52 Lists --The Things I Love About Spring

I have fallen in love with Spring.

Here are some of my favorite things about Spring.

52 Lists # 6:

Some of the Things I Love About Spring

1. Yellow Ranunculus. The first bouquet of flowers Aaron ever brought me were yellow ranunculus. I was hosting my first dinner party, we had just met, and he arrived at the door with his hands full of bright, yellow ranunculus.

I was 17.

I was smitten.

I still am.

2. Yellow Daffodils. Because of Baby Dear.

3. Green Grass. Summer here turns everything golden brown, which I used to despise but have learned to love. But the hills all covered in green are something I wait for all year long.

4. Strawberries. Don't they smell intoxicating?

5. Breakfast on the patio. Is there anything better?

6. Open windows. After having them closed all winter, it's the first thing I do when I wake up in the morning. It's like letting the outside in.

7. Poppies. Because they are beautiful. Because they remind me of this.

8. The Farmers Market. It is a riot of color, scents and more delicious possibilities than I can cook up in one week. It is so hard to use self control.

9. Desserts with fruit. Like strawberry shortcake. Recipe to come. The best ever.

10. Being outside. That's where I am: feeling the sun, letting the wind whip through my hair, smelling the blossoms, reading under a tree, picnicking on the grass and enjoying it all immensely.

So what are your favorite things about Spring?

Hoping your Monday allows you a little time to remember it's Spring and that you find a way to enjoy it.

Greta

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Almost forgot. Tomorrow night I am going to see Molly of Orangette. Yes, that Molly! She is doing a book discussion and signing at this book store in LA. If you love her blog and can head up there, you should go support her. And tell me you are going so I can look for you. You'll find all the info here for LA and here for her other stops. Go see her!

List # 5 of the 52 Lists: My Vintage State Glasses

Vintage Week continues with the 52 Lists

List # 5

My Vintage State Glasses

1. California (2)

2. Delaware

3. Florida

4. Georgia

5. Kansas

6. Massachusetts

7. Missouri

8. New Mexico

9. New York

10. Nevada

11. Oklahoma

12. Tennessee

13. Texas

14. Vermont

15. Virginia (2)

Which ones do I still have to add to my collection? A lot!

But I am game for the hunt. It is all part of the fun.

I love these glasses. Look at them up close.

I love our state slogan? motto? "The Golden State" Whatever it is, I like it. It sounds warm and lovely, doesn't it?

Although, "The Green Mountain State" sounds pretty nice too. It sounds peaceful and refreshing. I've never been to Vermont. But I'd like to. It always makes me think of the movie White Christmas.
Georgia. "The Empire State of the South."

I spent several summers with some folks from Georgia and they were very nice. But one thing I noticed about them was they had some serious state pride. I mean, a lot. Now I know why.

I love these glasses. They bring back some sweet memories.

They are from one of my most favorite stores, Clementines One of a Kind, in dear old Fallbrook. Clementines was a central component to my life for a while. They were one of the first places in Fallbrook to have a coffee bar. And they served good coffee.

Danny ran the coffee bar and Kim ran the store.

They were the kind of couple that made you want to hang out in their store and talk to them. You came in for an iced coffee but you stayed to chat, and to look at all of Kim's wonderful finds.

My sister and I used to drop in for coffee after walking our dogs at the preserve.

Aaron and I bought a lot of furniture for our first house at Clementines.

Mom, and Kristen bought me a purse to take on my honeymoon there. It is still one of my favorites and I still love to carry it.

Aaron went in the morning of our wedding day and Kim and Danny treated him to a celebratory coffee.

Fallbrook is a slow town. We loved that, but it was still nice to have a cool place to hang out. A place that wasn't Denny's. (Although it was big news when Denny's came.) A place that had such great stuff that you almost could not leave empty handed. I miss Clementines every time I visit Main Street.

Sadly for us, a number of years ago Kim and Danny closed up shop and headed to New York. That is how I came to be the owner of many of those glasses. They were actually part of Kim's collection. But she was parting with some of them for the move. Since I already had a fine collection of vintage glasses, all of them, I think, from Clementines, I knew I had to have these too.

Plus, I have a thing for vintage "state stuff."

I have a lot of things, don't I?

Anyway, that is how my state glasses collection began. Every time I look at them, I remember Clementines, Kim and Danny and those particular years of my life. They are good memories.

Not all the glasses in my collection are from Clementines. Some are from my mother in law, who always remembers that I collect them. She's been asking me for a list of the ones I have for years. So here you go, Mom, happy hunting!

I love to fill my home with things that tell a story.

Do you have any special treasures in your house?
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By the way, Kim opened another store, called Summer Girl, in New York. So if you are ever visiting New Suffolk, Long Island, you should drop in her shop. I am sure it is wonderful. Tell her I said hi.

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All this talk of vintage state stuff, got me thinking. I can't have Vintage Week without a nod to my most favorite of all vintage items: books. So tomorrow I'll share with you a favorite vintage book or 2.

One of them will be about our grand 50 states.

Here is a sneak peek.

Enjoy!

Vintage Toys Tell a Story

I am going to come right out and say it. I am a bit of a toy snob.

I like good toys. Toys that are pretty, toys that are good quality, toys that won;t give my kids lead poisoning. I like toys that are interesting and unique. I like toys that aren't advertised on tv. I like toys that go the distance and will be played with for years. I like toys that will last.

I like wooden toys. Like these.

There are a lot of plastic toys that I don't like. The kind that only last a season because they are for a certain age and can't go beyond that. The kind that break after a being played with a few times. I know you know the kind I mean.

There are a few exceptions. Legos. Playmobil.

And vintage.

I love vintage toys.

One of my favorite things about vintage toys is that they tell a story.

They have a history.

The very best thing is when you know the story.

This box was Aaron's. He was one of those kids that took really good care of his toys. Sounds like it was a little on the obsessive side, but I digress.

The boys have a lot of his toys: Legos, Playmobil, Lincoln logs.

But these are some of my favorites.

Even the box gives you a glimpse of his little boy mind; the things he loved:

GI Joe, Star Wars, Ronald McDonald and Kermit the Frog.

But inside the box....

A little zoo. With pens for the animals (cause it's vintage, not Diego the animal rescuer!) and ugly plastic trees, houses and a few domestic animals, like that collie, thrown in for good measure.

And even better, some of these animals were Aaron's dad's, when he was a little boy in England.

Aaron loves to see the kids playing with the very same toys he played with as a kid.

I try to remember that when I buy birthday and Christmas presents. I try to buy things that will be played with for years, both because they last and because they remain interesting. I like to buy vintage toys because they have already stood the test of time. I may buy 1 nice toy instead of 5 junky toys.

But eventually that toy will be packed away and given to grandchildren in 25 years.

Yes, I buy toys for my kids with the intent of saving them for their kids.

Have you figured out yet that I like to plan?

It might be a sickness, but I think there are worse things to be stricken with.

Do you have any favorite vintage toys? Or favorite toys from childhood?

Please share.

Happy Monday,

Greta

Waiting

Friends, I may be absent from here for a bit.

Or I may not.

I am not sure how things will look in the coming days.

But please check in on me.

I hope to be here soon with a smile back on my face.

You can read here to catch up on what is going on.

Until then,

Greta

Surprised By Beauty: Everyday

Last week I took a pictures of the beautiful, everyday things that are part of my life.

It was such an enjoyable project. In the middle of breakfast, I looked down at my plate and then jumped up to get my camera.

Beauty is everywhere.

Here is some of my everyday beauty.

Color

Pink Stripes and Cuffed Jeans

Breakfast and a Book

Cafe

Rain

I hope you'll look for everyday beauty this week.

It will really change your perspective. It brought me a lot of joy. A sense of happiness at how bright and lovely my world is.

When you're falling in love you see the world through rose colored glasses, right?

I think I am seeing the world through a rose colored view finder.

Cheers to you and happy Thursday!

Greta

"The world is so full of a number of things,

I think we should all be happy as kings."

Robert Louis Stevenson

The Best Laid Plans

The morning after Christmas, Lilly woke up early. I had gone to bed late, so I was not too happy about her early morning calls of, "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!"

At some point in the night, Aaron had migrated into the next room to sleep with a restless William, so I couldn't even play the "let's see who can pretend to be asleep the longest" game with him. It was all me.

I took her out of the crib, and tossed some books on the floor with the hopes that I could buy even 5 more minutes of sweet, sweet sleep.

Then she opened the curtains and I saw this.

So I got out of bed, picked up Lilly, picked up my camera, and we went outside to take pictures. Because when you see a sunrise like this, you have to get out of bed and soak up that beauty. Even if you are so tired your eyes hurt. Even if it's freezing outside. Even if.

Sometimes, most times, my plans just don't work out.

I am learning not to let that bother me as much as it used to.

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I spent New Year's weekend giving the house a good going over. Cleaned closets, washed windows, organized drawers, decorations put away and me feeling full of optimism and excitement at the start of a fresh new year.

That night we noticed James' breathing sounded weird. It was weird. In fact, between breaths, he wasn't breathing at all. We figured it was from the cold that he'd had, all of them had had, but it never seemed like he was that sick. Still, it was a long, worrisome night of shaking him, moving him and rubbing his chest every time he stopped breathing.

And Monday morning arrived not with me feeling full of energy and optimism, but tired and more than a little grouchy. The 3 and me went to the doctor and they all got put on antibiotics. Apparently James has large tonsils. They are even larger due to this infection and the Dr. says they are basically flopping down and blocking his airway while he sleeps.

"Just wake him up when it happens," she said cheerfully.

And so, another sleepless night, another long day. But it was still a great day. I hope to blog about it soon over at Lilly and the Brothers. But it may be a while yet. I still have some Christmas catching up to do and a boy who is keeping me up at night with his not breathing tricks. So now, I am going to bed.

How grateful I am that it is not just at the New Year that we get a fresh start, but at the start of every day. It reminds me of this promise:

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His Mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning."

I hope to be back here soon, friends,

Greta