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Mercury Glass

For Pink Saturday today we have a theme... "What are our favorite Holiday decorations?" Hands down, mine is my collection of mercury glass ornaments. Only a few are actually vintage, the rest I've bought here and there each year. A few weeks ago I found a pink one!

This year I didn't put many on the tree because we have a little guy in residence who can't resist all the bright, sparkling ornaments - I'm finding them all over the house! I couldn't bear any of my favorites being broken so they're tucked safely out of reach. One day, I'll do a tree covered exclusively with mercury glass ornaments. Won't that be pretty?

 

Peppermint Pink Saturday

One early sign of the Holiday season is the arrival of Dreyer's Peppermint ice cream. I love love love it, and will indulge without a qualm even though I'm not supposed to eat ice cream. Yes, it's that irresistible! ...See more Pink at Beverly's How Sweet the Sound.

Pink

I'm still knee deep in the chaos of moving, but when walking out the front door this morning I saw this single pink azalea blooming on a bush that's been flowerless for months. It made my day, not only because it was an unexpected treat, but also because it's my birthday. Often it's the little things that make the sweetest gifts! Happy Pink Saturday a day early! 

Visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for more Pink Saturday.

A Gallant Lady of Song

My mom recently gave me this beautifully tattered folder of sheet music that she found in a thrift shop. The cover says "Songs by Carrie Jacobs-Bond, with the compliments of the composer". Inside is a photograph of Carrie and several of her most beloved songs, each with a lovely printed title page featuring her artwork of wild pink roses.

Carrie Jacobs-Bond lived from 1862-1946. President Hoover said this about her - "Beloved composer of 'I Love You Truly' . . . and a hundred other heart songs that express the loves and longings, sadness and gladness of all people everywhere . . . who met widowhood, conquered hardship, and achieved fame by composing and singing her simple romantic melodies. She was America’s gallant lady of song."

Carrie lived through some very trying years during her lifetime, but in spite of it she became the first woman composer to earn over one million dollars in royalties. She encountered obstacles when she wanted to publish her music (because she was a woman), so she resorted to establishing her own sheet music publishing company in a corner of her apartment. Against all odds it eventually became a world renowned publishing house. Carrie even printed her music on high quality vellum with a low acid content, so the pages have lasted through the years with their colors as bright as ever.

Carrie was also an artist, and handpainted many of the pink roses on her cover pages. They became her trademark, and are now my newest acquisition of something pink, just in time for Pink Saturday!

Packing Up The Pinks

Part of the reason I've been such a bad blogger lately is because not only am I running after two toddlers (yes, Nico is walking now so he's graduated into toddlerhood), but we're moving, too, and I'm packing up the house. It's an easy move - the new house is only a mile away - but things still have to go into boxes. Our escrow closes next Friday, if all goes well. After spending a few months looking for a house, I've come to the conclusion that buying one isn't as fun as it used to be. Before, you'd go to open houses and see homes that were spiffed up and sparkling. No so anymore. Most houses for sale around here are either foreclosures or short sales, and are typically in disrepair. Most have questionable carpet, dead lawns, dingy paint and broken tiles... I have to wonder what the mind set of the former owners was when they left their homes - angry? disillusioned? Their bubbles burst, for sure.

But we found the house for us, finally - yay! And of course it needs a lot of sprucing up. When we first saw it the sellers were there, which I thought was unfair. They were stressed, we were uncomfortable. It's hard to look around and really see things when there's someone standing about in every room watching you. The next time we saw it was with the inspector, and he pointed out far too many things that were broken, non-working, or hazardous, that we hadn't seen before. Like a front walkway that was being pushed up by tree roots (well, we did see that one when I tripped over it), a fence about to topple, broken tiles on the roof, broken appliances, an amateur patch job in the master bathtub... the list goes on. We have our work cut out for us! But under all that the house is charming, with hardwood floors throughout except for a couple of bedrooms, a backyard with a covered patio and fruit trees, and plenty of room for us two and our grandkids while they're with us. And a new studio for me! Now that will be fun to plan.

So I will probably continue to be a bad blogger as more and more boxes accumulate in stacks. I thought I had been simplifying the last few years, but apparently not! In the meantime, be sure to visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound  for more Pink Saturday.

Goodbye Summer

I'm always happy to see Spring arrive and then turn into summer, but I'm even happier to see summer fade and Autumn take its place. This year, I have to admit I'm glad summer is just about over. Not sure why, maybe because it's been so hot lately - I've had enough! This weekend marks summer's end in my mind, so I pulled out the last bottle of Black Cherry soda to celebrate the end of one season, the beginning of another, and Pink Saturday. It was very hard to keep a certain pair of anxious little hands out of the photo because that pretty glass of sparkling pink soda was just too tempting!

Be sure to visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for more Pink Saturday!

Pink Against Grey

Pink is such a lovely color in itself, but it's enhanced to another level when in combination with other colors - it becomes very chic when paired with black or navy blue; it sizzles next to orange or lime green; it's charming with white or yellow; classy with brown; and I'm really liking it with grey. These fallen flowers gathered into a sun-dappled birdbath look so lovely, don't you think? Oh, and take a look at the next post down for another version of pink & grey! And be sure to visit Beverly for more Pink Saturday!

Pink Roses For Pink Saturday

These pink roses look so innocent, don't they? In reality, they're as lethal as they are lovely! The stems and the leaves are full of tiny, sliver-like thorns - the kind that come right off to lodge in your fingers so you need to hunt for a pair of tweezers to pull them out. No wonder my neighbor said "help yourself to a bouquet"! He could have warned me, though.

Please visit Beverly for more Pink Saturday posts today.

Pink Saturday at the Beach

We were at the beach the other day, and I thought my favorite beach bag looked wonderful against the sand and sea. And although our two little guys aren't wearing pink, they were certainly having a blast digging, running after birds, surfing, and all those other fun things the beach provides - I thought they looked rather wonderful, too!

 

 

Fleurs

 

My contribution for today's Pink Saturday... a hand-lettered sign, because one of the things I love best about summer are the flowers. 

For more pink, visit Beverly's How Sweet the Sound.