"Treasures" found at the Mission Road Antique Mall

Every few months, Mom & I will go browse around the Mission Road Antique Mall at 83rd & Mission. I've been very lucky & found some great stuff there in the past. Wedding presents, wall decor, purses, etc.

A few weeks ago, we went specifically looking for brown & white plates for Mom to hang on her new yellow walls in the family room. It's always better to walk around when you are specifically looking for something. I decided that I should look for something to hang on the TALL wall above my TV since I moved the large painting that was there into my dining room.

Normally when we go, I ooooh & ahhhhh over several of the booths. Another great blogger, Mrs. Blandings, has taken pictures of and posted about her favorite booths. I thought I should do something similar. But ... once I started looking around, I found strange & weird items that I just had to take a picture of. So, this post will be a mixture of the great & not-so-great things at the Mall.

First up, this "rocking chair". We found it in a booth upstairs and I was wondering where this would fit in anyone's house. You can't quite tell how big it is by this picture, but it was HUGE!

I've been drooling over this lamp for a long time. Silver lamp base & a simple drum shade that the booth owner painted these gray circles on. It would be great in my dream "Black & White" bedroom that I'll never have :)

Here are 2 of the 3 large tin ceiling tiles that I ended up buying. They will go on the 2 story wall behind my TV. They are about 2ft x 2 ft tiles & they will look really nice once I get them hung up. They were a bargain, too, at just $26 each!

We thought this portrait was quite strange. I can't figure out what I think is the most awkward: the adult face on this child's body ... or ... the proportions of the body for it being a child's body.

This was the other ceiling tile I really liked. It would be the size of just 2 of the ones I got above. It had beautiful colors on it that would match the colors in my couch pillows, but it was a bit pricey and I thought it might not fill the empty wall as well.

I like a little dog as much as the next person, but I think these poodle statues are STRANGE! We found them all over the antique mall. Mom says they are something special, but I don't see it.

Mitzi came with us for her first trip to the Antique Mall. This FAN-TAS-TIC chandelier was hanging in a new booth and it was giant, as you can tell. If you have the house big enough for this beauty, you should get it! You don't find one of these just anywhere. If I remember correctly, the price tag matched the size of the light fixture :)

This one is for my girls who are in love with the Lawrence Welk spoof from SNL. This girl seems to have lost one of her hands. "And I like, can I touch?"

And here are 2 more "dog" statues. For some reason, I kept thinking that these dogs looked like they were men dressed up in dog costumes.

That's it for that trip to the Antique Mall! I'll be sure and post pictures of the ceiling tiles once I figure out how to get them hung up on the wall.

The sun may not have come out today ...

... but the flowers did!

Aren't these flowers by our pool gorgeous? I wish these bloomed all year! :)

"Cousin" Play Date - Part 2

Ellen came to my place today to hang out while Molly went to the dentist. Minnie & Ellen were happy to watch each other & play again, today! This video is a bit longer than the first. I'm amazed by how sweet Minnie is to Ellen. She "cleaned" her feet for her and let Ellen tug on her fur again.

So happy that these two girls are turning out to be such nice friends! After seeing all the "kisses" that Minnie gave, I'm wondering if Ellen's Mom is going to let us have any more play dates without her there ;)

Great location to take pictures!

Yesterday, Mom, Mitzi & I went to the Hyatt in Crown Center to help my Aunt Susan and her team prepare for her American Institute of Floral Designers (AIFD) event!

We weren't in charge of making any of the 55 table centerpieces that had 150 white roses on them. Look in the pictures for the wreaths ... they are BEAUTIFUL! We worked for about 2 1/2 hours folding 600 black napkins and then rolling them and putting them in the 550 napkin rings that Susan's crew handmade! It wasn't a tough job, but it was necessary. The hardest part about it was that we were in a workroom (convention center hall) that had the temperature lowered so that all the flowers could keep throughout the week-long event! It was FREEZING!

Anyhoo ... I had a chance to walk around and take some great pictures. I hope you all enjoy them!

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Crafty project for my classroom!

I found that one of my neighbors was getting rid of this rolling shelf, and since I'm an elementary school teacher, I like free stuff that I can use in my classroom. Free furniture is even better!

I went to get some fun contact paper at Home Depot yesterday and then started covering it to make it look a little fresh & new.

About 2 hours later ... and I have this fun piece of furniture to take to school in August! You like?

Cesar would be proud!

We didn't get the choreography with roller skates figured out today ... I'm sure we'll have PLENTY of time to learn that dance in the future! Ellen and I did have fun, but it was another long day.

What we did accomplish was 3 naps (albeit the first one was about 90 minutes too short), 2 good meals, a walk in the stroller with Minnie, and I FINALLY got a few giggles out of Ellen when Molly came home. I'd been working ALL day to get her to laugh. Literally. I'd do anything to get a laugh from that girl!

One good thing about the day was that Ellen & Minnie became fast friends. Minnie was on a leash most of the day (poor thing) because there were workers at the house off & on all day, and with Ellen's toys being all over the house, Minnie has to stay away from them so she doesn't lick or chew on them.

Ellen pulled on her ears a few times and on the fur on her muzzle, but Minnie was VERY sweet and just sat there & let her explore. The two of them could not be more fascinated with each other. Ellen turns her head to look for Minnie when she hears her dog tags chime & Minnie likes to lay in the perfect spot so she can watch Ellen babbling away!

Here is a quick video I got of the girls together. Ellen got Minnie to roll over on her back, which I'm pretty sure Cesar Millan would say shows that Ellen is the dominate one of the pack. That's a good thing! We don't ever want Minnie to think she can push little Els around.

Sidenote: Molly, don't worry, I was sure to clean Ellen's hands & face after their tiny play-date! ;)

I babysit Ellen on Tuesday ...

I'm fairly confident that this is what I'll be teaching her in between naps!

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Ellen also has some baby friends that might like to join in on the fun. Who else is interested in lessons?

Her ears :)

These ears are one of the things I love best about Minnie. Her ears used to fold over when she was a pup, but now they are so expressive! She can turn them independently like a rabbit to hear what is going on around her; they lay back when she is in trouble or scared; they pop up when she is excited or sees something.

Minnie & I had a tiny photo shoot on Sunday. I was trying to get a picture of her eye lashes and then I turned on the color accent feature to get these great shots.

Ears asleep in her corner on the couch:

And ... Ears awake in her corner on the couch: