Thrifting

On Monday I took a break from spring cleaning to go to the thrift store with my mom who was in town for the day. 

It was a good day for me.  I found some great treasure to take home with me. 

Here they are. . .

Not sure what this is for, but I love the detail and the legs - oh la la! 

I've added a votive candle and think it looks great!

Next up, a lovely lidded serving dish.  Right now it's looking a little rough and tarnish - - not in a good way.  Do you think silver polish will take the "blue" off!

I don't entertain in a fancy way very often and plan to use the bowl to hold sewing notions in my hutch/sewing center.  Maybe now I can do some "fancy sewing"!

Also picked up this picture frame and small serving dish.  The frame will look great painted and distressed.  The dish will be a great addition to my silver collection.

These two I'm really excited about. 

On the right, a pale blue, sheer valance for Ms.J room.  It's frilly and girly and I just love it.  Surprisingly, my tom boy likes it too!

On the left, is the item I was hoping to find.  A summer bedspread for Ms. J's room.  My mom has a few of these in her home and I have always like them. 

I don't know what you call this fabric.  It's not chenille, however it looks similar. 

Does anyone know?  Sure would like to have a name for something I like so much.

And finally, LOOK at this!

Isn't she lovely!  I'm so excited about this table (picked her up for $10!)

The table is very sturdy and I just love all the detail.  Can't wait to paint her up, and add her to the living room.  She'll look great next to my chair I think.

The top is covered with a badly damaged leather inserts that I hope to be able to remove.

Do you think it's possible?  I have my doubts - - think I'll try anyway!

Hope you all are have a great week.  I've been changing a few things in my bedroom and hope to show it off tomorrow.  See you then.

Robin

Spring Cleaning Time

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

I’ve spent the past few days cleaning my home from top to bottom. Ok, that’s not quite right – one floor of my home anyway!

My hubby probably thought I was a crazy woman, but I was determined to finish it all this weekend. Furniture was moved, walls were washed down, baseboards scrubbed, windows cleaned, bedding washed, and floors vacuumed and cleaned. I was a woman on a mission. Even had enough time to squeeze in some Bingo with my sister on Saturday night!

Spring cleaning is always a task I dread tackling. As much as I dislike the process, the results are amazing. I feel refreshed and airy (if that’s a feeling). I’ve fallen in love with my house all over again!

This year I had a secret weapon - - a steam cleaner. My sister and I split the cost and are now the proud owners of a Bissell Proheat Carpet Cleaner.

LOVE. IT.

The scrubbing, vacuuming, raw fingers, and loads of laundry were all worth it at the end of the day.

Next weekend - - downstairs! Wish me luck!

Turtle Rescuers’

This time of year we see many turtles traveling through our yard. In past years we’ve seen both small and really, really big turtles. It always gives the girls a thrill to watch them.

A couple days' ago, one poor little turtle managed to make it inside of our privacy fence. Our dog, Zeb, protects our home from all sorts of dangers such as chipmunks, squirrels, gardener snakes and rabbits. He takes his job very seriously, always on the prowl.

A turtle in the yard was cause for panic and he was having none of it! He terrorized the poor thing with his barking and pawing. But still the turtle stayed! Resorting to drastic measures, he picked it up in his mouth and started running around the yard with it. Poor Zeb, he just didn’t know what to do with it. Finally the girls and I managed to get him to drop the poor turtle long enough for us to help him out. They in a wagon and brought him back to the swamp.

Poor turtle, he may need therapy after that experience!

Milestone for Ms.Z

Little Ms. Z lost her first tooth last night. 

Can you tell she's happy?

Overwhelmed - -

Life seems to be increasingly hectic.

Not sure if it is the season. . .

It could just be me.

Between housework and homework, projects and gardening, food prep and workouts - - I’m drained.

It seems I finish one job and it’s replaced with three more. By the end of the day I’ve got nothing left!

I’m not intending to complain. My life is good, my kids are healthy and my needs are met.

Instead, I’m wondering if anyone else is feeling the crunch.

Are you?

(beautiful blooms from my kitchen window)

Vintage Finds {4}

A few weekends ago Ms. J and I went to an occasional sale hosted by A Gathering of Friends. It was a first experience for Ms. J which she seemed to enjoy. Made me so proud to watch her ooooh and aaahhh over vintage goodies, making suggestions on where it would fit into the house. She had her eyes on a vintage rolling laundry bag for her room to hold stuffed animals - - it was amazing - - sadly we had to pass it up, floor space in her room just wouldn’t allow it.

Here’s what we did come home with. . .

A flower frog for me.

The first in my collection of this style.

A rusty, chippy, dented mailbox.

It was the first item I spotted when we arrived. Of course I made a beeline right for it and snatched it up.

A galvanized bucket with a few dents.

Filled it with faux hydrangeas and placed it on top of my hutch it looks so amazing!

Ms. J picked out this lovely pale blue tool box. We actually fought over it a little since we both thought it was amazing! Ms. J emerged victorious however; she had the perfect use for it. She’s now the proud owner of a vintage toolbox slash rock collection holder!

Until tomorrow,

Robin

CMA Awards

You may not know . . .

I’m a Country Music Fan!!!!!!

Last night was a B.I.G. night. My favorite awards show was on – the CMA’s. My sister and I settled in to watch with much delight! We always have such fun and last night was no exception.

A few surprises and a few assumed awards were handed out. For me, the show belonged to Miranda Lambert.

Miranda won Top Female Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year. I am so very happy for her (sister and I were clapping in delight). It’s so nice to see her finally getting some attention. I have loved her music for years. Her voice is amazing and very “country”. Her music makes me sing and dance along, other times it touches my soul. Making me look deeper or relive a fond memory.

Last night she performed her new single, “The House That Built Me”. It gave me chills. The first time I heard the song on the radio I became all misty eyed and even now it makes me emotional. The song makes me crave to create the type of home in which my own children grow into adulthood remembering their time spent fondly: Knowing, without a doubt, that they are loved and secure. That they have a place in this big ol’ world.

Watch the "House That Built Me" video here: 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQYNM6SjD_o

Ms. Z's Big Day

Yesterday marked a milestone for Ms. Z!

She was able to ride her bike without the training wheels for the first time. 

Were so proud!

Tips On Sewing A Slipcover

Since I’m basking in delight over the success of my sofa slipcover I thought I’d share a few tips and tricks I found helpful.

The two most important things to remember when you start a slipcover . . .

#1: Take it slow: Remind yourself on a daily basis that it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon! Set a daily goal for yourself and once reached, put it away and do something else.

Truthfully, I had a hard time with this. Normally, once I start a project its go-go-go until it’s done. Everything else is pushed aside – clutter piles up, laundry goes unwashed, and poor hubby comes home to a half-crazed wife!

This time I was determined that would NOT HAPPEN. I broke things down into manageable chunks. One day I finished an arm, the next added the other arm. Follow by the skirt, and then the back, then the zippers. Next came cushion covers, one a day. Sure, the project probably took longer than it needed to, but I was able to reach my goals AND keep the house and kids in order.

#2: Make sure you have enough fabric: It’s hard to estimate how much you’ll need. Error on the side of caution, if you think you have enough – get a little more! Extra fabric at the end of the project is NOT A BAD THING. Especially if you love fabric like I do.

Assembling the Slipcover:

I won’t bore you with a play-by-play of every step of the process. Instead I’d like to share the technique I used to find my sewing lines.

Before I begin, let me explain this is not the recommend way to proceed (if you’ve ever read up on the subject). However, it works great for me.

Typically you are instructed to place the fabric on your form, mark your sewing line, then remove, reassemble (matching up your lines) and then sew. I’ve tried this in the past and found it very confusing and time consuming.

Instead here is what I did.

(the example shows how I attached the skirt)

Place the fabric right side up on the form. Secure with pins to keep it in place. Next place adjoining fabric also right side up, and pin.

The next step is to find your sewing line.  Pin the two pieces of fabric together where you would like the seam. Follow along adding a pin every inch and a half or so until completely pinned together.

Now for the fun part! 

Following your pinned line, remove one pin at a time. Fold the fabric so that right sides face each other, then re-pin. Continue until the whole section is completely re-pinned.

Remove from the form and you will have something that looks like this.

Here’s where things get a little tricky until you get the hang of it.


Spread the fabric out to get it as flat as possible (I sat on the floor with it draped across my lap). Reach underneath and find a pin. Pinch the fabric with one hand and remove the pin with the other. Then flip the top fabric piece up and over to relieve your hand pinching the fabric. You will notice a faint crease – this is your sewing line. Carefully re-pin the fabric. Ta-Da that’s it. It seems like a lot of flipping and re-pinning but I promise once you get in a groove things move fast.

Here's what it looks like once it's all pinned. 

That's it!
I used this technique on the entire slipcover – even the curves and they turned out great. Just make sure that you clip your curves a little (clipping will make pinning and sewing much, much easier)

Hope you enjoyed,
Robin

Sofa Slipcover Reveal

It’s done! It’s done!

I’m so excited to show it off!

It turned out better than I could have hoped for.

Are you ready??

Ta-DAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

She's dreamy! 

Before, the floral was overpowering the room. Not to mention it no longer worked with the light, bright, and breezy feel I’m trying to incorporate into the house.

Ahhhh, so much, much better!

I added a little ruffle to the skirt to add just a hint of softness.

I boxed the corners of the cushions.

( actually had to re-vamp the cushions completely. I removed the covers and pulled out the stuffing to make three smaller cushions that fit.   Originally, the cushions were meant to overlap a little which didn’t look very nice, plus you had to wrestle them into the perfect placement to get comfy. Way to much work. Eventually I removed one cushion completely, using only two instead - - looked funny but much more functional.)

Tomorrow I plan to show you a few tips on how put it all together.

Until tomorrow,

Robin

p.s. not sure why my wall looks so crazy  today.  I swear they are not the bright!

Linked up to:

Tulips

Tulips in my garden have begun to bloom and I declare spring has officially arrived (in my yard).

The tulips are making their debut in my garden this year. I am so glad I put in the effort last fall. They’re so cheerful and beautiful; I can’t believe I’ve never planted them before.

This self proclaimed garden-guru-of-the-block was shock to find out tulips close at night and open again by mid-morning. HOW DID I NOT KNOW THAT!!!!! Guess I need to go back to garden-guru classes!

What’s growing in your garden?

Until tomorrow,

Robin

In The Kitchen: A Spot Of Spring

This time of year I enjoy watching the grass transform itself from brown to green. You always know spring truly has arrived once the grass is a lovely bright green.

To bring a little spring green into my home I filled a few of my favorite white pottery pieces with soil and wheatgrass and set it in my sunny kitchen window. I can’t begin to tell you how enjoyable it was to feel the grit of soil on my hands after a long, cold, snowy winter. I was having so much fun, I could have continued all day long but wouldn’t you know it, I ran out of potting soil! 

I started with potting soil, wheatgrass seeds and something to put it in. Added some water and let it sit on my sunny kitchen window, covered with plastic wrap until the seeds began to sprout.

 

A few days later, I removed the plastic wrap and a week later I had this!

 

Ahhhh! Spring!

Such a lovely time of the year!

(my favorite)

Vintage Finds {3}

My love of tarnished silver has not diminished even as my collection grows.

I keep wondering if one morning I’ll wake up and wonder how my obsession could have gotten so out of control!

Until that day, I’ll happily enjoy the hunt for the next piece that makes my heart pitter-patter.

 

Recently I found a few more items to add to the collection and I’m giddy with delight!

I’ve been on the lookout for vintage trophies to hold cut flowers and a larger sized bowl, so imaging my delight when I spied this beauty.

The engraving on the side reads 1979 Parent-Child Championship.

A trophy and a bowl,

- - all in one - -

P.E.R.F.E.C.T.

I envision it sitting on my hutch filled to overflowing with pale green Hydrangea’s - -

SO LOVELY.

The same day I also picked up two forks. The small one has a monogrammed “A” on the handle, which is adorable of course!

Can you believe these forks are the first of its kind in my collection? I have knives and spoons but no forks! I’m not quite sure how to decorate with them other and tying on a pretty ribbon and placing them around my collection.

Any ideas?

 

Finally, I picked up a lovely small bowl.

I loved its detail edging, the curves and the fluted sides.  It’s destined to sit on my bedroom dresser holding hair accessories. A beautiful addition to my room!

Hope you all have a great day,

Until tomorrow,

Robin

Spring Break