You're pushing my buttons

I have a new addiction.


Like I need a new one, right?  There are already two obvious ones:  Kid Rock and Shells.  Any others that are existent in my life are for me to know and you to find out... na na na na boo boo.


My new addiction could perhaps be labeled an obsession. 
Hoarder might be better word.  Alright, to be honest, my husband already calls me a hoarder of shells and vintage wood boxes.  


What does he know.


When I first heard about people collecting buttons, I thought, Why? Dime a dozen.  
That was before I saw the buttons.  The beautiful, round, smooth Bakelite buttons.  They're colorful, shapely and each button tells a story.  


Bakelite is a synthetic resin chemically formulated and molded into things like buttons, pool balls, jewelry, lamps and various other items.  After plastics and other like compositions were introduced, collectors of Bakelite developed ways of testing the material to determine if it was 'true' or not.  Some of these methods include rubbing item, generating heat, which would then produce the smell of formaldehyde.  A Q tip can also be dipped in Scrubbing bubbles or 409 and touched to the plastic - if the cotton turns yellow, it should be Bakelite. 


It's science, baby!  Not just me liking shiny things.  
  
This information led me to Ebay and Etsy, searching for my very own Bakelite buttons.  Not a big secret that when I turn to Ebay, I become an neurotic monster.  People who out bid me in the last two seconds are forever called Hairy Buttholes.  I HAVE to win, not matter the cost.  My kids starve, my house up for condemning and my dog flea bitten, until the day I shake it.  


Right now I have fifteen button lots on my 'watch' list.  I've bid on two, that end today.  Someone needs to stop me.


Clearly I have a problem.


But before you shout "Don't forget you have to save for college", take a look at my winnings.  They're so breath taking, I want to hold them to my bosom and run my fingers thru them.  


These are vintage buttons, don't they make you swoon?

The following six pictures are from the lot of one thousand vintage, antique mother of pearl and shell buttons I won.  Yes, I said one thousand, why are you looking at me funny.

The button in the middle with rhinestones, is my favorite.

Look at those colors!

Picture isn't great, but I think the buttons in the middle
are hand carved.

Mini's!  

Grey shell buttons!  Could it BE more exciting!

Look at the cool carvings and shapes.

Since you've been gone..

Every time I think about my blog

I hear Rainbow

in my head.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYtdW5bD-7Q&feature=related


I haven't posted in so long, 
I realized I was afraid of it.


I should probably be more
afraid of the HUGE crush I
used to have on this guy


Joe Lynn Turner


Joe Lynn Turner is an accomplished
lyricist, singer and musician. 
He once was the lead singer 
of Rainbow.
I used to kiss him 
good morning
on MTV
'cuz Rainbow was 
WAY HOT
when I was a girl.


 I forgot about him until
a few minutes ago.


That hair!
Those eyes!
Scooby Dooby Doo!


There is no point to my drivel.
I was gone.
I am back.
I might change the name 
of this here blog.


Since I was gone, I spent 
two weeks on Sanibel Island.
Went to some kick booty 
estate sales.
Painted my dining room blue.
Was asked to consider coming 
back to my old job,
but in a new position.
Put all my kids toys 
in the basement.


What I haven't done is
laundry
unpacking
grocery shopping
or
cleaning of car innards


Yet more pics of Sanibel:

gotta have my pelican fix!

hubs is in the blue shirt

My Babes.... awwww....

Peaceful morning

Killer horse conch found by one of my favorite peeps

Of course, the girl who looks like this at 6:30 am
finds the winning shell!
Yes, Girl, it IS a competition!

Deserted island
Where's Joe Lynn Turner when you need him?

3 alphabet cones, moon snails and rare colored fighting conch!

Thanks for reading.

Catch ya soon.

The most important thing...

One can bring on vacation

to find shells.....

Is.....

Night vision goggles!

22.06

My grand total on Thursday fun day.  What is Thursday fun day?  Estate sale and junkin' day!  With one of my best girls. What beats that.


Before I display my goods, here's an update on what happened with a few of my prior purchases.


Remember the $2.99 green vase?  And the $12.99 candle holders?

It's not really as empty around the painting as it looks, it's just the camera angle.  We have old cove ceilings, and glass block windows on either side of the fireplace.  Gotta love these old ancient houses.

Remember the pie safe?

Still needs a little lovin'... namely a new latch.  Found those old frames at estate sales for a dolla each.  Part of my pottery collection on top.


Here's an old wood box I bought for $12 at yet another estate sale:

My little surfer boy wanted it as a toy box...soooo... I took the hardware off, cut off those ugly rope
handles and taaaa daaaa!!!

Old decorative shelves I found, which are being used as bookends...  Which btw, if anyone is interested in Easter Island and archaeology - find this old book, Aku - Aku.  Mine is a first edition, copyright 1958, by Thor Heyerdahl.  Hands down the most fascinating book I've ever read.  The book was my beloved Grandfathers and is one of my most prized possessions.

Old frame from the local flea market.  I was going to fix it up, but I'm grooving to it leaning against the wall right now.

Today's finds....  Three little baby wreaths... aw, aren't they cute?  
50 cents each at the Salvation Army.  Frame, one buck.

Love love love this.  Now all that's needed is a bigger jar for my peanut butter M&M's.  $4.99.

Been coveting one of those lantern candles in Pottery Barn. But since I pretty much hate Pottery Barn, can't bring myself to hand over my money to them.  
Well, why would I need to when I can get this at the thrift shop for $4.99?

Last but not least... an old lead glass window from the flea market.  Funny story behind it.  We were looking at her stack of windows, all marked $55.  This one had a sticker for $12.  I asked the lady if she would take $10 for it, she told me it was $55.  I pointed out the $12 sticker, for which I received a nice old glare, but she took my ten bucks anyway.  After I got it home, guess what I found?  Yup, a sticker for $55 on the back.  Yikes.  

read my lips.

My husband says to me this morning.... you're taking me to the train station right?
me: Yup.
him:  It leaves at 11 am.
me:  OK.
him: Where are you going?
me: to my pilates class.
him: You're taking me to the train, right?
me:  for the love of God, it's 7 am.  


7:05 am
him:  Actually it leaves later than 11.
me:  great, when does it leave?
him:  11:02.
me:  silent, squinty stare....


10:00 am.
him:  you didn't forget you're taking me to the train station, did you?
me:  nope
him:  you'll need to take me by Starbucks first.  And I need to make some sandwiches for the train ride.  Do we have any eggs?
me:  do you know they have food on the train?
him:  I bet it stinks.
me:  more than eggs?


10: 15
him:  We need to leave by 10:30.
me:  You know you have to check in, right?
him:  What?  you're joking.
me:  Nope.  It's part of George Bush's Patriot Act.  
him:  You mean I just can't get on the train?  I have to go thru security?
me:  Yep.  If you don't believe me, go check the homeland security home page.  They're in charge of national transportation.
him: *&$@!.  runs around gathering his bags, laptop and 'mobile' and dashes to the car.


I walk out of the house humming the theme from Star Wars and open the car door Darth Vader style.  I fear my humor is not appreciated, as I'm met with my husbands evil death stare.


10:25
him:  Why are you driving so slow?  
me:  The roads are covered in snow.
him:  Why did you go this way?
me:  The Amtrak station is four blocks away, which way should I have gone?
him:  You're driving to slow, I'm gonna miss my train.
me:  silence
him:  Why are you behind the bus?
me:  Because the bus is in front of me.


me:  Should I just take you to the station, since you're so anxious?
him:  No.  I need a coffee. 


10:30
Park the car.  Wait while husband stands in long arse line to buy $5 cup of joe.


10:36
him:  OK, let's go.  Why aren't you driving?
me:  Cars.  I'm waiting for the traffic to clear.
him:  I'm going to be late.
Hold my breath, count to forty, try to remember that pilates breathing.


him:  Where do I get on the train?
me:  I don't know.  I've never been to this station before.


him: I thought you took the train before.
me:  Yup.  From Ann Arbor.

him:  Well, where do I go?
me:  I don't know.  I've never been to this station before.


him:  I thought you've taken the train to Chicago before.
me:  I have.  From Ann Arbor.


him:  Where's the train?
me:  Probably on the tracks.


him:  I'll just go ask.
me:  Good idea.


Turn into the parking lot, park in front of the clearly marked Amtrak this way signs.  Wait for husband to come out so I can laugh at him.


Knock knock. 


Why is this old lady banging on my window?  Is she a member of some old lady wearing scarves and plastic purses gang?  Look around, out all of the windows.  Coast appears clear.  Roll down window one inch.


me:  Yes?
old lady:  Where is the post office?  I can't find it.


I look straight ahead at post office.  The big brown brick building in front of us.


me:  I point to it.  
old lady:  Where?  Lady squints and leans forward.
me:  Right across the street.  The big brick building that says Post Office on it.
old lady:  I don't see it.
me:  There's a big flag in front of it.
old lady:  What flag?
me:  The American flag.
old lady:  I don't see it.
me:  Just drive across the street, you'll run into it.  


Look around again, wonder if husband paid this person to annoy me.  


Pull away, see husband walking to train.
Roll down window, did you find the train?
Yea, it leaves at 11:02.  It's on the tracks.




*disclaimer.  No husbands or old ladies were harmed in the writing of the blog post.  Regular posts will continue when people stop asking me irritating questions all live long day.

I love it so much, I want to marry it.

Ever hear a kid say that?
I love ginger ale so much, I want to marry it.
Or I love the Jonas Brothers so much, I want to marry them.
Really?  One husband is hard enough, but three? 

Ever sat and thought about all the things you love so much?  

I mean L.O.V.E.


Not as in, mmm, this chocolate bar is good.
Or I'm crazy about this tea and can't stop drinking it.

Nope, I mean Love, with capital letters LOVE.


Drunk dialing an old boyfriend doesn't count.
Nor does obsessively stalking blogs.


Actually, stalking is just plain creepy.
Unless it involves rock stars.


As in I love Kid Rock so much I want to marry him.

Thanks, Kid, for being from Michigan.   

For using the same hair salon.

For driving your hog down Woodward, past my neighborhood.

For cruising in your boat past our dock... last time I stand on the dock in my pj's.

Not that I've noticed.

Pictures

Home.


Now comes the hard part.  Catch up.  Laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning, mopping.  Clean the cupboard of all the Trix, candy, cookies and miscellaneous garbage that was fed to my kids whilst I was absent.  Plenty of rotting fruit and vegetables in the fridge too.


You know what else is fun?  Hugs.  Hugs from your kids, wild with excitement you're home.  


Not fun?  Hearing how your little boy would get in bed and cry, saying he missed mommy so much it hurt.  


Fun?  Jabber jawing with the bestie, laying in the sun, getting take out, saying NO! to dishes, actually finishing a sentence.  


Not fun?  Standing in a crowded plane aisle, with 300 lbs of shells on my arm, while a dumb ass woman wearing a fur coat gets out of her seat and expects me to somehow make room for her to walk the wrong way up the aisle.  


Fun?  Having the women sitting in the seat on the other side, hear my under my breath not nice remark and high five me.  


Also fun?  Looking at some of my pictures.  

Birds at low tide, on a very foggy morning.

Pelican and gull in the fog. 

I'm obviously a little obsessed with Pelicans.

Just what it looks like.  Smelly tide pool full of shelling finds.  Big ewwww.

Yep, he's mine!  Perfect and uninhabited. 

Sun?  Moon?  Does it matter.

New Day New Dawn

It's here.  The time of the year I get five days and four dawns with my BFF, on my favorite place on Earth.  We meet once a year, leaving behind messy floors, dirty laundry on the floor, cars filled with goldfish crackers and husbands who can't remember how to hang up their coats.  


My bestie is such a good friend, she WANTS to meet me on my favorite island, even though I tell her I'll get on a plane to where ever she wants to go.  This is the friend that sends me a copy of her credit card, in case I need it to get the discount on a rental car she had a code for.  


This friend, loves me for who I am, knowing full well the good and bad traits that make me, me.  In fact, she claims to like the weird, quirky traits of mine the best, as different is interesting. 


As I think about her, I realize that all the people I've chosen as friends in my life, are held to the standards I see in her. True to themselves, loyal, honest even if it hurts, quirky and able to laugh freely.  I thank God for all my dear friends.  


Whoa.  Got a little deep there.  


Sometimes that happens when you haven't had a shower in two days and the smell of your dirty hair messes with your brain.

So where are we going?  

Sanibel Island of course!  

The dawn should look something like this:

 and this

 I'll be out before dawn, to see this

I hope shells cover the sand like this

And to find shells like this

Birds on the beach look like this

Snowy Egret

Brown Pelican giving me stink eye

Royal Tern

To recognize me on the beach, just look for the chick with skinny jeans tucked into her thermal dive boots, wearing a double power LED Black Diamond head lamp, and a waist packing containing my camera, iphone, luna bar, and extra bags to carry all my hope to find, finds.  

Quirky isn't so bad, is it girls?  Unless, of course, it involves a third day without a shower.  

I just wanna know

1. Why I always choose the slowest slicer at the deli.
2. Why there are always dirty clothes next to the hamper.
3. Why there is toothpaste all over the sink, but none in my tube.
4. Why the kids fight over their toys, but when it's time to clean up, "IT'S NOT MINE".
5. Why my neighbors driveways are all snow free, but mine has a narrow shovel sized path leading to my husbands car.
6. Why when I start a hobby, my husband wants to know how long until I make money from it.
7. Why I can't ever get my library books returned on time.
8. Why the laundry is never done.
9. Why I always see people I know at the store when I look like shit, but when I'm glammed up, not a soul sees.

The List.

Four items.

That was it.

I only went into

Target for four

things.  

I actually sat in the parking lot,

debating between Kroger and Target.

I decided shopping at Target would save me

a trip over the weekend.

Wrong.  

Wrong twenty nine times.

It started off with plans well laid, tapping a list
into my iphone, checking my purse for cash  

to cover the cost of the four items.

Even with my being wrong twenty nine times,

I still forgot to buy something.

Toilet Paper.

Why am I bringing this up?

Because the reason I haven't really gotten going on 

this blog, is because I am so freakin' disorganized.

But mostly because I keep shopping.  

Shopping for things I need, to whip out all those

awesome ideas I have rolling around in my head.

Time to stop shoppin' and start movin'.

But before I do....

wanna see what I bought?

salsa
Clorox wipes
Cascade
Okedoke Chicago style popcorn
soy sauce
Celestial tea
two loaves bread
hot dog buns
sugar
Vitamin water lip gloss.
Burts bees soap
Loreal something, I forget
suave kids body wash, dye free
Aveeno body wash
crest travel size
mini cliff bars
mini Luna bars
full size cliff bars
66 qt clear box
2 under bed boxes
wet ones
napkins
three swim suit bottoms
one swim suit top


Honestly, WTF?

I gotta tell you though, the vitamin water lip gloss is
da bomb.  Yep.  Better than the 14 other lipsticks, chapsticks and
assorted glosses already in my purse.
However, not as tasty as the Bonnie Bell Dr Pepper Lip Smackers
I have in every pocket of every coat I own.
And the Celestial Tea?
I have a tea addiction.
But it's not my fault.
Nope.
It's because I married an Englishman. So there.
If I was married to say, an American, I would
not have 11 boxes of tea in my cupboard.
Clearly, this is his problem, not mine.

The bathing suits?
I got suckered into the display.
Was thinking I might look like the girl in the ad
if I wore those swimsuits.
Forgetting she was 16, while I am *cough*
forty something, carried two babies and am bloated.
They're already in my return bag.

One thing to note, however.
When you try on those those swimsuits,
those suits without quite enough coverage
for woman type parts?
Make sure the blinds for the
stairway landing window are down.

Just sayin'

209.45

Can it be called thrifting if you spend $209.45?  

I dunno....

Perhaps not.

Depends on what was bought.  

And for what it is intended.

My hypothesis is, that the more ugly and irrelevant

your find is, the more creative and crafty you have to be.

Which does not work in my favor.

I'm hypothesizing against myself.

We set off 'thrifting' yesterday, with the intention to find

objects with which to make shell art.  

We found the mother load.
Books - 99¢ for five
VHS tapes, 2/75¢
Shells 49¢ each

( if only I could sell each of my shells for .49... )


I took pictures of a small selection,


Your call 


Find! or Fugly!

egg shell blue dishes

$2.99 and $3.99

candle sconces

$1.99 and $2.99.  My vote is fugly....
unless you have one, than it's a find!

candle holders

5/$12.99
Find or Fugly?  To close to call...

Barney!

2/75 cents.  FIND!

frames and wreath

$1.99 - 3.99.   

Cat clothes holder

$2.25.  My 8 year old votes FIND!!!

Cool Green Vase

$1.99.  Oops, I mean $2.99

Vintage Box

$15  

Savin' the best for last.....

Cool Ass Pie Safe!!!!

TA DAAAAAA!

Sweet!

This will be used to organize my entry way, 
for the three millionth time.
Storage for little shoes, mittens, gloves, papers,
gum wrappers, legos, broken toy parts, leaves 
and other assorted crap that I'm the only one
who bends over to throw away that ends up
piled on the floor.  


Now I'm on the trail of a vintage knob 
( hee hee, I said knob )
and fastener hardware thingymabob.
Big plans are in store for the other things,
stay tuned, there may be spray painting fun!


All Suggestions Accepted Cheerfully!