Chicago! April 21-22

I am so excited to be going to my FIRST miniatures show: Tom Bishop in Chicago!  I love, love, LOVE me some Chi-Town!  Several friends of ours have moved to the Windy City and so we try and get there once or twice a year.  It was while I was visiting my friend Jeffrey during Halstead Market Days when Jeffrey took me to the Chicago Institute of Arts to see The Thorne Rooms.  I made up my mind ricky-tick to build myself a dollhouse!  And voila!  Merriman Park was born...

Chicago is also home to the silent screen-siren Coleen Moore's Fairy Castle.  This legendary, jewel-encrusted, Art-Deco confection I have not had the pleasure of seeing in person, though I know it fondly from books.  I doubt that I'll be able to squeeze it in this trip, but someday....

I hear that this particular show is gi-normous!  So I'm just a tad worried that it's going to be completely overwhelming.  For starters, I don't do well in crowds.  Especially when everyone is moving along slow-motion, in a decidedly bovine-like way.  Kind of makes me crazy. Does anyone have a good strategy for tackling this particular event?  Any must-sees?  I am making a shopping list of things I need but I tend to impulse buy so I'll probably walk in, spend every last dime in the first ten minutes and walk out with absolutely nothing from my list.

...Maybe I'll just wing it.  Why complicate matters?  Ugh!  I think it's time for another number! 

Hit it, girls!

Ooo, girl, Renee & Catherine gots more legs than a bucket of chicken!  And btw isn't Leslie-Ann Warren simply a divoon chanteuse? 

Hope to bump into you in Chicago!

Meet My New Action Figures!

A couple of weeks ago I bought these new dolls  I mean Action Figures from an on-line miniatures show.  The artists are the mother/daughter team of Paola e Sara.  They had an incredibly vast collection of dolls --there must have been a hundred to chose from-- all meticulously cataloged in order from the Medieval period up to the present day.  There was a stunning collection of doll-sized Gone With the Wind gowns (the 1850s being among the artist's favorite eras). 

Paola was extremely accommodating with my request to exchange one doll's costume for another. Her prices were more than reasonable to begin with, yet she still insisted on giving me a discount for buying three dolls --and she did not charge me for shipping them all the way from Italy!  They arrived halfway around the globe in less than a week. Amazing!

We're already talking about additional ensembles for my new dolls!

The sale is over, but you can check out Paola & Sara's creations and email them with inquiries.

http://aminiminiatureshow.weebly.com/paola-e-sara.html

Thank you, Paola and Sara!  I heart my new dolls!

JOIN the REVOLUTION!

Humans, are you sick and tired of scratching your head when asked to prove you are not a robot and being forced to type the sometimes indecipherable, nonsense-words in your favorite blog's comments section?  Do you vainly squint your eyes into narrow slits in your insane attempt to decode bloggers jacked-up verification process? Have you given up utterly and perhaps completely stopped commenting altogether?

BLOGGERS of the WORLD: UNITE!  JOIN the GROWING REVOLUTION of VERIFICATION-FREE COMMENTARY!

It's easy.  It's simple.  Here's how to do it:

1.  If you're on the New Blogger Interface, switch back to the Old Blogger Interface.

2.  Click on Settings.

3.  Click on Comments. 

4.  Scroll down the page to Show word verification for comments?  Check 'NO.'

5.  Scroll to bottom of page and click Save Settings.

6.  Spread the word and rejoice!

That's all.
 

  
 Confidential to Tim O:  Repeat after me: Judy, Liza, Barbra, Bette --These are names I shan't forget!

Entrance Hall Chairs

Today I finished my new Entrance Hall chairs I picked up from ebay and various other websites.

Of course by 'finish' I mean finished except for gluing the cushions down!  I might sand them down one more time and give them another coat of black paint...but for now,  I'm calling it a day.

My RL dining room chairs (that's 'real life,' not 'Ralph Lauren,' Andy,)!  are similar to the miniature versions in that they have an upholstered seat, which I change out periodically.  I used to leave them lose --I changed the fabric so often-- but they're actually attached at present.  My guests no longer crash to the floor anymore, which I sort of miss as I find nothing enlivens a dinner party more than watching your dining companions perform impromptu  acrobatics between the roast beef and the sorbet.

I read recently that hall chairs would historically have had a plain wooden seat, for practical purposes.  So perhaps my new hall chairs, with their olive-green striped silk coverings, will end up in the Dining Room, after all.

We'll just have to wait and see...I also worked on the final adjustments upstairs in the Drawing Room, but alas, I was not motivated enough to finish up the job completely --but it's getting there.  Baby steps!


In other breaking news, the moldings and other fittings are starting to arrive for the Dining Room. 

Oh.  I guess this photo didn't turn out so great...oops!  Obviously, still getting the hang of the new camera.  I'm designing my own door surrounds for this room, so wish me luck. 

Speaking of the Pretty Pleater, (we were, weren't we)?  I found this video and thought it might be of interest to all of us new to the awesomeness of that most wondrous of contraptions!   Watch and enjoy!

Confidential to Derek:  Thanks for the compliment...does this mean I have to be the smart one instead of the pretty one?