Sunbonnet Girl & Toys

Sunbonnet Girl & Toys, originally uploaded by stelladanza's confections.

I found this early 20th century vernacular photo a few weeks ago at a local antique shop. I love the subject matter of the little girl in her sunbonnet surrounded by her picture book, dollhouse, dollies, and teddy bears.

As December arrives and the focus is on wrapping up loose ends and preparing for a new slate in 2011, I'm reflecting on this year and manifesting what's next and participating in the #reverb10 project.

My words of the year for 2010 (which I selected last December based on Christine Kane's blog) were "comfort & joy" and "transformation".

Six weeks into the year, I lost my beloved mother, and comfort & joy and transformation were engulfed by grief.

I found comfort & joy through transformation (and a healing path through my grief) by participating in Christine Kane's Uplevel Your Life and Uplevel Your Business programs. Thank you, Christine, for providing that path.

I have selected my word for the New Year: flourishing!

Vernacular photo: Mrs. Frederick Bartlett Conway (Sarah Crocker)

Vernacular photo: Mrs. Frederick Bartlett Conway (Sarah Crocker) , originally uploaded by confections.

When I first spotted this cabinet card at a local antique store, I knew I had found a treasure. It was taken by Gurney Studios of New York City and is a striking study of Sarah Crocker (Mrs. Frederick Bartlett Conway), American actress and theater manager of the mid-nineteenth century.



Sarah Crocker was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, in approximately 1833; she died in Brooklyn, New York, in April 1875.

Couple at an Amusement Park (Vernacular Photo)

Couple at an Amusement Park (Vernacular Photo), originally uploaded by confections.

I found this photo at one of my favorite antique haunts and happily added it to my growing collection of vernacular photos.

It reminds me of the "good old days" and stories that my mother and grandmother told me about visiting our local amusement park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Kennywood Park, which was recently sold to a Spanish company, but that's another story....).

I especially love that hat on the woman's knee; it is so emblematic of a warm summer afternoon with its wide brim and riot of silk flowers. It inspires me to embellish one of mine with wild abandon!