Pink Pics of the Week

Just a hint of pink

Pink house in Rothenburg, Germany

Perfect - Pink house with pink Hollyhocks in Rothenburg, Germany

My New Vintage Dressing Table

Things are back in full swing here after a long late summer vacation. Miss T, our oldest daughter is an archaeologist and is back home after working all summer at sites in Oregon and South Dakota. Miss B, our youngest is back in school for her sophomore year in high school.

A few days ago I decided that I would really like a vintage dressing table. A place where I can keep all of my stuff together, a place where I could sit and get ready each morning. So, I did a little "shopping" with what I already had in the house. My goal was to create a vintage inspired dressing table without spending any money.

I had this vintage sewing cabinet (no sewing machine inside) sitting in a corner of the computer room looking very sad and under-used. I purchased it from the thrift store for about $20 a year or two ago.

Vintage Sewing Cabinet

First thing I did was remove the handle hardware and rub the entire piece down with Old English furniture polish to hide all of the scratches and dings.

I replaced the handles with knobs I found at the Ross store in Pennsylvania where my Mom lives. They are clusters of tiny shell flowers. The original handles had two bolts holding them and these handles only have one so you can still see the other hole, and the handles are a tad off center. Doesn't bother me at all and no one else has noticed. Shhhhh.

 

 Next, I removed the ripped vinyl seat and recovered it with some pretty fabric I had in my work room.

All that was left was to cover the top with a vintage dresser scarf and add some accessories.

And Ta Da here is the finished project

Big improvement, right!?

Have a wonderful day!

Dawn

On Vacation

I will be on vacation and unable to post for the next couple of weeks. I will return August 12.

Have a wonderful day!

Dawn

Pink Pics of the Week

My youngest daughter, Miss B, and I took a trip to Hudson Gardens the other day. We had a very lovely time together. We ate lunch at the outdoor cafe, laughed, chatted and took lots of photos. We saw baby geese, baby ducks and a lot of beautiful flowers.

Now that she is in high school, we don't get to do these kind of things very often. *sigh*

 Here are some of our favorite pink photos of the day

And Miss B took this photo of a honey bee

Have a wonderful day!

Dawn

Taking Account of Stock

A while ago I was lucky enough to stumble upon this fantastic advice given a reader who was asking the editor of a women's magazine how she might go about earning some extra money for her family in a letter from the editor titled

Taking Account of Stock

"Probably the time comes to us, each and every one, when we need to do just this: we need to study our abilities, to discover, perhaps among many things we can do, what we can do best. And the thing we can do best is pretty sure to be that which we love to do, or that to which, because of the urge that springs from a keen desire to make good, we bring our best endeavor.

... there is always the open door, and that by earnest, faithful seeking it can be discovered. There is no one to whom has not been given one talent, or who does not have the ability to do some one thing better than others. Those who have buried that precious possession should begin straightway, when confronted by stress of circumstances, to dig it up and use it. Self-reliance, dependence on that power which is the divine inheritance of each and all of us, is the great secret of success.

Do not, therefore seek to fill your empty cup at the spring discovered by another. Look about you. Take account of stock. Ask yourself what you can do best; as sure as you are living there is something, and you can turn it to financial account to meet your needs. An idea may not come to  you all at once, but it is sure to occur if you persevere: and when it does, be careful that you do not turn from it because at first acquaintance it seems so insignificant as not to be worthwhile - a mistake that is perhaps often made. Do not try to follow in another's footprints, but blaze your own trail. Hold steadfastly to the truth that there is something for you, that there is an open door out of every perplexity, and hold yourself in readiness to grasp the first opportunity, to take the first step, however simple it may seem. Unearth your talent and set it to work."

This passionate response spoke directly to my soul. It was if the author wrote it just for me. It seems I am not the only one who needs to be reminded of the divinity of our gifts and the power of using them.

This letter was written by the editor of Needlecraft Magazine and appeared in the November, 1924 issue.

What do you do best?

My latest rug

Have a wonderful day!

Dawn

Drying Herbs

My first post.
Hurray!

Lately my mind has been fixated on herbs. First thing this morning I decided to gather some herbs from my tiny herb garden and try my hand at drying them. So far I am planning on making mint tea and trying lavender ice cream and lavender cookies.

I cut some Greek oregano

 Mint

and two kinds of lavender

I gathered them into a bundle then secured them with a rubber band. I put a tension curtain rod I had laying around between the cupboards at my kitchen window, then took a length of butcher's string and put it through the middle of the herb bundle and tied it onto the curtain rod. I am pretty pleased with how it turned out. It looks beautiful and smells fantastic!

Before I hung the herbs, I couldn't resist snapping a photo of  the fresh-cut lavender in a vintage milk glass vase.

Have a wonderful day!

Dawn