LIFE | CHANGE THE DISPLAY

i've always thought of personal blogging as a two way street. i say hi from our bloghouse and we chat. then, i visit yours and we chat some more. as hard as i try lately, it's become hard to do both, but i wanted to at least change the window dressing around our place.

when i feel lonely and too isolated, i check in over on twitter and recently got a new iphone, so i'm also playing with instagram, which is very addicting.

xo, cindy

ps the bottles are from charlie's collection and were picked up for auction this weekend. we are so grateful he had someone working with him on downsizing his collection because even now it is quite substantial. the cobalt blue is from helen's collection and we're struggling to find a home for all 200 pieces of it minus these two. i suppose you could say we've got the blues in more ways than one.

life | bits & bobs

it's a nice day when i take a few minutes to make a proper cup of tea in the spirit of downton abbey (are you watching?). my favorite these days is the little dickens blend from bellocq with milk & honey.

i think my dentist & his wife are lonely because they keep having me come back for the slightest thing. it's trouble because on the way home i always stop to get something at a bakery like this chocolate peppermint cupcake from sprinkles.

brooklyn art library is so tempting for a collector who loves office supplies like this irresistible scotch tape dispenser, which seems right at home with our collection of red & white smalls.

enjoy the day!

xo, cindy

ps i've been meeting so many people who have known scott's father charlie for years and they all tell me what a great man he is. it's been tough going with him lately, so that's pretty awesome.

collect | something old

line always has the cutest photos of shoes and today while going through our closet i found two pairs i haven't seen in a while. the first are my joan & david wedding shoes and the receipt for $90 (a lot of money back then) from more than 20 years ago (so old) and look cute, but hurt like hell. the second are keds by kate spade, which i've never worn (saving them?). i prefer the sneakers on my feet and the wedding shoes in a box safely stored in the closet for the next 20+.

xo, cindy

collect | (over)abundance

the cobalt blue glasses were collected by scott's mom, helen. isn't that color just wow? after a lifetime of collecting (there must be over 200 pieces!), we're helping charlie down-size it as things have become a burden for him. all day sunday he told us what we should say when we bring some of these pieces to the consignment shop - tell them someone else just offered you $5 more each or, you need more space in your storage locker or, you'll think about their offer. and, don't look desperate. oh brother. i just said ok to everything - it's easier that way.

i did find the wonderful reamer & pitcher while i was there and he said i could have it. but, i try not to take many things, just a few special pieces as we'd like to down-size a bit, too. collecting is a great past time as you learn about the history of pieces and the time period, but make your choices carefully because it's a lot easier to quickly buy than it is to quickly sell.

xo, cindy

ps thanks to jen for the lovely post today about our shop. it must be good karma because i had two orders this afternoon representing four items!

collect | vintage roses

some pretty roses for a quiet afternoon. happy sunday!

xo, cindy

fun | brooklyn flea+

we went to brooklyn flea in williamsburg last sunday to check out the vintage & handmade sellers, and although super-windy & chilly, it was a lot of fun. it's located on the east river and has such a great view of the city and really good food to boot - best lobster roll ever w/butter vs. mayo from red hook lobster.


isn't this portable desk cool? the flea market will be at this outdoor location throughout the summer and i'm sure we'll go back, often.


we didn't buy much (this time), but took home the letter Q and a hankie to replace the one i recently lost.


while there, we lounged around with our posse for an impromptu photo shoot. not.


and, saw some chalk board art in the neighborhood. i was tempted to erase clara in put in cindy, but i'm not bad in that way.

i've definitely fallen off my three-day a week posting schedule, but i'm not going to apologize because i don't like when bloggers feel they should do so. it's supposed to be fun, just like the weekend. i wouldn't mind a repeat of the last one. enjoy yours!

xo, cindy

holiday | red + white

hello, hello! our holiday decorations are really simple this year and more about winter than christmas. frannie was made by ann wood and is dressed in an acorn hat & linen scarf for the cold. she's leaning on a vintage tiddlywinks container because she's had too much egg nog and can't stand up without some help ;).



the little embroidered stocking is from the new york botanical gift shop and hangs on our china cabinet.



my brother made the birdhouse long ago and i painted it white. the wooden bird ornament is from abc carpet & home and the embroidered clove-filled sachet a lucky score from wiksten.



the spool of thread wreath is from michael's and such a great idea!



the scandinavian-inspired martha stewart wrapping paper is also from michael's and the shanna murray gift tags are free in the november/december issue of rue magazine (page 60 or here). i also saw these tags yesterday from sharilyn and they are wonderful, too!

xo, cindy

ps have you seen the paper disco ball by laurie cinotto? so great!

collect | vintage letters

hello, hello! charlie brought out a photo album to show us some more of his wedding photos and i found these wonderful letters. they were written during the 1920s in czechoslavakia (currently, the czech republic) and mailed to new york city, america. although we don't understand a word of them, the handwriting is just lovely and could be quite interesting as the country established its independence in 1918 and the first president was elected in 1920.

one thing i do understand is that sending out our christmas cards would be much further along if i had such beautiful handwriting. excuses, excuses :).

xo, cindy

collect | keep it spinning

hello, hello! goodness knows i don't need this thread holder, but i just could not resist it at ugly luggage, which is not unusual for me when i go to that store - Trou-ble. the spools of thread spin around and although i made no promises to sew more if i brought it home, that little sewing project last week combined with this little treasure are inspiring me.

over the weekend, we did see inception (great if you liked the matrix) and  i am love (great if you like intense italian love stories) and they were both very good & very different. scott has vacation this week, again, so posting might be light. he is such a distraction, but very productive on his days off and spending extra time with charlie. i think a visit to a new beach is in store at some point. enjoy your week, all!

xo, cindy

ps big thanks to kirsten for featuring our bathroom reno on her gorgeous blog, simply grove!

collect | the shoes

hello, hello! thank you all so much for the nice words about our new bathroom and i won't mention it, again ;). charlie has been feeling a little bit under the weather lately, so we've been spending more time at his place where he continues to find the most wonderful things, including helen's baby shoes from the 1920s. aren't they incredible?

it's still pretty hot around here and a couple of movies are on tap. last weekend, we saw despicable me and loved it. this weekend, we hope to see inception (so cool) and maybe i am love (oh italia!) after seeing abby's mention on twitter.

enjoy your weekend!

xo, cindy

life : pretty baby

song : baby mine by alison krauss.

i've been getting back to photo-styling recently. i really enjoy it (challenging) and it takes practice to get things just so. we've been collecting for years, so finally many of our tchotchkes are being put to good use and dusted off. this set is all about baby things and dedicated to grace who is about to deliver her baby any minute now & julia who has a few more months to go.



the corgi car is from scott's childhood collection and definitely for grace as she is going to have a boy. julia remains to be seen. the lamb is from stephanie congdon barnes, print by jessica gonacha swift, flower from tinsel trading, trees made by me and wallpaper from craft vintage dry goods.



these vintage baby accessories include the humpty dumpty mug i used as a kid. the collage i made includes paper quilling of a mama duck and her ducklings. i loved doing this series and wish grace & julia all the best in the next chapter of their lives. they're going to be great moms! hope you all had a nice weekend. thank you for the sweet comments on our last post :).

xo, cindy

ps the pop-up card says -

to you and the new baby
heard the line's busy at your house -
heard you don't mind one bit,
'cause you're so in love
with the darlin'
who's responsible for it!

pics : pink pretties

band : language of flowers

it all started with essie sugar daddy nail polish. then i saw suann's lovely stationery in the palest pink. a few hours later i pulled together pink q-tips and vintage vanity objects in pretty shades of pink or with pink roses, of course. the reflection was a happy accident. i really struggled with these and didn't think i had anything at all, but sometimes if you don't give up (stubborn) all is not lost.

happy monday. hope you had a great weekend! it was cold here.

xo, cindy

favorites : tea{cup}

baby, it's cold outside and nothing warms the cockles of my heart more than tea in a wonderful cup. i recently purchased this blue one from asya and it is inscribed in a beautiful script font with a list of colors found in an old ledger book.

she also included the pink bowl with my order and it could not be more perfect. i first saw gleena ceramics in 2008 at divine studio and loved the pink bowl she made, but had already blown my budget. i thought of the bowl every time i saw her work, so when she included one with the no. 10 etched on it, i couldn't have been happier. thank you, asya. enjoy your weekend, everyone. have a cuppa tea!

xo, cindy

ps the singer/songwriter today is chelsea latimer from the super-smart blog chelsea talks smack. she has the prettiest voice and the discussions on her blog with her boyfriend are so funny.

life : sunshine days

hi all! i hope you all had a very nice holiday and are enjoying the final days of 2009. my inbox and i have missed you. well, i'd like to wish you all a happy new year and wishes for nothing but blue skies and sunshine days in the next decade. this calendar from 1910 says it so well 100 years later -

'many happy years be thine, full of golden hours, both their shadow and their shine, bringing forth sweet flowers.'

i've included vintage wallpaper and stamps for love, photography and each state in the usa for travel. i really hope we have all those things next year, plus health! have a safe and happy new year!

xo, cindy

ps some things we did this holiday -

1. celebrated with our family on our turf - yay,
2. because scott was home he cooked each night - yum,
   
3. visited the doctor with scott six times, including christmas eve - ugh. his left foot is doing very well and he went back to work this week - yay for a couple of reasons ;),
4. went to see the nutcracker and it was wonderful. i definitely want to go to the ballet, again - yay (couple images here),
5. received some nice gifts, including a handy white balance lens - yay,
6. listened to some new music from au revoir simone - yay,
7. didn't do all the crafty things i wanted to - big nay, but i have time,
8. i visited the eye doctor - mixed feelings: a $500 bill - nay, no reading glasses - yay,
9. started to wear a hat, which i never do. the one i bought from elly makes it easy and no hat hair - yay,
10. hmmm ... did enough things to continue our theme of creating distractions this holiday. one to go!
    

collect : helen gives

helen : modest and reserved, very seldom heard.
not! she was quite the talker and loved to ask questions.

when we were at charlie's this thanksgiving we found helen's high school yearbook. it is so cool and we loved looking through it. there was even her pressed carnation corsage. i wanted to photograph it along with some other special things. now, for the record, scott's parents were married in their 30s and had kids a little bit later than most. in fact, my parents had me when my mom was in her early 40s and my dad in his early 50s!


the french enamel watch was purchased by helen & charlie at brimfield years ago. it was referred to as THE watch and i think it is gorgeous. she didn't have anything else like it, but i collect sterling silver and enamel and really loved this watch. they would literally dangle it in front of me sometimes and it is now one of my most special pieces. i'm grateful to look at it each day.


this was helen's engraved baby bracelet. charlie seemed to be considering selling it because he kind of panicked after she passed away. they have been collectors for many years and he was overwhelmed. but, i insisted i hold on to it for a little while as there are two grand daughters. the ring is garnet, which seems to be the stone of the czech republic and where helen's parents were born.


this is helen's best friend, julie. we adore julie and she lives near us. the two of them would talk on the phone for hours and i think charlie misses hearing that chit chat. although she has had her share of heartache, julie is the sweetest person. the garnet pin is from a trip they took to the 'motherland' (czech republic) when they were in their 70s and so sweet. although they were born and raised in nyc, they were almost mugged during that trip and hid out in a kmart!

when scott's mom passed away one thing his co-workers did was collect money for him. it was a beautiful gesture and we didn't use the money for the funeral, so we are going to donate it in helen's memory to the following charities -

1. juvenle diabetes research foundation
   
2. food bank of new york (deb also has something special)
   
3. kids in need foundation (learned about from yasmine)
   

we think she would have approved and say that's very good.

xo, cindy

ps i wasn't familiar with the band phish until they broke up, but as is customary, they're back together, again. the song joy was playing when i wrote this post. something about it seems fitting.

craft : floral corsage

we saw bright star this weekend, and except for the first few minutes when scott dozed off which he denies, we both enjoyed it. the love story between john keats and fanny brawne is intense and there were a couple of scenes so beautiful that i just gasped out loud in a very quiet theater - ohhh. but, i was also totally smitten with the hats and clothes. fanny was a seamstress and her designs were full of elaborate ruffles in gorgeous softly muted tones with an occasional red.

if i hadn't already made this corsage, i certainly would have after seeing the movie. i'm already thinking about how i can make one of those amazing hats from paper, but until then, here's what i did for the corsage. it's so easy -

1. picked up velvet leaves, chrysanthemums and a rose, although you could use any type. these are from from tinsel trading.
2. bound them together with floral tape so you can't see it in the front.
   
3. glued on a pin backing.
   
4. wrapped some seam binding through it a few times to keep it secure. tied a knot and a then a bow.
   
5. it's a little bit top heavy, so i'll secure it with a corsage pin at the top by the leaves.
   

the corsage is a bit large for me to wear on a daily basis, so it's more likely to be displayed on a table or in a shadow box. hope you all had a lovely weekend!

xo, cindy

ps a couple of months ago i mentioned the this is home project and shared my submission. well, i didn't win, but my phrase 'home = love' was featured in one of the winning pieces and is available as a post card in their shop where you can see all of finalists. nice!

pics : five senses

Scent : Chamomile Flowers


Sight : Vintage Glasses


Sound : My Flute from High School


Taste : Strawberry Scone & Coffee


Touch : Vintage Typewriter

Hi Everyone -

These are the photos I chose for the final project in my photography class. As I mentioned, I decided to do the five senses, which is fairly broad. I narrowed it down a bit by using mostly vintage items in styled-shots. As much as I love flowers, scent was the hardest. I hope I pulled it off ;)?

I really enjoyed this project and by no means am I done with it. I think I'll always have the senses in mind from now on. I'd love to do a series outdoors and on the lookout for kids eating ice cream, standing in the rain, or fields of flowers as some of you suggested.

We're off to the beach this weekend, so we'll see you next week. Have fun and enjoy it will all of your senses!

xo, Cindy

PS I did make at least a couple of mistakes with these like forgetting to take the polarizing filter off for a few - yikes! Sometimes, I just get too excited. Sounds like an idea for a checklist ;).

life : sweet wedding memories

Helen & Charlie : April 26, 1952

Hi Everyone -

I wasn't sure when I would be posting again because I really lost my mojo. My father-in-law, Charlie, must of had a sixth sense and cheered me up in his own way. I just realized that I've known Charlie longer than my own father who passed away when I was fairly young. Needless to say, he's a pretty important person to me.

While Charlie's bride, Helen, is recovering in the hospital he's been looking through all of their papers to keep busy and uncovered some incredible treasures from their wedding day in April 1952. He said I could borrow them to photograph and seemed pretty easy going about it. Until yesterday, when he sent this message to me through Scott, 'Tell Cindy I made a list of everything she took." Took, took - there's no need to use four-letter words! I borrowed them and here's my message to him, 'That's very nice, but can you find the list? And, "One more word and those 'diamonds' are going to the pawn shop and you'll have to explain it to Helen when she gets home." Anyway, here are some special things from their wedding day, while I still have them ;) -



Helen's gorgeous engagement & wedding rings, plus the appraisal. Charlie never wears a wedding ring (wish he would find it) because he owned a furniture store and it was always getting hooked on things. I added a pocket knife because he always carries one, but the top photo doesn't have it. Lilacs are Helen's favorite flower.



I'm partial, but I think they are the cutest couple ever.



He found the receipt from their honeymoon at the Elbow Beach Surf Club in Bermuda. The room rate was $34 a night and it includes a tuxedo rental, plus some laundry. Around their 50th Wedding Anniversary the hotel contacted them and offered the room at the same rate, but they weren't up for the trip. A few other things - Helen & Charlie were set-up by Helen's friend. Her daughter set-up me & Scott. We were married in the same church. Isn't that neat?

Tomorrow is the first session of the photography class I'm taking and I do hope to share some of the things I learn with you and catch up with commenting on your blogs (I have been quietly reading them).

xo, Cindy

collect : limoges

Hi Everyone -

When I was working on the French-inspired post for Deb, I photographed some of the pieces from our small collection of Limoges china. The most special one is the top porcelain box given to me by Scott when we were married many years ago. I'm glad this week is just about over. Have a lovely evening!

xo, Cindy