Courtesy of Mr. B

Hi, everyone, and Happy Earth Day to all.

Today we have a yard sale purchase Mr. B made a couple of months ago. He paid $20 for this pair of nesting tables.

He said they'd been left outside. The finish was really bad with lots of scratches and damage when he brought them home.

One application of the product above produced the result you see in the picture. I heard this recommended on HGTV and hustled down to the local hardware store to get some and have been amazed at how well it works. It comes in many shades, so fairly easy to match what you're trying to rejuvenate.

One last shot of the two pushed together. It's a useful and attractive pair, don't you think? The thrifting way of life has found another disciple, bwahahahahah!

May the rest of your Monday be a good one.

Later,
Michele

What's Blooming

Hello, folks,

Today I thought you might like to see what's blooming at our house so far.

These volunteer sunflowers showed up underneath Mr. B's bird feeders in the side yard.

There is the first hint of blue in the plumbago bush by the front door. It's an old reliable and will produce tons of flowers before the year is over.

This purple beauty by the corner in the front bed is Porter plant. We had it at our previous house. It grew fast, big and bloomed consistently.

 

The firecracker bush sat like a lump all last year but has suddenly taken off in the past few weeks, growing rapidly and blooming. Perhaps it took to heart Mr. B's threats to yank it up if there wasn't any improvement asap!

We will be adding color to the pots on the steps and there will be at least two types of flowering vines on the fence around the house.  Hyacinth bean has a purple flower and Confederate jasmine a small white star-shaped one. I prefer coral vine, but somehow that request seems to fall on deaf ears around here! Our backyard area is small and gets the full west sun,so we don't try to grow anything back there.

What is blooming at your house? Do you spend a lot of time with your garden, or go in for tough love? Water a lot or depend upon Mother Nature?

Till next week, have a great weekend!

Michele

Picture This

Hello, all,

I thought I'd share some things that have been framed lately. This cute painted wooden one has a little elf snoozing on a mushroom surrounded by flowers.

In honor of the current bird decor, a couple of frames were pressed into service:

This is a cute greeting card that coordinates beautifully with the red frame, I think.

This sheet of stamps is perfect for a hot pink bird frame.

This batch of cheery blossoms is really in a silver metal frame, but it doesn't show up that way, huh??

This double matted picture of bowls of olives in a light blue frame works well in the bedroom with the new bedding in the same shades. 

Do you save favorite images in hopes the perfect frame and situation will show up some day? Can finding an old folder be a treasure hunt with new options for decoration? Or do you go both directions, buying frames and holding on to those until the perfect picture appears? 

Until next time,

Michele

Better Late than Never

Hi, Peeps,

I hope your day is going well. Mine was improved by a visit from Middle Daughter Mary, in town overnight for work reasons, an unexpected treat for us.

Today I finally got around to a project first planned over a year ago. Being a big old copycat of other bloggers and magazine pictures I got the materials early-ish in 2012, but had been a real slacker about oh, actually doing the few steps necessary. Starting with this:

Cactus soil, pebbles and a silver cream pitcher and sugar bowl. They seem to be the same pattern, bought months apart in different stores. Outside my succulents have been growing like crazy, so a little dividing and we had:

This is the result, but you've probably already figured out why this won't work in the long run. Here is Plan B:

Now they're safe from nosy kitties, not able to be eaten down to the dirt the first time there's no human in the room to shoo off the furry fiends. I think the look of silver and succulents is very cool, and will probably do some more in a couple of other containers waiting to be used. If you have pets indoors, does this pose a problem to indoor plants and cut flowers, or is it just at our house it's nearly impossible?

Have a good afternoon!

TTYL,

Michele

Latest Loot

Hi, everyone,

We made a  brief detour out of the thrift desert last Saturday. While running errands we found one estate and one yard sale. Here is most of the haul:

One thing in the picture  wasn't bought then, the bag with the heart of buttons. It was picked up last week. One thing that was bought but isn't in the picture is a large Matelasse spread which is being used as a cover on the sofa. So, the spread, two aprons, three  hankies, one vintage cloth, one linen dish towel, an oilcloth tote bag, one pad of recipe book marks, a pen in a wooden box and old silver spoon were what we bought this past Saturday, with a grand total spent of $7.60. 

The aprons are embroidered and have pockets.

I love this bright linen tea towel with assorted birds.

I couldn't pass up this goggle-eyed cat bag for .50 cents!

This is another thing picked up last week. It has a cute red-check back.

Flossie had to see what it looked like, too.

A close up of some of the detail on this nice vintage tablecloth.

T

This is a wooden pen in its own box, by Structure. The price was still on the bottom, $19.00.

Three flowered handkerchiefs.

This silver demitasse spoon from the old Rice Hotel may be my favorite find from Saturday. 

I've had this a few weeks. It's a little chair made into a lamp that lives on the kitchen counter.

Flossie didn't think much of the first layout, so I straightened out the things till they met her approval.

Perhaps our luck last weekend is a good omen for a lifting of the thrift drought. I hope you'll find some treasures this week, too. Do you typically go out with a list, or instead trust to serendipity?

Till next time,

Michele

Bedroom mini makeover

Happy tax day, everyone. I spent the morning running around to make copies, buy envelopes and then go to the post office, but it's done now, thank goodness. 

Today I am very happy to be able to share our spring bedroom mini fix up with you. After looking at multiple thrift shops and retail stores, a new quilt was finally located at Marshalls last week. With the knowledge of how hot and miserable our  summers almost always are, the goal was to fine one with a light, cool effect. The finalist has shades of blue, green and white in a paisley design, a personal favorite.

Although it can't be seen, we  also (with the help of the unwilling Mr. B) switched out the dust ruffle from a flowered Waverly print to a box-pleated plain white  pique. Although the quilt came from Marshalls, the dust ruffle and all the pillow shams were thrift shop finds. The buttoned blue one is from Pottery Barn. The sweet blue gingham and floral linen didn't have labels. All of them were less than $1.00. Trixie is your model, while Minnie is camera shy, hiding behind the pillows.

In addition to the bed itself, areas on the dresser and dressing table also got lightened up for the season. Here is a lunch-box style container bought in Austin last winter:

It holds a blue paper parasol, some artificial lavender, fabric rose and a few other items.

On the dressing table, a cloth-covered box from Pottery Barn Teen holds a green paper parasol, faux succulents and paper butterfly box, all from earlier thrift shop expeditions. It would be great to have live plants indoors, but the cats always try to eat them, so it's hopeless.

Our house is light years away from being spring clean or decorated, but perhaps sharing these small steps of the total effort as I chip away at them will keep me motivated. Are you making seasonal changes to lighten up your living spaces? Do you use different colors, textures or all that and more?

I hope your week is off to a good start!

Michele

Five x Friday

I did it, I managed to write every day this week, although this is a quickie. It dawned on me there was no picture of the new hutch with its doors open, so this is a belated look at the interior:

As you can see, it holds a surprising amount. If we repaint the whole thing, the white shelf Mr. B installed won't stand out like a sore thumb, otherwise we'll need to try and match that mustardy color. It holds crystal, a gorgeous epergne from a school rummage sale we got for $4.00, bowls, a gravy boat and silver destined to be planted with succulents. It was nice to learn the wonders of Goddard's polish from my friend Tricia at The Dull and the Dutiful. It works like a charm.

An item was left out when the Thrift Desert post was written. It is this pretty cushion, with a nice zipper back closure and embroidery on the front:

While trying to figure out where it would be best to take the picture, Inspector Flossie checked it out, too:

She is very interested in anything brought into the house. Pillows are good, but soft fleece throws even better in her opinion. A new one of those every day would rate two paws up from all the cats, I'm sure.

Are you doing anything different in your house to change up decor in honor of spring? What is your favorite way to do it, pillows, accessories, or a bigger effort involving paint and hard labor?

Have a wonderful weekend!

Michele