Theatrical

Last week I found this ...


At first I wasn't going to buy it (because it was a little expensive), but then I knew if I left it behind I'd think about it ...

Become obsessed with wanting it (thinking of all the possibilities for it), go back to purchase it, and it would be gone.


I decided to cut out all that longing and obsessing and driving around, and I just bought the thing ... a vintage-looking-sort-of-Victorian-ish theatre/lantern (the lady I purchased it from called it a lantern but when I first spotted it I immediately thought it looked like a toy theatre - or at the very least a really cool case in which to display treasures).


I set it on my work table in the studio (along with the two papier mache turkeys I still need to paint) and got busy going through my old books looking for vintage graphics I could use to make it into toy theatre. In a 1870s Godey Lady's Book I have I found a perfect Thanksgiving scene to use. Now ... I'm busy, busy, working on cutting up the scene & reworking it to fit inside the theatre. And I think I'll be getting out my watercolors to add some color and depth to the scene so it looks a little more theatrical once I get it in place in my "toy theatre."

Oh ... the possibilites with this thing ... I need to find some old images of Santa to switch to in December!


And ... I scanned the vintage turkey image from the Godey Lady's Book to share with you. Maybe you'd like to use it to make something for Thanksgiving. Just click on the image to enlarge it and then save it to your computer and get creative!

If you make something with it, be sure to let me know what you created, I'd love to see it!

Time To Shift Gears

I cannot believe how fast October came and went! It just zipped by, didn't it?

Now it's time to put away the pumpkins & spooky stuff, and get out the turkeys. I had so much planned for both this blog and real life, that I never had time to do in October. Oh well ... next year.

Now I'm moving on to turkeys and contemplating putting up a Christmas tree already. Yeah, it's early, but man ... it would be so nice to have that done and then just be able to sit back and enjoy December. I have some papier maché turkeys I molded last year but never painted ... gonna get those out and finish them. I'll be getting out my Spode turkey plates to use every day, I'm looking forward to Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (love watching it on TV - some day I'll see it in person), and I'm thinking about special recipes for the big turkey day.

Will you be preparing your Thanksgiving feast? Not me. I'm lucky. I have a super duper daughter who likes cooking the turkey dinner. I just show up with a pie ... or two, or three. Pastries, yeah, I can do that.

Turkey dinner in a window display at Disneyland

Next thing you know ... it's going to be Christmas!!!

A Happy Halloween ... To You ... and You ... and You!

Happy Halloween Fiendish Friends!!!

My finished charm bracelet made from the charms I received from Saucy's Halloween charm swap

Pumpkin Glam

Wanting a pumpkin with a little more bling, a little sparkle, a little glam, I recently went to Pottery Barn in search of a mercury glass pumpkin.

I knew at some point in the not-too-distant past, I had seen a photo of a mercury glass pumpkin they were selling but the problem was, when I saw said photo, it didn't register that I needed a glamorous pumpkin.

So ... naturally, I couldn't find one.

Couldn't order one online from Pottery Barn either.

And that made me slightly obsessed with actually getting a mercury glass pumpkin.


I tried painting one of those plastic pumpkins like you see in the craft stores with mirror paint and sprinkling a little splotchy brown paint into the wet mirror paint to fake that mercury glass look and it was ... okay. Although I liked the way the painted pumpkin turned out, in truth the poor thing didn't cut it. It just wasn't mercury glass.

Can you say "More obsessed than ever?"

An online search started. I googled mercury glass pumpkin and found a set of three "antiqued glass gourds" at a site called Wisteria. The whole set only cost $34 and I thought that was a pretty good deal. Trouble is, one never knows what one will get when ordering online from a site with which one is unfamiliar.

I ordered anyway.

Mercury glass pumpkin obsession.


I couldn't remember what the Pottery Barn pumpkin cost but I bet it was probably about the same amount for only one pumpkin so I was thinking even if Wisteria's mercury glass gourds weren't exactly what I was looking for, $34 wasn't that much (and I could always send them back).


So ... I placed my order with Wisteria for the set of 3 antiqued glass gourds and not too long afterward, a huge box arrived via FedEx.

The antique glass gourds won't be going back to Wisteria. They are living happily on the porch of the Cottage.


Only one of the set of three looks like a gourd, the other two are clearly pumpkins and all three are a very nice size, as you can see in the photos. The pumpkins were impressively well packed, arrived fast, priced very nicely, and are of terrific quality.

Not getting the pumpkin at Pottery Barn turned out to be a good thing.

Hauntingly Magical Halloween Fun

My name is Annabelle.

I live in a town that shall remain nameless as I cannot have people trying to find me and investigate the truth of my story. It happened a few years ago ... just before All Hallows Eve. I'm hesitant to retell the story because there are times, I must confess, I'm not sure it happened at all. Still ...


There was an old house in town. My friends Aloysius, Sebastien, Mabel, and I liked to look at the old house and make up stories about what went on in there. The curtains were always drawn and no one seemed to come or go from the house. At night (yes, our parents were not aware that we ran around town at night, and I hope they are not reading this account now), there was never any light coming from the windows of the house. The house seemed mysterious. Aloysius was convinced a retired magician lived there, but like I said, no one ever seemed to come or go, so I, myself was convinced the house was empty.

A few days before Halloween, the wind began to blow.


All around town there were little blue labels, stuck in bushes, piling up against trees, plastered against windows. But curiously, none of these labels could be found behind the iron fence surrounding the old house.

"What do you think that means," Mabel asked us.
"I don't know," I replied, "It is curious though, isn't it?"

Sebastien and Aloysius decided to investigate the old house despite Mabel's and my protests and stormed off toward the house dragging us along. Aloysius bravely reminded us that the name Aloysius means famous warrior. "As if that will protect us once we get up to the door," Mabel whispered to me.


The front door to the old house was scary but we bravely walked up the steps and tried to peek inside the old house. I say tried, because although the windows had no shades drawn, it was so dark inside that we could not see a thing.

"There is nothing going on here," Mable and I decreed as we dragged the boys from the porch and back down into the street.

"Wait!" Sebastien cried, flinging out his arms in a very dramatic fashion hoping to stop us. "I heard something. Did you hear it?"

"What," we all asked in unison, "What did it sound like?"

"Magic," he replied.

Well ... you can just imagine how that went over. We thought Sebastien was nuts and ran off home laughing and left him standing there in the street.

But ... a few days later, October 30th, to be exact, something changed. It was early evening, that time when the sky grows a brilliant shade of azure blue, just before it all turns black. The air had grown crisp, leaves once again swirled all about, and the windows in the old house glowed with light from within.

Aloysius and Sebastien voted to go up on the porch and try peeking in the windows again. Mabel said no and ran off. But me? I was curious. I didn't really want to go up on that porch again, I thought it was tempting fate. But I also didn't want to admit my fear to Aloysius and Sebastien so I followed behind as they marched up to the old house.

But ... just as we got to the steps of the old house a whoosh of wind flew up around us ...

And it seemed like glitter was swirling all around the house.

"What was that," I think Sebastien asked. Aloysius swiftly replied, "I don't know, but I'm getting out of here."

At least, I think that's what they said. I was too busy thinking to myself, "It's the sound of magic, sillies."

For some reason, I was no longer afraid. Though the boys had run off, I kept on going up those stairs, marched straight up to the windows and pressing my face against the glass, saw this ...


And this ...


Ah, well ... it was indeed, magic. All those beautiful colors and plates full of yummy treats. Where did they come from?

Having been mesmerized by the treats in front of me, I never heard her approach. "May I help you, my dear?"

I swear I must have jumped a good foot in the air and when I recovered, I realized a tall, thin, and quite lovely, woman was standing by my side.


Her appearance was curious and she was dressed in a style that could best be described as that of years gone by. She wore a black velvet top hat from which sprang a huge fuschia-colored plume with a veil of black lace covering her face. I was busy noticing that her skin as white as marble when she spoke, "Forgive me dear. I didn't mean to startle you. I noticed you were admiring Professor D'Arc's confectionery creations. Would you like to come inside for a little taste?"

Now you know, I should have said, "Thank you, but no, I must be going." But for some reason, those words never came to mind. I think the woman had some kind of way of bewitching me.

"Follow me, dear. My name is Penelope. Penelope Pandemonium."

As she bid me do, I followed her inside the house. It was ever so strange. All those treats I could see from the window were nowhere in sight.


"Don't mind Earl," Penelope said when the little squirrel jumped out at me giving me a fright, "He's really harmless and the Professor loves him so."

She tossed the squirrel a nut, which he caught in his two front paws and sat up on his hind legs to enjoy his snack. I really thought I must be a little batty because the squirrel made a funny squeeking noise that faintly sounded like, "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Earl," Penelope said as she motioned for me to continue following her.

We passed trough a room loaded with old musty books and as I looked up I noticed a clock striking twelve. I hadn't realized I'd stayed out so late, "Miss Penelope, I must be going," I cried. But she paid me no mind and still I followed her. Looking back on it now, I cannot understand why all reason left my brain. But still ...

Penelope opend a door to a large, brilliantly lit room. The light was so bright, it fairly blinded me for a few seconds. But when my eyes recovered, I saw the most amazing sight. Everywhere I looked there were jars and jars and jars of candy. Every kind of candy one could ever imagine.

"Professor D'Arc is planning on opening a candy store here in town," Penelope explained, though I had not asked the question. He feels there is a decided lack of candied tarantula legs, crystalized gopher gall, and the like."

Though I thought that sounded terrible, when she shoved a curious piece of "something" toward me and bade me taste, I dutifully popped it into my mouth. I was surprissed at how absolutely delicious it was. Whatever it was.

"Candied tarantula tummy," she answered, though once again, I had not posed a question.


"The Professor wishes for you to taste a few of his confections," Penelope continued, "This is, of course, at no cost to you, my dear. He needs an unbiased opinion, you see. I'm afraid I love everything he comes up with so my opinion isn't really valid. Here," she shoved another treat my way, "try this one and tell me what you think. The Professor intends to call his store, Professor D'Arc's Curious Candy Emporium. What do you think of that name," she asked and I could tell she expected no reply.


She handed me an old-fashioned treat bag stuffed with goodies and directed me back toward the door of the house, "The Professor makes himself laugh, me too, I must say. He came up the the motto Where every treat might be a trick, but one thing you can be sure of, all is spine tinglingly delicious. He's putting that on all his candy labels, like those labels you may have seen blowing around town. A few of them got away from us. It's a good motto, don't you think?"

Again, I could tell she expected no answer.

As we reached the front door, it just opened. I started to ask Penelope how ... "Well, goodbye dear. The Professor wishes to thank you for being his taste-tester and he's very glad you enjoyed his confections."

As I started to protest, I noticed a pair of eyes studying me from behind where Penelope stood. And then ... the eyes, which I am quite sure I saw, were gone.

That's the last thing I remember until the next morning, Halloween morning, when Aloysius, Sebastien, and Mabel came knocking at my door to talk about where we would be trick or treating that night. My mother let them in and as you can imagine they were ever so curious as to what happened when they left me standing on the porch of the old house. I told them the whole story in as much detail as I could remember but you know, I had the feeling they didn't believe a word I said.

"So where is this weird candy, then?" Mabel asked.

"Well, I ate it all," I replied. "And it wasn't really weird, it was tasty."

Aloysius blurted out, "Let's all go back and see if that old professor and the lady with the top hat are still there," and ran out the door quickly followed by Mabel, Sebastien, and me.



But when we reached the house, it looked as it always had. Closed up, no sign of life.

"See ... I told ya she was making it all up. A Halloween story, that's all it was," Mabel sneered.

"Good one, Annabelle," Sebastian said.

"We'll see you later for trick or treating," the gang cried as they ran off.

I just couldn't believe that what happened didn't indeed happen, and I grew bold and climbed the stairs to the front door of the old house.


As I got close ... I felt a chill, caught a sight I wish I had never seen, and turned and ran as fast as my legs would carry me home.



For more Hauntingly Magical Halloween fun and frivolity, do visit our blog party hostess Vanessa.

Purveyor Of Curious Comestibles

Saturday ... I will turn over my blog to one, Professor D'Arc ...

Professor D'Arc, a well-known, yet rarely seen, shadowy sweet shoppe owner, who deals in curious comestibles, is moving in, shoving me out, and taking over Cottage Way Of Life for a day.

He insists on celebrating Vanessa's Halloween Blog Party in his own particular style (whatever that may be). The Professor has sent word via his beautiful and mysterious assistant, Penelope Pandemonium, that I am to acquiesce to his demands. Penelope has a way with words. I found myself quite powerless to resist. Before I even knew what I had done, I had given her all passwords and codes.

I am leaving now with the hopes that you are in good hands, although I must confess, I do harbor a tiny bit of fear for your safety. Do be careful Dear Readers* and I shall see you again Monday, next.

Come back here Saturday to see what Professor D'Arc has in store ...

If you dare



*Just please, whatever you do, do not, I beg of you, look Penelope in the eyes.

Yah - Now That's What I Call Pumpkin Carving!

Can you believe this is actually a carved pumpkin?

Ugly Betty pumpkin

I think the Ugly Betty pumpkin is some pretty incredible pumpkin carving.

This is the fourth year Disneyland has had pumpkin carvers working their magic on everyone's favorite seasonal squash for the park's Halloween Time celebration; and I think the carvers are outdoing themselves this year.

Disneyland pumpkin carver at work on an Old Hag pumpkin

Check out this Evil Queen pumpkin -

Pretty cool, don't you think?

Or how about -

Captain Jack Pumpkin!

Read more about the Disneyland pumpkin carvers here.