Thrift Serendipity

Hello, everyone,

How's it going with you today? I went to the semi-annual sale at Bering Methodist Church this morning. I didn't get very much, just a few small items, but had a great time browsing and looking around. On the way home I stopped at the Assistance  League store and picked up one paperback before walking round the end of some shelves to see. . . .

It's a pet stroller with a zippered front section to keep your kitty inside. After consulting by text with Mr. B it came home with me. We haven't gone outdoors yet, but there is already considerable interest in this new addition to the house.

Flossie and Trixie are quite intrigued with the whole idea.

The odd thing was just the other day it crossed my mind to wonder if one of these would ever turn up in a thrift shop or at a yard sale, with my conclusion highly unlikely at best. How wild is it that one did show up so soon afterward? Sometimes the thrift angels must be paying attention and decide to oblige and grant a wish once in a while. 

This probably is a good prediction of what we'll be doing this weekend, giving the cats turns at exploring outside, what a thrill! 

Have a good one,

Michele

Using what I have

Hello, all,

This  is a very modest effort, using existing possessions. We had one of these:

It's a curtain rod with magnets to attach on a surface. Add a can of these:

These are clip hooks with a loop on top originally from Ikea.

Combined they provide a  good way to hang pot holders. They're actually going on the side of the stove, but there's no way to take  a picture of them hanging there.

Tomorrow is the spring edition off the semi-annual sale at Bering Methodist Church, so I'm saving my energy for shopping then. Wish me luck!

Michele

Hi, Folks,

How's everything going with you today? We had some much welcome rain, whoo hoo!

In a recent post called Thrifty Thursday these fabric covered cork squares showed up:

Today they were introduced to some Command strips and wound up on the side of the fridge:

This is right above the new wine bar location. Actually, today I found another square in a similar, coordinating print, but ran out of fasteners, so it's still waiting to be hung. And here they are in use:

It never hurts to have space to stick things up so they don't get forgotten, does it? I know it's not done by decorators to put things on the refrigerator, but in a house this small with little wall space that's a luxury we can't indulge in. Not to mention the price was definitely right at .60 cents each. Have you found anything while thrifting or at a yard sale lately to use for storage or display? Isn't that a great feeling?

Have a good one,
Michele

Rare Table Sighting

Hi, Peeps,

I usually leave table settings to my fabulously talented friend, Tricia, who can be found at  http://thtolbert.blogspot.com/. Some recently purchased cheery bamboo striped place mats tempted me to venture into those uncharted waters.

The centerpiece is a tin pitcher from the Sand Dollar with some eucalyptus in it flanked by pale yellow candles, also from SD in inexpensive glass holders.

The bamboo mat is striped in bright, primary colors, which seemed a great companion to the bright flowered napkins that came from a yard sale several months ago. There is a plain white plate with a polka dot salad plate on top of it, a gift from Tricia. She never hesitates to enable my love of red. It's kind of hard to see, but there is a blue wine glass too. The silverplate belonged to my in-laws and I don't know the name of the pattern, although it's fairly common..

That's a little closer look to give you a better view. The combination of stripes, flowers and polka dots all together makes me happy.

Are you an all neutrals type of person or ready to let color run riot like me? It may not be the stuff of magazines and designer looks, but it's fun, and fun is always good, right?

TTYL,
Michele

Nothing but Cats

Hi, Friends,

I hope you're all enjoying a May day as lovely as the one we have here. 

Today I'm sharing our purry pals with you. 

 

Trixie mysteriously appeared on the street where we  used to live before Hurricane Ike. Mysteriously because she wasn't one of the feral colony. She was young, but not a tiny kitten and seemed tame from the start. Since the block was a short cul-de-sac we knew she didn't belong to any of the other neighbors, so her origins remain up in the air. She's good natured, and was very motherly to the latest additions to the family.

 

The next three are litter mates.

They were born of a very wild mother, Sally Calico in 2006. Butterball was the last captured in 2008, along with her own first litter of kittens.

There she is with her brother, Junior. Junior and Tilly were caught at age six weeks, so have lived indoors since they were tiny kittens.

Junior is a big guy. That table is 33 inches wide and he's nearly that big, even with his puffy tail curled under him.

Their sister, Tilly, is small and still totally feral nearly seven years after coming inside to live.

Butterball had five kittens in her litter. The other four found new homes, but Freckles is still with us.

Minnie has beautiful blue eyes. She came to live with us when a terrific rainstorm was causing flooding. Her offspring both found homes too, even though after an escape attempt they were dubbed the Outlaws, Willie and Waylon.It's hard to believe  she first   got her name because she was such a Skinny Minnie then. Now she's more what you'd call matronly, or let's just say she might need to shop in the Stylish Stout Department.

Freddy and Flossie were born around April 4, 2011 and were found about four weeks later, not long after we lost a beloved orange tabby. We certainly didn't need any more cats, but somehow they wormed their way into our hearts.

Still greatly missed are Tiggy, Buzzy, Pharaoh, Crumpet, Teddy, Nosy and Onslow. Even though the kitty hoard make a lot of messes and are responsible for a fair amount of breakage, it's still impossible to imagine life without them. 

Do animal companions loom large in your life? Have you conceded to decorating around their toys and detritus and resigned to the removal tumbleweeds of fur as a constant in your daily routine? Do your dreams of winning the lottery immediately leap to using some of the proceeds to build a  rescue farm in the country so there would be room for more furry friends? Pull up a chair, then. I think we're going to get along fine!

Take it easy!

Michele

Winding Down

Hi, Friends,

Our day began with violent thunderstorms and lots of rain; good thing I went ahead and got over to the Manna store on Wednesday. Here's the latest loot, from that trip and a couple of small excursions before that.

I got some books, a mug and a new squirrel puppet. Pottery Barn pillow shams, silver baby fork and Mary Engelbreit note cards.

Some green earrings and a bracelet from the Salvation Army last week. From bags at Family Thrift two new Punch Studio pads with magnetic closures, new Anne Taintor magnets and mirror, a bag full of toiletries from British Caledonian Airlines and a can with tiny components of a manger scene, plus some toy binoculars whose exterior I covered with paper cut from a map.Oh, and a silk scarf from Harold's.

The stone with the bird on it is from Dollar Tree, right down the street from Manna. There were other bird designs too, I remember an owl.

Most of these things are for resale, except some of the books, the bird and a couple other items. Manna has fairly low prices, and I seldom pay more than $2.92 for anything from Family Thrift. Salvation Army is a lot pricier, so that stop normally only happens on 25% discount day. 

Looks like we're on the downhill stretch towards Mother's Day weekend. Between the holiday and our stormy weather it's hard to say if there will be many yard sales tomorrow.  May all your plans then and Sunday work out perfectly!

See you next week!

Michele

Curb Appeal

Last week on the way to run errands I pulled over to wrestle into my car a battered wicker chair someone had put out for heavy trash. With the addition of a cocoa mat lined basket from Big Lots and a few plants from our local nursery it deserves to stay out of a landfill since it's now a thing of beauty.

Shabby doesn't necessarily mean there's no life left in an old chair! Maybe it's a little rickety for sitting, but the plants don't mind.

The plants are portulaca, purslane, gazania, calibrachoa and a small, unidentified fern.

This is a fun way to upcycle something so it doesn't add more to the city trash collection. Now I'd better go water these recent arrivals so they'll stay happy and grow.

Do you like container gardens, or strictly go for beds in the ground?

Till next time,
Michele