlily is a lovely piece. I can envisage one in my home, but I would want a Monet too to complete the look. (I have my wish list!) I like your craft cart. I have something similar to store all my watercolour supplies, but it isn’t nearly so pretty as yours. No outdoor activities for us at the moment. Yesterday saw a high of minus 28 degrees Celsius, so we spent the afternoon building a 3D puzzle of Manhattan that came in a Christmas parcel. Jigsaw puzzles don’t normally interest me, but this one had dozens of little buildings that were fun to stick in. We were curious – are there no tall buildings in Harlem?
Harlem has tallish buildings but I don’t believe it has skyscrapers. Neither does Greenwich Village.
I am drooling over your Roseville pieces. I have three that a little neighbor lady gifted me many years ago. I’ll try to get some photos of them to show you. It’s rained over 10″ here and suppose to turn really cold and maybe snow tomorrow. Nothing like yours tho – thank goodness. Am going to Pryor today for a family get together.
Have a good week,
Judy
Have a great day with your family, Judy!
My goodness, the last Saturday of 2015 was a busy one for you and Don!
Your craft cart is wonderful. The perfect design for small spaces and looks like it holds quite a bit.
Have a wonderful day and be careful out there if the snow should arrive.
It was a very busy day but it had to be done and it got us off our duffs! That’s a good thing. I love that craft cart. It comes in turquoise or a dark gray.
I was struck by your first picture…the Roseville fits in so well, with the rest of the decor in your cottage. Sort of like, they were meant to be together! Beautiful new piece! We are supposed to get 3-6 inches…and ice too. I’m hoping it misses us altogether. I don’t want any white stuff! At least you can work on your office/craft space if it snows! ;)
I think so too, Donnamae, and thank you for saying that it goes well with the cottage. Don is loving that particular display on the tray. He really likes the earthier tones.
NO SNOW!
You have jogged me out of hiding to comment on your beautiful finds. So, “lovely!”
We also have been lucky (or not according to one’s point of view) to still have bare ground, as well. Yesterday, my DH remarked that he was sure glad that he put the snow tires on in time… They’ve been in place for about 4 weeks. Our snowfall has been so minimal that I could nearly count the individual flakes.
Blessings! ~Aunt Lou
So good to hear from you Aunt Lou! So far, no snow at all until…the dreaded Monday night forecast. We’ve been very lucky, but I think that luck is about to change.
I am joining Donnamae in wishing and hoping this foul weather to go away (and NOT come again another day). The prospect of ice is so awful, I truly hope and pray that it doesn’t happen.
The IKEA cart is so fun! Can’t wait to see the desk. I’m sure you are both excited to get the room finished and “working”.
Hope you have a good day, and perhaps if we ALL focus togetheron making this weather go away, we have a chance!!
We are trying and trying to make the bad weather go away. I got up this morning and checked the forecast, but it hadn’t changed…please go away!
Claudia, I have to tell you that you are killing me with all of your Roseville. I have loved it since I was a child and admired it in my grandmother’s home. I am trying so hard to get rid of things, but the temptation to seek things I love is there.
Glad you are feeling better. I wish you and Don a wonderful new year.
I know what you mean, Beverly. At the same time, I’m acquiring, I’m also purging. Or, at least, I’m about to begin purging! Have a wonderful holiday and new year, my friend!
Lovely to be surrounded by the things one loves! And equally vital to purge as one evolves. I’m in the midst of purging too. Bleh about the ice. We’re in between rain storms. Though we need the rain, I need it to stay dry until my leaky window can be repaired! Enjoy setting up your new space. The cart is functional yet visually-appealing at the same time. Enjoy the rest of today, Claudia.
Purging is ongoing, but will really get into gear when I get back from Hartford in February. I leave in about 3 weeks and I have a lot of research to do before then. I hope the rain eases a bit for you. I have been there with the leaky windows!
Your new Roseville pottery additions are lovely Claudia, and I can see right away why they would be so irresistible to you. I never even heard of this style of pottery until I began reading your blog. Roseville has a Beautiful nostalgic quality to it and the raised patterns and delicate colors remind me of old MGM movies and Hawaii; (don’t ask me why). I believe in your philosophy too, regarding surrounding yourself with things that you love , so thank you for sharing your new acquisitions because your unabashed enjoyment makes us feel happy as well as educates us too! :D
They were made in Ohio, Elizabeth – one of the famous Ohio potteries, where Fiesta and McCoy were also made. Something about the clay there!
I totally understand the reference to MGM movies and Hawaii!
Gosh it has been a while since I stopped by. I love your new Roseville pottery it’s just beautiful… I keep trying to stay off line ebay etc.. But sometimes it is difficult.. I believe there is one piece of this in a deep red color in my mamas basement but it is cracked sadly but it is still pretty… I actually didn’t know the name but I sure it is the same as yours the texture looks the same. Thank you for sharing. I will have visit the rest of older post. Have a lovely Sunday with love Janice
You too, Janice! Thanks for stopping by!
Love your new purchases Claudia :) I have had that IKEA cart on my list and every time I go I always put it back. I do so love it but could never find a place for it in my home. Yours looks great filled with crafts. Calling for an ice storm here too tomorrow night. I sure hope not. I did the same swept off my porch and called it good for the winter.
It’s actually a really good size and there’s plenty of room for storage – what about in your office?
Doesn’t it feel great to get things done…and get organized! Organizers are the greatest; love to have things corraled, like your dollhouse ‘tools.’
The Roseville is stunning.
I know what you’re saying; I’d said I’d watch it on the budget but some after-holiday deals have been so tempting because of such good prices. I’ve stocked up on mini lights for next year and got a really nice Christmas mug…Fiestaware, no less! But, yes, austerity has to now settle in.
I meant to tell you yesterday that I absolutely LOVED your idea about the turntable and getting each other some vinyl. I am heading to our remaining offsite storage unit/closet in an hour because I’m worried the place is going to flood with El Nino rains upcoming and I need to see what’s left in there…and am SO tired of paying the rent each month. I do not want my vinyl warped. Vinyl is the BEST as are hardcover books; the successive generations do not know what they are missing! Such a feeling of anticipation when putting needle to vinyl, knowing when the music will start…those sounds, even a scratchiness, all a part of the experience. I think I saw Bruce Springsteen on a late-night talk fest, hawking a new Greatest Hits collection, all in vinyl and special cover art, etc. A lot of them are now offering even new music in vinyl. You’re making me want to play all my old records from the 70s but I have no idea in the packed-up-stuff-during-remodeling where my turntable is; darn! Oh, how I listened to Linda Ronstadt belt out the songs on vinyl when I was in my 20s!
Have a nice rest-of-your Sunday. It’s fun to have you share glimpses of your life; best of luck with desk assembly!
We’re kinda cold and overcast here in SoCalif today; strong wind died but we’re only 60 degrees at noon and, you know, with our thin skin as SoCalif-ers, we’re searching for the parkas (ha!).
We’re actually looking into a storage unit – just a small one. We have no attic or usable basement and the shed gets mice, so we’re always faced with having to find a place for things we love but just don’t have the room for. Like my grandmother’s trunk – which takes up way too much room, but isn’t something I want to give away. It would give us some options, especially now that we’re trying to change things up in the office space.
Well, they’re great and our facility is well-run but it’s just ‘way too close to the river for my liking. We sorta moved stuff out of the house into the storage units spontaneously and hurriedly, initially had three and now just the one, and the last thing I was thinking about was flood or fire…and we already had a wildfire scare this summer with it. My husband is still a bit under the weather and wasn’t up to lifting/shifting stuff but we went to survey that unit today, as I mentioned, and I have boxes and boxes of books right smack on the floor of the unit, not up on a pallet, so with even minor flooding, I could lose some treasures. I’m feeling nervous but I also have to make space at home first and we’re not ready yet. There’s an old guy there almost every time we go and he has two units with a vintage car in each. Some people just down from our unit use theirs solely to store Christmas decorations…and they have the supersized unit, the kind with what looks like a conventional 2-car garage door. I feel offsite storage is affordable enough, for one small unit but, I guess I’m funny this way, I prefer to have all my stuff within my reach on my own turf…I’m the only one who can make that happen, though, ’cause it’s my stuff and not my husband’s per se, and what it REALLY means is the one in, one out rule…whatever I bring back into the house, I need to edit and let go of something else. I’m not moving into any larger houses from here; it will only be smaller. I’ve accumulated too much stuff. When my husband retires, that’s also an expense we don’t need to be carrying (monthly storage rent) because every single expense will count and be carefully weighed on reduced/fixed income. But I understand what you’re going thru with the crowding and lack of usable space. It’s a dilemma!
About your mice issue, not that I’m into plastics, I have a neighbor who has a lot of storage space/shelves/nooks built into her garage and she uses impenetrable plastic storage bins/tubs…see-thru for contents, with tight lids and neatly labeled…as opposed to cardboard-style boxes. I needed this kind of arrangement in my last house because we sometimes had a hard time getting rid of the rats in the attic and basement…we lived in a heavily-tree’d area on a hillside property full of old-growth foliage and, well, ‘wildlife’ lived there and had been there long before my little 1920s-era cottage. Some of my cardbox moving boxes got heavily chewed. I don’t know what I’m going to find when I get into those boxes; they’re still not unpacked from house to house (can you imagine I’ve had packed-up boxes that long[!] but we’ve also done nothing but renovate/remodel for a decade and you have to have certain stuff/clutter out of the way so the work can get done; I’m so sick of it). My neighbor in that woodsy subdivision had a darling bungalow built in the 30s, two-story with a really large attic but she had mice in that attic…I swear they leap tree to tree and tree to roof) and they chewed a lot of blankets she had stored in cardboard. Our attic rats would chew thru insulation, wiring; monsters all…
In the shed, if you switched to plastic bins/tubs, you could shield yourself from any plastics off-gassing because you wouldn’t be around it every day like if they were inside your living spaces. Anyway, just a thought. I’ve seen those bins at various times of the years in our big-box stores here, sometimes for under $5 for a good-sized storage bin. Another thing my neighbor does is buy them in colors, so that she also has her stuff then color-coded…i.e., blue tubs for seasonal clothing; orange tubs for Halloween decor; red for Xmas ornaments; green for kids’ games/sports equipment, etc. She’s an enviably highly-organized person unlike moi.
Love the new vase…waterlilies are so beautiful…I have seen those IKEA carts and would like to have one myself….I do hope we will not be getting any snow down here..we have had rain for days now…
The snow forecast has been downgraded but we’re still due for a wintry mix changing to sleet and ice. Do not like.
I almost bought that same IKEA cart. I think it’s so cute and handy. It could be used in so many different ways. Doc McStuffins is so much fun. I watch her all the time when we’re with our grand-daughter. In fact she was Doc last year for Halloween. Such good life lessons are taught in the show. It’s been snowing here all day again today. I hope you get a lot less of the white stuff than we have had.
Blessings,
Betsy
I hope so, too, Betsy!
The cart is really cute and I need something to corral everything.
I love the new vase! Such a pretty pattern!! I’ve seen that great IKEA cart before and I want one!! (LOL). My grandson loves Doc McSuffins, it is so cool you know the creator. I am home and so so happy to be here. I will be able to get Charlie tomorrow and I can’t wait. I miss my boy so much.
hugs,
Linda
So happy you are home and that you’ll be able to see your Charlie tomorrow! xo
The new vase is gorgeous! I love the colors! That’s what makes your house so inviting — you surround yourself with what you love and it shows. It is hot here. We even have the ac on and that is unheard here in late December. Supposed to rain tomorrow (we had 5 inches Christmas Day) so we have some flooding around here. But it is supposed to be more seasonal for New Years and I am kind of looking forward it. Oh, yes, Claudia, I love the Ikea cart. Wish I had room for one. Impressive that you know the Doc McStuffins creator. I enjoy watching that show with the grands.
We’ve had a lot of rain, too. We were just saying that we would be happy if it was a bit more wintry – not snow – but temperature-wise.
So great to hear you bubbly and happy. Who said shopping can’t buy happiness. I think your Ebay finds have put a big smile on your face. Happy for you.
They’re so beautiful, it’s hard not to smile!
Claudia! I have that same rolling cart! I LOVE it and you will too!
I can’t wait to work on the dollhouse project and have the cart right there beside me.
Happy-happy post! LOVE your vase! So perfectly you. I have thought of the Ikea cart too – I could keep crafty things in the living room without feeling guilty I’m messing everything up! Ha-ha! And, then wheel it back into the messy craftroom that is too crowded to work in. :) Blessings – and continued happiness for you and Don. Patti
Exactly! I just have to figure out where to park it!
i, too, believe in surrounding ourselves with things we love and am glad you bought those beautiful treats.
perhaps the storm you face is the one that brought us (in iowa) nearly four inches of rain and snow on Christmas eve day. almost eight inches of snow is forecast for tomorrow. it is beautiful and makes me happy for all the kids who received sleds for Christmas, but there’s a three-hour window when ice is expected and i don’t like that at all. ugh. hope everyone stays warm and gets around safe!
kathy
We’re getting a snow/sleet/ice event – not as much snow as predicted, but definitely icy – which I dread.
was at target today to make a return and skipped the candle aisle. too bad … an “iowa pine” candle sounds yummy. maybe there will be some of them left after tomorrow’s storm. enjoy your treats, including the candles and that cute cart.
kathy
Iowa Pine would be perfect for you, Kathy!