Googling Ex Boyfriends: Part 2

By popular demand, Mr. Francais is next....
Scene: Irvine, California, decades ago. I was 19 and about to move to Paris. I had a one way ticket and my bag was packed. He came into the restaurant where I was working as a waitress. The restaurant was called C'est La Vie. (Don't you just love irony?) He lived in Paris and was in So Cal on business. He had dinner, I bought him a glass of Napa Valley red. He gave me his card and asked me to call him when I arrived in Paris so he could take me out for a glass of French red. This sounded like a good idea. On our first date he took me here:

He ordered Steak Tartare. Have you ever seen anyone eat Steak Tartare? It consists of a large mound of obscenely expensive raw meat with an uncooked egg on top. It's not pleasant. But he was smart and attentive and fun. Here was the best part: He had a motorcycle. I would just like to say that riding on the back of a motorcycle through the streets of Paris, in the wee hours, holding on to a tall, leather jacketed, chain-smoking Frenchman who was smitten with me, was pretty sexy.

It looked like this:


P.S. He and I are still in touch. He lives in Paris with his gorgeous French wife and two gorgeous French children.

Googling Ex Boyfriends (Yeah, like you don't!)

This one was a totally inappropriate choice for me. Me, 16. Him, 26 ~ and had already been married. I used to ditch school and ride my bike to his house and listen to him play "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". Why my parents let me have anything to do with him, I'll never know. They didn't know about the ditching school part, or the divorced part, obviously. Maybe they thought he just looked a lot older than me. I was the 4th child, I think at that point, my mom was like, "whatever". However, I can assure you, if my 16 year old daughter brought one of these home, I would (in the words of Bridget Jones) "chop off his head and boil it for supper." Promise me you won't try to find out his identity. I might have a lawsuit on my hands. Blogging would be a lot less fun from the inside of a jail cell. Do you want to hear about the French one or the British one next?

CSI Portland: Update

Remember these boys? And how I said that they are sometimes banned from estate sales?

Thanks to my eagle eyed friend who saw the sign and provided the photo. I wonder if I should hire a bodyguard before I hit the estate sale highway today....

Frog Love

I saw this charmer recently at an antique mall. At $85, the price was too steep for me. I like my concrete cheap or free. I just love the happy couple on their conversation bench, sitting in the shade of a PINK umbrella! I hope that whoever came up with the idea of having the boy wear a top hat was justly rewarded.

The girl looks so content. Her little frog hands placed in her lap...she is such a lady.

A long weekend with the carpenter ants

This is where we spent Memorial Day weekend. Just a sullen teenage girl, a 9 year old pirate, my husband, me and 10,000 carpenter ants...all sharing 300 square feet! It was fantastic! Yes, boys and girls, this is our hut at Rockaway Beach on the Oregon Coast.

When we bought the property 5 years ago, the first line of the sale agreement was the purchase price of the lot. On the next line, the "value of structure" amount was a big, fat O. HA! What do you real estate geniuses know?

The hut was built off-site in the mid 40's, brought up the street on the back of a flatbed truck and placed, presumably by a bunch of beefy beach boys, exactly on the spot where it sits today. There is no foundation! The roof leaks buckets of rain! No way to contact the civilized world! We love it!

This is the dining room. I found the hutch at a garage sale ($15), painted it (in the rain) french blue and it fits perfectly! The fab metal chairs were $2 each. Can't wait to have my friend Beth re-upholster them. I'm currently on the lookout for the perfect shade for the green glass lamp, which has 2 bulbs; one on top, and one inside the green round base. Purchase price: $4

This is the kitchen. My son used to take baths in the sink, but now he's too big. I cook on the 2nd hand "condo size" stove. Usually spaghetti, spaghetti or sometimes, just for a change, spaghetti. Stay tuned for a photo tour of the garden...it may surprise you to hear I have some concrete friends at the beach too!

But honey, if the economy gets even worse, we could live in it!

Saw this little bit of heaven in my neighborhood the other day. I slammed on my brakes, then sped around the block and jumped out of the car to get a closer look. For Sale, $1500.

The shape!

The interior ~ turquoise details!

The charming and completely superfluous metal scrollwork decor!

The price was a bargain, but having to hire a divorce attorney would have cost much more, so I drove away. Very slowly.

Lungs and Junk

Last Saturday, my husband and his buddy Rick rode their bikes (100 miles!) from Portland to Pacific City. Reach the Beach is an annual fundraiser for the American Lung Association. A great ride for a great cause. It was a glorious day. On the way out to meet them ~ and certainly not traveling by bike ~ Charlie, his friend (& Rick's son) Henry, Hazel the dog and I made a stop in a tiny town called Willamina. With a name like Willamina, you just know that something special will be waiting. Friday Market did not disappoint..

Just inside the front door....

Jill is one of the co-owners. She let the boys use her bathroom (a critical point when you're 9 years old and have been in a car for 3 hours) and gave Hazel a bowl of water. Jill is my new best friend.

I am always drawn to these "roses" (painted seashells attached to plastic stems). I have seen red bouquets in the past, but never yellow! I am now kicking myself for not buying them. I think I feel a new collection coming on....

Rick and Mark at the end of the ride. Way to go, boys!

Potato Chip Cookie Update (Get a tissue!)

I'm very sad to have to report this, but the Potato Chip Cookies were a big, fat, salty bust.
It all started out fine, you know...cream the sugar and margarine, add the flour, oats, etc. The best part was adding the crushed chips...it felt a little subversive.

I was hoping for something magical and delish, but alas...they were mediocre oatmeal cookies with stale chips (they must absorb the moisture in the dough) in them. They weren't...special.

Even the potheads at my daughter's high school turned them down. And, you know, those kids will eat anything.

I won something!

Carole from A Bohemian Market chose several bloggers for a recent giveaway, and OGT was among the winners! I got to go to her Etsy store and choose something for free, which felt just a little bit like stealing. Then yesterday, I got this little box of joy in the mail. Inside was the vintage eyelet paper ribbon I chose (WOW!) AND a sweet locket AND a little gold Fleur de Lis...Carole must know I love anything and everything Frenchy. Merci Beaucoup Carole...tu es tres gentille! I have plans for the eyelet ribbon...just you wait to see what I have up my sleeve.

Junk Bonanza

Last Thursday, there was an intriguing sounding estate sale in the newspaper. It was in Vancouver, which is a bit of a schlepp from Portland, but Gail and I decided we were up for an adventure. When we got there, we saw a sign pointing us in the right direction. Literally.

The inside of the house was a big disappointment...over-priced, pointless stuff; nothing with any personality whatsoever. Just as we were about to throw in the towel, we decided to descend into the basement. It was a good move. Here's my haul:

2 unfinished PBN (nautical theme) canvasses in the box with the original pots of paint. Vintage kids jungle theme can, old cookbook with quirky title (The Mystery Chef's Own Cook Book), jewelry box with pink flower overlays, stack of vintage wrapping paper, 6 embroidered napkins, German vocabulary flash cards, and beachy stuff for our hut. For the sake of full disclosure: the green shell vase was found later that day at an antique mall. Paid more than I like to ($12), but I couldn't pass up that shape and color.

Here is a closer look at the beachy stuff. The abalone fish and the pelican S&P (gift from Gail) are both vintage "Rockaway Beach" souvenirs. I sort of squeal a little when I find R.B. stuff because that's where our hut lives.

I grabbed these jewelry boxes in the basement too. The one on the right has hand carved pansies, it needs a little repair, but I love it. I also picked up several vintage crafty mags for a song.

I didn't even know these goodies were tucked inside the black jewelry box until I got home.

This little hopitty girl was the find of the day.

Olympia and Hazel

The last time I posted about our cockapoo Hazel, she looked like this:

In the meantime, she got a very cropped hair do. In fact, she was shaved. She looked....naked. Something about her reminded me of this painting titled 'Olympia' by Edouard Manet.

So I decided to produce a photo shoot in order to replicate the masterpiece; including the pink flower placed just so on the side of Olympia's head. Hazel had other ideas...

This was the best I could get:

Will, Williams and Billy

Will is the proprietor of Rita Deco's World in the Hollywood District in NE Portland. RDW is a definite go-to kind of place when you're in the mood for some yummy junk. And frankly, who isn't? Recently, Will blogged about finding some uber fab vintage potato chip bags. I begged him to put one aside for me. He did. And just look at it! Made by the Williams Potato Chip Co. of Seattle, Portland and San Francisco.

I think I'm in love with Billy...

Clearly, the Williams Co. did not have much confidence in the intelligence of the American consumer back in the day, since they felt it was necessary to print Tips on Chips on the back of the bag. How to BUY potato chips. How to CARE FOR potato chips. And my personal favorite: How to USE potato chips.

Recipes were also printed on the bag. Tuna Casserole ~ smothered in potato chips ~ Natch!

But this one really got me going...Potato Chip Cookies!

Don't think I won't be whipping up a batch of these in a New York minute..and I'll bring you along for the ride, dear reader!

Stay Tuned...

Happy Mother's Day

Mother's Day is wonderful because the Lily of the Valley are always in bloom.
In Ireland, they are called "Fairy Ladders". Sweet.

Junk Becomes Useful ~ Part 6

Today's riddle:

What do you get when you combine vintage buttons from your collection...

with fab old fruit doodads you found in a stranger's attic at an estate sale?

You get Tutti Fruitti Spring rings...

and hair clips!

I'm putting these in my Etsy shop this weekend!

Arrividerci Dom!

Dom DeLuise died this week. Our family shed a few tears and ate meatballs. You see, we love Dom Deluise at our house. Not because of his acting talent ~ and I use the term loosely ~ in the Cannonball Run series or The History of the World Part I, but because of his meatballs. Actually, it was his mother's recipe; Dom included it in his cookbook. How can you not love a guy who names his cookbook "EAT THIS" ?

I have made these for family and friends from East coast to West. They are beloved by all. Here you go, girls:

Ingredients (for about 25 meatballs) )

(OGT's note: Bigger than a golf ball, smaller than a tennis ball)

2 pounds ground chuck
1/2 pound of ground pork
2 cups Italian-flavored bread crumbs
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup fresh parsley chopped
1 cup grated cheese parmesan
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves chopped very fine
1 onion minced
1/2 cup pignoli (pine nuts) (optional) (OGT's note: but if you leave them out, you'll be sorry)

Instructions

Place all ingredients in a large bowl and mix throughly. Let stand 1/2 hour. Shape into medium-size meatballs. Fry gently in olive oil until lightly browned, or place on foil on a cookie sheet and bake for 1/2 hour at 35o degrees. Gently place in your own hot spagetti sauce and cook on medium-low heat for 1 hour.

(More) Booty as a Pirate would define it....

I haven't been to many estate sales recently. First of all, I've been feeling sort of fluish. Secondly, I was contending with the I-have-so-much-stuff-in-the-garage-already-that-I-can't-buy-another-thing fever. Fortunately, it was just a 24 hour thing.
Anywho ~ Here is my haul from a sale 3 weeks ago....

Handmade doll in a turquoise gingham dress, vintage chalet style jewelry/music box, a French Haviland porcelain sugar bowl, oil & vingegar cruet, 2 vintage bead necklaces, baby rick rack in a rainbow of colors, fun purple trim and a tiny birdhouse lightbulb. (I'll tell you about the framed purple item in the back in a future post.)

Vintage Hallmark Halloween decorations, a stack of owl notecards, buttons, buttons and more buttons. My faves are the tiny white baby ones front and center.

Christmas goodies...a cookie tin with a winter scene, 2 children's craft books in original boxes, 3 linen towels, a Holt Howard deer candle holder from 1960 (the year of my birth), and a handful of colorful vintage bells.

3 blue Ball jars (can't get enough of these), set of 4 shot glasses, a Navy man flower vase ("Hello Sailor! Looove the anchor tattoo!") and a sweet little glass jar with lid which was marked 50 cents. When I got home and dumped out the random contents, I found a quarter! So I got it for half price without even trying.

And finally, 3 vintage games in perfect condition: Tiddly Winks, Yahtzee and Mille Bornes, BH&G Handyman's Book, a how to draw cartoons book, vintage floral notecards and a 1940's instruction book for art teachers. It's falling apart at the seams, but I don't care. It's wonderful. I'll show you some of the pages another day....