baby shower

We found out yesterday that we have a niece on the way! My sister is coming to visit next week, and we're hosting a shower, so it was kind of fun to find out that it's a girl before the big event. My Frenchy's senses were tingling when I drove by today (I'm only half-joking) so I popped in for a minute to see what there was to find. I bought this super-fun set of candlesticks, which I think I will put pink candles in and line up on the table.

Do you have any fantastic shower suggestions? It will be in the evening, and will be pretty low-key. Lots of chatting and visiting and eating. But I'm thinking that some simple things like these would be cute and non-tacky.

Any ideas? Thanks in advance!

la shoppe vert (lots of photos)

This is 'La Shoppe Vert'. It's in Concession, near Saulnierville, and there are walls and walls of fabric, sewing and quilting doodads, and some very old groceries.
Ingrid and I went on Sunday afternoon, and we both found some fabric for crafty projects. How happy does she look, clutching her fabric and Blackberry? (The Blackberry was an integral part of me finding fabric to match the curtain material I found at Frenchy's last week, since I didn't think to take it with me. She just looked up my post, and voila, I found some to match! Brilliant.)

La Shoppe Vert is in an old building, and these are the original smoke detectors.
This is down in the basement, where there used to be a bowling alley. Well, it's kind of still there, only under boxes and dust and such.
This is the material I didn't buy so that I would have an excuse to go back.
We had a fantastic lunch at Chez Christophe, where I had never been before. I had fricot, which I had never had before. They have a thing for glass jars, too.
And dessert was apple crisp with ice cream. Yum.
I've been sticking pictures and postcards and past months of this calendar up on the pantry wall. And I haven't gotten tired of it yet! Probably because it's always changing.
See the Bird's Custard Powder can? The owner of La Shoppe Vert gave it to me. I think it's from 1982 or so.
And these are the fantastic new shoes I found at Frenchy's! They're greener than they appear, and are so very comfortable. So comfortable in fact, that I wore them home. Phew! That was a long one. Thanks for tuning in!

necklace storage & it's about time for some frenchy's finds

My necklaces have been not-so-stylishly stored on hideous plastic dollar store hooks until today. I liked that they were visible and accessible, but the hooks had to go.
So I was really excited to pick up these fun hooks at Wicker Emporium, on sale for $3 each. They look much nicer, and the necklaces won't get whacked by the door when Phillip opens it excitedly, like they did before.Can you tell that it's raining? Today's pictures are rather dark and drab and slightly blurred, but I'm too impatient to wait until tomorrow to share. I found a couple of very fun things today at Frenchy's when I scooted in for all of two minutes today. That orange thing is a felted wool pot handle cover, and it's perfect for our cast iron pan, which we use just about every day. I've been meaning to make one for about three years, so I thought that I should probably fork out the 25 cents and use this one. It's in the wash, yipee!
And check out this fabric! It's a couple of old curtains, and I love the pattern. I think I'll try making something from this book with it.
Happy weekend!

mail, sweet mail, and two things of which I never tire

I've had all sorts of great goodies arrive in the mail as of late. Firstly, sweet Sarah sent me some lovely dishcloths! I asked Phillip which of the dishcloths was his favourite, and he chose the blue one above for me to photograph. They're my favourite kind - they do such a nice job of scrubbing, and will definitely make washing up more enjoyable. Don't you think that the pattern above looks like little peaks of frosting? Mmmm. And how's that for a gorgeous envelope? (It may be my favourite part of the package. Shhh, don't tell Sarah!) I also received this beautiful thank you note from classy Joslyn. It's just right, in every possible way.
This one didn't come in the mail, but I found it at Frenchy's. I've got soap-dishy plans for it, and think it's right up there with bees knees.
Also in the mail, I received a beautiful package of swappy loveliness from Spain, including this beautiful Italian-made notebook,
these leather dishes which the swapee made,
and a sweet little leather pouch which she also made, along with a few other goodies. I sent her soaps and scrubs and other bath goodies. I love a good swap. Yay, mail!
Two things of which I never tire:
1. This is one of my favourite driving albums of all time. Track 1 is fab.
2. Star Anise, in any form.

I seem to be having a busy few weeks at work, which is fun, but leaves me tuckered out at the end of the day. So I'm off to enjoy the bounty that is magazine week - the week when all of the next month's magazines arrive in the mailbox. Happy Wednesday!

a whole lot of great things at home

First, do you remember this red enamel pot I got through Freecycle? Well, I decided to order some vinyl letter stickers from this Etsy shop, and they arrived yesterday! They're anything but perfectly positioned, but they do remind me that there could possibly be a snack hiding inside.
And this arrived ages ago, and I keep forgetting to post it! It's my very own blog book, which I ordered through Blog2Print. I am very happy with it, and if you're looking for a physical record of your blog, I highly recommend it. The only things which are kind of funny are that the comments are compiled at the end of the book, rather than with the posts (you may be able to change that somewhere during the process of creating your book), and any text that contains a link is in the same colour as the rest of your text, which can make for some funny sounding sentences. The process was quick, easy, and the book looks great. I have enough material for about 10 more books (this one only covers the 6 months before P was born) so I should order my next one soon. One more thing - they offer free shipping in the US (I had mine sent to my sister, who sent it to me).

Despite all of the reflections in the glass, I think you can see this gorgeous print that Adam ordered for our living room. I bought a hideous piece of 'art' at a yard sale, in this square frame, for $2 last summer. Since square frames are hard to come by, and this one is perfect for over the couch (although I hung it a bit too high) I think that's a pretty great deal.
Speaking of great deals, I found this adorable wooden bus with cute little riders at Frenchy's. Phillip's latest favourite song is 'The Wheels on the Bus', so I knew that he would love this. And he does.
And here are the blinds! The pictures aren't the greatest, but I'm quite happy with them. I think I have enough leftover fabric to make a couple of cushion covers, so maybe I'll get to that on the weekend. The pattern is from Simple Soft Furnishings.


Ingrid brought a couple of her Barefoot Contessa cookbooks over at lunch time! I'm excited to devour them. Thanks, Ingrid! I'm at home today, trying to rest a bit and shake off this silly infection. Thanks for all of your kind thoughts - I'm sure I'll get over it sometime soon. :) There's some comfort coming up later on. Happy Thursday!

fondue with a new tablecloth

Guess where I picked up this tablecloth yesterday? Of course - Frenchy's. $1.50.

And I found this Pier 1 table runner, too. Also $1.50.
I bought them especially for tonight - we're having our annual Christmas fondue. Everyone wasn't able to make it in December, so we decided to have it tonight instead, and I'm excited. Phillip's napping, so I was able to get everything ready. Now I'm just waiting for him to wake up and for the guests to eventually arrive. Have a great weekend!

a great gift set, no heat dry, and 18 months today

Are any of you local readers interested in buying a fabulous gift set for someone for Christmas? This set is in a huge, beautiful basket, and contains:
Oatmeal, Milk & Honey soap
Sweet Birch soap
Strawberry Cream soap
Peppermint Poppyseed soap
handmade pottery soap dish (blue)
Candy Cane bath salts
Cherry Almond bath salts
Bergamot Fizzing Milk Bath
Peppermint Fizzing Milk Bath
Candy Cane Sugar Scrub (4oz)
Pink Grapefruit Sugar Scrub (16 oz)

It's worth over $60, and I'm asking $40. Leave a comment if you're interested!
I bought this strange tealight thing at Frenchy's today. It's not like me to buy little candle things, but this one reminded me of elvish hats and winter tree-shapes. I'm a sucker for pottery, and I have some crafty Christmas tree-plans which may or may not come to fruition this month. This could be used undrneath one of those.

This is the newest member of our family! It's a cute little portable dishwasher. We lived without a dishwasher until today, and I must say that my outlook on life is just a little bit brighter now that I can use former dishwashing time in other, more fun, ways. Like playing Carcassone, which is what Adam and I are going to do in a few minutes. Best. Game. Ever. (Yes, Jamie. It's made in Germany. Heh heh.) Oh - it's also has the Energy Star efficiency rating, and we'll be using less water. Excellent. We bought it from a local store, as well.

I also wanted to thank all of you for the comments that you're so sweet to leave! I'm sorry I seldom get back to you individually, but I try to respond within the comments field as often as I think of it. Which isn't as often as I would like.


And lastly, but certainly not leastly, Phillip is 18 months old today! Here's he and Adam, reading a book they picked up at the library this morning. P loves it, in case you can't tell.

a fine find

You may remember my driftwood shelves, laden with jars of herbs and spices and other natural soap additives. I like to keep things visible, so I can see what I have, and how much. I have some things which don't have jar homes, and I can never remember exactly what is stored away, so I was happy to find some more wire-closure jars at Frenchy's last week for 75 cents each. They're cute stubby ones, too, which is just right for the small amounts of many things I have. Like cranberry seeds and strawberry seeds and crushed grape seeds, for example. Kind of like red berries, I have a thing for glass jars. And seeds, apparently.

I just have to mention that I'm having a fantastic weekend, in case you didn't get that impression from last night's post. P and I visited a bit today, did a couple of teensy errands, and cuddled and read lots. What more could I ask for?

frenchy's finds

I arrived in Digby a bit early this afternoon, and found these treasures at Frenchy's. Some beautiful wool remnants, which I'm going to use to make something like this.
A cute onesie. Adam has a scooter t-shirt, so they'll be especially handsome in semi-matching shirts.

And a brand new Halloween costume for Phillip! Guess what he's going to be? We got him to roar when I came home. "Rarr!" He's going to be one cute lion.
A new wooden tool bench, and a Little People set. The Little People set will be a Christmas present, even though P played with it for a few minutes tonight. It made him cry, actually, so we'll see how it goes. Total: $14.

"I don't want silk. I want polyester."

Nope, no one's getting this bowl. It's a handmade sugar maple bowl I found at a yard sale this morning. Along with the set below (not handmade, but lovely solid wood). Total: $3. Phillip loves wooden bowls, which is great, because he can throw them as much as he likes.

Here's the deal for this last blogaversary giveaway. I found this at a yard sale (I know, not Frenchy's, but the same idea) and love it. But a) I don't need it and b) it doesn't fit in with anything in our house. We have the antiquey mismatched thing going on, while this would fit in beautifully in a more modern kitchen with brushed steel appliances or an office-y space. It hangs on the wall, has four magnets with it, and pegs for hanging keys on. And the notepaper holder, which I think is dreamy. The catch: it's pretty large (probably 12 inches by 12 inches or so, maybe bigger) and I am not planning on paying shipping for this to anywhere in the world, since that would mean that we would no longer be able to eat. So here's the plan: I'll choose two winners from comments on this post, one local, and one non-local. The non-local winner will win three bars of my fabulous soap!

Here's the question: What's the strangest or funniest thing you've ever seen or heard at a yard sale or thrift store?

Mine were this past week.

Seen: A prosthetic lower left leg with a HUGE foot. No, I'm not kidding.

Heard: "I don't want silk. I want polyester."

I'll choose two winners (again, one local and one non-local) on Friday, September 26. I can't wait to read your stories!