A bit bogged down!

"Life sometimes gets so bogged down in the details, you forget you are living it. There is always another appointment to be met, another bill to pay, another symptom presenting, another uneventful day to be notched onto the wooden wall. We have synchronized our watches, studied our calendars, existed in minutes, and completely forgotten to step back and see what we've accomplished."

— Jodi Picoult (My Sister's Keeper)

 
Hey all!
 
So sorry for the lack of posts lately.  I have been beyond bogged down with a lot of wonderful stuff, like Special Olympics activities such as their 2010 Summer Games in Davis, CA.  As work has been gearing up, I shifted focus to those priorities, as well as spending quality time with my family.
 
I promise to get another freebie friday post up soon - and I look forward to participating in all the wonderful memes, such as vintage thingie thursday - soon!
 
Hope you all are having a wonderful summer - and that if you let yourself get bogged down, it is only in good stuff and not stressful.
 
Now, carry on bloggin' folk!

Happy Father's Day!

"A truly rich man is one whose children run into his arms when his hands are empty." -- Unknown

Mildred was Green

This is the image I started with:

The theme was fashion.  Check out more wonderful variations on this theme, or join in the fun yourself - here:

Go Wild

Happy Monday Everyone! 

So today, Cherry Chick is hosting ME Monday - a new meme for those who love and collect all things Mary Engelbreit, and Free Pretty Things for You is hosting a Mouth Watering Monday meme.

So, in honor of these two new memes - both of which I find exciting and fun - I have decided to ~ Go Wild! ~ and inexplicably, post on both at the same time.  Adding confusion to the odd bedfellows, is  the fact that I am not really following the rules for eiher meme.  Oh well, my heart is  in the right place.  Bear with me!

First, for ME Monday, I am supposed to take my own picture of a Mary Engelbreit item that I own.  This week's theme is specifically the most unusual Mary Engelbreit item I own.  Ok, well - aside from telling you I DO own many a ME item, for reasons having to do with my camera (or lack thereof) - instead I am going to show you a picture of an unusual ME item that I particularly covet.  Here it is - I would love, love, l.ove to have this in my personal collection.

How adorable is that apron up there??  I just love it!  And you can MAKE one just for yourself, if you want!  This apron (or, more precisely - the book with the pattern) was featured on the Farm Chicks blog, which is where I first saw it.  You can purchae the pattern for yourself, here.

Ok!  So, imagine that you are wearing said apron, in the kitchen. Since the other theme today is recipes - let me state that I do know that we were supposed to take a picture of a recipe that we have already created.  Well, I think I covered the camera issue above.  (Promise, that will be resolved SOON!)  In he meantime, forgive me for sharing one of my favorite recipes, along with a picture that I personally did not take.

I LOVE love this special french toast recipe.  It is the perfect recipe for a special breakfast or brunch.  I have served these on Christmas morning, as well as Easter morn.  They always get rave reviews.  And they are surprisingly easy to make.  Enjoy!

Cheese-Stuffed French Toast with Strawberry Sauce

Ingredients

12 (1-ounce) diagonally cut slices French bread

1/4 cup sifted powdered sugar

1 (8-ounce) tub cream cheese

2 1/2 cups milk

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 large eggs

Cooking spray

Optional:

Strawberry Sauce

Candied Lemon Rind

(Note, you can also use jam or jelly of any flavor in place of the strawberry sauce.  Whipped cream and/or fresh fruit are optional/additional garnishes).

Note # 2:  Looking for a low cal version?  Replace 4 of the six eggs with egg whites, and use low or non fat versions of the milk and cream cheese.

Preparation

Cut a horizontal slit through bottom crust of each slice of bread to form a pocket. Combine powdered sugar and cream cheese; stir well. Spread mixture evenly into pockets of bread. Place 6 bread slices in each of two large, shallow baking dishes; set aside.

Combine milk, sugar, vanilla extract, egg whites, and eggs in a bowl; beat well with a wire whisk. Pour milk mixture evenly over bread slices. Cover and chill 1 hour or until liquid is absorbed.
Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray, and place over medium heat until hot. Arrange half of bread slices in skillet, and cook 3 minutes. Turn bread over, and cook 3 minutes or until browned; remove from skillet. Repeat procedure with the remaining bread slices.

Serve with garnishes recommended above!

YUM!

(*I usually make this recipe from scratch now.  In looking for a more precise recipe for you to use, I shared a variation of the recipe from MyRecipes.com.  Photo from same source.)

So, I hope you enjoyed seeing the apron I covet, and I hope you make the yummy french toast for your family.  I have yet to meet someone who does not LOVE this recipe!

To see more fun Mary Engelbreit collectibles, or to share your own - visit Cherry Chick's blog!

And to share your own yummy recipe, or find more recipes from others - check out Free Pretty Things for You! 

Have a great Monday everyone!

Retro Wonderful

Obviously, one look at this blog ~ and it goes without saying, I'm a kitten for vintage kitsch.  I love it all.  In my book, if it is retro, it is wonderful.  I'm not a stickler for one era, though.  Give me the twenties, the thirties, heavy on the fourties, and throw some other 'ies' in there, and we are good.  I like shabby chic, victorian treats, and mid-century diner style thrown in for good measure. 

Over the past year, my husband and I have been woking on re-decorating our home with 1. no money; 2. A lot of elbow grease; and 3. A fair amount of compromise.  (The hubby is a fan of modern clean lines, cool colors, and bare minimalism.  I... am not.)  However, we seem to have finally (after nearly a decade of cohabitation!) started to find our happy middle ground.  In the coming weeks, I'll start sharing those results with you.

In the meantime, since it is Studio Saturday here at Born Broken - I figured I would share a new favorite website.  It offers endless inspiration for working with retro decor and playing with vintage goodies.  Be sure and check out their blog too!

http://www.tpartyantiques.com/

http://www.tparty.typepad.com/

Here is a peek at some of their website goodies:

Be sure and check out the T-Party website and blog for even more vintage/retro fun!  Happy Studio Saturday, all!

Do you have any houses, studios or decor that you adore? Leave me a comment and a link. I love to visit new places, and I'd love to feature reader favorites on upcoming Studio Saturday days.

Hannah Grey and The Wild Gypsy

http://www.hannahgrey.com/shop/

http://wildgypsyart.blogspot.com/

Doesn't that sound like the name of some kind of fantastical tale?  Hannah Grey and the Wild Gypsy?  Actually, it is the combined names of two fantastical businesses.  Long time ZNE members and old friends Shoshannah Jennings of Hannah Grey Curiosities and Drygoods, and Carolyn Sadowski of The Wild Gypsy are both offering some amazing freebies in their online stores today.  Since it is Freebie Friday here at Born Broken - I thought I would share the info!

 

So, be sure and ~run, don't walk!~ over to Hannah Grey.  This wonderful store full of art supplies and mixed media goodies is closing down its online division.  What does this mean for you? A 35% discount on anything orders equalling $50 or more, LOTS of clearance items, and FREE shipping on orders over $100.  Go quick!  Things are being snapped up fast over there.

And speaking of run don't walk ~ check out The Wild Gypsy's blog, where she outlines how to receive a beautiful collage  sheet download absolutely free - but only from 3:00 to 6:00 pm (eastern time, noon to 3 pacific) TODAY - Friday June 11, 2010.

And with that said - what do YOU have for us on Freebie Friday?  We love tutorials, giveaways, and freebie images, gifts, and goodies.  SHARE SHARE SHARE!  Leave your freebie link below.

A Child's Goodnight

Life's most soothing things are a child's goodnight and sweet music.... Thomas Edison

Last weekend, I found a dresser on Craigslist, that was offered for sale, for $35.  I'd been looking for a white dresser for our guest room - and this one looked nice and roomy.  When we went to go pick it up, it was fun to see that it had some vintage looking lines.  The carved edges were very art-deco looking.  I don't have great pictures of the dresser - but here they are, the ones from the ad:

The person selling us the dresser couldn't tell us much about the piece of furniture, but it was fun to find a paper label affixed to the inside of one of the drawers.  It read:

Little Folk's Furniture; New London New Jersey.

Needless to say, I got to researching right away.  What fun to find out that the Thomas Edison had a furniture business (really!) and that "Little Folk's" was the children's division!   I was able to find the following history (here):

"You may be wondering why Thomas Alva Edison, the revered American inventor, was doing producing children’s furniture. It started out as an adjunct to Edison’s phonograph factory. In 1917 Thomas Alva Edison purchased Wisconsin Panel and Cabinet Company, a maker of opera seats. He converted the factory to the production of cabinets for his newly patented line of phonographs. The name of the factory was changed to Edison Wood Products and it continued to make phonograph cabinets until 1927. During the Depression, the consumer demand for phonographs slowed a lot because they were considered a luxury item at a time when most people were concerned about where their next meal was coming from. Edison didn’t want to add more people to the bread lines by laying off several hundred employees, so he decided that the company should make juvenile furniture under the trade name "Edison Little Folks Furniture".

It was really neat to look up other vintage pieces of Little Folk's furniture.  Both of the decals above are from vintage Little Folk's cribs.  You can see another art-deco style piece (part of another dresser) below:

And I also thought this display of vintage Edison furniture was delightful:

I have not been able to find a furniture catalogue online, so I don't know exactly how old my dresser is.  In fact, Little Folk's was sold off to Simmons at some point (yes, the same as the Simmons as the mattress company) and they continued to manufacture under the Little Folks' name, until 2005.  However, given the lines, and the specifics of the label on my piece, I suspect it is older rather than newer. 

However old it may be, I had a wonderful time finding out more about the history of the furniture line, and finding the lovely vintage pieces and decals shown here.  I hope you had as much fun seeing them, as I did!

Happy Vintage Thingie Thursday, and Time Travel Thursday!

http://coloradolady.blogspot.com/

  http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/

Sky Red...

Artists can color the sky red because they know it's blue.  - Jules Feiffer

I figured I'd put up a quick post today - featuring something red, since I've been admiring all the Rednesday  entries all over the blogospher on Wednesdays.  The l ovely blog 'It's a Very Cherry World' hosts this meme. I am posting an art piece I made a couple years ago.  I call her  Betty C. Rocker. (Anybody get  the reference?)

Red is pretty much my favorite color, so I look forward to participating in future Rednesday's as well.

Have a great day everyone!  And check out A Very Cherry World to see more redelicious entries!

http://suelovescherries.blogspot.com/

Simply because we exist...

"If the prospect of living in a world where trying to respect the basic rights of those around you and valuing each other simply because we exist are such daunting, impossible tasks that only a super-hero born of royalty can address them... then what sort of world are we left with?"

-WONDER WOMAN #170

Some days, my heart breaks.  Well, really - don't we all live with a bit of a broken heart - all of the time?  The things that human beings are capable of doing - saddens and distresses me on a daily basis.  We - all of us - always have the opportunity to act in love, to enable justice, and to promote compassion on a daily basis.  Of course of course there are millions of us  who do make a whole hearted human effort to make this world a better place.  But on some days, the news of the world is a little much to take.  (Click on the sentences below if you want to share some misery.  Sigh.)

I am outraged about this.

I am overwhelmed and grief stricken on a daily basis ~ about news such as this.

And closer to home ~ I want to know why things like this still happen.

I don't have all the answers.  The root causes of violence against women, war in the middle east (or war, in general) are equally disturbing and complex.  So some days, when I am overwhelmed with the ugly side of our world - I think that only a superhero could manage to get us out of this mess.

SO ~  to that end, I share with you my pick me up for the day.

Some history of this favorite heroine of mine:

Wonder Woman is an Amazon (based on the Amazons of Greek mythology) and was created by William Moulton Marston as a "distinctly feminist role model whose mission was to bring the Amazon ideals of love, peace, and sexual equality to a world torn by the hatred of men.'"[2] Her powers include superhuman strength, flight, super-speed, super-stamina, and super-agility. She is highly proficient in hand-to-hand combat and in the art of tactical warfare. She also possesses an animal-like cunning and a natural rapport with animals, which has in the past been presented as an actual ability to communicate with the animal kingdom. She uses her Lasso of Truth (which forces those bound by it to tell the truth), a pair of indestructible bracelets, and an invisible airplane.  (Source: Wikipedia)

Rock on Wonder Woman.

If you want to rock with her ~ check this out (and wait for it - it gets better about 1:30):

Eternity

Today's Collage Obsession challenge was mirror... here was the original image:

Check out more wonderful variations on this theme, or join in the fun yourself - here:

Happy Monday everyone!

A More Fortunate Destiny

It is perhaps a more fortunate destiny

to have a taste for collecting

shells than to be born a millionaire.

- Robert Louis Stevenson

Oh, collections, collections.  Who among us does not love them?  I myself  collect everything from vintage hankies, to dolls and miniatures, to retro kitsch and knick knacks.   But the collection in and of itself has never been enough.  In fact, it is the display of such collections that draws me in.  I love love love curio cabinets, aesthetically pleasing cupboards, a well laid table, or even just a wonderful old bowl or bottle of buttons, left out in plain view.

How about you?  Sunday is a day of  comfort, love, faith, and friends.  What a lovely day to spend sharing some of our beloved collections and inviting our readers to join  in our obsession?

I'll start:

I will probably post more about dolls on Sundays, than any other thing.  Ha!  I love miniatures of any kind, and always have.  As a very young child, I thrilled in the fantasy that I could escape into a tiny world, and start anew - with a life crafted by very own liking.

Here is a recent dollhouse - I had a great deal of fun decorating and playing inside this house.  Most (but not all) of the furniture / furnishings are vintage.  The dolls are mini blythes.  Another collection - as evidenced in an earlier post.  I am sad to say that due to the economy's impact on our family, I had to let this dollhouse go last summer.  But I'll always have this picture!

I think dollhouses are a wonderful way to play, and display your miniature collections at the same time.  Don't you?

I would love to feature a few more fabulous ~collection/display~ posts I found around the blog world.  Without further ado:

Speaking of miniatures, this is one of the most delicious doll houses I have ever seen!  Wait until you step inside this door.  Leave a comment and let them know that Born Broken sent you!

http://libertybiberty.blogspot.com/

Some people have incredible chintz and teacup collections.

http://www.marthasfavorites.com/

How about this collection ~  Got Milk?  ; )

http://pinkrosesandteacups.blogspot.com/2010/06/vintage-thingies-thursday-got-milk.html

So, what do you say?  Do you collect anything fun?  How do you display your wares?  I want to see!  Share you links with me.  : )

Have a great week everyone!

Noodlette

Ok, ok.  So, it is only macaroni and cheese.  Still, somehow I found this addicting.  Hi!  Good luck and enjoy.  In honor of freebie friday, I am happy to share:

http://www.kraftbrands.com/macandcheese/pages/default.aspx

Speaking of lovely freebies ~ it's that fabulous day again!  Have fun everyone.

LEARN MORE ABOUT FREEBIE FRIDAY, HERE.

Do YOU have a freebie to share!  I'd love it if you'd link up here at Freebie Friday - below!

Nothing Remains... except!

A few years ago, I was going to pick m y nephew up from daycare, and as I drove through the neighborhood where his preschool was located, I saw the fabulous candy machine that you see above, on a street corner with the sign "free" taped to the front of it.

After picking up my nephew, I drove past the street corner again, but this time I stopped.  I got out.  I oohed.  I aaahed.  And I was sold!  (Well, it was free, after all!)  Don't you just love the actual 'candy' sign?  It is one of my favorite parts of this vending machine.

Several years later, I have since gutted the inside (harder than you might have expected - it required a crowbar and a lot of elbow greese!) and cleaned it up.  A part  of my mini-blythe collection found its way into the candy slots, and we use inside to store dvds and vhs tapes.  Significant additional restoration is needed.  We have the gorgeous red bakelite-ish nobs that you pull to release your candy, that need to be reaffixed below the doll panel.  Also, as you can see the bottom is very scratched up.  I'd like to do something about the paintjob - either repaint it in its original colors - or - I can't help but flirt with the idea of red, or teal/turquoise.  Hmmm...

In any case!  When I was picking up the candy machine, the original owner (or, second owner I should say) came out of his house, and shared a little history.  This candy machine was originally located at the San Ramon Auto Movie - which was a drive-in theatre located in Dublin California.  The theatre operated from 1966 through the early 1980s.  According to the Cinema Treasures website: 

"The San Ramon Auto Movie was located off of Dublin Boulevard, adjacent to the 580/680 interchange. The drive-in was easily the most high-profile entertainment venue in the Tri-Valley area during the late '60's to the mid-70s. The land was owned by the Enea Brothers, who also owned drive-ins throuhout the Bay Area.

During the late '70s to early '80s, attendance lagged due to the construction of several multi-screen indoor theatres in Dublin and Pleasanton. Dublin incorporated as a city in 1982, and the drive-in sat in a high-profile traffic area. It closed in 1981 and was demolished in 1982, and was developed into a series of retail shopping centers, and most recently, car dealerships.

Nothing remains of this theatre, save for a few of the trees that lined the back of the screen and former driveway. Amador Valley Boulevard south of Dublin Boulevard was originally the entrance, which is now paved and riddled with stoplights."

Nothing remains?  I beg to differ.  Why, I have proof that a little something remains!  ; )

Here's to hoping you all have a candilicious day, on this Vintage Thingie Thursday!

If you would like to see additional entries, or blog about some vintage goodness yourself - check out Colorado Lady's blog - here:

http://coloradolady.blogspot.com/

I am also linked  up to: 

http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/2010/06/time-travel-thursday-1-back-to-future.html

http://bec4-beyondthepicketfence.blogspot.com/2010/06/under-100-linky-party.html