Aspiring Artistry

Flea Market Time!

I have little flea market experienced, but am so excited about my guided flea market trip tomorrow with Eddie Ross and Jaithan! 

I'm visiting my sister this weekend, and this will be us totally indulging in girl time. I'm more of a browser than a buyer, but am hoping to find some oval frames (for all the silhouettes I keep planning to do ... someday!) and artwork for my bedroom, living room, and dining room.

I was checking through my reader, and found that the author of one of the blogs I love to read will be shopping with Eddie this weekend, too. Small world!

This is turning out to be more of a shopping weekend than I expected. My sister lives in this great community, a mix of residential, retail and business. Literally right across the street from her are two of my favorite stores, one an old favorite and one a new favorite (I've only been an online shopper ... have never been inside!!).

I hope to be back early next week to show you all my bootie and finds from both this local shopping and the more adventurous shopping with Eddie. Oh! And I'll conclude my earlier House Drama post.

Country Air

Ahhhh... to escape the confines of the city and head to the country. No asphalt, no screaming sirens at all hours of the night, no oppressive heat. Just gorgeous views, beautiful surroundings, and relaxation.

My husband was lucky enough to grow up with all of this, so it's always a special treat to show the kids "where daddy lived." 

We'll be heading up again in a few weeks, with friends in tow, and I'm looking forward to sharing this very special place with them, too.

What Would You Do?

My mother brought this to me when visiting last week. She and my father lived for many years in Asia, and purchased this on a trip to China, probably back in the 70s.

My first intention was to make it into a sleek, sleeveless/cap sleeved, straight dress, leaving the frogs up the front (but sewed shut, of course!). 

However, some unfortunate stains dot the front (looks like soy sauce to me), and we can't get them out. It leaves the front pieces unusable for the most part, although I'm sure pieces could be salvaged. 

I'd really like to keep this, and use it in a meaningful sort of way. I grew up surrounded by photographs, artifacts, and books from my parents' time in Southeast Asia, and it really made an impact on me over the years. This certainly isn't a fine piece, but my mother has wonderful memories of it that I would love to honor. 

She told me I could just wear it to lounge around the house, to which I asked "When do I ever get to 'lounge around' these days?"

She wore it "all the time" (thus the soy sauce stains?) when she brought me home from the hospital. Lovely, I thought. You were also 25, were lucky enough to spend a decent amount of time recovering in a lovely hospital setting, living in a third world country, and enjoying the company of a full-time housekeeper. My life doesn't work that way.

I thought about some sort of runner for the dining room - it would match beautifully. Any other thoughts?

WWYD?

Simple Gifts

I'm back from my globetrotting, and boy, was that a trip. I'll post more about the detail later, if anyone is interested, but let me just say:

2 treadle sewing machines and tables +

poor, poor illustration-only assembly instructions + 

said instructions were for totally different model + 

2 patient manly men who'd never seen such a sight before = 

many funny moments in trying to assemble these things. Very, very funny.

The machine in question was a shiny, weighty flashback to a simpler time:

Not particularly complicated, I know, but when in 110 degree heat and no one else speaks English, I consider it a challenge. But we worked it out, of course, and got them put together correctly. Would've been much quicker if we'd had the benefit of the marvelous, wonderful internet!

A Long Journey Ahead

I'm off to Africa, ya'll. 

With this:

(And a lot more!)

Two clues about what I'm up to. More details later. I'm off!

Sail Away

Inspired by a great post over at Yummy Goods, I want to share these photographs that I took oh, about six years ago, in the Florida Keys.

We were there visiting friends, and they took us on an adventure to a small, uninhabited island. We were the only ones there, and enjoyed just lolling about on the beach, picking through whatever might've washed ashore, and soaking up the sights and sounds.

I loved all the textures, subtle colors, and patterns on this washed up board. It reminded me of the PortaPotty door that washed ashore on Tom Hanks' castaway island, thus becoming his sail and an integral tool of his salvation.

What might this have been?