Monthly Archives: July 2012

“The Art of Reading” with Mitzi Curi

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“Our admiration of the antique is not admiration of the old, but of the natural.“
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Today I am so excited to introduce you to a wonderfully creative lady with an eye for all things vintage.  Her blogs showcase an endless array of time-worn treasures that take me back to yesteryear, and her ideas for using found objects in craft projects are simple and delightful! One of my favorite posts of Mitzi’s was a recent one in which she highlighted many of the trends and items that became popular in the 1970′s (a very inspiring decade!) I am a huge fan of antique malls and consignment shops.  When I don’t have time to go shopping in my real life, I can get a little “fix” by visiting Mitzi’s blog. She takes the most wonderful pictures of the best booths in the business!  I’m also anxious to try one of her recent craft projects…. Aren’t these decoupaged plates adorable?

And really, have you ever seen anything so cool and classy?  This amazing necklace is made from vintage wallpaper and can be found at her Etsy shop.  I love it!

Name:  Mitzi Curi

Blogs: www.mitzismiscellany.com  AND www.mitzimadeit.com

Etsy Shop:  www.mitziscollectibles.etsy.com

What creativity do you share with the world:  I’m an antique dealer specializing in affordable wares that can be used to add vintage style to home interiors.  I feel antiques are the ultimate way to “go green” and avoid buying poorly made furniture and home décor from the superstores.  I enjoy crafting with vintage materials and up-cycling pitiful old objects that might otherwise be thrown away.  My passion for my vintage world shines through in every blog post!

  •  Book OR e-reader? Books
  •  Buy OR lend from the library?  Buy
  • Hardcover OR paperback?  No preference.
  • One book at a time OR several?  Several.
  • Skip ahead and read the last page OR be patient and wait?  Be patient.
  • Bookmark or fold over the page corner?  Bookmark.
  • Abandon a bad book OR stick with it no matter what?  Abandon.  Time is precious around here!
  • Laugh OR cry?  Laugh!

How do you acquire the books you read?  Bookstore.

How do you choose the books you read?  Often through a book review in a newspaper or magazine.

Do you have a book that you love so much that you re-read it periodically?            I used to read Gone with the Wind nearly every spring.  I loved the romance of it, plus the historical aspect.

Do you have a childhood favorite?   Starting around third grade, I began reading biographies of famous women such as Amelia Earhart, Eleanor Roosevelt, Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan.  I think these books inspired me because they told of women who overcame hardships and difficulties in their lives to become successful adults.

Who have been your reading role models, mentors, or companions over the years?  My whole family reads a lot, especially my brother, who also writes.  In fact, he is currently writing a book on art pottery that should be published within a year.

Do you have a favorite genre or genres?  I have always loved non-fiction, biographies and autobiographies.  I love learning about how people lived long ago.  It kind of fits with being an antique dealer.

Do you have a favorite author or authors?    Lady Antonia Fraser.  She’s written several books on “royals” that I’ve enjoyed, such as The Six Wives of Henry VIII.

Here are my top ten favorite books of all time:

  • Helen Keller:  A Life by Dorothy Hermann
  • In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick
  • The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
  • Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
  • The Lady in the Lake by Raymond Chandler
  •  The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Lady Antonia Fraser
  •  Edie by Jean Stein
  • No One Here Gets Out Alive by Jerry Hopkins and Danny Sugarman
  •  The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
  •  Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney

How do you fit reading into your busy life?  It’s getting harder and harder the busier I get.  I find myself reading more magazines than books, I’m sorry to say!

Do you have any books that are special keepsakes?   If a book is given to me as a gift, I keep it forever.

Okay, I’ll admit it, I have actually read……. “Vox” by Nicholson Baker.

Reading is important to me because….It keeps your mind sharp, you can acquire new information, and it gives you something to talk about with others.

I love to display my books…. I display some of my older books in an antique “barrister’s bookcase”.

 If I could step into the setting of a book, and experience it first-hand, it would be…The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.  I love the era, the fashions, the decadence of the roaring twenties!

One of the most memorable characters I can recall is….Scarlet O’Hara, of course!

This is what I remember about learning to read…. I don’t remember learning to read, it seemed to just happen.  I feel bad for kids that struggle so much with reading.  It must be so frustrating!

Thank you Mitzi for sharing your reading “history” with us!

For the Creative Book Club: “The Story of Edgar Sawtelle” by David Wroblewski

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Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.  ~Roger Caras

I just finished reading a book that has left me transported, moved and hesitant to start a new book because I don’t want to break the spell I’m under!  Have you ever read a book at exactly the right time in you life?  Well, that’s how I felt when I started this magnificent novel.  This book is about so many important things…. family relationships, loyalty, overcoming grief, and especially the important connections we form with our pets.  Having just said good-bye to our beloved seventeen year old Aussie, and adopting a puppy really connected me to this book in a meaningful way.

Unable to speak from birth, Edgar is a special boy who has found a way to feel completely normal helping his family raise and train the unique breed of dogs that they sell.  When tragedy strikes their family, Edgar must rely on his keen instincts, as well as his unshakable bond with his dogs, to seek the truth and find his own way in the world.

Favorite quote from the book:

“So much of the world was governed by chance… Life was a swarm of accidents waiting in the treetops, descending upon any living thing that passed… You swam in a river of chance and coincidence.  You clung to the happiest accidents– the rest you let float by.”  (p. 457)

Creative Book Club Ideas:

Food:  Edgar’s beloved dog, Almondine, is his best friend and protector.  Their bond goes beyond the ordinary.  So, why not choose an almondine recipe to share with your book club members? Simply put, almondine means “Garnished with almond slices.”  If your club enjoys a full meal together, there are numerous almondine recipes for chicken, vegetables or fish.  This one for citrus glazed swordfish almondine looks amazing!  If your club traditionally serves a dessert, try this delicious Strawberry Almondine treat!  OR perhaps you want to recreate the meal that Henry used to “lure” in Edgar and the pups while they watched from the field:  Root beer, baked beans, barbecued brats, potato salad, and lemon meringue pie.  Yummy!

Decor:  One of Edgar’s jobs is naming the new pups.  He relies on his dictionary to help him choose such important names as:  Baboo, Forte, Essay, and Tinder.  For a creative table decoration, take pages from an old dictionary and either remove them from the book or make photocopies to make simple place mats and/or coasters.  Check out this table runner for inspiration!  Or perhaps make some cute candle holders with canine inspired pictures and/or words.

Activity:  Take inspiration from this poster that illustrates different dog breeds and create your own display of dog pictures.  Give a prize to the guest who can identify the most breeds correctly.  OR  Ask guests to bring a picture of their dog  or a special dog they once had and put them on display.  This post from “How Does She” gives some really great ideas!  Be sure to give guests the chance to talk about their special dog(s) and tell a fun story.  Of course, don’t forget to take a look at the author’s website for background information and discussion questions.

Our beloved Hondo enjoying a high mountain lake

Gifts/Favors:  Edgar communicates entirely through sign-language and written notes.  Why not honor this part of the story by giving your book-club friends a token inspired by sign-language such as this charming pendant necklace.

  If you’re crafty, you can order a digital print of these charming images and make your own sign-language charms as favors.  This Etsy find is also a sweet, affordable gift idea – a Scrabble tile pendant that says “I Love You” in sign language.

Final Thoughts:  If you choose this title for your book club, please send me feedback on your discussion and if any of these ideas worked for your group.  I know you will have a lot to discuss, and your members will have several ideas to debate!

Book Review: “A Perfectly Kept House is the Sign of a Misspent Life”

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“At the worst, a house unkept cannot be so distressing as a life unlived.”    –Dame Rose Macaulay (1881-1958)

A Perfectly Kept House is the Sign of a Misspent Life:  How to live creatively with collections, clutter, work, kids, pets, art, etc… and stop worrying about everything being perfectly in its place. (Rizzoli New York)                                     by Mary Randolph Carter  

Have you ever read a book, and thought that perhaps it was written specifically for you?  This lovely book is likely to strike a chord with many of us who live with: collections, memories, children, pets, clutter, work and lots of creativity. Mary Randolph Carter, author of several books dedicated to “junk,”  has written a book that provides much-needed affirmation for those of us who experience a love-hate relationship with our houses.  We hate the burden of keeping them clean and tidy all of the time, but we love to bring lovely things into them, and fill them with the items that speak to us and bring us joy.  Somehow these two desires create a conflict.  Carter’s solution?  Give up the idea that our houses have to be perfect, and simply live in them in a way that brings comfort and joy not only to you, but perhaps more surprisingly, your guests as well!

Seriously, think about the houses you enjoy visiting.  Are they the stark homes in which you feel nervous to set foot inside?  The homes where not a picture frame or throw pillow is out of place?  If you’re like me, you much prefer your friend’s house where you can admire the refrigerator filled with family pictures, paw through the stack of books on the ottoman, tuck your feet under you in a cushy chair, and delight in the creative vignette of collected whimsical items on the mantel.  A little dust?  Who cares.  A friendly dog giving you a friendly greeting?  All the better!

This book is a treasure-trove of lovely photography that gives readers a glimpse into the collected items and lovingly “lived-in” homes of not only the author, but a host of other diverse folks.  These are the kind of homes you want to sneak into and peer into every nook and cranny admiring the chipped vases, distressed picture frames, frayed quilts and stacks of books.  (Take a look at the picture on page 114-115 and you’ll see what I mean!) Truthfully, when I look at the homes featured in many decorating magazines, I say to myself, “No way!  Where’s all of there STUFF?”

Take Away’s:

1.  There really are other people out there who have a compulsion to bring something home from the side of the road or from a junk shop.  They don’t NEED this item, they just love it for some unexplainable reason, and it makes them happy to look at it.

2.  For many beauty lies in the imperfect and the informal.

3.  It’s okay to embrace your home less with the “housekeeper’s broom and more with the homemaker’s heart.”

5.  On page 131, Carter shares her practice of keeping a personal welcome book… a place for friends to jot down their memories of visiting your home.  This idea stuck with me and it is my intention to purchase a simple blank book and some colored pens to encourage my guests to chronicle their time at our cabin in the mountains.  Isn’t that a fun, simple idea?

6.  There’s a fine-line between living with our treasures and being on the next episode of Hoarders.  Be mindful that you don’t cross the line!

7.  It’s okay to have a “purposeless room!”

Favorite Quotes:

“At times you may think you’re crazy to own all these things or else brilliant for finding these treasures so many other eyes missed!”– Liza Carter Norton (p. 27)

“Clutter is the poetry of our homes.  It is a fingerprint of an experience, a souvenir of our childhoods, an expression of our humor, a collection of things that we just can’t live without… Embrace it, make peace with it, take control of it, share it, reorganize it, and when the time seems right, bid it farewell.” (p. 51)

“Never stop to think, “Do I have a place for this?” (p. 259)

Happy Reading! I hope you will pick up a copy of Carter’s book soon.  I found mine at my local library, of course!  Sit down in a comfortable chair with a glass of ice-tea  (Be sure to bring the sticky-notes so you can mark all of the pictures and quotes you will want to re-visit!)  and spend a few quiet hours honoring your creative, imperfect home.  After all, you can dust later!  (You might also like my review of Dottie Angel: the Peachy Crafty World of Tif Fussell:  http://kerriemore.com/2011/10/06/dottie/)

Aside:  On more than one occasion, I have mentioned my favorite magazine Where Women Create created by Jo Packham -  which is a quarterly gallery showcasing the creative spaces of a diverse group of artists.  If you are a fan of this publication, you will know what I mean when I say you want to slow down and savor each picture, admiring each lovely item in these creative spaces.  I felt the same way about Carter’s book. On more than one occasion,  I would put the book right up close to my nose to try to figure out what lovely item was tucked on the corner of a shelf or under a table.  That’s how I enjoy each lovely issue of “Where Women Create”!

(Photo Credits:  A Perfectly Kept House is the Sign of a Misspent Life by Mary Randolph Carter published by Rizzoli New York.)