End of Summer Porch Parties

 I'm sorry the links in the last blog post didn't work.  The problem seems to be that BLOGGER has a completely new "interface" -- and I still cannot figure out how the damn LINK works.  I tried "open in new page" -- but that didn't work at all.

Beckie said she got to the page by using Google...and if you use the links in her comments, I think it'll take you there.

This blog is always a work in progress...and I'm still learning. Maybe one day, eh?

Last week, I had TWO porch parties...celebrating the COMING OF FALL. Our weather had been just stunning. Cool nights, breezy days...this is when I realize how much I love the CHANGING OF THE SEASONS...

I had Cal and Jeanne over for his birthday steak dinner...which was delayed from August (cuz they were in Florida). Altho, the steak was tough and the potatoes were overcooked...that meal came under the category of "it's the thought that counts"...

Then, later in the week -- I invited the MDF for a Fall Luncheon.  We've been getting together every week this summer -- and these women ALWAYS notice every little thing I change, or sew, or paint, or rearrange...

Sandy, Sue, Evie and me.  Because NONE OF THEM SEWS -- they act like everything I do is magic.  On this day, they acted like the dress I was wearing could have launched a rocket...(picture to follow)...

 

 

But the real purpose of this lunch was to show Sue now easy it is to COOK RAW SHRIMP.  HyVee had some wonderful 16-20 raw shrimp on sale...so I did a cooking demo.  The shrimp TURNED OUT GREAT...

THANK YOU McKenzie Child..

My posts about McKenzie Childs have been SO INTERESTING...on many levels...

 for one thing -- Leanne found THIS LINK -- which will show you ALL the things that were sold that day, and the exact prices they "realized"...(my guesses were off)...

https://stenzelauction.hibid.com/catalog/204762/high-end-estate-auction---lorrainne-lynch-estate/?cpage=2

 

Remember this fabulous fish chair??

 

My friend Nancy found this article -- ABOUT THIS MCKENZIE CHILD CHAIR...OMG..!!

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-a-fish-chair-tattoo-inspired-a-facebook-groups-300-mile-journey/

2020 Birthday Parties

To review -- my life works the way it does because I try to have ONE SPECIAL THING to look forward to each week. Of course, there are so many wonderful things that happen EACH AND EVERY WEEK...Carrie comes to clean on Monday, I have breakfast with the TMBC on Tuesday, I pick up the kids on Friday, we go trippin' on Saturday... 

All of that means my ONE SPECIAL THING has to happen on a Wednesday or a Thursday.

 NO PROBLEM...

Last week, I planned a special Birthday Lunch for two of my long-time high school friends...

And, I picked our surprise location -- THE FOUNDRY -- a new restaurant that opened just a month before Covid.  Ugh.  A coupla weeks ago, Rhonda Pierce was driving through my area, and we met here for lunch.  It was my first time...and this place is doing a lot of things right...

ESPECIALLY THE POUTINE...!!

 

THEY LOVED IT..!!  (I think the Farmer's sausage was a nice touch for these two Iowa Farm girls)...

 

It was so much fun to introduce Barb and Sue to this famous Canadian delicacy...

Then -- it was time for GIFTS.

We had a lovely party...and I am very content to celebrate birthdays one (or two) friends at a time...

Auction Results

I was hoping to give you a link to the auction results -- because they got some CRAZY prices for things. But, alas, Stenzel removed the catalog the day after the sale...but I'm just glad I snagged some pictures off their site before they took it down.

This rug sold for $850...and the two chairs went for $550. each

There were three different teapots -- and they went for $540, $500 and $520

Which made this fish chair look like a serious bargain -- it sold for $310

The sunflower stools (there were 6 of them) went for $660 each.

This floor lamp went for $1650. The leather Lazyboy recliners went for $800 each.

There were TWO Smeg Dolce and Gabanna toasters -- the first one sold for $450, and the second one went for over $600.

AND MY DREAM REFRIGERATOR?? I swear -- I fought with myself for two full days. I sent the picture of the frig to many of my friends and asked, "should I try to buy this?"

Mostly, I got a lot of encouragement...things like -- "this is a once in a lifetime opportunity...

or -- wouldn't you smile every time you walked into your kitchen?"

YES, I WOULD...I REALLY, REALLY WOULD... 

But, then, I'd think about HOW MUCH WORK IT WOULD BE...I'd have to borrow a pick-up truck, drive to Cambridge, have the boys come help me get the new frig into the house...and what would I do with my current frig?  And how many cubic feet is this beautiful work of art? No matter how gorgeous it is -- I can't live with a small refrigerator in my kitchen....and John would really, really hate it...(yes, that sometimes factors into my decisions...)

MY BRAIN WAS SIZZLING FOR TWO DAYS...

Sunday, I was glued to the computer for hours and hours -- watching the live bidding...waiting for the refrigerator to come up...it was on Page Six of the catalog....I was going back and forth in my own head...

should I or shouldn't I?  Will I or won't I?

When the big moment came -- I could not pull the trigger....  

The hand-painted Dolce and Gabanna Smeg Refrigerator -- which was sold for $50,000 at Nieman Marcus -- sold at the auction for $1.680.....

I am quite sure I WILL NEVER AGAIN HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY....and I went to bed dreaming about that refrigerator...but I'm getting over it...

And, hey -- I completely realize there are bigger problems in this world than NOT having a Dolce and Gabanna refrigerator in your kitchen...

An Auction in Cambridge, Illinois

You already know that going to AUCTIONS is another one of my main entertainments.

Unfortunately, since the Coronavirus shutdown -- attending a live auctions has not been an option.

But, Stenzel Auction, one of my favorites, has mastered the art of on-line bidding...and -- last Sunday -- they had a LIVE AUCTION -- combined with on-line bidding.

They do a WONDERFUL job, showing hundreds of photographs of the things that will be auctioned...and I often mosey on to their website, just to see what I'm missing.

Fortunately, they're located in Cambridge, Illinois -- which is about an hour away -- so the drive discouraged me from bidding....

BUT THEN -- I SAW THESE PICTURES...!!  This "high-end" estate auction happened on Sunday, September 13th...

NINE (9) PAGES OF FABULOUS STUFF..!!  SOOO MUCH MCKENZIE CHILD -- I could not believe it!!  Lamps, rugs, chairs...

This estate had THREE McKenzie Child teapots!!

Chairs...

Stools...tables, nightstands, outdoor furniture...housewares of ALL shapes and sizes...

Lamps, tv trays...OMG...OMG...OMG.....;over 400 McKenzie Child items for sale in this auction catalog!!

There were TWO Dolce and Gabanna toasters, people!! (retail is $800 at Willams and Sonoma)

But -- the REASON I was watching this sale all day last Sunday? I didn't even know this was happening, people....

A Dolce and Gabanna Smeg Refrigerator!!

Here's what I know. This refrigerator was only available at Nieman-Marcus...and it sold for $50,000...!!

So -- I WAS GLUED TO MY LAPTOP all Sunday afternoon.  It was exciting to watch the bidding...and, believe me, they got some very high prices.  Bids were coming in from all over the country -- California, Florida, Pennsylvania...

But, my thinking was that nobody would want to SHIP a refrigerator halfway across the country...so...maybe...just maybe...I could afford it..??

McKenzie Childs

Many of my BEST TRIPS OF MY LIFE have been with my friend Marion.

We have SO MANY WONDERFUL MEMORIES...and one of our best trips EVER was a fall tour of upstate New York.

Marion and I -- at the McKenzie Child headquarters in Aurora, New York...

From their website: As you enter the winding brick driveway, you’ll know you are arriving at a very special place. Our dairy barn houses our production studio—where today, handmade, hand decorated majolica pottery, furniture, and home furnishings are crafted by our talented artisans. The grounds—open to the public—are home to sprawling gardens, a Second-Empire Farmhouse furnished with MacKenzie-Childs designs that is open for tours, and a retail shop filled with our tableware, home furnishings, and gifts.

Before our visit there -- I didn't know anything about McKenzieChild....but I'm pretty sure you could buy a new car for what this fabulous chair would cost...

I LOVED EVERY SINGLE THING

I simply cannot imagine a porch where this wouldn't FIT IN BEAUTIFULLY...

Marion loves a beautiful rug -- and this place specializes in vibrant, high quality rugs...

There is a good reason for this stroll back in time.... Really...you're not gonna believe what happened....

Wedding Dress Frankensewing

When my sister Deena called and said, "I need your help with a sewing project"...I was IN BEFORE she even told me what it was.

Because I LOVE ANY KIND OF SEWING PROJECT.  And I get a special kind of joy if that project involves fixing, mending or frankensewing to make something work.  Just the idea of it makes me want to rub my hands together in anticipation...

This one was a challenge.  Kelcy's 9-year old daughter, Myla -- is gonna be in a wedding.  They didn't have a junior bridesmaid dress, so Kelcy bought a woman's size...confident that her mother would be able to "make it work".

But, the truth is -- Deena would rather light her hair on fire and put it out with a hammer.  She HATES, HATES, HATES any kind of mending...and nobody in their right mind looks forward to sewing on 3 layers of chiffon...

For me -- it was an exciting, challenging project -- and I was HAPPY TO HELP...

Obviously, the dress is more than a foot too long.  And, altho this picture doesn't show it -- the shoulders need to be taken up about 5" to make it work.

BUT -- instead of sewing all that chiffon at the top seam -- I experimented with just pulling the back together...to form an "X" -- and that made all the difference!!  (we also needed to sew a dart into each side).

Deena patiently cut away 3 layers of the skirt...

Myla's job was to hold the layers Deena was NOT cutting...

Deena did all the sewing (on her new vintage Kenmore -- which she just got FREE)

As an added bonus -- we frankensewed a soccer shirt for Myla that was at least 8 inches too long...in both the sleeves and the body of the shirt.  After we finished -- IT WAS PERFECT...