Good Friends Ain't Hard to Find in the Blogging World

My new BFF Timi, who you may remember I met at Farm Chicks, is just the sweetest thing. First, she tells me she was out thrifting the other day and spotted a cute rose covered sheet she just knew I would love and she bought it for me. I got it in the mail yesterday and I just love it. I'm thinking either shopping cart liner or maybe big market umbrella cover. Last summer I had a little fiasco when I tried to bleach, then dye my canvas cover pink. It fell apart in the wash so now I have the umbrella, but no cover for it. Anyway, I am getting off track.

Then, Timi gives me a very kind blog award which I have seen going around. It is the Arte y Pico award. It is an award for creative and interesting blogs and I'm so honored that she would think of me. Thanks so much Timi!

On Thursday I made my weekly run over to Monticello with a few items and stopped at the thrift stores along the way. Unfortunately, pickings were slim and I only found a couple less than thrilling things. When I walked into the Goodwill store, I immediately spotted Debbie and her husband. Debbie is a fellow dealer at Monticello and fairly new blogger. She is amazingly creative and has a great eye for finding good vintage junk. Long story short, I bought a couple lamp shades and a neat chippy gateleg table from her and asked if she would make me a custom ticking wrist key chain for me. She was so sweet about all my requests and even gave me a little gift of some vintage ticking which she knows I love. Thanks Debbie! You are too sweet! I look forward to getting to know you better. Now that we ran into each other, we are bound to see each other all the time now.

The other day I did manage to hit the thrift stores closer to my home and found some neat things. Little white shelf, glass and brass lamp, wood tray, floral pillowcase, roses plate sweet light green slip, floral slipcover thingy, display cabinet, three pretty girls,

(sorry for this terrible picture)

and this cute squirrel. I think he's probably from the 50's. He has a tag that says Dakin on it and he looks like he's made of mohair. I could find a similar on on ebay so I'm not sure what he's worth. I paid a little more than I normally would because I thought he was so cute.

Here is a better picture of the display cabinet. I have already painted this little bugger and it turned out very pretty. I love the detailing on it. I still need to do a little more work on it before it's ready to take to Expo.

A better view of the little dolls I found at the Salvation Army. I'm told these are "Nancy Ann Storybook Dolls." Not sure which ones I got, but these will be added to the others I have found. They are all bisque bodies and have the cutest little expressions on their faces. Not sure if I will keep or sell yet.

Yesterday was the first day of my neighborhood's garage sale. While I didn't find a lot, I am very pleased with what I did find. Wood folding screen, cute vintage wood table, blue bookshelf, three mirrors (only two are pictured), bag of retro fabric and

these cute adirondack chairs for my yard. I have been wanting some for a while now for a spot in my backyard, (too awful to show you now) and at $5.00 a piece these will be perfect.

I have been busy working on cart liners, (two down, two to go) and painting the commode I found last week. It is turning out very cute. I have lots and lots more to do before Expo, but I will be taking a couple days off from working on projects/thrifting to go camping at the beach with the family. Should be a lot of fun! Next Friday is the 4th of July sale in Silverton so I will be back for that. Have a great weekend!

Back to My Thriftin Ways!

I started the weekend thrifting early on Thursday by checking out craigslist where I found a cute old dresser for a steal. On Friday I hit a few neighborhood garage sales and while I didn't find a ton of stuff, I did find some treasures.

Here's a picture of what I found plus the craigslist dresser.

I thought the old sign was pretty cool even though it is on the extreme side of shabby. My heart raced when I saw the wallpaper glove box which also has some condition issues, but I don't mind. It was my thriftiest find of the day at a whoppin .10. The silver bud vases are very sweet and I got them and the pink roses painting at the same sale. I have added the painting to my collection in my bedroom and it fits in very nicely. Last thing I found was the vintage red doll case, again, not perfect condition, but okay.

I spent some time lamenting over what to do with the dresser. Keep as is, rustic, paint it a shabby white? After talking to Joy, I decided not to paint it. I had already given it a good sanding when I talked to her so then I just went at it with some good ol tung oil and I think it turned out pretty good. Hardly took any time at all (much faster than painting) and I am really happy with the results. Just needs the knobs added and it's good to go.

Also on Friday I found this dresser/mirror combo at another neighborhood sale. All it needed was a little fix on the drawer and some distressing and it was ready to take to Monticello on Saturday.

On my way there I stopped at a couple more garage sales and found these cute things.

Cute little vintage shelf.

This adorable vintage lamp and shade. Click on pic to see the swans.

Cute old watering can

Rustic barn wood shadow box.

And this sweet rose gazebo. Not old, but perfect for my little wedding couple.

I also found this old comode on craigslist. Big plans for this one.

And this awesome old armoire which I am definitely keeping. It also needs work (shelves added inside), but I love it. It is going in my front room to hold stuff.

Oh yeah, did I mention that on Friday while trying to find some knobs in the garage I dropped a metal box on my foot and broke my big toe? Ouch, that really hurt. Second toe on the same foot to be broken. I guess I should be more careful, or, wear some shoes once in awhile.

So, I pretty much did all of the above while hobbling around. Fun, right? Just goes to show you that not even a broken toe can stop this thriftin girl.

Maui Wowee!

As I mentioned before, we had a great time in Maui. This was our first time over there and I have to say, we had the best weather. Mid 80's the entire time. Perfect! We didn't plan any big expensive excursions while there. Just spent a lot of time at the beach, in the cute little harbor town of Lahaina, driving up Haleakala (volcano), eating, hanging out by the pool, going to the aquarium, etc. Staying in a condo is definitely the way to go if you are looking at saving some cash. And you know me, I'm a thrifty girl. So, here are some fun pictures of our trip.

View from our condo

Cute little pool.

View from condo front lawn.

Yummy breakfast at Kihei CaffePath to "The Aquarium" an awesome place we hiked to do some snorkeling.

Snorkeling at "the aquarium."

View from Haleakala.

Cute family on the sea wall in Lahaina.

I took a lot more pictures, but I don't want to bore you with them all. These are just some of the best ones. If anyone is going to Maui and wants some info on the condo we stayed at which is in Kehei town, let me know. On our last day there, we had some time to kill before our flight so we drove a little south to the Wailea area and walked along the path in front of the giant fancy hotels. Talk about plush and expensive. Maybe if I ever win the lottery I would stay there. I just can't justify spending that kind of money on a place to sleep. But... it would be kind of nice being treated like a celebrity. Speaking of celebrities, I caught a glimpse of Hank Azaria (actor, does voices on Simpsons, used to be in a long term relationship with Helen Hunt) sitting on a lounge chair in front of the Grand Wailea Hotel. That was pretty cool. Of course I didn't go up to him or anything. I didn't want to embarrass my family. But maybe I would have if I was 20 years younger. Did I ever tell you about the time I ran across the golf course at a celebrity golf tournament just to get up close and personal with Billy Idol? I didn't? Maybe on another post. I did tell you about the time I "stalked" Keanu Reeves and forced him to give me a hug though. ha ha

Well, now that I'm back from my trip, I have been back to business as usual. Thrifting, that is. On my next post I'll share some of the neat things I found this weekend. Until then, c ya!

Farm Chicks Part 2

Just arrived home after midnight last night. We had a wonderful week in Maui. Perfect weather, food, activities, etc. I took enough pictures for several posts, but that will have to wait as I promised more Farm Chick stuff. I hope you all are not sick of Farm Chicks postings yet. I know it has been over a week and lots of bloggers have been posting about it. I promise, this will be it for me. I just wanted to tell you a little bit about the things I sold and show some pictures of the goodies I bought.

First off, let me tell you how hard it is for me to figure out how much stuff can fit in a 10 x10 foot booth. Going in, I couldn't decide if I had too much stuff or too little. Too much wouldn't have been a problem as I could have left stuff in the trailer and restocked as needed. As it turned out I didn't need to worry about whether my stuff would fit. It all did. I could have brought more, but as I said, I'm never good at figuring this out. The last month before Farm Chicks was spent sewing (jackets, cart liners, sachet pillow, etc.) and painting and pricing and ironing. I am really glad I made the effort, because I definitely think it was worth it. As I said in my last post, we sold a lot. This was by far the best show we ever did. I sold all 7 crinolines I took, the four shopping carts I completed (I still have more to make for the Portland expo), four of the six jackets I embellished with barkcloth, lots of smalls, tons of tickings

and this dresser

which used to look like this

and this vanity

which used to look like this and was posted about here.

I also sold the cute little buffet you can see pictured on my last post. It was the one with the little barkcloth curtain. I am feeling a little sad about that one as I practically gave it away and have had it for a while sitting in my dining area. I just grabbed it at the last minute and took it as is. It was a really cute piece that I picked up at a garage sale and added the appliques, painted and gave it the little skirt as it's original doors were missing. What I didn't sell? Aprons, lots of people had them and some much cheaper than mine. My wallpaper screen didn't sell either. I think my price was a bit high, but that's okay as it will be great to take to Expo. For as much as I sold, I still feel like I had a lot to take home.

Including these treasures I found. The trunk/bench is Isabel's, but everything on it and in front of it I got at the show. Click away for a close up. The great hat boxes were a steal at $5 a piece. Love the tickings (did I really buy more?)and the wallpaper I got from Heather. I even got three more aprons, vintage pink rick rack, an adorable vintage roses tablecloth (keeping or maybe jackets?), pink sun glasses with rhinestones, a western belt for a project I have been planning, little bride and groom, lovely blue and white chenille spread, old basket, millinery rose, barkcloth era fabric, little pink chest with ugly black vinyl top (makeover on it's way) and some sweet crocheted hangers. I love these and wish I had gotten more.

From the same dealer I got the hangers, table cloth and white apron from, I also got these cool old watch faces. She had a ton of them. Isabel bought the cutest watch face bracelet which were all sold out by the time I got there.

I got this neat huge barkcloth tote from the talented Lisa Souers who I don't think has a blog, but she sells on ebay under the user name lsouers1.

And finally, I purchased two necklaces. The initial one I got from the adorable Adrienne and the rhinestone one I bought from Heather Bullard. I'm so glad I got it at the show. I noticed on her website that she listed some recently and they are all sold out. I feel so lucky to have gotten one of her beautiful creations. Thanks Heather!

While in Spokane I was able to hook up with some of my old college friends. Keith and Kris and I were all at Oregon State together majoring in Hotel and Restaurant Management. Keith is now the Director of Sales for the Spokane Visitors Association and he and Kris have moved around quite a bit over the last several years. I'm glad they are now in the PNW and hopefully will be able to see them more often. We had a yummy and fun dinner at PF Changs and I really enjoyed catching up with them and visiting with their lovely daughters. Here they are posing in the mezzanine of The Davenport Hotel a truly fabulous place. Wish my picture had turned out a little better.

Well, there you have it. No more Farm Chicks, until next year of course. Come back soon for some pictures of our trip to Maui.

Did I mention how happy I am to be back blogging? I sure missed you all! TTFN

FARM CHICKS EXTRAVAGANZA PART I!

Well, we're finally back from an amazing time at Farm Chicks. Isabel and I both sold lots of stuff, met some awesome new friends, had lots of laughs with existing friends, and bought some fun things too. We got home at 3:00am on Monday morning and were exhausted. I have lots of pics to share, but wish I had taken even more. Every booth at this show was just incredible and Serena and Terri (the show's organizers and Country Living Magazine contributing editors) were so sweet and welcoming.

We got to Spokane about mid day on Friday and immediately began setting up our booths. Usually Isabel and I mix our stuff up when we do shows, but this time we decided to try something new and each have our own booths right next to each other. It worked out very well and we may have to try to do this again for future shows.

Here is a picture of our booth right before we left Friday night to head to the hotel for some much needed rest. Go ahead and click on it for a better

view.

More pictures of my booth.

Some shots of Isabel's booth

Loved this sweet lamp Isabel made from an old coffee pot and spoons. Just adorable. She could have sold it ten times.

Here is Cindy in her booth.

Sweet Tammy in her booth.

A shot of Joy's booth.

This is Vicky. Isn't she cute? She is the Manager of Monticello, the antique mall where Isabel and I have our booth. Her booth at Farm Chicks was right across from us.
And last but certainly not least, here is Heather. (On the left) Her booth was amazing! Eye candy in every little inch of her space. I bought a couple things from her, but I wish I got a whole lot more. I really enjoyed spending time getting to know Heather more. You may remember we met a couple times before, most recently on my trip south at the Long Beach Flea. She was so sweet and so funny! Loved the joke about working her "asphalt off."

There were so many other wonderful people that I met/saw at Farm Chicks that I didn't get pictures of which I regret. I want to do a shout out to Timi, my new BFF and her entourage, Sue Rowley and her adorable husband, Colleen, who doesn't have a blog, but is a devoted reader and sometime commenter on mine, Suzie, my good friend Kate's, big sis, Adrienne, my other new BFF from Reno and I know I'm forgetting some people, but Saturday was crazy busy in our booth and I know some people came in to say hi and now I'm forgetting. Ugh!

This post is getting really long and I must scadoodle to finish packing for our family trip tomorrow. On my next post I will tell you a little more about the things I sold and show you some pictures of what I bought at Farm Chicks. I'll be back from my trip, rested and ready to get busy for my next big show which is the Portland, Antique Expo. July 12/13th. If you're in the area, I highly recommend this show. It's huge and always a good place to find some great stuff. Have a great week and I'll be back soon.