Long Time AWOL

Hello, all,

There was no intention to quit writing regularly, believe me, but a double whammy hit this spring that knocked all plans off course. First, Mr. B was sick for two full weeks of April. Despite being woefully unqualified, guess who got to stand in for Cherry Ames, R.N.? Life had barely recovered from the horror of tending a man with a head cold, when there came news in the mail. We got a letter from the owners of the house we rented that they had sold all their property--our house, another one next door and small 4-unit apartment building behind us--and would be closing before 1 June. EEK!

The good news is that the Houston economy is doing great. The bad news is that since things are going well there is nearly full occupancy and it is very hard to find a place not sold or rented the first day it went on the market, so we knew it would be a challenge and probably impossible to stay in the same area. Both these facts were true. We did find a house online that had many good points and an equal number of negative ones. After a frustrating six day wait while the agent ignored phone calls, e-mail and texts, contact was made. We applied, were accepted and put down a deposit. Starting on June 13, every single day I made at least one, if not more trips to the new house hauling things in my car. Meanwhile, this was our life:

Every day I hauled boxes in my car. On the weekend Mr. B borrowed the company pick up and we filled it with boxes and small pieces. The hired movers came on June 21. When they finished we STILL had lots of stuff at the old house, including two cats. It turns out I ended up going there daily until this past Tuesday, when a son came to town to retrieve his sister's car she had loaned me. It was a horrible experience that felt like it was never going to end. AND, just so you don't think we were stubbornly determined to take every rusty paper clip or broken rubber band each day there was also something donated, discarded or left with a Curb Alert to the local FreeCycle. We gave away tons of stuff, yet still it went on. And on. My friend says your old house becomes like the clown car at the circus when you move, and nothing about this event disproved her theory. 

Highlights/lowlights. Three service men appeared hours early, so there wasn't as much waiting as anticipated. On the other hand, getting the newspaper delivered was a challenge. 

Three days after we'd officially moved in with the furniture and slept here I found one cat at the now empty house in a lower kitchen cabinet. Poor Freddie was paralyzed with fear. He was easy to stuff in a carrier in that state. A trap caught the remaining elusive feral, Tilly. Mr. B got a ticket for speeding trying to rush her home that evening. 

The movers were great and patiently waited as they assembled our bed when I raced in to put the dust ruffle down before they laid the mattress on top of the box spring.

Other good news: this place is about twice as big as the former one with two full bathrooms. There are not enough words for the delight of no long having to share. It is also literally five minutes from where Mr. B works, so the relief from the stress of his commute is already starting to have an effect. The listener to his monologues railing against TXDOT is pretty happy too. 

Bad news: the house is well, ugly and on a busy corner. Otoh, before we were right next to an entrance ramp onto I45, so we're used to loud. It also has no front yard or garage. Weird, huh? 

Good news: the kitchen is larger. There are enough extra rooms that Mr. B has one just for an art studio. The living room is huge and at the back of the house, so away from the fray. That leaves the first room you enter for me to be a library, whoo hoo!

Other good news: because it's larger there are lots more spaces to decorate and excuses to shop. Not to mention the undeniable fact that if the owners hadn't decided to sell, I would never have gotten my other half out of the tiny settled-for place we landed post Ike.

I will stop for now, but will show you some of what we're dealing with in the coming week, with pictures of problem areas and others that have come together fairly easily. 

Have a great weekend!

Michele

Out of step

Hello, all, and a wonderful Tuesday to you.

It's probably time to make a confession. Despite the overwhelming love all over the blogosphere, chalkboard paint doesn't do a thing for me. Furthermore, nor does burlap make me happy. Now this admission has been made it wouldn't surprise me to hear a mob beating on the door, ready to tar and feather anyone who would admit to such heresy, but it is the truth. Not long ago, though, at my regular haunt, Sand Dollar, there was something that does make me excited, and for under a dollar, at that. A couple of things, actually. 

There were three of these plain clipboards for .90 cents. But wait, there's more!

No, not the sleeping black cat, the big roll of cork next to him was also .90 cents. I love cork. It is such an interesting and natural material, what's not to like?

A little glue and some scissors, some twine to hang it up and my board is newly chic. At least to me. There was a lot left, so I used it here:

We have very little storage in the kitchen here, so years ago I bought a beat-up chest of drawers at a yard sale for $10.00. Mr. B obligingly made the removable wooden divider to separate flatware. I took out the dinner forks to show how after taking the divider out to clean it, the bottom was lined with more of the cork. It certainly makes for quieter dispersal of the pieces and it looks nice too. Why cork has never gotten the recognition it deserves is a mystery to me. It's a wonderful thing!

Take it easy,

Michele

Finally fixed

Hello, friends,

I hope your week is off to a good start. It is beautiful here now, after a cool early morning.

A while back I bought an item with a small flaw that seemed would be easy to repair.  It was this:

I like polka dots, so this caught my eye immediately. The only thing wrong with it was a scrape off the leather on the top left fastener for the handle. That didn't seem like a big deal to me--just buy a marker the same color and voila, no more white bit showing. Except it didn't work out that way. None of the markers really matched. Phooey. 

Today at Target on one of the marked down shelves, what should turn up but this:

So, for the outlay of .70 cents, my dots are spiffed up, ready to go:

You can't beat an easy, cheap, cute solution!

Till next time,
Michele

A bit more decor

Hello, folks. are you TGIF-ing away? We have another beautiful day, a little cooler, too.

Yesterday I showed you some seasonal decor, but realized a couple of major areas got left out, so here they are.

This is the buffet. There are a couple of bunnies in the terrarium, enjoying the greenery and a pair of rabbit candlesticks to either side. A small lamb vase holds some vintage flowers to the right.

On the coffee table we've switched to a white wicker tray that holds the little white church, a china bunny, and a Mary Engelbreit Easter pail full of jelly beans.

I added this to the desk. The golden cloche is from last year. The cross on a chain came from a rummage sale at a local church last fall. With the aid of a small gold safety pin I suspended its chain and set it upon a candle holder base. That's my Friday effort. 

 

Have a wonderful weekend!

Michele

Ah, April!

Hello, all, how are you this rather drippy Thursday? Although I am very low on energy, I decided the dining room couldn't stay as messy as it was and began slowly to put out some Easter decor. Here is what's done so far:

I usually start with the desk. Basically, it's just a bunch of eggs under a cloche with a few others scattered around and a green plate with bunnies on the rim. The doily it's sitting on is yellow and purple, very seasonal.

The peg rack by the door has some special touches, branches of glittery beads, a cute box, more eggs and a beautiful card from a friend.

A small display on the table at one end of the sofa.

The top shelf of the bookcase with the little suitcase on it.

And a basket full of eggs safely behind bars on the dining room table. It's sitting on wicker tray that is the perfect size. That's all that's been done thus far, but there will probably be a little more before the month is done.

Take it easy,

Michele

 

Recent scores.

Hello, friends,

It is nice to have the yard sale season back again. A couple of weeks ago we went to an indoor one in the Civic Center of a nearby community. I was delighted to find this:

I read recently that microwave popcorn you buy in a bag is really unhealthy, that you should pop it yourself. This maker was brand new in the box, never used, with instructions for $5.00. It works great. Later, on the way home, we found a couple more. I got some of these items there and a few at random thrift shops in the neighborhood.

Some collectible mugs to resell, three Starbucks and one Cath Kidson. A silver cup for a small succulent, two chairs for my collection and a throw pillow for our bed that picks u the bright green in the quilt. The smaller chair is most interesting for a label on the bottom for either the owner or maker, I presume, all the way from Scotland. I like the vintage hanging sorter and love the purse with the button design. It has never been used and the buttons are super pretty irl. A small empty drawer and a trivet with a cat and a bag of miscellaneous that will show up later in a vignette, so stay tuned.

A pretty bright bird with some thoughtful words:

a pair of mugs and last for me, a container for more plants that's made to look like a basket:

Oops, almost forgot one:

This is an embroidered shade from Ikea. I love the design, but was extra delighted because it was new in the package, which informed me the actual name of the product is Alfhild Fagel. Who couldn't use one of those?

 Mr. B made a phenomenal find which I'll show you later when he's made space so it can be photographed. All things considered, the world of thrifting seems to be perking up along with the weather!

Happy hunting!
Michele

Eggs Marks the Spot

Hey, friends, how's your Tuesday? We have another beautiful day here, so it seemed like a good idea to do some switching outside. Without further ado, I give you:

The front door has a new to us egg wreath picked up at a yard sale last fall. It was hot enough still that the sale holders were ready to slash prices, so this was $3.00. I was happy to store it for six months, since it's in good shape. 

Which leaves the old one for the back door. It's probably better, since it's more sheltered and less windy there. It suffered from egg loss being battered on more turbulent days last year. Now we're set up to greet people for the Easter season. Stay tuned for more decor inside coming soon.

Are you ready to start celebrating Easter too?

Till next time,

Michele