Coo-coo-Kachoo!

I’m one of those lucky ones who developed adult onset allergies and this year has been the worst. I’ve sneezed more over the last 3 days than I have all year to date. I’m not kidding. My nose is raw and peeling, and my lips are chapped and cracking (having to sleep slack-jawed in order to breath. Sexy!). The meds that work make me so dizzy I can’t walk or function or they don’t work at all.

I was getting ready to sneeze for the bazillionth time and was shaking out a tissue from my pocket (my pockets are bulging with them) and noticed all the tissue dust emanating from it. Gasp! Could it be I was allergic to the tissue itself?? I felt so clever! Then, gasp!, I remembered my little handkerchief collection.

Sadly, converting to cotton hankies didn’t alleviate any symptoms and they were actually pretty rough on my poor nose but I felt like such a lady! I think the white ones with lacey edges were actually my grandmother’s. My mother may have added the pink and maybe yellow edging.

Now I’m going to keep one in each handbag so I at least have a beautiful emergency hanky.

Just look at the detail. The flowers are hand appliqued!

Rummage Sale Joy!

Yesterday was a beautiful day and also the town rummage sale, Shipwreck Day. 11 blocks of fun and junk! I’m not normally a bargain shopper or yard saler, even though I wish I were. My sister-in-law came up for a visit and we hit the pavement together. We had a great time! I knew what I was looking for and I found some treasures: A Thermos brand aluminum luchbox, a pile of embroidery hoops, 3 serving/casserole dishes, 2 wood spoons (.10 each and I love spoons!), 2 1950's cookbooks, an assorment of mini Jell-O brand molds, a set of drink markers, a 1940's banking ledger and paystubs (not shown).

I got all this loveliness for about $45 which may not be a huge bargain but I’m not much of a haggler. My favorites are the embroidery hoops (I have a specific project in mind) and these awesome drink markers.


I was feeling very inspired by the mini Jell-O molds so I cracked open the cookbooks and found a great pineapple gelatin mold that in turn inspired a pineapple themed bbq. We had Pina Coladas, shish kebabs (with pineapple of course!) and the pineapple dessert. The dessert was delicious but didn’t set right so we just ate it out of the molds like a bowl!

We finished off the day by lighting a fire in the chimnea and talked about old times.

All in all a fantastic day!

Putting on the finishing touches

I've been preparing my home for a big 50's wing-ding, including re-painting my dining room mint green (above) and reupholstering the chairs in my favorite bark cloth. Between party planning and writing posts about my passion for all things fun and 50's the two have almost become one. I plan to trot out all my favorite decor and knick-knacks and create a few new things as well and probably share it all here. It's like creating a giant craft fair display!

Perhaps some of my decorations will find their way in to my HBIC line of home decor! One thing that will definitely not become part of my regular repertoire is the authentic, lard filled, artery clogging food! I'm dying to cook the recipes but I'm rather afraid to eat them!

Peanut butter and bacon?? Seriously? And the check marks are not mine. I see a table full of devilled eggs, fondue, jello molds, aspic, punch, shishkebabs etc. It'll look great anyway!