Mockingbird Hill Cottage

You remember my recent post about the Fiesta collection I used to own? And how I lament my decision to sell it? I referenced a Fiesta yellow footed compote that used to sit on my kitchen table back in the days when I lived in Cambridge, MA. That bright pop of yellow and the simple, yet beautiful lines of the compote made it one of my favorite pieces.

Well, reader Kelli reached out to me in the comments, saying that she had that compote and was about to sell it, and several weeks later, here we are.

It arrived yesterday. Isn’t it gorgeous? The timing was perfect – it looks like it was meant to be sitting next to those tulips.

My plan is to put it in the center of the kitchen table when I move the fern back out to the porch.

I’m torn about the fern, which is looking better than it did on the porch, simply because light is coming at it from all sides. But it won’t do well with the air conditioner, which sits in that window. So it does have to go back outside. I’ll have to turn it more often. (As you can tell, I’ve bonded with the fern.)

Anyway, back to the compote. I’m so happy to have one again! Thank you so much, Kelli. Kelli lives in my home state of Michigan. Michiganders are the nicest people! There, I’ve said it.

In other news, imagine my happiness when I saw that a Sleepy egg cup was up for auction on eBay.

Then imagine my shock when I saw the price:

Whoa! I don’t think so.

What makes this frustrating is the fact that I NEVER see Sleepy egg cups come up for auction. And to finally see it, but listed at a ridiculously exorbitant price? Big sigh of disappointment.

There’s a little story about these cups. The one you’re looking at in the above listing is the original design for the cup. There are also Sleepy egg cups out there that look exactly like Sneezy; the same dwarf, same facial expression, only the name is Sleepy, not Sneezy.

Both are collectible: one for its accuracy, the other for what must have been some sort of weird production choice. I’d love to know the real story behind it. Anyway, maybe I should play the lottery today…perhaps I could come up with $400.00. I’m going to follow the auction simply because I’m curious. Will someone actually buy it? Will there be multiple bids? Or will the auction time out with no bids?

You can almost buy a whole set of the egg cups for that amount. In fact, I’ve seen them listed for $350.00.

We had one of our movie nights with Doug and Rick last night. We watched The Misfits, one of my favorite movies. So powerful. The stories about that film! Marilyn Monroe was often late to the set. Arthur Miller, her husband at the time, was the screenwriter. They were in the process of separating. Gable insisted on doing some of his stunts, one of which was in the scene where he gets dragged by a wild Mustang. One day after the filming was completed, Gable had a heart attack and eleven days later, he died. Monroe died the next year. Montgomery Clift (one of my favorite actors) died five years later. I think it was the best work of both Monroe and Gable.  It’s a haunting film, directed by the great John Huston (who apparently was often late to the set because he’d been up all night gambling) and one where I have to cover my eyes at times. The scenes of them roping the wild mustangs are difficult to watch. But the story and the power of that film! The four of us talked about it for an hour afterwards.

And Rick, who is becoming an excellent baker, made a flourless chocolate cake. Oh my heavens! We cheated on our diet, of course. You would have, too!

Okay. Have to go mail the bills.

Happy Thursday.