Gone, Finally Gone....

Yep, they are finally gone... no not the relatives, not the leftovers packed into the fridge, not the decorations....

The PERFUME COMMERCIALS !!!

and I am so glad. They absolutely drive me nuts! Even a cowboy from Texas (I can say that because I live in Texas...) has to sound like he's French. Not Cajun French either (which I can say because I'm from Louisiana...), but French French. From Paris French. 

So, because we must give the not-French commercials a decent goodbye, here are my picks for this year.... 

J'adore, Dior

Charlize Theron is decidedly beautiful, 

but not French

Burberry

#1 -- why would anyone name a fragrance after a coat?

#2 -- Um, do you get the idea that these two like, really like, one another?

Now for the guys....

Bleu de Chanel

"I'm not going to be the person I'm expected to be anymore"

Huh?

What does this mean?

But I do think the guy might actually be French!!

and... drum roll please... 

last but certainly not least.....

Can you guess?

Now this is a real man's fragrance...

don't you love it!

And on that note, I'll wish each of you a Happy and Prosperous New Year!

~ sharing on AlphabeThursday where we are studying the letter G

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Pooped Snowman

This guy needs a long winter's nap!

Guess he got tired of waiting for that snow!

I'm afraid he'll have a long wait here in Texas...

~sharing on Blue Monday

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Dear Santa...

I was going through a box of old school stuff of my kids..... 

and came across their letters to Santa back in 1989! 

Adam was in 3rd grade, and Stephanie was in Kindergarten. I'm not sure if they did these in school or if I had a sneaky plan in mind, but if you promise not to tell them..... shhh.... I was Santa!!  I apparently tried to write with flourishes and make my letters nothing like I really wrote them. I can tell it was me, but I think they were fooled!

We always left milk and cookies for Santa (do you think he ever got tired of milk and cookies and just wanted a beer and peanuts instead?!!)  Of course, Santa had to eat it all and leave crumbs and traces of milk behind!

I love it that they each drew a picture of Santa -- 

Adam's is so skinny (he always drew skinny people for some reason) 

and notice the RED mustache and NO BEARD!

and Stephanie's is just a big head....

and hmmm,  no beard either!

I really cherish these Santa letters because the next year was the year of the...

BIG  QUESTION!

Adam told me he wanted to ask me something ..... and led me into the garage.....

He leaned against the car, me against the washing machine.  I knew this would be a BIG QUESTION. (And, frankly, it wasn't the BIG QUESTION I thought it would be! LOL!)

Big intake of breath. Serious looks.

So, Mom, tell me the truth   (uh-oh)

Is Santa real??

OK, quick thinking here -- but I knew the only thing to do was to come clean. This kid was SERIOUS.

So I launched into the "Santa isn't a real person, but is the spirit of giving" talk. That he's fun for everyone to be excited about.  etc, etc.

Adam seemed to take all this in pretty well -- and agreed that he wouldn't let on to Stephanie.

And then he said.....

So I guess it's the same for the TOOTH FAIRY and the EASTER BUNNY too.....

All gone, in one fell swoop......

~ sharing on Alphabe-Thursday where we are studying the letter D



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Special Santas ~ My Favorite Things

I have lots of Santas to be displayed at Christmastime, but two are very special ones.  They both belonged to a very dear aunt and I am so glad that I have them today.

  I remember this roly-poly one on display in her home every Christmas. She painted it and I remember asking why the fur on his hat was black. She said it was so that you could see it since it was right next to his beard. I guess that satisfied me, but when Noli asked the same thing she insisted that it should be white and "of course you can tell his beard from his hat!" Can you believe it -- so many years later, she asks the same question as I did!

As you can see, he has a very round tummy! He's heavy so I guess he must eat a lot of Christmas cookies! He's made of a solid plaster -- I imagine my aunt painted him back in the 40s or 50s. She would spiff him up and repaint where necessary every few years but I have left him as he was when she gave him to me. I don't want to paint over her art!

I was thrilled when she gave him to me after I had married! She knew how precious he was to me and now he brings back lovely memories of my aunt. 

This Santa, on the other hand, has been on a diet so he's not so chubby. The same aunt painted him in the 60s or early 70s and gave him to me sometime in the 80s.  At first I wasn't so wild about him but, over the years, have grown to love him. Sometimes I put Christmas cards in his bag, but lately I've let him hold some poinsettias. Maybe this year I'll put some tiny toys in his bag instead!

He has sparkly glitter on his fur, and I love his blue eyes and cute bald head! Oh yeah, questions from Noli on the bald head too!! 

And every year, Stephanie asks when I'm going to give him to her. Well, she'll just have to wait a while longer! But I'm glad she wants him, and the roly-poly Santa too... I imagine they will be passed down to Noli some day.

These two special Santas are usually the first decorations I put out -- they each have their own special place of honor  :)

This reminds me, I'd better get crackin' on the Christmas decor -- I still have all my fall/Thanksgiving pumpkins out! Nothing like being a lazy bones in the holiday decorating department!

Any other lazy bones out there? 


~ sharing at
Vintage Bliss Tuesdays 
Vintage Inspiration Party
What's It Wednesday
Share Your Cup Thursday



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The Fairest One of All

Here it is December and all of blog land is filled with the red and green of Christmas....

But I'm sharing blue and red and yellow today on the dress of the cutest Snow White you'll ever see! I love it when a customer shares a photo of their child with one of my crochet toys -- it's so much fun to see!

This little cutie is all dressed up as Snow White and ready to go to a Halloween party! I bet she was the hit of the party! Mama bought one of my red apples as a go-with -- I assured her that it was a sweet apple and never picked by any witch! LOL!

Don't you just love the tutu dress she's wearing? Adorable, and it's handmade too! I'm totally in love with her sweet headband and her little red shoes. She is just the cutest of the cute! Or maybe "the fairest one of all."  :)


~ sharing on:
Blue Monday 
Monday Mellow Yellows


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Remembering Cali Mae and CJ

It's always hard to say goodbye to a friend. A kitty friend is no exception. This is a small remembrance of Cali Mae and Cali, Jr. which I hope will bring some smiles :) 

 Cali Mae and Cali, Jr. (as a kitten)

Do you see Cali's floofy tail? (She apparently likes to hold up sticks with it...)

CJ has Cali's coloring, but is short haired and no floofyness!

Cali Mae ventured into our yard a couple of years ago and became our first outside kitty, and Cali, Jr. (or as we called her, CJ) was one of her kittens. As cats do, they checked out the wooded area behind our house, and wherever their noses led them, but always showed up for breakfast and dinner, and did a lot of napping and playing and sunning in our yard.

Camouflage Cali hiding

Whoops, there she is!

About six months ago Cali Mae stopped showing up for feeding, and after a week we knew she wasn't coming back. She was the sweetest kitty and I can only hope that she found a loving home, or perhaps went to the Rainbow Bridge without pain and met up with others who have gone before her. (Remember, no tears! Smiles for her, please!!)

Cali and her kittens

CJ on the left, Yellow Kitty and Funny Face

(Funny Face is still with us and is the patriarch of the family)

I love this sweet pic of the adult CJ

It's been a couple of weeks since we saw CJ, so I can only assume that she has followed in her mom's pawsteps. She was a feisty one, always on the lookout and never one to be petted. Even so, we still had tender feelings for her and enjoyed her time with us. 

She was a good mother to her kittens -- they live in our yard now and are the sweetest, allowing us to pet them, even pick them up! and circling our legs the way cats do. 

CJ's kittens: Phantom, Golden Marmalade, Opera, Thunder Paw, Oreo

Snoozing on the shed steps.

Woke them up!

(did you catch Phantom and Opera? heh heh, you can see Opera's mask and Phantom's is the same and their coloring is exactly like CJ's! 

CJ in all her kitty cuteness....

Always with that worried expression on her face!

Cali with those piercing yellow-green eyes, 

always watching

Both such sweet kitties. Even though we will miss them, we have lots of funny and touching memories to think back on....

sharing Cali and CJ.... 
~ AlphabeThursday where we are studying the letter C
~ Share Your Cup Thursday


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Butterball ~~ Big or Itty-Bitty?

So, do you get a big turkey like this fluffy guy....

and then serve him up

like Norman Rockwell

(LDphotography on Etsy)

Or do you just sit an itty-bitty guy like this one on the table

and have vegetarian turkey instead?

This is Tommy Turkey and he is a tiny guy

I sold him, along with his two brothers,

to a lady who wanted triplets! 

Do you watch this huge guy leading the Thanksgiving Day parade?

No matter the size of your turkey, or how many are around your table,

I wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

and just for fun, here's the Thanksgiving Day parade from 1935...

Gobble Gobble!

~sharing on Alphabe-Thursday where we are studying the letter B

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Along Magnolia Lane -- A Brand New Blog!

I kind of fell off the edge of the earth for a while there, but I'm crawling back on -- and with a whole new look!

I found myself stressing much too much about blogging, and trying to keep up with two blogs -- and in reality, nothing much was getting done on either blog. Mostly, my vintage blog, Magnolia's Attic, was the one falling apart at the seams, but Magnolia Surprise seemed to only have posts for Alphabe-Thursday and not much more.

Sooo, I thought and thought, and fumed and worried, and finally decided to reduce the stress and only have one blog. So I continued to think about how to accomplish this, and what I wanted to write about…. and came up with Along Magnolia Lane. So, although the look is a  bit different, it's still me behind the keyboard, and I hope you'll keep following -- and that Magnolia's Attic followers will join me here on Magnolia Lane as well. I basically just changed the name and look of Magnolia Surprise -- I didn't want to start a whole new blog, just spiff up the existing one and merge the two.

I wanted to keep the word "Magnolia" to tie in with my Etsy shops, and I wanted to blog about the things I make and the things I find on my thrifting excursions, as well as adventures with Noli, fun stuff I happen upon, and of course, letting Oliver take over my blog every now and then (he's got his own kitty agenda so "letting him" isn't exactly the right word…..) Anyway, I think this is the right direction to take, and I can again feel the excitement of an idea popping into my mind, or taking a cool photo, and rushing to the computer to write it all down!

I had some fun yesterday designing my new banner…. Magnolia Roseville vases that were my mother's, Magnolia aka Noli, a sweet and serious pic of Oliver, and some crochet foodies. I have purchased a pattern for a crochet magnolia which I plan to put in the place of the food…. so the food is just a holding place for now. I thought the Roseville would indicate vintage, the crochet magnolia would be for crochet (duh!) and of course Noli and Oliver are my partners in crime. 

Oliver insisted that I include a photo of him and threatened dire consequences if I didn't

So I got him good..... and only showed his foot and tail.

That'll teach him!

Don't expect that crochet magnolia for a while yet, although I'm anxious to make it….. I've got to work on replacing foodies in Magnolia Surprise that were depleted by a large order! Yay!! 

Double yay for the little girl who will find a bunch of fruits, veggies and desserts under the Christmas tree!

Wow, I've really got to get used to these larger photos! They seem HUGE!

I have written a little introduction about Magnolia Lane and I'd love for you to read it -- it's an imaginary place but hopefully explains a bit about my three Etsy shops in a fun way. I am not one to bombard you about the stuff I sell, but since that's a large part of what I do every day, it only follows that I would write about it!

I can't wait to get going on my new blog and hope you will follow along!  It's still a work in progress -- I really need to change up that right sidebar!

Funny how Along Magnolia Lane just happens to begin with the letter "A" and coincides with the 10th beginning of Alphabe-Thursday. You'd think I planned it that way…..


~ sharing on 
Alphabe-Thursday where we are studying the letter A
Ivy and Elephants for What's It Wednesday
Knick of Time for Vintage Inspiration Party
Share Your Cup Thursday



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Shipping Assistant Oliver

>^.^<

Hewwo, Oliver here. I have taken over Mommy's blog today to tell you about my new job.... In addition to being King Kitty and Boss around here, I am also Chief Cat Shipping Assistant (CCSA for short). I have many duties and am well paid in kitty treats!

I hold down the boxes from the Post Office 

and make sure they don't fall off the bed

Extra benefit.... they are a good place for a nap

I hold down the regular boxes and make sure they don't fly away.

There are more boxes in the closet, 

but Mommy won't let me in there.

(I don't know why 'cause all I do is cat nap)

The box stack is also a great place for a nap

I inspect the inside of boxes and make sure all the paper stuff is out

Hey, quit looking at my tush

CCSA's are private kitties

Mommy got a new printer thingie

so I have to make sure she got all the pieces parts out of the box

Very good! Everything is out!

Also a good place for a nap

My most important CCSA job

is to watch for the Post Person to come by

And for all this work, I get kitty treats! Meowzer!

(Plus lots of good napping places, heh heh)

If you have a kitty, put him to work as a CCSA,

he will reward you with purrs. 

I guarantee it.

>^.^<

~ sharing on Alphabe-Thursday where we are studying the letter S (say Hi to Miss Jenny while you're there, 'cause she's feeling poorly.) Mommy and I are sending (((hugs))).

>^.^<