The Petal to the Metal

I picked up this sweet J.R. Bunting glider and rocking chair at auction tonight for the Sgt's back porch. For some strange reason, he doesn't have any metal lawn furniture??? Every guy needs metal lawn furniture don't ya think?

What???

Okay, I admit it.....it's really for me ....hey, I need a place to sit, read, and drink ice tea when I'm over at his house.

What???

Okay fine, I don't have any more room left at my house and I really wanted it.

Gosh, I can't get anything past you people!

DeluxeVille Update

Some of you might have noticed...I haven't been around much lately. I've been spending a lot of my time this summer enjoying and falling in love with my new bus and his amazing bus route. *wink wink! I have now become a true believer of the quote, "good things come to those who wait", as meeting my Sgt., has become one of the best things that has ever happened to me. He is truly one amazing man and I am lucky to have him in my life.

Not to make you all jealous or anything but this summer my Sgt has baked me bread, brought me peaches and salsa he canned, cooked for me with veggies from his garden, built me a bonfire with coconut marshmallows for toasting, took me to the lake for swimming, and out riding on his Harley. Plus, we have the best conversations about all kinds of things and I could listen to him talk all day. It also doesn't hurt that I think he's handsome and has a really cute bum to boot! Yes DeluxeVille readers, I think I'm finally a very lucky gal!

Sgt showing me around his garden...yes, he gardens too!

In other news:

I finally finished my kitchen project! Woohoo, just in time to go back to work! I can finally cross the kitchen off my to do list. WooHoo!!! I've also discovered that my kitchen was featured on the Apartment Therapy Kitchen Site...Before and After Kitchens. Cool! I've enjoyed reading Apartment Therapy for years, so it was fun to see something of mine turn up over there!

I'm also back at work and this year looks like it's going to be a tough one for me teaching wise. I have more classes then ever to teach with of course less time given to prepare for them. Gee, and people wonder what's wrong with public education?? Hmmmm I could write you a book! My blogging posts might be a little sparse around here for a while until things get a little less hectic for me....but don't worry, I'm still here!

Tiny Homes.. Tiny Living... Simple Life

I've been thinking a lot lately about simplifying my life. How can I get the most happiness out of my dollar? Do I really need all the things I have to get by in my life? I work hard, I want to learn to live smarter. I just think... there has to be more to life then being on the hamster wheel going round and round constantly. Worrying about finances, paying bills, and if your job will still be there tomorrow. How did it get like this? Is this what it means to be a grownup?

I can't help but remember that some of the best times in my life involved making just enough money to get by, living in a tiny little apartment with very few things, and driving a 1973 VW Bettle. I was still happy even without lots of money and things.

Perhaps that is why I enjoy collecting vintage things...it's the ultimate form of recycling and I personally only buy cheap things from auctions and such. I've never cared much for the competitions that some vintage inclined people get into with each other. I like my vintage simple and I do what I do for me and not to impress anyone else.

I think I want to start a new trend...who can live with the least amount of vintage things???

An article in the New York Times, But Will It Make You Happy?
A blog about living a simple life...Rowdy Kittens
A blog about ...thetinylife
A blog about...Tinyhouseblog
Another article in the New York Times..Think Small
Small house plans...Tumbleweed houses

Watch the full episode. See more Need To Know.

~The happiest people don't have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything they have.

Sassy Aunt Dot's 99th Birthday

My Sassy Great Aunt Dot is turning 99 today!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Sassy Aunt Dot!!!

This is a picture of my super sassy Aunt Dot on her 95th birthday! If you want to see what Aunt Dot did last year on her 98th birthday look here...Pizza & a convertible!

Here is Aunt Dot in 1915 (age 4) she is second from right!

And there she is second from left (guessing late 1920's early 1930's)...looks like she's been swimming...my Grandfather George of the "George & Fran" love letters sits next to her!

SASSY AUNT DOT'S GARDEN

If you've ever wondered where I get my green thumb from, check out Aunt Dot's garden at her house..yes, she still lives on her own at 99! See why I call her sassy?? Aunt Dot is my idol. If Sassy Aunt Dot can do it at 99, you and I can do it too!

Yeah, I know, she's pretty AMAZING! I wonder what her secret is? I'm gonna guess her perky, positive attitude about life and also her faith. She just keeps on keeping on. Happy Birthday Aunt Dot, I'll see you in Sept...Aunt Dot is hosting the family picnic at her place this year and I look forward to hearing her tell stories!

*all pictures courtesy of my cousin Sheri!

Eating from the Pantry

One of the easiest places in my frugal budget for me to save some money when I need to, is in my grocery expenses. Food after all is one of the most flexible areas in my budget and when the livin's easy, I tend to purchase more expensive food treats for myself. I've always been a big coupon clipper and use coupons when I grocery shop. It's like a big game for me to see how much money I can save when I shop. But this month is a little different, I have a very expensive car repair to pay for, so I plan on eating from my pantry and only grocery shopping for the necessities like TP, cat food, and laundry detergent! It's time for me to tighten my already frugal belt so that I can replenish my emergency fund!

As a single gal, my emergency fund drain got me thinking about the different ways that we all save money. I will be saving money by eating from my pantry the next few weeks and I'm wondering.....How do some of my DeluxeVille readers out there save money? I know many of my readers are stay at home Moms who are raising a family on one income and I would like to know, how do you get by? What do you do without? Got any tips you'd like to share??

Some Frugal Websites That I Like:

HillBilly Housewife
Better Homes and Gardens
Frugal Village
The Frugal Life
Coupon Sufer
All Most Frugal
All Things Frugal

Some Frugal Quotes:

“A penny saved is a penny earned.” -- Ben Franklin, Founding Father

“Never spend your money before you have it.” –- Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of the USA and Founding Father

“Without frugality none can be rich, and with it very few would be poor.” --Samuel Johnson, Author and Poet

“Discipline yourself to do the things you need to do when you need to do them, and the day will come when you will be able to do the things you want to do when you want to do them.” -- Zig Ziglar, Author and Motivational Speaker

“Too many people spend money they haven't earned, to buy things they don't want, to impress people they don't like.” -- Will Smith, Actor

“You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot establish security on borrowed money. You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn.” -- Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the USA

“Prosperous people live on yesterday’s money. Impoverished people live on tomorrow’s money.” -- Wes Beavis, Author, Motivational Speaker, and Entertainer

“He who will not economize will have to agonize.” -- Confucius, Chinese Philosopher

"Being frugal does not mean being cheap! It means being economical and avoiding waste." -- Catherine Pulsifer, Web Publisher

A Love Story

As you all know, I have my own little pond ecosystem going on in my back garden and a few years ago, because I love frogs, I decided to get three tadpoles, which then of course turned into three little frogs. Unfortunately, only one little frog has survived over the winters. This one little frog has now turned into a really big bull frog that is so loud my neighbors can hear him down the street! My big frog Romeo has been calling for a girlfriend all summer and I've felt kinda bad because there's no water source nearby that might have a potential mate for him to attract. Well, that's what I use to think anyway and then she showed up! Where she came from and how she got here, I don't know?? But I saw her little petite self sitting on a rock this morning. Oh poor little Juliet, such a sucker for the call of her Romeo.

Romeo

Juliet

Not only do I have frogs in my pond but I also had The Sgt's dogs in my pond this week! Nothing is more refreshing after a long drive then a dip in the pond, a light snack of water hyacinths, and your Daddy's love!

Raven in her water hyacinth stalking mode.

Film Fun Magazine

One of the things I enjoy doing after I find something interesting at auction is to research and gather information about the item. As you know from my post below, I ran across a few pin-up magazines from the early 40's at auction last week. This got me thinking about pin-ups in the early 1940's and I started looking for information in regards to the two magazines I had acquired called Film Fun. Below is some of the information I've found about the magazine. I thought some of you who enjoy the 1940's pin-ups would be interested!

Film Fun Magazine Facts!

FILM FUN ran from July 1915 to September 1942. Actually, however, it traced its roots back to the late 19th century, having begun as JUDGE'S SERIALS (1887 to January 1890), reprinting material from the humor magazine JUDGE. This became JUDGE'S LIBRARY (February 1890 to July 1912) and then THE MAGAZINE OF FUN (August 1912 to June 1915). (Source: Richard E. Clear, Old Magazines.) Apparently FILM FUN did not continue on after 1942 under some other name.

OK, going by the covers it's hard to take FILM FUN seriously as a movie magazine. Well, it didn't take itself seriously. In the beginning it covered humorous movies and actually had comedians on the covers. By 1921 it was running painted covers by the likes of John Held, Jr. (his usual topics), and by 1922 Enoch Bolles was painting for it. Bolles did women in bathing suits and women in skimpy clothes; some believe they were called "pin-ups" (how quaint that sounds today!). Meanwhile the magazine continued with stories about movies, biographies of the stars, and lots of pictures. Maybe they were racy by the standards of the day, but today we find them, well, quaint. From mid-1923, until just before it folded in 1942 (after changing to photographic covers, partly because it was under threat of an obscenity prosecution), Bolles painted almost every cover for this magazine.

Info snagged from Magazine art.org site and written by Michael Ward.

Resources:
You should check these sites out if you're interested in learning more about the pinup art of Enoch Bolles.
Film Fun Website: Has cover art from 1915-1942
Magazine Art. Org: Magazine art
Enoch Bolles: A blog all about the artwork of Enoch Bolles

Enoch Bolles' magazine artwork that he created for Film Fun Magazine is still extremely popular today and being reproduced in numerous ways. You can find lots of different places on the internet to purchase his reproduction prints.