We visited my Father recently and while we were there I decided to look in the storage barn for the 1970s Weltron 8 track radio that I bought many years ago at a yard sale. Figured it would be a swell addition to the sun room, that it would be nice to listen to music while watering the plants and such. Well, while hunting for the radio I stumbled across six of these beautiful, mid century modern chairs!

All but one were wrapped in plastic wrap and tucked in a back corner. And they looked to be in very good shape. Like an excited six year old on Christmas morning I ran over to my Father to ask him where the chairs came from and what their story was. Apparently they had once graced my Grandparents dining room, but when they moved out of state the chairs, along with some other unwanted furniture was relegated to storage and forgotten about entirely. I suggested that he put them somewhere in his house, but he really had no interest. “But Dad don’t you think they’re totally beautiful?!” He shrugged his shoulders, said “eh” then asked if I wanted them! Wow. Just wow. After thanking him profusely and doing a brief hula I asked him to hang on to them for me for a spell. Sadly we have no space for them in our current hut. But when we move to our new house they will surely have a place of honor.

And remember the two bags of old buttons from last weekends tag sale? There were some really beautiful pieces. They include bakelite, moonglow, pressed glass, lucite, rhinestones, cameos and celluloid. There were even some old metal buttons that were marked “Willamantic, CT” on them, which was pretty nifty since they were produced locally back in the day. One metal button even said “patent 1851″ on it! Pretty spiffy! I think that the $4 that I forked over for the two bags was cash well spent.

An online chum from my craft group sent me this small Johnathan Adler vase! It coordinates nicely with the owl toothpick holder I came across. Methinks they’ll look swell on a shelf together.

West German glass buttons from long ago and far away. In perfect condition and still on the card. Found these at the thrift store in a mixed lot of new and old buttons.

A smashing 1970s polished rock charm bracelet from a flea market. Love it!

Last year I found a Smith and Hawkens gardening kit new in the box at a garage sale. It was super cheap, a dollar or two, I think. This year I planted it and what do you know, mint, peppermint and spearmint abound. Kind of nifty, since I’ve never successfully grown any type of mint from seed.

We went to a wedding on Marco Island recently, and I tell you, they had *the* best shells I’ve ever found anywhere. They even had a guided shelling tour to a nearby island but there wasn’t time to take it. So I just scomped some up myself - these are just a few of my favorites. They’re teeny tiny shells, most aren’t more than an inch and a half long. What to do with them? Display? Mosaics? Some other form of sea shell crafts?

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And of some amusement, about an hour after I brought the little bag of shells back to the hotel I saw something moving in the bag! Apparently one of the tiny shells still had a tenant! And damn if he isn’t just the cutest thing ever…and no bigger than my thumbnail. Awww! He waved his wee claws at me and crawled around aimlessly. And thus he was named Fergus before being safely returned to the sea without incident.

Somehow almost a year has passed since I last updated.

Since then I’ve become a Momma!

It’s weird, but the exact date of my daughter’s birth came to me in a dream when I was six months pregnant. Strangely enough, on the very same day I dreamed about, my water broke just as I was getting out of bed. And don’t you know, it did happen *just* like in the movies, only I wasn’t huffing and puffing and having rapid contractions and trying to get to the hospital before accidentally ejecting the tot from my snoot on the doorstep before getting into the cab.

Leah Suzanne arrived seventeen hours later by unplanned c-section. So technically the dream was slightly off, since she was born the following day, but hey, we did *go* to the hopspital the same day as the dream indicated. So close enough and yay for psychic intuition.

But anyway.

I will never forget how loud the baby’s first scream was! Even the doctors were impressed. Later my Mother would tell me that it could be heard all the way down the hall in the waiting room, which was in a totally different wing! Leah was pink and rosy and perfect with an unexpected amount of jet black hair and steel blue eyes. Eventually those eyes turned brown. The black hair fell out and made way for dark auburn locks.

Four and a half months after her birth she’s “chatting” away, eating rice cereal, grabbing things and playing, smiling her brains out and laughing when you kiss her cheeks or make razzing noises on her belly. She can sit up well with minimal assistance and loves looking in the baby mirror and watching “Yo Gabba Gabba” and boogying along to “There’s a Party in my Tummy”. See below. It’s alarmingly catchy. Beware.

But anyway.

The evolution from helpless newborn to personable infant has been just incredible. New changes seem to happen daily. She’s so much more interactive now and it’s amazing to watch her start to grow into a smart and sassy little kid.

My only complaint about Motherhood so far (other than the obvious lack of sleep and obligatory spit up stained clothing) is the fact that my body has gone to hell in hand basket and I still have about 30 pounds to lose. Ugh. So I’m hopeful that between the South Beach diet and the Wii Fitness Plus that’s arriving on my doorstep any day now things will be back to normal by early next year. Cause I miss my regular clothes, can’t stand to look at maternity stuff anymore and the thought of buying additional things in a larger size makes me want to claw my eyes out with a melon baller.

In other news, I’ve been toddling off to oodles of tag sales, estate sales and thrift shops this fall. Lots of fun finds! I’ll start posting pictures soon.

Along with some new recipes (easy Italian Wedding Soup!) , garden stuff, crafts projects and links to swell places and other new content and a redesign. So expect some changes and new updates in the not so far off future.

But until then, without further ado, I would like to introduce you to my daughter and her Halloween pumpkin.