Reality

We returned today from a beautiful, long weekend in Denver... I was in a nice little bubble until I spoke with my sister who told me about the stock market. Hmmmmm. Not so good. Feeling a bit sick, now, honestly. I was feeling queezy on Thursday (not that it hasn't been nerve wracking for a while now) and now I feel pretty sick. I mostly blog from my happy place, finding beauties in each day to write about or pretty objects to show. Wow, it is hard tonight. I'm not old enough or wise enough or calm enough to know that it will be OK.

But...I think that's all the worry I should put out there. It's not making me feel any better. Maybe some of the weekend's pictures will... One of the highlights of the weekend for me was today's lunch visit to Little Man Ice Cream. We love this place! I wrote about it in my very first post. See the menu here??

See where it says itty bitty? Doug decided, in his attempt to show restraint, to order the itty bitty...we laughed so hard...

Neither Eddie nor I showed that same reserve...

Another highlight for me and Eddie was the carousel (again) at the Zoo. I love that carousel...and I love seeing Eddie so proud of himself for riding all on his own. Mostly we had good family time in our little place down in the city. We are glad to be home, where the aspens are magnificent right now...

Happy Birthday, Husband

Today is my husband's birthday. Happy Birthday, Doug!! We love you. We hope you like your cupcakes!

Auction Goodies

Another auction finds post... I'm having some fun with these. With this economy, it's more fun for me to look than to even think about buying. But this economy can also mean it's a really good time to bid low and maybe get a deal.... From auctions this weekend, the pieces below popped out at me. Enjoy!

Rago's Craftsman Auction and Early 20th Century Design is this Saturday and Sunday. From day two of this auction:

This Jugtown bowl.

This Mildred Watkins salt cellar.

This Durand bottle...

and these Durand vases.

Also, in the first day of Rago's, I found this Saturday Evening Girls cereal bowl, with my name on it (almost)!

Some nice Americana from Pook and Pook's Illustrated Catalogue Sale tomorrow, the 26th:

Cast Iron Pennsylvania kitchen utensils.

These sweet, late 19th century carved birds .

This Galle marquetry crocus vase circa 1900 (it seems odd to me that this piece is in this auction, but that may mean someone gets a deal, because it's not what people attending have come for).

This 19th century miniature bucket.

and this 19th century copper (I LOVE that patina) weathervane.

Shout Out For Mrs. French!

Holly of Decor8 enlisted us (her readers) to give a shout out to one reader of our own blogs. My little blog is only a couple of months old, but mrs. french -- of the lovely, funny, serene, beautiful bliss blog -- takes time out of her day to send me little notes almost every time I post! Her comments make me smile (or fall over laughing), and she is literally one of the only people who comments. I think she must be the one person to read my blog outside of my family (if they even read it). Many, many of you know of her blog; she posts "I heart" lists and some of her truly inspired photos. She is quite talented and, lucky for us, she is soon to open her own Etsy shop. Thank you for visiting my little blog, mrs. french!

Beautiful Hike Today

I am so fortunate to have this trail 100 yards from my home. I hiked alone today (lovely) while Eddie and Doug were out...

Fall's Chill

No Montessori this week... under the (chilly) weather. We did get out for a hike yesterday and, boy, did we need it. We found some lovely fall colors.
And we danced to this today for all 6 minutes 48 seconds, twice! (via automatism via kottke.) I'm sure you will, too! Have a good weekend...

Auction Finds

I've found some more goodies, these at various auctions in the next week or so. I was feeling in a silver and blue mood, as you will see. The estimated values of these are all over the map, but why focus on price if I'm not actually trying to go for these! Part of it, for me, is scrolling through so much (there really is a whole world of other people's things out there!) and then something just jumps out of a sea of stuff. These were certainly not the only pieces I like, or would like to have, but they popped out at me. The presentation matters to me -- I appreciate it when the auction house puts up really nice, detailed photos. I bet it helps their internet bidding, too. Here are a few...

From Doyle Auction House's Design Auction on October 10th...

this Arne Jacobsen stainless tableware set from 1967.
It's the Airstream that got me with this group!
I love this pitcher.

And truly love this Julius Shulman photograph.

OK, on to other auctions...

From the Lewis and Maese Fine Arts and Antiques Auction, this elephant sculpture. Besides loving the sculpture itself, I think it's so cool that they've taken photos from every angle! Really fun.

From the Desert West Native American and Western Auction, this Navajo flask. It's so small and delicate. I wonder who carried this.

The lamps and candlestick below are from an auction in Munich, Germany tomorrow, the 19th. I usually don't look at European auctions, but a 20th century lighting one caught my eye, and they have some amazing pieces.

These Poul Henningsen pendant lamps, which are only two of a number of Henningsen lamps, but I liked these best (except for this one).

I love this German daylight lamp from 1910.

and these Geislingen table lamps from 1930.

Looking at this this F. R. Wilm candlestick made in Berlin circa 1928, and the photo of Wilm (see the link), made me think about where these German pieces, now being auctioned in Germany, have been over the course of their lives. They somehow survived WWII, not that everything in Germany was destroyed by any means, but if they could only talk and tell their stories...

These last items are from a private NY collection. Showplace Antique Center will auction this collection on Sept. 21st. I like private collection auctions, in a way, because they almost tell a story. In another way, they can be sad...bygone eras and all. If you have a second, check it out.
This delicate, feminine travel clock.

I love this Cristofle tea pot.

Cool Industrial Age Bouquet telescoping lamp.

Fun wooden artist's model.

Pretty blue in this French enamel and chrome clock.

Lego Cars

Eddie builds cars out of Legos. Lots of them. He never wants me to take photos of them, but tonight I snuck one of today's creations. We also built a garage together. This was probably too ambitious with no nap and a cold...

Old, But Blessed

Yesterday was my birthday (and my twin's...Happy Birthday, Dor!!). One of my other sisters said she was going to check out my blog and see if I spelled out exactly how old I now am! Here it is...F-O-R-T-Y-F-I-V-E. AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I honestly feel it this year. And it makes me really sad. I've never gotten teary over my age, until now. Yuck. But, I have much to make me feel young, and I have to remember these blessings: a loving husband who is my friend (plus he works so hard, tolerates me, and rides a mean snowboard, mountain bike and dirt bike), a beautiful 3-year-old, a big and supportive family, health, a home in a place people pay (a lot) to visit, and everything I could need. So, without further complaint, into this new age I go. And here are the goodies my loved ones picked out for me! Thank you! They are perfect for me!

I meant to post this one on Thursday, but time got away from me! Treadway Gallery's 20th Century Art and Design Auction will be this Sunday (which is now tomorrow) in Cincinnati. And, of course, I found some things I'd like to have!! I'm enjoying putting this stuff out there for the universe - somehow it makes me feel better about not actually trying to "win" these things. I really don't understand why. So, that said, here are some of my faves.
This Handel lily lamp.

This Mark Peiser vase. By the way, there must be over 100 vases in this auction.

This Claude Aliotti painting.

This Kiyoshi Saito woodblock.
These Tony Paul tables and cart.
These Peter Protzmann chairs.
This Vistosi hanging lamp.

Enjoy!