Adult White Reindeer

Last week I stopped in at Almaden Valley Nursery and spotted the most adorable white reindeer.  This particular little guy reminded me of the real white reindeer up at Mt. Madonna County Park in Watsonville.  We had taken the kids to see them years ago, but I hadn’t seen them in quite awhile.  I wanted to go and see them again. Wouldn’t it be like ol’ times? 

“Hey who wants to go see the white reindeer?” I asked very excitedly I might add.  The response wasn’t exactly what I had hoped for. “What? Where is it? Well how far is it and how long will it take?.  The Niners are gonna play today, so I’ll pass on the reindeer thing Mom” was what I got from four different teenage boys. I had one taker,  the husband (extra Santa points for him).

There were 2 large male deer and about a dozen smaller does.  The males would not come closer for photos…sounds like my household. The does were much more cooperative…also like my household!   I know this has nothing to do with home or garden, but it all started with my little stuffed friend form the Almaden Valley Nursery.  Merry Christmas to All.

Mad Men Wreath

A couple of days ago, I stumbled across a blog out of San Francisco —- Found: Rediscovered Objects for the Home.  (BTW, they also have a shop I’m putting on my list to see).  On this particular day that I “Found” them,  they had created a Mad Men wreath for a local fundraiser.  Now,  I absolutely loved their submission. Not to mention I love Mad Men.  For those of you unfamiliar, Mad Men is an amazing series about an advertising agency in New York during the sixties.  (Shame on HBO for passing on this–but thank you AMC!) Now, being married to an ad guy, I thought “this would make a great wreath for his office.”  I started by sketching it out….what did I need?  Some little airplane sized bottles of booze, a pack of cigarettes—-not just any I needed Lucky Strikes.  My mail man delivered the Crate and Barrel catalog and I flipped through and spotted a martini shaker and martini glass ornaments, perfect.  Then I thought “I’ll check out the Facebook fan page and website for Mad Men.” And let me tell you, what a goldmine!  I downloaded Sterling-Cooper’s Portfolio. Popped those babies into photoshop, re-sized, printed them out and attached to retro-looking ornaments (also found at Crate and Barrel).   My glue gun was heated and it was time to assemble.  I have to say, I had so much fun putting this thing together.  The hardest thing to find were those damn Lucky Strike brand cigarettes.  Maybe it’s because I don’t smoke, but I tried my neighborhood 7/11 and Walgreen’s—-ended up at a discount cigarette shop. That is a story for another day.  You know, when you feel the need to explain yourself and pretty soon your head is telling your mouth to shut-up–it was one of those moments.  The wreath was put up over the weekend and I’m anxious to hear what those ad people think on Monday.