*more* thrifted vintage dresses (summer)

I went to a garage sale in Kansas City (pretty much all the good stuff is in the city!!) and came away with several fun pieces ... no one piece was more than $10 ... I was there.

If you are on a budget and want to stock your vintage wardrobe you don't go to Donna Dress Shop, you garage sale!

Here's a knee-length polyester, patchwork dress for every day.

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Another casual outfit that initially looks like a dress...

But is actually a red, white and blue jumpsuit!

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A fun, 50s knee-length floral. It's a juniors dress, so the waist cuts in a little weird, but it is super fun to wear.

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And a short romper!

Just need some white spandex to go under to to avoid any unlovely sights. Any idea where to find some (I've checked W-mart and T-rget...??

a few shop additions - 1950s patterns!

I found some 1950s (one 60s) patterns at an estate sale for a great price! Most things were overpriced, but not these babies. Everyone had overlooked them, but they were mine. And they pretty much speak for themselves. Find them HERE.

Aren't they amazing?!

anniversary date (the no kid kind!)

On Saturday we were incredibly blessed with an entire night away without kid(s)! This was her first overnight away from parents and home, but our good friends who know her well took marvelous care of her. She got sweaty and dirty and played hard and didn't utter our names once. That's our girl!


We went back to Kansas City and visited the three floors of the River Market Antique Mall before we decided we were tired and ready to eat.

We saw a lot of great things including ...
this great trunk (coffee table anyone?!)

(Above) An incredible Heywood-Wakefield midcentury piece - I almost died. And a great mod-looking orange stove from the 70s. I love that style but am not sure it's MY style.

(Below) And, an ode to my dad. Did you know John Deere's colors were originally yellow and red? This sign is from the very early 20th century. I thought about picking it up for my dad until I saw the tag. "Rare" and $1000 don't fit my budget. Sorry Dad. ;-)

We went to eat at The Farmhouse - a local eaterie with great atmosphere, eclectic staff and an incredible menu. Completely supported by local farms - it's fresh and local! It's pricey, but a great place to celebrate a special occasion. And we did!

Here is my husband of 5 years.

I indulged in a "mocktail" of lavender lemonade - delicious - and we shared an appetizer of fresh, local cheeses with sauces on crisp, salty homemade crackers.

The Farmhouse comes highly recommended! Thanks for sharing in our special weekend. Now on to the next 5 years.  

*rose garden*

Part of our Loose Park adventure last Friday was its infamous Rose Garden. Absolutely stunningly beautiful and sweet smelling roses in so many colors. Here are just a few.

anniversary (family) outing.

Friday was our 5th anniversary - we celebrated family-style with a picnic in the park. Loose Park in Kansas City to be exact. Complete with anniversary cheesecake, a sweet, swinging 2 year old, lots of green grass and a vintage romper.

Lovely, relaxing and completely enjoyable. I love having no agenda but to be together.

weekend thrifting finds!

This weekend I let the garage-sale craziness sweep me away. And I think I'm good for quite awhile.

I wanted to share my vintage finds (although I did find a few other clothing items, etc for Ladybug and me) - some for the Market, some for me.

At one sale, a guy was just trying to get rid of things. The Brother Valiant typewriter I scored for $1 (YES! a dollar!) and all of the 78s (the round case and burgundy album) for $2. He was basically giving stuff away. How could I resist!? Oh, and the working 1959 Zenith alarm clock for $5.

Four blue ball jars with lids ($3 ea), a small blue ball jar for .50, a flour sifter for $2 and a Mouli grater for $2.

I've wanted a typewriter forever just to display and this one is small and perfect. I love it!

I found the large Ball jars (above) and this perfect little table for Ladybug at an estate sale on Friday morning after our garage sale rounds. The table was tucked in the basement and still waiting for me when I got there. I scooped her up quick - and good thing because there was a collector there!

One leg must be slightly shorter and they all need a coat of ivory paint, but it was exactly what I was looking for.

I cannot tell you how thrilled I was!! It pretty much wiped us out (Jeremy too as he was home with Ladybug) and my garage saleing itch is scratched for awhile, but it was so enjoyable.

I'll be sharing the rest of my vintage clothing finds soon!

Thrifted anything great lately? 'Tis the season!

Lisa

with love from Germany

My dad went to Germany a few weeks ago for a work trip (jealous? can I say jealous!?!) - and he wanted to know if I'd like anything for him to bring back for me.

Of course, I said, "Yeah, the whole European aura, please." :-) I do love Europe.

But I settled for chocolate and my favorite spice.

{milk chocolate, marzipan chocolate and chocolate with raisins and hazelnuts}

{a favorite spice that I can't find here!}

"Tomaten" is what you think = tomatoes. It's wonderful sprinkled on just about anything, but especially toasted bread with nice cheese. Mmm.

Dad, you did great!! Exactly what I wanted. Thank you. :-)

Garden Update: Spring is *finally* here!

After a few frozen plants and frustrating weather, spring is finally here! {I hope.} I came back from a long weekend to see my flowers and herbs had grown in the sunshine, and my strawberries are blooming like crazy!

I am container gardening mostly this year - and only tomatoes, peppers and herbs. In the actual ground I've planted garlic, kale and a couple of extra tomatoes for kicks. Oh, and green beans - two out of 20-25 sprouted, so I'm not really hopeful for a bountiful harvest of those...

{berries!}

{daisies}

 {my hosta came back!}

{dill and parsley}

{front door flowers - I need to replace the one that didn't like the May snowfall}

After last year's frustrating growing season and drought, this is my last go with a garden here. If container gardening works out, I'll be thrilled. If not, I'll shrug and say, "oh well." Kansas just isn't a great place to grow things. At least not for my not-so-green thumb.

We're planning to make regular trips to the Farmer's Market in town on Saturdays to make up for my garden's lack and to buy local, fresh and organic (the CSA pick-ups stopped in our area, so that decision was easy). Two weeks ago we scored with a huge bag of wintered spinach for $3 and a dozen pastured eggs - green, brown and white - for $4. I'll keep my budget low, but I am craving fresh!!

What are you craving? Are you growing anything? Do share!!

montessori learning: DIY busy-board

I've recently run into Montessori-type learning for children and it really lines up with what I've been trying to do with Ladybug. For the most part, it seems to be practical learning with every day items to refine motor skills and learn. I'm not really into putting tinies in school per say, but I love that she can learn while we live our normal life. And I can do easy, already in our house, activities to keep her busy like pouring beans or rice into containers, washing dishes, helping me cook, learning why things float/sink or are hot/warm/cold, etc. Montessori really pushes have children-sized things to work with (like child sized tables, tools to work with, etc.) and I agree in part, although I think it can go overboard. Plus, we don't have the space or resources right now to have a miniature-sized everything.

That said, here is a project I've been working on for our 6 hour trip to Iowa this weekend.

A DIY Montessori "busy board".

I used all recycled/vintage items except the black plastic buckle and the metal eyelets - so using what I had, in all this probably cost me about $5.

For this I created (from left top, clockwise) large buttons/holes, lacing, elastic pull & button, buckle, hook & loop, a small snap, zipper, bowtie, and a hook & eye.

Some will be simple like the velcro and zipper ... others will take some practice as her skills develop. I designed it that way on purpose.

 Here it is all undone and ready for a busy two-year old!

And a front to back look. I sewed on all of the notions before I put it together like an envelope pillow. Sort of. Then, Jeremy cut me a thin piece of veneer (left over from THIS project) to fit and make it sturdy.
 

If I were to do it again, I think I would've:

1) just sewn it together - the envelope was difficult to fit over wood ... it's not flexible like a pillow. ;-) Luckily the vintage polyester (remember seeing THIS dress makeover?) was a little bit stretchy. I thought I may want to put something on the back in the future - so this was the option I chose.

2) I might've left the eyelets off. You really need a good tool to do them right, not just the little kits you can buy at the hobby store. They're a little rough. And I need to replace the ribbon with a reclaimed shoe lace - I just haven't found one yet.

That's it!! what do you think? I'll let you know how it works in the car.
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As for resources, here are some books I've flipped through:

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And I'm going to read these two ...

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Any other Montessori learning fans out there? Any other resources you would recommend?

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And here is an Etsy shop full of fun whimsical Montessori learning toys.

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 Aren't they cute? I think I've just gotten another project brewing on my list...

(And what about these clouds!)

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new blog look!

I've been really ready for a clean, new blog look for awhile. Recently I ran across a blog called Sincerely Lara and it just so happens that she had a perfect (free!) template. What?! The next day it was in my inbox and here it is.

Isn't it great?

I'm still working out the kinks, but it's up and running for now! Woo hoo.

:-) Love.

An in-season, out-of-season dessert: organic strawberry rhubarb pie

There hasn't been much activity on the blog this week because there isn't much to say! We've been attempting to enjoy the 4 days of warm weather because it dropped almost 40 degrees overnight and is chilly, chilly and rainy. Ick.

I thought it was quite appropriate to share a still-out-of-season, yet in-season-in-my-freezer dessert today. Doesn't a piece of organic strawberry-rhubarb pie with a cup of something hot sound amazing? Perfect for a drizzly, cold, gray day. Mmmm.

I've been trying to use up the frozen goods in my freezer to make room for this year's harvest to come. We are eating up the end of last fall's apple butter and applesauce as well as the rhubarb and zucchini.

My in-laws brought some frozen strawberries from their garden when they came over Valentine's day weekend, and my mom always provides plenty of rhubarb from her garden. Garden goods equal organic in this case! I was inspired to whip up this pie a few weeks ago for book club.

I have to admit that it was super yummy - and was deemed "the best thing I've eaten in 2013" from a very credible source. Wow! It was simple but SO yummy.

Here's the recipe:

Double pie crust
Martha Stewart's pate brisee

Strawberry-rhubarb filling
(from Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book - the 1998 facsimile copy of the 1950s version ... a much loved high-school graduation gift!)

1 c. sugar
4-1/2 T. flour
1-1/2 c. rhubarb, thawed & drained
1-1/2 c. strawberries, mostly thawed & drained
1 T. butter

Stir first four ingredients in a bowl. Place in bottom crust - dot with butter. Add top pie crust. Bake at 425 degrees for 40-50minutes. Cover edges halfway through baking time with foil to prevent burning.

Happy spring! It's not quite rhubarb/strawberry season yet but it will be soon.