My Own Version of American Pickers

It’s no secret that a junker like me would absolutely love the show American Pickers.  I was sad to see the season come to an end, but excited that they will be back for another one.

This morning I decided to take a long walk which is nothing unusual as I try to walk three to four days a week for about an hour each time.  It was such a gorgeous morning weatherwise, I thought it would be fun to take a walk just outside the neighborhoods along some of our country roads.  Walking past this really junky house, I spotted a truck with a trailer attached with what appeared to be scrap metal in the back.  Perched on top of the pile was a cute little rusty metal chair.

As my good luck would have it the owner of the truck and trailer was outside and I sweetly asked if I could have the little chair on top of his pile.  He informed me that it was an old child’s booster chair and that I could take it.  I  thanked him and  told him that it would be great holding a plant.  So here is my little picking treasure.

It would also be adorable on a buffet table holding plates.  Not sure what I’m going to do with it yet, but it sure is cute!  Would have been great at the Barn House last weekend.

Speaking of Barn House, I borrowed a picture from Silvi’s blog that she had taken of my “old wood thing” before it was sold.

 

How cute it was holding canning jars of  vintage silverware.  I just knew Joe would do something cool with it.

Heading out this morning for another crafting day.  This time at Leah’s house.  I got my soldering supplies all packed and ready to go.  I’ve been wanting to make some more charms to take to Farm Chicks so today will be the perfect time to do it.  Hope you all have a fun Tuesday!

A Great Weekend.

Yesterday was gorgeous here in the PNW. Isabel and I, along with my Mom headed out bright and early to the Barn House season opener.  I had been out on Thursday to drop off a few of my things for the sale, so I already had an idea of how fabulous it was going to be. We got there just before 9am and it was already packed with hungry shoppers. 

Everyone’s spaces were just gorgeous.  So much to see, I had to go around several times. The hold  pile behind the check out area just kept getting bigger and bigger with everyone’s finds. I was pleased to see a few of my sale items there too, including the little crinoline lamp from my last post and this cool  old cabinet I recently found on craigslist which was described as “old wood thing.”

It sold so fast, I didn’t even get to see where in the barn it had landed. Isabel told me that my shopping cart (from the last post) had sold too, so I was quite pleased. The line to pay was a little long, but no worries, we just decided to head down the road to the Vintage Gatherings sale.  Lots of goodies there too. I got to meet the adorable Shellagh from Ticking and Toile and Annette from Andy’s Attic. Here’s a picture of Annette and the always sweet Florence.

I bought a bunch of cool buttons, and this sweet vintage dress and hat at this sale. Isabel and my Mom both found lots of treasures too. This is my Mom and me posing at the Vintage Gathering sale.

Here is the vintage dress I got. 

Close up of the fabric and cute rick rack  trim.

And here’s the hat I found there too.

I got both the dress and the hat from Michelle’s booth.

Back to Barn House we went to pay for our purchases.  I was debating on a really cute dresser, Randy from Madison Park had for sale in his space, but it wasn’t exactly what I was looking for. I did however end up purchasing this little vintage gate from Sue of Bella Shabby.  I love it and have the perfect place for it.  I’ll have to show you when it is in it’s new home.

Here are Isabel and me getting ready to leave Barn House.

That’s the only picture I got there, but Isabel took a bunch as well as a lot of other bloggers that were there.  We could have stayed longer at Barn House, but we wanted to check out the garden sale that was going on in the city of Camas.  Our buddy, Julie was there selling her cool stuff and it gave us a chance to check out the goodies at Camas Antiques where I found a couple vintage slips I just had to have.  Have I ever mentioned my addiction to vintage slips?  Love them!

After that we were all pretty tired so we headed home after a long and fun day.

Today being Mother’s Day and all, I was able to convince my family that we needed to take a trip to Corvallis to visit my alma mater, Oregon State University.  Again, another gorgeous day and the fact that we made a few stops at thrift stores along the way wasn’t so bad either.  Lunch at our favorite, Woodstock’s Pizza, and a nice long stroll around campus were the icing on the cake.  Here’s a picture of my three most favorite people in the whole wide world.

Aren’t they all adorable? I’m crazy in love with these guys.  And since my sweet hubby and I hardly ever get pictures together, here is the best of the bunch my daughter took of us.

After 23 years together (almost 19 of them married), we are still so much in love!  He is the best hubby a girl could have.

Okay, now that I’ve gotten a little mushy on you, and this post has gotten a little long, I’ll end it here.  I hope you all had a truly wonderful weekend too.

White Wednesday-Some Projects

A little evening White Wednesday post for you.  I’ve been busy today gathering a few things to take to Barn House for the big season opener this Saturday. One thing I’ll be taking is one of my vintage shopping carts with a custom liner.  Instead of my usual florals,  I went with a neutral theme this time using canvas drop cloths and vintage lace.  I think it turned out very sweet.  What do you think?

 

Here’s another White Wednesday project.  This was a craigslist find that I’ve been working on for awhile.  I forgot to take a before picture, but it was kind of yucky.  I did see some potential and gave the base a few coats of white paint and sanded and scrubbed (and sanded some more) the top.  It’s really old, thick wood, that has lots of knots and some drill holes in spots.  Oh, did I mention that this was originally a work bench?  Once I got the top cleaned up, I gave it a good rub with my favorite stained wax which always makes things look so much better.  And voila!

 

This dude is huge at just under 8 feet long and unfortunately, it is super heavy.  But I love how it turned out.  The rusty  metal drawer pulls are original to the piece.  I could totally see this with a big screen tv on top, dvd player or other electronic components in the middle cubby.  Or how about a kitchen island or a sofa table with folded quilts in the cubby.  So many options.  This piece will be making the trip to Farm Chicks with me next month.

That’s it for me.  Hope you are all having a great week! 

Weekend Finds and My New Space

Friday, Mitzi and I and Isabel were over at Monticello working hard.  Isabel was moving out of our shared space (temporarily) and I was moving out of our space and into a brand new one. Here’s what my empty new space looked like. (Don’t I look attractive?  Thanks Mitzi!)

And here’s what it looks like now.

I’m thrilled with the outcome.  Moving into this new space really motivated me to work on a few projects, such as, the tall hutch cabinet on the left.  That piece has been sitting in my garage for about 5 years.  My husband is thrilled that it is finally out of there.  It was a craigslist find and I remember the day I bought it.  It was pouring down rain and I drove all the way up to Vancouver only to find it sitting outside in the rain.  I don’t know how I managed to maneuver that giant cabinet into my car, but I did, all by myself.  Anyway, the little pink dresser next to it is a new estate sale find that needed only a little cleaning.  Love that it was already pink.

 

The aqua dresser was something I bought two years ago at the Oregon City Antique Faire.  It too has been sitting in my garage and all it needed was a little sanding and cleaning and now, it is a super cool piece. Another new item is the cute little picket shelf on the right.  I found that a few weeks ago and gave it a new paint job.  I think my favorite thing in my booth is something that isn’t even for sale.  The picket fence on the wall was something I found recently while out walking.  It was lying in a pile along with a couple other pieces of fencing in someone’s yard.  I simply knocked on the door and asked if they would like to get rid of them and they said, yes, take them away!  Yeah!  See, it never hurts to ask.  I think it really makes my booth and I love the little sign that Natasha made for me hanging on it too.

It was a four day weekend for my kids and I can’t tell you how glad I am to have them back to school.  I feel like I spent the last four days playing chauffer. I did manage to squeeze a little thrifting in, however, with a trip to a few thrift stores, an estate sale, a couple garage sales and my favorite monthly flea market.  Here are just some of my purchases.

Love this trunk.  It’s in great shape and has the cutest little wheels on it.  Vintage doll beds are hard to resist and I adore this cute metal one.

I also got a few linens, an adorable crocheted child’s apron with the sweetest pink ribbon, some rhinestone pins, lovely glass and rhinestone buttons, a vintage calling card and vintage millinery flowers.

In case you are one of the few people who haven’t heard, these awesome guys are having their season opener this weekend and I, for one, couldn’t be more excited.

Their vendor line up is amazing.  So much talent in one barn, I can hardly stand it.  And to make it ever better, I’ll be bringing a few things to add to the mix. I am truly honored to be included in this special event.  If you are anywhere in the Northwest Oregon or Southwest Washington area, this is a must not miss event.  If you have never been to one of the Barn House sales, I promise, you are in for a wonderful treat.

On a final note, I can now add “electrician” to my resume as I successfully rewired the lamp in my last post.  I also added a cute little baby crinoline to the shade.  You likey? I do!

Hope you are all having a lovely week! 

Some Stuff

My girl came back from Outdoor School with lots of stories.  She had a great time, but said keeping track of 15 5th and 6th grade girls was a lot of work and kind of stressful.  She successfully taught several field study courses on water and other outdoorsy things and she even made some new friends.  I, of course, am glad to have her home again.

Last Friday I was invited to Isabel’s house for a little crafty day.  We were joined by Leah, Lara, Robin, Joy and Julie.  We had a great time visiting, eating and making cute little coffee filter and fabric flowers. Lara has  a great post about it here and Robin has some gorgeous pictures from that day here.

Joy came prepared with lots of crafty goodies.

Julie and Joy doing what she does best, laughing her a** off.

Robin doing what she does best, taking beautiful pictures.

Leah and Robin hard at work.

I don’t know what happened, but I didn’t get any pictures of our lovely hostess, Isabel or the gorgeous Lara. You can see them both on the links I gave above. Here are the flowers I made.

Isabel and I went to Cindy’s sale last Saturday and had so much fun.  As always, Cindy managed to create a completely new look.  Her theme of Spring in Paris was fabulous.  I didn’t take any pictures, completely forgot, but Isabel did and you can see them here. It was fun running into Florence who was adorable in pink.  And we even met a new friend, Marie from Salem who was so sweet and told us she has our blogs on her home page.  She even gave me a little bit of a hard time for not posting more often.  Hi Marie! Look, I’m posting twice this week.  Better? ha ha

After Cindy’s we headed on over to Monticello to drop off some things and clean up our booths.  I was super excited to see lots of stuff sold.  In fact, I’m having one of the best months I’ve had in a really long time. Wee Hoo! I’ll be moving my booth today and have lots of new items to bring in.  Can’t wait! I promise to take pictures of my new space once it’s completed.

I thought I’d show you just a few things I have found in my thrifting outings recently.  I haven’t done a lot and some things have already made it to the mall spaces.

I haven’t found any neat vintage flowers in a long time, so I was completely tickled to find these lovelies and for a really great price too. I know several bloggers out there that would love to get their hands on these.  You know if I’m talking about you.

On another unrelated note, I wanted to mention that many times I will get asked questions in my comments which go to my email account. Unfortunately, sometimes I can’t respond to the questions via email as the commenter doesn’t have their email address on their blog profile.  If you have a blogger account, it’s really easy to add your email address. Just click on customize, then dashboard, then edit profile and enter your email address where it says to, then save profile.  Easy! Not sure how it is done with Typepad or other blog formats.

Busy, busy weekend!  Moving booths today, vintage/resale shopping with my girl tomorrow and flea market with Isabel on Sunday!  All fun stuff.  Lucky me!  I hope you too will have a fun weekend.

White Wednesday-An Awesome New Dress

I had another post ready to go then realized that it is White Wednesday once again. I just had to show this amazing dress I found yesterday.

I made a much needed trip over to Stars & Splendid to fluff my booth and pick up my check. It didn’t take long so I thought I would take a little stroll down 13th street in Portland where there are several neat shops.

One shop I definitely wanted to visit was Justin & Burks. It had been awhile since I had been in there and as always, I was amazed at the gorgeous merchandise (enormous chandeliers, awesome farm tables and lots and lots of beautiful, but out of my budgets, items.) I ventured down to the basement where I have found a few goodies to bring home in the past. Lots of lovelies down there, but what caught my eye was an antique crocheted lace dress. It was beautiful and I have never seen anything like it. The neckline, the crocheted buttons on the back, the elbow length sleeves, it was perfection. I had no idea if it would fit me or not. Most antique clothing items are a little on the small side and I am not. But the clincher was the price tag. Regular price $65 marked down to a mere $30. I had to have it!

After purchasing my prize, I proceeded down the street and stopped at Grand Central baking for a bowl of French Market soup which was delish. For the car ride home, I got a yummy chocolate croissant. After eating all that, I wasn’t very optimistic that I would fit into that lovely lace dress.

Well, I’m happy to report that once I got home and tried on the dress, it was a perfect fit! I had my daughter take my picture when she got home from school. I was so excited I told her how much I loved the dress and that she had to admire me in it. She, of course, thought I was crazy. Okay, want to see this dress? Now that I’ve built it up so much, I hope you aren’t disappointed. Here it is!

Of course, I had to wear one of my vintage slips under the dress and I was able to find a very simple cotton one that worked perfectly. Paired with my harness boots and I’m good to go. Now, if I only had somewhere to wear this little number. I do have parent/teacher conferences this week, but I’m not sure I want to go dressed as a tablecloth. Happy White Wednesday to you all!

Dreaming of Paris-Part V

“Sunny and some clouds today. Woke and had a wonderful breakfast at a cafe down the street (Rue Cler) next to the post office.  Fried egg, croissant, ham and tea.  Tried to find a bus to Versailles. There was a problem with the trains and we ended up taking the Metro to Montparnasse and transferred to a train to Versailles.  Kind of stressful due to language barrier and lack of knowledge of transportation system.

Finally arrived at the Versailles stop and we then followed the crowds through a little town to the Palace.  Very impressive upon first site.

 

Did the tour of the Palace.  Very beautiful art, furnishings, etc.  Gardens were fabulous.

Got a golf cart to tour the gardens which were huge. 

Ate lunch at a cafe near Versailles.  Mac & Cheese for me, Salad Niscious (sp?) for Keith.  Managed to catch the train back to Paris with no problems.

Back at the hotel we rested and cleaned up and headed out to visit this famous cemetery, Pere Lachaise. Took our favorite bus #69 and ate dinner at a little cafe at Gambetta.  Both of us had Panini, but missed going into the cemetery as it was closed for the day.  Keith will go back on Friday when I am spending the day with Isabel.

Found out that the buses were no longer running so we attempted to take the metro which was again a little stressful, but eventually made it back to the hotel.”

If you are fairly new to my blog, the above is an actual account of my trip to Paris with my Dad a few years ago.  If you are interested, and have some time to kill, you can read more about my trip here, here, here and here.

I must have been really tired when I wrote in my journal the day we went to Versailles as I didn’t give much in the way of details, but I do remember it being a really fun day overall with the exception of transportation stress.  Having just seen the movie “Marie Antoinette” a couple days before made the visit to Versailles even more special.

After doing this post, I realize that I didn’t take very many pictures.  Remember, this trip was taken in my pre-blog life. 

My good friend, Kimberly is in France right now.  Not sure when she is coming home as all flights have been cancelled.  I wish I was stuck over there with her as I’m sure we could come up with some trouble to get into.

Busy week ahead.  My number 1 girl is headed out tomorrow for the week to be a counselor at Outdoor School.  We just found out she was selected late last week, and then as we were gone over the weekend, we haven’t had a lot of time to get her ready. So, as usual, we will be scrambling around last minute packing.  Unfortunately rain is in the forecast all week so we will see how that goes.  I’m just glad that she is stepping out of her comfort zone to try new things.  She had such an incredible time as a 6th grader at Outdoor School, she is really looking forward to experiencing it again as a counselor this time.

Hope to be back soon with some completed projects. Farm Chick is just around the corner and I have a lot to do to get ready. Happy Monday!