Just a Little Quirky

I just love the raised trim on these milky-white, vintage, spice bottles from the 1930s.  The little red tops really POP!  A little elbow grease, and they'll clean up nicely.

This post was inspired by a recent road-trip I took with my aunt and her best friend, to Ligonier, a poster-child-candidate, for the title of 'Small Town USA.'  Ligonier, which was founded in the 1760s, and is home to Fort Ligonier,  is located in the Pennsylvania's Laurel Highlands.


One of the greatest aspects of living in a free society, is that we are constantly afforded the opportunity to evolve.  If we don't like what we're doing for a living, where we're living, or the car we're driving, we can change it!

There's no laws governing the style or color of clothing we wear, no rules regarding how we decorate our homes, or how often we're allowed to change our minds about what we like or don't.

We have absolute freedom to express ourselves in just about whatever reasonable manner we choose.  So when the urge moves you to paint that wall a nice shade of chartreuse, go for it!  Express yourself!

The little red jackets on these Canadian Mounties, screamed my name from the musty basement of an old antique store. 

It's easy to get stuck in a design rut.  Most people think they know what they like, and are often afraid to venture far from their comfort zone.  My philosophy - you only live once, so dare to be different.

While traveling the British Isles, I found every well appointed English garden inhabited by brightly painted, ceramic gnomes. I thought a lot about inviting a few into my own garden, but was intimidated to do so. Not any more!

Garden gnomes and pink flamingoes seem to be on the top of every HOA list of "tacky-don'ts."  Good taste be damned!  I no longer have to worry about those pesky lawn-police.

  

Recently I've found, that the older I get, the greater my desire to surround myself with vintage items that invoke that warm, fuzzy feeling of my childhood.  So, I find myself haunting flea markets, antique fairs and curiosity shops.  I never know what I may find, but I always know when I find IT - that one something that I just have to take home with me.

I'd like to think, the slightly-worn, once-loved items I sprinkle through my house, give my home character.  So what if some find it a little quirky. Quirky makes me happy!

The delft-blue characters on this salt cellar, invoke memories of touring old, rural Pennsylvania, where Pennsylvania Dutch decor was all the rage in coffee shops and motor hotels.


Photos by Mrs. Green Jeans at Farm Fresh Photography, 2011.