Treasure Box Wednesday: What's On Your Walls?

Sujatha from Fluff-n-Stuff tasked me to participate in a meme where we're to describe what's on the walls of the room we're currently in. Since this is a decorating blog, and heck, it was also a bit of a slow thrifting week, I figured you all might not mind if we played along today.

Here's what I see when I'm sitting at my computer...


The "Rose Dreams" print is actually sheet music from the early 1900s which I'd framed. It's hanging on the inside of the closet door by my computer desk. Below it is my handy-dandy memo board where I keep blogging graphics specs I need to remember (and never do), and some pretty cards I just enjoy seeing...


Next on the wall is the first two of three George Hacker art deco prints from around the 1930s. I bought them all separately over a period of a few years at various flea markets...


Here, by the guest bed, we have a mirror I bought for about $3 and painted up to look aged. I like the way the patina turned out. It looks a bit like an interesting relic now. When I got it, it was a poorly-stained brown shade...



Over the guest bed, is the third George Hacker print, and two vintage oval prints I bought from the Goodwill a few years ago. I think they were about $1 a piece...


Here in the far corner is yet another old mirror. I got this one at "Junk for Joy" in Jeanette for $5. Like its cousin mirror, I just had to use a bit of elbow grease to get it clean. Up in the far corner is a porcelain floral plaque from the 1950s...


And last? We have these two prints which I bought separately but seem like they're two angles of the very same scene...


Interestingly, one is signed "Falkenberg" and the other signed "Eckenberg" in precisely the same handwriting, and the style of art, and the rather European look to the scenes are identical. As these were both done around the 1930s, when calendar art companies were looking to make it seem like they had more artists than they really had, I suspect these were both done by the same artist.

Now what his or her name was, however, I absolutely don't know. I've never had any luck finding out information on either Eckenberg or Falkenberg.

So that pretty much wraps it up for this Treasure Box Wednesday.

• If you missed Sunday's post of Treasures from Throwaways: The Doable Ideas Marge Missed, you can click here for that.

And, hey, if you'd like to talk about a favorite item on YOUR walls right now, well, I'm all ears for that, too.

Have a great rest of your week!

Of Buds and Blogging Buddies

Long overdue is a post expressing my gratitude for the various blog awards recently passed along to me by a number of you, my fine "invisible friends" and fellow bloggers. So I thought today, as spring begins to show its fresh new colors, I would take a moment to share these awards with a few of you, as well as pass long a little of the beauty of season so far.

Thanks to SewDelish, for the "You Make My Day" award, and I apologize it's taken me this long to recognize it here. I figure if I've made anyone's day along the way, there's pretty much nothing better than that!


Thanks to Sindhoo of Under the Sun for conferring, wow, more blog awards at one time than I've ever seen. Makes a gal feel a bit like Kevin Costner when "Dances With Wolves" was up for the Oscars. :) Too many icons to even post here, but all very kind.

And thanks to Lidian of KitchenRetro for the "E for Excellence" award. She's a good egg, that Lidian-- and she can also tell you how that egg was used in about a million different retro cookbooks.


This leaves me to pass along the awards to some deserving bloggers myself. Following Lidian's example, I'm going to select ten folks who merit some attention. Of course, there are so many of you out there that deserve recognition for your blogging efforts and general camaraderie that frankly, I'd be here all day listing folks. So we're going with ten, and also, none of you need feel obligated to do anything regarding this-- just know you're appreciated.

• Greg of The Midnight Garden. For beautiful photos, general kindness, and a terrific sense of humor.

• Rosemary of Rose's Petite Maison. For adding sparkle (literally and metaphorically!) to vintage style crafting.

• Sher "Grinnin' Grandma" of OldTimeMeArtist. For approaching everything with a dash of humor and a grin.

• Ms. A over at LivingWithoutMoney. She works on a shoe-string budget, we cook with her, decorate with her and save money with her. And somehow she manages to have new posts daily.

• ChrisMiss at MacandChris.com. This lady rides around in a caravan and blogs about her travels. You'll find her posting on TheThriftshopper.com from where ever she roams. I've enjoyed her insights!

• Carrie at OakRiseCottage. She has such an eye for vintage needlework and art. It's always fun to see her most recent treasures.

• Sujatha at Fluff-n-Stuff. A bright, funny lady who has a lot of great stories to share.

• Lynn at the VintageNest for inspirational photography and great ideas.

• Pam at White o'Morn Cottage for sharing the beauty of Ireland with us all.

• Becca at Of Bluebirds and Roses for creating such an idyllic, almost storybook atmosphere with every photo.

Now-- as we move from the blogging buddies to plain old buds, I think we'll start here, with some recently-opened daffodils.



Here are a few of the grape hyacinth that have popped up. True to hyacinth fashion, there seem to be more each year and boss the daffodils around. :)


Here are just a few shots of the azaleas as they start to bloom. Another day or two, and these should be in full-force. The intense pinkish purple is an absolute joy to me.


Lastly, I noticed the bleeding heart seems to be leafing and happy. I can't wait until it starts putting out it's little pink garland of hearts. It's some much needed color in that part of the yard.


I hope spring is treating you all well, and I thank you all for being a part of this site, for the comments, the chuckles, the camaraderie-- everything. I love seeing what this spot has grown into-- it's a little bit like the spring garden, continually rewarding and so pleasing to see blossom.

• For those interested in last week's Treasure Box Wednesday on McCoy pottery, click here.
• Next Sunday, I may be a little late with my post-- I'm not sure how timing will be because I have a guest visiting. So just wanted to give you a heads-up. :)

The "You Make Me Smile" Awards

Bisque cherubs in rakishly-tipped hats make me smile...

And so did receiving the totally-out-of-the-blue “You Make Me Smile” award from Carrie over at the Oak Rise Cottage blog. (Click here to visit her site.)

So in all the silliness of my other post-- the Horrors of Home Cooking-- I thought it would be fun to share with you a few sites that have made me laugh over the years. I don’t list these all in my Resources section, because really, they’re more general humor or just pleasant places to visit than related to inexpensive decorating. But I thought you might get a laugh as well.

First, to keep up with the theme of my other post today, I’d wanted to introduce you to James Lileks’ two mini sites--

The Gallery of Regrettable Food was what inspired today’s post. His recipe for 50s cookbook-related humor involves a few cups dry wit and a dash of the disgusting. Click here to visit.

His Interior Desecrations site takes a similarly sarcastic look at the worst in past interior design. Click here to see why a return to the 70s strikes fear in the hearts of some.

Stitchy McYarnpants tackles bad knitting and crochet patterns of the last few decades. Click here for Stitchy.

And Threadbared, while unfortunately no longer adding new materials, examines sewing patterns and why it’s probably a good idea some of these styles have been lost to the sands of time. Click here.

Two blogs I haven’t talked about before that have made me laugh are:

Mrs. Nesbitt’s Place- Mrs. Nesbitt combines great photography and witty photo caption contests in her UK-based blog. Watch as she captures cows, geese and her beloved dog Wilma in silly and surprising poses. Click here to stop by and see Mrs. Nesbitt and Wilma.

And Miss Doxie- You don’t have to be a fan of dachshunds to get a laugh from the antics of Miss Doxie. As a young, female lawyer she tries to retain her professional image, while maniacally combatting things like skirts that split down the back, traffic cops, and balancing the needs of several willful dachshunds including Bo, who is definitely doggie high-maintenance. (Language here can be colorful sometimes, so warning in advance for those bothered by that sort of thing. I’d give it about a PG-13 if that helps.) Click here to visit her site.

Oh, and before I go-- did you get a chance to read The Horrors of Home Cooking post yet? Click here for a helping of that.

Celebrating the Truly Good Eggs: My Recipients of the Nice Matters Award

The Internet: it can be an anonymous world where folks have left their manners at home...

So when online debate can all too easily deteriorate into insult and injury, it becomes even more important for us to really THINK about what we say to each other and the way it comes off to others-- especially when people can’t see the good-humored twinkle in our eyes.

Trash-to-Treasure talent, Sher-- AKA “Grinnin’ Gramma” over at the OldTimeMeArtist blog-- has always displayed her great ideas and wit online so that the only thing distressed around HER is the furniture. That’s why it’s so meaningful to have had the “Nice Matters” award passed along to me by this lady.

And now-- now I have the pleasure to pass this award along to a few Internet friends that I think are truly deserving. To be honest, my path online has been touched by an amazing number of people who merit the award, so choosing was not easy. But here we go:

First, I have an unusual abundance of “Rose Mary’s” to share this with. How it is I know two incredibly kind “Rose Mary’s” who both blog about vintage things? I haven’t calculated the probabilities on that one, but it’s still pretty entertaining...

--Now Rosemary over at Rosespetitemaison is an adventurous crafter and flea marketer out in California. Through her blog, she makes everyone feel they’re a part of her community. She’s a good soul, and she’s been working herself hard preparing for her daughter’s wedding. So keeping her upbeat disposition during this serious stress totally earns her this award.

--RoseMary at LifeinaCordwoodCabin is a consistently caring individual who always purports herself online with class. She also knows a lot about a lot of different topics-- books, vintage items, history-- and manages to share that information in a way that’s informative and never condescending.

--CheapDiva, and Gigi of UndertheWillow have both proven their niceness in remarkable, tangible ways. CheapDiva actually sent a fellow CottageLiving forum member what she needed for taking digital pictures of her beautiful home. And Gigi unexpectedly treated another member who had been ill with a package of items to help her on her road to recovery. Just watching this occur showed me how thoughtful people can be.

--And Cookie at TheThriftShopper.com-- Cookie manages to juggle a lot-- a real job, learning to sew, planning and editing the National Thrifter Magazine-- and even when she doubts her abilities, she always gets through it with real style.

--Lastly, I’d like to send this to my friend Greg over at the MidnightGarden because outside the blogosphere Greg puts up with me-- which I appreciate muchly. And he has a great knack for looking at even the worst day with humor. (And no, Greg, I don’t expect you to do a feature on this on your blog... These are guilt-free awards, so no further tagging is required. You can relax. :-) )

So, many thanks the folks above for your “overall good-eggishness” (to quote fine ol’ PG Wodehouse) and for helping make the Internet a nicer place for everyone.

--
Oh, do you have a second?...

You might not want to go just yet-- click here to read this week’s second blog feature, “A Big Box o’ Inspiration” sharing my favorite decorating inspiration photos.