Hooray for Hickory!

{image from here}

A Scottish Deerhound named Hickory won Best in Show at the Westminster Dog Show this week. What a beautiful and elegant dog!

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Old Summit Antique Show ~ Part 2

{pretty syroco or ornawood dresser box}

Aside from the great block collection, there were lots of other items to admire at the Old Summit Antique Show ~ plus lots of friends to catch up with, so it was a fun show! Here are a few more shots from the show:

{bowl of old herbs packaged in boxes ~ love the variety of labels!}

{impressive book cover design}

{interesting hand painted scarf box}

{shoe clips and embroidered handkerchiefs}

{vintage roll of taffeta ribbon}

{beautiful metal bullion tassels}

{metal embroidery threads with original packaging}

{Fabulous Putnam Dye display ~ glad to know the secret of charm!}

{Bossy the cow ~ or bull or steer in this case}

{litho cardboard farm animals & lion}

{German coffee grinder}

{stack o' suitcases}

{great shelves to organize with}

{watchmaker's metal cabinet ~ one of my purchases!}

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Old Summit Antique Show ~ Part 1

{Nice combo of letters and images ~ clever way to fit 4 letters on one block!}

A few weekends ago I went to the Old Summit Antique Show ~ since it seemed like eons had passed since I had gone to a show, I ended up buying quite a few things and also taking lots of photos. A friend of mine who is a dealer allowed me to take photos of the wonderful collection of block sets he was selling ~ these are all from his personal collection he has decided to part with. Just take a look, such beautiful and unique sets ~ some of which I had never seen before. I love the gorgeous graphics of the typography and the packaging ~ rarely do you see sets like this in such great condition. Which is your favorite?

{A gem of a set ~ these were rather small, the whole box was about 4" x 6"}

{Hill's Spelling Blocks}

{Hill's Spelling Blocks ~ inside}

{Built in advertisement}

{Love the simplicity of the graphic letter forms}

{Naughty!!! Guess they didn't have copy editors back then!}

{My favorite ~ Beasts & Birds Rolling Toys}

{Round blocks with lovely letters!}

{Description and list of contents}

{lovely engravings as well}

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Happy Groundhog's Day!

Despite the fact that Punxsutawney Phil DIDN'T see his shadow today, given the weather across the country, does anyone really believe spring is on the way?! I actually question whether or not they were even able to find Phil today - if I were a groundhog, I would not be coming out of my tunnel today at all! While I really want to believe Phil, it is hard to be optimistic when shoveling a foot of snow and braving the frigid temperatures! If you are truly snowbound and forgot to hit the grocery store before the snow hit, one can always resort to this - if you can locate a groundhog:

Happy Groundhog's Day everyone!

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Confessions of an Antique Addict

Last Saturday I decided to treat myself to an afternoon at an antique mall ~ after all, it has been weeks since I have set foot in one (on a Saturday), so I was having withdrawal symptoms. Before I hit the antique mall, I stopped by a few thrift shops only to find every one stripped bare of any sort of interesting items. Thankfully, the antique mall (Brown's Emporium in Independence) didn't disappoint. I picked up a furniture catalog from the 1880's that had some nice engravings in it, a pink McCoy planter, an old German scissors and a few other miscellaneous smalls.

{fabulous vintage scottish terrier rocker ~ 1930's-40's?}

I also saw this vintage scottish terrier rocking toy ~ while I really liked it, I really don't have the space, nor do I have any children to play with it. This was one of those items I just couldn't get out of my mind....I had taken a photo of it, so when I got home, the more I looked at it, the more I realized I had made a terrible mistake by not buying it ~ especially when I rationalized that it would be the perfect prop to use for a Christmas photo with Speck & Sprocket (yeah, right ~ as if I will be able to get them to stay still anywhere near or in it!!). So, that is how I managed a second day of antique shopping ~ not only did I revisit Brown's Emporium, but since I was already out that direction, I felt obligated to hit The Brass Armadillo.

PS. I was the first shopper to arrive on Sunday ~ the scottie rocker is safely tucked away in what used to be my "yarn room". More photos coming soon!

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Resolution for the New Year

With every year comes the long list of New Year's resolutions that end up getting pushed by the wayside in a month or two ~ at least that is how it goes for me! This year I thought I would just choose one resolution and see if I could be more successful with a focus. Go visit the To Resolve Project over at motherlanddesign ~ pick a resolution for yourself ~ there are many to choose from ~ here is mine:

{poster by Jon Garza}

Wish me luck! What is your resolution for the year?

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Inspiration for the New Year

Found this quote over at oh, hello, friend ~ words to live by!

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