They just don't make 'em like they used to!

Time to take a trip down good ole' Ventnor Ave.

When I think of my kitchen of the last few months, this is what comes to mind:

I don't really recall winning a zonk on Let's Make a Deal, but I just would like to know, Carol Merrill, where is my donkey?  Because it would certainly be more useful than any of my appliances as of late.

The portable dishwasher that I was so overjoyed to get, started kicking up a fuss before it was even a year old.

Our oven decided to raise the white flag just a few months ago, right before I hosted a large number of people at my house (which is a rarity for me), and I had to send part of dinner to Daddy's house to be cooked. I finished up the rest out of my toaster oven!  Of course, Daddy was all too happy to take credit for the dish that he pulled out of his oven.

Then, there's the refrigerator. When I first moved to my little cabin, I enjoyed this bad boy:

Daddy actually remembered me saying once that I liked Rachel Ray's kitchen, and it just so happened he had a friend with a 1950s fridge. It still worked! (most of the time) Then Howard came along, and convinced me to purchase a new refrigerator. The only thing I like more than 1950s kitchen decor, is saving money on my electric bill. (So it wasn't too hard of a sell.)

We've had the new one for three years, or so the good people at Sears tell us, and it's on the fritz again. Sigh. Of course, they were all too happy to sell us a warranty for two more years.

So, has appliance ownership always been this bad, or has quality gone down hill and off a ravine?

Okay, venting over with. I suppose I can now pass GO (and shell out $200 for my fridge).

With A Cherry on Top - Summertime Table Decor

The wait is finally over.  As promised, I wanted to share one of my all-time favorite table settings with you- CHERRIES!  And it's a good thing I love this tablescape so much because it stays out longer than any of my others.   I start the year with my Valentine table, followed by my Spring table, then cherries for the Summer, Halloween decor for a couple of months in the fall, and then Christmas to end the year.  So as you can see, it's a pretty constant rotation.  

A quick note for you before we begin the grand tour though...  Like all of my other table settings, this one has been lovingly and patiently collected over the years.  Sure, I could go out and buy up a bunch of pieces all at once, but to me, part of the fun is gathering special pieces as you go.  It makes it all the more special when you find  those long lost pieces you have been hunting for.  

So without further ado, here is my sweet little kitchen table all decked out for the summer.

And to give you a better look at some of the pieces, each place setting is all decked out with these precious napkin plates and chocolate cherry bowls and saucers.  It took me literally YEARS to collect enough of these bowls for the table.  This is the first year ever I have had enough to set the entire table with.  In fact, until this year, I only had one of these elusive bowls, so naturally I always sat it at my place at the table.  :)

Tea anyone?

And of course, you will need cream and sugar for that.

This cookie jar is a newer addition to this table as well.  She is lovely and one of those harder to find pieces. Where do I find my pieces?- you might ask.  All of these are from a discontinued Department 56 pattern called "Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries".  I actually set up an eBay alert to notify me whenever pieces from this  collection are posted.  I'd say I get a random alert a few times a month.  At this point, I have most of the pieces I see come up for auction, but whenever I spy a piece I don't already have, I give it a good once over to see if it's something I "need" for my collection. 

And speaking of those elusive pieces, this one is the pièce de résistance.  Cherry boy was never actually produced as part of this collection.  Department 56 made him in a very limited quantity for stores to use as part of their displays when this collection was initially launched.  When he came up on eBay a couple of years ago, my jaw hit the floor.  As soon as I was able to collect myself again, we contacted the seller instantly to barter a deal.  Sometimes dreams do come true; they can happen to you.  :)  He has been a prized part of this tablescape ever since. 

And though it's not technically part of the Department 56 collection, these lovely pieces have quickly made their way to the top of my all time favorites.  What you see here is a vintage ceramic bread box and napkin holder.  John's dad scoped these out at one of his auctions, and surprised me at Christmas with them.  All I can say is SCORE!!!

So there you have it, folks.  Nothing says Summertime (at least in my book) like cherries.  Now to just sit back and mix up some Cherry Blossom Martinis, and let the good times roll!

Monster Spray - A Little Dab'll Do Ya

For the longest time, we had two very large and fluffy members of our family named Jasper and Randy. You may remember them participating in some of our earlier Family Halloween Costumes.

Here's Jasper:

And here's Randy:

For the longest time they WERE our children, and when the boys came along, they were excellent big brothers. Randy slept under Aidyn's bed every night, and Jasper took to sleeping with Jaxon. This worked out quite well for our family.

Of course, when the time came for Jasper and Randy to cross over the Rainbow Bridge, the boys took it very hard. Randy left us first, and the boys were comforted to still have Jasper. By the time Jasper passed away, we had Smitty:

And as much as they love little Smitty, that wasn't much comfort to Jaxon . . . especially at night time. He had developed a fear of "monsters." He was convinced that the monsters were going to get him since Jasper wasn't there to protect him. We told him that monsters didn't exist. And he told us that he knew they existed because he had seen them in cartoons! So we explained that Smitty would protect him like Jasper used to. And he told us in no uncertain terms that Smitty was smaller than he was and that the monsters would get him too! (So I guess sometimes you CAN be outsmarted by youngsters!)

In an effort to keep the peace and defeat the monsters, I made sure that Jaxon (and Smitty who sleeps in his room and is clearly also in mortal danger) are never without a bottle of "Monsteze Monster Spray." For those of you who may be unawares, this is simply a bottle of Febreze with this shmancy label:

If you'd like to recreate this for your own little ones, simply download the free printable Monsteze Label, trim to size, and affix to your own bottle of Febreze. (Note: This printable is made for the larger 1.05 quart size Febreze bottle. Perhaps print it at a smaller percentage if you wish to affix it to a smaller bottle.)

Directions for Use:

1. Before bedtime, spray at doorway, at closet opening, under windows, and under bed.
2. Explain that this will ensure that no monsters will enter the room and that any that may already be in the room will vanish in a puff of smoke (never to be seen or heard from again)!
3. Also explain that since Monsteze Monster Spray is so very powerful, "a little dab'll do ya!"