Silly Stuff....

Yes...that's right ~ spooky, creepy & darn right silly googly eyed bath fizzys are here!

Not only good for bath's and decorating with, they seem to entertain teenagers!

Help! We're Addicted to Shadows!

We're ripping up the back of the store this weekend to paint the wall, so shadows were put on the back burner...however ~ we couldn't resist! Last night, while having dinner, we saw this fantastic shadow ~ and of all places it was in my bookcase.

This is a chrysanthemum McCoy vase that was a wedding gift of our grandmother's.

Karrie & I were lucky to have gotten many old vases & containers from Grandma, hence, this is why I probably can't get enough of old vases today!

Just like vases, we are addicted to Shadow Shot Sunday....won't you join us over at Hey Harriet this weekend?

It Really Is....All That It's Cracked Up To Be

We had such a lovely tea in the store on Tuesday....the ladies went on and on about....

the table decorations?
no...
the salad?
no...
it was these delicious Omelet-to-Go Muffins ~ and they wanted the recipe....so here it is girls:

Omelet-to-Go Muffins
6 eggs beat until foamy then add:
1 1/2 cup ham (or any other meat or meat substitute)
1/4 cup shredded cheese
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 Tablespoon fresh chives

Bake in a muffin pan for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Makes 12 mouth watering breakfast muffins (that can be refrigerated & taken out and warmed later!)
Enjoy!

Wednesday Words

" Madness takes its toll, please have exact change"

Well....it's fair time in our neck of the woods, so we dug out this picture of Karla, Kevin (our brother) and our cousin Paula taking a ride in a snazzy red coupe. Just how do you think he took directions from two females on either side? Carefully....very carefully!!

As always, Wednesday Words are brought to you by our Wall Enhancer line of decorative vinyl wall lettering, laser matting and our new alphabet images....check it out here

Fall Preview

Last week we showed you a very bright color....well, we couldn't wait to show the end result! We love papering or painting our display pieces. They really show off the product in the store better when we do this! In fact....this weekend we will be painting our back wall. It's been four years since we painted that {and let us tell you...it's no piece of cake to rearrange the store to paint one wall!!}




We've acquired a new dress form - Sally Stitch {we just call her Sally}. Now Marlene, our other dress form, will have a friend {she just couldn't take the load of modeling all of those vintage & vintage reproduction aprons herself!}


With dancing skeletons, eyeball bath fizzys, glittery shadows and fall flowers in place....

Fall has officially come to The Summer Kitchen - not too soon, not too late!

We still have many things coming in yet ~ just you wait!

LEGO My Shadow

While in Chicago last weekend, we went to the Museum of Science and Industry. There we saw the Harry Potter Exhibit ~ which was wonderful {but we couldn't take pictures of} and the German U-505 submarine {which we also couldn't take pictures of inside the craft} However....we did take some great shadows of the ART + Science = Architecture Exhibit!

What a job this guy has....Adam Reed Tucker is a certified LEGO professional and a trained architect. He has created some amazing architectural LEGO creations.


More than fifteen buildings that contain tens of thousands of LEGO pieces, the exhibit includes Chicago's Sears Tower, the St. Louis Gateway Arch, China’s Jin Mao Tower, the Burj Dubai Tower and the soon-to-be Chicago Spire.




Isn't it Hard to believe that these are all created out of LEGO bricks?



Come on along and join us as we travel around the blog world looking at shadows that you might not believe on Hey Harriet! You"ll never know what you'll find!

It's Friday...and We're in Love...

Inspired by the Cure's song....It's Friday I'm in Love...we we thought we'd share pictures of what we are in love with....

Today we're in love with this bathroom

Everything about it - the shutter, the great paneled brown ceiling that compliments that simple yet gorgeous mirror!

And that fabulous floor....we've always wanted a black & white diamond floor....especially one that looks so great with that chandelier above.... *sigh*

Such a lovely bathroom {wish ours were bigger!}

photo courtesy of Canadian House & Home

Wednesday Words

"All you need is love"

~the Beatles

What more can you say!

We took this picture a couple of weeks ago over on Put-In-Bay during the afternoon parade.

This van sure got a lot of applause from the people around!

Wednesday Words are brought to you by our Wall Enhancer vinyl lettering, as well as our new Alphabet Images.

Need some personality on your wall? Give our web page a visit!!

The Power of Color

It can make you happy, calm, relaxed, or excited.

Color can bring out many emotions.
What does this sassy color do for ya?

We went over to our favorite paint store, Color Haven, last weekend to get several paints. Two for the back wall, and this one #419 Malachy Green for the back of our cupboards.

Believe it or not, this color is for our Fall & Christmas displays....curious?

Soon girls, soon.......
.......in the meantime...get over to House Beautiful and see a preview for September's magazine article about what colors reveal about the designers in "What Does This Color Say"
Then hop on over to Benjamin Moore's website to see some great ideas on how to use those fabulous colors of 2009!

Take some, and cool off!

For one of our Tea Parties we made champagne salad... one of Grandma Betty's much requested recipes. It's oh so creamy, cold & good - the perfect desert for summer~and of course we knew you'd need the recipe!



Champagne Salad (original recipe)
8oz. cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 cans of drained crushed pineapple
2 bananas, sliced
10 oz package sliced, frozen strawberries, thawed
8-oz package cool whip, thawed

Beat the cream cheese and sugar together
Fold in the cans of drained crushed pineapple, bananas, 10-ounce package sliced frozen strawberries, thawed Cool Whip.
Then freeze till sets or use.

Can use fresh strawberries, about 1 quart, sliced.

Adapted Recipe:
Instead of bananas, we used (fresh or) frozen blueberries and (or) raspberries.
For sauce topping we took left over strawberries, blueberries & raspberries and added sugar and lemon juice to taste. Refrigerated this overnight and the spooned on top immediately before serving.

As Good As Gold Shadows

New things are coming into the store this week...

When we pulled these new bracelets out of one of the boxes, we couldn't resist making these golden shadows!

{Maybe not as good as gold....but it sure makes you feel good when you're wearing one!}

Don't miss a golden opportunity to view some great shadows this weekend at Hey Harriet!

Long Live the Queen

...the Queen of the 2009 Porch & Patio Contest!

Congratulations go out to Mary Hetrick of Port Clinton, as she is this year's reigning queen of our Annual Porch & Patio Contest!

A big Thank You goes out to all of you that entered! It was so hard this year ~ and our three judges had their work cut out for them. In the end, they all agreed that Mary had the winning entry!

So....would you like to see her beautiful patio?

{Now that's a stupid question...isn't it?!!}

Want to see the past winner's entries?

2008 Kathy Stahl

2007 Sandy Shoup

A Fast Getaway

Oh....we can't wait! We just love it when we can make a fast getaway....naw...we aren't robbing the bank - we're taking an unplanned trip to CHICAGO!
We just love Chicago....so much to see & so much to do....but mind you, this is a quick trip, so we thought we'd share what we expect to do......
First....we are staying in the Palmer Hotel - that is exciting enough! The architecture there is "the bomb!" Ever since we went to Chicago on a tour in design class, The Palmer has been on the "to stay at" list! I can still hear it in my head when my professor said that "Anytime you come back to Chicago, try to stay at the Palmer....this is the place to stay" Now, there might be nicer rooms, or a better staff at another hotel....but hello people....the history of this place is amazing!


*sigh!*

Moving on.....even though we didn't know about it, it seems that the Chicago Air & Water Show will be held this weekend....guess we timed that right!


....And, it looks as if we will spend a whole day at The Museum of Science & Industry

Kid's list:
Board the German U-505 Submarine - big brother will love this - he is all about anything WWII and German.....and little brother - he'll love it too, just because big brother does!



Little brother loves sharks....and for an 8 year old, knows just about anything about the creatures! This is his choice (other than anything big brother wants to do....), and he'll want to watch this show where he can swim with sharks in Africa.


OK...the real reason we are going to Chicago, is that daughter wants to see the Harry Potter Exhibit....cheaper than a trip to the London HP exhibit...plus, it moves out of town next month & goes to Boston.

Mom's list:
Well....wondering around the Palmer suits me fine...all of that architecture - heaven! But, I do have one request...

I can't wait to visit P.O.S.H for vintage goodness, I don't know if I'll ever come out of the store! Check out their online store....go on & pick your favorite thing!

Dad's list:
Of course....anything that mom or the kids want to do is fine with him!

However, a visit to Wrigley Field would be nice...and it looks as if they are playing Pittsburgh while we are in town....we'll give it a good try to get a game in!

We are meeting up with friends and are going to the Weber Grill, and we are going to go on an Architectural cruise on the river with them as well. We are looking forward to that, as we've never done the crusie before!

So....what kind of "Fast Getaways" have you been on?!

Wednesday Words

"Like branches on a tree, we may grow in different directions, yet our roots remain as one. "

This past Sunday we had a family reunion for Grandma Norma's side of the family. {There she is in the back on the left, next to her sister Ruth}.

In this picture is her nephews Daryl, Calvin and her niece Charlotte are all too happy to pose for a summer picture!

Grandma always talked about Charlotte. You could tell that she thought of her more like a sister than a niece. She would always talk about how they would play annie annie over, and have a good time together - you could tell that Charlotte held a fond place in grandma's heart!

Well, we got to visit with Charlotte at the reunion and talked about the old days.... and all of the good times & memories!

Family is truly a blessing isn't it?

Our Wednesday Words are brought to you by our Wall Enhancer Line.
With vinyl lettering, photo art & custom engraved matting - there are many ways to display your thoughts & pictures of family!!

Stop on by the website and get some ideas on how to use vinyl lettering in your home!

Orange You Glad It's Tuesday?

We sure are!
Every week we get a "what's hot in home decor" email....we've got to tell ya....it's been a real snoozer for the past couple of months - to the point that we really didn't want to open the email anymore, because there was nothing to offer!

Last week changed! Vibrant orange reached out to us & made us take notice!

Take this artwork - an eye catching peacock feather on an orange background, new from Leftbank Art - we loved the look of this!

These bottles from Creative Co-op are pretty & fun looking with their bright colors - sure to bring a bit of sunshine in your kitchen or bath!







At first glance we thought this was a votive of some sort - here, it turns out that it is a stool. Another interesting fact is that they are hand-made by Haitian artisans and imported by Stray Dog Designs.





Isn't this a great pillow? We love this twist on paisley and the colors of this! Sold by Rani Arabella, this 100% linen pillow is made in Italy - trust us, you don't want to know how much it is!!



This lamp from Bungalow 5 was the highlight of the email! Setting atop this hand-painted porcelain Cordova lamp is a silk shade in a light gray color. Love the color, the shape...mmmmm, yes - it was a good thing we didn't delete this email!





Full of roses, dahlias & orchids, this arrangement from Diane James Designs is sure to brighten a room! Of course, I will say that Karrie could make something that was much more interesting.....well, we will just have to use this as a inspiration picture instead!

Thanks for joining us for our orange-inspiration!!

Spread the Love....

A Special Thanks to Ann at A Vintage Mood for this special "Spread the Love Award!"


If you've never been on A Vintage Mood...hop on over ~ we just love Ann's blog...and don't forget to see all of her vintage goodness for sale !!

As there are no rules for the award - we'd love to pass it on to all of our readers - old & new! We love ya - and are so glad to have become friends!!

Go on...Grab your award & spread the love!!

Shadows, Shells & A Project

Once again it's time for Shadow Shot Sunday!

Today was a rainy day in Ohio, so we decided to do a "craft." My daughter had a wooden "S" that she had gotten a couple of months ago to paint. I suggested that we take shells and cover it {she has a beach themed room}













Even though she ended up with a blister from the hot glue gun, she was very pleased with the end result - and we showed everyone we came in contact with - of course they all loved it!



{and, yes, if you are wondering....that is really the color of her room!}

See more creative & colorful shadows on Hey Harriet this weekend!!

Goodness, Gracious!

Between sales reps, I was flipping through some of our books that we received in June. Soon, I picked up Southern Lady Gracious Spaces. This one is one of my favorites - lots of recipes and pretty interiors are abundant!

I came across this great idea for the pantry ~ mason jars!

I love that you can view the content to see what it is that you want. You could even write on the lid's top to tell you whether it's baking powder or baking soda!

Clever - guess I never thought of pantry items - screws, nails, nuts & bolts....buttons, snaps, pins & notions, but I never thought of using canning jars for rice, spices, pasta & marshmallows (duh!)

Makes me want to delve into a midnight pantry cleaning spree...how about you?

Wednesday Words

"My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant's point of view."

~H. Fred Ale

A couple of weeks ago I was out at Karrie's house and took pictures of her beautiful Hollyhocks. We love this quote...it's so true, so true!!

Karrie's off on vacation this week, and I just got back two weeks ago, so, we've been playing catch-up with a lot of stuff around the store! Fall things are starting to appear (darn it all - does that mean that summer is over?) and soon we will have to transform the store once again...where does time go?!!

Wednesday Words are brought to you by our Wall Enhancer Line. Vinyl lettering, custom engraved photo mats and alphabet wall art. Need something for your walls? Check out some great ideas here.

Happy Wednesday!

Handy Shadows

While on vacation last week we visited this place...an art gallery? No, actually we were at The Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This was the most amazing shadow that I took {and believe me, I took a LOT of shadow pictures!}

These were casts of astronaut's hands. Each astronaut gets a full body cast, to form their suits to them. The hands are the most important cast, as the gloves are made specifically to fit each hand.

I couldn't help but hum that folk song...."Put Your Hand in the Hand" ~ was it from the 70's? Anyway, it was in my mind all day then!!


Enough said {or sung!}, let's give Tracy from Hey Harriet a great big HAND for hosting our favorite meme: Shadow Shot Sunday! Come on along and visit to see what kind of shadows are around this week....!