Step Right Up!

The inspiration for this post came from Angie at Knick of Time, where she displayed some great ladders and step stools.

We have a collection of ladders here; some vintage, some not, and most all still currently used!

A great old paint-splattered stool I was going to use in the garden as a plant stand until I was halted by the Headmaster (!) ...

Instead, I used my cute little cast iron milk stool I won at the most fabulous barn auction last year.  Sadly, none (barn auctions) to be found this year.

A regular old wooden ladder, still used.  (And that's a look into my chicken coop storage unit potting shed; it's very, very old...)

A sweet little wooden ladder from down in our dungeonesque basement...

But--my favorite is this old cherry picking ladder I picked up last year at a local antique shop.  It's unique design allows one side to be placed on the opposite side of a branch or limb to make picking easier.  It currently resides straddled in our huge (waaay too big) apple tree.

Look at all those apples on the ground!!!

Thanks for visiting, and happy climbing!

These ladders will be visiting at some of the following this week:

Inspire Me Monday ~ Create With Joy

Masterpiece Monday ~ Boogieboard Cottage

Mop It Up Monday ~ I Should Be Mopping The Floor

Debbiedoo's Newbie Party ~ Debbiedoo's

Mosaic Monday ~ The Little Red House

Show Me What You Got ~ Our Delightful Home

Metamorphosis Monday ~ Between Naps on the Porch

A Return to Lovliness ~A Delightsome Life

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday  Coastal Charm 

Time to Shine ~ A Diamond in the Stuff 

Table Top Tuesday ~ A Stroll Thru Life 

One Project at a Time ~ A Bowl Full of Lemons

Tuesday's Treasures ~ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Show Me What Ya Got ~ Not JUST a Housewife

Be Inspired ~ Elizabeth & Co.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Create With Joy

What's It Wednesday ~ Ivy and Elephants

Primp Your Stuff Wednesday ~ Primp

Wow Us Wednesday ~ Savvy Southern Style 

Show & Share ~ Southern Lovely

Home Sweet Home ~ The Charm of Home

Home and Garden Thursday ~ A Delightsome Life
Tips and Tutorials ~ Stone Gable

Potpourri Friday ~ 2805

Vintage Inspiration ~ Common Ground

It's Fall, Y'all~ Thrifty Decor Chick

Fresh Eggs Daily ~ Farm Girl Friday Blogfest

My Romantic Home  ~Show and Tell Friday

Furniture Feature Friday ~ Miss Mustard Seed

Flaunt It Friday ~ Chic on a Shoestring

Saturday Nite Special ~ Funky Junk Interiors

My Favorite Thing ~ Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Under the Table and Dreaming ~ Sunday Showcase

Sunday's Best Party ~ My 1929 Charmer

It's Party Time ~ It's So Very Cheri

The Tablescaper ~ Seasonal Sundays

Pull Up a Chair!

My favorite shop in Door County (Wisconsin), has become Julie's Upscale Resale Shop (check here for other neat things I've found there this summer).  Julie does her customers a great service by posting daily some photos of new items that come into the store on her Facebook page.  Since we're about an hour away, that's very helpful!  Last week, a precious chair appeared and she was kind enough to hold it for me!  Today I drove up to pick it up and saw it for the first time; what a treat!  I thought I'd share this beautiful thing with all of you!

The fabric is probably an 'imitation' needlepoint; the stitches are too perfect!  It's a little shabby, and at some point I'll have to take it apart and re-upholster, but for now, I'm just loving the colors!

The Headmaster is showing the back of the chair; fabric is a solid.  Please notice that he has a sticker on that says 'I VOTED TODAY!'  It's election day in Wisconsin today!

This beauty was apparently manufactured by the Colonial Furniture Company in Grand Rapids, MI, and inspected by No. 22!  Also, please note that they 'build to a standard, not down to a price!'  

A little detail of the carving on the leg...

I'm so happy with my find and will probably just look at it all night!

Sharing with Wow Us Wednesday

What's It Wednesday

Potpourri Friday

Flaunt It Friday

Thrifty Things Friday

Furniture Feature Friday

Seasonal Sundays

Debbie-Doo's Newbie Party

Mop It Up Mondays

Tabletop Tuesday

Furniture Feature Friday

Thrifting on the Door Peninsula

 Thursday provided us with another gorgeous day in northeast Wisconsin; blue skies, a slight breeze, and temps in the 70s.  There is a fabulous resale shop that I've been following on Facebook lately and I was dying to see it.  Julie's Upscale Resale Shop (Sister Bay, WI) did NOT disappoint!  There was so much to see--a great variety of things!  Julie says that drop offs come in everyday, all day, and I managed to acquire some great things!  Here they are!

This fabulous picnic basket had just been dropped off earlier in the day...

There was even a fork included--don't think I'll be using that!  

The center tray is removable...I thought it was a great piece...and VERY reasonable, too!

This precious little metal basket with a sturdy wire bottom will hopefully assist in cutting down some clutter in the bathroom...

There are dozens of these lovely vintage handkerchiefs at Julie's...I grabbed two!  As great as these finds were, this was the greatest of all:

A fabulous Staffordshire Ironstone pitcher and bowl, made in England...very heavy, large, and very beautiful!  I've been watching this online for several weeks and was so excited to see it still available; I simply had to have it!  If you look to the left, you will see the ears of  Assistant #2 peeking up, as well, I believe, the 'blue hour' from the back door!

It was a great afternoon; if you're ever in Door County, by all means visit Julie!  They seem to have a great time there!
Have a great weekend, everyone!

Sharing at the following Gatherings:
Seasonal Sundays ~ The Tablescaper
It's So Very Cherie
I Should Be Mopping the Floor ~ Mop It Up Mondays
Debbie Doo's Newbie Party
Savvy Southern Style ~ Wow Us Wednesday

Bird's Eye View

Back of the house in the winter (!) in Wisconsin(!)  What's wrong with this picture?

Our home in Wisconsin is over 100 years old; it's the house where the Headmaster grew up.  A number of years ago, he undertook the mammoth project of completely updating and renovating.  This involved every room in the house:  gutting, moving walls, redoing plumbing, etc.  I continue to be in awe of what he did...and all by himself.  Very little of the work was contracted out.

The only 'room' left untouched, however, is our basement.  Now, many homes have basements that are quite nicely finished and furnished and look as nice or nicer than the main house.

Not ours.

Our basement is very 'dungeon-esque.'  It's kind of creepy, in fact!  One of my projects this summer is to get down there and do a major cleaning out of many of the gazillion nails, screws, nuts, bolts, etc., etc.  that haven't been touched in years!

While plundering around down there last summer, I happened upon this piece of furniture (I knew it was down there but had forgotten about it).  Though it had some flaws, it was too nice to languish 'below ground.'  So, up it came.  I brought it up on the deck; cleaned it up really well, and re-attached drawer bottoms, etc.  There is still a problem with one handle (which I have) but haven't figured out yet how to attach it.  I'll figure that out this year.

The piece is a lovely bird's eye maple!  I love, LOVE the warmth of the wood, and at a certain time of the day when the sunlight hits it, it simply glows!  I managed to find the perfect spot for it - in the kitchen where storage is very minimal!  And...how do you like the old watering can with dried hydrangeas from our developing garden?

Had I known I would be doing this blog, there would be more and much better pictures, I promise!  

There's at least one more treasure down there that I plan to refurbish this year.  It might just be my maiden voyage into Annie Sloan Chalk Paint!  Stay tuned!

I'll be linking to the following this week:

Between Naps on the Porch ~ Metamorphosis Monday

Debbie-Doos Newbie Party

Savvy Southern Style ~Wow Us Wednesday

Ivy and Elephants ~ What's It Wednesday

Catch a Glimpse Thursday ~ A Glimpse Inside

Chic on a Shoestring ~ Flaunt It Friday

My Romantic Home  ~Show and Tell Friday
Miss Mustard Seed ~ Furniture Friday

Funky Junk Interiors ~ Saturday Night Special

Under the Table and Dreaming ~ Sunday Showcase

The Tablescaper ~ Seasonal Sundays
Simply Klassic Home ~ Simply Klassic Sunday

Plating the Oyster!

Photo by Bethany L. King

Behold...the OYSTER!  For many people (but not for all, including the Headmaster), there is nothing better than a plate full of fat, cold, salty oysters on a bed of ice with just a little ketchup, a lot of horseradish, and a dash of lemon juice--and of course, some wonderful person to shuck them!  What a fabulous treat!  Sadly, as a result of the BP oil spill two years ago, many of the oyster beds of the Gulf Coast were heavily affected, and oyster production, once highly prolific in the area, plummeted to lows never before seen.  But there is good news:  the beds are rejuvenating and the industry is starting to bounce back.  Prices are still quite high, but there are a number of restaurants that advertise special 'raw oyster nights' where the prices are great and the oysters are fat and delicious!  As we are now in April, this is traditionally the last month of the 'season', as oysters weren't traditionally consumed during the months of May, June, July, or August (the only ones without an 'R').  Back in the day, this was observed mainly because of the heat of the summer and the lack of refrigeration; today, however, oysters are great to eat anytime--and I can attest to the fact that they are yummy AND safe!

These days, oysters are served in ordinary plastic trays or platters if you are having them raw.  However, in Victorian times, you might have had yours presented to you in one of the thousands of oyster plates that were in high fashion during that time.

  Since that time, oyster plates have become highly collectible, and can be found in antique shops and online sites ranging from a few to thousands of dollars (I, myself, am in the few dollar category)!  While there are serious collectors out there, I am not one of them; I look for what I like and if the price is really, really right, I might buy it.  Occasionally it comes with a Limoges or Haviland mark on the back; for me, that's nice but not necessary.  These plates can be very beautiful and can compliment  most any collection of china.  Here are a few of mine:

 Thanks to the Headmaster, we recently discovered another use for these beautiful plates: a vehicle for deviled eggs!  So, though you may not be an oyster lover, you might want to consider them to hold the eggs for next year's Easter celebration!

Thank you for visiting my new blog, and have a wonderful week!  Your comments are most appreciated, and I welcome your following me!

Here is a link to more information concerning oyster plates; additionally, you may view even more of these beautiful dishes on my Pinterest board!

Linking to A Stroll Through Life for Tabletop Tuesday
                Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesday
                Ivy and Elephants for What's It Wednesday
                Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday
                Chic on a Shoestring for Flaunt It Friday