My RED Kitchen

Years ago, I found the cutest lil' creamer in a thrift store. It was covered in tiny strawberries with lime green dots. Upon turning the piece over, I found the name of the pattern printed on the bottom to be called "Strawberry Swiss Dot".


And with that lil' ole' find, two obsessions were born...

Ebay and a ridiculously RED kitchen.

After the acquisition of the strawberry creamer, I diligently searched and found, piece by piece, the rest of the entire Strawberry Swiss Dot set. I have four dessert plates, four coffee mugs, the cake plate, the sugar bowl, and the teapot.





I added lots of strawberry items to my kitchen.













Upon noting my love of all things strawberry, my Mom gave me a beautiful set of embroidered strawberry place mats with matching napkins.



When I couldn't find anymore strawberry items, I focused in on cherry items.









My Mom painted this picnic basket with cherries and ladybugs. She also added the sweet cherries fabric liner. I love it!




I started collecting vintage cake carriers, tablecloths, aprons, colanders, trays, ice buckets, granite ware / enamelware, thermo serve items, and condiment holders.















This beautiful tablecloth was my grandmothers. My Mom tells me that grandma used to put it out on the fold away card table every time her friends would come over to play pinochle.



I then took a liking to anything that was red gingham.







And things that had to do with old time diner images, like burgers, popcorn & hot dogs.









I started looking for nifty things that had to do with Elvis and Vegas... as long as they had some red in them.









The buffet hutch drawers are full of wonderful textiles.







I honestly do not have room for another thing, but you know if I find something special... I'll make it "fit" somewhere.

They're Back

And the world is as it should be once again...



Mark and I went to the grocery store this morning to fill the fridge and pantry for the kids.

Jake and Sara both have a friend over today to spend the night.

We've been to blockbuster to rent movies and a game for xbox.

We've been to the dollar store to buy candy and old fashioned paper pop corn bags for the "movie marathon night" the kids are planning.

The fridge has been opened at least 20 times.

The screen door has slammed shut more than that.

The phone is ringing off the hook.

"MOM"! has been called down the stairs about 15 times so far.

GOD! It's good to have them home!

I'm NOT Eating That

There is a Sara Lee Chocolate cake within the confines of that cake saver.

I AM NOT EATING THAT!

I had a Smoothie for breakfast and a wonderful lunch consisting of grilled Talipia, brown rice and a salad.

Yesterday, I rode the stationary bike for about 45 minutes.

I'm trying to eat healthier and take some weight off. My pants are a little loose, but I don't know how much weight I've lost because our scale is broken. That's probably just as well. I can become ridiculously obsessed with the NUMBER, that shows up in digital RED, from above the toes of my feet, when I step on it.

At the age of 44 and having lost a loved one recently, I just want to do what I can to live longer. I don't want to freak out about a number of pounds, but would rather just see myself in a smaller size while feeling better.



I can smell it...

But I'm not going to eat it!

My kids come home tomorrow. I'll tell them to invite their friends over and have at it...

Cedar Chest Memories

There is an antique cedar chest, passed down to me from my Mother, that sits at the foot of our bed.

It holds all my sentimental items from my children's baby photos, all the little pictures and gifts my kids have made me to every single card my husband has given me.

Every time I lift it's squeaky lid, I am flooded with the smell of cedar and an almost overflowing collection of memories.

Mark and I recently celebrated our 9 year wedding anniversary so I was putting the anniversary cards away in it.

Feeling a little melancholy today and missing my kids... I know I shouldn't have "lingered" there...

But I did...

And although I teared up a little at some of the children's precious projects and words to me, I also smiled a lot when I came across my high school yearbook, scrapbook, wedding album, as well as an old photo of my sister and I.

Here is my graduation picture.



Here is Mark's (husband) graduation picture. We both graduated in the same class at the same school in 1982.



Here is a yearbook picture of Mark and I in the halls of our high school.



These are my best friends from high school. From left to right: Bob (Bobby to me, lol), Irene, Mark (my husband), Me, Darrin (my highschool sweetheart of three years) & Dave. This picture was taken on Senior Skip Day. My boyfriend Darrin was good friends with my husband Mark. Bob & Mark are still best friends to this day. Bob dated my best friend Irene so we were a pretty tight group back then.



This picture was taken on Graduation night when all of us seniors had a bon fire at the lake to burn all of our homework and term papers. Left to right Bobby, Darrin, & Mark.



Here's Mark and Darrin at an "after prom party" that we went to. Mark and his date, Bob & Irene and Darrin and I all went to prom together.



Here is Mark and I on our wedding day, July 25th, 1999.



Now I'm so nostalgic over these photo's and memories. I'm listening to 80's music and reminiscing.



Here's the picture of me and my sister. We are 9 months apart.

They're Gone

My kids left on Wednesday at 5:00pm to go to their Dads for his first extended vacation with them. They won't be back with me until 9:00am next Friday (8/8).

I don't think I'll make it :(

Blame it on the Pillow

See that pretty little pillow, with the roses on it, gracing the middle of our bed?

Well... let's just say...

If my husband and I were to ever divorce...

We can blame it on the pillow.


I acquired that pillow from an auction on ebay. It was made from a salvaged vintage Wilender rose patterned tablecloth. I really like the way it ties our light blue gingham comforter and bedding to the little pink roses in the dark blue wallpaper, that covers the bottom half of the walls.


We have a beautiful, queen size, mahogany wood, four poster bed. It sits so high off the ground, that I will require one of those little sets of steps to get up into, when I get a little older. It has an excellent mattress set, covered with a down mattress protector, followed by Egyptian cotton sheets, followed by a lightweight down comforter, with yet another decorative comforter on top of that. The end of the bed holds a vintage popcorn chenille bedspread with an heirloom style quilted blanket throw on top of that. There are 6 pillows at the head of the bed and two layered white eyelet lace bed skirts, under the box springs, to cover the enormous space between the frame and the floor.

Most people could and would do without ALL that stuff on their bed, but I truly like the way it looks, and more than that... the way it feels. All the fluff makes me feel safe and cozy.



My husband makes that bed everyday. I kid you not... he makes our bed every single day. He pulls the flat sheet up and folds it over the the two comforters, making sure that each layer is shown. He picks up and straightens the two blankets that have inevitably slipped down onto the cedar chest, at the foot of our bed sometime during the night. He fluffs up the pillows and even arranges them so that the three different sets of pillowcases match up side by side as they are stacked three deep.

But... he won't pick up, and put back, the Wilender roses pillow that he "flicks or swats backhanded" off the bed every night. I find it every morning, on the floor, next to my side of the bed.

I've asked him about the pillow in a joking manner a few times. I always get a vague, slightly unresponsive answer, as to why the pillow remains on the floor day after day. It doesn't make sense to be able to put together a bed that most men would find intimidating and challenging, yet leave that one little ole' pillow behind.

Every once in awhile I will find the pillow on the bed, but turned vertical like the picture below.



Now, don't get me wrong. I am not complaining. I could never be mad at him about the pillow on the floor. The guy makes the bed. I can pick the pillow up. No problem. I just find it humorous.


Like a cat that shows it's protest by peeing outside the litter box... I believe that leaving the pillow on the floor is my husbands way of saying...

There's enough shit on the bed.

Shock & Sadness

I haven’t had a whole lot to write since I’ve been back from our short holiday with the kids.

Our arrival home was met with a very sad phone call.

My Uncle Vince died while we were on vacation. My Mom, Sister, and oldest daughter waited until we got home before telling me/us.

My Uncle went in for a scheduled hip replacement surgery the other day. I had made a mental note to send him a card when I returned home from vacation.

The surgery went well and my Uncle was recovering nicely but then his blood started clotting. The hospital put him on thinners and he was told to lie very still. They told him not to even cough. But he died anyway.

This is such a shock to our family. He was only 60 something. He was a healthy person. He always exercised and watched his weight. His passing wasn’t even a remote thought to any of us.

Life just isn't fair sometimes.


I’d love to tell you about our special family bond to Uncle Vince.

My Uncle Vince “was” married to my Aunt Betty. Aunt Betty is my Mom’s sister. Uncle Vince and Aunt Betty have been divorced for years and years now, yet always remained friends.

Through the years, my Uncle Vince had become one of my Dad’s best friends. They were poker buddies. My Uncle used to work in marketing at the Mandalay Bay out in Vegas before retiring to Tennessee, where half of my family now resides. I’ve written before about meeting in Vegas for family vacations every year and so our visits out there always included time with Uncle Vince.

When my Aunt Betty decided to marry Karl in November of 2000 at The Monte Carlo in Vegas, it was my Uncle Vince that “gave” her away. Karl was always a big enough man to accept and embrace the love our family had for my Uncle Vince, despite the fact that his new wife was Uncle Vince's former wife.


We’re all originally from Michigan. Aunt Betty and Uncle Karl moved to Tennessee first. Then my parents retired there a few years ago. Then my cousin Rachel and her daughter moved there (She is Aunt Betty and Uncle Vince’s youngest daughter). Then Uncle Vince finally left Vegas for Tennessee. My sister and I are the only ones left here in Michigan now.

When Uncle Vince was waiting for the closing on his home, in Tennessee, it was Uncle Karl who insisted that Uncle Vince stay with him and Aunt Betty until it was time for the move, rather than stay in a hotel.

My sister and I, and our respective broods, would vacation in Tennessee during the summer. You should have seen “our family” take over “The Golden Corral Buffet” when meeting for meals. With the restaurants long tables, and food choices to satisfy even the pickiest of eaters, this was the best way to get together all at once, without a big mess to clean up afterwards. It was so nice to look across the table at this wonderful group of people laughing and sharing life.


And so we have been “one big happy family” for years. I always felt special to be a part of this unique family, because it wasn’t just my Aunt Betty and Uncle Vince who made it work. It was my Mom, it was my Dad, it was my cousins, it was Uncle Karl, it was us. And I had the pleasure of viewing my ideal version of what family life could be like after a marriage no longer worked. You’d never know that “divorce” was part of the equation. There was no “ex-husband”, “ex-wife”, “step-Dad” drama. There was no bitter animosity. Never was there a threatened insecure “new” spouse.

There was just a lot of love from an incredible family.

And we miss him.