Land of Nod Inspired Mantel

In just a few hours, our week of visiting grandchildren will begin at 911.

For safety reasons, we won't be using our fireplace during their stay,

 but that's no reason to ignore it, right?

I departed from my usual brown and orange color scheme

for a more festive lighthearted approach.

My color inspiration came in the mail the other day.

  I love the soft blue and orange combination on the cover of the Land of Nod catalog. 

 Lots of goodies inside, too.

This wood plate I bought for pocket change many years ago at a garage sale

has the perfect colors for my fall mantel.  The words Ribnica and Slovenski are

Slovenian like my Baba.  She may have even visited this place

 on her 2 trips to her father's homeland.

I bought this fan for its unusual copper colored blades and

brown bakelite base.  I was kayaking with a friend and we beached

our kayaks while we browsed the antique shops in the lakeside town of

Crosby, MN.  I had to carry my finds back in my kayak,

 so this was the only purchase that day.

I had something else in mind for the centerpiece of the mantel, but it's

giving me a few problems, so my jeep's come to the rescue.

My orange steeple clock always comes out to play this time of year.

The blue jars pick up on the sky blue color in the plate.

I left them empty so they don't weigh down the mantel, and

I think they shine without any help from me.

I stitched up a pennant banner from fabrics in colors from the catalog cover.

The mantel's done, now for the hearth.......

The ice cream maker I bought this summer isn't in the same shade of blue,

but it lightens up the dark brick fireplace.  I filled it with the last of my hydrangeas,

  but now that I think about it, this will be moved to the basement

unless I want dried hydrangea petals everywhere!

We've got two budding young artists coming, so I pulled out my

old chalkboard and tried my hand at the trendy chalkboard art

I've been admiring everywhere.

I didn't spend a lot of time on this art because I'm sure it will be

erased the minute Finley steps in the house.  That's okay.

I've no doubt a new masterpiece will soon take its place.  :@

I've got a few mommy rules to follow this week, and I'll do my best to comply.

1.  Pacifiers only at naps and bedtime.

2.  No cookies or candy.

What?!!

I promise to do my very best at following the Mommy rules.

Hugs and kisses,

Grandma 911

Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes,

And Nod is a little head,

And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies

Is a wee one's trundle-bed.

So shut your eyes while grandmother sings

Of wonderful sights that be,

And you shall see the beautiful things

As you rock in the misty sea,

Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three:

Wynken,

Blynken,

And Nod.

(Last verse of Wynken, Blynken, and Nod by Eugene Field.)

Joining the party at:

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Soup to Nuts

Now that the cold weather is upon us, I actually feel the need to

cook some hearty meals.  This week I made one of our my favorites. 

White chicken chili.  Yum!!  It's not Bill's favorite meal,

but I'm the cook, so I win.

I've also packed away all my summer junk.  Things were looking

mighty bare, so I went shopping in the basement to find some autumn

looking items to prop on my shelves, and here's what I came up with....

Back to school meets the arrival of autumn.

The old crayon tin came from a box of unclaimed freight.

The shoes came from an old Finnish neighbor, now deceased.  How old I'll never know,

because she wouldn't tell anybody her age!  Her birth date wasn't even listed

 on her obituary, but my guess would be close to 100 years old.

  Imagine buttoning your children's shoes every day!

The book page came from a music book

I rescued from a pile of debris just before

they demolished my old grade school.

There are 2 pages for every month.

This page is actually for the month of

October, but the theme and color worked

so here it stays.

I also found an old oak bookcase

door in the debris.  I had a piece of

mirror cut to fit the back and it

now resides in Julie's house.

I wish I had an in when they were

doling out the schoolhouse

clocks and lights!!

This old teddy bear was priced at $3.00 and still he sat in a local antique shop for years before I finally adopted him.  He's quite happy on the shelf next to the cup filled with candy corn.  Oops!  I forgot to take a picture of the metal teacup.  I can't imagine anybody ever drank tea from it, but it's a pretty little cup to use as a candy dish.  Mr. Bear wears a festive orange hat to keep his furry head warm. 



The old wood clock is new to my collection.  An apartment building nearby

has been converted into an antique shop/ art studio and is only open several times

a year.  I went for the first time a few weeks ago and bought this clock for $10.

I think it belongs to my crooked face clock collection.  :@

The coat rack shelf got a new autumn themed look, too.

The large tole tray is the very first tray I bought many years ago and was the start of my collection.

I made the jute net for the brown jug last year, and  I've had

 the wood spools for so long I can't even remember where they came from!

Now our 911 mascot, the squirrel, has a little history.

He's not old.  I bought him at Pottery Barn about 3 years ago and sat him

on top of the piano, where I thought he looked quite handsome.

Then our girls and their husbands came for Thanksgiving and laughed at him.

All four of them agreed that he was vulgar.

You see, he was originally holding a corn cob.

And he had the whole thing in his mouth.

Use your imagination, I'm not going to elaborate any further.

So I put the now vulgar squirrel in the basement where he's been hiding in shame.

Now that I've overcome my fear of power tools, I reenacted a scene from

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre yesterday with a jigsaw.

Ta da!

Mr. Squirrel is now munching on a nut!

Now that I've covered everything from soup to nuts,

 this concludes today's post.  Except for one lingering question.

Do you make your favorite meals even if nobody else in the house likes them?

Thanks for visiting!

Vickie

Joining the party at:

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