One Person's Trash . . .

Whoever said "One person's trash is another person's treasure" must have been to Round Top, TX for the Antique Festival. Mixed in with all the beautiful, fine antiques was also a healthy dose of what many would consider "junk". One of my favorite things to do is to sort through that stuff to see what kind if treasures might be hidden in the piles. This year was no different. I was able to find a few items to re-purpose into something that I hope will be pretty---or at least whimsical. I love cobalt glass and found a few small bottles with interesting shapes.

This little table was a steal at just $15 and the terrarium was purchased at a booth that was filled with pretty inspiration! (sorry for the dust--I haven't cleaned the glass yet) I'm not sure if I can keep real plants alive in it or not, but perhaps other treasures would look great in there instead.

The other ladies surprised me with a set of Turkey Dessert plates!!! They will look great with the dinner plates I've already collected----thank you so much, friends!

This is the newest collection I've decided to keep my eyes open for---dessert plates from the "Friendly Village" transferware. They feature different seasons, but I want to collect the Spring/Summer ones since I already have dishes to use for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. I found 3 dessert plates this trip.

And my favorite find was this little pitcher with 3 juice glasses. Given my love of birds, it just seemed to have my name written all over it!

Warrenton Warriors

Yesterday I returned from my annual trip to the Warrenton/Round Top Antiques Festival. I go down with a great group of ladies for the preview weekend and we always have a such a good time. This year was no exception. None of us were really looking for anything in particular, but as usual, we managed to find plenty of bargains and make time for good food and "show and tell" at the end of each day. Here are a few highlights: We all exchange small gifts of some sort. This year, I made scarves to match our turquoise shirts---and since it has become a tradition for me to make something with oilcloth, I made these nail file holders.


We stayed at our favorite farmhouse again, and were joined by these little guys as we took pictures near the fence.


The weather was wonderful, but quite breezy.


There were all kind of treasures to be found.


And of course there were plenty of stories and lots of laughter.


Hey girls! What about shirts like this for next year ?!?!??!

Blogger Re-Do

Made a new background and header this afternoon. What do you think?

Birds and Buds

A few more photos from yesterday---birds and flowers that are sure to signal the beginning of spring.

Picnic Lunch

As you know, this year I have spent most of my Monday lunch breaks, enjoying a picnic at Caddo Lake Park--as you can see, the food certainly isn't glamorous.
But, since purchasing my iPhone, I find that it's a great place to check my daily blog roll.
I usually try to bring my camera bag with me on Mondays, too. Today, as I ate enjoyed my few minutes of quiet, I noticed that I was not alone. There was another guest enjoying the view as he ate his lunch.
Yep, the squirrel that I've unsuccessfully tried to photograph on so many previous occasions suddenly scampered up a post by the edge of the lake. Being near a trash can, he had to scavenge a bit here and there, but he seems to enjoy his picnic spot much as I do!

Callie's Room Revealed

An update on the bedroom re-do--
Here are the "before" shots again:
The re-do included: sewing new bedding and window coverings, re-upholstery of the chair, the new lamp, addition of molding near the ceiling, new paint and hardware on the small table, a re-purposed rug, the splurge of the buttoned bolster pillow from Target, the addition of a few vintage accessories (like the bottle rack and spinning rack), 2 loads to Goodwill and LOTS of cleaning.

Here are the "after" shots:(yes, I know the dust ruffle is crooked in the picture---it's fixed in real life)

I was able to get things done just in time to host Valine and her daughter(Maegan stayed in here). Tonight four friends of Callie's (part of a touring band) will be staying here before heading back to Chapel Hill, NC.

A few things still on my "to do" list:
--a small table/bench
--artwork or wall-hangings (not sure what or where yet---right now everything is just hanging on existing nails)
--a few more pillows that are currently under construction
--painting all the woodwork white

Spring is Here???

Today is the first full day of spring. But, judging from the sudden change in weather yesterday, I'm now wondering. I had a great weekend with Valine and her daughter, Maegan.But, now it is COLD outside and has been snowing all day. For an area that rarely gets ANY snow, it's hard to believe that this is the third time it has snowed this year. The ground is too warm for any of it to stick this time, but it made for a chilly day to wear spring clothes! After church, I found this young robin sitting on my fence. He seemed to be a bit confused (and perhaps miffed) about the snow flurries swirling around him.

Pottery Barn Lamp Knockoff

I've been coveting this lamp in the Pottery Barn catalog.

Pottery Barn

While the price is not terrible, it is way out of my price range right now, but I haven't been able to find anything else comparable at a lower price. I decided to hit the Goodwill Store nearby and see if I could find anything that could be transformed. I found this for $4:

While certainly not the same unique shape, it could be kind of interesting and it already had a hole drilled in the side of it. I took the top to a glass store and asked them to drill a hole in the lid. I thought this would be a rather simple task, but apparently it must be quite complicated because one day and $16 later----that's right, $16 (I thought I had misunderstood the lady--surely she meant $6?!?! Nope!)----I have this.

Despite the inflated cost of drilling a hole, the total cost was only $37.50----Much better than the $99 price tag at PB!

Chair Re-Do

I've been sick all day today. I can't tell if it's whatever is blooming outside right now, or the fact that I've been cleaning and stirring up old dust, but today my allergies got the best of me. Despite medicine, my eyes and nose were like faucets all day long.

I did, however, manage to complete a couple of projects. The first was the re-do of an antique chair. Several years ago, Callie begged me to rescue this chair from the storage unit in Atlanta where Don & Sally had stored it. It once belonged to my grandparents and it was pretty rickety, but it had so much character!Of course, I didn't realize what was underneath

or I might not have done it today, but once I got started, I hated to leave it halfway undone. So, I ripped off the lining and improvised webbing (since Hancock's was completely out). I decided to leave the horsehair stuffing and burlap covering on top intact and just added a few layers of batting before covering it with fabric and gluing the top back together. I'm quite pleased with the finished product!!

Spring Wreaths

I was inspired by this post to do a Pottery Barn inspired wreath for my carport door. I took an plain grapevine wreath and spray-painted it green. I didn't worry too much about covering the whole thing since it would be covered with moss.Next, I glued moss on the entire wreath and then also lightly sprayed it green.From the Dollar Tree, I found sprigs of "berries" and after cutting them into small pieces, I glued them randomly on the wreath.Finally, I wired an old "bird's egg wreath" to the center to create a fresh new wreath (and the whole thing only cost me $3 since I already had everything except the moss and berries).
And speaking of wreaths, you may remember this wreath from last year:
While I liked the idea of it and the process of making it, it was one of those things that kind of took on a life of its own. Besides ending up way too big for my door, with the constant open/closing, it began to lose its shape as the summer went on. I did save it however, so today I recycled parts of it to make this wreath. The size is more appropriate, it is much sturdier and I love it! The best part---it was completely free!