Birthday Flowers & Milk Glass Vases

There is something so wonderfully Springtimey about tulips, don't you think?  Perhaps because the bulbs slumber in the cold ground through the winter and then burst forth as the earth begins to warm and awaken from its long sleep.  As yesterday was my birthday, Monsieur presented me with not one but two bunches of tulips. One bouquet was purple as, lately, I have been leaning towards that shade and the other one had orange petals rimmed in yellow as he cannot resist those colours especially when twinned together in a flower.  I do adore being presented with bouquets of flowers.  When I was asked what I wanted for my birthday, I found to my surprise that I couldn't think of a single thing.  All I could think was, "I want to be happy."  Does that sound childishly naive or boringly grownup?  But who can resist opening the door to a smiling face and bouquets of Spring tulips?

For some reason, the orange and the purple worked well together.  And as luck would have it, I had recently thrifted another vintage milk glass vase, this time a fluted one.  I had found my very first milk glass vase a little while ago (the one with the orange tulips) and fallen in love with it.  You can read about my adventure in acquiring it here. 

A milk glass vase is very forgiving as its opacity blocks from view ugly stems and one's laziness in trimming the aforesaid stems or diligently changing the water.  And it's always nice to have a pair.

And these vases are the perfect size and shape for tulips.  No fiddling or arranging or messing with flower frogs.  I am very grateful for tulips' easy beauty as they make me seem arty and clever without really being that at all.

Milk glass bud vases turn up with fair regularity in the thrifts but I was looking for one in a size that would complement the one I already had.  Plus the one vase was beginning to look a little lonely in its solitary glacial splendour.  You can imagine how thrilled I was to come across another one that fit the bill perfectly.

And of course, a birthday isn't a birthday without cake.

 

Tulips in pretty vintage vases and a decadent cake.  What more could a girl want?

I'm liking up with Apron Thrift Girl, A Stroll Thru Life, Knick of Time, My Romantic Home, French Country Cottage, Thrifty Groove. 

Simply Pretty Vintage Tea Towels & Creamware Mixing Bowls

I think I am on my way to a new collection or possibly a new addiction.  Let me explain.  I am the chief dish washer-upper and dish wiper in my household.  Monsieur bought me a pack of black and white tea towels for drying said dishes.  But I found that they left swathes of black lint all over the dishes which necessitated much more wiping to no avail.  It also meant that I had to rinse the dishes again which obviously made them wet again instead of what I wanted them to be which was dry.  As well, the idea began to germinate in my mind that I would like some really pretty tea towels to make the task of washing up and drying dishes more pleasant.  Sadly, nothing in the shops caught my fancy.  They all looked so banal, so prosaic, so....uninspiring much like the act of wiping dishes.  Thus began the search for vintage tea towels.  Then, while I was out thrifting, what do I see on the racks?  Lovely, pretty in pink vintage tea towels.  And not just one but a matching pair!

Not only were they ever so pretty but they were in unused, pristine condition which is a wonder to me as I very much doubted the likelihood of finding nice tea towels that weren't covered in stains.

I do so adore the look of them hanging casually over a chair or over a rack in the kitchen or just spilling out of a dresser drawer. 

Along with the idea of having pretty tea towels to inspire me while washing and drying, I had begun to think that I would very much like to have a vintage whiteware or creamware mixing bowl.  This new obsession began when I saw the modern reproductions at Williams Sonoma.  Sadly the price tag was quite out of reach for this girl.  Then, what do I see on a shelf while out thrifting?  A glorious creamware mixing bowl!  Truly, I think I stopped breathing for a split second.

 

There is something so very soothing and comforting about this bowl.  It's as if it's saying to me, "Yes, I have done my job for many a year and now I'm going to help you make delicious meals."  I am positive that with the help of this mixing bowl, my floating islands will float, my breads will rise, my cakes will not be leaden in the middle.

  
And after I am done cooking something delicious with my mixing bowl I will gladly and, oh so carefully, wash it and dry it.  The only problem is that my new tea towels are so pretty that I do not want to use them.  I just want to admire them. 

I'm linking up to  French Country Cottage, My Romantic Home, Thrifty Groove, Apron Thrift Girl, Knick of Time, A Stroll Thru Life.