Some more of my collectibles..and a recipe for you..

Sometimes I just can't stand myself..haha..because I just have this knack for finding some awesomely cool/fun and ..o.k. just really super cool things to decorate with...wow!

Guess I can trace that knack way back to when my mom used to drag us kids around to garage sales galore from as far back as I can remember(thanks Mom ..smiles)...now though I must admit etsy.com is my "online garage sale" site..and where I tend to find some of my coolest treasures at really inexpensive prices. Grant it though I still like to go to garage sales too..haven't given up on that....but...

I cannot wait until we have our new home..I have so many super cool things saved back...I mean really fun/cool things to decorate with.

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Here are some more of my cool and fun things:

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This is a super cute and fun glass.

It is to advertise the Automatic dishwasher!

-------this little cup reads: "Beware- Cold Germs

Germs Away With An Automatic Dishwasher"

The back of the glass has where you can write the name of the person that has a cold. How cute is that little bug with the hanky and thermometer??

Then I have this really cool wire peacock sculpture that is a foot tall by about 13 1/2 inches wide.

I think it is really pretty.

Ok..there you have a few "show and tell" items.:0)

Thanks for taking a "look-see" :0)

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Now for a fun recipe!

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Super Strawberry-Banana Shake

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2 cups sliced, frozen strawberries

2 large ripe bananas sliced and frozen

1 pint strawberry icecream

2 cups milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

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Blend all together in a blender until smooth.

Makes 8 /1 cup servings. Yummy!

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... and yes..those strawberries were in a basket on my kitchen counter...they now are all in my freezer for days when I'd like a berry shake like the one above:0)

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Have a great day!

Thanks for stopping by!

~The Garden Goose~

Sometimes Life can be a Circus...and more..

Well..today we got a call for another showing tomorrow at 10 a.m. on the house/hoping that goes well.

I've been cleaning/straightening things up all afternoon since noon today and am finally to the point where I can relax now.(at 10 p.m. this evening) Sheew..

Anyhow..yes sometimes life can seem like a circus..ha.

So..with that in mind..I plan on decorating our new home's dining room area in a vintage/retro circus theme...

Here are some of the fun things I have collected along the way and have saved back.

I also plan to have a wall decal similar to this one somewhere in the dining area.I think it will be rather fun and different.
Oh and before I forget..I forgot to share this peacock set that is part of the peacock collection I have saved back as well.

Isn't it pretty? Unfortunately 3 of the items arrived broken when I got this, but I did manage to rescue them and glue them back together. It is an 11 piece set.(sugar bowl, creamer, salt and pepper, 2 candlesticks, a large platter, a napkin holder, a candy dish,and a gravy bowl and another covered dish.I'll mostly use them for "looks" but plan on hanging the large platter on the wall and creating a nice table display with the other pieces.They aren't quite as golden colored as the image shows they are a little lighter than this.----------

Well..I'm crossing my fingers that tomorrows house showing goes well..these things always make me as nervous as a cat in a house full of rocking chairs. Sheew. I will be so glad when this house thing is behind us..I think I may need a vacation when all is said and done..ha.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Have a lovely day!

~The Garden Goose~

Back yard chickens

We have had back yard chickens in our "city" yard..and I can tell you this..it was quite the joy.
Nothing beats fresh eggs for baking that is for sure.

And not to mention how friendly pet chickens can be..we had a hen that would follow us around the yard and hop up into our lap to be petted. She was quite the little hen.


Anyhow..I came across this really neat giveaway online and I must say..I'd be more than delighted to win this because..well..because we plan on having a few more hens in our backyard once we get moved...and you just have to take a look at these nesting boxes for chickens...they are pretty nice!
http://georgiafarmwoman.blogspot.com/2009/06/four-hole-chicken-nest-box-giveaway.html



Yes I entered the drawing..and now I'm crossing my fingers that maybe..just maybe I can win this for myself and my oldest daughter.


We are hoping to be able to get a few Ameraucana hens, and maybe a couple of Polish Crested hens when we get moved. The Polish crested chickens would be for my 2 youngest children to be able to show at the 4-H shows.


But anyhow...have you ever thought about raising backyard chickens?


I think you'd enjoy it...really I do. There are quite a few websites online geared towards backyard chicken raising...and contrary to what some folks might say..chickens are fun and have "personality".So..if you've been thinking about..well..then just "go for it!" Chickens are fun.
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~The Garden Goose!~

Designing a Vintage Nautical Themed Room

I never knew how hard it was to find very old nautical themed items, until I started really seriously looking for the types of things I have in mind for a nautical themed master bath at our soon to be new home.

Sure its real easy to find those kitschy 1970's and 80's plastic things in bright pinks and bright colors, but I'm talking seriously old things not the "typical" beach items

...most of what I have been looking for for some time now... dates back to the 1800's and on up to the 1950's...with most dating from between the 1800's to 1930's.

I have found it very hard to find seahorse items and mermaid items in particular...and I've been looking for months..

But then, I know the look I'm going for, and I can be rather picky once I have a particular "look" in mind.

But..I wanted to share with you some of the cool things I have been able to find in my searching for that "perfect" nautical themed room.

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This is the little guy that started it all. This is a chalkware sailor figure that stands almost a foot tall and dates to the 1930,s.
Then I have managed to find some seahorse themed items. This large seahorse pitcher will hold cheery flowers and dates to about the 50's-60's.It is quite a large pitcher and is awesome looking in person.And then a seahorse tin wall placque.Not sure of the age on this seafoam green seahorse but it has flaking paint and is made of metal.I'm thinking probably late 1950's-1960's or so.

Then I have managed to find some darling Victorian trade cards,and postcards..., and a large Victorian die cut boat with flowers. All of these date back to the late 1800's to very early 1900's.

Then last, but not least I found a darling set of children's sand shovels. These will be displayed on the counter and set upon doilies, they will hold a variety of seashells and seaglass in the shovel part of them. and I will probably display a nautical postcard near them in small frames.

I also have a few vintage glass fishing floats that will be incorporated into the room, and a few seashells, as well as the carved clam shells I have shared in previous posts.

It is going to be rather fun to decorate with items that actually have a good bit of "history" to them, and are not as easily found as items one might find at the big box stores.

I've found that I enjoy finding items that are a good bit older and have a great deal more character to them.To me they say "home" and "fun" a lot more than mass produced items do...but then that's just my opinion. :0) (smiles)

Thanks for stopping by and getting a small glimpse into what my decorating style is like, and the items that I think will help to make my soon to be new house..a "home".

~The Garden Goose~

Want to create a Victory Garden??

Do you want to create a replica of the White House Victory Garden in your own backyard?

You can recreate the White House Victory Gardens in your yard very easily.

I recently came across a list of the items that will be grown/are growing in the White House Gardens and am sharing that list with you.

I also came across the layout for the White House Gardens for those that may wish to make their garden an exact replica of the one at the White House (bear in mind it is BIG and you'll need 1100 sq. feet of lawn to convert your yard into an exact replica)

To see the list of what is being grown/will be grown, as well as the chart/layout of the gardens hop on over to:

http://www.thevictorygardener.blogspot.com/

Enjoy! and Happy Gardening!

~The Garden Goose~ a.k.a ~The Victory Gardener!~

Some more cool things I collect and will decorate with

Wanted to share a few more of my cool collectibles with you.

I will be decorating with these items in my new home.
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First up a few items that will go in my 1950's style kitchen.--------

Then I have been collecting a few peacock related items for a little while now, these will go somewhere in the living room area of the new home. (the large embroidered linen will be framed.It is about 18 inches tall)

Then I have been collecting items for a while for a very vintage nautical style bathroom. I also have been collecting these vintage celluloid carved shell scenes.These shells were made to look like they were carved out of ivory, but were in fact made of a type of plastic material known as celluloid. I now have about 7 of these in my collection.

The clam shell scenes will most likely be displayed in some sort of a glass front case..if I can find one that is.:0) As they are quite old.Or at least on a shelf of some sort.

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Then I have a few other items for my nautical themed bath. A seahorse and I have collected a few nautical themed Victorian trade cards as well. I have found in my searches that it is rather difficult to find old/vintage seahorse items.So when I found this old tin seahorse wall hanging I snagged it.

Then..not really in a "collection".... but this is something that I have wanted to have one of for quite a long time...I was delighted to find a very old hand pump that will be used in either the kitchen for decor, or in the garden.(my husband is not fond of the purple color and I must admit I am not either, but I was told that it is the original paint on the pump...I must say I find it rather odd that a pump this old would have been painted purple don't you?) I may wind up painting it a bright red color if I decide to use it in my kitchen though.

Thanks for stopping by and letting me share a few fun things with you.

I hope you have a lovely weekend!

~The Garden Goose!~

New June/July 2009 Small Town Living E-Zine Now Online!

Wanted to let you all know that the new June/July 2009 issue of

"Small Town Living" is now available online at:

http://www.stliving.net/

This issue covers such topics as:

Biscuit Making 101

Beginning Home Schooling

Farming Your Produce Aisla

Worm Composting

..... and more

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Feel free to share the e-zine with family and friends.

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Also we'd like to invite you to be a part of our online community. Where we share about backyard homesteading, self sustainability, and "bringing back the simpler ways of living".

Here you'll find a community of caring, sharing, and learning together.

http://www.smalltownliving.ning.com/

Hope to see you there!

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~The Garden Goose~