Kitchen Kitsch

Hello, Dear Friends! 

I have been busy trying to brighten up 

my kitchen for summer. The weather has 

been very gloomy the last couple of weeks, 

 although today was a beautiful, sunny day, which gave 

me enough light to take some photos. 

I call the changes, 'Kitchen Kitsch'

or 

'Siesta Fiesta'! 

A little bit southwestern, with a vintage vibe. 

It's a chance to bring out all my bright accessories.

I especially love vintage kitchen kitsch.

The 30's, 40's and 50's were my favorite era's.
I can remember the kitchens of my Grandmother's
and Aunt's when I was a little girl.
Back then women would regularly
get together for coffee klatches, which would
give them an opportunity to bring out
all of their kitchen kitsch;
embroidered and printed table-cloths, napkins
and aprons, crocheted and hand-sewn potholders,
and cute dishes and accessories.

My parents were married the same year that
Queen Elizabeth was crowned.
1953

Speaking of the Royals - did you watch the royal wedding

this past weekend? 

It was so romantic.

 A handsome Prince marries his Cinderella.

What's not to love? 

Years ago, I asked my Mother if she watched 

the Queen's coronation as a young bride. 

She laughed and told me that she and my Father 

were too poor as newlyweds to buy a television! 

I have gathered up all things bright for my 

happy, kitschy look. 

Some things were from Christmas,

 some were from Valentine's Day, 

and some were just fun things I had kicking around. 

My daughter, Heather gifted me with 

the wonderful polka-dot mixing bowl. 

The cookbooks were my Mom's from when 

she was a new bride. 

I learned to cook with these cookbooks! 

I still make the beef stew and pasta sauce :)

I found the wonderful 'Mom's Diner' sign 

last summer on a trip to Seattle's Pike Street Market

 with Ramblin' Man, my son, Dustin and his wife, Jenn. 

They also took us to see the Seattle Mariner's play 

the Boston Red Sox that day!

Ramblin' Man and I grew up near Boston and 

were high-school sweethearts. 

xoxo

The lanterns, thermos and Scotty dog were flea-market finds.

Another vintage-style sign and 

my collection of kitschy pot-holders. 

The miniature crates of veggies on the metal
sign are refrigerator magnets. 

I sewed the gingham curtain, with rick-rack of course,

and hung it over the crochet lace panel. 

The hanging wire baskets hold kitchen towels. 

The seating area is the 'Siesta Fiesta' side 

of the room. 

The vintage quilt inspired the color-theme.
I've had this quilt for years and it was
always used as a 'snuggle quilt' when
my children were small. 

Sweet salt and pepper shakers.
The tomatoes were gifted to my Mom from me.
Now they are mine.

I'd give anything to be able to give them back to her.

As newlyweds we moved from Massachusetts 

to Tucson, Arizona. 

We simply decided we needed a change of scenery
and a fresh start......

We bought a little travel trailer and 

went on an exciting adventure! 

We found jobs in the hotel industry and lived 

in a large apartment complex full of other young people. 

It was just like the television show, 'Friends'. 

We had so much fun.
We loved to cook for one another and have weekly dinners
at each other's apartments.  

We later moved into a small adobe house in the desert. 

I put together this panoramic series of photos 

 of the view from our little Casita, back then.

We fell in love with the desert, 

but when we were expecting our first-born, 

we wanted to be closer to family, 

so we moved to Oregon with my parents.

We lived in Oregon 4 years, before we all moved 

to Washington state, where we stayed. 

I bought this little painting to remember our time in Tuscon.  

It was such a magical time. 

We were young and free and also, very brave, 

when I think back on it. 

We left all that we had known, to begin our lives 

together in a new and completely different landscape

without knowing a single soul. 

Sometimes you just have to follow your heart. 

No matter where it might lead.....

I made some pillows from napkins and tea-towels. 

I crocheted the blue pillow a couple of years ago. 

I painted and decoupaged the wall-hung tray
 with a printed paper napkin 

that I found on vacation in Arizona a few years ago. 

This pillow sewn from a vintage tea-towel

 perfectly captures the theme. 

I used up my stash of rick-rack :)

I sewed the gingham curtains and found 

the cute dishes and tea-towels in Arizona.
Can you see Whitey Bear lying on the deck?

I do love a Margarita

every now and again :)

Chili lights, a pinata, and sombrero make things festive. 

I found the rolling cart at a flea-market last 

year and painted it, using paper doilies as stencils.

I found this little basket of vintage tomato pincushions
at the flea market we recently attended.
The sweet vendor had about a dozen of them.
She said that she finds the pincushions at every estate sale.
Oh - so sadly sweet.
I was happy to adopt one!
xoxo

I sewed these kitschy strawberry sachets
myself. They are filled with lavender. 

I had a lot of fun gathering, sewing and decorating

 for my bright new look.

Ramblin' Man likes it, too! 

He's mentioned it several times :) 

I hope that you enjoyed my quirky, kitschy 

re-style, Dear Friends. 

I hope this inspires you to add a little Kitchen Kitsch of your own! 

xoxo

Some of my favorite sites for Kitchen Kitsch :

The Pink Rose Cottage

Virginia Retro

Nana's Things - Musings of a Vintage Junkie

My 1929 Charmer

For some reason my blog is not updating on blog rolls.
Please delete and re-add it for current updates!
Thank-you, Dear Friends.
I don't want to lose touch!
xoxo

Happy Spring!

Hello, Dear Friends! 

Welcome to spring! 

I know that some of you are still in the grip 

of Old Man Winter, but Spring is 

showing her frilly skirts here 

in western Washington State. 

The wild plum are waking the forests

with their lacy blooms, and the birds are singing 

once again. 

I have been very busy in the gardens, 

as we have had a week of lovely, early spring 

weather, but the temperatures are dropping

once again and we may get a flurry of snow 

by the weekend. 

I've been so busy outside, that I have neglected 

any semblance of Easter decorating 

except for this tiny ceramic basket filled with candy eggs,

 and a few fuzzy chicks. 

The truth is - my Easter decorations are buried in 

my storage unit.  I am not hosting 

an Easter dinner, so we won't mention it again......

*  *

^

(~ )

I did have a very enjoyable shopping expedition 

to Hobby Lobby recently, with my daughter, Heather, 

who's dear husband watched all three babies 

so she could get away for a bit. 

Here she is with her hands full a couple of weeks ago. 

The twins are 2 mos. old now! 

'Big brother' is now 17 mos. 

I spend two afternoons a week helping out

with this little guy. 

We also spent time with this little one - 

my son Gabe's little boy who is almost 3. 

These little ones are the sweet reward 

for putting up with our teenagers. 

*  *

^

0

I meant to buy a few Easter decorations at Hobby Lobby, 

but I spied this wonderful gate,  

which completely blew my budget. 

There was a big sale and it was 50% off, 

which helped in my decision-making :)

I just fell in love with it..........

I put together these little pots 

from faux hyacinth. 

These are terra-cotta pots that I painted with a white 

base-coat and then lightly brushed Annie Sloan 

chalk paint over all (in Duck Egg Blue).  

I found these faux grape hyacinth

 and bags of green moss at my 

local Ben Franklin Crafts store. 

I just tucked the moss firmly around the plants 

to hold them up. 

I was pleased with how they turned out 

and they were so easy. 

I found this lovely urn at Hobby Lobby, too. 

It is very heavy, which I love for stability. 

This was my first visit to Hobby Lobby, as it is 

a 45 min. drive. My daughter did the driving :)

We are expecting a new store to open soon, only 

25 min. away!

One of the drawbacks of living so far off the beaten track......... 

Because the gate was blue, I 'shopped my home'

 for a few more items in this shade. 

I took the vintage laundry basket,

 filled with my garden hydrangeas,

from the armoire in the bedroom.

Greens and blues go so well together.

I am loving white flowers right now. 

 I took the blue, knitted throw from the chair in the bedroom. 

It brings out the colors of the pillow 

that I made last year from some vintage needlework. 

Some sweet soul put a lot of love into 

this pretty crewel-work. 

I made the Irish crochet sachet recently.

The work in progress is a baby sweater. 

The sachet started out as a practice square for 

a blouse, using a vintage pattern, but the hook and the thread

were all wrong and it came out too large. 

So I sewed it to linen and made a sachet with it. 

I filled it with rose/lavender potpourri

that I made a few years ago, 

and have kept sealed in a large glass jar. 

It is still just as viable and smells divine. 

When I need to make more, I will give a tutorial.  

I added a blanket stitch to crochet a shell border around the perimeter
and a large, vintage button.

It smooshes deliciously, releasing the heavenly scent

for anyone who settles into the cushions.

Speaking of settling into the cushions.....
this is Ramblin' Man's spot and I was worried
that he would mind all the flowers,
but he has been gamely 'breaking the cushions in',
as he puts it.

I try not to mention the tortured condition
of them when he is done relaxing. : o

I couldn't resist these sweetly stitched meadow cushions
and the price was very reasonable - almost a steal.
I kept looking at the price to make sure it was right.

Despite the 'breaking in' every evening, they seem to
be holding up just fine.

The room is so tall and narrow with all that rustic woodwork
that Ramblin' Man installed himself.
(After building the whole house :)

I can't seem to have enough flowers to soften it up!

The television and stereo hide in the cabinet.

A few angels are always nice.

I admit that I torment my pillows, too.
xoxo
Comfort is what it is all about.

The vintage leaded glass window has its original
blue frame and perfectly matches the gate.

You can see that my Easter cactus is blooming in the window.

My son gifted me with the vintage seltzer bottle
a few years ago.
The fish compote was my dear Mum's.
The lid opens and there is a little glass spoon.
It's perfect for cocktail sauce.

A French pitcher and vintage books
bring more subtle blue into the room.

The blue 'car-boy' bottle belonged
to my dear Mum.

We have been using the woodstove in the evenings, still,
as you can see by the sprinkling of ashes......

I really do love a little touch of blue.

Just a touch.....
xoxo


Thank you, my dear friends for the kind condolences
on the loss of our little 'grand-pup', Weenie Baby.

xoxo

"Kind words can be short and easy to speak
but their echoes are truly endless."
-Mother Teresa-


Today I am linking with:

Cooking and Crafting with J&J



Floral Passions - Floral Bliss

Let's Add Sprinkles - Keep inTouch

Won't you join the fun?

xoxo