February 23, 2011

Today would have been Amber's 40th birthday.
I MISS the parts of her that I loved.
Smile at someone today...
And remember a loved one that is missed.

Fabulous Finds

Last week, on Vintage Bliss, I saw this necklace. I immediately wanted it.

Tricia makes the loveliest things.

She delivered it to my doorstep...

Luv it..

Wore it on Saturday to an Estate sale.

When I walked in the people running the sale complimented me on my outfit..

It was the Necklace they were complimenting... Trust me!

This is what my car looked like as I left the Estate sale.

I will show you better pictures later. It is still in the back of my car.

It is a Serpentine dresser, with beveled mirror and the best part---

Original Keys which lock the drawers!!!!!!!!

At the same sale I got yards and yards of this vintage hand crocheted trim. There was a box that said,"Your choice, $1.00. I got two pillowcases and four, yes, four, bunches of this trim. When I checked out the lady said, " Tell you what, I am just going to give you all of the linens for $1.00!!!!!!!!

YIPPEE!!!!!!!!

And this beauty came from another sale.. it happened to be in the most dismal looking trailer. I could not believe it was still there. It, along with two other frames, were the reason I went to the sale.

Someone saw me looking at the frames and he asked the person in charge the best price and bought them before I could.... well, it is alright... I got this one and luv it..  

And those yards and yards of vintage trim have inspired me to try my hand at slip covering a couch.I am going to use the trim around the bottom. I hope I do not end up having to throw my efforts in the trash.Cutting out a slipcover, especially for this couch, is not an easy thing... at least for me. I have been also inspired to try my hand at this from reading a blog entitled Miss Mustard Seed. Take a visit. She is one talented lady.

Hope you have a great Tuesday!

My Valentines

Started with this adorable card and a kiss from my husband...

My Dear Friend Bonnie delivered ( or her husband, Tim, did the delivering) these beautiful wonderful gifts. I won't reveal what is in the little container as I want to do this for some of you and I don't want to spoil the surprise...

Hum..

Might think about this one as it would be a gift for you ALL to see what is inside...

Might just change my mind and share soon so ALL of you can choose to do this for someone you love!

And lastly, when I walked into my craft pantry, this is what I saw. The heart cards ( which were in desaray and I had forgotten I even had them...the whole pantry is in somewhat of a disaray state...must do something about that!) had fallen and landed next to the Waterford light fixture my mother gave me. We plan to rehang it in our dining room. Unfortunately, one of the arms got broken when we moved it back to this house. Waterford only makes the arms every two to six months so we have to wait. Anyway, seeing the unexpected hearts next to the chandelier gave me a sweet moment with my mother. It was nice.

It was VeRy NiCe.

I hope you had a lovely Valentine's!

Happy Valentine's Day!

May you all have a lovely Valentine's Day!

Long Distance Shopping

Isn't this the cutest?

It is either going to become the base for two sinks for the Master Bathroom or will just be used as is.....

Suzanne has been shopping for me in Nolensville, TN

There is a treasure trove of adorable shops all nestled together.

This piece will become a sink base for a hall bath. The mirror will be removed and hung on the wall. Of course there will be lots of painting going on before this happens...

What color will I choose?

White

French Grey

AAhhh, I so love them both...

Not sure where this piece will go but it was so very sweet and such a great price and it is already painted and ready to be placed in a special place...

Master bedroom or guest? We will see...

Oh my, and this...

will be going either in the Dining Area,

OR

The Living Area

There are sconces and another Chandelier but they will have to wait to be seen...

They will be in the Master Bath and Bedroom....

AND WHERE WILL THEY ALL BE GOING?

?????????????????

To The Beach!!!!!

When we were in Destin in November we purchased a beach condo.

We are very excited about this endeavor. 

There will be much and I mean MUCH to be done.

I will be sharing pictures of what it looks like now in a future post so you can enjoy the makeover with me...

We are currently getting bids for the demolition and makeover.

Thanks to Thom Scott, Suzanne's husband, for providing us with the plan. He has also been invaluable with his advice and going to Destin to meet with contractors. 

Suzanne, has also been scheming, shopping and collaborating, along with Scottye Crook and me to design a new, relaxing, beach getaway place to read, create and share good times.

Scottye and Jerry Crook are the friends who introduced us all to this fabulous Seascape community in Destin , Florida.

So, while redoing this Arizona home, we are also in the midst of redoing a Florida getaway... 

We are busy people..

I wonder if we will know how to relax once all of this is completed! 

For The Love Of Vintage and Buttons

This past weekend was all about buttons...

Those many buttons bought at Round Top, Texas...

You know the ones...

The bags and bags and bags of buttons I bought...

I keep finding ways to use them...

Who doesn't love buttons?

Bathroom window with shade but no window covering to hide the top of the shade.

Now on all the Master bedroom and Bath windows hang these Burlap valences adorned with my wonderful buttons.

Burlap bag I use for a pillow covering...

Now all dressed up with buttons...

Lamp I have had for , oh, let's see now...

40 years.... I haven't been using it but Needed a lamp for my bedside table..

I was going to replace it when all of a sudden a light bulb moment came to me..

in my dreams, of course...

Why not just cover the bottom with scrapbook paper and add.. 

you guessed it,

Buttons to the shade...

The Finished Look

This is harder to see in pictures...

This is a dressing table that I had already stripped a million and one, or it seemed like it anyway, coats of paint from... and painted white. There were many cracks in the wood. The mirror being oval, had tiny sections of wood framing it and there were obvious gaps between the pieces. 

My Solution?

Buttons, of course!

There are no longer any of those cracks... buttons galore cover the ugliness.

And I guess that will just about BuTtOn it up for now!

Some Changes

 The point of this picture is to show you the blank wall in the dining room.

You might also recognize the table and chairs....

The two leaves are stored in the closet.

All the seat cushions are now covered in burlap and the table is ready to be set.

That will not be happening for awhile as I am too busy working on other projects, like valences for the Master bedroom and bathroom, but more on that later.

While I am on the dining room table and chairs though. As it turns out, my favorite place to look at the chairs is on either side of the vintage ice box behind one of the couches. I just love the way they look there. I will post a picture of this setting later.

The first step in eliminating the empty wall was to dismantle a folding screen I had purchased on one of my fun buying trips to Round Top Texas. If you haven't been to the Marburger Antique show in Texas that happens twice a year... it is a must do thing. You can read more about it here.http://www.roundtop-marburger.com/

After removing the fabric and insets that held the fabric, I was left with the frame above.

 Next came hanging my mother's Haviland china plates in the openings. My husband was given this task and he did a great job ! Truth be told though, I might have him raising the whole venue up about 12 inches. He does not know this yet. I am living with it, for the moment, to make sure it isn't alright as is.

 Close up of the plates

The whole dining room minus the Chandelier that is yet to be hung.. another story in and of itself..

Remember those chairs... 

They looked like this...

And now they look like this!

I wish I had a before picture of this piece.

It was a mess. It was my daughter's when she was a little girl.

It had a mirrored door on it ( which you will see below).

Anyway, the piece was dark walnut. Amber had cut a hole out of the back of the piece as she thought she was going to use it to hold a television. Another piece was cut out of the bottom which totally ruined the look of a drawer.  It was just a mess. The shelves were warped. My husband put on a new back. He cut new shelves. He took the drawer out,that was messed up, above the drawer at the bottom and he removed the door. I started painting the piece and the door. See picture below.

And remember that drawer I said my husband removed?

This is it... It now sits on a shelf as a decorative item.

I best be getting busy on those valences.
Hope your day is a happy one!

Rabbit Hole

Want to know what it is like to lose a child?
Go see it .... Rabbit Hole, that is.....