I love ketchup

My daughter loves ketchup. Hmmmm . . . that's odd. (Uh, not.)

We were eating lunch and I fixed sweet potato fries among other things. Maia went crazy with the fries. Dipping and then re-dipping her fries into the ketchup. When her ketchup was gone, she'd say "mo juice". It's pretty funny. A girl at my own heart.

If you didn't know, I am a huuuuuuuuuge ketchup fan. I eat it on everything. I mean everything. Well, except for a few things. But here's what I like it on, which you may be disgusted by:

eggs - all varieties
bacon
sausage
all the above mixed together with syrup added (hey, at least I'm admitting that I'm not normal!)
meatloaf
baked potatoes
sweet potatoes
certain fish
salisbury steak
french fries, smothered
potato chips
chili mac
grilled cheese
biscuits and gravy
ham & beans, smothered
hamburger, cheeseburgers, tenderloins, grilled chicken sandwiches
pickle spears

I make my homemade bbq sauce from ketchup
I also put it in my chili

And, the list goes on. My husband thinks I'm insane. He says nothing is more gross than seeing me eat it straight out of the packet. My response is, "then don't look!".

I have a collection, above. My friend Kristin had her grandpa make me a shelf by hand specially for my collection. This was our wedding gift. And that's what you see holding all my ketchup in the above pictures. I ran out of room a few years ago. My collection has overflowed and I have found myself passing up bottles now because I just don't have any place for them. Here is my overflow cabinet:

I have a cat named "Heinz", a ceramic minature box, magnets, a t-shirt with Heinz on it and a spoon rest. I even tried re-designing their logo in college as a class project. I have never been to the home of Heinz in Pennsylvania, but itch for the chance to get to go! I wonder if they know how much I love their best invention in the entire world? If not, this should prove it:

In case I run out and need more asap, here is my stash of ketchup that I allow myself to use. All Heinz, of course. It's the only kind I will eat.


My faves in the collection:
One of my first bottles in my collection I got back in 2000 at Marshall Fields in Chicago. Cute, isn't it?

People come back from places all over the world with ketchup just for me!
Natalie got me this one from Kuwait when she was stationed over there.

The one on the right is from Japan, on the left, from Brazil when we were there. I like this one from Brazil because it's a ketchup/mustard mix. Never tried it but I'm sure I'd like it since that's how I like to eat my corn dogs!

Another one from Kuwait.

Good Lord, what is wrong with me???

I don't think I can be helped at this point. Sigh . . .

Beautiful Buttons

I gave the kiddos a job one afternoon, and that job was to take all the buttons of grandma's out of the packaging and put them into a jar. So they did it (yes, Maia, too) and had a great time. I love the simple things like this that occupy a child. Maia especially kept busy putting handfulls of them in and out, in and out. I wish simple repetition like that thrilled me now like it does her. So, anyway, here is the jar filled halfway. (Half full or half empty? I'd say half full, don't ya think?) Isn't it perty?

And then a few of my favorite ones. Gorgeous, aren't they? I think this button discovery is going to send me on a hunt for more. So, oh no, a new collection is emerging. Thankfully though, other than ketchup, I honestly don't have too many. . . . . I swear!

Buttons Galore

I have some sewing bits-n-pieces that were my grandma's. I don't sew. Neither did she really, but she liked to keep everything. Most of what I have are buttons, and there are a lot, plus some spools of thread, and then tiny bags of odds-n-end thread. Anyone know what I could do with all of these? Cerella, since you're a sewing/knitting diva, do you know? Or do you know of anything creative I could do to showcase the buttons? Here are some pictures of what I have. The buttons are all in smaller individual plastic bags. I love all this old stuff and would love to have it "out" rather than put away in boxes for years to come.And then I have this mechanism that I'm not sure exactly what it does, but it looks like perhaps it aids in making button holes? I am right, Cerella, do you know? Again, what can I do with this? (It's really kinda cool looking!)
And then I also have this old sewing machine accessories tin box. Which is really neat and looks to be in perfect condition, as all of these things appear to be. I love the color of this. Isn't it neat how things from this generation tend to be turquoise? Since that is my favorite color, I looooooove it. I might just have to set it this somewhere in the new house. I just am in need of some really creative ideas. My interior decorating brain is not working right now. Too many other things on my mind, which is why I need all of your help!