Novel News and Facebookly Fun

Having had the pleasure of "chatting" with you folks for almost five years now, come September, I know you are not only a creative bunch, but you have a sense of humor. So while I know this won't be everyone's cup of tea here-- and yes, I will get to the teacups and other thrifty goodies for you good folks later in the week-- I did want to mention my humorous space fantasy novel There Goes the Galaxy will be out soon, and it now has a Facebook page you can "like" to find out more.

The Facebook page is here: http://www.facebook.com/ThereGoestheGalaxy

I'll be getting the proof of the book in my hot little hands this week, which means if everything looks good, the print version of the book will be out in the next week or two. YAY!!

The book will come in a Kindle version, too; though I'm learning that my storytelling abilities are far stronger than my technical ones. So that conversion is still in-process.

Anyway, just wanted to loop you folks in. I've wanted to write books every since I was 11 years old and had read every Nancy Drew I could get my hands on. So this represents a huge thrill for me-- almost as exciting as a thrifted lamp. :)

Wishing you all a lovely first week o' September,

Jenn

Treasure Box Wednesday on Sunday: Time Travel in Blogging

Since I will be heading down to Florida on our usual Treasure Box Wednesday post day, in order to bring my Dad up north with me, I figured I'd make Wednesday come early this week. When ya run a blog, you can do that sort of thing, you know-- make days shift around like dominoes-- and then hope it won't confuse the heck out of the nice people who stop by regularly.

My favorite treasure of this week was this pretty hand-tinted Victorian photograph on glass from We Miss Back When in Apollo, PA...

I had my eye on it a while, and at $8, I finally caved and show them the money.

At the Goodwill in Monroeville, I got this handy-dandy book on British kings and queens...
Now when I have questions about ol' "King Elthered the Unready," "Queen Ethelfleda the Somewhat Snippish" or "King Ferdinand the Impetuous," I'll be able to look 'em up and learn something.

At the same Goodwill, I bagged me a few CDs, too--
And speaking of bagged...
I already had this particular item, but every day I think what a bargain it was. :)

I hope to have a post for you next Sunday. With Dad sick, things are kind of up in the air for me right now, but I don't want to leave you folks with nothing in your blogly goody bags, either. So I'll do my best to keep things rolling.

Treasure Box Wednesday: Deco Delights, Hollywood Hearthrobs and More

Riiiing! Rinnnnggggg!
"Hello, who's calling, please?"
"It's Lady Luck. And do I have some secondhand goodies for you!"

That's how I felt on Saturday after spending the day journeying down Route 30 in the direction of Ligonier and Latrobe. I ended up going to a few places I don't go regularly-- like Rossi's Pop-up Flea Market in North Versailles. And I'm really glad I gave it the time, because it turned out to be one nifty thrifty day.

I'll start with my favorite item, simply because I'm so excited to share it with you all. It's an art deco styled push-button phone I found at the L&L Fleatique in Adamsburg...

Note, it's not trimmed in red-- no, that's just the reflection of my sofa through its crystal-look rim! How cute is that?

Now, I know obviously there were not push-button phones during the 30s and 40s. But I instantly loved the shape, the incredibly art deco feel to it. Why, it's deco right now to the font of the numbers...

Another Fleatique find seems to have leapt right out of the time machine from my childhood. Great for storing small, otherwise scattered office supplies, it also called to mind my lengthy crush on ol' Doctor Jones...
You don't see many metal character-printed lunchboxes these days, and if you do, they're either all rusted out or the vendor knows its collectible and is asking a small fortune. At $8, I really couldn't say no.

I also picked up a copy of the book Chocolat-- the original text the delightful off-beat movie was drawn from.
At Rossi's Pop-up Flea Market, then, I found a Cape Cod Avon plate for one of my friends who collects it...
...And a fourth moonstone Anchor Hocking dinner plate for me!...
Now I can do a full table setting for four. Given how challenging it can be to find certain pieces of this stuff, I'm pleased I was able to track down this one.

And that pretty much puts the receiver down on today's Treasure Box.

If you missed Sunday's little humor post on "The Crotchtastic World of Retro Knitting" (trust me, that title will make sense once you see it), click here.

And otherwise, perhaps I'll see you this coming Sunday for our next post!

Treasure Box Wednesday: This and That

Saturday proved to be a beautiful day here in the 'Burgh-- balmy breezes and bright clear skies-- so it seemed like the right time to make a little jaunt to the Bellevue/Avalon section of the town.

Also, given the spring construction that's popped up-- and major thoroughfare's closed left and right-- it was about the only place I could go without being trapped in orange barrels and cones!

So let me show you one of my favorite things from this week... this lovely tin portrait plate I found at the Ohio River Boulevard antique mall.


And at 40% off, too! Now how lucky is that?

At the Red White and Blue, I found this excellent pink depression glass sandwich server...


I guess I better get cracking and make some nice crisp cucumber sandwiches with the crusts cut off, huh?

I love the detail on this handle... I've zoomed in so you can take a closer look at that, if you'd like...


I also found a milk glass bowl-- quite ornate!-- for the lady I know who collects milk glass. I'd already gotten her a huge batch of it for Christmas... But I liked this bowl so much, I couldn't resist.


I hope she'll like it, too!

And, and of course, you already are probably familiar with this animated figural clock, from Sunday's post...


And lastly, I thrifted a couple of books.

You know, interestingly this week, was how much fun people seemed to be having thrifting. At the Red, White & Blue in Bellevue, a group of 20-something gals were there having the time of their lives-- laughing, trying stuff on, chatting to everyone.

One of them had found some flamboyant pink sparkly shoes and she was bubbling over, saying she simply couldn't resist them-- it was like being a kid again playing dress-up.

And I got to thinking that that's one of the best things about thrifting-- you get out of it what you bring into it. So if you're looking for something to educate... to entertain... to inspire... or just to comfort like when you were a kid... you really can find it there.

All you have to do is look!

• If you'd care to check out Sunday's post on animated 40s clocks, click here.

And iff'n not? Perhaps you'll pop by Sunday for a brand new, not even previously-worn post?

Treasure Box Wednesday: Wartime Suggestions, Cheap Chic and Classic Reads

It's October 1943 and World War II is raging. Americans are having to tighten their belts like never before. How does a homemaker make the most of her rations?

Equitable Gas hoped to make it a little easier and more efficient with this booklet I found at the Goodwill in Monroeville. And it's amazing how comprehensive it is! From how to make appliances last and how to make meat go further to low flame, minimum water cooking techniques, designed to "save minerals, vitamins, flavor." Just LOOK at all this poor housewife has to consider in trying to keep her family on track!


Also, how often do we see an employee of our gas companies giving us helpful advice about our household tasks these days? Mine just put bright yellow notices on my front door complaining I'm not at home to let them in to read the meter when they pop by unannounced.


And look at this-- by running your home the way Equitable Gas suggests, you're showing "Cooperation, to speed the 'Coming of V-Day.'" Notice the smiling troops over there, happy to see us following these super "Modern Methods" of cooking, extending our meat rations, and maintaining our appliances.


Okay, now let's leap forward into the future a bit... Well, just a LITTLE bit...With these thrifted books. I've always wanted to read Capote and Salinger and have never had the chance. So when you find them for $0.99 a piece at the Goodwill, there really is no better time!


Keeping to the 40s theme (inadvertently) is this Hazel Atlas Moderntone creamer, that probably looks fairly familiar to some, since it matches the plates I found in Ohio over the weekend. This was at the Salvation Army back in Pittsburgh, though.


And lastly, I found a Shabby Chic curtain panel from Target for $3. Which is, ironically, WAY cheaper than that same panel currently is in Target right now.


I have no idea why it made its way to the Goodwill while that pattern is still in the department stores-- there's nothing wrong with it. But there it was, anyway. If I don't use it as a curtain, I'll use it in some other manner. It's always fun to see where things end up.

But I know where this has to end up today. With me saying good-bye for now.

• If you missed the weekend roadtrip to Ohio antiquing, I'd still be more than happy to have you virtually tag along with me. Just click here.

Take care of yourselves, and remember, gas prices may be skyrocketing and the economy may look grim, but history shows us, it could be a lot worse. :)

Good Books and New Blogs

Because Mother Nature put the kibosh on thrifting this weekend by tossing down more of that tiresome white stuff, I'm afraid there's nothing spiffy to showcase in the Treasure Box this Wednesday. But that doesn't mean I've forgotten about you all! Nope-- instead, I have something completely different...

TWO somethings, really. The first is a happy little announcement:

I've just launched a brand new blog...


It's called, "Of Cabbages and Kings" and while it's 100% thrift-free (and hypo-allergenic!) it's designed to tickle your funny bone. This last year while writing The Thrift Shop Romantic, I've had ideas for posts that wouldn't quite fit here. And rather than MAKE them fit-- like the way my grandpa used to try to put puzzles together (THAT was always interesting... Many a puzzle bit the dust that way, let me tell you)-- I decided to branch it off into a blog of its own. If you have a moment, I'd love it if you'd check it out:

http://cabbages-n-kings.blogspot.com

Okay, NEXT! I have a Tag to fulfill from my "invisible friend" Ms. A. over at Livingwithoutmoney.blogspot. Actually, this is a pretty fun tag, too, because it's the first one I've participated in that's dealt with books. Also, I'm never not reading SOMETHING. This tag asks for the tagged blogger to share the book she's currently reading, and then enter a few paragraphs from it. Mine happens to be the Hotel Paradise by Martha Grimes.


For those unfamiliar with her, Martha Grimes is a mystery novelist with a knack for wit and an unexpectedly poetic turn-of-phrase. Though she's an American living in Maryland, one of her best-known detecting duos is British-- Detective Superintendent Richard Jury and his friend, the eccentric Melrose Plant.

This particular book, however, is not a part of that series, (though lovers of mystery, you might really enjoy it). Instead, in The Hotel Paradise, Grimes turns to small town America in the 60s and transports us to a time where gentility was still something people valued, and where the present is haunted by the mysteries of the past. The story follows pre-teen Emma, a precocious girl with a Nancy Drew streak, as she examines questionable events in town history which others have long forgotten or set aside.

The tone and atmosphere of the book is reminiscent of Harper Lee's "To Kill A Mockingbird," painting pictures of the small town folk and adult-sized problems from Emma's smart, sassy perspective.

Much of the book has the feel of the elegant or eccentric deep South-- and as a result, the descriptions are something I think any romantic decorator could easily get behind. Those are a couple of the passages I'll share with you today.

We join Emma as she visits Miss Flagler and Miss Flyte, two elderly ladies who run quaint adjoining shops within the town.

With her cat named Albertine and her comfortable kitchen with its smell of cinnamon and ginger, I imagine there are worse lives than Miss Flagler's... I am sometimes invited to share their morning coffee or afternoon tea (oh, those fresh cinnamon buns!) and could think of them as just putting up with me, but I don't. For some reason I feel at home with old ladies, as if I wear, in my ancient twelve-year-old soul, pince-nez and cardigans...

We sit on turquoise and buttercup-yellow painted wooden chairs (that have me revising my notion of a lack of gaiety in Miss Flagler's life) pulled up to the white kitchen table. In winter we are warmed in front of the black cast-iron stove into which Miss Flagler shovels fresh coals...

Soon, as an introduction to pumping her adult friends for information, Emma gets the older ladies to begin reminiscing about their youth and a particular social event of the time...

Miss Flagler's dress had been ice-green organdy, with a silk lining. She had worn it to a garden party, which she described to me as "all white": white dresses, white suits, white pumps, white roses, white-iced cakes.

I was momentarily carried away, or carried back, to this fairy world of garden parties and organdy dresses. I have personal experience of neither. I try to picture Miss Flagler moving airily around in her ice-green organdy, a punch cup in one hand and a plate of tiny sandwiches in the other. The color sounded both cool and delicious. I decided it must be the color of Albertine's eyes.

Those pretty bits of purple prose enchanted me while I was sitting at the car dealership recently, reading and waiting for my car to finish inspection. (Of course, most things seem romantic compared to emissions testing.)

Anyway, I guess I need to tag five people in turn. So here goes:

• Rose Mary at Life in a Cordwood Cabin (because I know she's always reading, too!)
• Rosemary at Rose's Petite Maison (because I play no favorites between my friends named Rose :) )
• Lidian at Kitchen Retro (because she's funny and I think would have something witty to share
• Vallen of Queenly Things (because this woman really knows how to write)
• and Lynn over at the Vintage Nest (because she's always up to something fun)
  

That said, for those who might have missed Sunday's post regarding some questionable serving tips courtesy of Amy Vanderbilt, click here. And for the rest of my online friends, may this week bring you a spring in your step, and some Spring in your weather, too.