Vintage Inspiration Friday: Books

Books have long inspired me. I am an avid reader and I have fond memories of weekly visits to the little library in Cassville, Missouri, where the unmistakable smell of old, yellowed pages filled the rambling rooms of biographies and children's stories and maps and magazines. So naturally this prolific trend of using book pages and typography in home decor is one I'm a fan of. One room in my house that makes me smile every time I step inside is the powder room just inside my foyer. I wallpapered the space with pages I tore from thrift store novels, dictionaries and textbooks using a 50/50 mix of wallpaper paste and Mod Podge. I realize I am not the first or last to employ this idea, but I am so pleased with the look and also the texture and varied colors of the pages.

We replaced the hulking green marble vanity with this primitive stand from my all-time favorite The Seedbox and mounted a vessel sink on top. The mirrors are a hodge podge of flea market finds, all foggy, and I keep the lighting dimmed, a flattering combo for my party guests, I think.

I can spend hours looking through old postcards at the flea market, the fronts and the handwritten messages on the backs, and these flirty ones are a couple of my favorites I've found over the years.

The rusty glass towel bar is also a flea treasure (I hung it all by my little self!) and the sconce, again from The Seedbox, has been rewired and surrounded by an iron wreath piece from Spring Creek. I covered a thrift store shade with pages, too, to tone down the bulb.

I picked and pulled all the pages prior to the pasting (alliteration there) and I chose ones with pictures I liked, fonts I liked, and several that reminded me of things in my life. The song below is one my 2 sisters and I sang over and over again on road trips when we were growing up. I think it was originally part of one of Lindsay's school music programs. I also placed pages with "Interesting Facts About the World" and "Signs of the Zodiac" and such at eye level near the "commode" (as my Nanny always used to call it) for some informative reading upon each visit.

I worked our initials in here and there. I also pulled some pages about the joy of reading and what we take from poetry out of an old literature book, pages I find a lot of truth in as a reader and a teacher despite the age of the words. I had finally read the Twilight series not long before I started this project, so I also worked in the Debussy page as a nod to vampire Edward's favorite composer. Giggle.

The black and cream pages are a nice backdrop for a revolving display of vintage treasures. The shelf is also from Spring Creek. At one time I had the nooks filled with my vintage cameras, but several guests made uncomfortable remarks about cameras in the bathroom. I think they were mostly joking, but I switched it up and have several vintage bath items mixed in with old silver.

The address book behind the brush is literally a man's little black book, filled with not only girls' names and addresses but also updates about their marital status, etc. I should do a post on it sometime. It really is quite charming.

I find something new to look at every time I step into this room and I'm continually inspired by books and the clever and beautiful ways so many people have found to work them into their spaces. I'm linking up to a most inspirational blogger's party...Debra @ Common Ground who just used pages on some adorable Halloween themed altered bottles I need to check out in her booth.


"I am like a book, with pages that have stuck together with want of use: my mind needs unpacking and the truths stored within must be turned over from time to time, to be ready when occasion demands." ~Seneca

Sweet B

Our humble BBD (big black dog--the most commonly euthanized in animal shelters) had his second surgery yesterday for a presumably cancerous growth on his chest. We had one growth removed from his leg and biopsied last year. We'll know in about 7 days if this one is cancer, too. He was totally looped out all afternoon and evening after the operation then kept us up all night. He just couldn't get situated and kept getting out of bed and nudging my arm with his nose. I guess he just needed his mom and dad. Today he's back to normal and thankfully not picking at his stitches. He's active and healthy...You wouldn't know anything is wrong with him, and maybe it's not, but I'm just afraid that if there are 2 two tumors we can see there are likely more that we can't. Not fair. Such a sweet, unassuming, calm and loving boy, our Book...

This is {us}

Love this grain-sack stair runner @ http://lamaisonfou.blogspot.com

I was recently asked to describe my family and our life in a short essay...here's what I came up with:

I regularly step back and take a look at my life and think how fortunate I am. I've got my sweet, successful husband and smart, handsome son, the house of my dreams, a fulfilling job, a handful of dear, dear friends, and an extended family who has always made me feel sheltered and nurtured and special. If only I were as skinny as I was when I was a teenager, I'd think life just couldn't get any better...

3 has always been my favorite number, and it continually shows up in my life. I am the oldest of 3 daughters, born on 30 August 1976, and I can see how that role as the eldest sibling has shaped my personality, molded me into being the responsible one, the first to branch out, the caretaker. I always knew my younger sisters were looking at me to see just how they might go about their own lives, and while I haven't always deserved being looked up to, I've tried not to disappoint them. They remain my closest friends. My parents never made me feel like I had to earn their praise, but I have always hoped for their approval and wanted to make them proud. My father is a long-time teacher and coach. He's coached most any sport out there, and I ran track and played volleyball and basketball for him when I was in high school in Cassville, Missouri. He is currently teaching sixth grade and coaching girls' tennis and softball in Rogers, Arkansas, a two hour drive from Springfield. My mother worked for years as a school secretary before they moved to Arkansas and now she stays at home. They also run a summer camp and live on the premises year-round. My father does all the upkeep and management of the facilities and my mother does the cooking--three meals a day for upwards of 150 people a week. The camp really is a charming retreat and is probably my little boy's favorite place on Earth. We visit them often, and although their home is not the one I grew up in, it's such a sanctuary for me.

Ryan and I were raised in very small towns, where we both played sports, did well in school and worked a variety of jobs. We met at Drury University here in Springfield, and we were friends for a quite a while before we decided to spend the rest of our lives together. My undergraduate degree is in English, but I also studied journalism and did some of the required education classes. Ryan's degree is in Sociology and Criminal Justice. He always wanted to be a police officer, but I'm relieved those plans took a turn. I much prefer him to be safe and sound at home with me every night. We got engaged in our last year of college, just before graduation, and we were married in the historic chapel at Drury on 1 May 1999. In all, we've known one another over 16 years, been together for 14 and married for 11. Marriage is certainly not always easy, but I've never doubted my choice in Ryan. He is a good man, a kind and doting partner, and one of the smartest people I've met. And he always makes me laugh, even when I don't want to. His parents still live in the house where Ryan grew up in Bolivar, Missouri, which is just 30 minutes from our house. They are retired and spend a lot time traveling and camping with their large group of friends. Ryan's older brother and his wife live part of the year in Bolivar and the other half in Alaska. Ryan's mother makes the most delicious food, and we are looking forward to spending Thanksgiving with the entire Fraser clan.

Our lives changed immensely on 3 December 2002 when our only child was born. We named him Macauley, using the Scottish prefix Mac in a nod to Ryan's heritage, and the middle name Lane, after my youngest sister. He started talking quite early and hasn't stopped. He is inquisitive and witty, argumentative and sociable. He is in second grade at a wonderful elementary just a short walk from our house. He is an excellent reader and has quite the vocabulary, but lately we've been working on getting him to listen and follow his teacher's directions at school. He's so used to being around adults as an only child (and only grandchild on both sides of the family) that he has trouble remembering he can't engage his teacher in a one-on-one conversation just any time. He is just so social and outgoing and rarely shy. He loves to play with the kids in our neighborhood, watch SpongeBob and go camping with both my parents and Ryan's. I often wonder if we're doing him an injustice by not giving him a sibling--I am, after all, so very close to my sisters--but life is easier now that he's almost eight, and I can't imagine starting all over again.

I'm in my seventh year of teaching high school English at Kickapoo, and while I'm not sure I want to be a teacher forever, I always knew I'd work in education even when I was young. My middle sister is also a high school English teacher here in town. I have a Masters degree in English Literature, and I love to read and write. I am also very interested in interior design and I love puttering around my house. My favorite thing to do is shop at flea markets and antique stores and then use the vintage treasures I find in interesting ways in my decor. I find flea markets so inspiring, and I read lots of magazines and online decorating blogs. We live in a great house that is new and green and energy-efficient but was built with the features of a 1920s-1930s house--lots of architectural detail, glass doorknobs and antique fixtures. We've been here for two years this month, and there are still lots of projects I'd like to try. That's good, because I get restless when a house is "finished." I pretty much enjoy any kind of shopping, as well as going out to eat (I'm a lackluster cook myself), watching Jeopardy! and Oprah, and just lounging...reading, napping, hanging out with my boys.

Ryan has worked for a small computer company here in town for 10 years, and we bought the company almost 3 years ago. He does networking for other small businesses here in town among other things. He works really hard and the business has thrived despite the rough economy. We are very lucky. He's always been a hands-on dad and husband, and we share the housework and childcare the best we can. He loves to watch football and tinker on his computer and just relax on the weekends after such a busy week at work.

We are a laid-back family. We do have our routines, necessary to make it through our school and work schedules, but we aren't all that rigid. We know we are fortunate and we are grateful for what we have. We mostly just take life day by day, doing the best we can to be good to our son and good to each other.

Fall/sunshine

This past weekend was a beautiful one in Springfield, Mo. USA. My sisters and dad ran in the annual Sunshine Run, which started and ended at Hammons Field downtown. They made it through the 10K and high-fived Louie the Cardinal as they crossed the finish line.

We all had breakfast at Scramblers then headed back to our house for a short visit. My mom and dad couldn't stay long, but we sat out on the front porch for a while and enjoyed the weather and the dogs. Lane's funny pug Chuck kind of wears our Book out for some reason...

Lindsay and Lane and I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in Branson, feasting at Cantina Laredo and doing a little shopping at the Landing, the Maxx and the outlets. Lindsay and I both came home with new Coach purses. Lane had to head back to KC first thing Sunday morning, and I don't guess I'll get to see her again until Thanksgiving. Ryan and I are hoping to be in shape enough to run the Turkey Trot 5K with my sisters that morning. We've racked up zero miles since that resolution, so we'll see...

Fall welcome

Our front porch is decked out for the fall season, even if the weather here has only teased us with a couple of days of fall temps then returned back to the 80s most days. This year, I scattered pumpkins throughout my front flowerbeds, mixed in with my boxwoods and the white begonias that just recently really bloomed and got exponentially bigger. I had to disguise the little concrete bunny to welcome trick-or-treaters in just a few weeks.

We got some really nice things at the pumpkin patch last weekend, including this blue pumpkin. I found the huge, huge golden mum at Walmart, though, and as Macauley and I rolled it through the store in our cart one day after school last week, so many people commented on it and asked me if I had gotten it there at the store. As if I'd have gotten it somewhere else then carted it through Walmart? Macauley later said, "That was 'awkward,'" putting his hands up in air quotes around the word.

The felt hanging is from TJMaxx, such a steal and totally in line with my love of black and cream (and black kitties!).

I picked up the black crow at Curious Sofa when we were in KC a few weeks ago. They were scattered throughout the store in all sorts of cute ways. Ryan selected this particular one because he has some fluffed feathers on the back side, giving him a little gimp wing.

These were labeled "fairytale" pumpkins at the patch, and you can just imaging Cinderella's little mice attendants scurrying about when the carriage transforms back into its still dreamy everyday form.

By far my favorite thing to spot on my fall front porch, though, is my family visiting. My mom and dad came up this weekend, and Lane was in from KC. Ryan is visiting with my mom and Lindsay here.

Lastly, a night view, with the jack-o-lanterns glowing and the "gas" lamps flickering. I think we're ready for Halloween, and then with just a few changes, these same goodies can carry us right on to Thanksgiving. My fall porch is really just a hop, skip and jump from sweet Debra's. I'm linking up (at the very last minute!) to her party over at Common Ground. Come trick or treat us, Debra!

Patchwork

Macauley and I shopped for pumpkins and outdoor fall decor yesterday at a place set up in the spot where we bought fireworks this summer. Not exactly a pumpkin patch, but all the goods you could want and then some. We brought home way too much.

I did some decorating on the front porch but I think I need some more mums to fluff it out. I also spent some time gathering items for my booth this afternoon and painted this chair with a burlap seat that I covered and a little black nightstand. Macauley had Megan spend the night last night and after breakfast at Waffle House they went exploring in the woods beside our house and talked me into tagging along. I ended up finding several old bottles and rusty tin cans for some fall decor in my booth, as well as some rusty accent pieces and a rusty old sign. Trying to haul it all back to the house, my foot went through a plastic drainpipe and I sliced my ankle pretty good. Macauley got some barbed wire to the knee. And now I'm sniffling and stopped up with allergies, I guess, so my productivity for the weekend might have ended right there. But it's beautiful out and life is good.

Teach TV

After seeing his interview on Oprah, I was excited to see Tony Danza's newest project, a documentary called Teach airing on A & E that premiered tonight. The show follows Danza as he lives out his former "dream" of working as a teacher. He's teaching 10th grade English at a huge, urban school in Philadelphia and walks in with no experience whatsoever. I've been teaching for a while now, and while I don't feel the anxiety and overwhelming inadequacy to the extent he did on tonight's episode, I will agree that it's a challenging job that many people think they can do but very few can do well. He's got enthusiasm and an earnest desire to connect with the kids, and I will look forward to watching how his year progresses.

I grew up watching Who's the Boss? with my sisters, and I always smile when I hear Elton John's "Tiny Dancer" and think of Lane and her best friend Wylie amending the line "Hold me closer, tiny dancer" to "Hold me closer, Tony Danza." Lane told me about a dream she had a couple of years ago where I was in a dressing room trying on crocheted, poncho style wedding gowns while she tried to piece together this dramatic turn of events, questioning me about leaving Ryan and going for wedding number two. She said I finally pulled the fitting room curtain away with a huff, peeked my head out and said, "Lane. I'm marrying Tony Danza," in such a way as to suggest no further explanation should be necessary.

The kids were pretty tough on him in the first episode of Teach. None of them really even knew who he was, and they were mostly kind and polite to him and interested, but in their interviews they expressed their doubt that he could teach them anything. I think they missed out on a classic sitcom all those years ago, and I nostalgically wish Mr. Danza luck at NEHS.