peas porridge

I am finally starting a blog. A place to chronicle things I make, ideas I have, adventures I go on. Hooray!

I'd like to introduce myself. From a very early age, I liked to be independent and self sufficient. I wanted to someday live in a house I built, eating food I grew off dishes I made in clothes I had sewn. My favorite books included a cook book from the depression by a woman named Miriam B. Loo.




I liked how she detailed meals you could make out of nothing. Also, Free Stuff For Kids. I still find myself addressing general inquiries as "Dear Sir or Madame:"

Fast forward. In high school, I was a punky kid, spending as much time as I could painting, drawing and thrifting. These turned into life long loves. Here's a picutre of a washstand in my studio. I got it for $60.00 at an estate sale. A hefty price for me, but I loved the hardware and the fact all the drawers were lined with old newspapers. On the very top of the bookshelf are two red figurines of Chinese children made in 1950. This was one of my first vintage buys. Not worth much, but they've been my good pals for a decade.





College rolled around and I insisted on going as well as paying my own way and majoring in art. I worked at a little independent bookstore and racked up insane student loans I have yet to make a dent in. I learned how to make stuff I always wanted to make. At graduation, I could sew, bind my own books, draw really well, cook decently, knit, crochet, embroider, batik, silkscreen, etch on metal, stretch canvas, paint a fresco and at the tail end, refinish furniture. Pretty good haul of tricks, I'd say. Here's a picture of a Lane Cedar chest I refinished recently. I got it for $20.00. It was painted with an ugly, very dated cream paint with flecks of dirty looking gold. Like something for a little girl's room circa 1960s. Not good. I wish I had a before picture. But here's the result - great coffee table with an arts and crafts era feel and storage for all my holiday decor.











Lane, I believe, stll makes these heavy duty cedar chests and they are not that pricey. An old one can be had easily for less than $50. If you have patience and furniture stripper, you get a great piece of furniture. Honestly, I don't know why more people haven't discovered these things. I can't wait to happen upon another. A side note, you can find out how old your Lane chest is by examining the lock, among other things. Seems like many a year ago, too many children were getting locked inside these chests and suffocating or whatever and they replaced their old locks with push button locks that require no key. Mine is of the push button variety as you can see here:







Fast forward again. I met a wonderful. wonderful guy and got married. We both share a love of vitage collectables and odd ball adventures. At our wedding, our center pieces were constructed out of vitage bud vases we would find for a dollar or less at thrift shops, estate sales, garage sales, etc. They were filled with peonies and lotus buds. We let whoever expressed an interest in them to take them, not wanting to lug them home (there were over 300 I think). My wonderful mother did happen to snatch up one of the best ones as a keepsake for me.



On the bottom is a fancy old sticker that reads "Slaugh's Price, Utah" It adds a sweet vintage flavor to our display of wedding gift finery.

We just moved into our first house with my first ever garden. I'm very into gardening right now and survey my tiny tomato plants every morning while brushing my teeth. I also splurged on this magazine "Grow" which I read cover to cover in the parking lot of my gym shortly after purchase. I recommend it to anyone thinking about a garden. Patti Moreno is just amazing.



Here is their website where there is a lot of garden know-how. http://www.vegetablegardener.com/grow


I'm always doing something new, learning new tidbits. And now I have a place to put them. Right here. As I said before - Hooray!