Today is a Special Day!

Twenty five years ago today ~ July 27, 1987 ~  on the deserted-for-the-summer grounds of  The Texas Renaissance Festival ~
I met the man who would be my BEST husband ever!

He is my sunshine!

After working the 7th - 8th - 9th & 10th Texas Renaissance Festivals

 during the years of 1981 thru 1984 ~ I moved to San Marcos, Texas until November of 1985 when I found out that my Dad had liver cancer.

 I then moved back to Houston, Texas and found a part-time job selling Designer clothes at Marshall Field in Town & County Shopping Center off I-10 West just past Memorial City and very close to Spring Branch.

In October of 1986 I found a day job as a Receptionist/Bookkeeper for an accounting firm in the Galleria but kept my part-time job at Marshall Field.

With the result that by July of 1987 I was just burnt out... from working!

So I decided to quit my job at Marshall Field.... but they didn't want me to go, because my sales were the highest per hour of anyone who worked in my department, full or part-time... so they gave me a leave of absence of one month.

I decided to I would go see my artist friends from the Festival ~ Pancho and Rosy, at their home in Wimberley, TX.  But I found out that they were going to be at the Festival site up in Magnolia, Tx to work on their booth.  

Rosy told me that they had a friend coming up from Houston to help them...yep...you guessed it!  

The friend was my handsome husband-to-be, Noel Patrick Thomas...and we were married on October 17, 1987!  
Seventy seven days after we met and two days after I turned 37!

Last week DD Julia and I went to Austin to eat Indian food at our favorite Indian restaurant in Round Rock by the name of Chola!  Oh, so good!

Then we decided to go to a couple of thrift stores but the thrift gods were not particularly smiling on us that day...however in the Salvation Army store on S. Congress I found these...

A beautiful set of 1959 E. S. Lowe Renaissance Chessmen in mint condition!

AND a copy of The Big Bands by George T. Simon.

Noel's parents were musicians.  His dad, Earl Morgan Thomas, is a clarinetist and his mom Lois, played the piano and the harp.  Noel was born in Manhattan in 1947 while Grandaddy Earl was attending the Julliard School of Music.

When we were first married Noel used to sing all the Cole Porter tunes to me (and he still does, occasionally).  He particularly likes  the Big Band era, as do we all in the family.

I HAD planned to sell the chess set and the book, but...

Hey!

Linking up with:
Sophie at Her Library Adventures Flea Market Finds
Selena of Apron Thrift Girl ~ Thrift Share Monday 

A day late...Happy Fourth of July!

Well, I'm late with my 4th of July post and I haven't been blogging either.  It seems like we've had company for most of June and we've been working a lot on the 'Texas Treasure Box'.  

 And now I've got my hands in braces...carpal tunnel syndrome...maybe.  

So I've embarked upon a series of natural treatments.  

Accupressure, for one, as described here... 

I'm also increasing my B vitamins.  A daily dose of  MSM, in case it's arthritis... trying to rest my hands... Sigh!  

Yesterday my friend  Sydney spent the 4th with us.  Dinner was delish.  

I made my favorite shrimp, tomato and arugula dish paired with cumin basmati rice and Sydney brought a pasta salad...which was also delish. 

Sorry, no pictures, I forgot and we were SOOO hungry! 

When it got dark, we sat out in the field and enjoyed our neighbor's fireworks....they were bursting forth all around us!

(As Noel is reading this over my shoulder, says he especially liked seeing the neighbors explode all around us...

He's so BAD! He criticizes my writing unmercifully!)

It was great! The fireworks, the food and the friendship!

 Happy Belated Independence Day to you all!

The flag belonged to my handsome husband Noel's mother, Lois.

I know it's getting raggedy, but we can't retire it... a sentimental thing. 

 The flag holder is a big chunk of Texas Hill Country limestone which used to be at the bottom of a prehistoric inland sea...cool huh?

Summertime in the Four Seasons Bathroom!

Our ONE bathroom is completely painted in shades of white.  

It is also completely stucco.

  

From the walls to the ceiling & archway to the counter... stucco.

We'd have to jack-hammer to change anything in there...

So, to liven things up a bit, my DD Julia & I devised the Four Seasons bathroom idea.

Seasonal changes are echoed with a different color scheme represented by towels, a shower curtain, throw rugs, a different picture over the reading rack (our one open expanse of wall), & accessories appropriate to the season.

...Welcome to Summertime, where the livin' is easy and the season is breezy (and hot)!  Also, where we use light blues, sea foam greens, LOTS of white, sunny yellow, and turquoise to evoke the seaside.

The shelf my handsome husband Noel made for me from iron brackets we picked up at Warrenton.

The whole thing is mounted on a simple wood frame with shelves made of  cream-colored Corian pieces recycled from a job he did years ago. 

He also found the glass & fluorescent light fixture out at Warrenton one year; it doesn't completely match the one that came with the house, but it's close!

A blue Fenton powder box.

The little fishes in glass were a gift from my youngest sister.  

 Terracotta sun ornament, palm tree tiles, & the fish-in-a-rum bottle are from my next youngest sister, Tamara

 (I have 3 sisters.)  Lucky me!

Blue glass star hanging ornament from my youngest sister

 & the wire fish from Tamara.

Vintage flower-etched medicine cabinet with glass shelves 

& the white enamel gas wall heater are original to the house.

Shells and candles gathered over the years... The plate holding the candle is Laurella by Universal from HH Noel's Aunt Muriel.  Early American Prescut (EAPC) relish bowl by Indiana Glass, Co. holding the shells.

Milk glass dish from my mother, Joey.

Mancala, anyone?

Glass knobs on the cabinet doors and the linen closet were there when we bought the house!

Dig that crazy commode, y'all!  

White wood floors covered in pale-colored Indian dhuri throw rugs.  

The shower curtain was supposed to be more blue than green but with online shopping... c'est la vie.  Oh, well!  I like it!

Care for something to read by the deep blue Mediterranean Sea?

Or, would you prefer to swim?

Thanks for dropping by!

Linking up with:

Kate at Chic-on-a-Shoestring for Flaunt It Friday! 
Sophie for Flea Market Finds at Her Library Adventures 

PS - We also think it will help us to remember what we do with it from 
season to season!

MCM - Mid-Century Modern Goodness!

These past two weeks have been very exciting around here at the Texas Treasure Box!  Tuesday, May 29 heralded the arrival of the long-awaited Morgan Portable Building to house my office and business!

(I nearly had a fit over this)!

We have been really busy installing parquet-look vinyl flooring and starting to move into the building.  I needed a new computer desk.  So on Friday I went over to our local charity thrift store and found this...

An unsold - just waiting for me Mid-Century Modern Desk!

They had it labeled as a sewing cabinet, but they were wrong!  It's a desk!  Of course, I took the pic this morning and the desk is sitting in front of an East facing window...so bright!  Maybe I'll take a pic tonight and add it later...at least you can see the cool MCM lines.

It almost looks like it could be an unmarked Heywood Wakefield because of the inset handles.  It only has a marking of A-601-8  63 for identification...so I'm thinking that the 63 means 1963...pretty neat and what did I pay for this you might be asking...well, how does $15.00 sound?  I'll take it!

Update! Serious Update!

I just found my above image Googled into images for 
Westnofa of Norway furniture!  

Remember my Westnofa Siesta Lounge Chairs I told you about here?

See a couple of Ebay listings here and here!

I'm thinking that the handles are the sameor at least, very similar! 


So maybe I have an unmarked Westnofa desk!  

This could be extremely cool!

I'm so excited...I could just spit!!!

Yes, I believe I'm going to sell it!

I had a bunch of books and a few odds & ends in a basket up at the check-out counter and another basket slung over my arm when I decided to take a last look around and OMG!  Look what I spied!

More Mid Century Modern goodness!  And they match!  Which is weird for me to care since I'm probably just about the most un-matchy person around...but so pretty!  

And now you are probably wanting to know just how much these two babies were marked...Well, get ready for this...$4.00 bucks each!  I've already seen just one of them listed on Etsy for $119.95...ONE!  

Well, I'm not going to sell these...I just like to impress my handsome husband Noel with my stupendous shopping skills!  

This pic is in my dining room in front of another East facing window...hence the brightness also.  One of my goals this year is to improve my photography skills but for now, what I do is what I do!  8-)

Now here is a little something I picked up last week...I just couldn't let this one pass you by...

A vintage silver plated Oneida Champagne bucket!

Priced at $20.00 - it's one of the most expensive items I've bought at this shop...but it was calling my name...I just had to answer!

(Photo taken in my Four Seasons bathroom as it is the only relatively uncluttered white room in my house)

I have emailed photos to Oneida as instructed by Customer Service and they will try to identify the year and pattern for me... 
I'm guessing 1990's sometime...we'll see!

 ~ Breaking News! Just heard back from Oneida with this:

"This is the COUNTESS holloware pattern.   The Countess collection was introduced to the market in 1982 and discounted in the late 90's."

Linking with:

Sophie for Flea Market Finds at Her Library Adventures
Selena for Thrift Share Monday at Apron Thrift Girl
Rhoda for Thrifty Treasures at the Southern Hospitality Blog 

Do you know what this is?

Do you know what this is?

You can have a couple of guesses…oh, several junk rooms in my house?  

Well no, but wait!  You already know that among other things, I’m a bookseller…so…several book rooms in my house?

Actually, no…it’s one room in my house…my office…yes, that's right, it's a view of just every angle I can take whilst balancing on piles of stuff…and there is even a shot of the closet…

Now, this room is 10 feet by 10 feet…hmmmm…no wonder it looks crowded…because frankly, it is. I can barely move around in it ... makes it incredibly hard to work… I know you know what I mean, right?

Oh, look here!  What's this?

Can you guess?  Oh, you're so smart!  That’s right! That‘s the new Texas Treasure Box studio!  On the road in front of my house... just about to drop right into this empty spot ...

right ….here!

Isn't it pretty! ~ Oh yeah, uh huh, uh huh! Got me some ROOOOOOM!

14 X 28 =  392 square feet of room!

292 MORE square feet of room than I currently have AND

I'm going to be able to get my guest room back!

Now here is the image that lured you in... 

A vintage silver plated Oneida Champagne bucket!

(Photo taken in my Four Seasons bathroom as it is the only relatively uncluttered white room in my house)

I have emailed photos to Oneida as instructed by Customer Service and they will try to identify the year and pattern for me... 
I'm guessing 1990's sometime...we'll see!

June 8, 2012 ~ Breaking News! Just heard back from Oneida with this:

"This is the COUNTESS holloware pattern.   The Countess collection was introduced to the market in 1982 and discounted in the late 90's."

Linking to:
Kate for Flaunt It Friday at chiconashoestring

Vintage Doilies & Potholders

I've always had a thing for crocheted vintage doilies and potholders.  Knowing myself as I do, when I become obsessed interested in something--an idea or an object--I know that I have to create some boundaries so that I can enjoy my current interest without it taking over either my house or my life.

So, with the all the doilies and potholders out there calling my name, the boundary I decided on was that in order for me to buy them, they had to be a specific shade of pink and/or green.  Now they could be pink and green and white or they could be green and white, but not pink and white only... Don't ask me why, I don't know why, but it seemed to work.

So, as I acquired them,  I had to decide how to display them and this is how it morphed ...

Accumulating my collection took YEARS!  I kept adding them to my display area and finally had enough to cover the top of my bedside table.  For Christmas a few years ago, Noel make me a glass tabletop to cover them.  

So, now when I knock over my nighttime glass of water, instead of jumping up, taking all the wet doilies & potholders and the 2 layered tablecloths and one embroidered topper off the bedside table... I can just wipe it up! 

 Makes me happy!

One more photo 

(and sorry for the quality of the pics...I'll get better...I promise)!

Oh, did you notice the pillowcases?  

Well...I have a thing for them too...more about THAT obsession later!

Linking up with:
Kate for Flaunt It Friday at ChicOnAShoestring
Sophie for Flea Market Treasures at Her Library Adventures

Chickens and Eggs... Yum!

This morning I decided to film Noel letting the girls out of their hen house.  Our chickens are free-range and we only lock them up at night to keep them safe from critters and varmints, AKA dogs, 'possums, and raccoons!

 

So, here is Noel setting them loose for the day.

He likes to feed them banana... Don't ask me why, but they seem to like it... a lot!

I apologize for the sound quality; I'll have to figure that one out next time.

We have 2 Dominiques - Dommie & Nickie (original, I know)

1 White Leghorn - Pearl 

(who I forgot to mention; sorry, Pearl! For such a small bird, she lays the biggest white eggs)

1 full Rhode Island Red - Henny Penny (very loud and vocal)

1 black Australorpe - Astrid

4 Americunas (they lay colored eggs - greens, blues, etc. AKA "The Old Girls")

...& then we have 3 Rescue hens (AKA "The New Girls" - they are the red with white trim birds and they have been debeaked... boo!)

 

We got them from a man who bought them to butcher... They looked so awful when we got them; I didn't know if I was going to be able to look at them!

 They seem to have recovered even though they are still kind of deformed... 

(New girl is shown in shadow to protect her identity... Poor baby!)

We get an average of between 7 to 10 eggs per day

 

 so of course I have a collection of:

 Deviled Egg Plates - some vintage and some new... 

My favorite is the triangular one...I've only seen one other in my time.

They are sitting atop the island that Noel built for me while we lived down in Pasadena...when it came time to move...he unbolted it, picked it up and 

we vamoosed!

Here is another plate of delicious deviled eggs!

My Famous recipe follows...I'm givin' it up! 

Crystal's Famous Sour Deviled Eggs

1 dozen Boiled Eggs 

Mayonnaise - I like Duke's

Yellow Mustard - Plochmann's is my fav, but really any one will do

Sliced Salad Olives - Green with pimentos

Now, this is pretty basic, but it's how I cook...

• Cut the boiled eggs in two - put yolk in separate bowl - Place large end of egg uppermost in plate hollow - alternate so that different size eggs are next to each other.
• With a fork, mash egg yolks
• Add some mustard, you know how sour you like things, so add to your taste. - I like about 2-3 tsp.
• Put in about 2-3 Tbsp of salad olives, make sure to get some pimento
• Add 1 tsp olive juice
• Add mayonnaise, start with two big spoons.
• Mix, taste, add more mayo or olive juice to get filling to the consistency you like.
• When it is there, locate a long teaspoon with a smallish bowl to use for filling the eggs on the plate
• Fill eggs and then put one olive slice on each egg and top with a bit of pimento in the hole
• Dust with paprika

Now, because we have a lot of rosemary growing and a really nice patch of chives, I snip off rosemary sprigs, trying to get blooms if they are in season and about 8 chive stems.

Left - Rosemary bush in the front ~ Right - Chive Patch and Rosemary off back porch

 Then look around to see what else you have growing, in this pic we have some mint and Thai basil...place the rosemary sprigs, the basil and mint, snip the chives over and you are done!

Cover with plastic wrap, first one way and then the other.  The rosemary stems keep the plastic wrap off the eggs and then...refrigerate!

You can also use anything for garnish that hasn't been sprayed with pesticide.  I've used roses, sage, sweet basil, thyme... anything that isn't poisonous...

Google it if you are unsure and if you are still unsure... don't!

Then, if you have any boiled eggs leftover you can always...

Pickle 'em!

One is pickled with hamburger dill juice and garlic

 and the other with kalamata olive juice!

Let me know if you try the deviled egg recipe and if you like it;

 and I'll let you know in about 7 days if either one of the pickled egg recipes are any good!

I love my chickens...