Black Eyed Susan's Kitchen

Candles, Cooking and Chess

    All in a weekends work. The rain gods were good to us this weekend. The big downpours held off till after the Saturday morning yard sales. In this case, it was a mixture of basic sales and amazing estates. I was very lucky though...the first sale of the morning, a little cottage on Doughty Lane, held two treasures for me. One a living room side table. The old mahogany style (very heavy) with a leather top. It is square in shape on a lovely pedestal and two tier. The exciting part of this is, I have been looking for a great table to showcase my sons high school woodshop project this year. When your kid asks where he can set up the chess board that he made with his own hands, well...if you are me, you say, I'll find a great table for you and you'll be playing chess in no time. So, here we are, the rainy part of the weekend, and look what the kids are doing!!!It does a moms heart good. I also found a very cool bread board, made in England, hand carved at the same sale. Now on to the next five sales, not much of anything, but then there was the huge Victorian house with the 30 rooms.  The ad in the newspaper said, moving sale and of course there was a line of people waiting. Well worth the wait. There was a lot of very old stuff in that house, Most of which was over-priced, or not usable. I did manage to snag some really fun sheet music, with the most fun graphics, that I will use in projects in the future. The woman in blue is the cover for the music. Let me call you sweetheart. I just couldn't believe how neat it was to find these under the piano bench, in a box, on the floor. I'm like a bloodhound at yardsales. In addition to scoring the music (pun intended), I also found this hand made Noahs Ark pull toy. It has wheels on the bottom and the roof of the ark lifts off to store most of the animals. This was a big find for me because Noahs Ark happens to be one of my favorite stories as my children will tell you. They had to listen to me read it to them way too many times when they were babies. I really am a sucker for anything handmade. One other item found at the sale was this delphite blue, lazy susan sewing caddy. Now, I do not need anything else in my office/studio, but how could I resist this? It stores sewing machine bobbins and the center will keep all sorts of odds and ends. I may have to reorganize the entire room just to find a good spot for this. I may have to reorganize the room, just because I spend too much time looking for things. It makes me crazy!

Now for the cook and the candles. I have been blessed with a husband who loves to cook. Not the basic day to day stuff, although he is very capable of doing that, but the difficult, 25 ingredient recipes that he enjoys. After traveling back and forth across the country, or after a stint in Europe, he loves to come home and cook! It relaxes him. So, here is the cook, whipping up a delicious linguine with clam sauce. Lucky us, the man can cook. Very yummy dinner. And while I was reading your blogs having a wonderful time for myself, he also set the table. How romantic was this? I was tickled pink to come in to set the table and find it already set with candles, lit and flowers. Weekends without plans are sometimes the absolute best. Like I said before, a good yardsale, a man who can cook, kids playing chess, and dinner by candle light. It really doesn't get any better than this. Oh, and we didn't have to water the vegetable garden because it rained..lucky me.

TGIF,or thank goodness its fairies!

I've been very busy typing away at my computer for a few days now, and it is time to take a fun break.  Is it happy hour yet??? We're getting there. I posted many antique books on ebay that I had been saving and finally realized that I just cannot have a collection of everything that I like. One of the books that I will be kissing goodbye is this very cool book called Catskill Fairies. The book cover is heavily gilded and I always wanted to hang it in a frame, but couldn't bring myself to do that. For those unfamiliar with the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York, it is the area where you would have found Ichabod Crane and the headless horseman. Very Cool. Talking about fairies, I have another picture of fairies that used to hang from the dining room chandelier. They were removed recently so we could wash the crystals and never put back up, and after retreiving this picture, I think it is time to return them to swinging from their rightful perch.  They were Christmas ornaments from many years ago, put out by Dept 56 with their lucious fruit bodies and pinched little faces. Something about them is still irresistable to me. So I hung them in the dining room and did not have the heart to take them down when the holiday season was over.

Speaking of holiday seasons, my Christmas in July swap partner should have her box of goodies by now, and I will reveal, just a little of what was sent. The cards were made with photos of an actual vintage tablecloth and a wreath of vintage pink Christmas balls that again was hung and wound up staying up when the holiday was over.  The cards have been embellished with glitter of

course,(any reason in the world to use glitter!!!), and beads and vintage buttons, and beautiful papers, and vintage ribbons. Just writing those words makes me happy. 

One last mention of collections selling on ebay, I just had to share this tablecloth with you before it is gone and I can't .The colors in this cloth are so cool. And lastly this wonderful little set of placemats with their verry shabby chic colors and tulips.

Okay, now on to the weekend. To all who will be looking, may you find wonderful items this weekend at yard sales and flea markets. I know I will be looking tomorrow. And to all who will be on vacation, breath deep, have a ball and relax. It is now Happy Hour on the east coast!

The Juggler

    that's me...the question arises with great regularity. What do you do for a living? I juggle...not in the sense of, I am paid by barnum and bailey to do an act three nights a week, although...   I juggle, just like everyone else. The house, the kids, the work, and the list goes on and on. On this particular day, I am happy to say that so far I have managed to keep all of my balls in the air. I am just about finished with my Christmas in July Swap of 4 cards and 4 tags. It is the most artistic fun that I have had in a very long time. Here is a little hint of what my partner will be getting in the mail... there was a lot of ribbon, lace, beads, vintage pictures, vintage cards(I knew there was a reason that I was saving them), sewing, glueing, pasting, cutting, etc. My partner has excellent taste, with favorite colors in the robins egg blue and pink areas, I was having a ball putting this together.I hope that Rosalyn-Sue of The little bluebird Diaries will enjoy these.

    The rest of the balls in the air, are the day to day of getting teenagers where they need to be, the household stuff that cleaning and groceries are made of, the helping with and being delighted by the choices that my daughter is making for her wedding, and of course the work of selling on ebay. There are still many tablecloths to list, but every now and then, I take a break to list something different. Today I listed some very vintage,antique cookbooks. They are all collectible, but one in particular, is so interesting. This is the cookbook, a very well loved edition by the original owner, Ann  Eliza Thomas in 1914, and it is what she included in this book that makes it so interesting. There are pages and pages of information about the economics of the day. What is cost to raise a family in 1914 and how outrageous that the inflation went up 65% by 1919. She included newspaper snippets of the cost of food and other household items. She included recipes from magazines and newpapers and hand written ones as well. She filled in every empty page inside front cover and back, and when there was no room, she glued in tissue paper to the binding and added her recipes to that . This is just a gem of historic information for anyone interested in home economics and cooking. Really fascinating! I wonder if we can pass on information of the day like this, with such personalization. Will people be interested 80 years from now in what we were doing and how we were doing it? We are all jugglers, and I think it is wonderful to have the opportunity to see just how one woman managed her family life once upon a time. I wonder if Ann Eliza expected her cookbook to be read by others in the future? I thank her for her foresight.

Letting go of some lovlies and some pure kitsch on Ebay

          I have been selling tablecloths on ebay now for several years. This week I have decided that it is time to let go of a collection that was very personal to me. Having grown up on Long Island, I always considered myself to be a New Yorker. I have been living at the Jersey Shore now for more than half of my life and certainly longer than I lived in NY. The day came though, when my daughters were having a discussion of what it is like to be a Jersey girl and I realized that they are exactly that...Jersey girls...and oh so proud of it. I was stunned!!! A died in the wool New Yorker, raising Jersey girls??? Well, that is the case and more so, I came to realize that I too am a proud Jersey girl (sort of). I love this area of the world that we live in and now identify with it.

         Getting back to the tablecloths. I have several New York  and New Jersey cloths and they are all being put up on ebay this week for auction. The graphics range from typical to hysterical. I just wanted to share a few of these with you. These horses are so cool. The caption underneath reads Monmouth Park Race Track. A very fun little track and good place to have a picnic on the weekend. And, there it is Asbury Park, home to the Stone Pony where Bruce Springsteen got his start. The graphics on these cloths are just priceless. There  is another cloth that I have listed on ebay as well, and thought I would at least save the pictures here.This cloth is actually a Florida souvenir cloth and does not have a map of the state on it, but check out these pictures. I just love the pink elephant. The cloth includes a pink Flamingo and a pink alligator or crocodile, I am never sure which is which. It also has a cool picture of the pink race horse. It is somewhere between precious and silly. One more picture from this one and then I will move on. Maybe its just me, but these graphics tickle my funny bone. Okay the last cloth that I will show today is a New York City cloth. This will be going on ebay tomorrow. I have bought and sold cloths like this many times now, but I never had one in red. It kind of suits the city. Manhattan is a very personal place to me. I had my first full time job there and went to many rock concerts there. I spent many a Saturday wandering through Bloomingdales and having lunch across the street at Yellowfingers. It was a different city in those days, but then I am a different person than I was at that time. I am older, wiser and a parent of three. One last picture from this great souvenir of a by gone day, and I will serve dinner, shepards pie tonight, to a hungry family, patiently waiting for me to finish this. Hopefully, you have enjoyed my view of how fun and nostalgic these tablecloths are. Now go and enjoy your evening.

Its just not the same!

     It has been a few years since I closed Black Eyed Susans and I still find myself missing the store. I miss the wonderful, kind customers, and the kitschy and clever vendors, but most of all, I miss the artists. The people who put their hearts and soles on the line. They take what is inside of them and expose it for all the world to see. How can you not appreciate this?? The store and its contents was my work of art. It was such a wonderful thing to hear the happy voices come in the door and appreciatively talk about the bags, the signs, the pottery, and everything else in there. Now I sell on ebay. You can find me under the name, Sueskitchen. The bags that you see in the pictures were supplied to the store by the very talented Suzy of Georgia Peachez fame and her BFF Beth of  words and whimsies. Aren't they gorgeous? The store was full of vintage tablecloths, dishware, furniture, and the most wonderful hand painted signs. Maybe there will be another store in my future. I just don't feel finished with it yet.   The cutting boards and wooden serveware  were supplied by Adams in Dorset Vermont. This is a fun place to visit if you ever find yourself in Dorset. They have a viewing area to watch the wood being made into the very beautiful and useful items that they sell. The vintage linens are what I still buy and sell as well as the aluminum. I just love the colors and patterns on the tablecloths. The florals are probably my favorite, although the state maps are also a lot of fun. The hammered aluminum was also a good seller and I always enjoyed giving a little tutorial about where and when it was made. Hope you will enjoy the pictures as much as I have enjoyed showing them to you.

Whimsical weekends, weddings and what-nots all over the house

        This was not your average, run 0 the mill weekend. This was a weekend of meeting new folks and putting our best foot forward. Our oldest daughter is getting married in October. We invited her in laws to be over for Sunday lunch and so finally got to meet her intendeds parents. Very nice people with the most well behaved border collie we have ever met! In the words of my 17 year old younger daughter,"Soleil Rocks!"...of course, now the kids want a dog of their own...if only they came so well behaved...alas...we usually have the very high spirited dogs who knock you down at the front door. And....look at what a nice gift they brought for us... a big, lovely hydrangea. It just so happens that we have the perfect spot for this gorgeous plant.  So, while I have you in the garden, take a look at some of these other pics . We are so pleased with how the walkway has come out. We have planted creeping jenny, irish moss, and wooly mother of thyme (really, thats what it is called) between the stones. Here are a few other views. The next step is to line the other side of the walkway with lavender plants. Stay tuned.

Okay, so it isn't all about the garden, and it isn't all about the wedding, which I will be saying so much more about in future blogs, and could easily have been all about the food yesterday, which was delicious, but for some of us right now, it is all about the zuchinni.....thats right.... We are losing ground. I have baked several casseroles and grilled several of em on the grill, and tonight they will be featured in a pasta primavera. If anyone out there has any favorite recipes, please, send them my way. The tomatos should be ripe by next week...yikes!!

   Okay, lastly, I will leave you with a few photos of the back porch, decorated with all yardsale finds over the years. I could probably write an ode to the back porch. We sit with a glass of wine and  watch for the bats to swoop into the yard at twilight, and  sit with a cup of coffee in the morning and watch the bunnies hop across the lawn. This for us is Paradise. For us and lest we forget, Pixie...the cat.

Are you Passionate about your collection???Tell me about it!

         I have been an antiques dealer for almost twenty years now. More vintage than antique really. In this time I have had a space in an antique mall, for a few years, and then my own store for a few years and lately, just selling on ebay. I think that all dealers have their own collections and in the end tend to buy and sell/ specialize in what they know best...their own collectible. Now some of us are very singleminded in what we collect. We are looking for a perfect set, or one of each color. Some of us can be very specific. But some of us....and I fall into this category....collect more than one thing. My largest collection and the one I am most passionate about is the decorative aluminum produced in the United States starting around the late 1930's. Did you know that aluminum was considered more valuable than gold once upon a time? It wasn't until alcoa learned to produce it that it became a viable commodity, but I digress. In the late 30's, there were forges producing  lines of useful, decorative items from aluminum, but these pieces originally were true works of art. The fact that there were craftsmen cutting the the dies and hand hammering these wonderful items into shape, I believe, make them worth the look. Here is a photo of some of the aluminum I have been collecting. Some of the pieces that I have in the dining room hutch include hand painted tiles. The two trays with the square tiles were made by Cellini Craft and were made by silversmiths. The coffee urn, sugar and creamer on the top were made by Continental and have a fabulous Chrysanthemum motif. They used that motif on a whole line of items such as trays, baskets, cocktail shakers and ice buckets. I think that they look very pretty when displayed together. Okay, enough about the aluminum, for a while. What I would love to know is ....what do you collect? What is it that you are passionate about? Send me a list, leave me a note, comment away. I also collect, vintage linens, midcentury dishware, baskets, cookbooks, and well, I'll leave it at that for now. Please let me know ....what is your passion? What sends you when you find it at a flea market, yard sale, or antique center? Thank you.

Keeping cool when its hot, hot, hot!!

What do you do when the thermometer is showing 97?? Well, if you are my fabulous husband, you put in the walkway of my dreams!! I am so happy with the way this is coming out. What I had in mind was to slowly change our very linear, more modern looking house into something more cottagey. We started with the garden, but I think that this walkway is starting to pull the look all together and you have to check out this new Red Bud tree we picked up at Lowes this morning for 5.00...thats right...on sale at 75%off. What a bargain. Oh and one more thing that I thought you might enjoy, this is a sign that I used to sell in my shop, Black Eyed Susans, painted by the very famous Carolee Clark in Pennsylvania. She sells painted signs on ebay and used to supply my shop with  many of them.ttp://www.kingofmice.com    this is where you can find her and this is one of my favorite signs. It hangs next to the front door. Speaking of people who used to supply my store with wonderful and unique items, Suzy, of georgia peachez fame, and  the whimsical Beth,  made the most wonderful bags out of vintage fabrics including barkcloth and my favorite vintage tablecloths. They have both just opened new Etsy shops, so be sure to check them out. I know that many of my former customers will be thrilled to have a new place to shop for their very creative items. I was one of their first customers and will be checking their inventory regularly. 

      And did I mention how I am staying cool on this amazingly hot day, well, being in the air conditioned office and on the computer is my way of beating the heat today. The wall in my office is covered with a collection of hammered aluminum, most from the late 30's thru the very early 50's. I have been collecting for a long time and so I am including a few pics of said collection.This is actually a small portion of the collection, but all of these trays were made by Arthur Armour and each one has a different pattern on it. I am sure that I will be writing more about this collection in the future.  Hope you all enjoy and stay cool.

The gift of creativity

As a birthday present for my 10 year old niece, I decided to teach her to sew. She expressed a desire to create fashion and I thought, well, I know how to sew. I bought for her, a hatbox full of necessities. Pattern, pins, magnetic pin cushion, scissors, fabric and most importantly, the seam ripper. I showed her how to read the pattern, pin it to the fabric, cut it and mark it. She was a pro at using the sewing machine, and yes she did have that opportunity to use the ripper. It was a terrific experience for both of us. I learned that perhaps a simpler pattern would have been more rewarding, but I would absolutely do this again. I hope that she takes away from this the ability to let her imagination soar and the possibility of creating what is in her head. 

Why I need a blog

I admit it, I have been lurking and now it is time to get a blog of my very own. A very good friend, Suzy, told me to read her blog. I was captivated, hooked, enchanted, in other words, it became a must read. And of course from there I got to know many of you other bloggers and I have to say,  that I felt like I had met old girlfriends. I was so excited to find women who enjoy the creative endeavors of running a household, decorating, sewing, and otherwise just enjoying the everyday beauty in the world. I was also excited to find people who enjoy yard sales as much as I do. Here is a picture of my most recent yardsale finds. The rocking chair is now located on my screen porch in back of the house and the vintage fabric will eventually be cushions for this chair. I hope you enjoy reading my blog as much as I have enjoyed reading yours!

Here are a few more pictures I think you will enjoy!: The Banana Magnolia tree in my backyard

                                                   

This corner hutch is full of lucky yardsal e finds!