Happy Fourth of July!

Freedom Quilt
1983
Jessie B. Telfair

Happy 4th of July tomorrow! We'll see you Monday!

-Grace

Flea Market Find

Last Saturday I dragged my mom up and down the aisles of the Raleigh Flea Market. Located at the NC State Fairgrounds on weekends all year (except in October when the State Fair's in town), it was a great activity for a beautiful summer day---sans toddler, thanks to my dear husband who stayed home for the team. I snagged the school-bus-yellow wooden chair poorly pictured above for $20, and also purchased a mini measuring tape for $1, one super skinny screwdriver for $1, a pair of rubber-palmed work gloves for $4, and a wooden phone case for $10. Ca-ching is right! The flea market itself was a mix of thoughtfully-displayed well-priced antiques next to booths full of broken bric-a-brac that I couldn't imagine anyone buying, along with the requisite Avon and kettle korn tents. Something for everyone!

I keep thinking about some of the hucksters we encountered. It seems like such a tough job; setting up all of your wares at the start of each morning, hustling and small talking with strangers in the hot sun for hours, then breaking it back down and packing up whatever you weren't able to sell at the end of a long day. Some dealers even had their pre-teens working the tables for them. I wonder what the inside of their houses look like, where they get their merchandise, how much they need to make each day to break even, how their kids feel about all of it. I went in looking for deals and left curious about their lives. I probably need to get out more. 

- Cathleen

More Cool Movie Posters

Since I posted about movie posters a few weeks ago, I thought I would follow up with some more. These aren't actual posters for movies, but rather a marketing campaign for a company called Minke. As far as I can tell, they provide graphic and printing services from stationary and screen printing to bookbinding.

The images are very abstract and would be hard to guess the movies without the titles to go along with them.

-Brian

Artwork of the Week: Unknown

As promised, my mom and I spent some time in the garden this past week while she was in town for a visit. She helped me identify the purple flowering shrub with the sweet smelling leaves planted just off the patio. And we built a little retaining wall out of old bricks to keep my front yard from invading our walkway every time it rains. She also informed me that the rose bushes just to the right of our house  have come down with a spotty leaf syndrome that I need to fix with a spray of milk and water. 

This drawing reminded me to add it to my list of things to do this week. And also that there can be such beauty in the way something destructive manifests itself. 

You can see more botanical drawings like this one (without attribution... maybe from A History of the Earth and Animated Nature?) on greyherbert's Flickr stream. 


- Cathleen 

Things...

Summer's in full swing in the Lively house and we've been taking advantage of the extra free time. One of the incentive rewards for our Star Chart was to do a rag doll project. Ev has been begging me to let her make her own rag doll and I've been putting her off because, little does she know, she's going to be receiving an American Girl doll in August from her grandparents. (She's going to lose her mind.) But she wanted to do the project so badly that I gave in. I made one doll (named Violetta) for Ev and a dress for Violetta and a dress for Jo's doll, Polly.

Polly's on the left, Violetta's on the right.

So, the rag doll ended up looking a little bit creepy but Evelyn doesn't even care. She loves the doll to pieces and even if Violetta's replaced by an American Girl doll in a month, I think it was worth the effort.

In other news, the chair that Polly and Violetta are sitting on is about to get a radical makeover. A friend and I came up with the brilliant idea of painting the upholstery since I get tired just thinking about reupholstering it myself. Then, Jenny posted about her upholstery painting project a couple weeks later so I feel confident that they're going to look fantastic when they're done. Mostly confident. I'll be sure to keep y'all updated.

Happy Weekend, Friends!

-Alissa

Clementine First Communion: Part 2

If you've been following my Pinterest pages... which you should, you'd know I've only amped up my efforts to find the perfect First Communion Dress for Clementine. I recently discovered this beauty from Dolce and Gabbana. There's no price listed which means EXPENSIVE! But as you know, I'm willing to splurge because of my own horrible First Communion Dress memories... thanks, mom! 

So what do you think, readers? Here's my only issue: it's a fall/winter dress so I'm worried it might be made in a warm woolen material.
 Happy Thursday!

-Grace

NC MADE

Cross Creek Box

featuring Farmer's Daughter Brand Preserves, Copper Pot and Wooden Spoon Pickles, and Mt Olive First United Methodist Church Blister Fried Peanuts

$39 from NC MADE

NC MADE are these totally awesome thoughtfully curated beautifully packaged gift boxes stuffed full of handcrafted NC-made edibles. The company was recently launched by my new friend Nicole Bogas who has traveled all over the great state of North Carolina sampling and selecting each product that goes into her brown paper packages tied up with string. YES! You heard it right! There is brown paper and string involved! They include all sorts of delectable snacks and fancy drink mixers, and right now she has four different gift sets to pick from at various price points, so you're sure to find something for anyone in your life who deserves a nice present. Which is pretty much everyone you know, right? Yeah, I thought so. Check out www.ncmade.net for some seriously tasty treats. 

A closer look inside the Cross Creek Box

Plank Road Box

featuring Cloister Honey, Ritchie Hill Bakery Cheese Straws, Big Spoon Roasters Peanut Butter, Farmer's Daughter Brand Preserves, and Copper Pot and Wooden Spoon Pickles

$59 from NC MADE

Inside the Longleaf Box

featuring Hickory Nut Gap Farm Milano Salami, Crooked Condiments Autumn Night Apple Butter, Blue Blaze and Soda Syrup Co. Honey Ginger Ale Soda Syrup, Num Num Southern Grilling Sauce, Big Spoon Roasters Peanut Pecan Butter, and Ritchie Hill Bakery Cheese Straws

$79 from NC MADE

Old North State Cocktail Box

featuring White Whale Cocktail Mixer, Crude Rizzo Bitters, Blue Blaze and Soda Syrup Co. Honey Ginger Ale Soda Syrup, Hickory Nut Gap Farm Milano Salami, and Mt Olive First United Methodist Church Blister Fried Peanuts

$79 from NC MADE

- Cathleen