a little bit of delight

Last week, during my trip home, I had the misfortune of needing a filling on a chipped tooth (popcorn kernels are dangerous, people!).  So when I arrived back at my mom and dad's with no feeling in the right side of my mouth and saw this, I think I was at the very least twice as delighted as I could possibly have been otherwise.

There they were, on the front porch, waiting for me.  I can't believe they arrived the day I was in town, since it's the first time I've been in town on a non-mail-holiday in quite awhile.  In two days, I saw my best friend and conspired with her now-fiance in setting up her engagement (teehee!), saw friends I had not seen since my wedding and earlier (along with the very adorable three year old daughter of a friend, who I last saw as a baby), went to the dentist, doctor, and fabric store (only enjoying the last one), and drove back to small town land.  It was mostly lovely and all very very busy.

Oh, but you are bored with the recitation of my schedule last weekend?  You want to know what came in the box?  What splendiferous items did I choose with my certificate?

Here you go.

a vintage olive green briefcase & a fire king casserole bowl with an adorable flower pattern

a circa-1980s craft book with surprisingly good taste & a better homes and gardens recipe book

a packet of illustrations from some old books

and isn't it packaged so prettily?

There was one more little item inside, but it's a little hush-hush until it's united with its lucky recipient.  Until then, I'm simply trying to keep cozy on a very grey day in small town land and missing the lovely sunlight in my parents' house--and the warmth from yesterday.

{p.s. A million bajillion thanks, yet again, to Alex Keller and Dottie Angel.  I've come to the conclusion that crafters (and, it seems, craft bloggers) are generally lovely people.}

vintage by alex keller

Well, I shared about my little bit of wonderful luck yesterday and promised to share about the shop that provided the prize, which the terrific Dottie Angel was sweet enough to share (as if I didn't already have a million bajillion reasons to love her blog already), so here it is: Vintage by Alex Keller.

Alex describes her shop like this:

"Welcome to Vintage by Alex Keller, a curation of housewares & décor that Alex would want for herself. These items stay with her for a time, are rediscovered, & make their way to new homes."

She has a bunch of fun vintage block sets, like this one.

Then there's a bunch of housewares, like this clock and these mixing bowls.

Then I found this lovely handcrafted and intricately carved wooden lidded bowl.

Now, we're a bit crowded with our little bitty kitchen and complete lack of storage, so I know I can't go and collect a billion lovely things and fun older pieces, but I did pick a few, which I'll share upon their arrival at my mom and dad's house (hey, yeah, guys, I'm having it sent there because there's no good place to leave a box for us here).  For now, however, those little things are going to be kept solely to myself, partly for the fun of surprise, and partly because if I don't tell and I don't look at my little list of things, I'm bound to forget one or two (since I spent about two hours trying to decide on what I liked most), then be happily delighted when I open the box.

Alex also has a shop full of jewelry made from found objects.  I don't much care for bracelets, since I work on a computer most of the time and bracelets tap on the desk, which drives me crazy, but I can't help adoring this bracelet.

So you should really check out either or both of these shops, and check back later to see my choices.

happy saturday

{image by Maja Maljković, found on WeHeartIt}

You should read this post on The Storque, then venture over to Yes, Honey Chyle and follow her link to this incredible and beautiful and ridiculous time-lapse film, take a look at these pictures of New York on Honestly...WTF, then venture on over to Dottie Angel where you will see, on this post, that I actually WON something.  No joke!  ME!  I laughed out loud (yes, C., that's why I laughed), went to work (till late), then went to browse the shop for which I now have a gift certificate, and oh-my-indeed it's full of fun vintage.  I'll be sharing a few things I love tomorrow.  For now, have a happy Saturday!

festive cobbler?

As a wedding gift, my best friend's mom found me this cookbook:

[caption id="attachment_67" align="alignnone" width="218" caption="1978 Edition"][/caption]

Now, this is the cookbook that my mom has always use, and Oma as well, to make special dishes for holidays or from gardens or just for fun.  So my mom asked Kat's mom to find a copy of it, and she did!  I have the single hardback volume, while my mom has a giant binder with a bunch of other recipes stuck in, but both editions have a TON of reference information.  I highly recommend them.  I have been told that the older editions are the best, but I haven't seen newer ones in order to compare.  I just happen to find the 1978 edition much more fun than a brand-new volume, maybe because it's the same one my mom has used for my entire life.

My new in-laws have a cherry tree in their yard that produces rather sour cherries.  They look good but taste tart.  So I looked up cherries in the index of the BCC and found a recipe for cherry cobbler that calls for tart cherries.  How perfect is that?

It's in the oven right now, looking all patriotic with the bright red cherries in a blue and white Bybee Pottery casserole pan borrowed from my mother-in-law.  It makes me smile, because she and my mom both love the same pattern from Bybee.

I hope it tastes good!

*edit: it does, if I do say so myself!*