Vintage Silver Goblets

Not long ago I came across a fun vintage find.


This set of six silver plate goblets stand 2 1/2 inches tall and are about the cutest things ever!  They were still in their original box.  I paid less than $1 each.


They’ll never be used for brandy at our house, but I’m excited to fill them with some tiny flowers or little mints and put them at place settings for a luncheon or breakfast.


I love the patina, the shape and the size of them.  They make me smile when I see them.  I’d like to think of a fun way to use them in everyday life.  Any suggestions?

Hopeful Homemaker Linked to Reluctant Entertainer

Mr. Wonderful

This post is a little late in coming, not because it hasn’t been in my heart, but just because our house is so full of LIVING that I blink and suddenly I’m behind in the chronicling of it all.

Remember the haircut ?  My husband felt so bad.  He didn’t mean for it to be so short, and he certainly didn’t enjoy my post about it all.  But because he is so wonderful, and because he loves me, he spent time the next day enabling a feature on my blog that I’d shown him recently on another blog.  He did it without my knowing, and I appreciate it.

Well, I just wanted to redeem myself a little.

This is my husband, Mr. Wonderful, holding our 8th baby minutes after she was born.
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He really is the better half of our marriage.  He’s more patient than I am, more inclined to be positive and optimistic.   He knows how to diffuse anger with humor.  He’s quick to drop what he’s doing and connect with the children.  He consciously plans ways to spend time with each of them.  He’s also way more fun at bedtime.   And while he’s not perfect, I’d say he’s certainly several strides ahead of me.   It’s a good thing he’s still got a few rough spots to polish, because otherwise there would be no reason for him to put up with me.  Mostly, though, he’s perfect for me.

Last week he came home to a noisy house, a cluttered kitchen, hungry kids and a wife who was just sitting and typing.  Granted, I was typing something important to both of us in preparation for Family Night.  But there was an awful lot that was being left undone in order for me to do this one thing!  Well, he packed up some volunteers and headed out to get pizza (unasked).

When they came home, there was a large bundle of fresh carnations included in the package.  He was a little embarrassed that he’d just given me carnations but he’d had the input of a certain seven year old who was very passionate about it.

And to tell you the truth, I was actually really excited about the carnations.   There were enough of them that I could play and experiment a little with my flower arranging skills (translation:  see if my hands could actually produce the kind of thing I could picture).  Mr. Wonderful’s mother really likes roses.  I just like flowers.  Flowers of all kinds, and especially flowers that are in season.

Well, we ate the pizza, had Family Night, put the kids to bed and then I got to work on the carnations.  (I’m sorry I didn’t take pictures.  I really just needed the experience of being creative.)  I started by separating them by color, and then went on a hunt for small containers to place them in.

I started with the bright red carnations and three little ceramic baskets that I picked up on clearance after Easter a few years ago.
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Funny that it’s taken me so long to do with them what I pictured when I purchased them.
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Next I chose a silver sugar dish and the bright pink carnations.
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I like the juxtaposition of elegant silver and the lowly carnation.
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Another silver dish and the crimson flowers.
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And finally, the variegated flowers all together.  Initially I had them separated into two colors, but I liked the way they looked together.  Again, I chose a silver bowl.
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When I was done and the counter was once again clean, there I stood with 6 flower arrangements from one big bouquet!  Not only had he brought me flowers, he’d also brought me an opportunity to be creative, which happens to be the #1 way for me to unwind and feel good about life again.  The trickiest part of all was just choosing where to put them!

Every time I’ve looked at them for the past week, I’ve had to smile a little at life and at how grateful I am for him.  Thanks, sweetie.  I love you.

Jennifer

Vintage Finds, Quilt Projects, and fun with my Sister

I have been so excited about this weekend that I’ve felt like a kid at Christmas!
A week or so ago my sister emailed me and said she didn’t have class on Thursday or Friday.
It turned out that my kids had a fall break on the same days, so she and her husband decided to come down for a few days.

On the list of things to do:
design a Christmas quilt and shop for fabric, hit the thrift store in search of cool old picture frames, do something creative in general.

This is my lovely sister Kristen and her husband Jake.
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Thursday night we went to the thrift store and had a blast.  Now, I enjoy looking for wonderful old things, but usually I’m doing it alone.  I learned that it’s much more fun when you’re with a friend.  I had so much fun!  Kris bought some cool old frames for a project she’s working on.  Here’s what I found.
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The pitcher is silver plate, but was black.  I bought it for $5.00 and polished it a little when I got home.  I’m not usually really into candlesticks, but they were pretty and really inexpensive.
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And I love the little cup.  I’m totally into silver things on pedestals.
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And for the first time in my life, I decided to sort through the vintage jewelry.  I think I scored pretty well, and now I have a few things to play with.  I’ve got a bunch of ideas bobbing around in my head involving fabric, rosettes, vintage rhinestones, and so forth.
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The big rhinestone broach is about 2 1/2 inches long and every stone is clear and intact.  And the rose is actually quite pretty with the marcasite.  It was $1.  Lots of fun!

I also picked up an old picture frame that will look great painted white.
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We came home happy!  It was a lot of fun.  Yesterday involved a little bit of cooking, taking care of all the children, and a trip to the spa for a pedicure.  Kris gave me a gift certificate for my birthday which I hadn’t used yet.

This is the ONLY time I wear flip flops.
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Don’t our toes look pretty?
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After the pedicure we went to work on the Christmas quilt idea.  I had some ideas in mind, and when I sketched them out, she liked my proposal.  A little math to work out the pattern and generate a shopping list, and we were off!
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We’re trying a twist on the traditional Christmas color scheme by tossing in some black and white.  We found a great bunch of fabrics that she really likes.  It’s way too much fun to shop for fabric.  It’s like shopping for clothes, but you can buy a little bit of every color and pattern that you like and you don’t have to worry about whether anything fits because the creating is all up to you.
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We’re going to try to cut it before she has to leave for home.  If we don’t get to it, we’ll have to plan another weekend like this soon, very soon.  I’m liking this project so much that I’m feeling tempted to make one for myself as well.  So far I’ve resisted, though.
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I tried my hand at making my first rosette with some silk fabric.  Needs some work and I could use a real lesson in how to do it.  I was just sort of making it up.
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Last night my brother and his wife came over for a late dinner, an impromptu movie, hot chocolate floats and a hilarious reading of my 10 year old daughter’s most recent story.  Brent and Christa are awesome;  they are expecting their first baby in just a few weeks.  They’re like we were,  stuck on a name.
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This morning we made some pear french toast and got the logo she designed for my blog all set up.  (Hope you like it; I do!)  Little sisters are the best!
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So, we’re about to wrap up the weekend without any finished product, per say, but we’ve had so much fun and are full of plans.  We miss our Mom and other sister and have to do this again soon.  After all, we’ve got a quilt to make.  We’ll show it to you soon!