This Week's Read

Well I mentioned a few posts back that I was currently reading The Hunger Games series... I finished it last week and have to say, AMAZING. I loved every page of it! If you get a chance and like romance books with lots of excitement, check out this page turning series! I also saw that they are planning to turn these books into movie trilogy! Expected to hit theatres Summer 2012, woot woot!
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Next up, The Help by Kathryn Stockett
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- I just started it this weekend, but I have to say I am struggling reading this one. I am not struggling because of the content, but more due to the writing... it takes place in the south and is "written" with a southern accent and quite a lot of broken English. I know I am not one to talk with all of my made up words and inaccurate grammar.
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For instance this paragraph,
"Only three thing them ladies talk about: they kids, they clothes, and they friends. I head the word Kennedy, I know they ain't discussing no politic. They talking about what Miss Jackie done wore on the tee-vee."
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Now this is entertaining, but sure slows my reading down. (And I am not a speedy reader to start with) I look forward to pushing through to see what is to come! And while flipping through a recent People magazine, I was surprised to discover that this book has also been turned into a movie, being released this August. Guess that just means it must be a good book! I just need to endure, but I'm sure hearing the words will be much easier than reading them!
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AND, speaking of books - Yesterday, I got some happy mail!
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I have been patiently waiting for this order to come in!
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Last week I ordered the book Mamarazzi, a guide for moms to photograph kids. Now, hold up! We have no baby news at the Helm house yet, but that isn't going to stop me from being prepared! I have been dying to get my hands on this to study up for future reference. I actually ordered two copies. One for me and one for a special preggo gal I know, dropping it in the mail today!
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Happy Wednesday All!
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Psst... Want a project sneak peek!?
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Stay Tuned!

All Grown Up

This weekend my baby sister graduated. I am very excited for what lies in her future, but admit I'm sad at how quickly she has grown up. Seems like only yesterday we were climbing trees in the grove and riding bike to summer rec.
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She grown into an amazing young woman, and I couldn't be more pround of her. Love you Munchkin!

Torn Apart

Remember last week, when I posted about finding a gorgeous vintage radio at a local antique store here? Remember how excited I was? Well let me give you an update.

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I found the above radio and paid only 5 clams to call it mine! I brought it home and immediately plugged it in. I assumed that the clock would work and the radio wouldn't (I don't know why, I just did)... I was expecting that this would be a visual piece only. I was wrong! The radio worked and the clock didn't! Woot woot! I can definitely fix that!

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This is where Chris comes into the picture. While doing my happy dance, I caught his attention. Now I don't know about your men, but when mine sees that I am about to disassemble something - he totally wants to join the fun... so I played nice and handed him the radio. He immediately removes the back...
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This is when his eyebrows mush together to form one...
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My beautiful radio is deemed a fire hazard, and I am told to never plug it in again... So I smile and nod, and tell him to hand it over. This is when he cuts off the power cord... whomp whomp whomp.

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By the time he is finished... the radio has been pieced apart... I will work on getting the clock functioning again - but the radio is history. Bummage. Just tack it onto the ever growing project list...

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My trip to the antique store is started to sound like a horror flick after this and the peacock episode... Sunken hearts, halted happy dances and unfinished endings...

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Welcome to Monday...

A Tragic Love Story

I want to tell you the tale of a girl who fell in love with a Peacock.

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They met by surprise one afternoon in a dark antique store and the girl went head-over-heels in a fraction of a second. See she is fixing up a guest room, dubbed "The Peacock Room", and knew that Mr. Peacock would look spectacular in his new home, so she scooped him up and did a happy dance, smiling ear-to-ear!

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The little old man who owned the antique store was a gentleman and asked the girl if he could bring Mr. Peacock up to the counter so that both of her hands could be free to browse for friends for Mr. Peacock. The girl happily agreed, handed over Mr. Peacock and continued on her search. When all of a sudden from around the corner the girl hears, "CRASH!!!" She closes her eyes and prays that she is hearing things and that it was a shell she had picked up earlier... but alas, the little old man returns with a long face and has to tell her that Mr. Peacock has been in an accident...

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The girls heart sinks....

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She says it's okay and continues on her way with sadden eyes...

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Then, she decides to check on Mr. Peacock. She sees the old man has gathered all of the pieces and is convinced he can be repaired. With a new found skip in her step, the girl returns home with Mr. Peacock!

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Once home, the girl decides that it is possible to save Mr. Peacock!
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While it was tragic to see him like this, she continued to patch him up.
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After five minutes of intense surgery, Mr. Peacock recovered with only a few ruffled feathers. The girl returned to her adoring ways and they lived happily ever after!

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In the end, the girl is still overly happy - not only because Mr. Peacock is looks nearly just as striking as before, but he was gifted to her by the little old man along with the super glue to patch him up. All-in-all, maybe not such a tragic tale. Happy Friday!

Antique Shopping Anyone?...

Okay, first lets start with an explanation... my readers are shy :) Not many like to leave comments, but that's okay - I get lots of emails! So a few months ago I got an email asking how I go through an antique store. What do I look for? How am I not overwhelmed? How do I know if I am getting a fair price?

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Well I can answer those questions right off the bat! I look for things that interest me... sure there are all sorts of crazy neato items, but if I can't see it in my house - I pass! I always try to keep in mind my huge list of current projects, and try super hard to not come home with any new ones... need to get caught up! I do get overwhelmed, but then I just need to tell myself to focus... and I don't always know if I am getting a fair price... so if it isn't something I am comfortable buying without knowledge or something I can't live without - I leave it behind and do some research.

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So, I discovered a "new to me" antique shop in Granite Falls recently, so I decided to take you on a walk with me my first time through this store! Stay with me there are lots of pictures... and I apologize that they are all so dark, but the store was very dimly lit...

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First shelf... No we won't go shelf by shelf through pictures... BUT - Do you see what I see? What on this shelf might I be interested in!?
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If you guessed the off-white ceramic shell - you guessed correctly! And for $1 - darn skippy this is coming home with me!
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Alright, you are bound to come across "scary" in every antique shop... just focus, keep your head down and hope the giant kitty statues don't pounce down on you when you pass by...
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Lots of pretty glass bottles! Imagine them lined up in your kitchen window or on a summer themed mantle - oh la la...
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Vintage Tootsie Pop vending machine! Awesome! Too bad I'm a Blow Pop kinda gal :-)
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These stores are full of amazingly yummy books! Look at them! Beautiful and educational! Always take just a couple minutes to scan them... you never know what you're going to find...
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Holy Beautimus Radios!
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And more vintagy goodness!
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Okay, seriously about to drool in public!
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My heart swelled up for this little guy... I know nothing about radios... but they are pretty. I thought if it didn't work I could put in a new battery operated clock in this beauty and maybe get the engineering hubby to rig it to play my iPod... hmmm... check the price tag - $40. Now that may be an excellent deal - like I said, I know nothing about vintage radios, but I know that if I spend $40 on something I better have a darn good plan in mind - not one betting on a bunch of hypotheticals... okay look around for a distraction now...
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Look at that ceiling!!! Stamped tin! Adore! I wonder where in my house I could do this? Entry way maybe!?
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Well the distraction worked, look at these embroidery hoops next to the Batman game on the floor! Love love love (this is where I remind myself I have too many projects already and move one...)
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I always look at lamps. New lamps are expensive! But look at this one, gorgeous and for $5 - with a new shade this would be perfect!
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Okay, don't think I'm crazy - but the humpty dumpty lamps are super cute! Imagine if a friend was doing a nursery rhyme themed kids room! How perfect!
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Speaking of toys, there are always tons of vintage toys in these sorts of store you can find old metal tonka trucks that have had years of play and are still in great condition - beware there is always an area of creepy dolls...
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Cute glass globe for $3 (used to house one of them whirly do-dad clocks)... would be great for Martha Stewart's "Heirloom Family Tree" project (Click Here to see that project)!
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Old cigar boxes, AND one of them is White Owl - just my sort of thing! Great little junk holders!
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Of course, there's old pop bottles... very typical in every antique shop!
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Hold up! Look at that! Beauti-licious! Okay, this is where I calmed myself down and looked at the price tag... $5!!! Gimme gimme gimme!!! Now I mentioned earlier that I couldn't take a chance on $40, but I can definitely take a chance on $5!
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Moving on... calming down... look! A McCoy cookie jar! (I need to learn more about dishes someday, but I do know that I love McCoy cookie jars, and I have been looking for one that I can afford for a long time...

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Story time! My Grandma Johnson had a McCoy cookie jar, it was a red apple - my mom now has that cookie jar - and someday I will have to fight my siblings for it... so I thought maybe I could find a McCoy of my own that my kids can fight over someday... I have found plenty that I love, including a brown owl... but I can never bring myself to pay the price...
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Okay, snap out of it, back to reality... I looked at this one, not wanting to read the tag... I have never seen one like this before... green amazingness that reminded me of a artichoke - artichokes have a special meaning with me and the hubby - I was beginning to love it... so I looked at the price tag - $80 - ouch. And there were two of these beauties at the store, so I had to go through this twice! Alright, moving on...
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I always think that old cameras look amazing sitting on a shelf, and for $5 a piece, they seem like a decent price. I might like something like these in my den someday, but I am a long ways away from decorating that room... so I have to move on...
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And on my way out of the store, I spy these! Awesome! I have been wanting to do a lighting project in my kitchen for over a year now - but I didn't have enough glass insulators! Yay! Now when I finally get around to doing that project, I will know right where to go!
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Alright, so here's the loot! The amazing green radio, the shell and two books. The blue book is a bird book with full color pictures published by the University of MN in 1936 and the yellow book is a neat Better Homes and Gardens Story Book (I forget what year it's from). But they are fun and colorful, I love them!

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I know it doesn't seem like much, but I am so proud of myself for only grabbing these items! I only brought home one project! Yippee! The hubby will be proud! Plus, this store is only 15 minutes away from home, so it's not like I can't go back to browse again...

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So here's the break down:

Vintage Motorola Radio - $5

Ceramic Sea Shell - $1

U of M Bird Book - $5

B&H Story Book - $3

Grand Total - $14

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Super! Hope you made it to the end of this post... I'll be back with more tomorrow! Happy Thursday!

Where's the Beef!?

This post may be a little strange by some standards, but we're not about keeping the norm at the Helm house!

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What do we love about summer!? The grill! Chris gets to flaunt his skills and I get to step back from the stove! We have grilled a couple times already this year, but not as much as normal... why? Well...

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This is what our freezer looks like...
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Empty! Sure we have been buying a couple steaks here and there, but nothing beats the butcher!
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One quarter of a cow later, we are stocked for the summer!
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29 Steaks! 7 Roasts! 104 Hamburger Patties! 30 lbs. of Hamburger! Now we only need to raid the folks' freezer for pork, haha! Oh - and poultry is bought from the grocery store... But for the most part, we are ready! Bring on the grill outs and time with family/friends!

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Alright, now I have to go figure out what's for grub! Happy Tuesday!

Taking a Stroll

Alright, I know I haven't been posting, but I promise I've been busy! So I thought I would at least give an update. Last Friday I decided to take a stroll around the house to check on the plants... first I snapped a picture of the area by the garage, whomp whomp whomp...

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Remember the damage the dog did last year? Well she also the edging near one end... and continued to dig it up all summer... sad, so I moved on.

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So I moved over by the deck... there used to be two peony bushes here, but we lost one during a hail storm last year. So I got down to take a closer picture of the one that survived.

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Doing good on my account, just need to do some clean up! So I glanced over to where the dead peony was... and look!

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IT'S ALIVE!!! Yay!!! Okay, calm down, this is just the deck area... I'm sure I've killed something!

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Yep! See! Dead roses! Total I lost three rose bushes... bummage, I'll have to replace them with something a little harder to kill...

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Found some lillys popping up!

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The rhododendrums are doing GREAT! Yippee!!! Marsha, do these bloom!? So after getting down to take a closer look... I decided to go back to the garage, gettin' down and dirty (sorry couldn't resist)!

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Look! There is something growing! This artichoke looking thing! Marsha, what is that!? There are actually two of them by the garage and...

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more lillys! Saweet! Later on that weekend we did some yark work. Mowing, weed whacking and some new mulch by the garage! If we can get some sunshine, I will post updated pictures - you should see the dead peony, it is flourishing! Happy Day!