My grandkid is a real dog...

sounds pretty pathetic, huh?

But hey, it's the truth...

You met Vinnie last Christmas, and this little man can steal your heart.

He's a riot, and a little better behaved than last Christmas.

He's in his buffalo check rain gear, but hates it.

He can hardly move, he thinks he's in a straight jacket!

(sorry the photos are fuzzy, this was before I realized

my new lens was set on auto while my camera was on manual)

Last Christmas my shin and his head had a little encounter, 

and my shin came out the loser.

He has a hard head and in one of his chasing games he plowed into me.

I won't go into details but I'm really glad his obedience school was a success.

This is Vinnie's mom and dad.

Our daughter Erin and her husband. 

and just so you'll be sure and know that the Living Room

actually does get lived in, these are a couple of photos

 of the kids unwrapping presents.

This is our younger daughter, Alyson and her husband.

do you feel sorry for me?

My grandkids are dogs and cats. 

(sorry no photos of the old ornery black cat

 that will slap the stuff out of you as you walk by

and the rotten, but oh so cute Himalayan )

OK, just wanted to share some real life with you.

Hope you all are having a great weekend. 

I had to do a booth check and supply at Relics today,

and put away some of the outdoor Christmas decor

Yikes, I still have Christmas stuff to box and put away.

someone, please tell me that you still have putz houses out!!

xoxo,

It's a Birthday Party!

Attention all you furry kids out there!

A superstar of the feline variety is having a special Birthday Celebration.

Baby Kitty

 our amazing "co-host" from

 Confessions of a Plate Addict

(click above to get party times and directions)

is turning the big 8 on Friday

and we're all gonna

Par-tay!

It's a little early for the party,

but the girls and I thought we'd send out a head's up invitation

to one of the biggest little parties in blogdom.

They're taking a break from their supervisory painting positions

to get spiffed up and send hugs and kisses

to the most handsome dude around.

Baby Kitty, himself!

Miss Jenkins...

and Miss Wrigley

are saying,

"Come on all you cool cats and pups,

let's get down with the fun!"

Be there, or be Square!!

See ya back here Thursday afternoon for

Vintage Inspiration Friday!

Vintage Inspiration Friday #44: Patriotic Party

You all know how much I enjoy changing up the decor in my little sunroom, and one of my favorite times of the year is when I get to decorate for July 4th. I don't have a lot of vintage patriotic items, just a few old flags and a biscuit tin or two, but I love the bright colors and the patriotic feel.

This year is a little "low key" if you can imagine me doing that.

I just wanted to keep this space comfy and "user friendly",

so I didn't go all out like I have in the past.

July 2011

July 2009

(when I had just started blogging, and two cameras ago)

July 2010

(a big post I did on Carolyn Westbrook inspiration)

One of my favorite vintage quilts; a red and white one,

 that I use for Christmas, Valentine's, and the 4th.

If you look under the chair you can see how much we all enjoy being out here...

It's bird watching and "napping" central.

Almost forgot my little vintage child's watering can.

Canco candy tin from the 20's;

 don't you love her patriotic dress?

Child's lunchbox thermos with great patina.

And an octagonal Sunshine Biscuit Tin.

This year I just kept the baker's rack more "vintage summer",

with my grandmother's Hull Apple cookie jar and s&p,

and an old seed crate from Brian and Meloney.

I found this wonderful little faded 1919 calendar plate a few years ago;

I think it must be advertising from an insurance company in Alma, Michigan.

Joining in with these other great parties:

(find the button links on the sidebar)

http://www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

I'm also joining in with Pam from White Ironstone Cottage

for her new party,

Treasure Chest Friday

Hope you'll join in on the 

Vintage Inspiration Friday

Patriotic Party 

If you don't have a vintage Patriotic theme,

come on and join anyway,

we'll just pretend it has a flag sitting on it!

"anything vintage or vintage inspired"

Please grab the button for your party post

and link back to Common Ground.

Have a safe and wonderful fun-filled weekend!

lot's of love,

Now let's see what you've got!!

World War III

Take a look at these two cuties.

yes, there are two of them.

They are 6 year old sisters from the same litter.

Good buds...

until a few weeks ago.

Then World War III broke out.

They are very territorial and jealous.

What can I say...

I'm just irresistible.

anyhoo, lately they have been fighting,

And I don't just mean "fighting"

but all out war.

Growling, hissing, chasing. 

Now envision

the cartoon version of two

Tasmanian devils going at it...

in the house...

on the bed...

in my lap...

OK, so I took one of the little sweethearts to the vet...

no illness,

just bad attitudes all around.

The Vet says this happens in the Spring,

among female house cats.

So a bottle of kitty anti-anxiety pills,

and a diffuser full of of happy pheromones,

which has now replaced my

Bath and Body Works verbena variety.

Then to top it off, a "good behavior" collar for each.

All joking aside,

if you have more than one cat and there are problems

such as fighting or "inappropriate potty places"

then you might check into this.

The vet said that usually stress is the result

of urinary tract infections in cats and kittens.

Glad that hadn't started yet...

Now I'm off to see if I can find a collar that might fit me...

and back to the original programming...

Laundry Room Reveal: Cleaning up a dirty little secret!

Hello world, it's time to "come clean" with one of my "dirty little secrets". I have a few others; at least this one is making it's debut. I have a great space in my laundry room; right off the kitchen and the entrance to the garage, but it's been a semi-mess since we've lived here. I hated the color (a blah dirty yellow) and since last November when I painted the kitchen walls and cabinets, well, it seemed worse than ever!

"Where is the before picture?",  you may be asking. I purposefully DIDN'T take one, because honestly, I didn't think I could get it "blogworthy". Think dirty yellow wall color, cat litter strewn floors, bulletin board (not cute), and mismatched attempt at wall decor...got a mental picture?

 This is a photo from last fall before I painted the kitchen, and it's the closest you would have seen of the mess. Below is another shot after the paint, but the doors on the right are hiding all the yuck.

I knew I wanted it brightened up since it has an east facing window which brings in a lot of the morning sun. And also since the wood floors extend into the laundry, it needed to be a continuation of the kitchen. Let's face it, the doors are always open since it's "kitty central" in there besides the laundry.

Ta Da!!

I'd thought about painting the doors and cabinets

 the same color as my kitchen cabinets,  but I've decided not to.

 I actually like the contrast out here with the wall color.

 The woodwork is white, so it all works for me.

LOVE my new washer and dryer.

 It has the same technology that the big front loaders have,

but at almost half the price.

I even added some vintage wall thingies to make it more fun to be out here.

All the decor in here was "shopped" from my garage stash,

of flea market and thrift finds.

Stuff that had been hanging around

just waiting for a spot.

I've had the piece of tin for several years,

No where to put it until now.

It DID get a good scrubbing and a coat of antique white paint,

And this was the fun part,

 coming up with a vintage feel for my "view" from the kitchen.

A small Eastlake shelf,

Nantucket basket with hydrangeas,

odds and ends sugars, creamers, and gravy boat,

and a favorite English Cottage print.

Then a couple of 40's bird prints

brought in the feel I was going for...

cozy cottage.

Last week I showed you my trunk find with bird decals

that I'm using for a kitty chow container.

And here are a couple of little cross stitch pieces I did in the early 90's.

They are reminders of God's faithful promises.

It's not a big room as you can see,

and not easy to get a good shot of the whole thing.

(I spared you the trash basket and kitty littler box)

I also found a great little brown floral Waverly valance

 and faux wood vinyl shades at Lowes.

They help finish it all off.

As you can see we "love" our new space.

So much easier to keep clean,

and now it's actually a place I can enjoy being in.

Miss Jenkins agrees!

I'm linking up with these great parties:

Hope to see you Thursday afternoon for

Have a great week!

love you all,

Debra