Two Computers Down at Home

WoW! My computer and my husband's laptop went kaputzies on us. Right now, I'm at work early to vent a bit. It's been about a week now that I have been unable to blog. My husband claims it will be fixed by this weekend. We'll see as I've got photos to load up, emails to reply to, blogs to checkout, and blogs to post. Until then, while I'm waiting, I will be working away on my smaller projects, house cleaning, and yard/garden weeding.

Speaking of projects, it has been quite cold around here. And while I don't mind the cold weather, I do mind not being able to get my painting projects done. I mean the "spray" painting projects done. I suppose I can use a paint brush, but some things are better painted by the can. I know I've been complaining about this for a while now, but I really, really want to get my projects done soon. I have a stack of stuff in my living room that's becoming an eye sore.

On the lighter side, my son's birthday (he's turning 6) is this weekend although his party is next weekend. So my mind has been preoccupied with gift ideas, etc. As for the party, I left it for "The Jungle" (a play gym for kids). They are taking care of EVERYTHING except for the cake. Nice. Oh, it's another year of the Spiderman theme for him. I was hoping for pirates or something else, but nope, it's Spiderman again.

Anyhoo, must get to work.

Toodles.

Sickies in the house

I haven't been able to blog much this week for two reasons.

First, the boys are sick, sick, sick....again!Those poor little boys. Tristan is a cold magnet. He manages to catch everyone's cold from home & school. Aargh. I've been pretty lucky as I've managed to resist most of their cold/flu attacks. Only once so far I was taken down!

Second, my computer went haywire on me. My husband finally cleaned it up losing all my favorite bookmarks! I was devastated. But it's working now, so I'll try not to complain too much.

When I get a chance this week, I'll post my De Anza Flea Market & Thrift store finds. I'm near painting completion of my trumeau mirror (my attempt to make one) & wall pocket, and I can't wait to show you the before and after photos.

I've also completed a lampshade for my foyer lamp. My mom is in love with it! Maybe I should open my own little etsy... that sounds more like it! The lampshade was a lot of work; but it was all worth it. In addition to my lampshade, my mom fell in love with an apron I ordered. Well guess what? She's planning on making herself one in the most shabbiest design. We drew our design out & can't wait to get all the fabrics ordered & put together. I can't wait to model it as well as the one I ordered.

Well, until then.

Toodles.

More Rainy Day Thrift Finds!

Well, it was a week of rain and more rain. We did have pockets of sunshine. It's been hard trying to work on my painting projects with this cold weather, but I'll get them done.

My youngest boy, Lance, has come down with a cold, and I'm still feeling semi-miserable from the one I'm still trying to get over. And to avoid getting sick, my husband is currently sleeping in Lance's bed during this time. It's cute. And despite that two out of four in our house are sick, I did slip in some thrift shopping time this week.

I've got some wonderful buys. I especially love discount days at our local thrift stores. Here's what I got this week.


I plan on painting & covering the hamper.


I love the Fragonard style! This tureen was a steal! I was thinking about using it in my bathroom as a soap container.


I was in fabric heaven. They will make great pillows and purses. The tarnished silverware will get a new life too after a good polishing.


This basket will be great for lost socks!

In addition to thrifting at the thrift shops, I decided to stop by Home Goods. I haven't been to Home Goods in months (more like 6-8 months). Boy, I missed the place. Every time I go there, I want to buy the place out. I had to refrain myself. There was a lot of beautiful stuff there. But I did buy the following:



I love the hydrangea candlelabra! I think it's perfect for my future sunroom. The cloche was a steal!! It was on clearance for $5 and it was mine. Last, the transferware! I've always had a thing for transferware. When I saw them, I knew I had to have them, so I bought four each. They were very inexpensive. My husband did cringe because I love beautiful dishes.

It's been a good week despite illnesses and rainy weather. I hope I will get at least a couple of days next week to do some painting and some backyard weeding. Oh, and if it doesn't rain this coming Saturday, I'm going to enjoy myself at the De Anza flea market. Maybe I'll see you there.

Toodles.

Pink Toile at Target

Oh. My. Gosh. I was at Target with my mom yesterday shopping for a birthday gift, and we both decided to stop by the Rachel Ashwell's bedroom linen section before we checked out. However, when we got there, her aisle was blocked off by boxes of new inventory. So we decided to checkout the bathroom section. The minute I saw it, my jaw just dropped. PINK TOILE. I love pink toile. In fact, I love TOILE - pink just made it even better. I was so giddy. I wanted to buy the entire collection, but I had to remain calm & collected. PINK TOILE!!! Anyhoo, I didn't walk out with any RA's pink toile collection- sniff, sniff. I had just spent the majority of the day at the thrift stores, Home Goods, etc. So I knew I had spent enough for the day. I did get some great buys though which I'll show you later. So until my next paycheck or a RA sale, I'll be thinking of a pink toile bathroom. PINK TOILE!

Toodles!

Stumped on St Patrick's Day Decor

Ok, I've been searching around for weeks trying to find the perfect decorations for St Patrick's Day. And I'm just stumped! I see hokey novelty stuff floating around, but nothing I would like to see in my decor. Plastic beer tumblers,plastic clover garlands, plastic hats, etc, etc. I haven't had much luck even finding green vases, etc at the thrift stores. Placemats, nope. Table runners, nope. Or maybe I just haven't found the right place or places to look. I guess I'll have to settle on just green carnations in a crystal vase again. Ho hum. I need a little bit of green elegant pizzazz & inspiration! If anyone has any suggestions, please share.

On a side note, my mom & I found some more great thrift finds this week! I'll share on Saturday.

Toodles.

My Rainy Day Thrift Finds .. and Mom's too!

I like to say my home is one unique style, but to be honest, it's not. It's an eclectic mix of vintage elegance. A little dash of shabby, french country, traditional, etc here and there. My house contains mostly flea market, thrift stores, garage sales, outlets, and auction finds. I don't have many friends who are into "used" goods, but when they come over to my house, they do find themselves in a little bit of awe. As time goes by, I'll introduce you to my home.

I did some shopping Tuesday night and found some great buys at my local thrift store. I was extremely happy. So where do I begin?

For starters, remember that wall pocket I was looking for? I found a medium sized one. It is perfect. However, it does need a new do. Check it out! I can't wait to get started on it and dress up my front door.

I wasn't looking for it, but I found another breadbox. It was crying "buy me". I'm a firm believer that some things want to be found and bought. Anyhoo, remember that silver breadbox I bought a week ago? Well, I've decided to leave it as is. Silver. But as for the new breadbox, that box will get a new shabby makeover. I was going to convert my traditional kitchen into a shabby theme, but I decided to leave it alone for now. I really do like it the way it is... for now. As for the breadbox, I will store it until the conversion takes place. However, along with the wall pocket and breadbox, I found two other beautiful finds: a silver tray (slightly tarnished) and a shabby cutting board. See below:


I polished my tray up using MAAS (the stuff really works) and immediately placed it on my dining room table. Sorry no pics yet.

I can't wait to get started on my wall pocket & breadbox project, but I'm waiting for a sunny day (it's been cold & rainy). If all is sunny this weekend, you know what I'll be doing. And I'll show you the results.

My mom got lucky today at the flea market. She found two brass cherub lamps, a victorian style night light, silk embroidery books (15 books for a dollar each), a silk embroidered pillow, victorian decoupage images (a huge bag full), quilting frame, pink plastic bowls, shabby basket, shabby bed sheets and a vintage doll (unfortunately, it was missing an arm). I rec'd most of the items, and I was jumping for joy! I didn't take photos of everything, but here are some of her finds.




I don't think I'll be doing any shopping this weekend because of a cold I caught from my boys, but I will be working on my lampshades for the lamp on my foyer console table. That's been a work in project for at least two months now.

Well, that's all the joy I'm expressing for now. Until next time...

Toodles.

Back to blogging & sharing

Phew!

I'm back after a very long break. I'm hoping I can keep up with my blogging.

With a little introduction, I'm a mom to two little boys, Tristan and Lance, who loves vintage, shabby, and french designs. My home is a mix of all of them. I love shopping at all the big name thrift stores, flea markets, garage sakes, outlets, and of course, auctions. My husband calls me a "junk collector", but he's very supportive of me. He says that our little home is beautiful, cramped, and very froufrou. I'm just so girly.

My boys and my mother have been keeping me busy. I spend more time at my mom's house than mine that I sometimes can't keep up with my own home & projects. I truly enjoy doing things with and for my mother, but I also want my home to finally be comfortable & beautiful. My house is almost like a storage center right now. I'm having to take small projects to work just to get them done - on my lunch break, that is. My to-do list is getting longer and longer. I need a vacation just to get them done, and then I'll need a vacation from all the projects.

Anyhoo, during my break, I did spend a lot of my time going to the thrift stores (with mom) shopping for wonderful buys & future projects. I love creating trash to treasures. I'm addicted to it. I've purchased a lot of wonderful things & projects I want to share. But for starters, I'll start with this small project for today's blog. I bought a beautiful bread box last year. It was pink, porcelain, & beautiful.. However, I noticed a crack on the lid last month. I wanted to cry. I haven't had it for very long and now it's damaged. So now the damaged bread box will be a planter box. However, I found this silver metal bread box at my local thrift store. My mother thought it ugly when she saw it. She really didn't want me to buy it. It was $5.99 with a 30% discount. What do you think? It's got potential, don't you think?

My plan is to spray paint it pink and add a shabby rose decal on the lid. I won't have to worry about cracked lids or making it into a planter box. It's been raining awhile for now, so it's another project on the waiting list. Once the sun peers through the clouds, I'm gonna hop to it. Wish me luck. Once I'm done, I'll share with you the results.

Since today's a holiday, I plan on dragging my husband to the thrift store. I have another project in mind. I know, another project. I'm looking for one of those large tin wall pockets. I use to see them around ALOT, but I never did put a project thought to them. Now when they are not around, I want one. What I want to do is find one so that I can give it a crackled stain and stencil "The Clouds Est 1996" on the front. I want to hang it on my front door. I do hope I find one today.

Well, I hope to be a regular. And I really want to share with you my creative vision, wonderful buys, my collection & of course, my family.

Toodles.