I bought these polka dot mugs in Italy and they make my mornings so happy! I have a thing for polka dots; I have a whole board on Pinterest with polka dot items.  Polka dots make me so happy. They are round and bubbly and cheerful. I once had a white t-shirt that had tiny little polka dots around the bottom hem. I slaved over that t-shirt, to keep it clean and white looking so I could wear it over and over again!

I usually like to buy things while traveling that are unique to that region or that depict or bring to mind the area. This time though, I bought these mugs just because I HAD to have them. I passed them in a shop window near our hotel every day in Sorrento. On our last day, I decided I needed them. The shop was closed! I almost cried. Fortunately it was just closed for the afternoon and was open again that evening when we walked by.

I bought these polka dot mugs in Italy and they make my mornings so happy! I have a thing for polka dots; I have a whole board on Pinterest with polka dot items.  Polka dots make me so happy. They are round and bubbly and cheerful. I once had a white t-shirt that had tiny … Read more →

I’ve got a guest post up on Donna Hull’s amazing travel site, My Itchy Travel Feet with advice and tips about how to find unique souvenirs on your travels that will make excellent mementos. I hope you will check it out!

I’ve got a guest post up on Donna Hull’s amazing travel site, My Itchy Travel Feet with advice and tips about how to find unique souvenirs on your travels that will make excellent mementos. I hope you will check it out!

I’m halfway through my posts about all of our stops in Italy, so let’s take a rest stop and talk about shopping (don’t worry, there will be lengthy foodie posts to come as well!)

Pre-Shopping

Before I leave on a trip, I try to find out what the specialty items of the area are. For Italy, I determined that I should look for handmade glass and lace (and locally made lace is hard to find and expensive since most of it is just made in factories in Asia now) in Venice, handcrafted paper and leather in Florence, and lemon products and custom-made sandals in Sorrento. Cameos are another specialty in Italy. I also read about glass or stone mosaics throughout the country.

I have several specific collections I am always looking to add to: bookmarks and magnets are the cheapest, although bookmarks can be hard to find. I always am looking for Christmas ornaments, Easter eggs and cups, handmade baskets, locally made soap, fun food items to bring home, and watercolor paintings depicting the area. It helps to have specific things to look for.

Venice

The shopping in Venice was fantastic. There were so many stores, it was hard to focus. This was also our first city, so we were jet lagged and trying to adjust to the terrible heat! We took a vaporetto to the island of Murano which was

an amazing place to visit, but they had so much glass that is made there on the island that it was hard to choose! Some of the glass is very expensive. One shop had a few glass mosaic pieces, but none were right.

I found two great bookmarks in Venice, one with a tassel (which they sell many of in Venice) and one with Murano glass.

We bought our Venice painting from an artist in the campo right in front of our hotel, next to a canal. It was one of those perfect settings.

Florence

There was a lovely shopping section in Florence on the far side of the Arno, just past the Ponte

Vecchio, but I wish it had been bigger. This area had some terrific artisan shops where we bought leather items and a beautiful painted tray. My husband bought a wallet and we got the leather trays I photographed. I found bookmarks here and little books of paintings from each city which will hang on my book tree in my office.

I bought my painting in Florence (the long narrow on in the front of the photo below) in a small courtyard outside the Uffizi where artists were selling their work. Artists were also selling things in the Plaza Repubblica at night. I find that areas where

tourists gather in the evenings are good places to find local paintings that are inexpensive. I rarely pay more than $20 for paintings like these.

I looked at gorgeous stone mosaics in Florence, but could not bring myself to spend a minimum of 250 Euros for one. So those have now taken up residence in the museum in my mind (all the things I wished I had bought and didn’t on all of my trips!).

Rome

Rome was a challenge for shopping, but we did find a nice little grouping of shops near the Pantheon. Everything else was junky souvenir shops or expensive designer shopping. There were several shops with nice pottery in Rome.

I bought a painting in Rome, but it’s a print that I saw lots of street vendors selling. I could not find any artists selling original paintings.

I saw a gorgeous handpainted leather purse I came very close to buying, but the back of it had some scratches. They didn’t have any others. Another item added to the museum of my mind.

Pompeii

We took a tour of Pompeii and I did not expect to buy anything there other than my fun little cheap magnet (I buy one every place we go and they decorate the file cabinet in my office). However, our guide took us into a cameo store, where an elderly man sits hand-making cameos.  They were beautiful and my daughter and I each bought one (ok, I bought two). The artist signed them on the back and also wrote our

initials on the back. I really wanted a blue cameo, but they told us those are always made in factories. The ones we bought are handmade from shells.

Sorrento

Sorrento had a wonderful shopping section, very quaint with narrow

alleys and cobblestone streets, just off the Tasso piazza. It was a shopper’s paradise. There were so many shops selling leather purses that I was dizzy!

My daughter had sandals handmade for her here (you go in and pick out the elements you want on them and they have it ready the next day: they do not actually hand-make the sole however – they just put together the pieces you select). Limoncello is a big product here, but I bought lemon soap and honey since we don’t care for alcohol.  My husband bought a beautiful leather bag and a belt here.

We had dinner one night down in Marina Grande, a tiny little beach area. There was an old woman selling lace just behind the beach. She was sitting and doing lacework, so there is a chance the lace I bought did not come from Asia, so I bought one lace doily.

We also stumbled upon a truly fantastic HUGE store called Gargiulio and Januzzi. They sold inlaid wood boxes and plaques, some glass jewelry and a big room of amazing Italian pottery and linens. Downstairs was a big room with marquetry inlay furniture which was gorgeous. I had to get out of that room or I would have had the entire thing shipped home. I bought some pottery and a table runner, as well as an inlay wood box (all still being shipped home, so no photos). Very high quality items and very good customer service. The shipping was free which was a nice bonus.

Capri

We visited the island of Capri on a tour, but only went to the town of Anacapri where the shopping was rather limited. I had high hopes for Capri, but didn’t buy much, other than the beautiful hydrangea glass plate I’ve photographed with my Murano glass. My daughter and I bought the lace bracelets I photographed with the lace doily here.

I could not find a painting on Capri (there was one shop in Anacapri with paintings and the owner was so aggressive, I could not even really look at his work. We ended up buying one in Sorrento of Capri the next day, so that worked out ok.

Not pictured are t-shirts and sweatshirts other members of the family brought home, as well as a couple pairs of earrings my daughter bought and promptly put into use!

We also had to make an emergency suitcase purchase at a train station! My daughter’s suitcase zipper broke. The train station in Rome had a big suitcase shop and we got a nice one for about 50 Euro, which was a nice bargain. We tried to throw out the broken suitcase, but everyone we asked told us to just set it outside the main doors of the station and someone would take it!

Overall, it was a successful trip in terms of shopping and now I am trying to figure out where to put it all! I have to get the paintings framed, which is always a challenge. I can often find frames and mattes at Michael’s but sometimes they are not standard sizes and I have to have them framed.

I always feel as though I am buying a ton, then I get it all home and it really isn’t a lot. It’s always so nice to have lovely little items to remind me of our trips!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m halfway through my posts about all of our stops in Italy, so let’s take a rest stop and talk about shopping (don’t worry, there will be lengthy foodie posts to come as well!) Pre-Shopping Before I leave on a trip, I try to find out what the specialty items of the area are. For … Read more →

This year I made some changes and additions to our holiday decorations. As always, we have  a tree in the living room with my ornaments and white and pink lights, braided pearl strands and pink bunting. We have a tree in the family room with the kids’ ornaments. I also have a tree in my office with book ornaments.

This year, partly because I now do a lot of my work in the kitchen, I added a kitchen tree, with kitchen themed ornaments. It has blue and white lights. I found all sorts of cute ornaments – knife, fork, spoon, blender, pots and pants, strainer, PBJ sandwich, milk carton, pitcher, tray of gingerbread men, toaster, crate of blueberries, a ravioli, chocolate covered strawberry, and even a Hostess cupcakes – all on eBay! I must admit though I am jonesing for another ornament on eBay. It’s a little oven with cookies baking in it. It lights up AND it smells like cookies baking. It’s going for around $110 though, so I won’t be buying it any time soon. I had the most fun prowling eBay for the ornaments I did buy though!

I haven’t figured out what to put on the top of this tree yet. Some people have suggested a chef’s hat, but I’m not a chef, so I don’t like that. I was thinking maybe a little doll’s apron tied around the top, but am not sure what that would look like. Any ideas?

Teen Martha and I went to a Christmas tour of homes and I loved how some people had ornaments hung in their windows. If you look in the background of the kitchen tree photo, you can see I have my 12 days of Christmas ornaments in the windows, but I wanted to do something else. I realized I had 3 blue star ornaments that would be perfect in the big window over my sink, so Mr. MarthaAndMe hung those for me. Next year, I am going to do something on the shelf above it as well – maybe a grouping of reindeer with some that cottony stuff that looks like snow drifts.

At the tour of homes, I also loved decorations people put on the backs of their kitchen chairs. Next year I’ll be doing that too. I haven’t been able to find what I want to do it this year.

And just a note here that my kitchen walls really are not the color they look like in these photos! They are a very, very pale subtle green but somehow they look horrible and neon in these photos!

Moving on to the dining room, I’ve added to my tree collection this year with several new ones, and I also bought a white sparkly runner to put them on so they pop more.

In case you didn’t know, I don’t do red for Christmas. Pink is my Christmas color. I do cranberry in the family room. The kitchen is blue themed so I am going with decorations in blue in there.

I have had the same Christmas dining room centerpiece my entire married life. It was time for a new one. Not an easy task with my color scheme. I bought this 60% off at Michaels and had to do some work on it. It had some awful brown roses in it I pulled out. I added more pink poinsettias, some gold accents, and put it in a shiny mercury glass vase I got at TJ Maxx for $19. I am THRILLED with the results!

In the living room I have my display of tree toppers on the mantel. This collection has grown as well, so I thought I would share it with you. I also found some fabulous vintage pink curly-que garland at an antique shop, so I’ve replaced the pink bunting on the mantel with that. I also bought pre-lit garland this year because I got tired of seeing all the wires from the lights I wrapped around the garland.

Again, the colors of my walls just look horrible in these photos for some reason!

Decorating for Christmas is so much work, but I just love it so much! The hardest part for me is I spent so much time and put so much thought into and we never have a single person come over to see it (neither set of parents is interested in coming here for Christmas), so at least I get to share it with you!

This year I made some changes and additions to our holiday decorations. As always, we have  a tree in the living room with my ornaments and white and pink lights, braided pearl strands and pink bunting. We have a tree in the family room with the kids’ ornaments. I also have a tree in my … Read more →

I have been coveting this $150 starfish necklace for more than a year. But I just couldn’t bring myself to spend that. We were in Florida recently and spent a day on Sanibel Island, where I did some shopping. Several of the stores were selling these little do it yourself lockets. They came in different shapes. I bought a round one for $18 (including chain – still can’t believe it). In the display, they sell little charms you can put in the locket for $3 each (really!). So I bought the necklace and two charms (starfish and sand dollar). Mr. MarthaAndMe put some sand in it that I collected on the beach. When I got home, I went to Michael’s and bought some crystals for $3. Mr. Martha and Me glued them back to back (they had metal backers and kept flipping over so you saw the back) and we put three in the locket. I love it so much and for about $27 I got the same effect as the $150 one I had been looking at!

I have been coveting this $150 starfish necklace for more than a year. But I just couldn’t bring myself to spend that. We were in Florida recently and spent a day on Sanibel Island, where I did some shopping. Several of the stores were selling these little do it yourself lockets. They came in different … Read more →

Things are finally slowing down here so I’ll have more time to blog. I threw up some Puerto Rico photos the other day but didn’t have time to write anything. San Juan is a beautiful city, with narrow cobbled streets, old forts, and Spanish architecture. One thing we did that was off the beaten path was follow directions in a guidebook to find a place that sells limbers. Limbers are a frozen juice, like a popsicle. They come in plastic cups and are sold from a window inside a hallway in a residential building. You wouldn’t have a clue it’s there unless you knew to look for it. In the photo, Mr. MarthaAndMe is standing outside the building. You have to go in a doorway and then go up to a barred window to order. They have a list of flavors, but seemed to be out of most of them. We ended up with passion fruit, grape, pina colada and one other I can’t remember. You aren’t given a spoon or straw and have this cup full of frozen juice. We sat across the street with a view of the harbor and tried to eat them. Mr. MarthaAndMe suggested squeezing the cup to get the juice to pop up a bit. Great idea – until we realized it made the cups crack and soon we had juice dripping everywhere. It was a complete disaster. It tasted great though!

We drove through El Yunque, the rainforest and it was beautiful. The other very special thing we did was kayak in the bioluminescent bay at night. We went to Fajardo (there are two others in PR as well). I don’t have any photos yet –  we took some with a waterproof disposable camera that I haven’t had developed yet. We arrived at 8 when it was getting dark. We didn’t shove off until about 8:30 or so. You have to walk through the water to get to about knee high water then they have you climb into sea kayaks (2-person). You kayak through a mangrove forest for about half an hour (quite an adventure in the dark!) and come out into a bay. As you turn into the bay, you notice that when you dip your oars in the water, the water seems to glow an eerie blue.  We paddled out to the middle of the bay and the guide tied all of our kayaks together and tried to talk about the phenomenon but one of the other guides was intent on squirting Teen Martha with a water gun and getting the other teens involved so we ended up not hearing much. You could put your hand in the water and swirl it and the water was electric blue when you moved it. They then put a tarp over our kayak and encouraged us to splash water on our legs. The droplets glowed like blue diamonds. It was absolutely amazing. It was really the highlight of our trip.

In the photos I posted earlier, I showed paella we enjoyed as well as a photo of Teen Martha with a pina colada. These were both taken at Barrachina, the place that claims to have invented the pina colada. The night we were there, they had flamenco dancers performing.

As for the shopping, it wasn’t great. Most of San Juan had tacky souvenir shops. There was one fantastic place that sold hats, but Mr. MarthaAndMe did not buy one. We found some galleries and some artisan shops, but I really didn’t buy much. There were two nice shops by El Yunque where I bought some things. When I got home, I realized nothing I bought cost over $12 which is incredible.

In photo #1 you’ll see a shell bracelet, a bar of soap, a leather case with leather dominoes, and a three dimensional sculpture of a San Juan scene. Photo #2 shows a little painting that has some shells glued on it and a watercolor print of a San Juan scene. You’ll also see a bowl with a basket edging, a bookmark and a Christmas tree ornament. The kids and Mr. MarthaAndMe got t-shirts. Teen Martha bought a tshirt dress and a beautiful white cotton embroidered top that was made in Ecuador. Dude Martha also bought a hat. One strange note is that all of the women’s clothes were tiny. Teen Martha could not find much that fit. Even an XL looked like a small to us. I did not understand it at all.

Photo #3 is a piece of aluminum that has been etched and painted and mounted on wood. We saw a lot of these, but almost all had the 3 kings in them and I’m not big on religious icons. We finally found this one.

Things are finally slowing down here so I’ll have more time to blog. I threw up some Puerto Rico photos the other day but didn’t have time to write anything. San Juan is a beautiful city, with narrow cobbled streets, old forts, and Spanish architecture. One thing we did that was off the beaten path … Read more →

This is part three of my three part series about our trip to Seattle, Alaska, and Vancouver.  As you all know, shopping is a key component of travel for me. I’m not interested in outlet malls, Caribbean jewelry prices (there were tons of these shops in Alaska), tacky souvenirs (except a select few!), or clothes. Nope. I’m looking for “authentic” types of items that I can bring home, which will keep the trip alive for me, and I think Martha does this also. I also have several collections that I try to add to on each trip – bookmarks, sheep, teacups, baskets, and cheap little magnets.

The shopping on this trip was not fantastic, but it wasn’t horrible. Sitka was a good town for shopping. Seattle wasn’t great. Vancouver was good to me – the Granville Market and Gastown were good spots.

I did well on the basket front. The one on the left is from Alaska and is made of smoked grass (and it smells smoky too). The white thing in the middle is carved bone with glass. It has glass beads on the sides. The one on the right is from Vancouver and is made of kelp. It has a barnacle attached to it.  I’m wild about both of these finds! These are exactly the kind of things I hope to find on our trips.

I did not expect to find a sheep on this trip – they aren’t exactly your typical Pacific NW or Alaskan animal! This sheepie is from Vancouver and what makes it incredibly special is that its face is made from a crossword puzzle (and I love doing crosswords), so it combines two things I love. It’s totally unique and fits well into my “flock.”

Another thing I love to bring home from trips is food that I can experiment with at a later date, which will remind me of the trip. On the right is a barley bannock mix, something settlers used to make in British Columbia. On the right is birch syrup, which is supposed to be similar to maple, but is more savory. It came with a few recipes, so I’ll be trying that out.  I’ll also have a freezer full of salmon, from Mr. MarthaAndMe’s and Dude Martha’s fishing trip.

I have too many vases, but that doesn’t stop me from hauling more home. I found this one in the museum store for the Museum of Northwest Art in La Conner Washington. There are little gold dots on it which you can’t see very well here.  I love the design on this and it’s very different from other glass pieces I own, so it will be an interesting addition to my collection. It’s also purple which is a departure for me, but a fun one, so I know I will enjoy owning this.

This item is from Made in Washington, the very first shop I went into on our trip, at Pike Place Market. This is made from local, reclaimed glass and shells discarded by the fishing industry. The glass also has some ash from Mt. St. Helens in it (which erupted when I was a kid). The inside of the globe contains sand and the aforementioned shells. I love, love, love this piece. And this proves one my cardinal rules of shopping – when you see something you like, buy it. Don’t dink around thinking you will see it elsewhere for less or something similar that is better. I never saw anything like this anywhere else. Teen Martha almost got burned by ignoring this rule – she did not buy a jade bracelet she saw in Alaska and then we hunted all over Vancouver looking for it – and finally found one!

This birch box is from a Russian store in Sitka, Alaska, which used to be the Russian settlement capital. It’s made of Siberian birch. Not exactly Alaskan, but I liked it so I bought it.

Drumroll, please. This is my most expensive and most exciting purchase. Jade is the state gemstone of Alaska. On our ship, they had these jade bears and I loved them. But I didn’t buy them, thinking I would find something more authentic or cheaper on shore (this again proves my shopping rule mentioned above!). I looked everywhere and never saw one with the pink salmon in its mouth AND all the ones I saw on shore were twice as much. So I ended up buying this onboard the ship and it is a special memento of the trip for me.

Something else I’ve been buying on trips are watercolor prints of the area. The top one is from Seattle and has a cruise ship in it. The bottom one is from Sitka and shows a glacier in the distance. I have a stack of these now from different places and need to get serious about framing them and hanging them somewhere.

Next up is a tacky penwith gold flakes in it I bought to remember our gold panning trip. The leaves are made from real leaves and will join the rest of my leaf collection on my fall tree that stands on my mantel.  They aren’t quite as bright as they appear in this photo!

Lately, I’ve been buying local soaps on our trips that have a scent that reminds me of the area. I like to use bars of soap in the shower and it’s like taking a little vacation when I use one reminiscent of a trip. The tube is devil’s claw lip balm which I haven’t tried yet.

I have a problem. Wherever we go, I end up hauling home jams and jellies. I can’t help myself. I bought these from two little Mennonite girls who were selling them on the sidewalk in Sitka. They had on their dresses, braids and bare feet and talked to me about picking the berries and helping make the jams. How could I not buy them? They have 10 children in their family. The flavors include fireweed and salmonberry, which I can’t wait to try.

I have a huge collection of bookmarks. They are an inexpensive and light weight item to bring home, so I tend to buy too many. The top one has a polar bear on it. The long one is leather and the bottom one is copper. I make groupings of my bookmarks and frame them and hang them on the walls of my office.  I’ll be combining these with the ones from last summer’s trip and hanging them soon hopefully.

This photo shows the Alaskan sourdough starter I bought, as well as my tacky magnets. I try to buy one in each city or region we visit and they go on the front of my file cabinet and make me happy when I see them. The ship ornament is our ship and is for Dude Martha’s vehicle Christmas ornament collection.

I also bought this cookbook, Fishes and Dishes, in Sitka and have not read it yet.

The final purchase has not arrived yet and it a metal sculpture that hangs on a wall and has pine trees, mountains and glaciers. It’s being shipped home and hasn’t arrived yet. I got that in La Conner Washington also.

The kids bought a few things. They each got sweatshirts. Dude Martha got a walrus tooth and a card with the different minerals from Alaska. He also bought an inukshuk and a wallet make from recycled tires.

This is part three of my three part series about our trip to Seattle, Alaska, and Vancouver.  As you all know, shopping is a key component of travel for me. I’m not interested in outlet malls, Caribbean jewelry prices (there were tons of these shops in Alaska), tacky souvenirs (except a select few!), or clothes. … Read more →

I haven’t been cooking as much as usual, so I don’t have as much to share about food lately. The heat makes it hard and I’ve just been feeling tired of the constant dinner grind. So this morning, I thought I would share an interesting collection I’ve developed – rocks. I’m not fascinated by the scientific information about rocks – what they’re called, how they were formed. No, I just like them because they’re pretty. And they are a way of bringing home a piece of a place I’ve visited.

My fascination with rocks started when we rented a house in York Harbor, Maine for a week several years ago. The coast is very rocky there and the house was right on the water, with a very rocky and challenging shore. We spent a lot of time clambering around the rocks. So many of them were so beautiful that I started hauling some back to the house with me each time. This rock sits beside the doors to our basement and garage and I use it as a doorstop. I just love the wavy lines through it.

These are more Maine rocks. Thank goodness we drove, because I could never have gotten these home on an airplane! I love the pink rock and the amazing stripes in the blue rocks. I was like a kid in a candy store before we left – stuffing more and more rocks into the car. I did try to sift through carefully and only take the most beautiful.

A few years after the Maine trip. we rented a house on Cape Cod. Again, there were so many beautiful rocks! As you can see though, they are very different from the Maine rocks. I love the green ones the most.  Again, we were driving, so I didn’t have trouble getting them home.

These rocks are in a basket that came from Maine (I know, I should swap things around and put the Maine rocks in this basket.)

I put some of the smaller rocks in a rectangular glass container on a kitchen shelf. Next to it is driftwood I found on the beach there as well. Dude Martha and I spent a lot of time just walking on that beach, looking at rocks and exploring tide pools. As a kid, we vacationed in Maine, so a rocky beach is my ideal for summer vacation!

I was so enamored with the Cape Cod rocks that I took lots of photos of them because they are most colorful when they’re wet – right after a wave has washed over them. So I had to take some photos to preserve those bright colors. This photo sits on a shelf in my office and it makes me happy every time I look at it!

Our trip last summer to England and Scotland was magical. My entire life, I dreamed of going to Scotland. After we had crossed the border into Scotland, I said to Mr. MarthaAndMe that I couldn’t believe I was actually there. It was so beautiful that I had a tiny little cry. So when we got to Loch Ness and parked on the side of the road and climbed down some stairs to get to the beach, I couldn’t help but pocket a few rocks! They aren’t as colorful as the New England rocks, but they sit on a shelf in my office and remind me that I actually did go to Scotland.

I don’t have rocks from our trip to Hawaii (the goddess Pele would have been angry if I had brought home any lava rocks) but I do have some shells and coral, as well as a nice container of beach glass I found there.

This summer we’ll be headed to the Pacific Northwest – Seattle, Alaska and Vancouver. Maybe they’ll have some rocks I can bring home.

I haven’t been cooking as much as usual, so I don’t have as much to share about food lately. The heat makes it hard and I’ve just been feeling tired of the constant dinner grind. So this morning, I thought I would share an interesting collection I’ve developed – rocks. I’m not fascinated by the … Read more →

This is the second in a series of posts about the items I inherited from my paternal grandmother. She didn’t leave much behind, so I cherish the items I received, but at the same time I am trying to figure out just what to do with them.

This is a beautiful beaded handbag, but unfortunately, it’s falling apart. The other side is in even worse condition. I would love to get it repaired but have no idea where to do that. Any ideas? I love the style of this. My mom has a close friend who had an old heirloom handbag preserved in a display box and I would love to do something like that if it could be repaired.

Next up is the pin cushion. My aunt says this used to be on Gram’s dresser, but I am not sure I really remember seeing it there.  My aunt says that the hat pins belonged to Gram’s mother Rose, my great-grandmother. Rose was quite a woman, from the stories I’ve heard. She took in foster children before there was a real foster child system, and despite her family’s lack of wealth. Because of this, there is an “aunt” who was raised by her who is not a biological relative, but was always considered a sister to my Gram and her two biological sisters. I love the pin in the center with the rhinestones, even though many are missing. I would love to get that repaired as well. Stick pins were in fashion in the late 70s – maybe they’ll make a comeback and I could wear it as one!

There were some costume jewelry pins my mom chose for me to have.  The two that are identical are actually a belt buckle I think. I like the little one at the bottom the most. It’s pretty and delicate and would be something you could just pin on a collar for a little extra fun. I know it’s not exactly in style at the moment, but it appeals to me.

My mom also gave me an assortment of rings. Some I passed along to my daughter. I kept three for myself which you can see on my finger (which looks incredibly old and wrinkly in this photo for some reason!). The top one is missing some stones (rhinestones I presume) and I would love to get it repaired and sized to fit me. It’s a cute little ring.

The second one is missing the stone (I assume the stones were sold or reset at some point). I LOVE this setting. What is really, really strange is that it is very similar to the ring I received from my other grandmother. You can read that post here. My other grandmother’s ring was her engagement ring. The stone was reset for an anniversary. My mom gave me that ring and had an aquamarine stone set in it for me. This ring from

Gram is very similar. It might have been the style of the times – however they weren’t the same age. Gai married in the 30s and Gram married in the 40s (she was a WWII bride), so I’m not sure what to think.

I’ve included a photo of the two similar rings together. In this photo, you can see that the ring from Gram has a blue stone on the side (it’s missing on the other side).

The third ring is also missing a stone, but again I am in love with the ring. The setting is quite high – it sticks out quite far and I love the delicate detailing on the ring itself. I really want to get all three of these rings repaired and reset so I could wear them.

This is the second in a series of posts about the items I inherited from my paternal grandmother. She didn’t leave much behind, so I cherish the items I received, but at the same time I am trying to figure out just what to do with them. This is a beautiful beaded handbag, but unfortunately, … Read more →

If you’ve been following along with me, you probably remember the Grandmother Project. After my maternal grandmother passed away almost a year ago, I inherited boxes and boxes of things (my entire dining room was filled) and spent a lot of time trying to make sense of them and put them to good use. I posted many times with photos of some of the more interesting finds and uses.

My paternal grandmother passed away several years ago, but there was recently a family pow-wow to divide up what remained of her belongings. Gram was not a woman of material wealth and didn’t leave much behind. I had nothing of hers though, so I was happy when my mom brought home some things for me. Today and tomorrow I’m going to share some of them with you.

My aunts say that this piece of lace was my grandmother’s parochial school collar from her uniform. It’s actually quite beautiful and is 23 inches long. I’m not sure what to do with it though! Any suggestions are welcome. I could frame it I suppose.

Next up is another collar, but this one is for a baby or child. And since it is blue, we think it must have been my father’s, or possibly the other son my grandmother had who died as a baby. I’m not sure what to do with this either! It’s an interesting piece of family history to have though.

These gloves are very tiny – I can’t get my hands into them at all and neither can Teen Martha ( I think we inherited a scaled down version of my mother’s giant paws), but Gram had very small hands. It’s possible these are from her wedding, although her hands are not visible in the wedding photo I

have. They have tiny little pearls at the edge and are quite pretty, if  a bit yellowed. Again, I’m at a loss as to what to do with them and the only thing I can come up with is framing them. I also am not sure how to get the yellowing out without damaging them. Any thoughts or suggestions for any of this is welcome!

Tune in tomorrow for another installment of this project.

If you’ve been following along with me, you probably remember the Grandmother Project. After my maternal grandmother passed away almost a year ago, I inherited boxes and boxes of things (my entire dining room was filled) and spent a lot of time trying to make sense of them and put them to good use. I … Read more →