Thursday, July 30, 2009

Lookin for Trouble....


Gals, I'm going out lookin for some trouble! I hope trouble knows what he's gettin himself into!








Something tells me this is gonna be a long night!

*dress by Trashy Diva
* shoes vintage 40's peeptoe sling backs

Vintage Recycle

I love taking rusty old crap and turning it new again or as close to new as possible. A long time ago I found two cute metal side tables that go with the old metal chairs. I've sanded one down so far and have one to go. Someday I will have a sandblaster so that it's easier to do but for right now it's all about the elbow grease!






Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Vintage Kitten

I'm a poor cat sucker. I try very hard to stay away from animal shelters because of the problem that I have. I guess really, I am more then just a poor cat sucker, since I have adopted and cared for a variety of abandoned animals in my time... this would also include men! hahaha Poor sucker is more like it!



When it really comes down to it, it's my little sister's fault that things turned out the way they did. I was spending time with my sister yesterday and she said, "hey, didn't you want to look at kittens...lets go check out the Humane League!" I was just gonna look but while I was there a woman came up to me and asked me if I would be interested in maybe taking her cat and kittens. The story goes like this....apparently the woman lived in a town that the Humane League did not work with. They told her they would not take the Mamacita and her kittens which, are only 4 days old. Even if they did take them, they said they have no room because they are overwhelmed with kittens so, they would euthanize them. The woman told me they belonged to her neighbor who had very little kids who kept picking the kittens up and wouldn't leave them alone. She said there were originally 4 but 2 had died. The woman said she would keep them but she has a pit bull that would eat them. I went out to her car to have a look see and I, being a poor cat sucker, said I would take them! The Humane League was very nice and gave me a cardboard box cat carrier to put them in and some cans of food for the Mamacita. They gave me lots of information regarding what I should look for to make sure Mama is taking care of the babies. I was a little worried at first because they told me since 2 have died already she might be neglectful or that they could be sick. I was a bit worried that I would have to feed them with an eye dropper every two hours but mama is taking wonderful care of her babies. She is an absolutely wonderful cat and has the best manners.




The kittens are about 4 days old and their little ears and eyes are closed. They fit in the palm of my hands. I can't get over how tiny they are! They are both boys and the one on the left is the pushy one. I call him Pushy and the one on the right I call Runt. How appropriate! I'm planning on fostering them and then finding them good homes with other poor cat suckers like me.

My sister thought it was real funny how I went to look for one kitten and brought home a family of 3. My sister is quite the smartass and as we drove home she would see a duck and say...look a duck! Why don't you rescue it! Look a cow!! Go rescue it! hahahahaha 20 year olds think they're so funny!

Monday, July 27, 2009

Biker Gal



I have a bicycle that I never use and stopped in at my local bicycle shop to see if i could possibly do a trade in on a cruiser bike that I would probably use more. He said they could do that but the only problem is they only deal with certain brands. Here's what I have to choose from that they have available that I like.....





But then I was thinking that I really like the old vintage bikes so I should just look around and see if I can find one at auction. The only problem with this is they are usually in bad condition and go very high in price anyway! I know nothing about bikes so I'm reluctant to bid on a vintage bike that I can't fix. But in my opinion they are much nicer then newer bicycles!




Then I ran across the Electra Bicycle company and found such awesome bikes. But way to expensive for me!

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Mary's Secret Deal of the Day

Do you like hand carved wooden shoes but hate the over inflated price you have to pay for them from a certain shoe company?? Well, instead of buying from that company, buy directly from this awesome company.... Crafts Hawaii! They have one of the best selections of hand carved Hawaiian shoes around! You can get 2 pairs of their hand carved Hawaiian shoes in the clearance section for about the same price you would pay for one pair of shoes at another certain company!  The only difference is the name stamped on them. No one will ever know the difference, just keep your shoes on! Unless of course you want them to know what a smart shopper you are! *wink, wink*



 

And just so you know, I bought a pair of Hawaii craft shoes and they are awesome!  Not only is the company wonderful to work with and very professional but their shoes are made extremely well.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Road Trip Day 3 & 4

After a yummy breakfast in the beautiful Summit Inn Dining room, we packed our bags and hit the road headed back towards the Lincoln Highway! I have to admit, I did a lot of reading from the book about the different areas of the old LHW but didn't take any pictures! We drove into Pittsburgh and headed for The Phipps Conservatory.



I was super excited to visit the Phipps because they have art pieces from one of my favorite glass artist...Dale Chihuly.






Phipps was also featuring the extraordinary work of Hans Godo Fräbel, an internationally famous artist known for glass creations that are both impossibly imaginative and remarkably realistic.



I really enjoyed the Phipps with it's many interesting garden rooms! I particularly loved the butterfly room. I was also impressed with their children's garden.





After the Phipps, we went across town to check into our hotel, The Priory, which is located in North Pittsburgh near the stadiums. The Priory was built in 1888 to serve as home for Benedictine priests and brothers serving the parish. The inn is a charming, cozy old building with loud clangy pipes, at least our room had the clunking pipes, perhaps the rest of the building is fine? We did have a nice view of the city though and the room rate was a decent price which included breakfast!

We relaxed for a while and then headed out into the city for dinner. Can I just say right now how much I love Pittsburgh! I LOVE Pittsburgh. I wish we could have spent more then a night and two days there! I will have to go back. We woke up the next day had breakfast and headed to the Andy Warhol Museum. No pictures allowed..... bummer. After all the art, we jumped on the PA Turnpike and headed home! What a fun road trip, we did so much sight seeing in 4 days...crazy! Who knew my own state was so cool!

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Junk Treasures



I headed over to one of my favorite Tuesday auction places to look for some treasures. This is my favorite auction because you literally have to look through boxes of crap and piles of crap to find interesting things. What can I say, it's all about the hunt with me. You also have to learn to be really patient and not mind having to stand right up against other people. This auction is out in the countryside and always crowed with Amish, Mennonites, and scary people with no teeth. If you don't mind the crowd, you can get great deals! But the most important thing is, you really have to be able to put two and two together at this auction. For example, I wanted a metal 50's patio table that was in one area. I found the very cool umbrella across the lot and the matching umbrella stand in another section of the lot. They keep nothing that goes together actually together and you really have to be good at looking and seeing treasures while wading through junk.

Here's a good example of a small section of auction junk! Times this section of junk by 5 and that's how big the junk auction is! It takes them 6-7 hours to sell everything sometimes. You never know what they are going to have here and what you might find in a cardboard box!


Here's some of the fun junk/treasures I found today!


These are late 30's early 40's Pulp Novel books! Can't wait to start reading them and I love the cover art! Found in a box and they were wrapped up in plastic so they are in great condition!!


A cool atomic metal chair. Needs a good cleaning and some fresh paint but no rips in the plastic covering...I already had the awesome foot stool!!



And of course my killer 50's turquoise umbrella, metal table, and cast iron umbrella stand! That I had to run all over the lot to get and make sure I had every piece!

Monday, July 20, 2009

Garden Post

I've spent the last 2 days cleaning up the garden! The weather has been beautiful here this summer but we could really use some rain! I am finally done with my graduate classes and can spend some time getting more of my to do list done! I have so much to do and I'm running out of time, summer always goes to fast.













I've been really thinking about getting a new cat. Perhaps a kitten?? I would love another rumpy Manx but they are hard to find. I'm also worried on how that would effect the kitties I have now. I'll have to put more thought into this! Maybe I should just forget it and get a turtle for the pond instead. I like turtles!

I got double tagged...

by Ms De Vil and Kim from The Girl Can't Help It! I should really learn to run faster! So on with the honest crap... er I mean scrap...whatever that means?



Here are the rules: Copy the logo and place it in your blog. Link it back to the person who gave it to you.

Pass it on to five fellow bloggers and List 10 things about yourself.

Here's a bunch of random crap about me:

  • I was in a bank once when it was robbed
  • My name is Mary Elizabeth but almost everyone calls me Betsy
  • My first real car that I owned was a green 1973 VW Super Beetle
  • I was a textile designer for 7 years
  • My favorite time of year is Spring & Summer
  • The first car accident I ever had....I ran a stop sign and hit a police car...crying does not get you out of trouble
  • I am 17 years older then my little sister
  • I wear a size 6 shoe...in case anyone wants to send me a present
  • I hate most holidays but will celebrate my birthday for a whole week...
  • Sometimes I can be really goofy...I don't know what comes over me

I don't know who to send this to that hasn't already done this?? So, I guess I'll break the rules, be a rebel and not send it to anyone!




Sunday, July 19, 2009

Day 2: Fallingwater

Frank Loyd Wright's
Fallingwater









































~The Guest House~








I was absolutely amazed by the art work at both Kentuck Knob and Fallingwater. Picasso, Diego Rivera, Rembrandt, Claes Oldenburg, Tiffany Lamps... etc... art, art everywhere!! I was such a happy girl!

Day 2: Kentuck Knob

Frank Loyd Wright's






















~The Sculpture Garden~



Berlin Wall



An Apple Core