Movin’ On Up

Hello, Vixens!!!  How are you all doing today?  Is everyone in full swing holiday mode?  How is it even possible that we are down to the last two months of 2016???  Wow.

I have had a very busy fall.  I just started a new job that I love and I just moved (yes, again!!!  LOL) .  So you know that means I am in the middle of boxes upon boxes, but so happy to share my new place with you.  And for the same price of my previous place-a 400 sq foot studio-now I have a four room apartment in the heart of my downtown city.  I am just loving it.

My apartment is in a very old house so yes, it had old gorgeous wood floors.  But, the landlords had already decided to cover them with new carpeting, so that was a bit of a let down.  But the place still has lots of charm which I adore.  Like this room, which I was told was the living room but I decided it will be my bedroom:

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And look at these fabulous doors…..

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The room that was supposed to be the bedroom will eventually become the living room. Right now it is piled with boxes so it will probably be the last project on my list.  I do not mind that the double closets are in here, but if I change my mind I can always cover them with curtains.

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The kitchen is a bit of a hodge podge of different cabinets which I hope to unify with white paint but probably not until after the holidays.

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It does have great charm though, like the porcelain sink and full back splash.  I also have a gas stove again after 3 long years!!!  Yay!!!

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There is an eating area outside the kitchen which can definitely pass as a dining room so I am excited to set that up.  Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of it before it became a wall of boxes, so you will just have to trust me on this one.

I also have a nice size linen closet, a giant pantry closet and another room with a lot of charm.  What is that again???  Oh right, it is the bathroom WITH A CLAW FOOT TUB!!!!

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I have wanted one of these my ENTIRE life and without even thinking about it I just followed the real estate agent around the apartment and was SHOCKED when I laid eyes on my dream:

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It is in great shape and shined up beautifully after some much needed elbow grease.  The bathroom is very small so I could not get a good shot of the room in its entirety.  But it is cute with a lilac wall color.  But let’s face it…..the tub is the star, right???  I am ecstatic about it!!!

So after several months of packing, interviews, apartment hunting, stress and limited sleep, things are finally settling down.  I do have a lot of work ahead of me, but after all the cleaning and scrubbing comes the decorating!!!  If any of you have any suggestions, please let me know.  You are all so inventive and creative I would love to hear from you, even if it is just to say hi!

Until next time, my fellow Vixens, happy digging!!!

 

 

 

Remembering Those Who Protect Us………

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Keep them in your thoughts and prayers today and always.  They need all our prayers everyday.  A recent VA study shows that approximately 20 Veterans commit suicide every day.  That is both heartbreaking and staggering.  Let’s all try to do what we can to eliminate that horrifying statistic.

 

Fall Kinds Of Fun: The Garlic & Harvest Festival

Hello, Vixens!!!  How are all of you enjoying this beautiful fall season???  You know I am loving it which is why I have not had the time to blog.  But I indulged in a Connecticut fall tradition that was so fantastic I wanted to share it with you:  The Garlic & Harvest Festival.

Held every year in the scenic little town of Bethlehem, CT this autumnal feast celebrates all things garlic and more varieties of garlic than even an Italian American woman like me could imagine (Please forgive the quality of the pictures-they were taken on my iPhone and the weather was overcast, so some of the pictures are a little hazy).

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These pictures are only a taste (sorry, had to!) of the many different varieties of garlic that were showcased.  But there was so much more to do…and see…and buy…and  EAT!!!  Like…..

Wall climbing for the kiddos and some brave adults (i.e. not me!!!   🙂

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Seasonal ceramic shopping…..

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Country life shopping…..

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Time travel shopping back to the 1970’s courtesy of macrame crafts…..

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Or all natural hand-made soap shopping.

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If shopping for food was what you wanted, there was plenty to choose from like……

Smoked pork (the poor little thing…..it still has its curly Q tail!!!)…..

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Or cupcakes.  I asked if the whole truck was for sale.  For some reason, they looked at me funny…..

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or stuffed bread.  I sampled the potato & onion version because if you are a carb addict like me, two are ALWAYS better than one!!!  (Later in the day I had roasted corn on the cob followed by cider donuts.  I was so overloaded on carbs I forgot to take pictures but they were the best tasting part of my day!!!!!)

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And of course, you need something to was it all down with, right?  My choice……….

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This is mere glimpse of what this festival had to offer.  There was live music, food sampling galore, carnival rides, cooking demonstrations and so much more.  It was really a lot of fun.   I enjoyed it so much I was planning to go back on the second day, but the rain stopped me.  And if the festival was not enough of a joy in and of itself, I got to explore the charm of another adorable small town in CT while I indulged in the beauty of this season:

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And saw more pumpkins than even Linus, the Great Pumpkin believer himself, could imagine……

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Hope you enjoyed this glimpse into a great New England fall festival.

And don’t forget, “It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” turns 50 this year (the first time we heard that pitiful sigh, “I got a rock” was on October 27, 1966) so don’t forget to wish this Peanuts classic a happy golden anniversary while watching Sally swoon over her Sweet Baboo, Linus!!!

Until next time, fellow Vixens, happy digging!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

“….And I Believe In The Promised Land…”

“Blow away the dreams that tear you apart,

Blow away the dreams that break your heart,

Blow away the lies that leave you nothing but lost and brokenhearted”

Happy birthday, Bruce Springsteen!!!  Thank you for EVERYTHING!!!

img_1327Bruce Springsteen performing at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA on 09/14/2016 (yes, I was there!!!).

img_1326 Bruce Springsteen performing at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA on 09/14/2016 (yes, I was there!!!).

img_1223 Bruce Springsteen performing at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA on 09/14/2016 (yes, I was there!!!). 

 

 

 

Weekend Wanderings

Hello, vixens!!!  How are all of you?  Are you as happy to say goodbye to summer & welcome fall as I am?!?!?!  This is truly my most wonderful time of year!!!  I am so happy to be going from seeing displays like this:

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To this:

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So we all know that over the last several years the back to school sales include many new items for fall.  I have come across several interesting ones.  I am not sure if Kellogg’s does this every year but this is the first time I noticed my favorite flavor of my favorite treat has been updated for fall:

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Or if you are a pumpkin pie fan, there is also this one:

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Isn’t the skeleton Snoopy a scream???  I promise it has two eyes, but my iPhone just did not pick it up.  As this year marks the 50th anniversary of “It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown“, I have come across a lot of Peanuts items that celebrate that milestone & the season of fall/Halloween itself, like these adorable window clings I saw in the supermarket:

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I also loved these old school Halloween decorations.  They remind me of the ones my mother hung on our door for the holiday when I was a kid:

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Have you noticed that it starts to get dark around 7:30 pm now???  Yeah!!!  The other thing I have noticed since I have been in Connecticut is that even if the temperature during the day is still in the 80’s this month, overnight the temp drops town to the 60’s or 50’s.  Wonderful sleeping weather, as they say.  Speaking of CT, I have been up here an entire year now.  It’s hard to believe but I am happy and finally getting settled.  And this time of year makes everything better, right?  🙂

Nothing herein is sponsored, just sharing my weekend finds with you.

So how was your weekend???

Until next time, fellow vixens, happy digging!!!

 

9/11: 15 Years Later

Sept 11

Photo by:  Thomas Franklin  for The Bergen Record 

This picture was on the front page of every paper in America on 9/13/01. I remember distinctly wanting to go out and buy one after I saw one of the news anchors hold up a copy. I picked it up around 6pm that evening & thanked God again for sparing all of those that I love from any harm that day. Less than an hour later, I found out my grandmother died. Luckily, she was in the comfort, peace and safety of her own home. 9/11 changed our world forever. Two days later, my own world changed forever. To this day I believe she spent her first days in heaven cooking her famous sauce for all the victims, especially the 343 firefighters, 60 police officers and eight paramedics. I hope they enjoyed her food & company as much as I did. That 1-2 punch of 9/11 & my grandmother’s death left me with a stronger faith than I have ever known. May we never forget the lessons that tragedy taught us, or the lives of all those who died. 

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Me & my grandmother, Ida, a/k/a Idie, as I affectionately called her.  .

Local Store Stop: Maison St. Germain, Woodbury, CT

Hello, Vixens!!!  While I was patiently waiting for the summer to pass, I discovered a gem of a store in Woodbury, CT.  While the town is known as the “The Antiques Capital” of Connecticut, I have not had the time to check out too many of them yet because I have been distracted by junking, estate sales and my new favorite, barn sales.  But that is for another post.  Maison St. Germain is so beautiful I cannot help but share it!!!  (I am still without my SLR camera, so please forgive me if the quality of some of the shots is not the best).

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Owned, run and designed by the extremely talented mother-daughter team of Debra Germain and Nicole Germain-Perez (below, left to right), their store is 3,300 square feet of sheer loveliness.

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Both designers, these ladies are bursting with creativity, and it shows in every part of their store which they describe as “vintage style with eclectic flair”.  I think of them as the east coast version of the Junk Gypsies.

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Their philosophy?  “If you like it, buy it. It will work”.  Just look at the adorable table I snagged.  Debra said it was made from old cheese boxes.

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The women decided to open a store after doing various antiques shows for years. “It just wasn’t fun anymore,” Deborah said. “So we wrote a business plan on a napkin in a restaurant after a show & we opened a store.”

They still attend shows like Bouckville and Stormfield, but they admit they do not have time for too many estate sales. “There just isn’t time because this is a seven day a week job. If we are not in the store, we are out buying or home painting what we buy” said Nicole.  This dining room set is a perfect example of their painting skills.

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The painted furniture pieces most prominent items throughout the store but there is so much more, like one of my favorites, White Ironstone.  I love the look of the pristine white platters against the chippy old door.  The perfect combo, in my humble opinion.  And that pumpkin sign is perfect for fall, right?

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They have a big collection of punch bowls which they use for so many things, including floral displays & centerpieces for Christmas with ornaments & lights.  .

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And so many adorable items like this sink or the doll’s chair/stool.  Too cute!!!

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There is even a spot to enchant the men.

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The women love being inventive with their displays and designs which includes their own line of clothing with the best name I ever heard: The Vintage Vixen   🙂

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Their clothes line features hand-dyed & hand-painted clothes. “I saw something on TV about Ralph Lauren is doing hand painted clothes now, too,” said Debra.  This pair of shorts reminded me of a Jackson Pollock painting.

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They also carry accessories like these “Vogue” inspired purses & an array of footwear including cowboy boots.

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IMG_1028[1]And as a Rock & Roll chick myself, I appreciated all the music posters throughout the clothing section!!!

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The store does not just look good, it smells good, too, thanks to a line of beautiful soaps displayed just in front of the check out counter.

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So, for a treat for your eyes and nose, check out Maison St. Germain!!!

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Images of Spring 2016

Hi, dear Vixens!!!  How are all of you on the verge of May???

So we started the month of April here:

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And ended in Spring!!!  Since I cannot do the colors justice, I will let the images speak for themselves. They ae all from my iPhone but I think they are OK.  Enjoy!

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