Thursday, December 30, 2010

Secrets of a Bus Stop Goddess...Ex-Bus Riders

I recently had an experience that made me start thinking about past relationship partners and how often our lives will get "interrupted" by them in our future. I'm not just talking about my own individual past relationship buses here, but also those of my current significant other, the Sgt's . Yup, everyone has a past and I'd be more worried to be riding on a bus who had no former riders then I would be of a bus with many ex riders. And if you must know, yes, I've been on one of those "no prior riders" buses and the bus was not running on all cylinders....it was a short trip for me! Every Bus Stop Goddess should expect their bus to have had prior bus patrons and BSGs should also know that no other previous bus rider could compare or be as amazing as you, the current rider. With that in mind, a smart BSG always leaves the past, their own and the buses, in the past.

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So recently, my bus the Sgt, had a past rider that tried to jump back on and take a trip again. I know right, the nerve of some women! I mean really, didn't she see me sitting there? To be fair to her, I will say that she probably didn't know that the Sgt had a new rider and I can also understand her desire to try to hop back on my amazing Sgt bus. But really, this gal is obviously NOT a Bus Stop Goddess because any self respecting BSG knows better then to reride a bus that THEY decided to get off of a year ago. Yup, she pulled the string and dinged the bell to get off the Sgt bus because the Sgt bus wasn't able to provide her with the regular routine bus schedule that she had requested. This is another example on why she is NOT a BSG. BSGs never demand that a bus develop a regular routine bus schedule for them, they allow the bus to want to provide that for them on their own. I mean really, who wants to be told when and how often they should be spending their time with another person. Being needy is always a big turn off for a BSG or a bus and who the hell wants a demanding bus rider or bus? And just so you know, if a bus is really into their rider, they want to spend time getting to know them whether they live close or at a distance, a bus that's into it's rider makes the time. Both this non BSG ex-rider of the Sgt bus and I, live a distance from the Sgt bus.....the difference being, I'm a Bus Stop Goddess and she isn't! So, please remember BSGs, if you decide to stop riding a bus for what ever reason, ya don't get back on the bus again! Just assume that the bus has moved on to other bus stop riders and honestly, after a years time, you should have too. But to be once again, fair to her, the holidays are a lonely time of year for some people and it makes some gals lose their better judgment.

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So, how does a Bus Stop Goddess deal with a previous rider who is trying to hop a ride on their bus again? Well, to be honest with you, the smart BSG does nothing but watch how her bus handles the situation. A good bus will share the information with it's current rider (because honesty is the best policy) and then be polite but firm to the imposing previous bus rider by informing the ex-rider that the bus is no longer driving by bus stops and is now a chartered bus with a regular bus rider. This type of treatment by the bus will hopefully end any attempts the previous rider was planning on making to weasel their way back on an off duty bus! A smart BSG will then praise her bus for providing such a smooth ride and perform a little routine bus maintenance by checking the fluid levels under the buses hood. *wink wink* A bad bus will keep encouraging the previous rider to continue to contact them, they might even try to do a midnight bus stop drive by, thus creating a very bumpy bus ride for the BSG full of pot holes and black ice. I've been on buses like this before, these buses are a waste of time and only feel good if lots of woman are trying to flag them down at the bus stops. If you're looking for a regular, routine bus route with a one rider capacity, this is not the bus for you. I'm a lucky BSG, cause my Sgt bus is one of those good buses. No worries on my bus!

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Bus Stop Goddesses know that no matter if they're standing at a bus stop, riding the buses, or on a regular bus route, it's always important to remember their Bus Stop Goddess status. Just because I've got a regular bus route on the Sgt's bus now, doesn't mean I stop being a BSG. Maintaining your Bus Stop Goddess ways is important to yourself no matter what stage of the journey you are on. It's also important to remember that not all women will value themselves or play by the BSG rules. A lot of these poor women tend to ride around in circles making the same bad mistakes with buses. Eventually, every BSG will run across one of these women on their bus route. Just remember, keep the past in the past, watch how your bus handles it, and never get involved in your buses past unless the previous rider pulls you there....then by all means, bitch slap her!


Happy Bus Trails To All!

xoxo,
MaryDeluxe

More knowledge of the Bus Stop Goddess can be found here:
Bus Stop Goddess
Words of Wisdom from Ms Desi De Lu Lu
Secrets of a Bus Stop Goddess

Monday, December 20, 2010

Crafty Christmas II

I've been building houses again. Into the Christmas baskets they will go, so advert your eyes family members! I'm thinking about doing a series of mid-century modern ceramic houses next..... I'm calling my series, "Welcome to DeluxeVille"....of course. :-) I'll let you all know when that happens....hmmm I think I smell a DeluxeVille giveaway idea!!

It's house time
"The people living in the valley always had the strange feeling they were being watched!"

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The lights are on, but no one's home!

luminary houses for Christmas presents

I opted for plain colorful houses because I just didn't have the time to create intricate designs like my Starry Starry Night house. The house's shapes are all based on the same template, but I changed them up a little to make them each a bit different. I was working on a limited time frame. Next year I will have to start my Christmas crafting earlier!

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Santa's DeluxeVille Workshop...

Isn't he a cutie?

Yup, that's right, Santa's workshop has been located at DeluxeVille ever since Thanksgiving this year and your favorite elf, MaryDeluxe has been busy making baskets full of homemade Christmas! As one who has never cared much for "The Holidays", I've been having lots of fun this year researching things to make for my Christmas baskets. Lots of fun but also lots of work!

My Fellas

These are 1960's made in Japan children's Santa mugs that I snagged at a thrift store for 25 cents (they are in mint condition and still had the original store price tag on the bottom...2 for 50 cents!). They reminded me of Holt Howard winking Santa mugs...doncha think? The fellas aren't much help around the workshop but they sure do look cute as a button holding my chocolate covered pretzel rods!

 Christmas Scaves

I've been busy doing lots of things! I don't know how to knit or crochet yet, so I've been busy weaving Christmas scarves on my inkle loom instead. One of the perks of being an art teacher...I've got access to a lot of crafty things! I would tell you all more but I don't want to give away the surprise. Anybody else out there getting crafty for Christmas this year???

Monday, December 6, 2010

House it Going?

Fresh out of the kiln.

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I built my Starry Starry Night house in 2007 to demonstrate a lesson I was teaching to my ceramics classes at the time. I bisque fired it and left it sit for a year or so. I finally glazed and finished it! I wish I had more time to work on my art, I just don't. It also doesn't help that I like to dabble in so many different mediums. To many interesting things to try and discover...so little time.

Ceramic house in progress
A new work in progress.....

Sunday, December 5, 2010

The Demo at BachelorVille

The kitchen demo at BachelorVille has begun! I was planning on working on the kitchen renovation when I'm actually living there next Summer....but when I was over during Thanksgiving, we noticed that one of the floor support beams was in dire need of being replaced. Apparently, when the Sgt bought his house 6 years ago, the previous owners knew there was termite damage to the beam, but hide it by puttying it up and painting it. Nice, I know. Anyway, the beam is in bad shape and needs to be replaced before the hardwood floors go in above. Really, what's the point of hardwood floors in the bedroom if the floor is just gonna fall through to the kitchen below anyway. I'm still trying to decide if it's lucky that I live 2 hours away or not.... Sgt was pretty much on his own for this demo and didn't have me around to supervise. Funny how he went from a simple ceiling demo around the affected floor beam to demoing the whole kitchen ceiling... Oh my! At least he kept me updated with demo pictures....that's my guy. :-)

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Look ceiling on the floor!!! Sgt tells me he bought his house because of the fire place. As you all know, I'm not much of a rustic, farmhouse kinda girl, but I happen to enjoy a good design challenge. Also, before you ask, I am planning on staying true to the character of the house and not planning on making it into something it's not. Goodbye mid-century modern dreams and hello vintage farmhouse charm with contemporary updates! Or maybe I'll create my own mix and do mid-century vintage farmhouse? Sounds good yes? But, what ever I do, there will be vintage involved so, before you ask, I will not be putting in granite counter tops "yuck" but would like to do a white farmhouse kitchen sink! I would also love to put in a big old vintage stove, but I don't think the Sgt would go for that since he loves to cook so much....I smell a viking stove in my future.

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The damaged floor beam that started it all! There are some really good things about the house that I like and of course some things that I don't like. All in all, for being over 100 years old, the house has got some good bones and I'm looking forward to getting my hands dirty again with projects.

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My demo list has begun.... I smell a Summer kitchen demo party!

Burning Bridge Antiques

Burning Bridge Antiques is a must stop for anyone traveling through the Lancaster County PA area. I stopped in just to have a look the other day and was impressed by their amazing things, tons and tons of very cool stuff! I also love who ever it is that dresses the building's huge store front windows....no matter what time of the year, the window displays are always something else. BRAVO to them! Here are some pics of their Christmas window displays....Enjoy!

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Saturday, December 4, 2010

Thrift Store Score

See, you still can find good things in thrift stores! Much thanks to my eagle eye Aunt Georgia, who saw this nifty little dining set at her local rescue mission and sent me an email about it! So, I being the Hey-wake freak that I am, woke up way early and drove over to stalk, eerrr I mean, patiently wait to be the first person in the store this morning....it was like my black Friday okay, don't judge...you would have been there too if you knew about it. Actually there were 8 other people waiting to get into the thrift store too, but they weren't shopping for Hey-wake. Apparently the Gettysburg Rescue Mission is the place to be on Saturday mornings at 9 am. Who knew??

Thrift Store Score

Thrift Store Score

Thrift Store Score

The table is a little rough and needs to be refinished, but that's no big deal to me. The seats have been reupholstered but I checked and the original fabric is still there. I'm just not sure what type of shape it's in? I'll find out next weekend when I make the Sgt go pick it up with me. Okay, I guess you're all just dying to know what MaryDeluxe paid for this cute little dining set??? Well, don't hate me because I only paid $350.00 for it all. I could have never gotten it all for that price at an auction.....BAM......take that my arch-nemesis evil hey-wake dealer. Hahahaha, na-na na-na boo-boo stick your head in poo-poo! ;-p





P.S.
*Please send all your hate mail to the Sgt...he's now in charge of my complaint department.
Thanks,
The DeluxeVille Management

Friday, November 26, 2010

Love in Jars

I've fallen in love with things that can be made in jars. Crazy?? I think not! I made individual pumpkin pies in jars for Thanksgiving...how cute are those! Perfect size and easy enough to top off with whipped cream or ice cream.

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Pumpkin Pie in a jar
Pumpkin Pie Recipe

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Peppermint Stick Cocoa in a jar
Peppermint Stick Cocoa Recipe
Bird Labels

This is one yummy cocoa recipe and I plan to give mine away as Christmas gifts! Easy to make and assemble. My cocoa jars are currently hanging out in Sgt's pantry. Can you tell Sgt likes to can?? We are currently canning apple pie filling for Christmas gifts too! Nothing beats a basket full of homemade Christmas goodies.

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Saturday, November 20, 2010

Wooly Bully

I went off this morning to a box lot auction at one of my favorite places to snoop around. I often find some darn good things when I'm hunting around in boxes at this auction place. I wasn't really expecting to get anything on my measly little $20 budget, so I went mostly to have a look see. I also like to listen to the dealers talk when I'm there...they spend a lot of their time complaining about each other and how hard it is for them to find a good bargain anymore because there's so much competition out there for it. *insert MaryDeluxe chuckling quietly to herself here* This is my theory on auction and dealers...you need to be smart and good at predicting what will be in high demand before it is and buy it when nobody else wants it. If you wait to start buying it when it's the hot new thing, of course you're going to have more competition and pay more for it. DUH! *insert eye roll*

Okay, back to my box lot buys! Yes, I bought some things and I stayed under budget! I was really shocked with all the dealers there, none of them wanted wool blankets?? Oh well, I win. Look what I got for $15! Bonus is.... they are in minty condition with no moth holes and smell like cedar. (I LOVE that smell!)

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2: WWII Wool Military Blankets
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Vintage Jacobs Oregon City Mills Wool Blanket

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2: Vintage 40's North Star pink plaid wool throws
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Vintage 40's quilt style comforter

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My favorite buy of the day... a vintage Hudson Bay Company4 point wool blanket! Isn't the color lovely!

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Who's going to be warm and toasty this winter? Oh yeah, me!

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

A Belated Birthday Wish

Happy Belated Birthday to my big brother who turned the "BIG 40" on Monday!

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Me and my big brother! Santa apparently came to town!

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I was a very sloppy eater but at the same time extremely glamorous with my cool sun glasses and hands on hips pinup pose! I see my big brother was working the patriotic angle. Check out my sweet ride...with a banana seat! I'm so freakin retro, I can't stand myself!

Sunday, November 14, 2010

The Fixer Upper

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I don't mean him....I mean his house. Yup, the Sgt has a fixer upper house that at times, if I think about it to much, can seem a little daunting. I think he probably feels the same way about his house. Or maybe it's just me that seems like a daunting task to him? hehehee MaryDeluxe can be a handful at times! But, since I will be relocating my whole life next Summer to the fixer upper, there are a few things that I asked him to do for me to the house before I move in...actually I made a list and my requests were things he planned on doing eventually anyway...he just now has a specific time frame to complete them in...like before I move in! (insert MaryDeluxe being a handful here)

So, about my list, one of the things on my list are hardwood floors in the bedroom and a walk in closet! I really hate wall to wall carpet and the carpet in the bedroom is old and needs to go. Hardwood floors are great and add resale value to a house. Of course, I've never priced hardwood flooring before and can I just say, Wowza!! Geee do you know how expensive hardwood floors are! We went and priced them at a local hardwood flooring store and to do just the bedroom 270 sq ft, it was going to cost us close to $1500.(just for the floor) I don't know about you folks but I work really hard for my money and I'm picky about what I spend it on and how I spend it. You know me, thrifty all the way and how can I get something cheaper! Nice thing is, so is the Sgt. (We plan on being a bunch of cheapskates together but making it look like we spend a lot of money on things.) Anyway, we started exploring other options of locating hardwood floors for the fixer upper. As luck would have it, we just happened to find a builders auction going on this weekend in my area and went to check it out. The renovation Gods must have smiled down upon us because at auction, we scored an insane deal on hardwood floors.... 960 sq ft of pre-finished maple hardwood for $1.25 a sq foot! That's right, we spent the same amount of money we would have spent on 270 sq feet and now we'll be able to do all the rooms on the second floor! Heck, all the rooms wasn't even on my list...a MaryDeluxe bonus!

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Mirage flooring is a really high quality maple hardwood that comes from beautiful Canada! The Canadians really know how to make a good quality hardwood floor. I'm sure if we would have gone to a flooring store, we would never have been able to afford this at the regular store prices. So seriously, if you're remodeling your house, it is so worth going to check out a builders materials auction. Just make sure you know exactly what you're looking for and what the price would be in a regular store so you don't over pay for it. Sometimes people get into bidding wars and you don't end up getting the deal you think you got. I see many more builders material auctions in our future as we continue to renovate the fixer upper.

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Pretty, pretty floors!

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A very proud, triumphant moment for the Sgt as he is sitting on a huge score and has conquered the auctioneer! Yes, Sgt is having an auction after glow or as I like to say...bidders high! But before he gets to cocky.....I hope he remembers he still has to put them in! Oh and build me my walk in closet...tick tock, tick tock Sgt.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

The War Stories

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In honor of Veteran's Day, my local public radio station played some of their recorded stories from people who lived in the area during WWII. I think the stories shared were interesting and thought some of you might also enjoy reading about and listening to them.




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More information can be found here: Stories from PA History...Arsenal of America: Pennsylvania during the Second World War.
WITF on Yahoo: War Stories

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Love Your Mr......

Why I'm keeping him reason #2....

When I'm feeling blue and missing him, he takes the shirt that he is wearing off (his favorite shirt btw) and over-nights it to me in the mail.....just so I can feel closer to him. He also includes a little love note of encouragement.

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That's why I'm keeping him. A great way to make your girl cry Sgt....

I'm a lucky girl.

To see reason #1 go here (He builds things with his hands)
To see why he keeps me...see the post below! :)

Sunday, November 7, 2010

The $25 Dress

I went out thrifting yesterday and along my travels, I decided to stop in at my secret vintage clothing shop to have a look see. Actually, it's not really a shop at all, more like a tiny clothing rack on the wall at a antique co-op! The dealer never has a huge supply of things, but for some reasons...call it my vintage karma...I always find the most AMAZING things on his clothing rack! His prices also happen to be extremely fair and his clothing and accessories are top notch! That's why I'm keeping this place a MaryDeluxe Secret! Shhhhhh I'm sure you can imagine how excited I was to pull this cute little number off the rack! There's no dressing room at this place and so I had to give a guess as to if it would fit...I guessed right and it actually fits like it was meant for me. I love when vintage magic like that happens...... oh thank you Vintage Gods !

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The $25 1950's dress ....that I simply adore and which has now become my favorite little black dress.

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Without the jacket

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With a hat

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Taming the beast

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I win!