Hazel's Vintage Pretties

A Quote to Carry in Your Heart Today...

"Guard well within yourself that treasure, kindness. Know how to give without hesitation, how to lose without regret, how to acquire without meanness."  (George Sand, French author 1804~1876)

Show and Tell Sundays~Ephemera

I know, it sounds like some kind of a disease, but "ephemera" refers to vintage paper items.  I have put together a couple of samples from a few different categories...Here we go!

The first item is something I found recently, while going through some of my dear Dad's belongings, with my Mom.  I believe this belonged to my dad's mother, "Hazel", for whom I named my website.

  I don't know what it actually was from, perhaps a piece of gift wrap?...I just love this print!  It usually hangs in my bathroom.

One of my other favorites is a number of vintage tickets I have, in three different yummy colors: 

Another favorite of mine is something I picked up at an antique fair about a year ago.  It's actually an advertisement/postcard, although I have no idea why they would put a lovely picture of a little girl on a cigarette advertisement...The text on the front reads, "PET Cigarettes Are the best...Allen & Ginter, Manufacturers, Richmond Virginia."...Someone wrote in pencil on the back, "Portland, Or Sep. 1889 From Wing Chinaman."  I absolutely love the picture of the little girl, all dressed up, and holding a beautiful basket of flowers.

I really like this little pamphlet titled, "Let's Make a Garden", which I believe is from the 1920's or so.  It has some gardening advice,etc, but it also has advertisements for "Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound" throughout the pamphlet...Pretty tricky!  The ads are hilarious...Here's the text for one of them:
     "Dainty as a Rose...and Popular as Poison Ivy!   What's the matter with Ellen?  Beautiful moonlight evenings she spends on the porch wthe others.  Sometimes she's gay and lovable.  Next time you see her she's depressed...critical...touchy.  She breaks dates on the flimsy excuse of a headache.  The young folks are pretty well agreed that Ellen is a flat tire.
     What Ellen needs is a woman's medicine like Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound.  It would build up her general health...give her more pep...more interest in life.  Her disposition would improve too, because a healthy person is usually cheerful.  She'd have fewer "headaches" and more dates.  Wouldn't you think she'd try it?"  (I'd like to try some!)
    

At an estate sale awhile back, I came across a box of saved greeting cards, and menus that had been saved from a trip.  One of the menus is from the "New Grand Cafe" in Livingston Montana...with a handwritten date, "July 4, 1961."...The prices are amazing...Juice 15 cents, Ham or Bacon, Two eggs, Toast and Coffee, Hash-Browns all for One dollar!...Stack of Hotcakes forty cents, cup of coffee ten cents, etc. (Those were the days!  Of course, people's wages were a lot less then too). Perhaps the one breakfast is circled because that's what someone ordered?)

I also love vintage postcards and illustrations from vintage children's books.  Here are a few:

These are two items that I really like...One is a baby book, with only a couple of details recorded...The mother most likely became too busy taking care of the baby to complete the book :)  ...The other is an unused photo album that I purchased at a really good estate sale a few years ago... As far as storage ideas, be sure to use acid-free products to store your items in, and don't store them folded, because over time, they will tear on the fold lines...I love to have my items out where I can see them...I usually tuck them into different displays around my home. Thanks for stopping by today for Show and Tell Sundays!...Take care, Katie  (Here's a better shot of the illustration on the baby book:)

"Are You a Tigger or an Eeyore?"

Hi all...If you haven't seen this "Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch , it's well worth the 76 minutes it takes to watch it.  One of the things he asks in the lecture is, "Are you a Tigger or an Eeyore"?  In other words, are you a positive person or a negative one?  I don't know about you, but I think that's really great food for thought. 
     I must admit, that I have been conditioned to lean toward being an Eeyore, because of my childhood (No offense to anyone involved in my childhood; I gave up holding grudges a long time ago).
     I have to work at being a Tigger, and I don't always succeed. But, it's well worth the effort!  Have a Tigger day!...Katie  (Here's a photo of a dear younger friend/my daughter's babysitter and I on a recent mini vacation...Lots of Tigger moments!)

A Facelift For the Front of My Home

Hi y'all...Ever since we moved into our home, fourteen years ago, I have despised the front of our house...I'm referring to the "garden area" on either side of our front steps, near the sidewalk...I have tried many superficial makeovers...You know, dump "beauty" bark on it (should call it "ugly" bark)...put gravel, try more and more plants, even though the only thing to ever survive out in the very hot sun, was a lone and brave lavender plant, etc...You get the picture...Well, I finally had enough, and decided that we were going to have to hire someone to do the job, which we rarely do.  My great husband does most of the home improvement type work around here, but the man can't do everything.
     I had some "before" photos, but I can't locate them, so just picture a barren wasteland that makes you want to turn around and run...Here are the photos of the new and greatly improved garden...These were taken about three weeks ago, and the plants are already filling in nicely.                                                   

 

 

 

I have to mention that my husband repaired some major cracks in the wall, and painted it too...He painted it a darker shade of the house color...The newly planted garden made the upper garden at the top of the stairs, look horrible by comparison, so I got my little self out there a few days ago, and did a ton of weeding, and then added some rich, gorgeous compost to the soil...My plants were pretty happy about it.
     I used to spend a lot of time gardening, but when I took up sewing for a living, it kind of fell by the wayside a bit...I'm trying to balance my life out a bit more...I'm even working on toning up and losing ten pounds or so...Wish me luck!  Thanks for stopping by my little ol' blog today...Remember to take care of yourself, not just other people...Katie

What Did You Do Today?

Do you ever feel like you're doing too much?  Today, like many days, was one of those days for me...Here's a partial list of what I did today:

~Watered the garden
~Made the bed
~Cleaned up the kitchen
~Did the laundry
~Returned a rented trumpet (had to drive far, to a place I'd never been before...Got lost)
~Sold some books to a used book store
~Delivered some block print cards to two different shops
~Cashed a check at one bank, and dropped off another at a different bank
~Picked up misc. items at the drug store
~Shopped for groceries
~Made dinner, while helping my daughter run a lemonade/pretzel stand
~Cleaned up the kitchen

Whew!  I'm tired!  There's some really bad pollen around here the last couple of days, and my nasal spray isn't doing much to help, so I've had a stuffed up nose all day, and have been sneezing like crazy...Time for bed...Good thing I'm going on a mini vacation Thursday through Sunday...I'm going to this event, on early buyers day. Hope your day wasn't this busy...BCNU...Katie (From Hazel's Vintage Pretties)

Final Touches on Bedroom Makeover

Hi y'all...I'm back with the final touches of the bedroom makeover.  I added this lovely white chenille bedspread that I purchased from ebay seller persians2 .  This lovely lady sells mostly chenille bedspreads, and many are for "buy it now" prices, so you don't have to bid against others.  She is very big on service...I think I'd have to say that I received the best service from her that I've ever had on ebay. 

Here are some photos of the bedspread:                                                                                                                                                                                                            

  They say that if you're going to do an all white or mostly white interior, you need to add interest with different textures...I thought the white chenille bedspread qualified, because it definitely has texture, and it adds to the cottage look I was going for. 

I also made some curtains for the bedroom...The fabric is from the Mary Rose line, and I purchased it from a lovely gal who sells on ebay, under the name urbangardens.  I put in a close up of the fabric, so you could see how yummy it is!                                                                                                                                                                                           

Here's a fun little home decorating tip...It's fun to bundle up beautiful items with a pretty ribbon, and just place them on a shelf or tabletop...Here's one I did recently:  phot                                                                                                                              
Okay, that's all for today...I want to leave you with a reminder to find some time in your day to relax, or have fun...Appreciate the beauty around you, and think well of yourself, Darlin'...BCNU...Katie

Finally, a Bedroom Makeover!

     As I've gotten a bit older (forty-five), I've learned that I have to be patient sometimes.  Things just don't always happen as fast as I'd like them to.  One of the things that I've been wanting to do for ages, is re-do my bedroom.  We moved into this house fourteen years ago, and it came with a very long list of things that needed to be done.  We did paint the room before we moved in, and I've monkeyed around with painting parts of it, since then, but I really wanted to take it all apart and do the whole thing.
     Well, with the help of my wonderful husband, who did lots of the work, without even being asked (on Father's Day weekend, no less), it got done...I even took photos...Sorry, I didn't get any "before" pictures...Suffice it to say that it needed a clean coat of paint.  I've long wanted to have an all white color scheme (I know, some people say white isn't a color...I say it is!)...Most of the room is white, and the floor is kind of a tan with a touch of pink...Just don't tell Greg that there's a touch of pink...We're calling it tan whenever he's present. 
     I was tempted to leave the room empty...It was so peaceful in there...Very Zen... But, we need the room, so we put it together.                                         

At this stage, it was like a blank canvas, with endless possibilities...I love that feeling!

This was the closet when it was taken apart...I also painted this mirror the most gorgeous shade of green!  It was the door to what must have been the world's biggest medicine cabinet!

I found this headboard (along with the rails and the footboard) but it's not for the right size bed, at an estate sale a few years back...They started the sale on a Thursday, which is unusual, so there weren't many people there...It was in the back of the garage, and there was a wasp buzzing around it, which may explain why no one else found it...They sold it to me for $35!

The little desk/vanity next to my side of the bed was also from a really great estate sale...I know the woman that I bought it from...It was her mother's estate (I don't know how they parted with so much great stuff)...This was my friend's desk when she was little. The lamps on either side of the bed were from (you guessed it, another estate sale)...They were $5 each...Shades intact, and wiring just great.

I know this looks a bit crowded, but these do need to be in the room, and that's the way it goes, I guess...I love the green vanity...It was my sister-in-law's when she was a girl...She didn't want it, and gave it to me...I do treasure it. 

As you can see, I made a few adjustments to the vanity...I felt like it needed a few more "pretties" to adorn it!                                                           

My sweet little Anna volunteered to put the closet back together!  What an organizer she is!

Goldie was very happy to have "her room" put back together! 

This is a better shot of that mirror I painted...Do you see me waving at you?  (Tee hee)

Thanks for stopping by today...I hope you enjoyed the makeover!
 (I also made curtains this morning, and just "won" a beautiful white chenille bedspread on ebay this morning...I'll put up a couple of more photos when it's all together)

"You Made Me Love You...I Didn't Want To Do It, I Didn't Want To Do It"

     When my son's girlfriend gave him a hamster, nineteen months ago, I wasn't pleased.  I'd been telling my son, "No", on the subject for quite some time...I didn't want to have another living thing that I might end up being responsible for, and whose loss I would someday mourn.  I was determined to have nothing to do with this hamster, who my son named, "Baxter". 
     Yes, you guessed it, I became attached to that cute little guy, completely against my will...Today I took him to the vet, because he'd been having trouble eating, and had been quite lethargic...The very kind vet told me that Baxter had a large cancerous (he presumed) tumor in his mouth, and he gently recommended putting the little sweetheart to sleep, to prevent him from suffering any longer. 
     I called my son, who was at school, and he said to please go ahead and have it done.  I spent about ten minutes holding Baxter, prior to the inevitable...He made his cute little squeaky noises in my ear, and had a couple of bites of a strawberry that I'd brought with us...And yes, I cried like a baby...When they offered to take him into the other room to put him to sleep, I said I wanted to be with him when they did it...I feel that we owe it to our pets (in this case, our kids' pets), to be with them until the end...They gave him the injection, and then I held him for the minute or two that it took for him to go...He just seemed to curl up and go to sleep.
     I was surprised at how much love I felt for this little guy...If he hadn't had that cute little face with those cute little whiskers, and that sweet little squeaky noise, I might have been safe...I heard in a movie recently, (can't recall which one), that God gives us brave hearts, so that we will love people, animals, etc, knowing that someday we'll have to feel the pain of losing them.  I suppose we can't withhold our love in order to protect ourselves, even though I think we do try sometimes, to do just that. 
     I think the point is, to love completely...Even though it will hurt later...Take care, Katie

 PS  I know my last two posts have been on the sad side...That's just part of life, and in this case, part of blogging.

Happy Father's Day, Dad...I Miss You

                        

     Well, I knew I'd write about my Dad at some point, in this place called "my blog", but I wasn't sure when.  It's my first Father's Day without my beloved Dad, "Donald Delano Wright."  My Dad had been in very good health, until October 2007, when he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He was seventy-two years old. The doctors told us that they couldn't cure him, but that they could help prolong his life for awhile. 
     He had two brain surgeries and lots of radiation...He opted out on the offer of chemotherapy, a decision we all agreed with.  We didn't want to see this precious man suffer anymore than he had to.  Dad turned out to be one of the toughest people I've ever known.  He didn't complain...He said that he was glad that it was him, and not anyone else in the family.

     My Dad was simply a great guy...He was sweet, kind, and considerate. He was a compassionate man who cared about people. He was a very well read political historian. One of the things I most admired about my Dad, was that he never "blew his own horn."  He did many wonderful and important things in his lifetime, and never once bragged about any of them.
     The radiation on his brain slowly changed him.  He couldn't remember things...simple things...I started washing his hair for him, and trimming his fingernails on a regular basis.  He would only let me do these things. We were very close, and during the fourteen months that he lived with cancer,(He died on November 21, 2007, the day before Thanksgiving), there were many tender, beautiful moments, that I hope I will never forget, even though they bring me pain. 
     I would say to my Dad, "You're the best", and he would reply, "You are", and smile.  During his last days, I said my part, and he just mouthed the words "You are", back to me.  My Dad hated to be cold, and my sister and I bought him a warm fleece robe, and a down comforter.  I would often just lay down next to my Dad, and put my arms around him...I think that's what he needed the most. 
    Before my Dad became ill, I used to call him to help me with things when I needed someone to pick something up at the grocery store, the pharmacy (If I was home with a sick child, etc)...He's still the first one I think of, when I need someone to do one of these kinds of things for me...He's actually the only one, as I can't think of anyone else who's around during the day, and who I'd be comfortable asking for such a favor. 
     I feel like part of my heart is missing, actually...But I know that I was very lucky to have my Dad for forty~four years of my life, and that's more than a lot of people get.  I hope he's in heaven, reading a good mystery, and drinking a cup of tea by a warm fire.

    Happy Father's Day, Dad...I miss you...You're the best...Love, Katie

Roosevelt High School's Marching Band

Hi everyone!  When my son was three years old, we moved into our present home.  One of the special things about our neighborhood, is that it's near Roosevelt High School.  From the time we moved here, we've been treated to the RHS Marching Band practices.  The band marches through the neighborhood, while they practice for parades, football game performances, etc.
     When Andy was little, the sound of the band was all it took to get him out the door immediately, and he and I would excitedly watch them march, and play, sometimes right past our house.  At the end of the year, they treat the neighborhood to an actual "parade" of sorts, where they wear their uniforms, and march through the neighborhood, and even stop in a couple of places along the way, to perform. 
     Well, fourteen years later, Andy is co drum major of the RHS Marching Band...The end of the year parade was this past weekend...I couldn't help but remember him as a little boy, while I watched him lead the band...What a feeling that was...Kind of bittersweet, but great...Here are some photos:

Before the parade, they posed for their 2008 band photo. Andy is in the bottom front row, first one on the left, in the white uniform.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

 

                                                                                   

Here's my daughter, up on top of her Dad's shoulders, plugging her ears! (When you're right next to a marching band, it's LOUD!)