Tallulah-Palooza Friday

Tallulah Mae? Or unicorn?

Victorian Surprise

When we went to get ice cream in National City on Memorial Day, here, we drove up this little street to find lovely Victorian architecture. Turns out this is an historic site...so interesting! Brick-and-mortar buildings are somewhat rare here in SoCal--in part because they are easily damaged in earthquakes.

This is from National City's website:

"Brick Row on Heritage Square, 909 A Avenue Designed by San Diego architect R. C. Ball (who designed Folsom Prison), it was constructed by Frank Kimball in 1887 for $30,000.These 10 individual row houses were to be used by the executives of the Santa Fe Railroad. This architectural style is unique to this region and was molded after the row houses of Philadelphia and similar eastern cities. It was hoped that the railroad VIPs would not only feel at home surrounded by familiar architecture, but also be impressed by the cosmopolitan appearance of the young city. All the apartments have a formal dining room with fireplace, a kitchen, a parlor with fireplace, a butler's pantry, and four bedrooms upstairs.

Twelve-inch thick interlocking brick walls divide the units. The brickwork on the row houses was laid with an artistic eye to break the severe lines of the long walls. The bricks above the second story are set upright at an angle. A one-story wooden porch runs the length of the building.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it now is an integral part of National City's Heritage Square. Each of the 10 units is privately owned and maintained; however, there is a protective covenant on the facade, so the exterior will always be in keeping with the Victorian surroundings."

Purple Petals

Jacaranda flowers...so lovely on the trees and pretty once they fall (we won't mention the fact that they are terribly sticky and smell, to me, like cat urine). Let's look at their good qualities, shall we?

Peony Repeat

It's that time of year again, when I inundate you with pictures of peonies. They are so gorgeous--I just can't help myself! This is undoubtedly the first of many peony portraits. Enjoy!

Happy Memorial Day

A day of remembrance...and relaxation! Tallulah Mae indulged in one of her favorite recreational pastimes:

Ripping paper into teeny-tiny pieces. Fun!

(And as required in our household, ice cream was consumed....yum yum.)

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

"We have this lovely paisley chapeau, madam...it really flatters your face."

Lady Tallulah Mae Fillingham-Smyth, Countess of Torranceham, does not care for this hat being offered for her approval.

TikiTiki Mai Tai Bali Hai

 Fun mai tais and dinner with friends at the Bali Hai. Sadly, no umbrellas (or plastic monkeys) in the drinks.

 This fellow is out front. Check out this vintage photo of the same dude with quite the bombshell standing next to him.

Nice view!

Fun fun!

Layered

I made myself some juice last week (chard, apple, cucumber, ginger), and I put it in the refrigerator because I don't really care for it so much at room temperature. Look how it separated out: layers! Weird, but cool.

I Heart Avocados

This is just the way I like to eat them: smashed, with olive oil. Delish!

We Have Winners! (Bonus: Tallulah Mae!)

The winners have been picked in the Sew Mama Sew giveaway! It was nice to see comments rolling in and fun to see what people wrote.

I decided not to use the Random Number Generator because there was some overlap between international and U.S. entries, so I enlisted Tallulah Mae and some vintage hats instead. All names were written on slips of paper and drawn, literally, out of a (vintage) hat.

Our international winner is Jolien, from Hungary.

And Lindsay S. is the U.S. winner. Congratulations!

I sincerely hope some of you who visited will stick around and check in from time to time. You're guaranteed to see birds, bees, and Tallulah Mae!

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

 

 

Last night we returned home after attending a retirement reception. Tallulah Mae greeted us, then we all went into the kitchen. B. and I then went into the bedroom to change out of our finery; usually Tallulah comes with us and jumps on the bed.

However, not this time...we couldn't find her, so we went back into the kitchen. We found her. Sitting. Staring. Wishing. Hoping.

The objects of her desire? Those cupcakes you see up there. As if! Dream on, Miss Mae...ain't going to happen.

In a Pickle

Looking for the Sew Mama Sew giveaways? U.S. visitors, click here.
International visitors, here... 

When your CSA send you radishes for days, what's a girl to do? Why, make pickled radishes, that's what! They're quite tasty--and SMELLY, sort of in that sauerkraut/kimchi way (a good smelly, in other words).

I absolutely adore pickles and am willing to pickle most anything that crosses my path...watch out! I have vinegar and I'm not afraid to use it!

Hummingbird Hot Springs

Looking for the Sew Mama Sew giveaways? U.S. visitors, click here.
International visitors, here... 

I have NEVER seen the hummingbird drinking from the fountain...soooo cool! A few finches dropped in...alas, due to the junk the crows keep putting in the water (which you can see here), we've had to turn the fountain off for the moment. Boo!

Peach, Fuzzy

That is all!

Looking for the Sew Mama Sew giveaways? U.S. visitors, click here.
International visitors, here... 

Fun comments so far about what movie (or TV: lots of Downton Abbey fans--me too!) is your fave in terms of the costuming. Me, I love a good costume drama more than most anything else.

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway (International Visitors)

Welcome, Sew Mama Sew visitors (and everyone else)! Who doesn't love a chance to win some fun stuff?

This giveaway is for international visitors only--U.S. friends, please see your giveaway here. I'm offering a small envelope of vintage sewing stuff: what you see above, plus other bits and bobs I'll add later, PLUS one pattern from my Etsy shop, sewbettyanddot, up to $20. I decided to let YOU choose since you can pick your size or something to make for your little ones, etc. Just one pattern please--wish it could be more, but international mail has gotten quite expensive (boo!).

If you win, you'll send me a message telling me what pattern you'd like and I'll ship the envelope on out to you--please note your pattern will come from sewbettyanddot, my sewing-themed shop (though please do check out my other Etsy shop, bettyanddot--I do ship internationally in that shop too, after you convo me for a shipping price). Fun, yes?

Giveaway closes at midnight on Friday, May 16; winner will be chosen by the Random Number Generator.

You don't have to follow/like/friend me--but if you'd like to check out what I'm up to in the social media universe, please feel free! (I've just started Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter--diving into the social media pool {splash}--so there will be a lot more going on there soon, I promise!)

Foziewisp (this blog)--birds, coffee, randomness, and every Friday I spotlight my adorable dog, Tallulah Mae--it's Tallulah-Palooza Friday!
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/bettyanddot/
http://www.pinterest.com/sherrischott/
Instagram: bettyanddot
Etsy shops: sewbettyanddot
bettyanddot
Twitter: @BettyAndDot
Pattern Patter team blog (Etsy team)

To win, simply leave a comment below--and please tell me what country you're in (just cuz I'm interested!). For fun, if you'd like to tell me what movie you LOVE for its costuming, please do so. I have a zillion faves, including The Women (that fashion show!), Funny Face (Audrey! Fred! Paris!) and Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette. (If just want to say "Hi!" or "Pick me!", that's fine too!) Please remember to leave some way for me to contact you should you win. That's it!



Be sure to visit Sew Mama Sew for all of the hundreds of other fun giveaways! Whew!