Awesome garbage

Oh, my man is awesome. He is a world class garbage picker that comes home with some really great stuff. Most importantly, lots of times he comes home with things I need.

One time he came home with an old type drawer he found on the side of the road when I was just telling him I thought It would be cool to get for for the top of the trunk we use as a coffe table...:) I love when the universe answers like that.

So his recent score was this awesome chair:

I am not really sure how old it is or if it is a good piece or not, but I love it. It needs some work as you can see. The back was cracked and repaired at some point (not very well I might add). I would like to fix it up so I will have to get to doing a little research (if I ever finish all my gardening projects). If anyone has any insights I'd love to hear from you!

♥jenny

Lucy the elephant

I have developed a real liking for elephants over the years. I think it must have something to do with the fact that my grandmother LOVES them....:)

Because of this and the fact that I have been feeling as though there are so many cool things in my little state that I have yet to go see and experience, I decided to take a trip down to Margate NJ to see Lucy the elephant.

Aaahhhh..... there she was... staring majestically out to sea. The oldest example of Zoomorphic Architecture.

              She sure is big!

 She has a cute little tongue....

And even toenails!!!!

                It is a tight squeeze up and down some pretty cool turn of the century stairs :)

                                                               Boy what a view!!


I highly recommend a visit to New Jersey's only elephant building. The people who take care of her and saved her from the wrecking ball in the 70's deserve  all our appreciation (and donations) for saving such an amazing work of art and truly unique piece of history in this state.

lucytheelephant.com


♥jenny

Another tree saved

So me and the Mr. like gardening. We also like to save and plants whenever we can. If it is not in the right spot, not doing well, I would rather move it and give it another chance.

This also applies to other people's yards :) If someone says 'oh, that needs to go' or we're just gonna cut that down', I am always excited to try and dig it up and save it.

That being said, My friend said she was cutting down a 'Bonsai" tree. So I think, cool. I have a lot of space at the new house... "I will save this poor tree from certain death".

Me and the Mr. show up Sunday morning prepared to dig up what I am thinking is a small bush/tree.

Not so.

It turns out to be a 20- 30 year old lace leaf Japanese Maple. It is beautiful. I am doubtful. I am not dressed appropriately due to my thinking it was small and the Mr. could handle it on his own. He is undeterred.

Two and a half hours later we have success and are on the road....

 I soon realize that driving down the road with a huge tree in your vehicle invites many stares...:)

More digging and worries that we have  shocked her a bit too much. It is hot, it is definitely after the best time of year to move her.

We work feverishly.... get her in, break up the dirt real nice to backfill the hole, mulch her up pretty, water...... and pray.

There she is..... It has rained twice now so that should help her settle in.... I am still prying that she makes it :)


Happy gardening!
♥jenny

Estate Sale Finds

 So I went to a couple Estate sales....

The first one was in an affluent town that I usually avoid since I do not find a lot of homes with older items or antiques and also because I find that the items are even more over priced than usual.

It was a nice day and I had some time to kill before the one I really wanted to hit so I figured I would take a shot. I am so glad I did. I have been looking for more cardboard Christmas Village houses and boy did I score.

I found them right away as I knelt down to look at incredibly over priced vintage hats. There were no prices so I looked around for more to add to my pile. I found nothing but my Honey found some great old wood clamps and various other old tools. She gave me a great price on all and when I broke it down I probably paid around $1 each. Score.

Next was the third weekend of a hoarders estate. I regretfully mossed the first two but still made out well.

Cute old embroidered cafe curtains.....

A box of vintage Christmas decorations including some nice unopened glittered snow.....

My Honey just had to have the moth ball tins. I was not sure but they have grown on me....

And lastly another great vintage coat ( I really don't need another but, of course this one fit perfect so who am I to leave it there :) It's wool and in really great shape. The fur collar was added to it so I will most likely going to remove it.

That's all for now kiddies...

♥jenny

 

Easter Lamb Cake

    So this winter I was introduced to one of my favorite blogs, No Pattern Required. I especially love the Mid-Century Menu section. This is where I developed a mild obsession with Lamb Cakes. I Googled images and recipes all winter just waiting for Easter.

    My vintage pan arrived from E-Bay and I was giddy with excitement. I narrowed it down to a couple recipes that I thought I would use until over at Mid-Century Menu I found what Retro Ruth rated as an excellent cake. I had to try it!

So on Easter Eve I began.....

 It is a more involved cake mix, but I was ready....mixer in hand I battled the careful pan greasing and flouring....folded in my egg whites....

No bakery twine to be had, my better half wired my pan together as only a husband with great MacGuyver skills can...

And.....perfection. The cake popped out of the pan beautifully. It literally couldn't have been better.

Ta-Da!!! Oh joy. My little Lambie all ready for Easter!

As an Easter Lamb Cake virgin I must say I am hooked. My family was super impressed and the cake was FANTASTIC. This truly is an excellent cake recipe. Thank you Retro Ruth for the inspiration and for bringing us the fabulous recipe from one of your readers.

Until next Easter....
♥jenny

Our House...

So, I figured if I was going to blog about my decorating and remodeling, I should give you a look at the house. This is the front....


The back...
When looking for our next house I fully expected to end up in a very old (say 17 or 1800's) house. Perhaps a Victorian that needed lots of TLC. I grew up in a ranch and was quite opposed. But this house had so much of what we were looking for... lots of property, a barn, even a pool (which I never thought I would get).

But, she started to grow on me. I could see a little mid-century/ craftsman/cottage just waiting to be spruced up.

Oh, there is so much gardening to be done!

So, a little project....

The second bathroom had these ugly ditsy flower accent tiles that had to go. I was not confident we could cut them all out without damaging any tile and I don't know if I want to re-tile this bathroom. If it does happen it will be many years from now :)

While at the International Furniture Show at the Javits Center I came across a company that sells vinyl tile covers;

Mibo Tile Tattoos It cost me $60 for 18 of them and they went on in literally 10 minutes!

Ta-da!

Totally easy, quick and cute. I highly recommend them.

♥jenny

Walking Dead

Came home sick from work to find this waiting for me in my mailbox. Made me feel much better :)

I did not get on the Walking Dead bandwagon the first time or the second time. But.... they had that marathon before the new season started, and well, let's just say I watched it for two days.

I am excited to get into a comic book again, I haven't been reading any for years.

So I will read a little and nap a little and rest.

Dreaming of zombies,
♥jenny