Thrifted Thursday. The Pair of Purple Rugs

I started working at the Antique store when I was 15. Being a teenager I didn't care a bit about the old dusty things I was selling...

but cared a whole lot about my boss' sons

So I treated it as a job & measured a good weekend by smiles & flirts instead of old things with stories to tell. Needless to say, I didn't buy much

These two purple area rugs were something I couldn't pass up though.

These sisters, seem to have nothing in common but their colors.

(and here is where my adult historian storytelling heart is mad at my teenage self) There was a third full sized rug, that combined the two of these different themes, that I passed on. 

At antique stores, flea markets & yard sales I always keep an eye out, but I've yet to find it. I can only imagine where that gem ended up

Dreamy window. Curlicues. Window box full of colorful blooms. 

Vases filled with colorful blooms. A chandelier. Magic flower filled smoke billows.

The cats (at home) were hellbent on shredding these two, so instead of letting them sit in the closet for another 3 years, why not make my work cubicle (...ahem mansion) a bit less work-y!

And now! 

Puppy in a cubicle...tail wagging

Which one do you like better Victorian Scenes or Arabian Dreams?

Cleopatra Bones is having trouble deciding

Thrifted Thursday

I wanted to try something new here. A weekly theme all about something I bought that's either vintage or antique that is currently lending its beauty to my house....Welcome to Thrifting Thursday!

I thought of this, because firstly, I love writing on this little blog, but often get overwhelmed by all the stuff I could say which usually leaves saying nothing at all. & Secondly, I can get a bit...hoardy. 

As in, I frequently get asked when the museum is opening. So here's free admission for you dolls!

Books! 

The books, in the way books tend to be, fill every room. They hide about in the shadows until they feel at home then they get up & fill nearly every flat surface. They attack like ants...only with more substance & beauty.

Some suitcases & a chair with gorgeous details.

Books, suitcases & chairs with caning so delicate they usually just end up as plant stands

That's about 90 percent of my house. No, I'm only kidding...about the chairs.

The suitcases (and the trunks) are a real problem. I moved in with Mr. Acorns with 7. He said no more. Three years later, he's given up on them & we've  near quadrupled our stacks of them. 

The bottom trunk was the start of it all. I found it in my parents attic filled with college papers from an aunt. I navigated it down the creaky stairs & filled it with all the treasures a 10 year old could possess. I was in heaven!

So, there you are! Feel free to join in,  I'd love to see your thrifted gold!

Wordless Wednesday...A Peek into 1866

A Haunting

Sometimes it's hard to come to reason why things happen the way they do. For me & mine 2013 has been riddled with news that's hard to take. I've been just sorta floating along taking it, but these past few weeks have been hard. It's like I had hit my limit of sadness & just shut down. 

I'd flown to Kansas in a tornado & instead of trying to get home I just wanted to crawl under the house & leave the shiny red shoes just where they were. Which is what I did.

I found this transferred image of a person in a Victorian album. 
Something about someone taking all the photographs from this book, only to have one picture be left behind permanently on the opposite page...it's haunting and fantastic. A fleeting moment in time, hoped to be forever remembered by a photo. 

It reminded me of the Victorian post mortem photos that got a pretty big thrill earlier this year in the news. Can you imagine having photography be so new & expensive that the only photo you have of your loved one was one where he or she was dead?

Now, photos are everywhere. We have the luxury of taking so many pictures of ourselves & our loved ones that we can discard hundreds of "bad" ones & in only minutes.  

Anyways, clearly the person above was alive just getting a portrait. I've never seen a post mortem photo in real life, but it's interesting to think about how people mourn.

I included this really poor quality shot of another Victorian album,
 just for it's stunning detail. 

I hope you are all well & happy.
-Kait

A Victorian Love Affair in the 21st Century

“First you need only look: Notice and honor the radiance of Everything about you... Play in this universe. Tend All these shining things around you: The smallest plant, the creatures and objects in your care. Be gentle and nurture. Listen...” -Anne Hillman

Salem sans Burning Witches

Lily of the Valley...



 Petal snowstorm. The best kind of storm

 Perfect. Lace. Curtains. (need I say more?)

 A perfect garden...a big shady tree, defined walkways, a statue and a secluded lower section. "Good fences make good neighbors" True that, Mr. Frost.

No comment, just this...cast iron awesome

I'm kind of embarrased to admit this, but I've rarely been to Salem, MA without the cloud of Halloween hanging over it. Not that it's bad, mind you, the Halloween bug. It's just...not a whole picture of the gem that we discovered on the back streets.

Anywho, my (historian) dad knows a (historian) guy who does a walking tour of Salem (not ghost or witch related). In costume. In character. I honestly couldn't tell you much info from the tour (the 20 loud Texan women could be to blame...) But really, I blame my overwhelmed eyes/mind/soul combo and a camera at my disposal. It was wonderful.

Until next time Seedlings!

Daffodils and Snowflakes

The last snowstorm. We spent the night cozied up with some wine, thinking the next morning would be just as sparkly and snowy pretty...but it wasn't. Oh well, I would take flowers over snowflakes, any day!

Any guesses as to what the white globe is?

It's a porch post from my grandma's house. She's lived there forever, and I'd bet that this is older than she is. I love it...don't really know what to do with it, but love it. Oh, and fyi, the old posts were falling off, have been replaced with new posts, and I asked first if I could take it. :)

Until next time, little Acorns!

An Unexpected Find

Just when you think it's another dull Monday...a dull Monday where you've put off doing laundry a bit too long...and winter, even thought it's been mild, is still winter and still dragging on...

Imagine, laundry basket on hip, prying open the elevator doors to the basement. Expecting, well, expecting a boring cement basement and finding....the exact opposite

A Free Couch. A free Antique couch, in good shape. And to add that we don't have a couch (even though we've been here for well over a year) that's obviously a sign...right?

I did a quick sniff, followed by a quick bounce, threw the laundry in the machine and flew back up six floors. Knowing that while Alex was washing dishes, I had quite possibly found the greatest unexpected free couch ever.