Carmel Apples

I love having a carmel apple decorating party! It's a chance for me to pull out my vintage apron collection and let everyone make a giant mess. The trick is to have twice as much carmel as you think you'll need and three times as much candy and nuts as you'll need. If the weather allows, it is so wonderful having this party outside and the carmel can drip everywhere. Have plenty of cider and salty snacks to balance all the sweet stuff that never makes it on the apples. The only draw back is the occasional bee that gets stuck to the carmel.

Fall

Fall is already here, the nights are so wonderfully cool and the windows are open during the day. My spring cleaning always seems to happen in the fall, it's time to prepare the cave for a long hibernation.

The Sweet Smell Of A Dank Basement

I recently found this large handmade ornament at an estate sale. I love handmade treasures like this and they are always found in the basement at estate sales. The basement is the treasure trove, the place for old wrapping paper, holiday decorations,ephemera and photographs. I know by the smell of the house if I will have a fruitful search. There is a certain mustiness that is present in the best estate sale homes. Ahh the sweet, sweet smell of dankness.

Egg Hunt

This is just a wee example of my marble egg collection. I keep cool colors in a tall glass urn and warm colors in another one. I started collecting marble eggs when I was 10 years old and lived in France. We would visit different countries and I would be given a very small allowance to buy souvenirs on our trips. The eggs were always very inexpensive and came from the country we were visiting. My first egg was purchased in Turkey at the wonderful Turkish Bazaar, it was also my first experience haggling. I soon found more beautiful eggs in Greece and Italy, and have been on the hunt ever since.

This Is The Size Of My Head

My freakishly large head has become a standard unit of measurement. For example, no one can eat a burrito the size of my head, but an official NBA game ball must fit in one of my hats. The large rubber band ball in the pic is 25 inches around, one inch larger than my noggin'! I love rubber band balls and it's actually getting hard to find colorful rubber bands to make them. My window of opportunity to find bags of rubber bands is right now, where school supplies are sold. I have to keep the rubber band thing on the down-low, it's kind of like having a ball of tin foil or a collection of dryer lint. You get some looks when you have a cart full of rubber bands at Office Max, and I have the large head which causes a stir too!

What I'm Working On

Work in progress

Collecting Since 1981

Mr. Man and I have been together since 1981, we were married September 3, 1989. We are celebrating our 19th wedding anniversary on Wednesday! It has always been easy buying, finding or making gifts for each other. Last year Mr. Man gave me the cutest collection of wooden model airplane propellers. I gave Mr. Man a bouquet of old wooden darts with the loveliest feathers. One year Mr. Man had the kids give me pockets full of sea glass they found at the beach, one of my favorite gifts ever. I don't know what Emily Post recommends as the proper 19th anniversary gift, somehow I don't think it's toy sheriff badges. Happy 19th Mr. Man!

***Why am I dressed like Popeye in 1981?