Black Eyed Susan's Kitchen

LAIRD STATIONERY IN FAIR HAVEN...GOT YOUR SCHOOL SUPPLIES YET?

                  About a thousand years ago, when I was in middle school, the Sheaffer pen company came out with a cartridge fountain pen. The choice to write in Peacock blue ink, sealed my fate as a stationery store junkie. We are lucky enough in our little town to have this gem of a store, existing for more years than I have lived here (and I have been here for 20 years), and just the most fun place to shop. First of all, There is the inspiration of color all over the store. There are walls of pens, pencils, markers,  binders, note pads, and any other item you could imagine to organize your thoughts and your life. They have art supplies that will challenge you to be creative, and a wall of Crayola to bring you back to your childhood. I remember when they came out with the "big box" of crayons, when my children were small...this was a special gift or reward that they would enjoy for months after. My oldest daughter would open her box and immediately take all of the crayons out and then put them back in, arranging them according to color, until the box resembled a tidy rainbow.  Lairds is a place to go when you need to pick up a quick greeting card, a pack of index cards, a lock for your bicycle, or a pack of post it notes. If you want to play with clay, or need to wrap a gift, Laird's will have what you are looking for. They will also have things that you did not know you were looking for ;) like these fabulous notepad organizers in the most scrumptious colors. Seriously...I need these!! There are so many options for binders, spiral notebooks, and composition books, that it is almost impossible to leave with just one. If you need to clip it, cut it, erase it, or tape it, you will find many choices here. Your basic number two pencil to take that test with, or a new antimicrobial pencil so you won't get sick?  Laird's is as close as we can get to the old five and dime stores that catered to our need and desire for choice. Over the years,   I would stop in to pick up a glue stick and walk out with the perfect gift for a friend or relative.  They also have every type and style of office supply imaginable, several lines of party supplies, oh yeah... and stationery. Like I said in the beginning of this long  post, we are lucky indeed to have an independent, family owned store like this, right here in our little town of Fair Haven, at the Jersey Shore. If you ever find yourself in our neck of the woods, visit Laird Stationery on River Road in Fair Haven, or give them a call if you are looking for something special...732 747-1806. Oh, and did I tell you that they have the nicest people working there? Well, they do. (Now, just think of the supersized yardsale poster that I can make with these...) Linking to Pink Saturdays with the ubiquitous pink pearl erasers and fabulous pink binders. Please stop by Beverly's blog at How Sweet the Sound to see other Pink Saturday posts. 
♥, Susan                                 

SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE POINT PLEASANT BOARDWALK

                 The shoreline of New Jersey is famous for its many beaches and boardwalks. This past Saturday night, we drove down to the Point Pleasant boardwalk. I always seem to forget how crowded the boardwalks get on the weekends and this weekend was no exception. The traffic to get there can only be described as crazy...an everyman for himself free for all of minivans and Cadillac Escalades, running red lights and merging in an "I'm bigger than you" kind of way. The reason for the trip was my nieces birthday present. Living up north, she is not very familiar with the Jersey Shore, so we thought a little trip to the land of sand and sea would be fun for her. The bright lights on the rides are so festive and fun but the wait to get on the rides maybe not so much. Here they are waiting to get on the roller coaster, birthday girl and dad,  and here they are ending the ride. Was it worth the wait? Well, just look at their faces. Daughter in the middle opted for her favorite pasttime in the arcade playing SkeeBall, when her Aunt joined her in the arcade and hit the jackpot! Pretty exciting....we thought she could get the giant fish, but as it turned out, there were only enough tickets to get the tiniest of prizes. Oh well, another day. Daughter in the middle also got her much anticipated pink cotton candy fix and from the look on her face, it was just what she wanted. We capped off the night with a long wait for my niece to have her chance to climb the rock wall and talk about it being worth the wait, she was awesome! Starting on one of the most difficult sides of the wall, she made it to the top lickety split. Very Impressive, and pardon my pun, but we left on a high note.
           Point Pleasant was established in 1886 by the Quakers, and I couldn't help but wonder as we walked down the boardwalk what the founding fathers would have thought about their little town today.    Along with the beach and the boardwalk, Point Pleasant has the best antique stores, boutiques,and Rudy's, a fantastic kitchen supply shop. For us, Point Pleasant is a quick 1/2 hour drive on a weekday, taking a bit longer on the weekends, but always fun and always worth the trip.
♥, Susan                

A DAY AT THE RACES

             A fun day, without the Marx Brothers, a Friday at the Monmouth Park Race track, can be a great time. Friday's in July are particularly fun at the track because they are a big bargain. The racetrack is a lovely park like tract of land sandwiched between Long Branch and Oceanport in New Jersey. For the price of a buck...as in one dollar, you can get into the track. Another dollar will buy you a hotdog. One dollar more will buy you a soda....the wagering? Well, that's up to you. We took our 17 and 19 year olds out for a day of sunshine and horses. My daughter and I always love the colors that the jockeys wear, in this case the pink with the turquoise. The horses are such fast and beautiful animals. We had a wonderful time, as did many other families who came out  today. If you would like to learn more about  Monmouth Park, you can find their link here .
             The jocky's pink race silks are in honor of Pink Saturday, hosted by the very lovely Beverly, at her blog, How Sweet the Sound. There are always so many wonderful posts with a theme of pink  to read and enjoy, so get your pink fix today.
♥, Susan        

ONE COLLECTORS OPINION

                  This weekend, I did something that I have not done in a long time....I bought magazines. With all of the amazing and fabulous blogs in our world now, I fear that magazines may be somewhat obsolete. The need for the last year of high school summer reading books brought me to Borders and while I was picking up the short list handed to me by my son, I wandered over to the magazine section and chose these... each one a little different in theme, but all based on home decorating. One article in particular caught my attention, in Romantic Homes, a list of 10 trends you will see in 10 years. Number one on the list is, wedding ring china,  which I have been collecting for many years now... and wrote a post about it in April. I don't know why, but it is fun to see a little printed validation when it comes to a collection. Some other items on the list are being collected as we speak and some of you have them in your collections already. Vintage paper and fabric? Cookie jars...helllooo...Andy Warhol! Dolls, Christmas ornaments, and retro dishware...I think we have been collecting these for some time now.   I know that some people collect nothing at all, and some of us can go a little overboard in our collections, and so I find myself wondering about not only what we are collecting now, but what you think you might find yourself looking for in the future. Are there any collectibles that you have admired but stopped yourself from amassing? Is there some secret something that you would love to see filling a hutch or china cabinet?

                 Here is my personal top ten list of things I collect and I will be following it up with things that I would love to collect. It would be fun if you would do the same thing.

1. Vintage Hammered Aluminum (duh!)

2. wedding ring china

3. vintage tablecloths

4. cookbooks

5. seashells

6. sea glass

7. vintage Christmas tree toppers

8. vintage gold charms for charm bracelets

9. vintage milk glass bowls, especially banana bowls

10. art and folk art made by artists I know

                 Now for the list of things that I would love to collect....but don't...yet.

1. hand made quilts

2. McCoy pottery

3. Eva Ziesel dishware in white

4. blown glass art pieces

5. orbs of quartz in different colors

6. handmade baskets

7. vintage hotel and restaurant silver

8. vintage restaurant menus

9. brightly colored vintage California pottery

10. vintage perfume bottles

            That is my list which is always subject to change. Please shoot me a comment or email if you happen to write up your own lists. I would love to see what you are thinking about. I will leave you with a picture of a corner of my living room accessorized with some of the collectibles. Basket full of seashells, box made of seashells, milkglass vase, folkart bee, hand thrown pottery teapot and art work.

♥, Susan

     

PURPLE....A FEELING?

           Is is possible to feel like a color? I'm guessing that it is because people can feel blue when they are sad or melancholy, and they are in the pink when they are happy, and we all know that being green and having green are two different things now. Being green meaning  good for the ecology and having green being good for the economy. So, purple...in all of its guises, can it be a feeling? There is Deep Purple as in rock and roll fame and the regal feeling it brings, and there is also the purple that comes in a sunset or a beach scene. There are the "purple mountains majesty" that we sing of when we are feeling patriotic, and there is the purple that we pull out of those majestic mountains that we use to decorate our homes with. What ever it is, I am feeling a little purplish...maybe lilac, maybe lavender. The feeling started with a table that I talked my mother into gifting to me.  I grew up with this table in our living room, on the south shore of Long Island. With my parents starting to pare down their belongings to make the move to a more age comfortable home, some of the furniture is going to be left behind. I never actually thought that I would feel attached to a piece of furniture, but attached I am.  This table is more than 50 years old, and somehow, it fits and looks just right in our living room now.
        Getting on to that feeling, it occurred to me  that I am always drawn to purple.. the lavender in a lamp in our bedroom ( which came from Shutters in Fair Haven), and the accessories on my dresser in the form of an antique pitcher and carnival glass bowl. My mother in law knew my passion for purple way back when she painted this  lazy susan and  treasure box for me with favorite purple pansies. There are threads of purple all through our house as exhibited in the lilacs on the bed pillows and also on the  sign above our headboard. What I can tell you about feeling purple is that it makes me feel like I can think a little deeper. It is a warm, happy hug from the garden. It is a summer color as shown in the hydrangea, irises, lilacs, pansies, violets and lavender. It is the edible purple in a plum, dripping down your arm as you are standing in the kitchen taking that tart bite of summertime. There is just something very purple about the middle of the summer on the Jersey Shore, and I am feeling it today.
         What color do you feel like?
♥, Susan                

COMMUNITY GARDEN UPDATE

                Walking through the community garden this morning, camera in hand, this is what I saw... In our garden, pickable spaghetti squash, and zucchini, but the trick is to get it before the wildlife does. We honestly don't mind the occasional missing green beans or squash, but this year is different. There is a critter out there who takes a large chomp out of a squash and then moves on and does the same to the next one...if only they would finish the one they started on and leave some for us...but I digress... I also saw these volunteer sunflowers that grew right smack in the middle of our little patch of heaven. I love that the bees are enjoying them. Also featured in our garden were these peachy colored nasturtiums, and corn reaching up to the sky. The cabbages are starting to look like they will form big heads too. Walking out of our garden and through the path, this is what I found in other gardens... A magnificent teepee with I am guessing beans growing on it, and someone has some gorgeous zinnias growing. A surprise in this garden were the peas growing in the shade and I spotted this tiny yellow pepper plant  in another garden. The biggest and most exciting thing that I found growing this morning, was this plant  which, if I am not mistaken is called Chinese Lanterns and these papery pods will turn bright orange in a while. This plant would be one of my favorite dried flowers to accessorize a room in the autumn. I love coming across surprises like this! 
           Quite the eyeful to take in this morning. I have a head full of ideas, and a camera full of other pictures to show you. On to other topics in the days to come. I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend.
♥, Susan        

MARY'S PINKS

   

              Pink Saturdays are usually a very light and whimsical theme for me. I enjoy the pretty in pink concept and the opportunity to lighten up the week. It can be a time to get my girly on, but I am just not feeling it right now. My decision was to go with what I am feeling, so I went back to the pictures that I had taken at Mary Cooper's house and looked through some of her art work again. It occurred to me how very lucky I am to have not only the memory of her original art, but some pictures of it as well. I would like to share a little of Mary's pink with you today. (please remember to click on the pictures to enlarge them) First, there is this ballet collage with the little pink birds. Mary's art always makes me think, sometimes makes me smile and is always memorable. Then there was this pillow covered in shades of pink with the fabulous velour texture. The third picture that I found was of this handmade quilt with the lovely pastels. Last, I would like to share a small picture from Mary's vase collection because it was all pastel and included this pink McCoy piece. The first time I layed eyes on this collection of vases, I remember grinning from ear to ear. The colors, sizes and styles were displayed exactly as I would have done it.  There are many more wonderful pictures that I will post from time to time, but right now I will leave you with this last collage piece that I was so very taken with in Mary's studio...she was a visionary.
            Please take a moment to visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound. She is the lovely hostess of Pink Saturday's and you can find her post and a list of links to lots more pink.
♥, Susan       

LEFT BRAIN, RIGHT BRAIN....MALE, FEMALE

            

When my son and his friends were little boys, they would hop into my car and start pushing the buttons and twirling the knobs. In an instant, the radio station was changed and the heat/air were not on their original settings. The windows would go up and down a half dozen times before I finally told them to stop. Now these kids are driving their own cars, but it didn't take me very long to realize that the majority of males were the button pushers and the females were for all intensive purposes less interested. My birthday gift this year is a new camera.... a very cool Nikon that does many things that my old camera did not do. First, let me say that there was nothing wrong with my old camera. It was a little slow and would not take a quick succession of pictures. It was a little larger, heavier to carry in by bag and could not fit in my pocket. This new camera will do everything that the old camera did not. Pretty exciting....yes? Yes and no....I am going to love this camera, eventually, but I find learning how to use it a little daunting. There is a lot of information and technical stuff involved here, which is why this smaller, fit in your pocket version came in such a large package. This brings me to the left brain, right brain or male, female observation. After opening my gift, I left it to sit for a day. My husband could not wait, probably because he knew that I would put off the inevitable. He opened it for me, charged the battery for me, read the manual for me, and explained most of the important settings to me this morning. I would have gotten there eventually, but he knows me all too well...and this was a big part of the gift...he took away the mystique of having to figure it out on my own. I am grateful. When my son's friends found out what my birthday present was, they started telling me all of the fantastic technical stuff that it will do and of course there was the why one camera is better than the other and of course there was the button/knob fascination. To them, the more technical, the better. To my right sided brain, I am just excited to be able to take better perhaps more artistic pictures to add to this blog. I hope that you will enjoy them.
♥, Susan   

7TH DAY, 7TH MONTH, 7 THINGS MEME

                It's all about the sevens today, which is interesting because it also happens to be my birthday. Lucky numbers indeed, I have always coveted the fact that my birthday fell on double 7's. My good friend Jenny at Supplies Overflowing blog, tagged me this morning for a seven not-so-obvious favorite things meme. Being that it is all about me (lol) today, I thought this would be fun.
  1. I love it when I find the just perfect gift for someone and their reaction becomes emotional.
  2. I love it when my thoughts are in sync with others and there is a psychic connection.
  3. I love feeling a cool breeze waft over my skin when it is humid outside.
  4. I can be tickled pink when I finally "get" something that was not clicking in my brain before.
  5. I love it when my check book balances perfectly.
  6. I love an icy cold martini and a night out (okay, maybe not so unknown)
  7. I love my friends and family fiercely and loyally although I don't often tell them.
        I would love it if you jumped in and did this meme too, but I will leave that up to you.
        A little garden this and that, the globe zucchini are up and delicious, and we tried nasturtiums from the garden in our salad. They are surprisingly tasty.
    I will leave you with a photo of a visitor on our windowsill the other day.This praying mantis was as friendly as could be, stopping to sit on my daughters hand and then hopping back onto the windowsill. Isn't he beautiful?
♥, Susan      

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

                          The fourth of July, has always been the big outdoor party of the year for us. It is the week of my birthday, and I have to say that I don't mind sharing the celebration with our country...not one little bit. Getting to see fireworks has always been a part of the happy celebration and this little area of the Jersey Shore is no slouch when it comes to the big extravaganza in the sky. One of the  things our area is known for is the fireworks display over the Navesink River. Originally just a Red Bank thing, now we are torn between stepping to the left to see the fireworks in Red Bank, or stepping to the right and seeing them in Rumson. Kind of crazy...one river and two sets of fireworks. Plus, on the following night, we get to see the fireworks at the beach. This would be my favorite...comfy beach chair in the sand, kids running around and then it gets dark and you get this magnificent display. Total small town happiness.
                   It also happens that Pink Saturday falls on Independence day. Last week, daughter in the middle and I went to the new shopping outlet in Tinton Falls to pick up a few things. I was specific. Over to the  Gap to get new yoga pants that were on sale for 11.99, and t shirts on sale for 4.99 each. I found exactly what I wanted, my daughter found a few new pairs of pants and things were good. We looked in a few other stores, and then stopped in the Ugg store. Anyone who has ever owned a pair of Uggs knows that they are like walking on a cloud...seriously...so comfy. Let me just say that I had no intention of buying new boots in the summer. Not even on sale, but this is what came into my view.. irresistable! It was the lining of the boot that clinched the sale though, pink sherpa. I'm still not sure that I will keep them, but as far as Ugg boots go, these are a work of art. So, pink Ugg boots for Pink Saturday. Please stop by Beverly's blog, How Sweet the Sound for more wonderful Pink Saturday posts.
♥, Susan