Monarch Post

what i was lovin about yesterday

  

Thrift store finds from last week. Breadboard, strawberry jam jar,

 

which go with the consignment store bowl from last year.

 

And the strawberry pie keeper found along with the strawberry jam jar.

                                 Score.

And the way they fit perfectly in the empty spaces by the stove.

 

Oh ya, and the recipe card holder found with the breadboard, jam jar, and strawberry pie keeper!

 

Kid lunches served on last years' thrifted find. Which by the way, makes eating unusual things like vegetables, sometimes happen...

 

See? On second glance, I think he's eating fruit... I was told cukes are sick.

 

Look at all those great colors- sorry about the photo :(

 

Banana bread that couldn't wait to get cool to be eaten. And the smell... yum.

 

Staking tomato plants, and their scent on my hands.... One of the finest fragrances on the planet...

 

How green things are in the backyard, and Mike's newly made Adirondack chairs.

 

And how the pots are finally taking off, after all that rain.

 

The first teeny bouquet of zinnias from our yard. Here.

Better yet here, in the kitchen... where I admired them for the rest of the afternoon.     

Talk soon,

xoxoKelly

P.S keepin' it real here-- what I didn't love about yesterday... One baseball mom complaining loudly that all the worst players on the team were playing that day, while surrounded by those kids' parents, while another mom bragged about how she cheated on AP tests-- to her kids! Who does that? And Corbyn's car broken into in broad daylight--  his subwoofer, cologne, and debit card were stolen! ....People, you are making bad karma. Stop it!

weekend

      Last spring we installed a trellis at the end of our front porch. We bought and planted climbing roses and waited (excitedly)for them to start climbing.... and waited... and waited. Nada. Didn't grow an inch last year. But this year, well, HELLO "Blaze of Glory" floribundas ...so nice to see you climbing and blooming. Had to pick a bouquet. Sunday morning. In my jammies.

Which then meant a little summer rearrangement to show off our very first homegrown roses from this house. (The previous owners of our home were horse-breeders, and so I guess they liked grass more than flowers. We keep planting and landscaping a little at a time). Mike and the kids built the birdhouse for me two years ago for Mother's Day. It's a favorite thing. The bird is a thrift store find, and so is the pineapple doily. Dyed it yellow Saturday. Look at those flowers, jeezz I love them.

I'm terribly flowery at the moment, I know. Sorry. I'll find something else to post about next time. But I just love, love, love to see things g r o w i n g and b l o o m i n g right now.  It's freakin' magical, if you ask me.

Love,

xoxoKelly

rambling Friday

 

Yes, it's random, rambling Friday here.... following pink Saturday, and green Wednesday, we needed something/something Friday. Uh, rambling Friday. That works.

 Well it's April now, and that means cute-thrift-store-wellie-rain-boot-flower-vase needs to be out and photographed. Why? I don't know why, just because it's cute. That's why I guess. 

And another dollar well spent at the thrift store ;) It's almost sick, isn't it? ... my preoccupation with finding cute stuff for just about free... but it keeps the hub happy. He calls me a reverse snob. I come home and say "guess how much this didn't cost me!" I think he tries to guess high to humor me. And therefore, makes my day when I say "wrong! It was only yadda, yadda, this much!"

Okay, moving along with my ramblings...

  

And this was so not a deal-- forty bucks. But it was the only one left at Target. Had to have it. Visions of summer barbeques and this cooler filled with ice tea or lemonade on the deck, bad 80's music playing, kids and dog chasing Frisbee. Yes, had to have it. (Please don't hate me because I have the coolest cooler ever ;))

Rambling forward now and thinking summer and backyard fun. Here's the problem. I need some ideas people! I only have one so far...

  

I think giant sunflowers and nasturtium seeds (photographed on top of a new picnic table cover, because it went with, yes, the cooler) would look great around the sides of the playhouse Mike built for the kids.

 

Isn't it adorable? Mike did a wonderful job. It's still needing two swinging Dutch doors, but then it's finished. Well, and maybe some cute curtains ... But like I was sayin' it needs flowers, plants, a tree or two...And that's a sandbox underneath, by the way. My husband is very efficient!

So please pass along any ideas or suggestions you might have. Whatever you think would go with giant sunflowers on a steep hill.

It's been a crazy, busy week here. One husband in Costa Rica and two kids going every direction. And one sick kiddo. So there's my craftless excuse. I did get an art doll almost finished. I'll show her soon!

 

Ball games, school events, scouts, piano, docs, fifty pounds of laundry. The life of the Mom...

 

 

 

  

 

 Well I'm sure that's probably enough rambling for one post! Hope you have a wonderful weekend. Thanks so much for checking up on me! Hope all's with you!

Love,

xoxoKelly

happy

    My new $2.00 thrift store bowl I scored yesterday. Happy Easter to all who celebrate! Happy Spring to everyone!!!

Love,

Kelly

children, home, beauty

   It's officially spring for me today. I spotted crocus peeking out of the bark in my neighbors yard this morning. It also snowed again today. Yes, it's springtime in Utah.

I think I'm feeling like this photo right now: pushing my way through and trying to make creative things happen- while I'm so busy helping with my Mom, taking care of my kids, planning birthdays, scouts, homework, activities, sick people, etc. etc. My week flies past, and I wonder where it went and what I have to show for my efforts. It's been three weeks now of not much creative mojo going on here.. And that's not good, because I'm one of those people who likes tangible evidence of progess! I think that's one of many reasons blogging is so satisfying: I can 'nail it to the wall' and see what I've accomplished every few days- normally, but not so much lately.

 My one day in the studio was filled with ringing phones and doorbells, escaping dogs, and children tugging on my sleeve.... I think I need to forget about trying to make my days very creatively productive and stay with evenings and a late nighter once a week. I'm needing a better plan, or maybe I just need a maid and a nanny (?)

So a few Bead for Life bracelets are the only thing I managed to put together in my one studio day.

    But what a nice little coincidence on crocus matching! I do have spring on the brain... I'll list these    and these On Etsy soon.

Anyways, in the meantime as I run around trying to keep pushing my way to a bit of blooming creativity, I've been snapping photos of home corners, and all the little things I'm noticing and feeling so grateful for at the moment. Children, home, and beauty... and a couple of thrift store finds from Monday's shopping that made my week.

So here's to children, home, and beauty:

Sophey's bedroom breakfast still life. I spotted it this morning and grabbed the camera. I know this won't last much longer. She's eight and growing so fast.

  

And this sweet corner of her bedroom in all it's Pottery Barn splendor... I will be so sad when this gets packed away.

 

My kitchen corner still life. The latest thrift store green Pyrex ware obsessions.

   

   This stuff is the best. The casserole dishes keep everything moist and yummy, and they clean so easily. I can't believe anyone wouldn't want to keep it forever and ever. Sheesh, I sound like June Cleaver, let me go get my pearls on... but really, this stuff is the bomb.

   And while we're going '70s retro.. well, check out my Salvation Army thrift store throw. A whopping $2.00 bucks. Of course, I stood debating over whether or not to buy it for several minutes- not over the cost, but wondering if my husband would have me committed for bringing it home!

But look how cute it looks in my family room with a dog draped over it ;) Winston likes it and Mike is getting used to it. It's all good. I swear this dog smiles.

 

     And three cute new chicks for spring. They were only $3.50 each- cheap, cheap, cheap (sorry, I couldn't help myself).

    I'm liking them pecking away beneath the grocery store flowers I found when I was shopping for more cupcake items today. It's Jesse's big party day tomorrow, and I had to figure out cute goodie bags again. Boys make me think harder when it comes to parties. I hunted up and down the craft store aisles quite awhile today, but finally the light bulb moment happened.

    I always have the best helper. She can eat and work at the same time, just like her Mom ;)  Yo yo eyes, bouncy ball noses, party horn mouths. Does it work? Tell me it looks like a face, and tell me ten year old boys won't think it's stupid. Like I said, boys are harder in this department.

I love, love being their Mom and I love all the joy, life, and beauty our children bring to our home. Even on those days and weeks when my own time doesn't happen, I absolutely know I wouldn't want life to be any other way. This family is the best thing that could have ever happened to me, and I hope there are always children and someday little grandbabies tugging on my sleeve... I think I would be lost (maybe saner and more efficient, but definately lost) without little sleeve tugger people.

Hope your weekend is wonderful.

xoxoxox Kelly

 

creativity past

"There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action and because there is only one you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost. The world will not have it." Martha Graham 

 I'm still here... working through winter. Looking for inspiration and bright colors. A few blogs I've read lately tell of how inspired they are this time of year to work in soft colors- greys, blues, winter whites, pastels. Not me. Today I'm heading to my favorite fabric/quilting store on the hunt for bright, bold, saturated. I want to make more fabric collage art.

 Lots of ideas running around my head today- just needing the perfect fabrics and the creative boost I'll get looking at all the needlework ideas at Lavender Thyme quilt store. Not that I'm a quilter, mind you. I don't have that much patience!  But I appreciate the art form... and someone else's patience;-)

I found this old handmade purse last year in an antique shop. Completely hand stitched in a quilted pattern.  Faded, old gold fabric with perfectly even, meticulous stitches. I bought it just to display and admire in my studio. Love the mysteries of pieces like this purse. Who made it? When? Why? Where did she wear it to- a wedding, a prom? What inspired her design?

Yes, I do love a good little mystey. Like the dining room table under my purse.    The antique dealer said it came out of a convent in upstate New York. I loved the table, but that info sealed the deal. Another antique mystery... after we bought  the table, I noticed tiny, indented lines all over the top of the table. I knew those lines from sewing as a child. Tracing wheel lines-- someone used this table for cutting out patterns. Nuns cutting out their habit patterns? Who knows. But I like the image... homey and holy work...

it makes me feel warm and cozy in my winter time world.

Lots of love to you,

xoxoxo Kelly

white and bright stuff in October

 Look at what we got last weekend-- can you believe it?  Four inches of snow. I have never seen snow this early in October. Woke up to a white yard Sunday morning, grabbed a rake and started banging snow off the trees. I was relieved to find no broken branches.  Our trees had just barely begun to change color. 

 

Green, gold, white, all within the week.  Crazy.

 

And my poor little shivering zinnias.  It started snowing Saturday night, and I couldn't stand to see them die in the snow.  So looking like the neighborhood crazy lady, I clipped zinnias in the dark, in my pj's!  

   

 

Hot pink zinnias and Halloween decor-- hmm, maybe I'll start a new trend...

 

But those snowy sparkling zinnias got me to thinking.  I dug out some of my homemade hot pink roses (recycled from a prom dress) and added some white sparkling "snow".  Such an enchanting, magical look-- I just went with it, and got busy designing Christmas stockings out of an old aqua wool blanket.  Amazing how a snow, cozy day can turn you from trick-or-treat to yuletide thoughts.

 

And hitting the MOTHERLODE bag of buttons at the thrift store always help the imagination get going too.  Isn't this the sweetest tin? Just found that at my friends' antique shop.  It belonged to a little 90 yr. old lady who kept it for a button box.  Looks like I'll keep her tradition going--  hope I get to use it as long as she did!

 

 

And one more photo of one more continuing tradition last weekend... Big sister, Ainsley helping little sister, Sophey learn to sew baby doll pillows on her tiny sewing machine.  I love it.

 

It's getting cozy here-- and we're getting into it.  Fire in the fireplace, sewing and knitting, and tucking in at the corners at night...

Hope to be a better blogger one of these first days...  Today my master bath is literally being demolished. I'm trying to type this in between answering carpenters' questions. But in about a week we should have a brand new bath-- tub, shower, counters, tile, the works.  Can't wait to see how it turns out-- AND I really can't wait to be done with the house projects for the winter!

Take care xo,

Kelly

seeing red: part 2

Remember the song "a few of my favorite things" from The Sound of Music?  Well, that tune was running around and around my head this morning, while I took pictures for "I saw red".  Sadieolive's call for red continues...

Here are a few of my favorite things around the house...in shades of red.

   My whistling red teakettle starts my day.  I love the homey sound of it whistling at me.  Or maybe it's just that something is still whistling at me these days? Past the big 4-0 now...

   Twinings red tagged English Breakfast tea in a red cup.  Every morning.  Several.  Then it's on to making ice tea for the day.  I think tea must run through my veins...but I love it.

   My other favorite kitchen appliance. Sleek, sexy, several cruising speeds, big motor, built to last... A burly, Harley riding friend of ours came to dinner a while ago; he asked me what this was.  I told him it was the Harley Davidson status symbol for housewives.  He laughed.  Oprah even gave away red Kitchenaid mixers on her Big Giveaway show this year.  Now I know I'm cool...

  Favorite thrift store red wooden bowl.

  Favorite thrifted red cookie jar.  Kinda weird that it's a Campbell's soup can for a cookie jar, but I still love it.

  Favorite antique store red baking powder tin.  I've never heard of Royal baking powder have you?

  Favoite new English WW11 reproduction poster.  King George commissioned several different slogans/posters to be posted around during London's bombing.  But this one was never distributed, and the original only recently found.  I'm seeing it all over blogland now, so I'm not so original anymore, but I think it's fabulous.  I read it several times a day, and tell myself  just "keep calm and carry on"...

   Favorite new display of red kid art.  My kids made the heart flowers with pipe cleaners, painted wooden hearts, and painted old string-along beads for the base.  How clever is that?

   Another new favorite piece of kid art.  Painted-spotty-red-yogurt-container-turned-petunia-planter.  How clever is that?

   Favorite new red Mary Janes' on my vintage (sounds so much nicer than antique, now doesn't it?) feet.  How do they smell Winston?

   Same favorite red-collared dog with his faithful sidekick, red-collared Miss Greta, on husband's favorite red Lazy Boy.

   Favorite new red sewing project.  Found several yards of this fabric at an antique store yard sale.  But it's been sitting around a couple of years, while I've tried to figure out what to do with it.  I decided to cut out the teapots, cups, plates, sugar bowls, and use them as appliques for tea towels.  Whadya think? Any more ideas, anyone?

   And last, my favorite homemade red silk poppy notebook, for all my project ideas. With a favorite quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson.  "Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not."  I love it.  On that note, I'll leave you... See you tomorrow, with one more day of red.

Take care,

Kelly 

arts' belt buckle