What is a monkeybox?

When I was a little girl, we had a pet monkey named Amanda. My Dad worked in the produce business, so each night he brought home that days culls in a big box - spotty cucumbers, pithy apples, limp celery, moldy oranges and the like. We called it a monkeybox. It was really just trash, but my Mom would take each piece of fruit and trim it, pare it and cut it up to make a beautiful fruit platter for Amanda. Even though it was deemed trash by one, it still had life left in it and was good for the purpose we needed it. That's how I live my life - thrifting, yard saling, looking for another's trash to be my treasure.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Red, White and Blue

*First of all - thank you for all the sweet comments on the hutch post below.  I wasn't looking for compliments, although they meant the world to me.  Also, I only paid $30.00 for the hutch, so I did make $60.00.  Sometimes I just like to blog about things that happened so I can always remember them.  I used to keep a diary.  Now I blog.  :)  Thanks again.

The 4th of July is rapidly approaching so I have out all my red, white and blue stuff.  This bit of Patriotism may be the only aspect of the 4th of July that we get because it is too damn hot to even think about going to the parade and we are in a Burn Ban, so no fireworks at all.  I loathe little stupid fireworks you shoot off in the driveway, so that is a good thing.  but, I really like those big blasters the big city blows off so that's a bad thing.

A few years ago, I had big old stars everywhere.  I kind of got over that, but I still have the stars.  On a whim, I glittered this huge one bright red and I LOVE it.  I have another one just like it and I want to glitter it bright blue, but I can't find it.  Pretty sure it will pop up on July the 5th like clockwork.

My photography skills are really lacking lately.  I use my phone too much.  I need to get the actual camera back out.  Anyway, this is on the shelf under one of my windows.  I made a folding ruler star to hang at the top.  Some vintage DC souvenirs, Uncle Sam's and other Patriotic stuff round out the shelf.

My favorite part is this huge spool of Baker's twine with the flags and stars in it.  I use Baker's Twine on all my pricing tags at the booth.  Can you believe that no one in the whole place had ever even heard of Baker's Twine?  I bought some new colors yesterday that will surely spin their heads!

A little tribute to our Cousin, Ben Franklin.   The Bean has actually found all of these things on our thrifting runs.  The Avon bottle, the autobiography of Ben Franklin and a pair of old spectacles are all we have found.

The shelf o' stuff is mighty full.  I love finding things that are unusual and working them into my display.

Red, white and blue Domino boxes, a Richardson Dinner mint tin and old George Washington Tobacco Tin fit in well.  

Baby Bean in his Uncle Sam hat is a mainstay.  The house is Bill Clinton's Boyhood home in Arkansas.

 More of the same - sheet music, the local Confederate house, one of my Shara Soda bottles and some Statue of Liberty's.

Top of my huge cubbie of drawers.  The Uncle Sam in the back is about two and a half feet tall.  The giant jar is full of poker chips.  The snow globe features the World Trade Center and was made prior to 9-11, so I love it.  The big Humpty Dumpty is more prim or country than I like, but he was too cute to leave at a sale - especially when I saw his 50¢ tag!

In my mind's eye - this was going to be a sweet little neighborhood vignette.  In actuality, the truck is too big. But, I still think it's cute, so here it is.  

The house lights up and the colors change.  Sometimes I will get up in the middle of the night to get a drink and find that we have left the house on.  It's really pretty.

So there it is, my mixture of old and new things.  I guess it doesn't matter what you use - as long as you love it!

6 comments:

  1. I always know a holiday is coming up when I see your shelf o' stuff. My eye was drawn right to that Humpty Dumpty - he's really great! Especially at 50 cents.

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  2. Love the shelf of red, white & blue goodies!

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  3. I always love how you decorate and those shelves are full of wonderful things. I could just look for hours at your treasures. Love the pic of the Bean!! It's too hot here to do much but sit under a fan! Hugs, Linda

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  4. I always like your holiday displays, so creative! Glittering that big star was a great idea - it looks really good.

    Hope you have a Happy 4th. No fireworks here, not even the professional ones due to fire danger, so we will have to watch on TV - that's OK, I'd rather be safe.

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  5. Shara,
    I think the Shara Soda bottle is great! I love the idea to collect things with my name on it. I have a milk bottle from Crystal Creamery. But Shara would be hard to find, I'm sure you were excited when you found that one...also, I'm wondering where you get your baker's twine from? It looks like it would be thick...I bought some and it is so skinny...not what I expected. Anyway, have a great Fourth, fireworks or no! They are selling them down here in Central Texas...and we are only 30 miles from that huge fire we had last year in Bastrop...sigh!

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  6. Your collection is simply the best, Shara!

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