Happy Thanksgiving!

Many thanks to the Drieth family and to my mom (who traveled out here) for a lovely Thanksgiving!

Congratulations!

Stephanie from Colorado Springs is the winner!
Thanks to everyone who entered and for all the kind compliments.
Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Celebrating One Year of Blogging!

I just realized I've blogged my first entire year!
(actually a year and 4 days)
To celebrate this and the upcoming holidays,
I am giving away a pair of earrings.

You will be entered to win if you comment below on this blog post and mention your favorite holiday earrings (for example: your mother's pearls, or a long sparkly pair for NYE…). Winner will be randomly chosen on Sunday, November 28th (so you must enter by midnight on the 27th). Good Luck!

Hammered gold-plated handmade earwires with red iridescent dotted glass beads -- simple, playful and perfect for the holidays.

My Grandmother Blanche

This morning I looked back through some photos I took last year when I visited my mother for Thanksgiving. We had gone through her mother's trunk and I documented some of the treasures inside.

inside of trunk lid (center)

inside of trunk lid (corner)

fabric

her notes in one of the student books -- review review!!!

handmade lace

hand-stitched fabric applique/embroidered basket with flowers

young Blanche Baldwin Peck

psst... there is a sale going on

Treasure....

A recent trip to Florence, Colorado and today's insane ARC finds have left me with lots of possible projects, but right now I'm gazing at it all in a happy daze....

close-up of C's retro tie he found

retro star at bottom of a little dish -- another C find

pyrex dish with leaves - perfect for Thanksgiving

detail of retro curtain -- which may become a tablecloth and/or apron

detail of Mexican blanket

detail of retro apron

Florence has such fun stores to search for hidden gems and treasures... and they're all located in a small old downtown, great brick buildings, interesting architecture, mountains in the horizon.

Florence finds: old little toy bear, 2 handkerchiefs, trinkets for jewelry projects
(not pictured -- rocks!)

weird fun colors....

The Pour House -- decent coffee (we had triple shot americanos to make them strong enough for our tastes), great atmosphere, tasty scones -- the perfect place to take a break between all the little shops. For dinner we went to Pueblo's locally owned, sustainably-minded Bingo Burger for delicious grassfed beef burgers and local brews!

Remembering Green Grass and Dew Drops

This morning we woke to find Pikes Peak covered in a new layer of white snow, glistening in the early light -- beautiful. But I miss summer mornings and was reminded I haven't yet shared these photos.

CS Thrift Store Review: Repeat Performance

Repeat Performance

829 N Union Blvd
Colorado Springs, CO 80909

This unique shop is packed full of fun stuff. It seems deceptively small at first, but it keeps growing -- small room after small room! Women's and men's clothes from the 40's through the 80's, wedding and prom dresses, jewelry, hats, knickknacks, kitchen items, a strange mass collection of Raggedy Ann dolls, and lederhosen! All sorts of treasures to find, assuming you show up on the right day/time. Hours: Wednesday to Saturday, noon to 4:00pm. The outside of the building looks run-down, made me wonder if it was still in business. But the couple met us as at the door and quickly C was roped into helping move a shelf to the front. (minimal furniture, mostly clothes and things)

Fall Colors

morning coffee, banana-nut heart muffin...

C's leaves collected at Garden of the Gods...

New Batch of Jewels

(Tiffany's box makes a nice colored backdrop... for my newest creations)

Rubbings

the coolest pencil ever! ...perfect for cemetery rubbings

prep work for an art installation idea I'm working on...

Morning Glory

missing my Colorado sky blue morning glories...

Happy Halloween!

Spent Halloween morning clearing out my garden (putting much of it in my compost). The recent frosts have killed the tomato, pepper and other plants (but the arugula still thrives!). I pulled up all the potatoes, some of the onion, last few radish and carrot babies, and clipped many stalks of rosemary, thyme, lavender and catnip for kitties. These are nicely drying in a row in the kitchen.




In the afternoon, I baked one of the apple pies I had made from my birthday apple picking trip (I like to keep goodies like this in the freezer). Then I made spicy (cayenne and paprika) and also rosemary orange mixed nuts... butter and sugar always does the trick!

apple pie with rosemary and thyme bunches





A little pumpkin carving and handing out candy to the few trick-or-treaters who came our way...


Then C and I brought the pie, nuts and some rosemary/thyme bunches to S's delightful Scary Movie Night. I dressed as a witch and C as St. Francis. We all had fun watching Curse of the Demon and Night of the Comet!

(best costume: C's St Francis... he collected the birds and made the halo, I helped by sewing the monk robe...)