A little "me...me"...

Was tagged by Melissa of "Melissa's Cozy Tea Cup" and the game is to answer the following 4 questions about yourself:

10 years ago what were you doing?:
I was homeschooling my daughter..an only child at the time, and hoping for another child.I was living in a rental home at the time. out in the country..a trailer that when it got very, very hot in the summer..scorpions would come into the house..blecckkk.

5 things on my list today: hahahahaha..5 things on my list..haha..my list has wayy more than 5 things on it to have to get done...I'll get to it..maybe today..maybe next week..but trust me..it's too long of a list to start writing about here..things to get done to get the house on market.
o.k. seriously: keep the kids from killing each other,
keep the kids a little quieter when they are inside and dad is working,bathe and groom Collin,make a good dinner for family this evening,drink my water today(I tend to not drink enough water and wind up getting a bit dried out/dehydrated feeling sometimes..so trying to rehydrate)hmm...and whatever else I can think of to get accomplished..I'm a do it as it needs doing type of gal..and don't really make lists unless they are large projects needing doing...I just typically work and do as I go about the day.

Snacks I enjoy: hmmm let's see...skittles, chocolate, strawberries,dry cereal sometimes

Things I would do if I were a millionaire:
Travel to the following places: Italy, Spain,France, Ireland,Germany, Russia,Switzerland...just to start
Help hubby with his business.
Start a business..probably a photography business
Invest some
Pay off a house.
Set some aside for kids.
Save rest for a rainy day.
And when the business/businesses started doing well/better..I'd probably hire some help and then travel some more from time to time.

That's it..I have to tag 4 folks ...but instead of putting 4 folks "on the spot"...I am leaving it open to whoever wants to play..can play..if you'd like to do a little "me,me" on your blog..please do...and have fun!
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~The Garden Goose~

Tina's Crazy Coconut Cake

So...I made this ooh so yummy and moist coconut cake this evening..from scratch..no recipe..just made it up as I went..but..it's a hit and oh so yummy so I figured I better write down how I made it and quick.

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Here goes:

Tina's Crazy Coconut Cake

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Preheat oven to 350.

Grease with butter a 9 by 13 cake pan

Mix together the following:

4 cups self rising flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 cans of crushed pineapple with juice

1/4 bag sweetened coconut

1 stick butter softened

Stir together then add enough water to make a nice cake batter consistency.

Pour into greased pan and bake for 45 minutes.

As soon as cake comes out of oven poke a few holes in it with a knife.

Spread half a container of vanilla icing on top..then spread 1/2 bag of sweetened coconut over melted icing..pressing into icing to smooth the top.

Serve warm..or let cool...oooh yum!

Tropical Delight!

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~The Garden Goose~

p.s.

poster is available from AllPosters.com

here:

http://www.allposters.com/-sp/Coconut-Posters_i425377_.htm

Garage Sale Report and more...

Well..Saturday's Garage Sale went pretty well...considering that we only sat out there for 3 hrs..

we started at 7 a/m. and closed shop at 10:30 due to it getting very overcast and thundering a bit.

We cleared about $250 for just 3 hrs..but wow! was it hot outside though.

I've posted an ad to hold the garage sale one more weekend..this coming weekend we'll drag everything back out again... and hopefully do pretty good again...as the big items did not sell this time and we still have quite a bit left to clear out.

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And yes....I kinda..sorta...went shopping again..o.k. o.k...I DID go shopping again..online...through etsy.com....."Guilty your honor"..:0)

But..these were some items I had tagged for the new house..and luckily everything is small items..but with a "punch".

I think they'll look great in the new decor.And..since they are little..they honestly won't take up much room when I go to pack up everything. Right now I'm tucking everything into my buffet I have in my dining room..and so far I still have a little bit of room to tuck a few things in there for storage for items slated for the new house.

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O.k...o.k...I know ya wanna see my goodies huh?

And yes, I'll show them to you and describe why I got them and what room I plan on using them in.

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o.k....the little matador and the vintage bull fighting advertisements will be displayed in a vignette with a vintage "Ferdinand the Bull" book.
I will set these items on a small table that will have a spanish style table cloth on it.

Not sure yet where this display will go..but that is the idea for the vignette...and how I plan to display these items.

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Then I found 3 vintage doll dresses..one in red(shown), one in blue, then one with a yellow vest on it..anyhow these will be displayed in my little girl's room..I plan to find old picture frames without a backing or glass and paint them in a solid color..and "frame" the little dresses on their hangers in little "frames"..the seller that I bought the dresses from just informed me that I'll have to find 4 frames not 3 since she is tucking in an additional dress..ha.

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Meet "the Duke"..he'll be displayed on a table with a rose print table cloth...in the "rose room"...the living room is going to be my "Victorian" rose themed room..with lots of red roses with yellow accents and aqua accents.The "duke" will be displayed on a small table.
Then I found these...

Clown bowling pins..my guess is that these were used in a carnival toss game..these whimsical guys will be used as a display on a shelf in the kitchen/dining room area.They will probably have a few other circus themed items joining them on the shelf.

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And last, but not least..a set of vintage canisters that will go in my 1950's themed kitchen..I pln on having lots of reds and cheery yellows in that room..with a few images of vintage fruit crate labels on the wall..and just lots of cheery/fun/whimsical items..but when I came across these canisters..they made me smile..and the colors were perfect!

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So...that's my little shopping excursion lately..via etsy.com..ha.

My new house will feature a lot of vintage and fun items. I no longer will be decorating with things that can easily be found at wally world ...I figure that I'd rather pay a few dollars more for something fun and whimsical that has a bit of history and character..than to have items "just because" ...I'd much rather prefer things with a bit of whimsy and a story to tell..if they could talk that is..:0) And these items I must say certainly make me smile a lot more than anything I've ever found at wally world.

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~The Garden Goose~

First Day of Summer

Well..it's "official" ..according to the calendar... today is the "First day of Summer"
Luckily the evenings still have been somewhat bearable, but yes..the a/c cranks along nearly all day long here in sunny Florida.

With temps fluctuating between upper 80's to low 90's I could have told you that summer was here nearly a month ago! ..but..according to the calendar it has just now "arrived"

I wanted to share a few "summer time...and the living is easy" type photos with you today.

I hope that you enjoy them.

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The little duckling is of "Marigold" our pet crested Peking duckling that we got on April 18th of this year..she is shown again in the full grown duck image taken about a week ago...well....she just started laying eggs today..daughter found an egg next to her chicken eggs under the fern today...guess at 2 months old "Miss Marigold" is already ready to start laying eggs..which is rather unusual as our other ducks we owned did not start laying eggs until they were 6 months old! The other odd thing about "Miss Marigold" is that unlike our other female peking ducks we owned..she does not quack..she makes a low noise, like a low peep/quack..very quiet sounding.

Anyhow..wanted to share a photo of her with you all.

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Our cottage garden is overflowing with coreopsis and gloriosa daisies right now..it is a big burst of bright sunny colored flowers right now..lovely!

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Also the collage image is one that I recently created and that went to live with Mary Jane Butters of "Mary Jane's Farm". I had a lot of fun creating it from vintage looking farm scenery.

Anyhow..here's to the "First Day of Summer"! I hope you all enjoy the photos.

~The Garden Goose~

Tribute To Tasha Tudor

At age 92 Tasha Tudor(born Starling Burgess) has passed away today.

She was a beloved book author/ illustrator.

Creating awesome illustrations of such things as corgi's in the garden, children at play and much more.

Her style was likened to that of other famous women illustrators such as Beatrix Potter and Kate Greenaway.

I have been fortunate to own a few Tasha Tudor books and I can tell you..they have some absolutely wonderful illustrations in them.Some of the best children's illustrations I have ever seen..once I saw them I was hooked. Unfortunately I am sad to say..I don't have a very large collection of her work..I wish that I did...as truly they are a delight to look at.

Tasha touched the hearts of many with her art work and life style.

Choosing to live a simple life uncumbered by the things that can tie down modern society..she chose to dress mostly in 1800's style attire and to carry on her life in a simple mannner without a whole lot of what we call "modern convenience".

But live a long and prosperous life she did..and she was an inspiration to many.

~The Garden Goose~

Clearing it out...

Everything from a nice Italian leather sofa...to a set of burlwood coffee tables ...to a brand new fish bowl with gravel and plants... to a brand new aqua colored bird cage ...to a tall velvet dressed snow lady door greeter.. to gourds for crafts... to a like new breadmaker... to a brand new large suitcase on wheels..to a red and yellow striped wooden bar stool...

to...o.k.! ...o.k!...I know! I know!..

it's just a lot of stuff to go through!

...and oh my!..it has been hot outside too!...too much to price out there!

...so..I'm just not gonna do it.Nope..not gonna do it!

After looking at this stuff on and off for a week of sorting it out and getting things ready I'm just not going to sit out there and price every little thing.

I'll price the larger stuff then the small stuff folks can ask me about.

I figure if they want it bad enough they can ask huh? yeah..sounds like a plan.

I just hope that they'll take this stuff far away from my house..never to be seen again...ahhh that's the plan..and it sounds like a good one.

Do I sound burnt out by looking at all this stuff or what? yep...I kinda sorta am..I get tired of seeing it all..so I will be so glad when we have our sale hopefully on Saturday..and most of it hopefully will find new homes.

What doesn't sell... will of course be hauled to a donation center.

But, I'm hoping that I make enough to:

1. buy some necessary paint to paint a few areas in the house needing it

2. be able to buy little Mr. Collin a set of grooming clippers

3. "if" I have any left over..set some aside for a "rainy day"

We've had rain for the last few days on and off..so I am hoping that Saturday brings with it some clear skies.

We'll see.

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With this huge clear out..I am starting to learn a bit more about myself..really I am...

I'm starting to learn that most everything I owned in my home wasn't really "my style"..some of it was...but a lot of it honestly... wasn't.

Ouch! ...whoa!..what a realization!

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In my clear out I found myself gravitating more towards the older things that I had either been given years ago...or had collected along the way.

Things like vintage doilies, vintage hankies,vintage purses, vintage wooden dutch shoes, vintage hats, vintage images from the 20's or 1800's or somewhere in between.

Things in colors of vivid reds, vivid yellows, aquas.

The few things that actually make me smile..and weren't/aren't what one can find at Wal-Mart , but are all mostly found at either antique malls or estate sales.

I dare say..things with a good bit of character to them..and that show their wear.

Things that have a bit of a story to tell..if they could talk that is.

And also things that were family heirlooms..like my collection of doilies from my grandmother, a set of dutch shoes from my dad,a set of bright yellow flower shaped cups and saucers from my mom..things like that.

Those are the types of things that my new house shall have.

Things with a "story to tell"..even if I have to make up the story..ha.

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I've found myself drawn to bright cheery colored hankies as of late..and want to collect them in bright reds with flowers..particularly roses...and yellow colored hankies with roses,as well as aqua colored hankies.

I have a small collection so far..but it is a small one..and what I really want to be able to do at the new home..is to create valances using sets of vintage hankies -----------------------

I have plans to use absolutely darling and bright colors in my new kitchen...that I hope to have in a 50's type theme...

...with bright yellows and reds with a mix of aquas in there as well.

I have a set of canisters reserved for myself..for my kitchen counter that will have bright yellow but..with the cutest strutting roosters on them..they are adorable..

I've been looking at vintage pyrex bowls also in bright colors.

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So...the clearing out of the old has begun..and the planning ahead and the dreaming of the new..has started.

I think it will be a fun journey.

I'm up to the challenge.

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~The Garden Goose~

Garage Sale gatherings...

Good gracious..we have been gathering and gathering stuff to put in the garage sale slated for this weekend. It's good to know that I'm not the only gal in the process of doing stuff like this.

My friend Dawn... over at "The Feathered Nest" is also going to have a garage sale this weekend.

Ahh...yay! I'm not "alone".

I must confess though..although I actually like the thought of a complete "purging out" ...I must say..I honestly do not like having garage sales..in fact I can't really stand having them anymore...but...it can be a fast way to unload a few things..and about the only thing I do like about garage sales..having them that is..is the fact that I can have a wee bit of cash in my pocket after all that hard work.

But hard work it is..and it is hard work gathering up everything and then deciding what to price things at.

I think that I enjoy going to them more than I enjoy sitting outside and selling items at one..but..at least this Saturday my dear daughter and "maybe" even my hubby will help with the sale.

I'm hoping that both Dawn in GA.... and our crew here in FL. have good weather...and good sales.

Good luck to us gals on our "clean out/purge outs".

Here's to sunny weather and terrific sales on Saturday!

~The Garden Goose~