Yard Sales at 95 Degrees

I am joining in the fun at Rhoda's Thrifty Treasures party. I love when Mondays roll around because I get to see all of the great finds!

You know you are a yardsale junkie when you will roll out of bed early on a Saturday morning and brave Mobile humidity and near 100 degree temps just to find treasures! The sales this Saturday did not let me down! My nephew Jacob went with me. At our very first stop I found this footed pink glass bowl for...wait for it.....$1.00! It looks great in my kitchen.

I've already put it to good use:

This was probably my favorite find of the day. This came from an estate sale at a sweet mid-century modern home:

We are about to re-decorate our master bedroom and needed a mirror for a small reading area that I'd like to do. This mirror was priced at $10.00. I asked if she could do any better on it and she said yes--$8.00. SOLD! I was so excited! I've priced mirrors at Hobby Lobby and even with their great 50% off sales it still would have been around $80.00 or so. It has beautiful detailing and is so heavy!

Found these great marble topped plant stands for $3.00. On one of the tables the marble has come unglued and needs to be repaired but since I have such a handy hubby this will not be a problem!

Finally, we ran into Hobby Lobby (can you tell I love me a H. L. ) and I found these iron candleholders for $6.00 each. It's hard to tell in the picture but the oval sections in the middle are mirrors. They are gorgeous and so heavy! They were originally over $30.00! They are also headed for the master bedroom.

We had a wonderful day! I found so many good deals and managed to find some items for Ebay too. God is so good! When we started the day I told Jacob that I would like to find a mirror and find one I did. It was like God said "Here Jackie, this one is for you!"

Head over to Southern Hospitality and join the party!

Flag Week and 4th of July

Since the President extended Flag Day into an entire week, I decided to go ahead and decorate my porch with some patriotic things I'd picked up over the last couple of weeks. As my neighbors will attest, I'm not always quick to take down holiday decorations--so stretching Flag Week into the Fourth of July is NOT A PROBLEM! This is how it turned out:

All of my regular blog readers (all three of you - shout out- love you guys) will probably recognize this chair from here:

I've had two cans of blue spray paint that have been sitting on my kitchen counter forever just waiting to make it onto this chair that I found at an auction. Check! This was a collaborative effort:


My two fine painters doing a wonderful job. Why are we painting in the foyer, you ask? Because it was so hot outside, even at almost 8:00 p.m., that we could not stand it! Mobile humidity.

This chair turned out so cute. Originally it was going to be solid blue. But then Jacob said..."Why don't we paint a star on the seat....then DH said......you should have painted the two wrungs red.....and the chair was born. It turned into a nice little before and after project.





The USA hanging on the mirror was a yardsale find from a couple of years ago. The flag plaque on the far side of the door was a dollar store find, as are the stars on the right of the door and the larger blue star hanging on the outer door.



Hello Brady Bunch door. Really? Three windows? You gotta love the Seventies.

The door is one of the things on our house that I would eventually like to replace.

Jacob whipped out this arrangement after a brainstorming trip to Hobby Lobby. We couldn't really decide on a vase. He suggested the terra cotta pot and I think it turned out perfect. We found the blue sparkly things at a yardsale for .50 cents a package. I think he used two packages. Hobby Lobby had their flowers 50% off so my best guess is the arrangement cost around $20 including the flag. Not too bad. And remember, it will give me weeks, ok months of viewing pleasure.

Happy Birthday

Friday was my husband's birthday. He took the day off from work. We ended the day with dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, The Original Oyster House. We were there in the late afternoon and the afternoon sunlight on Mobile Bay was gorgeous! The food, as usual, was wonderful.

Unfortunately, I had to work Friday. About 2:00 p.m. I got a call from the receptionist letting me know that I had a delivery at the front desk. What in the world? I hadn't ordered anything that would have been shipped to me at the office, had I? Imagine my surprise when I walked up front and saw these with my name on them:

Of course EVERYONE in the office wanted to know the occasion. No occasion, I would say, he sent them because he loves me. Now every woman in my office loves my husband. I do too!

Today's Thrifty Treasures

I am participating this week in Rhoda's Today's Thrifty Treasures event. I have SO enjoyed reading over the last couple of weeks about everyone's thrifty finds! I love that it introduces me to new, wonderful blogs that I probably wouldn't find otherwise.

Probably about a year and a half or so ago we remodeled one of our guest bedrooms. My inspiration for the room was a pair of drapery panels found at the thrift store. You can see the blue room here and here.

Several weeks ago, as I rounded the corner at my favorite thrift store, I almost squealed out loud when I saw these sitting on the shelf.

I quickly put them in my cart and gladly paid the $2.98 each. I can't help but wonder--was there a fourth one manufactured?

Since my last post about the blue room I have also found a couple of other pieces. I found a vase to sit on the other side of the dresser. It's almost a perfect match for Josephine. The vase looks antique but is actually a MIC (made in China) piece. I believe it was around $2.00.



I also found these cute cameo pieces. They were $.99 each. The blue fabric background almost perfectly matches the wall. Please excuse the poor photography skills and the mirror glare on some of these pictures. Note to self: pick up some photography classes.



Please head over to Southern Hospitality and admire all the Thrifty Treasures.
Ok, off now to go to breakfast.

Remembering, on this Memorial Day, those who gave their life for our country. America is still the best country in the world. God bless our service men and women and God bless America.

Shabby Bathroom

I was trying to think of something about which to post and realized I've never shared my remodeled bathroom. This bathroom is tee-nine-e (southern for REALLY small). You physically can sit on the toilet, put your foot in the bathtub and have your hand in the sink all at the same time and all without too much effort. When we remodeled the bathroom it was demolished ALL the way. You could literally see the dirt below the bathroom. My sweet husband rebuilt the entire bathroom from the ground.

We went with beadboard ceiling in here too. Actually, I think this room was done first. Before the Blue Room.

We decided to keep the cast iron bathtub that was in the "old" bathroom and have it refinished. Money well spent. You cannot buy tubs like that anymore.

I love this sweet little chandelier. It was a Wal-Mart find. Inspiration can come from so many sources. It is the perfect scale for the bathroom.

The shower curtain, valance, shower rings and garbage can are Simply Shabby Chic. Perfect for this space!

I chose the soft pink for the wall color. I love this picture because the detail of the ceiling looks great against the pink paint and the crown .

I don't know if a bathroom should be this peaceful. You never want to leave. I love the way the afternoon light shines through the window. Sorry the lid is up. In the real world you have to photograph when it's clean!

Why I Love Thrifting

On any given day of the week you can find me at one of my favorite thrift stores. Seriously, you could take medicine by my schedule. Should someone decide to stalk me it would not be hard because I'm like clockwork. America's Thrift and Goodwill on Wednesday and a different Goodwill on Thursday. I said ALL of that to say this--

This is why I go thrifting. This beautiful pedestal bowl was $2.48. What? Could I pass it up for $2.48? Not so mech!!! I wish I knew more about glass. Maybe then I could tell what kind of bowl it is. I can't wait to make a pasta salad and use it.

This piece is marked. It is Waterford Great Room in the Darjeeling pattern. It's called a chip bowl. I paid $4.88 for it. I don't know where I'll put it. Don't worry. That has never stopped me before.

Old Times Day

Has it really been six months since I last posted on my blog? Bad blogger!

A lot has happened in six months and man, how time flies! I've wanted to share these pictures since November. For the last couple of years my family has been going to Old Times Day at the Batley farm outside Leakesville, Mississippi. It is held in the fall -- the first part of November. The temperatures in November are normally cool and crisp, not too hot and not too cold. The weather this day was near perfect. Here are some pictures I took while we were there. This old Farmall tractor was powering a mill that was grinding corn.

The premise behind the festival is remembering the way things used to be. The good old days. When people had time to help their neighbor. When people had time to spend with their family.

Random fowl doing its thing......

There are a lot of exhibits at Old Times Day. This is a horse driven press for syrup making:

They have a wagon train that comes riding in.

This is my dad and his posse...doesn't he look cute in his overalls?

There are plowing / horse working demonstrations and so much more that I didn't mention.

It was a fun day. A good day for making memories. Oh, the girl at the beginning of the post was Pady. Pady looked like she didn't have a care in the world.

Notice the ribbon in her tail. Bye!