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Recent thrift store finds:

Five volumes of a set of literature for children, published in 1909.


They have gorgeous illustrations!


I stacked up three of them on the mantel:

I also found a gorgeous, heavy, pressed-glass egg plate. Time to make some deviled eggs, I think!

I picked up a sweet little needlepoint picture of a house a couple of weeks ago, and left its mate there, but since it was still there when I went in on Monday, I decided to get it, too. I'm glad I did:

Got some good news today...the weather's all fun and blustery...and I've got a good book to read tonight while Todd plays poker...things are pretty good here. See ya~!

March marches on.

It's funny how you blink and a week has gone by, and you blink again and a month has gone by, and....etc.

Todd's parents were here from Thursday evening till Tuesday morning, and then there's just been the other everyday type of busyness, too. Todd's dad helped him put in our new bathroom floor, and Todd's mom sewed me up a gorgeous shower curtain--but the bathroom's not quite complete, and I'm not sharing pics till it is! It's looking nice, though! Just a medicine cabinet and a couple of things to hang up yet.

I've been wanting to share these pics for almost two weeks and just haven't had time to sit down and put them in that way I wanted. The "mystery man" in my last post was my brother Jeremy, who came down weekend before last for a church men's retreat in Williamsburg. He came down a day early, and he and I spent a Friday doing some geocaching, which is his mania--I mean, hobby.

We found 17 geocaches here in Newport News and across the James River over in Smithfield and Surry and in Williamsburg.

This is St. Luke's Church in Smithfield, which is the oldest English church in the U.S, built in 1632. Some friends of Todd's and mine got married there five years ago, and it was a very neat place to attend a wedding.

This was a virtual cache, which means there wasn't anything stashed there--you just had to take a picture and answer a question about one of the signs, I think.

Some tombstones in the graveyard:

On the road into Smithfield...we had lunch in town and found a couple of caches:

Daffs are blooming:

This was an odd spot on the road to Surry, a very old church that burned in the 1860s, but the ruins have been maintained:

Inside the structure (which is held together by a steel band running around it) are these piles of old bricks and some tree trunks. Like I said, it's all very odd.

More tombstones:

Then we rode the ferry back over the James River, which is always fun:


Here I am, with my arm on a birdcrap-encrusted railing, which my brother didn't bother to warn me about:

And then we ended up on the campus of the College of William and Mary, where all the students were happily anticipating their spring break:

And we strolled around Williamsburg, where Jeremy gave Thomas J. some pointers on the Declaration:

This was the last cache of the day, as the sunlight faded:

It was a really fun day--my brother is one of my top five favorite people in the world, so it was special to get to spend a rare day hanging out with him.

Looking at these pics, I'm marveling at the sunshine! It was a warm, sunny, windy day, and so nice--we have literally gone a week without a speck of sunshine. Today the sun finally came out around 10 AM, and the last time I saw it was last Wednesday. Crazy! My poor in-laws, coming down to Virginia from Ohio for a taste of spring sunshine, were totally denied. It could NOT have been more gloomy and wet and awful while they were here.

Last night it dried off long enough for Todd and me to go see Carbon Leaf play at the Newport News St. Patrick's festival. The festival was supposed to be Friday, but the weather was just too wet. It actually worked out nicely to have it on St. Patrick's Day itself, and the crowd was smaller, too. I staked out a spot right at the rail so I could see the stage, and it was awesome! As a five-foot tall person, concerts and parades are usually an unsatisfying experience for me, so I was glad we got there early and I could be right in front and watch the guys playing their instruments.

Other than that, it's just laundry and other boring stuff here. I need to do the last bits of touching up on the baseboards in the bathroom and then I'll be moving on to the trim in the master bath. I have a plan for that bathroom, wherein we'll get it done in 3-5 days, instead of 3-5 weeks. Wish me luck on that!

I found something cool at the thrift store on Monday, I'll share that later.

What I've been doing...

On Friday I spent the whole day with this mystery man:

(more about that in another post.)

Saturday at the flea market I bought this:

...and these:

On Monday, I had to give up on these:

...because they don't correct my astigmatism well enough (the reason I couldn't see all last week) and to have custom contacts made would cost a small fortune. So I ordered new glasses instead. Ah well!

We are still working on this:

...as you can see we have a new countertop and faucet (yay!) but have yet to re-mount the mirror because when we attempted it on Sunday we did this to it:

...so we had to go buy a new mirror at Lowe's and of course it's not the same size, so I had to do some more touch-up painting.

I am a little tired of looking at these:

I'm still trying to finish this:

And of course there's always this:

Currently I am ignoring this:

...in order to have a little sit-down and write this blog post. It's next on my to-do list, along with throwing together some supper (chicken-brown rice casserole.)

Hope everybody's having a good week so far.

Checking in again.

This seems to be my week to recommend things...have you tried the Scrubbing Bubbles Mega Shower Foamer? I have always used regular Scrubbing Bubbles to clean the tub and shower and various other things, but this stuff is beyond. The promo page says it "makes scrubbing virtually obsolete" and I have to say that it's true. I use a little scrubby brush when I clean the tub, but it doesn't even really work with this mega foamer stuff; it's overkill. All you really need is a nice soft cloth, and you just wipe the grime away.

I'm not usually one to rave about cleaning products, but this stuff really is fantastic.

In other shopping news, I have also been thinking a lot about Etsy and independent entrepeneurs in this weird and crazy economy we have going on right now. There are several issues meshing in my mind...the dangerousness and cheap quality of many items that are coming from China, the precariousness of small businesses, and the desire to keep even just a tiny bit of spending money here in this country where it belongs.

So there have been a couple of times in the past couple weeks when I needed something (new make-up and travel cases, body spray, a birthday gift) and instead of running to Target or Bath and Body Works, I checked Etsy first. For comparable prices, you can get something really unique (and safer, less chemical-laden, etc.) and put money directly into the pocket of someone who I'm sure can use it. So don't forget about Etsy and all the cool shops there. Not having to put on real clothes and search for a parking place and fight the crowds is just an additional bonus!

Checking in.

I don't have much to say, I've just been fumbling around here trying to get used to these lenses and battling headaches. It's been a dull and annoying week so far--I really hate not being able to see!

I just wanted to mention this very neat website called Librivox, where you can listen to public domain books being read. I had found it a couple of years ago, but only started using it recently, when I began working my way through Wilkie Collins' The Moonstone for a discussion on the Classic Literature forum at PaperbackSwap. It's a very long book and it's taking me a while to get through it, so sometimes when I'm cooking dinner or mopping the floor or folding laundry, I listen to a chapter or two on Librivox. It's absolutely free (since they're readng public domain books) and the readers are quite good. So if there's a classic you're wanting to hear, they probably have it.

The snow is melting, the sun is out, and it feels like we're back on track for spring. Over and out!

Snow.

Well, I tried to post this morning but I couldn't view the blog, so that was kind of pointless. Anyway, here are some pictures from our "big" snowstorm:


It's a lot easier to get psyched about snow and cold when you have electric power and can have hot tea and heat blowing out of the vents. Unfortunately, our power went out at 10 PM last night, so it was a mite chilly when we got up this morning. Thank goodness for the fireplace--that kept me warm till I had to venture out to see the eye doctor at 9:30. And when I got home at 10:30, the power was back on. Which is wonderful, because it's even colder tonight. I'm not sure how much snow we got in all...it kept snowing most of the day, so maybe 3"? But we'd had rain the whole day before, so there was a little ice under the snow, which was treacherous. Yeah, we're weather wussies here.

It was just such an "off" feeling day--I didn't sleep well because I didn't have my fan blowing white noise, and so I got up at 5:15 with Todd, and then I had to drive on snow and ice, which was very odd, and then I got some trial contact lenses at the eye doctor, so I wore those for a few hours and went around completely disoriented, and then I got a headache from being disoriented, so I lay down in the mid-afternoon after I took the lenses out, and then I woke up when Todd came through the door and we ate dinner late because I hadn't started it yet. Just a very out-of-the-ordinary day.

Not sure about the lenses yet--I still think I look better with glasses. And the disorientation is unpleasant. Todd says it gets better--he really likes his. I'm willing to give it a week, anyway.

Wall art.

Such a cold, dreary, rainy Saturday! Todd went to a fishing promotional thing at Bass Pro, and I drank tea and read and dozed, and then I got off my butt and put together my wall art and had Todd hang it up, and then I made blueberry-orange muffins.

Wall art: I bought a children's book at a sale or flea market or somewhere last summer that had great pictures of seashells in it, with the intent of photocopying and framing some of the pages...I finally bumped it to the top of my to-do list last week.

I had to order the mats, because Michael's doesn't cut mats in its framing department any more. When did that happen? I used to be able to go in and have them cut a mat while I waited, I'm sure of it! Plus, they were far more expensive than I'd expected, so I only got two instead of the four I was planning.

So here's the headboard and the area around it...it has been needing something on the walls, but I haven't been sure how to arrange it. So the seashell pictures are hanging on the right, I had Todd hang 'em up for me.

(Eek, naked bed! It was laundry day today!)

You can see that the area to the left is encroached upon by the curtain rod, curtains, and window, so a symmetrical arrangement isn't really possible. Do you think one more seashell picture over on the left would be a good balance?

Or would you make two more seashell pictures and hang them on the closet wall that adjoins the first two, mirroring them? So it would be an arrangement of four in the corner.


In which case I would come up with something different to hang over the left side of the bed. I think we can all agree that area needs something.

Here's a close-up of the pictures themselves, sorry the second one is crooked, but it was well above my head:

I'm very pleased with how they came out--they look much better in real life. They really dress up my little corner, with the lamp on and my books on the nightstand and my cozy blankets and pillows just waiting for me to hop in:

I've got more seashells to frame, so do let me know where you think they should go! I could put one on either side of my dresser mirror, too...decisions, decisions...

My style.

This is really fun to do, it's a quiz at a site called Sproost. You rate different pictures of rooms and then it tells you what your style is. Me, I'm:

Traditional Country

Even if your backyard isn't acres of farmland and you don't actually have a cow out in the barn, your house sure brings you back to a time when that was the case for many.

You love spaces that feel casual and lived in. Furniture is practical and comfortable, and yet at the same time its very stylish. The best part of country style is how much it highlights collection and found objects. Antiques here, garage sale finds there and Aunt Milly's hand-me-downs throughout. Unique items that used to serve very practical purposes are now on display, and their history seems to permeate the home. Each space in the home seems to invite friends and family to come in and stay a while. There is a true sense of home felt throughout.

So my style was 67% Traditional Country, 17% Wine Country Style, and 16% Mountain Lodge Style. It wasn't quite what I expected, but then, they hardly showed me any rooms that I really loved, so that made it harder to rate.

So I took it again and ended up with:

Nantucket Style

Oh how you love the beach! Who doesn't, right? And so your dream home is either perched in your favorite beach town, or you've brought that favorite beach town into your house.

Your art and accessories speak directly to the activities that are found at the beach. Pieces of driftwood you found here, pictures or paintings of the amazing views there. Things that remind you of the coast - surf boards or fishing boats - are found throughout the house. The feeling of the seaside is both abstract and literal in the design of your space. The fabrics are natural, cottons and linens and are light in color and touch. Much of the furniture is wood or wood framed (the lighter the better, think driftwood!) and wicker, when done right, is a must.

And since your true inspiration is the sea, the colors and textures in your home are the same that you would find at your favorite beach: white, light beiges and grays of the sand and driftwood, a variety of blues for the ocean and sky, and greens and vibrant blues of the sea glass, but the key is white! Your space should feel light and airy and give off the mood one has when at the beach: laid back!

Your furniture is comfortable and the layout is cozy. The more it reminds you of actually sitting on the warm sand, the better! And what do you do at the beach? Hang out with family and friends - and your home is just an extension of this play place. And though the space is filled with large white furniture, it somehow manages to feel both durable and casual.

So this time it was 40% Nantucket Style, 40% Mountain Lodge Style, and 20% Cottage Chic. Either I'm schizophrenic or this quiz is not exactly scientific. Or both! I guess Traditional Country fits me better...I'm just surprised my Cottage Chic score wasn't higher, since I am cottagey, though not exactly chic.

Anyway, after you take the quiz, then you can look at lots of furniture and accessories that fit your style. It's fun. Thanks to Ann at Our Suburban Cottage for linking it!

So what's YOUR style?

Lilies.

We're having a lovely, warm (70 degrees-ish) day here today, with spring in the air. The daffodil and narcissus bulbs I planted in November are sending up little shoots, and violas are popping up here and there.

And I found a lovely lily-of-the-valley plant at Trader Joe's today! Three little plants in a jadite-type of container. It's real glass.

They smell fantastic. I put them on my desk so I can pick them up and smell them whenever I want. What is it about those early spring flowers that makes them so cute? There's nothing cuter than a lily-of-the-valley bell, unless maybe it's the sweet little face of a viola.

Love 'em.

Alas, the clouds are moving in, the rain is coming, and the forecasters' dartboards are calling for snow this weekend. I'm not too bugged about it, because I love the cold weather and wish it would last longer, but most everyone else is bumming. But it will be 95 degrees and humid all too soon--I'm going to enjoy winter for as long as it wants to stick around!

Oh! I forgot!

Forgot to mention that lovely Staci won the tea journal, which will be going out to her tomorrow. Thanks so much for stopping by, Staci! (And everybody else.)

Thanks for the virtual pats on the back, too, again...it seems like recently I have become so much more insecure about so many things--my looks, my wardrobe, my blog, my house, my life. I never used to be like this. I always stepped to a different drummer and reveled in it, but now I feel a little uncertain. I thought you were supposed to get more confident as you got older, but I feel like I need more affirmation now than I ever, ever did before. Weird.

I wonder if somehow I expected that at a certain point I would have things figured out, and now that Forty's hot, stinky breath is on my neck (ow) and nothing's figured out at all, maybe I'm looking around and wondering if I got anything right.

Or maybe I just need a snack and a cup of tea. See ya!

Stuff.

My local thrift store mostly carries new-ish dull stuff. I usually just stop in to check out the books (they have TONS of books!) and then take a stroll around the edges and find nothing. Once or twice I've found some cute old saucers...that's about it.

But yesterday I found this for 95¢:

The frame is dinged up, so last night I taped off the middle gold bit and the outer gold bit and tried to just paint the wood part. But I ended up having to paint the inner gold edge, too. Here's what it looks like--I also rubbed it with some walnut ink on paper towel.

I honestly can't tell if I improved it or not. Paint frightens me. It's so...irrevocable.

I was thinking about sanding it a tiny bit, applying some antique gold leaf pen over that gold edge, and then hitting the whole thing with a coat of sealer. What do you think?

It looks really nice on my teal walls here in the study! I love the little cottage. There was a matching one with a barn in a snow scene, but the colors weren't quite right for my house. I may go back this morning and give it another look, though.

I'm going to ponder now...you may want to step back and put on your safety glasses....

I was talking with my friend Cheryl several weeks ago, about decluttering and getting rid of stuff, and she was saying that she could get rid of an item and still keep the memory attached to it. She didn't need to hang onto things to still have the memory.

I wish I was a little more like that! My whole house is full of things that spark a memory and that makes it harder and harder to purge or to get rid of things (esp. furniture) that don't work in this house.

That thought led me to this thought...I recently bought a couple of small vintage items from an Etsy seller, and it was a dissatisfying experience. I clicked on the screen, and they came in a box in the mail--I didn't have to go out and look for them. There was no memory attached. I still like the items and will use them, but there's something missing.

And those thoughts both came to mind in the past week or so, as I've been very heavily surfing around looking for home decorating blogs for remodeling ideas. I was honestly starting to get a complex because so many of the homes looked so grown-up. So well-coordinated and professional. Lots of bits and bobs from T.J. Maxx and Home Goods and Target, and expensive-looking Pottery Barn-ish decor. Tablescapes and little vignettes on foyer hutches. My home started to feel like a kid's house to me, like it's full of random things I've grabbed and squirreled away with no plan.

Actually, that's exactly what my home is--my DH and I are basically large kids, and our home IS full of random things we've squirreled away. That's what makes it cluttered sometimes and kind of goofy and full of memories from all our treasures.

So I decided to try not to feel bad about other people's grown-up houses. I like old stuff. I collect old stuff and books and yard sale things. I put it together the best way I know how, but it's definitely never going to look like a Pottery Barn ad.

I always like reading about the houses in The Shell Seekers by Rosamund Pilcher--there's a London house and a Cornwall cottage and a house in Majorca, I think, and she describes them all in much the same way--full of comfortable furniture and beautiful old things and good food and flowers. Sounds good to me.

This is not to say that there can't be a memory attached to a Target tchotchke. I'm sure there can. But since I like old stuff and have to make trips off the beaten path to find it, there's more of a treasure hunt aspect to the memory, and there's more likely to be a person along with me on the hunt, who then becomes all wrapped up in the memory and the warm feeling I get when I look at the item.

I really do own stuff from Target and even a duvet cover from the Pottery Barn outlet. Which isn't enough to make me hang with the cool kids, but I'm not completely averse to big-store stuff! I've started to feel uncomfortable with the "Made in China" label that's on so many of those things, though. That more than anything is what's driven me more and more to look at different sources for home items. We've gotten rid of all the unique and beautiful things that we used to make here in the U.S. But that's a pondering for another time...

Sometime soon when I have more time, I'll show off some of my favorite home decorations that have a memory. I think that might be fun!

My thrifty makeover.

Jen at Sanctuary Arts is hosting a trash-to-treasure party today, so I'm showing off my most recent trash-to-treasure project. Allow me to re-cap for any new visitors...we are sprucing up our guest bath by taking down the old wallpaper border with ducks on it, painting it green, replacing the medicine cabinet, vanity top, and floor. We had already replaced the towel rack, toilet paper holder, and light fixtures some time ago because they were so ugly, they needed emergency treatment. I still shudder at the memory of the cracked, mildewed, wooden towel bar. Yuck.

We were going to replace the vanity, too, but I couldn't really find any I liked at Lowe's or Home Depot, and neither of us wanted to pay a lot of money for something custom. So I looked around at some bloggers' bathrooms online and saw that although I hate to paint, I could paint the old vanity and save us a lot of money.

Since I forgot to take a picture before I started yanking off doors, here's a shot of our master bath vanity, which looks exactly like our guest vanity did, only even dingier. (It's due for the same treatment soon.)

I painted the whole thing white and Todd made brand-new doors and door fronts for it, which also got painted white.

When it gets a countertop put on it (on order and arriving soon), it will look even better, of course, but I think it looks much better, don't you? And with a new floor put in (also on order and arriving soon), it will be quite breathtaking!

So instead of paying $450 for a new Home Depot vanity I wasn't even that crazy about and which had much less storage, I used paint and primer I already had, and Todd used pine boards he already had, and we made it look like a different vanity for $0. All we had to buy were the new hinges and handles, and we would have had to buy those anyway, since I doubt the stock vanities come with hardware.

A question--do you think the top middle panel would look nice with one of those wooden carved applique things on it (also painted white)? The bathroom is going to be feminine and vintage, with a toile shower curtain, old sepia pictures of women and girls, china, etc. I think one might look nice, I just haven't been able to find one I like. What do you think?

Thanks for looking at my makeover!

HB2U!

Happy birthday to my sweetie, my partner in crime, my very best friend, the guy who makes me laugh and listens to my pointless ramblings and fixes everything I need him to, who makes my day happier every time he walks into the room. Love you, honey! I'm so glad you were born.