Christmas Collectibles

It's no secret to those who know me, know that I LOVE Christmas! The music, decorations, cookie baking, the hustle and bustle, sharing fun with family and friends as well as beloved traditions.

Each special decor item holds a special memory. Perhaps a souvenir of a trip, a vintage ornament from my childhood, a precious gift from a loved one.

The creche pictured was a wonderful find during one of my antiquing road trips. It is whimsical and charming, made in Germany. The carved wood manger scene, trees are the perfect backdrop for the Holy Family, Christ Child and beautiful angels. I fell in love with in. It holds a special place in my Christmas display. After all, the birth of our Savior is the true joy of the Christmas season.

May your holiday season be filled with love and memories.... xo

Please visit my Etsy shop to find Christmas treasures for your home:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/MiladyLinden?section_id=17162595&ref=shopsection_leftnav_9

Tree Day... We LOVE Our Family Traditions!

My family embraces our traditions, especially during the holiday season. Our most favorite, however, is TREE Day which is always the day following Thanksgiving!

Since my daughter, Natalie, was a baby, our family has made the trek south to the town of Holland's tree farm. Complete with picnic lunch: thermos of hot cocoa, homemade cookies and overstuffed turkey sandwiches... yummy and listening to our favorite Christmas music!

Living in Western New York, you never know what the weather will be ... it has run the gamut from a 60 degree day and no snow (like this year) to below zero with four feet of snow! Each year is an adventure!

My daughter always loved getting a small tree for her room and when she moved to her own place continued this tradition. Tree day has held so much meaning to her, so much so, that two years ago her husband proposed on tree day whilst her overjoyed mother could not contain her excitement!!

As you can see that year was very snowy! We were all surprised by the engagement and it made for a special tree day we will never forget!

Over the years there have been many stories: once we locked the keys in the car, the time we assisted another couple who lost their tree on the highway and the year I wanted a "Charlie Brown" tree that I had seen in a magazine with few branches and wide open spaces (I have a thing about wanting spaces to hang my ornaments), they indulged me but never let me forget it!

When we find the "perfect" tree we take family pictures, hold hands and sing our own rendition of "O Christmas Tree"... corny... oh yes! This year Natalie decided we should all wear flannel shirts for our photo op and since the weather was mild, the shirts looked cozy!

Making memories, sharing love and celebrating the most beautiful season! We love tree day! xo

Charming and Sweet Colorful Silk Velvet Pumpkins... with a Milady Linden Spin!

The first time I spotted a little velvet pumpkin cutie was at a Country Living Fair in Columbus, Ohio. I loved it, but since my budget was already blown on other vintage treasures, I passed it by.

Since that time, my fall decor does include one or two of the original and lovely hot skwash pumpkins. However, his year I decided to put my on twist on silk velvet pumpkins and ordered me up some fabulously rich autumn colored fat quarter fabric on Etsy.

The pumpkins are easy to make .... cut a circle of fabric, sew a running stitch with embroidery floss, which I found was thicker and less likely to break. Then stuff with rice!

I added whimsical shaped sticks to mine instead of pumpkin stems.

Since I am a collector of vintage gems, laces and the like, my pumpkins were embellished with vintage and a few feathers here and there!  I am in love with these!

Above a purple eggplant color with vintage lace and millinery leaf,  rich burgundy color with filigree finding and gold color with vintage leaf

Since these are so easy peasy, one, two, threesy to make, I see a lot of different varieties available on Etsy. It was a fun fall project and every nook and cranny of my home is filled with delightful punkins!

Happy Autumn!  xo

The Beauty of Autumn

This has been such a gorgeous autumn, the weather has been incredible ... I just love it!

 The flowers in my garden are still blooming and today their beauty beckoned for a bouquet to brighten my table.  A vintage silver coffee pot was the perfect vessel to hold the colorful collection of red begonia, purple coleus, red dahlia, gray dusty miller, green eucalyptus, pink hydrangea, purple Russian sage, and orange zinnia. 

Don't you adore my cheery bouquet? I sure do!

xo

Help Me! I'm Stuck!!

As my passion for discovering vintage miniature perfume bottles increases and my collection grows, invariably I will find the perfect French glass perfume bottle; only to find the beautiful crystal stopper is stuck! Has that ever happened to you?

Not to fret! I have found a solution that works to get those stubborn stoppers unstuck!

It is simple, effective and safe.

Simply go to your medicine cabinet or your local pharmacy for a bottle of rubbing alcohol. Fill a tiny glass jar or even a shot glass with a small amount of rubbing alcohol and place the stuck bottle upside down into the jar. Of course if it is a larger bottle you would adjust the size of your jar!

If the perfume bottle has it's original label you must be so careful not to submerge the label. The trick is to get the neck with stopper portion only into the alcohol ... please note in my photo. If the bottle has no label like mine, it is clear sailing!

Now be very, very patient... this may take several days to a week or more! But it works, it really does! I remove the bottle daily, dry it and carefully twist the stopper with a clean thin towel. Even the most obstinate stoppers eventually give up!

Here is the caveat: some of the alcohol may leach into the bottle so if you wish to salvage the perfume, this method may not be your solution. You may prefer just to dab alcohol around the stopper to see if that will help it budge.  

Good luck with your precious bottles!  I hope you have enjoyed my little perfume bottle first aid tip!

Happy Collecting! xo

To see my collection of miniature perfumes for sale on ETSY please click the link:  https://www.etsy.com/shop/MiladyLinden/search?search_query=glass+perfume&order=date_desc&view_type=gallery&ref=shop_search

What Smells so Pretty Around Here?

Amongst the variety of things I adore and have collected are vintage perfume bottles and of late, my interest has been rekindled! The story goes like this, girl walks into an antique store, she spots a collection of vintage Parisian perfume bottles and the girl falls in love! Those miniature French perfume bottles sure tickled my fancy!

At a recent estate sale, I discovered the lady of the house also had a penchant for miniature perfume bottles and it was quite enjoyable purchasing some of her lovely collection. Displayed on a Victorian tray aren't they enchanting?

This whimsical little Limoges porcelain basket with three gem mini bottles was a gift from my sister-in-law. She always finds the best presents!

Vintage Irice perfume bottles in porcelain or with jeweled tops!  So beautiful!

Pretty pink DeVilbis atomizer!

A whimsical little bakelite perfume pot with hand painted forget me nots!

Hope you have enjoyed my collection! xo

To see a selection of vintage perfume bottles for sale please visit my ETSY shop:https://www.etsy.com/shop/MiladyLinden/search?search_query=vintage+perfume&order=date_desc&view_type=gallery&ref=shop_search

Driving Miz Daisy Vintage Market

Nothing like a morning at a vintage market! And flea marketing Southern California style!

A wedding brought me to the San Diego area and I decided to extend the trip into a vacation! It was a great idea~ especially when I found the Driving Miz Daisy Vintage Market! Woo hoo! I did not know what to expect but perusing the first row, I knew I was in vintage heaven!

My beau is always driving me around on treasure hunts and he calls it Driving Ms. Karen, so the name of this vintage market was particularly apropos and amusing.

The market was larger than anticipated and after a while, sadly, I had to hurry my behind because said beau was getting impatient! But I managed to load up with enough vintage treasures to satisfy my vintage soul!

It turns out I found an old Larkin Company vintage powder box which was super cool because the Larkin Company is literally in my backyard. The vendor did not appreciate that I was from Buffalo! lol That's ok by me!

I discovered an amazing locket, some cufflinks, religious medals, beautiful vintage lace and this gorgeous Art Nouveau buckle which I repurposed into this lovely necklace.

And there was the bunch of circa 1940's charms including this fabulous Walter Lampl sterling church charm with Stanhope lens Lord's Prayer! Great find!

You can find these and other vintage treasures in my Etsy shop!  Please stop by for a visit real soon!
https://www.etsy.com/shop/MiladyLinden

PS... Another highlight of the market was the amazing and delicious handcrafted burger I had for lunch at the CUT food truck. It had bacon relish..... mmm. I want another, too bad I live 3000 miles away.

xo

A glimpse of my gardens!

In the 33 years that I've resided in my home, my garden has been a labor of love through trial and error. Over the years, the pachysandra, myrtle and ivy, albeit lovely, has added challenges to plantings; some flowers do well, others wither away. 

The garden runs the entire length of my yard and the backdrop of the fence allows me to hang many whimsical garden treasures which I adore collecting!

Because of the ground cover, I display a lot of chairs in the garden which not only adds color but interest as well.  

I love the repurposed bird house I purchased at a vintage market "will wrent for a song"! The garden plate was a fun project, made some to sell and kept a few for myself!

 Had a blast painting and repurposing an old window for the fence!  Kind of funky and charming with the vintage garden signage, don't you think?

My herb garden in an wooden palette. This year the addition of moss has kept the dirt in place and makes it look more earthy and woodsy! I love it!

Every year I plant scarlet runner beans, the pods produce a plethora of seeds for the next year! The rabbits ate the first planting so I had to put the plant on the stepladder but I love the way it looks. Old galvanized bucket and child's hoe add to the vignette.

When I lost a tree in the yard, I utilized the stump very nicely for a little succulent fairy garden!

I love finding unique things for my garden... the cool gazing ball and ceramic bird totem pole were discovered at a art festival!

And my garden door1 My son loves to recount the tale about the day on his to-do list was "paint the door in the garden yellow"! It adds whimsy for sure... I wanted to conceal a not so pretty area and ferns are now filling in lending a wispy look.

My friend gave me the garden angel! May all good fairies and angels find happiness in my garden!

Hope you've enjoyed my gardens. They are kind of wild, crazy and not so manicured, but they suit me just fine!
 xo

The Official Buffalo Garden Walk

I love summer in Buffalo! We get a bad rap for our winter's but you cannot beat the fun activities and energy of our summers! Wooo weee, Buffalolonians know how to make the most of the good ol' summertime!

Since I was away at a wedding, I sadly missed some of my favorite garden walks; especially the nighttime garden walk under the stars! There's always next year....

Not to be missed is the annual Buffalo Garden Walk which started in 1995. This year me and my companion decided to ride bikes throughout the city. This avoided parking issues (it is crazy trying to park) and also allowed us to view the gorgeous architecture around the city! One of the most popular areas is a street full of quaint cottages on Union Street..called Little Summer.

In the Allentown neighborhood, the houses are charmingly painted. The garden walk is not only about flowers but the entire whimsical package of home and garden!

I love the way these homeowners carried the turquoise and orange color scheme into the garden! So cute!  Love the porch curtains too!




Pictured below is another wonderful color palette and garden! There were two white poodles staring out at me, my camera did not capture them!

Every year I get an idea at the garden walk to try in my own garden! And, it is going to be adding curtains to my porch, they just add a touch of cozy to a porch don't they? Also they'll add some protection from the afternoon heat as well!

An added bonus of the day was running into some old friends! One of them was my childhood friend and neighbor when we were 7! Glad we can keep in touch with Facebook now!

Happy Gardening! xo

It's Garden Walk Season!

This year marks the 21st anniversary of the Buffalo Garden Walk. It is the largest in America with 400 gardens for viewing and over 60,000 visitors and growing strong!  In addition some of the gardens have been featured in such publications as Better Homes and Gardens and Fine Gardening!

This makes me very proud of Buffalo... we get a bad rap for our winters but our summers are wonderful filled with activity, One of my very favorite summery thing to do are the local garden walks in surrounding suburbs.

Recently I attended a garden walk in the charming village of Lewiston. I'm all about quaint towns and villages and Lewiston fits the bill! 

 Strolling the village I noted many historic homes dating to the early 1800's!

Not only do they have open gardens but feature a street full of garden vendors with plants, flowers as well as garden decorations for sale!

This garden really inspires me and I an especially in love with the garden decor!

To celebrate my love of gardening and flowers, I created this Wildflower bracelet, which you will find it in my Etsy shop!  

https://www.etsy.com/listing/6424431/glass-flower-leaf-and-swarovski-crystal?ref=shop_home_active_1

Happy Gardening! xo