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.

Tuesday, February 04, 2014

Have a Heart

I still have absolutely nothing to blog about.  I literally mean NOTHING this time.  Since Sunday we have had six inches of snow, sleet, freezing rain, ice, freezing fog, more snow and now temperatures in the negatives.  The next week has about the same things over and over again.  Such a weird Arkansas Winter this has been.  Since I have been nowhere but the grocery store, I will show you my Valentine's decorations.  
A few years ago, I didn't have that many Valentine's decorations.  But, then I joined in on Sarah's Heart to Heart Swap.  Every year I make 12-15 identical ornaments and send them to Sarah, then I get a box back full of the same amount of different ornaments from wonderful creative bloggers and artists.  Many of them are suitable for a tree, but a lot of them are cards or things to display on a shelf.  I am in this years swap, so that is just more fun to put out when it comes.
That is why I was really excited to find this pink tree after Christmas this year.  I mean, it's PINK and it' so pretty on it's own. But, add in the heats and decorations and swap fun and it is GORGEOUS.   
I love it at night, but it's even pretty during the day.

Here are a lot of my Heart to Heart items from years past.  I love them all and I remember (or they are signed, luckily) who sent me most of them.  Special favorites are the peg doll Sarah made and the Nesting dolls in the top right.  I made the felt dogs, the felt bird, the glass paperweight in the center and the little shadowbox with the deer.  

That nesting doll actually opens and has a set of little fabric dolls inside her.  

Other things around the house include glittered K-I-S-S in my ladder on the wall.  

The top of my tall cabinet is home to the small pink tree I picked up after Christmas at Hobby Lobby this year and the GIANT Whitman's Sampler that my Dad bought me a few years ago.

I have this crazy card holder thing and it holds a ton of stuff.  It has my vintage Valentine's, cards from friends and cards from swaps on it.  I give it a spin every so often so I can see different things.  

The Chocolate Covered Cherry box collection.  It's one of my favorite collections and the hardest to find.  Maybe that's why I like it so much - the thrill of the hunt.  I have eight now, mostly bought from ebay for cheap and a couple gifted.  

This vase and the bird vase on the top shelf are my only two actual vintage Valentine things.  Except for the candy boxes, most everything else is vintage and fits the color scheme, so it's in there.  



I haven't put out my normal stuff since Christmas, so the Valentine's have taken over the whole living room.  I love my old windows.  I don't know how I would decorate without them.  

I'll leave you with one last look at the tree.  It's dreamy, isn't it?

Maybe I will escape the house and hit a thrift soon.  

Doubtful.  



8 comments:

  1. The big pink tree is SO pretty. Both of them, really. I love the chocolate covered cherry boxes too. The graphics are sweet. I am participating in the Heart to Heart swap too. Cant wait to get the box of "Hearts".
    My husband and I celebrate our wedding anniversary on Feb 17th. So I call this the "Month of Love".
    Have a great day, Shara.
    Debra in Georgia.

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  2. The Valentine tree is so cute! I think I just might have to look for a small pink tree! I could use it at Christmas for my bedroom and then for Valentine's day. Maybe I would even join in the swap! How fun! Stay warm. It's rainy and cold here!

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  3. Geez, Louise! You sure made up for lost time, if you didn't have much Valentine's a few years ago! I have neglected my blog again...nothing for the past month! I don't know what my problem is...I do have a few new things, but nothing like this! Oh, I do have a chocolate cherries box that came along with some game pieces a few years ago.

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  4. Doubtful huh? At least you have a festive spot to hang out in!

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  5. I love all your candy boxes! I saw a big old heart shaped box at the antique mall the other day for $4. I was all ready to buy it until I opened it up. Big mistake. It was just nasty on the inside and I swear mice or cockroaches had been living in it for the last 40 years. If I think about it too much I might not be able to eat chocolate again :) Enjoy your weather!

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  6. I love that pinky tree! It looks so pretty all decorated up!!

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  7. I tried to leave a comment a minute ago but my internet connection ran off somewhere, in case this is a duplicate. I saw your comment on my December 2012 post, I didn't want you to think I was ignoring you. I'm tired of the winter weather too, I saw a sign on a church in my small town "Who keeps praying for more snow?" Love your pink tree!

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  8. Received my swap box yesterday and LOVED the treasure you created! Now if you'll excuse me, I need to scroll back up and swoon some more over ~THAT~ ~TREE~!

    :)

    Michaele

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