Reading With Scissors

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Profit Sharing!

My name is Stephanie and I'm a dish-holic.

Wait, you already knew that.

Wait, no you didn't. You just know about all my books.

Well... I like dishes, too.

A lot.

There's my regular dishes, my Christmas dishes, and my wedding china...

...the set of Old English Roses china my grandmother gave me...

...that set that I got at Pier 1...

...various and sundry dessert and appetizer plates...

...and then there are my melamine sets.

So Saturday morning I looked down at my feet and realized I needed a pedicure and that meant a trip through old town Tomball. (Stay with me. I'm going to get back to the dishes.)

Old town Tomball is cute little area full of antique shops and there are several new ones just opened, so of course I had to go in a few just to help out the local economy. Just doing my part, America. (For you locals, check out the Turquoise Door. Cute stuff!)

I was just about to leave for the nail shop when I noticed Cherry Street Antiques. It's in an old building that used to be a grocery store back in the 40s and more recently a pretty jam-packed antique/junk store that went out of business. Well, it's all been redone as an antique mall, with neat, tidy booths so I went inside...

...and look what I found. Vintage beauties! So guess what, Reading With Scissors just cut its first profit check and bought me a new set of dishes.

I love, love, love these!

And the vendor at the antique store threw these way cool vases in for free!

Uh....but this is supposed to be a blog about books. So...

...after I got my toes done, I went to the Tomball Goodwill and got these. The aviation book is going to be part of a professions series I've been planning and will make some pilot very happy, and the Chicago Manual of Style the same for a writer. And the 500 Appetizers, well, I just liked the orange color so I may just smock that one.

Oh, and here's what Roasted Chicken Breast with Root Vegetables from America's Test Kitchen looks like on my new dishes.

Life is good!

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Oooooooooooklahoma!!

I went back to Oklahoma the other day to see my BFF from high school, Laura. Here we are about 10 years ago when we were leaving high school. (Ok, maybe 15 years ago.)

And here we are the other day.

We're all dressed up because Laura was becoming a mother-in-law. Check out her gorgeous daughter, Lauren!

And check out the beautiful scenery behind her. We were in Cheyenne Valley and those are the Gloss Mountains. (OK, you Colorado friends, quick snickering at the word mountains.) They provided the most remarkable backdrop for a lovely, lovely wedding.

My hometown sits just beyond these mountains, and like most things that you see as a kid all the time, you really don't notice them after awhile. But at the wedding I couldn't help reveling in them. After so many years, the red dirt, green grasses, and white gyp capstone layers just took my breath away.

So when I went home, I decided to make an Oklahoma.

The technique is called iris folding and it's something that caught my eye on Pinterest.

It done by layering different kinds of paper in a spiral pattern. There are all different kinds of patterns you can use. This is one I made myself based on a quadrilateral.

I used pages from an Oklahoma atlas (look, there's Wakita, where our farms are)...

...and dictionary pages (of course).

Then I added a sparkly star on top of Fairview.

Actually, the sparkly star is probably closer to Seiling or maybe even Taloga.

But still.

Close enough for a first try.

I do think I'm going to try more iris folding. It really is fun and all the possible combinations of paper and patterns makes me giddy. Seriously, do a search on Pinterest and see all the cute stuff.

And speaking of cute, is this the cutest new family or what??

In Which I Name Names

My name is Stephanie and I'm a bookaholic.

Wait. You already know that part.

And you also know that I have been trying to cure myself. You remember our little conversation--the one when I told you that I was running out of room to store my books and I promised to quit getting more.

Wait, never mind. I'm pretty sure that conversation was with Captain America. And I think he was telling me that I had run out of room and that I had to quit getting more. Whatever.

I have been trying, though. And backsliding. But it's not my fault. Honest. I am surrounded by enablers. Like the ~~enabler~~ nice library lady who called the other day to say they had 3 boxes of RDCBs with my name on them. How do you turn something down when they say "with your name on them"??

And there's my ~~enabler~~ friend, Kellee, who called the other day to say she had found some beauties on her vacation. How are you going to turn down books that someone schlepped around on their vacation just for you? And especially when she had to convince her husband that schlepping them around just for you on their vacation was a good thing. And especially when one of them was this big!

But she was right--it's a beauty!
Check out the embossed alphabet on the cloth cover...

...front and back.

Happy sigh...

And then there's my ~~enabler~~ pew-mate Taunya, who caught me at church the other day to say she had brought me a set of encyclopedias--a whole, beautiful set, with gold embossed spines. A set that glitters on my shelves waiting its turn to be transformed into a magnificent work of art. One set. I promised myself I could do just one set, and that would be it.

Until Karen called on Tuesday.

She said that someone had just brought a bunch of RDCBs to the church rummage sale and I could have first dibs at them if I wanted. She said they were waiting at the church in a box "with your name on them."

Karen knows just how to ~~enable~~ play me.

And man, check out these stunners that were in the box!

Seahorses! Seahorses, I tell you! Really, Captain America, how can you expect me to turn down seahorses??

And then Wednesday was the official opening day of the rummage sale, so I had to go back and see what else was available. Just doing my part for the church. Right?

And score!

This one's going to be another Eiffel tower.

And this tiny, tiny book has sparkly embossed edges that just might be long enough to fold one word.

And I found this roughed up, but still very foldable Complete Works of Shakespeare!

And I think I might spell "History" with this one for a favorite teacher or professor?

And I got this one because have you ever noticed how pretty pages can be when they are covered with standard mathematical tables? You can just get lost in them. And make beautiful flowers with them.

Or the word "Actuary."

Happy sigh.

And then I heard a voice coming from near the cashier table. "Hey, Stephanie, look what I've got for you over here."

It was Kellee.

I tried to walk away. Honest, Captain America. In fact I thought about it for a good half second, before I realized she was holding a book, and I hurried over.

It was an RDCB. From 1961. My year. And check out those titles.

But I promise that was it.

Except for this one. I bought this one, too because, well, who else is gonna buy a book that big and I didn't want the church to be stuck with it. And I was pretty sure ~~my original enabler~~, Barb, would approve.

And just as I started to feel the tiniest bit guilty that I had so many books, Kellee told me that she had convinced the other cashier to order two customized books. Whoo-hoo!

A new order! And two more books I'm going to have to replace.

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

In Which I Save the Universe One Folded Book at a Time

It's 102 degrees Fahrenheit in Houston which means, of course, that it's almost autumn. Ugh! It is so freeeeeeeking hot outside. What is there to do but look forward to cooler days, right? Halloween has to be just around the corner.

Which makes me want to look back. To this picture.

Now you might think that this is one of the most awesome Princess Leia costumes ever and you're right, it could have been. Except this picture was taken in 1972...and Star Wars didn't come out until 1977. Which means that, you got it, this is no Halloween costume. This was me dressed up for my piano recital. (Don't judge...and don't tell Captain America this picture exists either.)

But I say we go with it. I was the first one in the world with a Princess Leia Halloween costume and if Antiques Roadshow ever asks, we're all sticking with this story. Got it?

So speaking of Halloween, I've been busy getting Halloween books ready for my big fall craft show coming up in a couple of months. You, however, don't need to wait because you (yeah, I'm talking to you) can grab some of these nifty books now on Etsy.

There are some old favorites from last season like the Scary book...