Decorating Above The Fridge

How many of you decorate the top of your refrigerator? I feel that it's an overlooked area to decorate since I never see anyone on Instagram showing off the top of their fridge. Well, except me!

Until this Spring, I've had the same old Crate and Barrel mixing bowls and orange metal colander up there for years (like 10 plus - yikes!) I liked those items and it never really occurred to me to change them out. That is, until I started acquiring cakestands and wanted to display them in my kitchen.

I have a soffit above my cabinets so I wasn't able to display anything up there, but above the refrigerator ended up being the perfect spot for my cakestands! There was nothing hindering the height and there was no fear of anyone knocking over my "display" (or should I use the fancy design term, vignette?) I started with just the cakestands and my Rifle Paper Co. Recipe Box and have been slowly adding to it and rearranging it over time.

Currently, I've got a sort of vintage Farmhouse vibe going on on top of my fridge. Joining my two cakestands is my copper colander that I got for super cheap on clearance at Target and three vintage blue mason jars. I recently stuck a few little faux lemon tree branches in one of my mason jars, just for the heck of it, and I liked it so much that I kept it. My green "Jadeite" cakestand is a reproduction piece that I got at World Market and the little pink one is a Martha Stewart without it's bunny dome. 

It's just another little area for me to decorate and in a few weeks, I'll probably be adding some Fall touches. But for now, I love it just the way it is!

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Side note: When I lived in my apartment, I would keep my bread on top of my refrigerator too, but it kept it getting moldy really fast. After complaining to a coworker how quickly my bread kept molding, he asked me if I kept it on top of my fridge and told me that the heat rising from the refrigerator was what was making it mold so fast. So don't store food up there! I've never had a moldy bread problem since!

Jadeite and Floral

My Jadeite collection is steadily growing and a few weeks ago I came across a vintage McKee canister - on sale - that I couldn't resist!

At first look, I thought it was a Jadeite flower pot since it was missing it's lid, but after some research, I discovered it's true identity! McKee was the first company to start producing Jadeite and this particular type of canister most likely sat on someone's countertop and held sugar or flour.

Although I felt bad about filling my new find with dirt, I still planned on using the canister as a flower pot. It was too perfect and an Amaryllis would look awesome in it! So far, I've not used any of my other vintage Jadeite for food anyways, because I'm kind of a germophobe. Although I've cleaned it all thoroughly, I can't see using it just yet. I mean, someone might have used it as a flower pot and had dirt in it. Yuck. :)

I was laying in bed one night admiring my Martha Stewart sheets and thinking about my new Jadeite canister when inspiration hit. My sheets have some coral, pink, and green flowers on them...and I had just bought some faux coral and pink flowers to make a flower arrangement for my bedroom. Why not put them in my Jadeite canister?!? Perfect!

Faux floral arrangements are really so easy and quick to make and this one was no different. I just got one of those green floral foams and stuck my flowers in it! Voila! Done! And it looks so beautiful! 

I started a full on makeover on my master bedroom over a year ago, and with this simple little project, it's almost complete! Almost! But is any room really ever truly finished?

The supplies: my Jadeite canister, floral foam, and some pretty pink peonies. I cut the peony stems down and removed the leaves.

I put the floral foam in the bottom of the canister.

And stuck the flowers in the foam. Remember to measure the flower stems in regards to your vessel so they are not too short or too tall.

Filled in with the remaining flowers...

I simply added the leaves in wherever there were open spots between the flowers. 

All done in about five minutes or less! And it looks classy and professional!

I needed something pretty on my nightstand!

They are so gorgeous!

I think Marilyn approves!

Decorating with Jadeite

With Christmas come and gone and no end in sight to our snowy weather, I have decided to perk up my home decor with all my new Jadeite! It brings a touch of Spring to our cold and dreary days here in northern Indiana and it makes me happy!

I only started collecting Jadeite about a month ago, when I was lucky enough to find a Jane Ray cup and saucer in an antique store in Florida (you can read all about it here!) Since then, my collection has grown to a whopping five pieces! Pretty fantastic, if I do say so myself. Prior to my first find, I couldn't find any Jadeite to save my life, so I am very happy that I keep stumbling upon it recently! My goal is to one day have loads of Jadeite to fill my hutch with, like so many lucky ducks I see on Pinterest and Instagram!

For now, I will just enjoy seeing a few pops of that minty green throughout my home! Currently, most of my Jadeite is confined to the dining room, but my McKee canister is acting like a flower pot in my living room. Jadeite is not just for the kitchen! Although, I do hope to be making use of my cakestand very soon!

My beloved hutch! Hopefully, it will one day be filled with Jadeite! Until then, up top is my reproduction cakestand that I got at World Market and I've got my official Fire King berry bowl just chilling down below.

I've got a little more pastel going on than usual with my two cakestands, but it just looks so good! 

My citrus recipe box from Rifle Paper Co. fits in perfectly with my Jadeite! I absolutely love anything vintage/vintage inspired!

This is a McKee canister that once held flour, sugar, or the like. It had a lid at one time too, but they are hard to come by! I saw this in an antique store and it looked immediately to me like a flower pot. So that's what I decided to use it for! I've got some big plans for it in the future too!

My very first piece of Jadeite! My Jane Ray teacup and saucer! I love it!

I just love that color!

Jadeite: My Newest Obsession!

Hi, my name is Kristin and I am a new jadeite-aholic.

I first discovered the beautiful green glass dishes a few years ago and have always kept my eyes open for them while perusing antique shops. I never found any and my desire for them grew and grew until recently when it became a full fledged mission!

For the last year I have gone to estate sale after estate sale and even stopped at random garage sales hoping to score, but I have always came up empty handed! I have found some other cool stuff along the way though, like a very large vintage blue mason jar for only $1.50! It makes a perfect vase!

I did see a jadeite butter dish at an antique shop once for $150 and I thought, "If that's considered a good price for this stuff, I'm out!" As much as I wanted it (obviously) there was no way I could reckon paying that kind of money, no matter if I could afford it or not! Okay, maybe if i was a millionaire I would have bought it.

Turns out, I had to go all the way to Florida to get my first official piece of jadeite!

I always go into antique stores with such high hopes and Oliver's Twist in Mount Dora, Florida was no different. Almost immediately I spotted two Jane Ray pattern cup and saucers. One appeared to be etched pretty badly, which doesn't come out, so I passed on that one for sure. But the other was in good condition and had a ten dollar price tag on each the cup and the saucer. I really wanted it, but thought long and hard. Twenty dollars for a cup and saucer just seemed too much for me.

We walked all over the rest of the town (which is very cute and I highly recommend stopping there if you are in central Florida anytime soon!) and I could not get those dishes out of my head. Aside from the overpriced butter dish they were the first pieces I had come across in the wild and at twenty dollars, they were still something I could purchase. Of course, I was also in vacation mode where calories and money have less meaning than in regular everyday situations and I decided to go back and get that teacup and saucer. It would be my special remembrance of that trip.

When I took it to the counter to pay the lady told me it was only ten dollars for the whole thing! Cup and saucer together! I almost went back and grabbed the etched one too just because, but I stopped myself. That's how you go overboard on collecting and waste your hard earned money! I walked out of that shop on such a high! Finally, I was a proud owner of real 1950's Fire King Jadeite!

As usual, once you buy something you just keep seeing it everywhere. On that same trip I went to one of my favorite stores, World Market, and found a sizable collection of reproduction jadeite for sale! It definitely lacks of the quality of the older stuff, but it still looks good! I walked out with a cakestand - truly the one piece that I wanted all along - with the understanding that it was going to be my birthday present. Best birthday present EVER!!!

I have since stumbled upon a local jadeite jackpot (I'm not going to tell you where because I want it all to myself!) They had maybe about thirty or so pieces of dishes: plates, bowls, and an Alice pattern teacup and saucer. Among them were also one single restaurantware plate that I have been dying for, but it wasn't in the greatest shape. And it cost $15, which may be a decent price for a jadeite restaurantware plate, but I'm poor and I have a hard time paying $15 for one plate! So I have to be picky about my finds. I did buy a cute little berry bowl and will definitely be back for more!

I think that's one of the keys to collecting. Wait for the good stuff! Don't spend a lot of money on some half messed up piece just because it's available. And only buy what you love and/or could use.

After we take down all the Christmas decorations, I will be able to set up all my new goodies! I can't wait to play around with everything! It almost makes me want to start taking down my Christmas decor already, but not quite. That will probably happen in another week or two.

Until then, all I want to do is go to every antique store in town and hunt down some more jadeite! I'm also becoming slightly obsessed with stalking ebay (like twenty years late.) My dream is to one day have my antique china cabinet filled with that gorgeous glowing green glass and use it as my everyday dinnerware! But for now, I'm just happy I finally found my three little pieces!

My first official piece of jadeite! I will treasure it always!

Jadeite jackpot at the World Market. It may be fake, but it still looks gorgeous! I got the larger cakestand! Happy Birthday to me!

I want it all!!!

A trip to Grabill

I got off work early the other day and decided to take a trip to Grabill, Indiana to spend the afternoon perusing the giant antique shop and to get a little fresh country air.

Although it's only a few minutes outside of Indiana's second largest city, Fort Wayne, you would never know it. Grabill is a small town known for it's large Amish community. It's main street is home to The Country Shops of Grabill and Souder's General Store. It's like stepping back in time, especially when the horse and buggies clop by.

I've been going to Grabill as long as I can remember with my parents and I just love it. Although the shops aren't the same country shops they used to be filled with everything Amish and country ~ baskets, dried flowers, and potpourri, they still have the same strange little rooms and faux rug flooring that take me back to when my brother and I would wander through the maze of rooms and get lost. The inventory may not be the same, but the memories are still there.

Now that it's an antique store and flea market, the style of what's for sale in the rooms varies from vintage to rustic farmhouse and anything else you'd find at a typical antique shop ~ books, paintings, furniture, clothes, and toys.

I'm always looking for my holy grail of cheap jadeite and a decent copy of Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I've yet to find either, but I keep looking!

I'm so very lucky that I live in an area where one direction leads me to a big city with skyscrapers and a booming urban landscape, while the other leads me to a vast expanse of fields, farm animals, barns, and dirt roads. It's really the best of both worlds.

Springtime is a gorgeous time to take a drive in the country with all the trees flowering and spring flowers blooming. It was a bit of an overcast day, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the trip! I can't wait to go back and go to Schmucker's Farm and get some flowers for myself!

Welcome to Grabill, Indiana! Every time I come here there is a little horse and buggy parked here!

Inside Souder's General Store. It's like stepping back in time to Ike Godsey's store from the Walton's. They have classic candies along with homemade soaps and great rustic farmhouse home decor.

The Country Shops of Grabill. I believe at one time this was a hotel and restaurant. It has a very old west look to it and it's very easy to imagine how it was back when it was first built!

This is just one of the many little obscure rooms inside the Country Shops. There are so many different items in these shops. You never know what you will come across!

I love this idea! Flowers inside a teapot. I also just like this enamelware teapot by itself!

Deck chairs from the Titanic?

My mom had this book when I was little! It was filled with all these majorly seventies photos of glam people at cocktail parties eating various jello molds. I used to flip through it all the time dreaming of the day when I too would get to go to a glamorous cocktail party and eat jello! Honestly, it was really the first cookbook I ever read.

After leaving the antique store, I took a drive around the country. Amish don't believe in getting their pictures taken, so I really didn't want to take any pictures of them and upset them, so this is all you get. They don't even have to get their picture taken for their state I.D.'s ~ it says photo exempt where the picture should be.

One of my favorite barns!

Although, this farm was really giving the one above a run for it's money!

This is an Amish graveyard.

Hi horse!

There were a lot of curious animals out the other day.

I love this farm! It's seems like such a typical farm scene with the windmill and the silo full of corn!

I drove by this barn on the way home. It's such a cool, old barn and guess what? It's not even in Grabill. It's inside the Fort Wayne city limits! That's Indiana for you! A surprise around every corner!

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Queen Victoria's chairs are in my parlor

I just kind of inherited these chairs. Not sure exactly how I feel about them. 

After doing some online searching, my husband thinks they are Queen Victoria Parlor Chairs. My in-laws were just going to give them to the Goodwill! As a lover of all things vintage and antique, I could not allow that to happen. 

These were my husband's great aunt's chairs. She apparently covered them in this "lovely" blue velvet herself. Personally, I would have chosen red velvet as they remind me of some chairs that are in my childhood church. And I love red. But that's just me.

I'm not sure what I am going to do with them, but I could not let something this cool get away from me! I think I am going to recover them myself, possibly! I've always wanted a Victorian couch, so maybe this is an omen of things to come!

I wonder what my husband's aunt would think, thirty or forty-some years later here I am writing a blog post about her chairs. I guess we'll never know!

Poor things were covered in mold from being in a musty basement for almost a decade. A little elbow grease should take care of it.

The designs at the top look like they could be hand carved. They probably were if they are truly from the 1800's! I may have to do some more up close investigating for a maker's mark. Or go on Antiques Roadshow!

All cleaned up and looking good! I'm liking them even more already! Actually, I'm not sure which one I like better, the one with the arms or the one without!