I Survived but I sure am TIRED!

It Monday night 8:30 and I'm still standing by sheer willpower! I had a great day, it felt like Xmas!

When I arrived this morning near the guard station there was a screen with this message: Welcome to our new employees and there was my name! I was for klempt.

Every body seemed so happy to see me (a big change from the PCOU-postal counter of unjoy).

I was glad to take the train with Dan, and I was happier to see my fur children. I missed them so much!

I'm off to bed- I can't believe I will miss Top Chel All-Star; I don't have a personnal video recorder. Funny how Tivo never caught on here....

Later my dear bloggyland friends, sleep tight!

Slow Thrift Week

There wasn't cool stuff at the church basement this week....except this!

It looks like kind of a cheese board but it had hooks and a cord to hang it. You can remove the little platters. I know that because one was loose, the others were 'glued' with tape. I didn't buy it for the store because it's too heavy and would cost a fortune to ship.

I'm also getting pretty excited about starting my job on monday. I need to get organized; especially with the food! I don't think I will have time to cook every night, so I need to find big batch recipes that fit with the GI diet. I also need to make 5 days of outfits with 3 skirts. Ultimately it would be great if the dress code allowed for jeans....but from what I saw, I might need to look for clothes @ the Sally Ann!

In the meantime I baked a double batch of cranberry bran muffins (great snack) and got all my Pyrex Primary working hard!

The kitchen is all in shambles!

This is our new fave teapot! I first saw one last summer when I bought one for my Dad. It is stamped Pyrex ware for Teamakers Inc. And it comes with a stainless steel basket. My Dad  loves it! He loves it so much he wanted to bring it on vacation in Maine, but finally decided against it because of the breakage factor. I love its shape, it's sooooo cool!

Well in December Dan gave me a mission....find another one but this time for us. We were sick of those infusers that rust. I found ours on Ebay for a reasonnable price (the shipping was good too). We now use it every day for our after dinner tea.

Bad pic of the interior :)

Last night I made a celery root and carrot remoulade salad. I choose the Spring Blossom Green to enhance the colors of the salad. It looks beautiful! And was delicious too.

Tonight we have a sugar shack/country line dance party. It will be a good way to burn off all of these delicious maple calories!

Have a great weekend!

Last weekend to enter my fab Pyrex giveaway! Click right HERE to enter!

Good luck!

  

The CHIN

First things first! Thank you for all your kind words of congratulations! I wish I could hold a big ass party with all of you there!

It's going to be a big change for sure. I've been at home nearly 3 years now (ok I went to the postal counter of unjoy for 4 months). I really enjoyed my time off, but it was time I get back to work. I was starting to feel like I was living on the fringe, like I was invisible, like I didn't matter....The mind does play tricks.

There are some people who can't grasp the not working thing and every time they see you they ask you if you've found some work....2 of them work @ Shopper's Drug Mart (home of the wretched post mistress). I guess they think they are caring but they come off as just a BIG OL' PAIN IN THE BUTT! 

I'm a spazzer by nature, so I need to take thing as they come, not fret over them days in advance. We are losing the maid (me) and the cats are losing their companion (me again). I will miss those critters so much. I enjoyed just watching them and their routine and their fuzzy faces.
 Bob and Boubou have taken to sleep on me like strawberries on cheesecake. That is so cute!

Being hired is really good for my ego. I was beginning to feel unwanted and  booger like....and that takes a LOT of energy to fight.

A couple of weeks ago I blogged about the new awful face of Suzanne Somers...Well while in Maine this caught my eye @ the cash register of the local Hannaford....I never buy these papers except when on vacation, I don't know why I can't help myself.....

I was wondering when this was going to be acknowledged  in the U.S.

I can't believe she was so pretty before. She must be totally freaking out.

Funny this is that she keeps coming to Canada and talking about her new book, she was on George just around Valentines to talk about love and sex.

Suzanne I hope you find somebody who can fix this and just let go of plastic surgery forever.

On another topic: you remember the cute lamp I bought last week, well as much as I love vintage lamps, I hate vintage cords so I rewired it today. It's a keeper!

I'm SO excited I'm GONNA THROW UP!

Why you might ask?

because.....I GOT THE JOB AND I'M STARTING MONDAY!

Maybe it's because I used the word wackadoodle....

The question was: How do you deal with conflict? And I answered: Well I will definitely talk to the person I'm having a conflcit with to try to resolve the matter, however, if there's no talking to her and that person is a wackadoodle I might ask some help from the supervisor.

You know what is really cool too? I will still be able to thrift and go to the Salvation Army every Thrusday after work....Delicious!

I will miss the cats for sure!

Gotta go I need to check my work wardrobe! LOL

Retro Tuesday: Pickle Sickles and Mid-Century Joy

First off a quick reminder for those who haven't entered my super Spring GIVEAWAY! Click HERE to enter. You could win this....

And other goodies....

Now for Retro Tuesday!

Last Thrusday I stopped @ the Sally Ann and

I found this....

When I saw this lamp I definitely had a OMG, START THE CAR moment and a DON'T EVEN LOOK AT MY LAMP LADY!

 

I also brought home this beautiful piece of fabric. It's linen and it's never been used and it's all crisp. It is finished as a tablecloth.....Still on the fence about keeping it or listing it....

And this....

I simply can't resist those cookbooks! But I never make their recipes....I just look at the pics and laugh! 

Like this one...it's an informal teen record party. The sandwiches are tamale heroes....the tamales are from a can ( ? ) and you can serve them with pickle sickles (I bet Snooki would LOVE those).

And a full page on the Perfection Salad! A big mess of gelatin and canned sauerkraut!

 Save me some!

I picked up 3 of those posters for .99 cents. They're from 1961. I couldn't scan the entire thing so I cut the little girl and I kept the dad fixing the lawn chair...Much more interesting.

Check out the see-through house! You can bet I won't be watching tv in my pj's. And yes you can see the shape of my hands in the background. That poster had been rolled up for sooo long that I couldn't get it to stay put on the scanner! Maybe I'll frame one to go in my living room after it's painted!

Have a happy Retro Tuesday everyone! Keep on thrifting :)

Drop by for a visit @ Crazy Suburban Mom for more Retro Tuesday fun. 

I'm still alive!

I'm sorry I didn't post much this week. As you know I'm looking for a job and got a call Wednesday for an interview on Thrusday. So I was quite stressed out and frantic; checking out the wardrobe, researching the company, checking my CV, preparing my bag etc....
 The interview went quite well, I made them smile and laugh (don't know if it was a good thing) and even managed to use the word wakadoodle (that might not have been a good idea! lol). I should hear from them next week. In any case it's a learning experience.

Thrusday afternoon I was able to visit the Salvation Army (no I didn't take pics of my treasures yet). And went to my dance class at night. I was totally super duper tired yesterday (add mother nature's gift on top of it). I didn't do anything yesterday.

I watched episodes of Six feet under. ALL DAY! LAZY,LAZY GIRL! The cats were really happy about this and napped all over the living room....

Don't bother me PLEASE!

ZZZZZZZZ!

Yawning and stretching

I'm watching tv with mom.

We're having supper with friends and we're supposed to hang out by the fire outside and even eat ice cream in the snow.

It seems it's something often enjoyed in Russia.

I was asked to bring dessert....a Queen Elizabeth cake. The cake has dates in it and there's a baked frosting with coconut and walnuts....Decadent!

Have a great afternoon :)

Retro Tuesday: Smells like SPRING!

That's just wishfull thinking! I wish Spring was here, but it's probably at least one month away...

We had another 6 inches of snow Sunday night so I went shovelling yesterday and it was raining and the snow was wet and heavy and I nearly cried....Later in the afternoon the temp started dipping and it started snowing again....Guess what? I nearly cried...Over night everything froze and now it's around 3F (minus 18 C); needless to say that even if I wanted to I couldn't shovel and anyways I strained my back so I took happy pills and I'm resting.

Since I'm lomging for Spring and I guess I'm not the only one....I decided to have a spring themed giveaway!

Here's what one lucky winner will get:

4 delicious Spring Blossom Green Corelle cups, a cream and sugar set from the same pattern,

A Pyrex cinderella Spring Blossom Green 441 bowl, a S&P  miniature Ball jar set (new in box) form the 70's, a Pyrex spice shaker and a package of paper napkings with snowdrops on it-one of the first flowers to bloom in Spring.

Contest is open to everyone.

Here's what you have to do!

1) Be a follower

2) Leave a comment telling me what you prefer about Spring

and for an additionnal chance....Blog about my giveaway and tell me about it.

Now this is really important....You must be a follower and leave a comment in order to be eligible.

Contest is open until  February 28th 12:00 pm

My cats will randomly select a winner by hacking a fur ball on a printed comment (hihihi)

Good luck!

Happy Valentine's Day!

What better way to celebrate Valentine's Day or any other occasion for that matter....than with cupcakes!

Cupcakes and PYREX!


 

I couldn't resist pulling out my Pyrex dinner ware. It goes so well with tea and cupcakes.

I'm very proude of myself because it's the first time I had the courage to use the pastry bag to apply the frosting....Delicious!

Do something sweet for yourself today and eat a cupcake!

Thrift bounty!

Welcome Katrina! Thank you for becoming my 168th follower! I loved you comment, too bad you're not in Canada! LOL
It's always fun to thrift with a like minded pal. Speaking of thrifting....I went to the Salvation Army and Renaissance.
 I'm always flabbergasted by the cruddiness of the big Salvation Army on Notre-Dame street. Every time I go I touch something and my hand is sticky after...EEEWWW! I'm thinking I should bring plastic gloves and look even weirder than usual! In the meantime Dan put some anti-bacterial towelettes in my Xmas stocking....Such a good idea!

No Pyrex in sight but....some nice Spring Blossom Green cups and a cream & sugar set in the same pattern, delicious!

How fresh and springlike! I'm thinking giveaway....

I also found a Pyrex 043 lid and a portable and adorable vintage ironing board. I forgot to take a pic....rats

After I met up with the Danmeister and we decided not to go to the movies afterall; we were too tired and achy (no real reason, maybe a cold?) ...we decided to head home by the scenic route and  stop for some grub along the way.

But before we got on the road a snack was in order (yes I know the diet :(). We stopped @ the Green Spot, a Montreal institution on Notre-Dame street. This place has been here forever at least since the 30's. They make the best greasy french fries (une graisseuse in joual). In case you don't know joual is the french canadian slang spoken in Montreal. Since this is such a vintage landmark I decided to whip out the camera and take some pics to share with you.

Old sign offering poutine and other delicacies...

@ one time the hotdogs were actually 20 cents! OMG

An order of greasy french fries like this is best shared in the car!

 We headed west our fingers greasy and our souls satisfied to Verdun. While on Wellington st I asked to stop at Rennaissance and I even added: Why do I bother they NEVER have good stuff!

Boy was I in for a surprise!

I squealed with glee when I found this big Ziploc bag filled with vintage cake decor! For every occasion,Valentine's, Easter,Mother's day,Halloween, Xmas and ballerinas...I even have some clown heads.  

A great illuminated tree top from the 70's

Some great vintage ornements! They will make a super addition for the store!

Speaking of clowns....I've never liked clowns. NEVER. I would cry when I saw some at the circus, I would cringe when I laid my eyes on those clown paintings from the 70's and the coup de grace was when I saw Stephen King's It on tv. Clowns give me the willies!

I watched the premiere of Mr Sunshine, which I found really funny, and there was a bit with clowns, axes, the director being scared shitless of clowns and little kids. I nearly peed my pants I laughed so hard!

So good luck with your new show Matthew Perry! Because when I really like a show, it's always cancelled. Except Supernatural....Go figure! The networks should pay me....

 I also watched thursday night episode of Jersey Shore (yes I'm guilty of incurable tackiness and voyeurism). et me tell you something, Ronnie is DANGEROUS! If I'd been there when he started throwing things around, I would've called the police. Sammy is not better and come to think of it all of these young people have become really violent at one time or another since the show began which makes me wonder what kind of values did their parents teach them? And what kind of message this is sending to all the kids who watch the show?
Ok so I've said my peace! Have a great afternoon, I hope you find delicious things in your thrifting expeditions. I will practice some new dances for the line dance Valentine's day party tonight!

Stuff I brought back...

Thanks for all the comments on the last post. It was so fun eating @ the Maine Diner. It would definitely be one of my regular spots if I lived in the area. I would try everything on the menu, even the New England boiled dinner, which you probably all know is boiled corned beef, boiled cabbage,boiled potatoes,boiled carrots....Sorry if I made you eat pig out, ditch your diet or fantasize too much about fried food....Believe it or not here @ casa de Vonlipi it is diet time too, well not really diet but changing the way we eat time and I'm proud to report I lost the Maine weight in record time!

Before the Maine escapade I was on a really strict low fat low card diet and I was hungry and angry all the time, the cats were startying to look mighty tasty! Now we are on the GI diet (glycemic index) and we eat all the time and just good for us food, so we'll see.

I'm sure you're wondering if I made purchases in Maine...besides the big bowl in the snow.

Of course I bought interesting things in Maine....

Not the cat! The Crazy Daisy casserole! I didn't have that size and I didn't have any casserole with the small flowers, 3 $ @ Cliff's in Scarborough. Boubou is garding it with his life, good Boubou.

I alway try to have some kind of linen on top of my stove to protect it from spatter. I found this vintagey looking tea towels at Crate and Barrel in Kittery, half price so both for 5$.

Don't they look good with my vintage Tupperware spoon rest from the Sally Ann? That was .99cents and I already started to melt it (accidentaly of course).

Here's Bob glancing at the Autumn Harvest glass canister I found @ Cliff's too....It was 5$ and I was glad to fork it because I'd never seen one in person!

Here it is in all its vintage glory, I will probably put peanuts in it.

I did buy other cool stuff that I was too lazy to capture, but will probably do so in the next few days....

Now about outlet shopping. It was really exotic to go to Kittery for me. I don't really shop retail since I don't work and when I do it's mostly stuff for the house or cheap clothes (like Joe Fresh). I realised I didn't want to go to Ralph Lauren or Calvin Klein (their clothes don't usually fit me), I had no use for Le Creuset (yes they have an outlet) and I don't have kids....So I settled on 3 stores:

Crate and Barrel, now I love seeing all these housewares. Piles of votives,pyramids of glasses,barrels of linens. That store makes me weak in the knees

Yankee Candles, I love seeing all those colors...., the jars all in neat rows, the smells! Speaking of smells...I'm often overwhelmed when I go there and I usually reach for my inhaler! LOL

I don't see the use in the BIG jars (how big can  a candle be!). I bought one once and I got sick of it and threw it away....But I usually dig in their bargain bins and bring home a small jar @ 50%off. I understand that for a lot of my american readers a Yankee Candle is something familiar and everyday, but here in Québec very few store sell them and they are crazy expensive!

Bass Shoes, I was always in love with their shoes as a teenager...Top siders, penny loafers,clogs....

In the last few years I got 2 pairs of penny loafers (yes I have pennies and nickels in my shoes) and I love them. This year I wanted some winter boots because mine are taking water and let's face it they stink.

Well I found quite the deals!  

This one is dark purple! Perfect for shovelling snow!

This one is a bit dressier and is water repellant.

I got both pairs for 80$ a saving of 210.00$. Now my feet will be warm and dry and un-stinky (for the time being!)

So that's it for today! Stay warm and keep thrifting! :)

   

Guy was right!

People are watching triple D and actually planning vacations around spots Guy visited! We do it too, well not exactly....We decided to go to Maine and then researched for some Guy approved diners after.
 We went first to The Maine Diner located on rte 1 in Wells, Maine.

The famous sign. The diner is opened later in summer.

They serve down east fare (?). We actually went there because Guy was besides himself about the seafood chowder and the lobster pie...

I got so excited I nearly forgot to take pics! Yes that is a lobster claw in the chowder. It was one of the best I've ever tasted. It was full of lobster,scallops,shrimps and clams.

This is the lobster pie, their very famous lobster pie. It's lobster in a dish top with Ritz cracker crumbs, butter and tomalley (yep the green stuff inside the lobster). OMG! I had a religious experience! This was lobster at its best, I nearly cried!

We liked it so much we came back for supper after a looonnnggg day of shopping and thrifting. I had the rubben and Dan had an open face roast beef sandwich with mushroom gravy. So,so good. I will remember the rubben for a long time, they cook their own corn beef. I decided to push the bounderies and have dessert...I ordered bread pudding served warm with whipped cream (at our sever's strong suggestion). That was a life altering dessert. I never knew bread pudding could be so tasty! It was a cross with Xmas and bread pudding, full od raisins and spices. OMG!

I wish we could've eaten there more, but we had to go home the next day....

Speaking of Friday we headed south to Kittery for some outlet shopping and Bob's Clam Hut!

Yes that is snow pilled real high!

More snow!

We had clam chowder and fish chowder and Lillian style fried clams. I was surprised to see our order top with a mound of delicious freshly made onion rings! Everything was fresh and delicious! They used recyclable containers and compostable utensils. They have the most attentive young man in the dining room who's always wanting to get you refills, check on your order, get you napkins, it's really nice.

 Those clams were much better than some we had in Old Orchard....We will be back to both those restaurants! I can't wait!

So you see Guy was right! :)

Retro Tuesday: What I left behind

Sorry for slacking on the posting. We got quite a boatload of snow too here in Quebec, you know that heavy snow good for snowballs and building forts....We had to shovel the roof over the weekend and I had to shovel the access to the basement yesterday...I could only shovel for a short time then take a break and then go back outside for more back breaking fun!

So today for Retro Tuesday I'm sharing the stuff I saw in the fleas but didn't take home with me...

A Charlie's Angels lunch box. As a kid I was a HUGE fan of that show; and I had a total girl crush on Farrah Fawcett. I was crushed when she left the show. My best pal Sylvie and I would play Charlie's Angels for hours on end.

As Dan puts it so eloquently: Hey you have them all!

Ok so I have these beauties but I still love to take pics of Pyrex in ' The Wild'. 

Divided casseroles, still not loving the divided ones. They don't stack up well, I prefer the open bakers.

But I would love to win some, hint,hint.

I find those mixers soooo cool! But you know my problem...not enough room!

I was so sure this carafe was made by Pyrex but I was wrong! It's by the Inland Glass Works.

It still has the tag with it. I'm always fascinated how somebody can have something and not use it. That is soo weird.

We also hit a lot of thrift stores but I was surprised by the un-vintage nature of their offerings. Everything was 2008 Xmas tree shop or leftover Crate and Barrel. And a lot of Tuscany inspired wares....you know the type. It seems that people in Maine are getting tired of the tuscan look.

So that's it for today! Be sure to visit my blogging buddy Tracy @ Crazy Suburban Mom for more Retro Tuesday :)