Christmas Songs of the Day 12 & 13

Hello, Vixens!!!  Sorry I missed all of you yesterday but unfortunately, technical difficulties prevailed.  Ugh.  So first, let me wish you a happy Winter Solstice!!!  Two, to make up for missing yesterday, I will share two favorite holiday tunes with you today!!!

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Source:  Heartfelt Finds 

Up first is a familiar song that has closed out two of the most famous Christmas specials out there:  “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and “It’s A Wonderful Life“.  So many people have covered this tune so I have too many favorites to list here.  But this year I have been listening to Amy Grant’s version of “Hark! The Herald Angels” the most.  Not a lot of bells and whistles, just her voice strong and clear and in the same version I remember best from my childhood.  Sometimes simple says it best of all 🙂

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Source:  entertainment.caller.com

Next is a more modern song (despite the fact that it came out almost 40 years ag0) that almost instantly became a holiday staple from the minute it was first released, despite coming out in April not December.  For anyone who has ever been away from home for an extended period, from service men & women to college students to married couples who moved away from their families for various reasons, this song welcomes them all home and more.  It’s Kenny Loggins with “Celebrate Me Home“.

Please remember I do not own the rights to anything, I am just sharing my favorite music with you.

Enjoy!!!

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Source:  allmusic.com

 

 

Christmas Song Of The Day #11

Hello, Vixens & happy Sunday to all of you!!!  As we continue our countdown to Christmas, I hope you enjoy another one of my favorite holiday songs!!!

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Source:  worshiphousemedia.com

Every once in a while a singer comes along who changes the game and takes it up much more than a notch.  Sometimes its the timing that’s perfect, or the song, or the arrangement or the singer.  Sometimes, when the voice is really spectacular, it’s all of those things combined.  That was the certainly the case with Karen Carpenter.

As one half of the brother and sister duo, her voice became the sound of soft romantic music in the 1970’s.  Even if their music was not your particular favorite, there was no denying the beauty or subtle power of Karen Carpenter’s voice.  Her brother, Richard, knew exactly how to write and arrange music that perfectly suited her vocal range, which only added to the magic of the recordings they made together.  Add in the fact that she was also one of the first drummers in an all male setting made Karen Carpenter a real hero to so many women and little girls, me included.  In fact, I started to learn how to play the drums in fourth grade because of her, and stayed with it throughout elementary school as the only girl playing drums with the boys.

If I think about her life too closely, it is hard not to feel sorry for how things unfolded for her:  a rigorous touring schedule that left her little time for a personal or social life, a failed marriage when she just wanted to be happy and have a family like most women her age and a battle against a disease that would eventually claim her life at the age of 32.

So I’d rather focus on the beautiful music she left us, from “Superstar” (remember Chris Farley & David Spade singing this in “Tommy Boy“?), “Rainy Days and Mondays“, “Close To You” (also featured in the movie “Parenthood“), “Goodbye To Love“, “Yesterday Once More“, “We’ve Only Just Begun” and so many more.

The Carpenters also made several holiday recordings but my favorite one is The Christmas Song.  Karen’s voice is crystal clear, soft and completely mesmerizing.  She had an incredible gift.

Please remember I do not own the rights to anything, I am just sharing my favorite songs with you.

Enjoy!!!

la-re-place-carpenters18feb18-3[1]Source:  latimes.com

Christmas Song Of The Day #10

Hello, Vixens!!!  How are all of you lovelies doing today?  How can it be that we have arrived at the final weekend before Christmas???  A week from today, it will be behind us and we will be at those fabulous after Christmas clearance sales!!!  But before I get too ahead of myself, let me share another fantastic holiday tune with all of you.

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Source:  noelladesigns.com

I told you in yesterday’s post how much I enjoy the big band sounds from the 1950’s.  Well I should have been clear:  I like big band music period.  The booming percussion, exploding brass sounds and piano combine with the rest of the instruments to make magic with every note.  And a fabulous singer only adds to the perfection.

Anthony Dominick Benedetto, better known as Tony Bennett, has sung with big bands since before he became a household name.  One of the bands he worked with on several occasions was Count Basie’s.  Even after Basie passed away in 1984, his band played on and collaborated with Bennett for the 2008 album, “A Swingin’ Christmas”.  Eleven Christmas classics are covered on this fantastic recording including my personal favorite, “Silver Bells“.  Coming in a very close second is “Christmas Time Is Here“, which just might be my favorite recording of this song, second only to the Peanuts version (read about that here).  Bennett recorded a few holiday albums, but “A Swingin’ Christmas” is definitely my favorite.

Please remember I do not own the rights to anything, I am just sharing my favorite music with you.

Enjoy!!!

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Source:  showbiz411.com

Christmas Song Of The Day #8

Hello, Vixens!!!  How are all of today?  Hope you are all on (or as close to) schedule for Christmas as possible.  But even if you are not, take a moment for some Christmas cheer through song!

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Source:  “Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer” TV movie 1964

Confession:  I watch Christmas specials and movies all year long.  I have my most loved ones on DVD because I enjoy watching them whenever I want.  In fact, in the height of summer, when I have had my fill of humidity and mosquito bites, I escape it all by turning the A/C as low as possible and climb under the covers with a steaming mug of hot chocolate and a holiday movie.  Don’t judge-I bet the person who came up with Christmas in July or Hallmark movies in October does the same thing lol!!!  So why didn’t I come up with those splendid ideas???  Ugh!!!

One of my favorite holiday specials features an adorable-singing-banjo-playing-snowman.  It also features I place I can whole-heartedly identify with-the Island of Misfit Toys.  Oh, and a red-nosed reindeer, some elves and Santa Claus.  But the moment I wait for the most?  When the snowman, with the voice of Burl Ives, sings “Holly Jolly Christmas“.

You do have to watch the whole special as that song does not make its appearance until the end.  But the show is great so the time flies by.  Plus there are other songs to enjoy along the way, especially Ives’ other singing performance of “Silver and Gold“.   I love the message:  “What’s a Christmas tree without tinsel and pretty silver and gold decorations?”  and “Think of all the fun and joy that would be lost on Christmas morning if all the young folks didn’t get to see that sparkling happy tree?”  Exactly.  Although I must admit I prefer only silver on my tree, but hey, to each his own, right?  🙂

Please remember I do not own the rights to anything, I am just sharing some of my favorite Christmas music with you.

Enjoy!!!

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Source:  culture.com

Christmas Song Of The Day #7

Hi, Vixens!!!  How are all of you today?  Ready for another great holiday song???  Then let’s get to it.

Soul music-whether in the form of Motown, R&B, Philly Soul, Gospel or some other variation-has been a favorite of mine forever.  I love music that is consumed with so much emotion.  It reminds me I am alive and hits my soul like a bolt of electricity, which is perhaps where the term “soul music” came from-music that touches the soul.

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Original Source Unknown

So many moments hit me like that:  the first time I heard Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay“, and Ray Charles’ “America The Beautiful“, and Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard it Through The Grapevine” not to mention his absolutely sublime version of “The Star Spangled Banner“, anything at all by Aretha Franklin and “Let’s Stay Together” by Al Green, to name a few.

And while we are on the subject of Al  Green, his version of “O Holy Night” sent shivers down my spine from the second I heard it.  Done in his signature style, it oozes personality, charm, soul, R&B and every emotion it makes you feel.  It is simply majestic!!!

I do not own the rights to anything, I am just sharing some of my favorite music with you.

Enjoy!!!

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Source:  steppersusa.com

Christmas Songs Of The Day #4

Hello, Vixens!!!  How are all of you doing?  Can you believe we are less than two weeks away from the big day?  It certainly is going by fast.  So before we blink and have it pass us all by, let’s take a moment to celebrate some more amazing sounds of the season.

It is no secret that I am a H-U-G-E fan of Bruce Springsteen.  He just announced several tour dates for next year which will come to my area just in time for my birthday.  So, it is fair to say Christmas came early for me!!!  But this season is never complete for me until I hear his versions of two Christmas classics.

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        Source:  Backstreets.com

The first is a throw back to the innocence of childhood and its cautionary message “to be good for goodness sake”.  The original version comes from one of the three  Christmas specials I MUST watch every single year:  “A Charlie Brown Christmas” (see that here), “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer” and this one.  It features a beautiful wedding scene under “the first Christmas Trees” and is probably what made me fall in love with the beauty of this season before I knew how truly special it also was.  And as soon as you hear the music, you cannot help but sing along to “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town”.

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Source:  Santa Claus Is Coming To Town 1970

Springsteen’s version is just as infectious and features some funky saxophone playing by another Big Man, Clarence Clemmons (miss you, Clarence!!!)

The Boss’ other holiday gem is just as special.  “Merry Christmas, Baby”  is a rocking, bluesy, jazzy and romantic way to celebrate the season with that special someone.  It is also perfect for singing along to while you are alone in your car, or while decorating the tree with some of your closest friends or sharing a holiday meal with family.  For me, it’s all those things and another reminder of why I love Bruce!!!

Enjoy!!!

 

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Hello, Vixens!!!  Hope you are all doing well & enjoying your summer.  If you are like me, you are counting down to the start of fall in about two months!!!

A couple of blogs ago I told you that I was getting ready to move again, this time to a small New England town in Litchfield County, Connecticut.  Today I want to share my new place with all of you.  These pictures were taken before I moved in.  Once I am fully unpacked and settled, I will share the after photos with you.

Here is the view from my living room and bedroom windows.  I feel so blessed to be able to see this each morning when I wake up!!!  If it is this beautiful now, imagine how spectacular it will be in the fall!!!

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Here is the entrance hall to my apartment.

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The kitchen features a flat top cooking surface (no more scrubbing drip pans!!!) and a dishwasher, which I have not had since my college days in Massachusetts!!!

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The view of the kitchen from the living room.

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The living room with the most important feature:  air conditioning!!!

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Sorry for the lighting in the bedroom picture, but the sun was very bright and fighting me!!!

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The bathroom has additional storage thanks to the shelving unit left behind by the previous tenants.

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I know that medicine cabinets offer more storage, but I love the look of a stand alone mirror in the bathroom.  I think it is so much more elegant!!!

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My new apartment is in a quiet area but close enough to shopping so it is very convenient.  I am also less than 30 minutes away from one of my favorite places on earth:  The Elephant’s Trunk County Flea Market (read more about one of my shopping trips here).  But this could turn out to be more of a curse than a blessing LOL!!!

So now begins the next chapter of my life.  Thank you for coming along for the ride.

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

My House Was A Very, Very, Very Fine House

Hello, Vixens!!!  I know I have been promising to share pictures of my current apartment with you, but it never really arrived at where I wanted it to be.  In a way, it was a blessing in disguise that I never settled in as a new job is taking me to a small New England town!!!  I am so excited!!!

So since I never shared my current apartment, I decided to share my house.  I owned it from 1999 to 2013.  It was the longest I lived anywhere.  I am sorry to admit I never got the place to where I wanted it, nor did I follow through with a lot of the plans I had for it.  Sometimes procrastination gets the best of me.

Keep in mind that my house was on the market when these pictures were taken, so although it was not cluttered by any means, I did pare it down to give it a more contemporary look.  That also included replacing the antique sinks I had installed in the kitchen & the bathroom…..sigh :(.  Here is the front of my little 811 square foot two bedroom cottage (one from summer, one from winter).

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The first room you walked into from the front door was the living room.  The armoire was purchased for $40 from a neighbor who was relocating, and the coffee table was also from a moving sale for about the same price.  It was the first second-hand  piece I ever purchased and it is still my favorite.  It holds one of my most cherished pieces of Ironstone.  The stand holding the Ironstone bowl & pitcher was purchased at Brimfield.  The beautiful hardwood floor was covered with commercial carpet when I moved in.  The man I hired to refinish the floor did a phenomenal job, didn’t he?

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The fireplace separated the living room from the eat in kitchen.  It was all white when I moved in so I decided to repaint the mantel & bottom with a different color for some pop (that is actually the same paint color I used in the second bedroom).  The doors were brass and very scratched up so I painted them with a high heat spray paint that covered beautifully.  It even worked on the fireplace tools (not pictured).

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Next up was the kitchen.  Everything in here I replaced.  The house was bank owned when I bought it, and prior to that it was a rental for many years.  So the cabinets were cheap and falling off the walls and the floor tile had seen better days.  Part of my deal with the bank was that they had to supply a stove and refrigerator as the house had neither, so the new appliances gave me a jump start at redecorating.  Then I ripped out the cabinets and put down a peel and stick tile myself.  I put it in the bathroom as well.  It was as close to the black & white checkerboard look I could get at my Home Depot.

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At one point I had a two-tub antique sink and an oven from the 50’s which I could not afford to have fixed (both thrifted).  I also had a standing cupboard and a shelf to display some of my cherished items from my mother and grandmothers.  I took them all out when I decided to sell the house as sadly, antique kitchens are not the norm where I lived.  😦

The chairs were all second hand and the table was from Pottery Barn Outlet (one of my weaknesses!!!)  The curtains in front of the sliding glass doors were actually two table cloths I bought on clearance at Target.  The backsplash looks like copper but it was actually plastic which I put up myself with caulk adhesive.  The lighting fixture was from Home Depot.

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The antique bread box was another Brimfield purchase.  All the cabinets in the kitchen, along with the counter tops, the sink and faucet were from Lowe’s.

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Off the sliding glass doors in the kitchen was the deck.  I found the table on the side of the road and repainted it.  The chairs were from two different estate sales.  I love that they were mismatched. 🙂

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Also off the kitchen was the bathroom.  In addition to the floor I had the wainscoting put in with a ledge so I had a place to put votive candles.  I also replaced the sink, faucet, vanity, mirror (all from Lowe’s) and the lighting fixture (another Pottery Barn Outlet find).  Do you see the washboard I turned into a towel holder on the wall?  All it took was a dowel and two drill holes.  And the vases holding the flowers are small milk bottles.

bathroom 1

bathroom 2

Unfortunately, I did not take pictures of the bedrooms.  The second one was so small it was hard to photograph, and I never brought the master one to where I wanted it aesthetically, so I left them both to view in person only.

So there you have it, Vixens.  A further view into my life and decorating style.  I hope you enjoyed it.  Please share your thoughts and opinions with me in the comments below.

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

Tag Sale Treasures (Sale #2 for 2015)

Well Vixens, after striking out at every garage/yard/tag sale I went to over the last couple of weeks, I finally struck gold!!!  The home of a 50+ year collector opened to the public this weekend, and it was like walking through the perfect antiques store!!!

Everything in the house, and I do mean EVERYTHING (including the house itself) was for sale.  And there was stuff EVERYWHERE!!!  I was in my digging glory as I searched through all three stories of the house.

There were over 50 pictures posted on line to preview the sale, so I knew ahead of time there were certain items I was definitely interested in which led me to go on the first day of the two day sale.  It was very crowded but worth the effort since I was lucky enough to purchase one of the items I wanted.

The vintage typewriter stand (below left) is a treasure I found hiding in the dining room buried under a ton of linens for only $10.00.  I have wanted one of these carts forever so this was a great surprise find and it is in excellent condition.  I am going to spray paint it white and use it for several things:  as a desk, a make up table and a bar cart.  Cool, right?

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The bookcase on the right is one of the gems I was after and a steal for only $15.00.  It is real wood and in pretty good condition except for some heat damage on the bottom (it was right next to a wood burning stove for many years and the heat took its toll on it),

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I plan to clean it up, apply a few coats of crisp white paint and maybe use it to display my camera collection.

The next three items were purchased for $5.00 each.  The first one is a miniature sugar bowl, perhaps from a child’s tea set.  I love the sweet little flowers on it!!!  I plan on displaying it with my Ironstone sugar bowls to add a tender touch of color to the all white display.

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I almost passed on this lovely piece because when I first looked at it, I saw this side of it:

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Although I thought it was cute, it was not my style.  Then another buyer picked it up and mentioned that the piece had two different display sides.  When she put it down and walked away, I snatched it right up!!!  I learned a valuable lesson about thoroughly examining an item before passing on it in the future.

I found a new piece of Ironstone to add to my collection.  Even though it has a few embossments on it (I prefer the plainer pieces), I love how unique it is from any other piece I own.

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It has some great character to it (read:  brown aged spots) and it also came with an insert (below right) with even more signs of wear on it.  I am not quite sure what the piece is intended for…a soap dish perhaps?  If any of you know, please leave a comment below.

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But my favorite find of the sale is this sweet lovely bowl.  From the second my eyes spotted it…..SAAAAAA-WOON!!!

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It is such a solid piece.  There is nothing on the bottom to indicate who the manufacturer is, but it is as heavy as Ironstone.  And the character on this piece……you can tell it has been very well loved in its previous lives!!!

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I am over the moon for this bowl!!!  Talk about perfectly shabby chic!!!  Look at those crackles!!!  I am not sure where this gorgeous piece will go…..maybe as a pop of color in my Ironstone collection…..but I really feel this beauty needs a place of honor all on its own.  I will let you know as soon as I make up my mind!!!

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Please forgive the quality and angles of these pictures.  My SLR camera has not been working so while it is being repaired I am taking pictures on my iPhone 5C.

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

Mason Jar Madness!!! (Sale #1 for 2015)

Well Vixens, it is now May and garage sale season is officially underway!!!  Hope you are enjoying the thrill of the hunt in the lovely fresh spring air as much as I am!!!

This weekend I hit a number of sales but did not find anything I wanted to buy.  I had almost convinced myself I was going home empty handed when I came upon a sale a few blocks from my apartment.  As I looked around I caught a peek of a few mason jars in a crate under some boxes.  Once I dug around to get a better look, I discovered that the crate was chock full of jars with their lids!!!  And the price marked was .25 per jar!!!

When the woman running the sale saw me looking at the jars, she told me she had more of them in her backyard if I was interested.  Of course I was so I took a look, chose another crate full of jars & brought two home for only $10.00!!!

Mason Jar 1

I have no idea what I am going to do with all of these lovelies yet, but I enjoy using them around my place for so many things:  to hold flowers, as soap dispensers, as keepsake jars, as drinking glasses, to hold makeup brushes, just to name a few.

What have you found lately at your neighborhood yard sales?

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