when mother nature calls...

...several months ago, I'm thinking January, before I had my first surgery of this year, hubby took me out thrifting.  I came across this odd looking ceramic container with one handle.  It was in the garden section and even marked 'garden decor.'  I thought it quite unusual and mulled over all the possibilities it would hold.

as I checked it over I realized that it had three separate pieces and it was becoming more mysterious to me as to what they were.

It was pristine clean and I had no problem setting it on the edge of my desk/counter for a few days while I pondered what to plant in it.

then one afternoon my son came by and as son's often do he chuckled when he saw it and asked me in a completely astonished voice, "why do you have a chamber pot sitting on the end of your counter?"   O.K.  well then I guess there really is no reason not to use it as a planter.
 

and then we move on to plan B...

after getting myself up, brushing myself off and trying to 'smile' away my humiliation we decided that perhaps we should use our car to get around town.   good thinking eh?

While we were on the trolley, and for gah's sake who falls out of a trolley?, I noticed a few places I wanted to visit so we headed over to our first stop;

 A vintage hardware store.  VINTAGE.  I could hardly get out of the car fast enough but really you know that's not the case, I got out of the car and made it safely into the store where angels were singing and the stars were shining and Barry Manilow was singing overhead.  They had the best 'stuff.'  And in the back was vintage architecture.   I was wishing we had a truck so I could back it up and load it with all the wonderful things that I, of course, needed.  (I couldn't take photos inside but took a few through the window).

 does anyone know what the last photo is?  

We spent the rest of the day riding around town and taking pictures of a lot of beautiful buildings, then headed down to Seaside to get a look at the ocean.   Coming soon.

 

Tuesday..whoops! Wednesday thrifty thing...

...while on our fantastic voyage through around the National Park system we did manage to make some fun of our own.  In Billings, MT while filling up with petrol and doing some necessary things I spotted, across the street and down the alley, a thrift store!  Yay!  I had to check out what the good people of Montana were throwing, recycling,  giving away.  This store was in a rather questionable part of town, near the railroad tracks across the road from an old abandoned building with broken windows.   Hey, we were on an adventure right?

So I went in and wandered around feeling quite secure in my surroundings (which just means I wasn't paying attention) and I came across the dish section.  This was a huge building and there were rooms and rooms of 'stuff' and it was all very organized, a balm to my OCD mind.  Anyway, back to the dishes.  I don't usually 'fall' for dishes but I do occasionally pick up the odd tea cup or plate.  Well I came across a set of dishes that had hydrangeas on them.  The pattern just caught my eye and settled there, all the set was missing was the cups.  Set of 6 plates, bowls, salad plates, and saucers.

I got this set and a bag of vintage linens (coming soon) for $10.  Plus it was a Tuesday so it was sale day 50percent off and then because I'm old, senior discount, I got another 50percent off.  Not a bad deal at all.
As we were leaving the hubby nodded to me to look over to the edge of the road not far from where we had parked.  There were two men, one of them laying in the road obviously passed out and the other sitting in the road with a paper bag.  When we had first pulled up to the store these two were at the front door waiting for them to open...the store was giving away free food to those who were in need.  I didn't know whether to be scared or grateful or both.  It was a very interesting day...

a thrifty trek...

into the local thrift store

scored

a few little

treasures.

I have been

looking

for a basket

like the one

above

with a tight weave

and a little

hinged top.

(photos not in order)

good for

all season, but still

is sporting

it's

basic Fall look.

a pretty

ironstone platter,

third in my

collection.

a little beaded wreath

to hang

above a

mirror.

and a

beaded

candle holder.

last summer we did a make-over of our fireplace.  Painting the firebox a flat black (no more brass) and then changing our mantle to a white lacquer.  We also hung a very large, very heavy, very thrifty mirror atop the fireplace which used to be bright red.

Now we've got the Christmas boxes down so I can hang my stockings, put a little green around that we picked up yesterday and get the tree up....THEN I will be ready, maybe.  Also have my paper whites planted but no Amaryllis yet.  I haven't been able to find any that are not red or pink and I wanted something different this year.  Do you grow bulbs indoors during the winter?

Have a nice week, and if you run into the Grinch it's probably me in disguise!

Happy Hanukkah to my friends of faith, to my daughter-in-law and my lovely Maude.

THE promised land?...

...yesterday the hubs and I had an errand to run.  Not a particularly important errand, that is unless you want to say..watch the tele and/or be able to change the channels then this becomes more important as days go by and baseball winds down.  In other words...our remote was toast and we needed a new one.

The closest cable store was about 20miles away in a city that we had once lived but had not visited in twenty five years, usually preferring to pass by it on the freeway.  It was a pleasant enough drive although we were getting our three inches of rain for the day (I knew we would pay for that beautiful summer!).  Traffic was quite heavy but not obnoxiously so, if you've ever driven here you know what I mean. Well, once again long story short, we got lost.

As we pulled into a parking lot to check my directions I noticed a string of stores in front of us.  Rubbing my  eyes I looked again, in wonder.  There in front of me was a TJMaxx, Home Goods, Tuesday Morning and Trader Joe's.  To my right, some sort of restaurant and a Goodwill, and to the left a Starbucks.  I barely let the hubby stop the car before I was out the door like a flash and singing and twirling in the rain.  I had not been to any of these stores, EVER.  (except for GW and SB)  I had never seen these stores, EVER.  But I sure have heard about them and especially read about them on other blogs.

I visited each and every one of them, slowly perusing the isles and dreaming of the day I could spend more than the $14 in my wallet.  If we were to get coffee then that would bring my budget down to about $7 but I was determined.  I first went into Trader Joe's to get some snacking items so I would not have a low blood sugar incident in any of the other stores, all geared up I headed to Home Goods first.  Not bad at all.  Most of the housewares items were well priced and if you came across a clearance isle then you hit pay dirt baby.  But the furniture, lamps, rugs, are all an iffy thing to me so I'm not sure if it was a great bargain or not.  Then we, yup he came with me, headed over to Tuesday Morning.  Gah, ick, skip it is about all I can say.  I could have found better quality and selection over at the GW.  Next we headed down to TJ Maxx feeling a little dejected and rather tired from the large amount of largeness that we had to navigate throughout the day.  I was so pleasantly surprised.  I could breathe, let out the air I had been holding waiting for disappointment.  It was a cute (?) store, clean and well stocked, and the prices were reasonable.  I was mostly looking in housewares, baby clothes and home accessories so I can't really vouch for their clothing department but I did spend my $7 on my grandson and left there happy.

We did finally find the cable store just in time before they closed for the day, had something to eat, and thought about driving past our old house.  We didn't.  I don't want to see it thirty years later, I'd rather keep my memories of that house as it is the one we lived in when we had our babies.  Too special a memory to sully with years gone by.  But there was a moment, though fleeting, if I wondered if I had found the promised land.

Have a good week friends.   Remember;  " any arbitrary turning along the way and I would be elsewhere.  I would be different."   under the tuscan sun

West Coast Martha strikes again...

remember last week when I showed you my thrifty find

here

here she is

all dolled up

and ready for her close-up!

no sanding, no priming, just a good cleaning with a damp rag.

2 coats of ASC paint in Versailles

light sanding

medium distressing

1 coat of clear paste wax

done.

I have a couple of more little projects to try using the

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

in a couple of different colours.

can't wait to get busy on them!

joining the party at the WOW

smile at a stranger today, even if it is you..in the mirror.

True confessions...

...I am beginning to think that maybe, just maybe, just a little bit that I may have a touch of the hoarding syndrome.  Now let me explain before you sign me up for an intervention.  I don't have 'stuff' everywhere, you can see all of my floors and counter tops and you will not catch any unwanted diseases from using our bathrooms or fixing meals in the kitchen.  phew...What I do have are many, OK several unfinished projects around the house.

Some of these are just your usual upkeep...painting, deep-cleaning types of things.  These projects are not scattered all over the house but for the most part reside in our spare bedroom/dressing room/sewing/craft/ironing/let's put it here room.  You know, we all have one.  Thing is I never really get around to finishing these projects, or even beginning them.

I don't know when this started.  I can only guess that it was a few years ago when I discovered HGTV and blogging and realized that I could buy things at flea markets and transform them into something beautiful and useful.  In my mind at least.

I have overloaded myself with so many projects.  I've bought all the necessary items to refinish, repaint, buff, wax, distress, well...maybe I do need an intervention.

Here's where you get to help me.  I am going to list some of the more pressing projects and post them as I go along.  This will help you to keep me in line and it will help me to realize that I need to make time for the things I love.  You can help me keep my feet to fire otherwise I will be embarrassed that I have confided this in you!

I've got frames to paint and distress, sort through and remember what I was going to put back in them.  (I have a problem buying old frames!)  Also, painting this plant table and putting some sort of scrolly design on the top. 

Paint and recover these great chairs that we found at a city-wide garage sale for $5.  There were six of them but someone bought three before I saw these.  I didn't want three, I wanted four or six...so I settle for two.  Now we will all have our own chair around the dining room table.

And this door.  This door has puzzled me for several years. Yeah, I think it was the beginning of my disorder.  Now that I have it and it's beautiful crystal doorknob, I need to decide what to do with it.  I've been leaning toward a headboard for quite awhile and think that is what will eventually come of it.  What would you do with an old door?

I also have a front door to paint, the one that leads to our house.
A back hall re-do.
And a few Christmas surprises.
I am setting my goals on the easy, lazy, side but hope to have them all finished by years end.  So, I'd better hop to it and make sure I show you all my progress weekly.  But first, FIRST, I must start here and see what I can uncover in the 'craft' room.   Happy thriftng y'all.

ketchup...

...I can't believe it's been so long since I posted, so not like me but then again, summer came to town and I have been taking full advantage of her wonders.

For all my east coasters: I hope you are all right.  Nothing like a little shake, rattle, and roll to spice things up.  We haven't had a tembler in quite awhile (fingers crossed, sign of the cross) but my memories of the last one are still quite fresh in my mind.  Stay safe y'all.

I haven't been out junkin' in over a month which is something I hope to rectify tomorrow as we head over to the island for the day. I don't think I've shared my last treasure with you and since I had some other treasures out for a photo shoot I thought I would add this one.

I picked up this cute little silver-plate coffee set a few weeks ago for $3.99.  I just love the scrolly details although I don't know anything about them.  There are no markings on the set and it is in excellent condition.  I'm going to see what I can find about it before I decide if it goes in the shop or not. and yes you can see the photographer in the reflection.

Have a great Wednesday peeps.

Again with the yellow tags...

...if you read yesterdays post then you will not be surprised to know that immediately after purchasing the plant stand I ran right back into the store and spent the next 30minutes looking for yellow tags!

And my timing could not have been better:

 this rusty crusty planter looks much better after a quick coat of white spray paint, then I lined it with moss and planted a few fuchsias.  I've not had luck with fuchsias in the past but I'm hoping they like their new home right outside the back door.

 And here we have another rusty-crusty-metal-thingy that looks much better after a quick spray and a little bird house on top.  This is out in my new 'cutting' garden.  (those are not weeds by the way!)

 A cute little wooden wheelbarrow (upside down for some reason)  I'm not going to paint this one since I like it's worn look.  Not sure what I will put in it or if I will just leave it.  Ideas?

And finally, this little garden faerie.  I'm not sure what she really is but she seems quite content to sit in the potted pansies that happen to be sitting on the infamous orange chair...the $3. chair.

All of these items were originally priced from $3.99 ~ $5.99 and I got them all for $.99 each.  I will be looking out for yellow tag Sundays next time we go out of town. 

This concludes our yellow-tag foray

finally.

Follow the yellow tag...

***before I get started I want to say that I have been having major issues with posting and commenting lately.  I'm losing posts before I can save them, I'm having posts show up when they are not scheduled to and I can't sign in most days.  I spent 45 minutes trying to leave a Happy Birthday comment last night and ended up turning the computer off and going to sleep.  So please just know that I am here and I'm trying to get around and visit all of you and I'm hoping this will be corrected soon.***I also have no control over the spacing, the font and the font size...so sorry~***



...a few weeks ago, after a post Mother's Day get together at the in-laws, we were driving home when I noticed a 'new' thrift store.  I don't usually peruse the shoppes out of town but I was still in the "searching for backyard/garden kitsch" mode and so we stopped in for a look-see.

I wandered around a bit and came upon this little nugget: 



 It looked to be in pretty good shape but it was hard to really tell as it was being used as a repository for artificial flowers and greenery.  It was also hanging up on the wall barely out of reach, so, in order to check it out and find the price I had to yank gently remove it from it's hook, and discreetly remove all the floral pieces.  Eventually, I found the price tag...a small yellow sticker...$4.99.  Well, hmmmm, o.k.

When I got to the counter, much to my surprise, I was informed that all yellow tags were .99 cents today.  Yay, for me.   I brought that baby home, gave her a coat of white spray paint using my new and wonderful sprayer handle gadget, and when it was all nice and dry moved it over to the patio and plopped my Knockout rose in it.

I also went back into the store and did a little more shopping...yellow tags, Oh yeah! I'm getting over my aversion to yellow.

Dining in the dining room...

This is a repost from last week...
 ***edited to add***  I am joining Melissa at The Inspired Room gallery wall linky party.  Be sure and check out all the other fabulousness.  Also, forgive me, I don't know how to add her cute little blog button to my post page...hey I'm new..it's a process people!  Also, also, this is my very FIRST home decorating project so please be kind!  Thank you all for visiting.




...picture it...small town-medium sized state...circa 1998, we have just moved into this house after downsizing from our 'family' home.  Our children having had the audacity to grow up, leave home and have lives of their own. 

Our dining room is small, very small.  My mothers' china cabinet and our little round table with four chairs is all that can fit in there.  Although the room is open to the living room and has a large window it is still very dark.  Trying to have a holiday dinner in there is difficult as I can't use the table extension and there is not enough area to move around in.  It's o.k. though as it is more of a place for stuff than a real dining room.  Until now...

 (note to self, make sure all the crap is off the dining room table before you take a picture of the mirrors.)

Recently I have had the urge to make some changes around here and I decided to do over, make over, the dining room.  It didn't need painting as it was done a few years ago and still looks good despite the myriad of tiny nail holes. Formerly this wall had a small plate rack with three plates in it which I have changed out to include the mirrors, a small collection that my daughter left behind, and the frames which are thrift store finds painted white and distressed.  The only cost was the large mirror which was intended for a different room and was $20.  The mercury glass was a gift at Christmas as was the little birdie mirror.  The only thing that doesn't feel right is that little birdie mirror but I will keep it up for awhile and see. 

Yesterday I painted an old shutter  French Blue and after it is distressed I will show you what I have planned for it in here too.  So what do you think?  Too much?  Too busy??  be kind!