Antiquing

On a recent visit to Clinton, NY to see my friend Nina I got a chance to hit up a fabulous antique market. For the most part I thought the prices were reasonable and found quite a few treasures.



Most of my purchases were jewelry. All of these pieces were $3 or less. I love the compact, it's very elegant.



I also found this fun New York souvenir! Take a look inside:



A compact and mirror on one side and the other has a clip to hold money I think as it seems to slim to be for cigarettes but that is possible, too, I guess.

I also found a pink silk glove box (which I gave as a gift to Nina) and a paper box for handkerchiefs that I had to leave behind for fear of it getting crushed on my train ride home. Nina will bring it when she visits next month. We had a great time, including a fabulous trip to the spa, and I can't wait to go for another visit.

Park It

The weather here has finally turned Spring like and Luis and I didn't waste a minute getting out there to enjoy it. All the photos below are from the always wonderful Central Park.








The Swedish Cottage.











Note: This photo is not sideways, that tree is growing right out of a side of a hill in The Ramble.



Happy Mother's day to my Mom and all those wonderful Mom's out there!

Butterfly Conservatory

Would like to join me on a walk through the Butterfly Conservatory at the New York Museum of Natural History?






These are my favorites, though it's very hard to choose!









Doesn't his spot look like a big eye? A pretty good defense mechanism!





I hope you enjoyed our walk! The Butterfly Conservatory will be at the Museum through May. It's a lovely display.

Cheers ~ Rebecca

The January List & Holiday Fun

I'm so behind on everything this year including making my January list. Every year at the holidays I make a list of all of those things I really want to do but won't have time to get into until January. Some things on the list this year so far:

1 - Sew new curtains for the kitchen
2 - paint the porch
3 - work on my doll house
4 - organize the pantry

Anyone out there have a January list? This is short for me. lol

We headed into Manhattan on Saturday to take in some holiday goodness.



Ice skating in Bryant Park . . .



We just watched from the side lines. :)

We also saw this:



Charmin put potties in Times Square! You should have seen the line! There was a man outside dressed like a toilet. It was hilarious and honestly, a fabulous idea! Finding a bathroom in the city can be challenging. My husband says he's going to write a book of all the best places to pee in Manhattan. I'm sure we'll be rich. Hmm.

I'm trying to get everything done and not lose the fun of Christmas. I hate when it gets too overwhelming that it's more annoying than jolly. I have some hand made ornaments to share but want to make sure they arrive at their new homes before spoiling the surprise. :) I'm also knitting which is just amazing since I just haven't been inspired lately. Now hopefully I can finish up a few things before the holiday. Wish me luck!

~RR

California . . . knows how to party . . .

Hello all! I think my jet lag is gone but I'm still missing my luxurious vacation at Terranea in Los Angeles. Luis was one of the top salesmen at his company last year and was rewarded this with fabulous trip. We had a great time! They had a lot of fun events plus a spa day. Oh yes, a SPA DAY. Mmm hmmm. As I still haven't jumped back on the craft wagon I thought I'd share some photos from our trip.



This was Luis' first trip to the west coast and he couldn't wait to put his feet in the Pacific Ocean.



The resort was built into the cliffs and every where you looked was beautiful.



The view from our balcony. Luis spent most of his trip in the pool and hot tubs. :)



Luis was recognized at a big banquet and I got to buy a new dress! It was a very fancy affair.



I could have sat in the beach cove all day. We have very fond memories of our vacation and I'm crossing my fingers that Luis will win the trip again! I made a fantastic new friend while I was there but that is a story for another post. :)

Check out my article at the Examiner on last minute Halloween party ideas from One Charming Party HERE.

ciao!
~RR

Back to Reality

Sigh . .  we're back from sunny(ish) California and I'm still dreaming of turn down service and cocktails by the pool. But alas, it's time to get back to reality and head back to work. This weekend starts my drive to the holidays and I plan to be go, go, go through the end of the year. I am way behind my regular schedule of holiday shopping and gift making. I like to start early so once the holidays arrive I have time to actually enjoy them. So I'm on a mission to get things organized and rolling. I also hope to finally visit the Connecticut flea market on Halloween morning. I haven't been at all this year and there are only a few weekends left!

I'll be back tomorrow with more photos to share and to pick your brains about some holiday ideas like gifts to make, ornaments for the craft party and more.

Love to knit or crochet? Lion Brand has their premier yarns on sale for 20% off. Check out my article HERE.

Hugs!

OBX

Hello all! Where did the summer go? As you know, I'm sooo ready for fall but it was nice to spend a week in the Outer Banks soaking up the sun. Now it's back to reality and already I feel overwhelmed. Don't you hate that? All that relaxation just washed away but the rigors of day to day life. Sigh . . . so let's reminisce, shall we?



The Currituck Beach Lighthouse was just half a mile from our beach house. It's located in a lovely little park with a gorgeous view of the Currituck Sound and some sweet little shops. Luis climbed up the 216 steps to the observation deck. I stayed safely on the ground once I heard you had a sign a waiver that the light house wasn't a sound structure!



We also went to Kill Devil Hills to see the spot where the Wright Brothers made the first flight.



We climbed up to the monument where you can see the sound and the ocean plus the field with markers of the flights.

On our last day of the trip we rented a jeep and went on a tour of Swan Beach.



Luis was very excited to try his hand at 4 wheeling in the sand. :)



Oh how I love the self portrait! :) The beach houses a wildlife preserve which is home to a herd of wild horses. They are not shy and come right up to the cars!



There were a few new members and we were lucky to get to see two of the colts up close. So cute!

Ahh . . . vacation. Now it's back to real life and work. At least until our trip to Los Angeles in October. :) In the mean time I'll try to get some crafting going on. I joined the Halloween Crown swap at My So Called Junky Life. My partner is Samantha from Altered Art Junkies. I can't wait to get started!

Stop by and read my latest article at the Examiner. You can find it HERE. It features one of my favorite crafting authors, Tone Finnanger, who has a new Christmas book coming out next month. I'm so ready to start on my holiday projects, how about you?

And the winner is . . .

Around here we like our winners shaken, not stirred . . .



drum roll please . . .



Red Rhiannon! Congrats! Please send me an email with your address.

Luis and I headed out to watch the World Cup yesterday and ended up staying out all day. After watching the USA/Ghana match at Hooters (of all places!) we headed to the Nautical Mile in Freeport, Long Island.



It's a strip of cute restaurants, hoppin' tiki bars and adorable little shops. We sat at a bar and had a drink and then had a nice dinner in a pretty fancy restaurant. I had oysters, crab and wine. Oh la la!



We stopped in these cute little shops where I picked up a gift for my Dad and some cute little nautical Christmas ornaments.



It was a fun spontaneous adventure and made me feel like I was on vacation. :) I think I'll go to the beach this week, too.

Happy summer! ~ rr

In the District

I'm back from my trip to DC. I love visiting the nation's capitol and I hadn't been there as a tourist in some time.



The Washington Monument is always an impressive sight. They were setting up for a Cultural Festival sponsored by the American History museum. I did stop by to see the First Ladies Inaugural dresses which are just gorgeous! That Mamie Eisenhower was some fashion plate. :) You can take a tour of the exhibit online here.



My favorite is always the Natural History Museum.



I love all the fossils and even had time to see an Imax movie on the South African ocean.



I also got to see the new Korean War Memorial. There are huge statues of soldiers walking through what looks like rice paddies. There is a large wall with faces engraved on it and a grotto with a fountain in it. It's a very nice tribute.





The Lincoln Memorial is also impressive and I hadn't been there since I was a kid. And as I always talk to people with dogs I got to meet this guy:



who was also visiting President Lincoln. His name is Jackson and he's the same age as my collie, Mason:



Couldn't post another dog's photo without one of my own, could I? :) I can't say enough about collies. They make wonderful friends. The ladies who owned Jackson agreed that there is no better family dog than the loyal collie. :)

I'm going to have a give away. For real this time. I lucked into some fabulous Martha Stewart crafts products and would like to share them. Stand by for the official post soon. I'm off to photograph the goods!

Fondly ~ Rebecca

'Tiquing in Havre De Grace

It's time for me to get off the pity pot and back to being as normal as possible, don't you think? So I thought I'd share some photos from a trip we took to Havre De Grace, Maryland a few days before I fell.



Havre De Grace is a cute little town on the Susquehanna River . There are fun little restaurants and shops and loads and loads of antiques. Now you know me, I don't buy big stuff. I like all the little things so I'm drawn to those big antique "malls" where there are lots of different booths to explore.



The Seneca Cannery is our favorite place to visit. Mom and I have been there a few times before and there is always a lot to explore. My Dad joined us on this last trip and he found some interesting things to check out as well.







Look at all the goodness! I love those silk boxes. I have a few of my own and thought about picking up another but ended up passing on them. Now I wish I hadn't! I did find quite a few fun things to bring home:



A fun collection of Swiss Raffia Straw (some of which will be up for sale in the shop once I'm able to reopen) a small ceramic giraffe with an opening in his back that I plan to make into a little pin cushion, a pink depression glass dish and some gold foil leaves that I can't wait to use in a project!



Some vintage red carded buttons, an old crochet book of those cute little pot holders we are all fond of, a Lassie Golden Book, some Aunt Martha's transfers, a crocheted heart pin holder, some vintage get well cards and a neat old pack of travel brochures from TWA:



I thought this was a fun find! Lots of neat graphics and ephemera. Some of which I'll use for projects and some I'll include in some new paper packs for the shop. I also snagged some fun trims as well.

I hope to continue to heal quickly so I can get to all these projects that seem to be stacking up in my mind. I'm not sitting too idle over here, I am working on something I hope to share soon. I will tell you that I'm going to miss the thrift store. Even once I'm able to go out a bit using a wheel chair (Mom promised to roll me around the mall one of these days lol) the thrift store will be quite difficult to navigate I think. I'm already going to miss the big Treasure Sale coming up next week but hope Mom will go in my place and come home with a big bag of booty!

I'd like to thank everyone who visits here at Thrifty Goodness and my Facebook friends for all the kind thoughts and words of encouragement. :) Especially Jean over at Quilting Ranny who has really helped me know what to expect with this break as she went through the same thing not long ago. Thanks again, Jean!

hugs
Rebecca