Pink Saturday

As stated in a previous blog, I'm doing a doll theme for Pink Saturday. Here are a few of my "pink" dolls~~~some are vintage and some are not.
Here is photo of my beloved American Character Tiny Tears doll from the 1950's. I played with her quite a bit and she was my "baby" when I was a little girl. She is completely original except for her shoes.

This photo is of "Shea" dressed in a darling pinafore over a pink-striped dress. I bought Shea at a doll show and I love her coloring and open mouth.


This is my Vogue Ginny doll from the 1950's. I have several vintage Ginny dolls and my original Jill doll (Ginny's older sister). This Ginny is not a walker, but I do have two bent-knee walkers.

This is Meg from the Little Women. She is sitting on a tufted bench and she has her embroidery hoop and stitching in her hands. I have the other three Little Women dolls, but they are not dressed in pink.

This is a mini Jan Hagara doll that I bought at a doll show.


This is my very first walking doll from the 1950's. She is completely original except for her wig. I played with this doll quite a bit and she still walks and turns her head when prompted.
Thank you again, Beverly, for hosting another Pink Saturday. This is such a great group with so many wonderful photos to share.

Friday's Favorite Family Foto

I am new to the Friday's Favorite Family Foto group but I wanted to participate because I have so many wonderful vintage family photos to share. These photos are part of my heritage and I look at them fondly remembering the people, places, and events with warm, fond memories of a wonderful childhood.
The first picture above is of my father's parents, Anthony and Domenica, who both immigrated from Italy. My grandmother had 12 children of which my father was the third behind his brother, Charles, and his sister, Ida.


This is a picture of my father, Frank, who proudly served his country during WWII in North Africa and Italy. He was attached to the 5th Army and he will be remembered as a fine soldier and a wonderful father. He was born in 1914 and passed away on Jan. 1, 1999.

This is a picture of my mother taken when she was a bridesmaid in a friend's wedding. I love this picture of my mother because she looks so strikingly beautiful like a long-ago Hollywood movie star. She, too, was born in 1914 and she will be 95 years old in September.
Another favorite picture of my mother was taken when she was around 2 years old. I love her delicate jewelry, button-up shoes, curls and huge bow. My mother wasn't expected to live when she was born, but my great-grandmother bundled her up and put my mother by the old-fashioned stove and used it as an incubator. My mother has outlived everyone in her family and she happily lives with us in our home in Chandler, AZ.

PINK SATURDAY~~~~PART TWO

I'm absolutely thrilled with the responses that I have received from some of the participants in the Pink Saturday group. My post was very rushed and my thoughts weren't exactly in order when I blogged Saturday morning after returning from Tucson. I quickly decided on some photos and uploaded them with some descriptions, but I wasn't completely satisfied with my choices. Therefore, I'm surprised and happy with the comments that I have received. Next Saturday I'm going to stick with a Pink Saturday doll theme and share some photos of a few "lovelies" that I have. I want to thank Beverly at How Sweet The Sound for hosting Pink Saturday, and express to her how grateful I am to be included with such an inspiring group of women who encourage and support one another. I've read so many marvelous blogs and I'm so impressed with each of them. Thank you all, again, for your lovely comments.....they are much appreciated.

Pink Saturday

This is my first time participating in the Pink Saturday group and I'm very excited to be a part of it. I'm sorry that I'm a little late posting but we were in Tucson and just got back at 10:30 A.M. local time. My first photo is a vignette from my old house that includes a reproduction doll, a trunk full of goodies and a hat with pink flowers. I still have all of this stuff, but it is not displayed in my new house.I have an extensive hankie collection and I'm including two hankies that my mother gave to me. Her name is Sarah hence the S's.
My mother used to knit and crochet almost everyday and she won 3rd. prize for this elephant at the Arizona State Fair.
This baby planter is one of several that I have. I needed some planters for my daughter's baby shower, so I now have several tucked away hoping to use them for my second grandchild.

GOING BANANAS!!!!

On New Year's Eve, my husband and I went to a friend's house to enjoy a nice, relaxing evening munching on snacks and drinking in moderation~~~except for Robin who had a "few" White Russians! The men, of course, sat in the family room watching a football game (I, too, love a good football game) while the ladies sat in the kitchen snacking and chatting. Suzanne, the hostess, asked us if we wanted to play a new game that her sister-in-law gave her while visiting from Tennessee at Thanksgiving. Robin, Suzanne, Joanne and I played a few rounds of Bananagrams and I was hooked. I LOVE THIS GAME! A few of the guys strolled into the kitchen and played a round or two and then all 8 of us switched to a new game, Cranium. We had a ball playing Cranium, but my mind was on Bananagrams. After we finished playing Cranium, I pulled out the "banana" that held all the tiles for the game and Griff and Brian decided to play too. Griff was a whiz at this game but I was a good match for him. He won every round but I came in a close second while Brian trailed along. At midnight, I was the only one at the table still flipping tiles trying to make words so I could yell "Bananas"! The game requires at least 2 players, but I didn't care because I loved the challenge of making words with my limited tiles. I looked online to see where I could buy this game and I found out that the game is available at Barnes and Noble....guess where I will be tomorrow?

HAPPY NEW YEAR

As the New Year approaches, I want to wish my daughter, Karen, and her husband, Joe, a most prosperous year filled with good health, joy, laughter, success, happiness, and perhaps another baby. Karen and Joe are both so loving and caring that it makes me happy to know that my precious grandson is in such good hands. Growing up Karen was not necessarily a very patient person, however, since she had Brandt 22 months ago, I've seen her patience abound when I would have lost mine. Karen never really did any babysitting as a teenager, so I'm astounded at her marvelous skills as a mother. I see some of the things that she does with Brandt and I think back to when she was a baby and wish I had done the same. I'm very proud of my daughter and I admire her kindness, loyalty, honesty, and her ability to see things that I can't or won't see in some situations. She's objective and insightful and I value her opinion.
Joe, too, is such a wonderful husband and father...I could not have picked a more perfect son-in-law. He's so loving toward Karen and Brandt, and he always makes sure that they are safe and protected. Like Karen, Joe grew up in a tight-knit family knowing that love, support, and encouragement are important pieces of the family structure. No matter what, your family is always there. I have no doubt that my grandson will be a fine, sensitive, upstanding man just like his dad. I've already seen Karen and Joe give guidance to Brandt that is so necessary in being a grounded and well-rounded person.

HAPPY NEW YEAR AND A WHOLE LOT OF LOVE~~~~~~~~~

Christmas Party Supreme

This past Saturday my mom, my husband and I went to a Christmas party that our dear friends, Charlie and Debbie, have every year. Debbie and her family used to live next door to our family as we were all growing up in Phoenix. Debbie is also my Goddaughter (I Confirmed Debbie) and she is my daughter's Godmother (she Baptized Karen). Needless to say, our families have developed deep bonds over the years that continue to grow and deepen as time goes on. Both of our families are Italian so tradition, memories, food, wine, laughter, family and sharing are important to us. Here are some pictures of the party that I hurriedly took...I hope to get better pictures from Debbie who is a photographer.

Debbie's entry way is always so welcoming with the cutest decorations.

The tree reminds me of the tree that Debbie's parent's used to put up every year.
You can see that the gifts are over-flowing onto the floor.

Here is a picture of Debbie's children, Annie and Jimmy, two of the best-behaved children on the planet. Annie was the flower girl in my daughter's wedding thus weaving an even tighter bond between our families.
Debbie always sets up the garage as a mini-craft center for all the kids who attend the party. Needless to say, the children are entertained and the adults are happy and free to enjoy the festivities without constant interruptions. The children can watch videos, craft (color, paint, use glitter, work with foam forms,) and just have fun.

Here is a small sampling of food that Charlie and Debbie have for the party. Debbie and Charlie are marvelous cooks so they make their our pasta sauce (sugo) and meatballs. They also included Italian sausage, rolls, turkey, stuffing, tamales, assorted cheeses, pastas, vegetable platters and dip, cheese and broccoli soup, fruit, cranberries, and the list goes on! Debbie also set up a pretty table in the kitchen for the coffee, ice and eggnog. On the patio, Charlie set up a wine bar area, and there were numerous coolers with beer, soda pop, and water. I couldn't believe the dessert table that was also on the patio! There were cookies, cakes, candy, and sweet treats of every kind.

This is a photo of Debbie's kitchen with more Christmas decorations and a picture of the "Rat Pack".

Here is a photo of my 94 year old mother and my husband, John. John always teases my mom telling her, "You're my favorite mother-in-law".

Here we have Cathy, Sue, Alex and Kathy. Cathy has been a family friend for many years, Sue is Debbie's older sister, Alex is Margie's boyfriend (Margie is Debbie and Sue's niece), and Kathy is also a close family friend.

This is a photo of Debbie's kitchen gingerbread tree. Only Debbie could think of this! Everything on and under the tree is gingerbread-related.

Some gingerbread dolls on the rocker in Debbie's kitchen

Here is a photo of Bandit, the smaller black and white dog, and Baron Bearington Bradley Jack vonBrandenberg or "Bear" for short. Bandit was a stray that came to live with Debbie and Charlie. Bear is our huge lab that is very attached to my husband. Debbie and Charlie said that we could bring Bear to the party and everyone fell in love with this big, lovable oaf. You can see that Bear was in the pool because of the paw prints on the deck. Of course, Debbie and Charlie decorated the pool fence and the entire backyard with lights and garland.



Here is another photo of the gingerbread tree and the gingerbread-related things that are under it.

Debbie's father used to own and operate a restaurant so she had a menu framed to hold on to that memory. Notice the "Mangia" sign above the menu....we all have one in our kitchens.

Here is Santa "Gracie", Sue's dog. She greeted everyone and kept everyone in line especially Bear. Bear tried to be friends with Gracie but she wanted no part of it. Thank goodness that Bandit and Bear got along so well.
We all had a marvelous time at the party and we look forward to next year's celebration. I want to thank Debbie and Charlie for sharing their home and memories with us....we love you.