A Sunday

 

After spending the last few weeks subbing at the school SGT works at, I have developed quite a nasty cold. Thanks kids! Between  my subbing jobs, bead design job, and our antique booth, I'm quite the busy bee!  It's no wonder my immune system decided to take a vacation.  

 

Nothing beats spending a day in bed with all the cats,  hot tea, a bunch of magazines, lots of fluffy pillows and old quilts, and watching some film-noir movies!

 

Today's movie, a classic from 1950....D.O.A.

And because I'm one of those people who have a hard time just plain doing nothing, about every hour or so, I'm gonna get up and stretch and throw in a load of laundry!

Happy Sunday!

~MaryDeluxe

Some Recent Finds

 

Two recent Goodwill online finds.   Yes, I still shop at their online website!  I don't buy much on there anymore as they have gotten much better at picking out their vintage and pricing it really high.  I still will find a bargain on there from time to time if something gets missed.  

 
Like this 50's knock-off 49er by Kerrybrooke.

 

And this killer pair of Frye 12R harness boots. They were never worn and came with the original box.  I've been wanting a pair for quite awhile and absolutely love these.  I think I'd like a brown pair next!  They go great with vintage dresses.

 

~MaryDeluxe

The Problem with Vintage Sofas...

I have a love for furniture....old vintage furniture to be exact.  All kinds of vintage furniture too.  I don't discriminate, I'll take it all as long as I like it.  (Here's my latest desire coming up at an auction tomorrow that I won't be able to attend due to the stupid snow storm coming our way...BOO!)

 

Is that not just breath taking?  How cool, how rare, a dogbone sofa!!! 

 Now for the problems with vintage sofas... you can have to many, yes you really can!  I already have a sofa set with a matching chair.  Do I really need another sofa like the one pictured above? The other problem... with very old upholstered furniture most of the time it will need reupholstered and that's expensive.   My old furniture set, seen below in pictures from like 10 years ago at DeluxeVille, is in need of reupholstering.  The cushions have begun to disintegrate and is causing quite the stink. Yuck!! Have you ever noticed that most old furniture smells like cigarette smoke or is really stinky in general...well yeah because pretty much everyone smoked back then. Oh those bygone days when even smoking was made glamorous! 

 

I really love this old furniture set!   It's a great neutral color and I definitely think when I get it reupholstered I'll be sticking with a similar color.  So, is it a good investment to reupholster your old furniture?  I think so!  We all know that furniture made back then was made really well, not like most of today's put it together yourself crap.  So paying to get things spruced up is always a good idea over buying brand spanking new!  But how do you afford to do it?  Well, this has been something I've been thinking about for a while.  Some people take classes to learn how to reupholster furniture themselves, which sounds like an awesome idea to me, but I couldn't find a class near me.*Insert Mary sad face here*  However,  what I did find in my research was the only prison in the whole state of NJ (which is just a 20min hop skip and a jump down the highway from me) that runs an upholstery trade program for women inmates!  And because the program is run by the prison, all the labor is done for FREE ....the customer is only responsible for buying all the needed supplies such as fabric and foam or whatevers!  Well, hello!  That's just what I was looking for!  I spoke with one of the prison guards who helps with the program (he guards the women as they work...no I'm not shitting ya) and was told lots of interesting information about the program.  For instance it takes longer to get your work done there as all those pesky lock downs take away from valuable work time.  If I come to visit the program director to talk about fabrics and such, don't wear a bra with an underwire and don't wear beige.  Really, I'm not making this up, these were the important things that he shared with me in our 20 min phone conversation!  I also found out he's retiring soon and planning on moving to Vegas...apparently the housing market is really hot out there...and compared to the property taxes in New Jersey, you can live like a king in Vegas...well ain't that something Little Mama! 

I guess the point I'm trying to make is simple....reupholstering vintage furniture is a great idea and is probably cheaper than going to buy something new. Oh, it's also most likely better built!  If you're like me and can't afford to spend a lot of money on a professional to do the work for you, there are lots of other resources out there that can give you the same results but at a better price. 

I'll keep you posted on the progress...something tells me it'll be fairly interesting. 

~MaryDeluxe

How to Make Easy Artisan Bread

I'm not kidding about how easy this homemade bread recipe is!  Once you make your first loaf, you will never want to spend the $$$ on specialty artisan bread again!  Ok not really, I will still break down and buy a loaf of good bread at the local farmer's market and so should you!  I believe in eating local and buying local, so it's totally justified spending!  I won't get into a rant because it's all about the yummy crusty bread here people!!!!

 

You mix the ingredients in a bowl...flour, yeast, salt, water ...cover with plastic wrap....let sit for at least 12 hours....and here's the key, you must bake it in a cast iron pot! And it comes out like that picture above! There's no kneading involved what so ever, I kid you not.  I ran across the recipe while googling "crusty bread" and found this awesome blog Simply So Good and everything this woman makes is really simply so good!!  Follow the link above and she will explain in full detail step by step how to make this bread and how to add things to make the bread even more yummy.  

 

Is it not the most beautiful loaf of bread you've ever seen!  I can't tell you how wonderful this bread is...perfect for Winter soups and stews!  Crusty on the outside but very soft on the inside.  It's also awesome sliced, toasted in the oven, and slathered with the strawberry jam we made this past Summer!

 

 If you're looking for a new, good food blog to follow, you will love Simply So Good! I've already sent a few friends there to try her crusty bread recipe and they absolutely rave about it and their husbands don't believe they made the bread themselves!  I think the secret is the cast iron pot!

Happy Baking!!!

~MaryDeluxe

This Little Blog of Mine...

ain't what she use to be....ain't what she use to be...ain't what she use to be!!!

I'm still here and hanging around from time to time, but as you've seen, after all these years of sharing my life so publicly, I fear I've turned into quite the  introvert. How the Hell did that happen??  My shiny little penny has lost it's shine and I have yet to become re-inspired on a regular basis on the blogging front!  I'm still the same vintage loving, adventure taking, cat saving, opinionated, tongue and cheek, tell it like it is broad I've always been...hehehe... I just don't share it much on here anymore.  What a shame right!  I'm sure a lot of you have wondered what the heck I've been up to.....some of you have even sent me emails to say how much you missed my blogging, which thanks to my wonderful Catholic up bringing, has caused me to develop a huge case of bad blogger guilt! So to ease my bad blogger guilt, here's some fantastic and not so fantastic occurrences of late!

On the kitten front, all my furry little beasts, have found new wonderful homes!   But while trapping for the possibility of more kittens, I have also acquired not one but two local feral/stray cats! My first accidental trapping incident snagged me a sad looking gal who I named Olive.  Olive ended up being one of the sweetest kitties ever and not feral at all!  Poor Olive is missing an eye and half her teeth and has lost patches of her fur (from what the vet believes are old burns)....yes, it is possible that at some point someone has seriously abused poor little Olive.  So after hearing all this and seeing how sweet she is and fearing she wouldn't last another Winter in the outside world, Olive has taken up residence in our laundry room.  She spends her days lounging on the fluffy cat bed under the heat lamp, dreaming of chasing mice, I'm sure, while I lavish her with affection, food and medicated eye drops!

 

My second accidental trapping landed me with Captain Gus the apparent "stud muffin" of the neighborhood!  Gus was spitting hell fire when I discovered him in my trap.  But after a trip to the vets, a neuter, and a regular supply of food...it seems Capt'n had a bit of a change of heart.  My plan of a simple trap and release has changed to a.... I can't get rid of this damn cat!  I leave him out and he comes back.... everyday! He greets me at the door every night demanding his food... and with a full belly, a few good head rubs and pats, he will proceed to attack my feet just so I remember that he's the boss and that he only tolerates me for my food and heat lamp, thank you very much! 

 

We've also decided to adopt our foster hound dog..."Chester the Pester the Cat Molester"!  Actually this was kinda a given since 1. no one was really interested in the guy and 2. After a week of being in our home Sgt exclaimed... "I love this dog, lets keep him"! And well with my overabundant cat problem, it's hard to say no to a guy who loves a dog.  Lucky for me, I love the Chetty too! Look out dog school, me and my juvenile delinquent hound dog will be headed your way real soon!

In other news, I've decided that I would love a "do over" for the whole month of December!  But since I don't have an operating time machine at my disposal, I'm gonna just have to wait until next December to try that month over again! What's the cause for my "do over" request you might ask?  Well, Sgt decided to play "bonsai pilot" with his "kamikaze" car right before Christmas, which landed him in the hospital for a week!  Yes, to put it bluntly, I almost became a widow....and as soon as he's all healed up and back to speed, I'm punching him good and hard in the stomach for this one! :) 

 

Since it might be a while until I get to punch him in the stomach, I think I'll post this funny picture of him instead!  Have I ever told you that Sgt is a chicken whisperer?  Well, the picture speaks for itself.

 

In business news, I'm sad to report that I am no longer sharing an antique booth space with my pal SusieQt.  Yeah I know, sad news but, Welcome to DeluxeVille still has a booth spot at Harvest Star Antiques!

 
 

I'm also happy to say that letting go of all the crap I've collected over the years, isn't such a bad thing!  It feels good to keep just the stuff I really love and let go of all the other things.  Yes, I'm talking lamps here people!  But not to worry, I can always find more....which reminds me that I'll have to post about my newest discovery soon!  After all, I have to save something to talk about for later!

~MaryDeluxe

Kittens Times Two

As you all know, I've had the fun of trapping cute kittens in my back yard this past month. Four kittens total with one adopted and Mason's adoption pending! Yay!  Sounds like little Mason might be off to an awesome Siamese loving home.  So, here are the last two little ones of my back yard dumped kittens.....

 

This is the little charmer Max!  He was caught with his brother Mason at the same time.  He is the opposite in personality of little Mason.  He's a little charmer  with a big personality!  Loves to play, cuddle and purr.  Also likes dogs :) Even the ones that go out of their way to provide him with baths.  He's going to be a most excellent cat. 

 

His sister Twiggy is also still looking for her forever home!  She's also a cute tiger baby but the difference is she has little markings of orange throughout her tiger coat.  She has the most adorable orange dot right in the middle of her forehead.

As you can see from her video...she's a little lover and is also very laid back with a big purr! I am working with Gateway Regional Rescue to help them get adopted to  good homes.  The adoption will be done through Gateway and the adoption fee, which includes shots and neutering/spay, is $100.  If interested please send me an email!  

~MaryDeluxe

New Start

I WELCOME THIS NEW DAY AND THIS NEW YEAR

Today I have a fresh start. I choose to begin a new letting go of unhealthy thoughts, feelings and attitudes that have stifled my growth.  

This day I choose to think new thoughts, to look at new values and to find new ways of expressing my God-given gifts.

I now choose to deepen my understanding of myself and others.  I will look at my relationship with family and my friends in a new light.  I choose to have vital, healthy inteactions with others.

I truly welcome this new day, this new year, and this new me.  I welcome the wonderful possibilities open to me.

 

Here's to smooth sailing in the new year!

Happy New Year!

~MaryDeluxe