Lovely Loot

It's beginning to look a lot like yard sale weather!  My sister, Mary Evelyn, and I set out this past Friday to hunt for a few early sales.  We were lucky but we had to go a little further than usual.  All the way to Madison and Inglewood.  We wound up finding a couple of estate sales and a decent yard sale or two.  No big hauls but a bit of good stuff. 

 

At one estate sale, we found we were there on the second day and the prices were good (and half price) so we feel as if we missed a lot.  But the things that I bought I probably wouldn't have paid full asking price for.  They also let us go through the garage which was pretty well cleaned out... they thought.  The man said "I doubt you'll find much out there but if you do you can have it."  Don't say something like that to us because we WILL find something and did.  I found the claw garden digger, hand sweeper and new drinking jar which is my favorite size... for free.  And Mary Evelyn found some old metal and a few other things that will be of some use. 

 

Our yard sailing motto is "you've got to kiss a few frogs before you find your prince."  AKA you have to go to some not-so-good yard sales before you find a real good one.  So keep going.

I have a slight enamelware affliction and have a hard time saying no if the price is right.

This affair has been going on the better part of ten years.

I see no reason to stop now and refuse to count how many pieces I have.

Oh look... there's two more pieces in the background.

My favorite is getting them home and giving them a good bath.  It really brings out the best in them.

I love this little bud vase and the French soap from Willow Tree Cottage.



New one dollar vintage camera strap!  I love it! 

Hard to take a picture of once it was attached to my camera!

Shaun will tease me when I bring home my finds but I always say "hey, it could be much worse, I could have come home with a new car or fur coat!"  He is glad I have inexpensive taste.

I'm It! PIN ME

Good grief!  I've done it... finally!  I am on Pinterest.  I have created my very first board.  I am no longer a Pinternerd!  Or maybe I still am that on some level because it took me so long.  I have just always resisted the fad since Pinterest began.  But, since I started my Inspration Journal and creating pages from pictures that I find, I also find that it is a lot like pinning things only I can hold my journal in my hands which I like very much.  But... there are pictures that I want to swipe for my journal and copy/print and this allows me to do it.  I am such a thief!  I am not, however, using them in any sort of way to promote or make money off someone else.  I just like their picture or idea so much I want to look at it forever.

So, naturally, my Pinterest name is peppysis.  You can friend me or follow me or whatever you like.  I would like to follow you too as I am sure I will need pointers from Pinterest grad students.

Here are some pics from my very first board.  It is about Agate.  That is pronounced 'A-Get.  I am a rock lover and natural stone addict as I collect such things and they are displayed throughout our home.  I recently came across agate countertops and WHOA love them!  If we ever built another house and won the lottery to decorate it, it would definately include one or more countertops or light up fireplaces in this style.

ISN'T IT JUSY DREAMY??                   

Click the pic to view the rest of my Pin Board.

XO Laurie

Garden Vows

This year, I vow to have a cleaner garden. 

I vow to place newspaper in rows after they are hoed to smother weeds, or I could use cardboard. 

I vow to pull up anything I did not plant this year.  I usually call these "volunteer" plants, which I generally allow to take over because I don't have the heart to pull them. 

I vow to rework the herb bed to gain some sort of control as a gardener.

I vow not to grow anything unless I have a use for it in hopes to not take any area of our garden for granted. 

 

I feel as I should be saying these vows standing at the edge of our garden holding dirt in my hand. 

 

I will be starting seeds this weekend.  It can be hard to determine when to begin seeds indoors, depending on where you live and the last frost date estimate.  We always plant our garden on or close to May tenth, that is just how my husband's Grandfather taught him.  Therefore, I semi-calculate and begin my seeds sixs weeks before the second week of May.  As a rule of thumb for me, I get antsy and begin them a couple of weeks earlier than that and have to baby leggy plants for the last two weeks because they are ready to reach the sun but I can let them yet because it's not time.  On the other hand if I wait too late I am afraid that something won't come up and beginning them early gives me more time to start over if something didn't sprout. 

 

So far, my plan for this Friday and Saturday is to buy seed starting mix and make my little newspaper pots (which tend to mold sometimes but I like them anyway).  By the way if you go that route and begin to see mold on the sides, go ahead and transplant them into a bigger pot.  I have seeds that I have saved from last year and seeds that I have purchased to get me started. 

 

I have a small list of our freezer needs and what we use the most of so those are most important to grow more of. 

 

Do you have any garden vows this year?

 

 

Saturdays are for Thrifting

Since I don't have my fancy downtown job anymore, that I can frequent my favorite thrift shops during lunch breaks and on a very regular basis, I have to squeeze in a visit to my favorite thrift shops here and there on weekends.  My sister and I headed out bright and early this morning to do just that.  I had a couple of errands to take care of, including a trip to the library, which I adore, to pick up books on the hold shelf and new kid books for the day care to read the following week or two.  My sister has a great thrift store that she goes to, that is owned by a church friend and his wife, that is directly around the corner from the library.  It was our first thrift stop of the day and the best one too!  I spent twenty bucks and came home with some great find and so did she!   We wound up going to more thrift shops up towards Springfield and this was by far our favorite spot of the whole day!    Check out their ad here on the blog, Dixie Thrift! Click the ad and it will tell you where to find them.  You ought to stop in and say hello!  They'd love to see you!

Here are some pics from our day.  Enjoy! XO

 This pretty rug needs a little love and repair.  It landed at the right place... my home.

And at other thrift stores...

I spotted a few really neat chairs today.  This was one of them.  I love the fabric.

 Not sure if... I just don't know what to say about this bowl.  I'm not even going to try.

 This was a coffin wheeler and someone put a top on it.  Pretty sweet!

 My lovely co-thrifter.

 And this is what I woke up to this morning.  Got to the bottom of the hill in Millersville and there wasn't a bit on the ground or trees.  Change in altitude I reckon.