What in the world do toast & yarn have in common? Nothing! But the Jelly & Yarn do! Both come from the lovely hands of Heidi who birthday gifted me with them on a recent trip. This morning, I finally had a little time to play with them in the sun (before devouring the wonderful PB&J sandwich made with the Blood Orange marmalade Heidi made herself – YUM is not big enough to say how great this tastes – THANK YOU is not big enough to express my delight!)
I can hardly wait to start some socks from the Briar Rose yarn in the background – all my favorite colors live in this yarn – a custom handpaint from Chris herself. Pampered Piggies await.
Yesterday those little piggies went to market in a big way along Chicago’s Damen Avenue. I met my neighbor Theresa for a Bucktown Boutique Romp – I’ve been on a *local* vacation this week and we decided to be tourists in our own town! Truly nothing better –
We went up to Bucktown and worked our way south.
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I saw this wonderful arrangement in the window of a shop –
and just had to go in and make some new friends.
This space was FULL of ruffley tulips and just mouth watering roses in bi-colors and more. VOILA! Mega Spring Fever!
I ended up with a retro pot (the green fluted one on the left) as a new home for the Christmas Cactus my neighbor gave me – hey TOM! It’s still ALIVE! I didn’t think I could do it but hey, it’s the 22nd of March and it’s still kickin…
Bucktown is one of the most lovely neighborhoods in Chicago – many of its buildings hail circa 1880 and most of the little shops along Damen are in the original charming storefronts that graced the avenue back in the day. A little north of Larkspur, we found C’est Moi.
This is a delightful houseware store and I spotted something through the window that made me rush inside.
My Aunt Florence, who lives in Hampton, Georgia, sent me some birthday $wag and now I have something to light up my life and think of her in the evening.
The magical thing about this 10″ lamp is that the shade is not a shade at all but a CANDLE! It burns from the inside down and light shines through the rest of the wax. Ah, vacation – enough time to take a picture of it and play in Photoshop to make this card for Auntie Flo – thanks for visiting, y’all…
I adore Blood Orange Marmalade and my local market has it freshly made! Very nice photo montage.
I’m glad you like the marmalade! For some people it’s an acquired taste…and you must have acquired it. :)
I love Christmas cactuses…they’re almost impossible to kill. I received my first one from a friend after bemoaning my brown thumb, and she promised me that I couldn’t kill it. Sure enough, it lives still, six years later. I also have one at work which is over a year old and thriving, despite having never seen real sunlight.
Thanks for reminding me there’s life outside the dreary office during the end-of-quarter crunch.
Lovely photos (I love Photoshop, too)!
I am so jealous about your local vacation! Lots of knitting time and blogging time.
How heavenly!
How neat that the lampshade is a candle. Very unique.
I love my ‘hood! Did you go into that cool new store that sells nothing but trim and buttons?? It’s great!
I love my ‘hood! Did you go into the new store that sells nothing but trim and buttons? It’s awesome!
I love the lamp/lantern/candle. Did you try it out and see how much light it gave off?
I had a blast yesterday. We’ll have to find some other part of the city to explore some other time!
I just caught your sidebar remark about the firemen and knitting. omigod. I need a fan. right NOW. hehe. thanks for giving me a visual to take to my date with the stairmaster at the gym tonight!
Your Damen shopping adventure looks like it was a success – I love your purchases – both look like they would fit in with my stuff. :) Hampton, GA…was in that neck of the woods this weekend visiting my family (Fayetteville to be precise).
Wow! I need to explore this neighborhood further. I’ve been hunkered down in Rogers Park for too long. Glad you had fun and came back with such fantastic souvenirs.
Hello! It’s Chris from Briar Rose Fibers! I am happy you liked the color of the sock yarn. Heidi specifically ordered that for you! You have an awesome website!