Not Quite Vintage

Happy = Sharpies, part 2

I spent a decent amount of my Sunday sitting on the sofa, catching up on DVR recordings (yay, Burn Notice started again - sorry, quirky TV is a guilty pleasure) and clipping pages out of old magazines. I even went through my old stack of clippings, paired it down and sorted it. I guess you could call this part of my Unclutter July effort. Now, the old magazines are ready for recycling and no longer, under the sofa, stacked in the bedroom etc. This is a decent victory for a magazine-aholic like me.

Another part of my TV experience was seeing one particular commercial over and over. Not sure it was played any more often than the other commercials, but I surely noticed it. One reason may have been the main character, David Beckham, but I think the real reason was that it was a Sharpie commercial. I love Sharpies, they just make me happy. And now, they have introduced a new Sharpie Pen - it works like a Sharpie, feels like a Sharpie, but doesn't bleed through paper like a Sharpie. It sounds like heaven. I must go out and find one ASAP.

Sounds like the commercials are doing their job, at least on me anyway. This morning, I had to check out the Sharpie website to learn more... and I wasn't let down. Did you know you can personalize your own Sharpie? How much fun would that be? I just wish they offered the personalized Sharpies in ultra fine point. If they had, I would have placed an order right away, seriously.

I hope I can find those Sharpie pens at the store soon... and I really hope they don't let me down. I know, thats a lot of pressure for a pen, but oh well.

How was your weekend?

yummy muffins and happy = embroidered kitchen towels

Today is food day at work. I have a mixed reaction to food days – to many temptations, too little control on ingredients. I may not always eat as nutritiously as I could, but I like to know what exactly is in my food. So with food days, I tend to eat my own food and the food of friends or those that post a recipe. Then I am a little more in my comfort zone.

So, last night I decided to make my favorite Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins. This recipe solved a few problems for me – what to do with the aging bananas on my counter (so as not to waste them) and what would I like to have for breakfast (so I wasn’t stuck with taco roll ups and chocolate covered pretzels) and what recipe can I make without having to visit the grocery.

Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

2-3 ripe bananas
2 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup melted butter
2 1/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips

Beat bananas, eggs, sugar, butter and vanilla with mixer. In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in chocolate chips. Min into banana mixture. The batter will be thicker than most muffin batters. Bake in paper lined muffin pans at 350 for 16 minutes.

This recipe makes about one dozen, dense muffins. Yum.

I think this food photo turned out better than most of mine. Mostly because I had some natural light. But also because of my props. I took the opportunity to pull out on of my Gram's fiesta plates - a turquoise one - and a set of her hand embroidered days of the week dish towels.

I have talked about how I love vintage fiesta and from many of my posts that I enjoy embroidery, but where did this all start? My Gram. Whenever I visited my Gram and Gramps growing up, I was the dishwasher - by hand of course. I totally didn't mind this because they had these really great, worn in and humongous dish towels to dry the dishes with. I loved them, just because.

Now that I look back, I realize that this was the origin of my love for embroidered kitchen towels. I have quite a collection now, but one set I can't seem to use - a set we found at Grams. Ones that she made, but had yet to use herself. So, even at my house, they sit nicely folded and unused. I just can't mess them up... so I buy others while antiquing and thrifty and make my own too.

It was nice to pull them out last night and think of the memories. It makes me want to embroider this weekend.

Happy = Sharpies

A while back, I started with a list of 10 things that make me happy - inspired by Domino magazines 10 Happy Things list... and then I forgot all about it after number 2. So far we have Gram's Fiesta and Tank Tops and Flip Flops. And now we have Sharpies.

I know, seems pretty basic. But, colored pens really do make me happy. And Sharpies are even better that just any colored pen. Ultra Fine or Micro please.

The key chain of Sharpies was given to me by my friend Ang and lives at work. The Sharpie I choose can actually change/influence my mood. Currently, I am writing with the really bright green.

I loved colored pens since I was a kid. In college, exams meant that I needed to head to the bookstore and buy a new notebook and colored pens. That way, I could organize all my notes and study guides. Actually, rewriting notes was one of the best ways I could study. By exam time I could picture the pages of my notes in my head. If I thought long enough, and could picture where in my notes the answer was, it would eventually come to me.  Too bad that skill doesn't really help me today... although, I do remember all kinds of stupid information, like what TV program each of the "Private Practice" characters on last weeks Grey's Anatomy had been on before. I seriously amazed my co-workers last week with all my useless entertainment trivia.

Oh, and did anyone watch LOST last night? Oh my goodness!!

tanks tops and flip flops

Second on my list of 10 Things That Make Me Happy are tank tops and flip flops. They are pretty much my uniform during the summer... and a sign of Spring. I was in Old Navy today and was so inspired by all the bright and cheery colors. I wanted to buy a huge shopping bag full of Spring t-shirts, but I held back and only bought two tank tops. One to embroider for a gift and another for myself... I just had to :)

On another note, I am totally enjoying blogging. I am amazed by all the nice people I have gotten to know through Flickr and blogging. It always makes me smile when I read a new comment and it inspires me to to share more. Thanks for making me feel welcome!

Happy = Gram's Fiestaware

One of the many, many magazines (read as magazine-aholic) I have a subscription to is Domino. Although my aesthetic is not quite as modern, I do love the magazine's design and get loads of inspiration for craft projects while flipping through.

This month, my inspiration was to start my own "10 Things That Make Me Happy" list - and what better place to post my list but here. So, over the next few weeks, I will be posting pictures of ten things that make me happy... in no particular order.

My first thing is my Gram's Fiestaware. I have loved it ever since I found it boxed up in her basement when I was little. Seriously, to Gram, Fiesta wasn't anything quite special or even valuable. That phenomenon is fairly new. At some point, Gram decided to share the Fiesta with my Mom... and then later the Fiesta found a home back in Gram's buffet, but this time in my house. I have to admit, I hardly ever let myself use it (I bought new Scarlet Fiesta to use everyday), but I do find myself opening the buffet and staring at it quite often wishing I the right special occasion to bring it out. Guess I need to make a special occasion because they definitely deserve some attention.