Paint it? Don't?

I went to an auction tonight.  It was a box lot auction, which means there was a whole lotta crap they were selling for a dollar.  If no one wanted an item, they combined it with the next box until it went away.

This basket was sold alone, thankfully, and I had my eye on it the moment I walked into the auction.

It is 15" high

and the diameter is 17½".

There are only one or two little snags in the weave and no holes at all.  It's an awesome basket.

Even the bottom is interesting.  (and a little dirty)

So, I managed to win this basket at the auction.  It was touch and go for a moment, but I managed to squeak out the winning bid of $2.

Can you believe it?  Two dollars? 

("I want my two dollars!"  Name that movie. )

Well, I can clean it up and put it on craigslist for $20 or so (I'll research it to find out if that's a good price) or I can clean it up and paint it white and have it look all fresh and clean and current. 

What's your opinion?  Paint or no paint? 

Have a great day
Kristin

Diet and Exercise

Last night I spent the evening with a friend of mine.  We talked about a lot of things, but one of the main reasons for the visit was to chat about diet and exercise.  I was actually pretty excited that she would come to me about this issue.  It's a hard subject to bring up and I have a hard time talking about my weight without bursting into tears.  Thankfully we both were tear free.

I remember telling her that for the most part, all diet programs work.  The key is to do them.  The reason why diets fail is because people stop eating right and exercising.  If all you are doing is eating right and no exercise, you cannot make any mistakes (like eating that piece of cake) because you aren't burning off the calories.  Most people choose a diet program because they want to follow something.  It takes the guess work out of it. Follow this, get this result.  Don't follow this, stay where you are.  The diet program that a person chooses, has to be one that they feel they can do...one that they think has the best chance of fitting into their current lifestyle.  That's why there are so many programs out there  -- we all have different needs. 

However, one thing remains the same.  Eat a sensible diet and exercise.

Have you ever looked at a "quick fix" program or pill?  In teeny tiny letters somewhere it says - for best results follow our eating and exercise program included.  No matter what, eating right and exercise is the key to weight loss.  Who knew?!!

I'm sure you've heard the phrase, "those who can do, those who can't, teach."  I'm a very good teacher.  I started out a pretty good doer when it came to diet and exercise, but I went back to a sedentary lifestyle and because a teacher again.

After our chat last night and after having so much trouble regulating my blood sugar levels the past year, I know I need to be a doer again.  My friend asked me if I would walk on a treadmill with her a few days a week.  (although my first thought was to be a smart ass and ask if they had a treadmill for each of us!)  I think I was interventioned and didn't know it!

Of course I said yes - I'd do about anything for her.  But what I realized when I got home, was that I wanted to do this for me.  It was just a bonus that a friend was going to come along.

So, do you eat right and exercise?  Do you have a diet program that you follow?   Are you one of those naturally thin people?  It's OK, I'm not a thin person hater!  I just envy your metabolism. 

Have a great day!!
Kristin



PS.  I have to say though --  we didn't give a start date to our exercise plan.  I'd better get on that.  A month can go by pretty quickly!

POTD - Handwriting

POTD - Handwriting

©2011 Kristin Corlett

I have a minor fascination with handwriting.  I worked on my handwriting for years to get it to look the same every time I wrote.  I also wanted my printing to be very neat just like the manager at my work place.  His printing was absolutely perfect and I wanted mine to look just like it.  The handwriting on this envelope is so close to cursive but it's not.  I like all of the little curves in the r, i and u.  The S's are particularly fabulous.  

Enjoy!
Kristin

Whoa! What happened to Monday?

The excitement of the hurricane

(we hardly got a drop of rain)

combined with my husband being out of town

(I tend to sleep a lot and play with craft projects until dawn)

along with loving the audio book I've been listening to

(which causes me to take trips in the car to listen to the next chapter)

I have sort of lost a day

(but enjoyed it!)

I ordered some postage stamps from Ruby Floy - she's an Etsy seller that I like.  I've been wanting a few embellishments for these journal pages I've been making and I thought stamps might be the perfect thing.  I thought I ordered these on Saturday night and they arrived today!  I guess I must have ordered them on Friday.  Still, they were here faster than anticipated.  Love that!!

There was this tiny little book stuck in the box with the framed art pieces that I bought at the auction.  Inside the back cover was a letter written on the 29th of April, 1969.   I scanned it because I can't read parts of it and thought i might get some help from you folks!  (You can enlarge the photo by clicking on it)   The letter has probably been in that book since the day it was received.  There is not a wrinkle or bend in it, besides the center crease.

Here's what I've gotten so far.

Dear _____ (possibly Fay?)
So enjoyed Sunday
and _____ to say you seem

so calm and relaxed _____ you
_____ - ____ that ____ _____
your thoughts turning over!
_____ Patrick


Have a great day!
Kristin


PS.  I have a portable CD player in the house with giant headphones, but I fall asleep listening to the audio book or the batteries run out too quickly.  I just didn't want you to think that I didn't have a CD player. However, I really need an ipod.  Really.

POTD - Meat Market

POTD - Meat Market

©2011 Kristin Corlett

There are a few million streets in Jacksonville and I haven't even begun to find them all.  On this new-to-me road I found Harold's Meat Market, where they have more than meats the eyes!   I'm assuming that Harold and the gang aren't as excited about that last part anymore, that's why it hasn't been painted a bright shiny color.  I think it's a hoot and so happy I found it.

Enjoy!
Kristin

Saturday Night Auction

It's been almost eight months since I've been to an auction.  I so enjoy a good one, but I haven't been inspired lately by the items up for auction.  However, I saw something in the listing this time that made me nearly run out the door.  A little peek of what I saw is above. 

Some of the interesting things for sale was a large Florida Fruit crate, a wool Persian rug, decorative balls and two old typewriters.

Above is part of a 1970s pull down map collection from a school.  The mounting frame that holds all of the maps was also included. 

A very pretty textured tile art piece and a caution wet floor sign were also at the auction.  Oh, there were hundreds more items from furniture to books and everything in between. 

Fortunately for me, all but one of the items I wanted to bid on came up for auction within the first 30 minutes.   The school maps, which is the item that made me run to the auction, were the third item up for bid.  I could hardly believe it.

I set a dollar amount that I was NOT willing to go over and I was getting a little freaked out that the bidding went right up to it.

Thankfully, no one wanted to pay more than my pre-specified amount because I won the item and I didn't have to tell myself to go over that amount because ... (fill in excuse.)

Have you ever seen the movie Sleepless in Seattle?  At one point Tom Hanks pulls down a map from a small rack on the wall in the kitchen and he points out Seattle, WA and then Baltimore, MD.   I have always known I wanted a set of these maps, but seeing one in that movie just solidified the desire.

I absolutely had to find a map.  I had to.  It's always been in the back of my mind when I go to antique shops.  I've always figured that someday I'd find just one map shoved in a corner.

I never ever dreamed that I would find a rack and 12 pull down maps for sale.

There has been this giant open wall space in my guest bedroom for nearly six years now.  I figured someday I'd find the perfect thing to go there.  The wall was painted such a funny color that most of the artwork I have just didn't look good in that room, so the wall remained empty.  The map collection, however, looks perfectly at home.

I brought the pieces home, hung the frame (it is crooked, but not too bad for being home alone and not having a level), installed the maps and giggled at my good fortune.

I also won the fruit crate, the Persian rug and a box of miscellaneous framed artwork. 




Hope you enjoyed a tiny tour of the auction I attended this weekend.  If you'd like to see more Sundays in my City, please head on over to Unknown Mami's place for the weekly SIMC carnival.  It's always a great time.

Kristin

POTD - Repurposed

POTD - Repurposed

©2011 Kristin Corlett

This gorgeous lamp was at a little shop in Neptune Beach, FL where vintage items and new are mixed together beautifully.  The store is called Red Daisy and I love going there.  The owner knows how to style her store and it's a pleasure going in there.  I couldn't fully resist a few items although I did leave the lamp for someone else to purchase, but it was difficult. 

Enjoy!
Kristin

POTD - Peanut Butter M&Ms

POTD - Peanut Butter M&Ms

©2011 Kristin Corlett

I have recently acquired this tiny little pottery bowl and on the way home this afternoon I had an inspired thought - I wanted to photograph it with peanut M&Ms piled inside.  The drug store had bags of candy on sale 2 for $6, so I got a bag of peanut and a bag of peanut butter M&Ms.   I thought Tom would enjoy having a whole bag for himself!  So I poured the candies into my little blue bowl, put some magnifying lenses on my camera and played with getting some cool close up shots.   In several of the shots I made sure that all of the M's were visible, but I see in this one, none are.   This isn't the closest shot that I got, but I liked this one best because you can really see the smallness of the bowl and all of the colors of the candies.

I think the peanut butter M&Ms have improved since the last time I had some.  These were fabulous!  I'm so happy I was inspired to buy some :)

Enjoy!
Kristin

Friday Fragments

It's Friday Fragments Day!!

It's Friday Fragments Day!

It's Friday Fragments Day!

It's Friday Fragments Day!  

It's Friday Fragments Day!

Welcome to Friday Fragments!  This is the place where we're able to put little snippets of fun or interesting things together without having to stretch that idea into an entire blog post.

Mrs. 4444 is our lovely host and I am so grateful for her continued hosting of this fun carnival.  For more Friday Fragment finds, please head on over to Half-Past Kissin' Time.  Thanks!

*•-:¦:-•:*''''*:•-:¦:-•

My Fragments are indeed fragmented and scattered.  No theme here, except for the photos, they are of a bull that I found on one of my photography adventures the other day.  He wasn't too excited about seeing me, but I was glad that I had a telephoto lens.  I didn't want to take any chances.

*•-:¦:-•:*''''*:•-:¦:-•

I have taken 237 photos for my 365 Photo Project.  I started January 1st and haven't missed a day.  My husband teased me this afternoon, in front of my friends of course, that if I haven't gotten my photo of the day by the time dinner time rolls around then it's either the or something trivial in the house.  Since I didn't get my photo of the day before dinnertime tonight I decided that I had to come up with something to prove him wrong.  While I was doing my "bowl of M&Ms" shoot, Mocha was just looking so cute, so I got down on the floor and took the best photo of her!  She ended up being my photo of the day.  haha!

*•-:¦:-•:*''''*:•-:¦:-•

I am completely hooked on the TV show NCIS.  The one with Mark Harmon, not the LA one.  Anyway there is a guy on the show named Tony DiNozzo and every time he spells his name for someone on the phone I get the biggest kick out of it!  Here's what he says.

     Tony DiNozzo.
"Can you spell that?"
      Big D, little i, Big N, little ozzo.

He doesn't spell ozzo he says it.   Too funny.

*•-:¦:-•:*''''*:•-:¦:-•

Every time I say the name Elliott, I have to fight the urge to say it like E.T. does.
Can you hear it?  El-lee-uht.

*•-:¦:-•:*''''*:•-:¦:-•

I opened up mail that wasn't mine.  (I hope that post office police don't come and get me!)  I cleaned out the mailbox at my rental condo and it was just stuffed full of mail for former tenants and people who never lived there.  Well one name kept popping up (that I had never heard of) and two of the items were from real people, not companies.  So I opened up one to see if there was any information why the person claimed to live in my condo.  One was a 30th birthday card, with a check for $100 and the other was just a note that said it was great to see you last weekend and a check for $300!   I brought them home, taped them up and put return to sender on the envelope.  A thief would have been pretty happy with that score!  Good thing I'm so honest, except for opening someone elses mail :0)

*•-:¦:-•:*''''*:•-:¦:-•

I heard something the other day and then did a little research to see if it was indeed true and it looks like it is.  In the name brand tennis shoe market only one brand makes shoes in the USA.  That would be New Balance. They mention that some of their shoes are also made outside of the US, so be sure and read the tag.

New Balance Made in the USA Shoes "Many of our shoes are produced in one of six United States factories. While most of the footwear industry has moved its production overseas to take advantage of Low labor costs and generally cheaper production costs, we continue to have many of our shoes made in the United States, and have expanded production substantially. Since 1995, we have increased our manufacturing jobs by 65%. MAKE SURE YOU SELECT THE MADE IN THE USA SELECTION. Not all NB shoes are American Made (from the website, AmericansWorking.com)

*•-:¦:-•:*''''*:•-:¦:-•

I bought a very cool book the other day called "The Great American Road Trip" and it reminds me of the Roadside America folks, but this book is full of oddities - like the Binocular building in Venice Beach and the Teapot Dome Gas Station in Zillah, Washington.  This is a book that I'm going to LOVE using on my roadtrips!   I got my copy of the book at Barnes and Noble for $10. 

*•-:¦:-•:*''''*:•-:¦:-•

Hope you have a fabulous day! and thanks so much for stopping by.
Kristin

POTD - Stop

POTD - Stop

©2011 Kristin Corlett

I'd like to ask Hurricane Irene to please take her storm out to sea and leave the East Coast alone.  The kids are going back to school, or so I've heard, and I have friends traveling this weekend.  I'm sure that we all have someone we know that really does not want to be in a hurricane!  I've been in several and I don't recommend it.

So Irene...STOP coming ashore!
Thank you.

Kristin


This is a metal sculpture, part of a larger art installation at a rest area in Michigan.

Lights, Camera, Actions!

Ever since I got my Nikon D90 camera, I've been wanting to learn how to use Photoshop to play with the pictures that I take.  My photographer/blogging/roadtrip friend, Lisa, talks about the actions she uses to enhance her photos and I always just sighed and thought, "some day."  Actions are usually a one click way to get a whole bunch of photo adjustments made at once. 

When I visited with Lisa on my roadtrip one of the things I wanted to do was to get her to teach me how to download and use the actions. I knew it wasn't hard, but I wasn't having any luck using tutorials.  I needed an in-person demonstration.

And she did :0)

This is the original, the one that I used as the base for all of the photos below.  This isn't straight out of the camera (SOOC) but it's only been enhanced a tiny bit, like I do for all of my photos on the blog.  I brighten it up a bit and make the contrast a little sharper.

This photo is of my husband and one of his favorite folks at Mayo.  She used to be his post transplant coordinator, but now she's working on the hospital side.  We don't see her very often, but on this night the liver transplant support group and some of the hospital staff were all together.

The photo above - The only thing done to this is it has rounded corners and was sized for web viewing.  (The CoffeeShop Blog Rounded Corners Moody Pop)

This one, above is Honey Retro.  It has the yellowing property that you see with so many old color photos.  Normally I wouldn't use a yellow with the pre-transplant patients because so many of them are already yellow!  (from being jaundice)  Since my husband is post transplant, it's OK in this case.

This one is called Toasted Coconut.  It's got a hint of something that makes it not quite black and white.  I like this one.  It's also really bright.   I think this is one of her newest actions.

This last one is the CoffeeShop Blog's version of lomo.  Lomo is what our film snapshots used to look like.  Here we are in the fabulous digital age and instead of the sharpest images with spot on color, this action takes us back to the snapshot.  I like it.  When I look back at photos of me when I was a kid, they are all snapshots. 

All of the actions I featured are from The CoffeeShop Blog.  Her most popular presets and actions are featured here - you can buy them all for one low price and get some freebies OR you can do what I did and I downloaded a handful tonight and they were all free.  I have Photoshop Elements and so not all actions work with the less expensive version, but The CoffeeShop Blog really makes an effort to have the actions work for both Photoshop and it's kid sister, Elements.

I have been playing with quite a few actions ever since I had the pleasure to meet Lisa.  I am so grateful for her help!

Lisa sent me some instruction links (in case I forgot or needed help in the future and can't run up to PA to see her) so I thought I'd include those too.  You may or may not care about any of this, but that's OK!

How to install actions in Photoshop Elements 8 on a Mac.
This one is from Texas Chicks. Thanks!!

Installs textures - this is a free texture applicator. I haven't done this yet, but it's next.
These are the actions that Lisa thought I should have - - and funny enough, I haven't gotten them yet!  Sheesh, what am I waiting for anyway?


Little Perk - contrast boost, color boost and slight sharpening

S curve Pop Strong levels adjustment, contrast boost

Pioneer Woman - I use Boost, Fresh Color, Lovely, Vignette, Slight Light the most often.

Hope you enjoyed a little photoshop information and my husband's lovely mug.

Have a great day!
Kristin

POTD - Vintage Thread

POTD - Vintage Thread

©2011 Kristin Corlett

My dear friend Dust Bunny gave me a jar of vintage thread one day last Spring.  She said that she'd been collecting the spools for quite awhile with the idea in mind to give a few friends a jar.  She tried to make a little speech about our friendship and the spools of thread, but I just remember us laughing because she stumbled with her words.  I think that was even sweeter :0) 

I've been working on the Remains of the Day pages for a handmade journal and I decided that I was going to add in a bit of that vintage thread.  I wasn't going to sew the whole book with it, but enough to spread the Dust Bunny love, combined with mine, to others.

Enjoy!
Kristin

Good Thoughts

I recently started following a woman on Facebook named The Joy Junkie.  I liked the name, that's for sure - I'm all for Joy!  She talks a lot about creating a better relationship and has a free eBook if you're interested.  It's on her Joy Junkie blog.  What I really like are the questions she asks each day on her facebook page.  I'm always up for a thought provoking question!

Today her question was...Do you ever say that you "will send some(one) good energy"? What do you mean when you say that? Do you really follow through?

It is funny how things come up from others that I've been thinking about already.  Just last night I was thinking about the new transplant patients and how I hadn't lit the candle for them.  (The candle photographed above and blogged about here)  I had said prayers for them and spent a little time visualizing good health, but I haven't gotten into the habit of lighting the candle. 

I have another friend that received the call today for a liver transplant.  I am not sure if she got the transplant (there's always a possibility that it's a no go) but I went over to my candle,  lit it and put some good thoughts into the Universe for her and for the donor family.

So, I'm going to turn this question around to you, my friends - do you send good thoughts, prayers, etc when asked?   How do you go about this?  Do you stop everything and right there say a prayer?  Think good thoughts for the person? or something completely different?

For me, I almost always visualize the person and think about what I've been asked to do or what outcome they are wanting.  

Have a great day!
Kristin

POTD - Hydrangeas with tomatoes

POTD - Hydrangeas with tomatoes

©2011 Kristin Corlett

In the back of a pick up truck at a farm market on the Vineyard, were these beautiful hydrangea displays.  The large yellow and red tomato labels were like beacons, guiding the eyes of the customers right to the flowers.  The tomato cans were not for sale however, just the flowers. 

Enjoy!
Kristin

POTD - It's Me!

POTD - It's Me!

©2011 Kristin Corlett

I've been trying to remember to get a self portrait each month or two for my 365 project.  On this day my hair was a mess, my eyes looked really tired and I probably had mascara smudged beneath my eyes as well.  It didn't matter though because I realized the hair looked kind of cool framing the camera.   This is me, my camera, my fingers and my bangs :)

Enjoy!
Kristin

Thinking about buildings

When I was growing up I used to dream of houses.  Even though I couldn't draw very well, I could make straight lines, so I designed floorplans.  Sometimes the houses were huge with 20 bedrooms and other times the houses were quite small, with just one or two bedrooms.  Every single house I designed, back then,  had a sunken livingroom.  I saw one once and thought it was the coolest thing ever.

I often wonder why I take pictures of certain things or why I am drawn to specific items?  I look through my photos and see hundreds upon hundreds of houses.  Everywhere I go I take photos of houses and wonder what they are like inside.  When I see a 70s looking house I do wonder if it has a sunken livingroom.  What is this obsession with houses? 

A dream I have over and over again is about a beachy looking house that has a lovely front porch, painted wood floors and is painted in fabulous beachy colors both inside and out.  I have been looking for this house for years.  When I find it, I hope the people living there won't mind moving.

Most of the time the houses I see I don't have any particular desire to live in them or own them, but I want to know all about them.  I want to know if it's original, if it has been added on to, if the floors are original, have any walls been knocked down, etc.  All of these things flash through my mind, almost instantaneously with each house that catches my fancy.

There is a TV show on HGTV called "If Walls Could Talk," but unfortunately I didn't particularly care for that show.  I think if it was more along the lines of documentary style I would have enjoyed it.   Instead it was written for entertainment value.  Imagine that!  Entertainment on TV?!  Who knew.

I wonder if there is a photography job out there that wants someone who loves houses and just wants to photograph them?  The real estate industry photographs a lot of houses, but I haven't figured out how to get into that business. 

I was going through my photographs of Ireland and the Isle of Man this evening and all of the building pictures got me thinking.   I included some of them in this post, since they were the inspiration.

Have a great day!
Kristin

POTD - Insulators

POTD - Insulators

©2011 Kristin Corlett

It's neat when something so simple is so calming.  I don't know about you, but this shot is soothing.  It's probably because of the colors - gray, cream, white and aqua.  Those are all restful colors and it reminds me of the ocean.  The sun shining through the window almost making the fourth insulator disappear is pretty great, too.  This was taken at the gorgeous home where we stayed on Martha's Vineyard. 

Enjoy!
Kristin

More Route 1

Two weeks ago I featured Massachusetts Route 1 signs for Sundays in My City.  The few I featured didn't even come close to showing all of the cool old signs that we saw on that trip on Route 1 from near Boston. I have been home for a month now and I still haven't finished my Scion Road Trip reports.  I saw so many things that I still want to discuss.  I may get it completed before I leave again in October.


This week I have several more signs from Route 1.  I hope you enjoy!

The Christmas Eve store is affiliated with the Budget Pool company, in the same plaza.  That's why the sign is talking about being in a pool.  As you may have already guessed, the Christmas Eve store is filled to the brim with Christmas decorations.  We didn't go in, but I'm sure I'd have a lot of fun in there. 

The Avalon Motel is a nicely kept up place with a great vintage sign.  I really like the slanted roof over the office. 

The Hilltop Steak House, at one time was the largest steak house in the country.  It sure has one of the biggest signs I've ever seen.  That's one incredibly large cactus if you ask me!

The food is supposed to be fabulous, but what's so great about that for us armchair travelers is that on the Hilltop Steakhouse website they have a huge recipe section.  Their great food, direct to you, if you can follow directions.  

I was nearly dizzy looking up to take this shot.

I bet it's a sight to see at night, as I think all of the cactus spines are lights. 

The Hilltop Steakhouse has their very own butcher shop, too.

The giant cows out front help to remind you of that fact.

I remember reading about this steakhouse a million years ago.  Right across the street was the largest Chinese restaurant, too.  When we went by, it has since closed, but I couldn't imagine having two giant restaurants across the street from each other.  The traffic on Route 1 is a nightmare, just imagine what it would be like with 5,000 people eating at two restaurants!  Crazy.  The Hilltop is open though and still serving fantastic food - according to the reviews.

I have never been to see the Leaning Tower of Piza, but now I can say that I have been to the Leaning Tower of Pizza!  I can also say that I ate there.

Tara, Bob and I decided to go ahead and eat there since it was lunch time and none of us had ever been in the place.  We might as well patronize one of these places on our sign finding tour. 

This is the inside of the Pizza Prince Restaurant.  It was a little buffet line, but there were very few pieces of pizza out and each two or three pieces to leave the buffet were replaced with new hot pizza.  It was very good.  I loved the multicolored lights over the front counter and buffet.  My Mom had one of these in her kitchen, I think.  Now that she has new lighting, I can't seem to remember exactly!

One of the old menu boards at the Pizza Prince.  For $1.05 you could get a spaghetti and meatballs and a Coke.  Not a bad deal!

Two weeks ago when I featured the first round of Massachusetts Route 1 signs, I showed the Motel sign, but it was the opposite side and from an extreme angle.  The "T" wasn't missing on the other side, either.  I especially like the COLOR TV sign waaaay at the bottom.  Remember when color TV was a big deal? 

If you want to search the area where I took all of these photos, there's a website called Mass Route One.  It looks like you can search by attraction or by the block.  Pretty cool!



Unknown Mami hosts Sundays in My City each week and I'm so happy that she does.  So many people get involved and show fun and interesting stuff from their cities.  Go on over and take a look at the other SIMC submissions. 

Have a Great Day!
Kristin