Little things I enjoy...

Getting beautiful wedding invitations in the mail...

Organizing things like this:

Into this:

Using a favorite print in a pretty frame.

Paintings done by a friend. (These were the inspiration for using blue in the guest room.)

Finally getting the rest of the frames in the master bedroom filled with wedding photos.

"Bestie" the bear.

It's great to have a home filled with little things to love and smile about. I'm so glad to be developing my home into one I truly enjoy- I'm blessed and thankful to have so many wonderful things and a cozy place to call my own.

Blessings and Happy Wednesday!

The desk area develops...

A few weeks ago I shared the below picture of the desk area in my guest room. My sister had just moved out and back to Philly and I was reclaiming the space as a creative work area.

After I was done tidying and putting things away, below was what I had to work with, which was a grand improvement.

Well this weekend I added another component: a bulletin board, which was and is to become an inspiration board of sorts. I purchased the board (Target - $9) and spray painted the trim and white washed the cork board.

I've already begun to add little bits and pieces of ephemera, photos, and the like.

With this new addition to the space, I'm really starting to feel organized and able to sit down at the desk and work on other projects, like scrapbooking and journaling. It's especially nice because the guest room is really coming together as a room I enjoy being in.

The kitties like it too. :)

Blessings and Happy Tuesday!

Two of many...

My "time out" was fantastic. I got a lot of projects checked off my list and got started on several others. I think my enjoyment of my condo seriously multiplied already with just the few projects I've gotten done and I can't wait to enjoy the completion of the ones I've started and have yet to begin.

I'm only going to share two of the projects today, both of which include thrifty treasures I posted about a couple months ago for Southern Hospitality's Thrifty Treasures. Today, however, I'm posting them for Between Naps on the Porch's Metamorphosis Monday.

On Memorial Day weekend, my Mom and I went to our first estate sale and got a trunk load of great stuff at a crazy total price of $15. Something that we both got to enjoy by splitting them between us was a stack of trays.

Below is one of the trays I got. I had no intention of keeping it as is, though I did take a close up picture of the two flower designs for inspirational purposes. At the time of purchase, I figured I would end up spray painting the trays, but I didn't know where they'd be used yet.

Well, this weekend the first tray (the one above) got spray painted and found a home in my guest room. The guest room is a bright green and I have lots of black and white, but have also started to add cobalt blue as an accent.

So I spray painted the tray white and then in order to set it off from the white dresser I painted black trim around the edge. The framed pieces above the dresser used to be above the bed, but I'd never been satisfied with having them there so I moved them to this new place, which I like so much more.

The second project started with the two green bottles seen below amongst a $1 tub of glass miscellany.

After a good wipe down, here they are ready for my project. I love the shape and I have seen others turn great bottles into lamps, so that was my desired plan for these.

The lamp kits were just under $6 at Walmart. These were really easy to assemble- just read the instructions and away you go! I chose not to drill holes in the bottles for the wires but just set the lamp kit into the bottle opening and let the wires fall to the back.

Then I added white lamp shades from Target ($5.99/e) and I've got two custom lamps for under $15 a piece (less than 50 cents each for the bottles, $6/e for the lamp kits, $6/e for the lamp shades, and bulbs I already had on hand).

This is what the nightstands in the guest room looked like before...

And here is one side with one of the new lamps...

And then finished off with some boxes, which I kind of collect, and a couple tiny vases (all of which were either gifted or bought at thrift stores for 50 cents or less a piece). The other side has an alarm clock to one side of the lamp and a stack of more boxes on the other side.

These are pretty small, simple changes, but they've really made an impact on the room. I made another change in the guest room that I'll share tomorrow or later in the week, but for now head on over to Between Naps on the Porch for some inspirational DIY projects.

Blessings and Happy Monday!

TG Friday

This week I thank God for... cupcakes, watermelon, cuddly cats, my silly husband, the act of prayer, air conditioning, a clean house, a made bed, my job, inspiration, motivation, a project list to keep me on track, checking items off the project list, ephemera sorting, reading stuff I wrote years ago, remembering who I used to be, and being thankful for how much I've grown and changed, for people to lean on and people to lift me up, for lavender sunsets, for love, and for faith.

Blessings, Happy Friday, and Happy Weekend!

Ephemera Junkie

Wow, I've been quite overwhelmed the past few days with things I really want to be working on (ha, past few days, try for practically forever). So many projects, so little time!

There is one project in particular that I'll probably start tonight, and that is sorting through the ephemera I have accumulated over a period of several years. I love paper, so it kind of makes sense that I would have all this stuff saved up.

Some of the stuff shown in these pictures isn't actually ephemera, and although a lot of it probably could have been tossed a long time ago, some of it is going to find a new purpose in life through use in an ephemera journal.

Ephemera is defined as "those bits of throwaway paper of every day life," meaning they aren't really meant to be kept, but a lot of it is sentimental to me- like concert tickets, play bills, and so forth. I used to keep such things to use in scrapbooking, but as you can see, a lot of the scrapbooking hasn't been done yet.So I'll be sorting through all this (and other piles I probably have elsewhere) and will likely throw away (aka shred/recycle) some of it, but the rest will be honored as paper tidbits of memories of events gone by.

I think it will be a cool creative project and maybe I'll share if things turn out well. I've got some old yearbooks I'm planning to use as the journal/base part of it, so it will be an adventure in book altering as well.

Book altering, art journaling, scrapbooking, and the added bonus of decluttering = potential to be a really awesome project!

Blessings and Happy Thursday!

A little adventure...

Last week before I went to Vermont, one of the Captains that eats lunch in the breakroom at the same time as me said he read an article in the Travel Section of The Washington Post about a place in Vermont. I found the paper in dispatch and read the article, finding that the place was Bellows Falls, or more specifically, Vilas Bridge in Bellows Falls. I told him, kind of jokingly, that while I was home I would go to the place and take a picture for him.

Well, I happen to have family in Bellows Falls, but it's also kind of on the way to Manchester, where Sister and I went to Smirkus. So, after the circus on Thursday, sister and I took a little trip to Bellows Falls to find this place and take a picture for the Captain.

Once we got to Bellows Falls, we drove around in all directions trying to find the bridge because we kept seeing signs that the bridge was closed and there was a detour.

Finally we decided to park, near where we thought was close, and walk to our destination.

After a false alarm that we had found the wrong bridge, we kept walking and finally made it to the right bridge where I was relieved to find the bridge was only closed to vehicle traffic and that were able to see what we were looking for.

What we were looking for specifically were petroglyphs that were mentioned in the Washington Post article. The photo below is taken from the south side of the bridge when standing next to the above plaque.

If you look closely in the lower right corner of the photo below, there are some rocks that have yellow "blazes" on them.

Go ahead, lean on in and look a little closer.

Or just look at the next two pictures, which make it a lot easier to see.

It was a pretty cool place to look out over. On one side were the petroglyphs, and on the other was water rushing and crashing the way in which water rushes and crashes after the amount of rain Vermont had apparently been getting in recent weeks.Of course I had to have a picture of myself on the bridge, you know, to prove I was there. Not that you can really tell this is me because I look so miniscule!Aw well, at lunch on Monday they looked at the photos, never questioned if I was actually there, and we all agreed that it was probably just some bored fisherman who carved the petroglyphs, rather than the more far fetched stories of myth that were stated in the article.

It was a fun little treasure hunt and it felt good to say I was going to do something, even if it was kind of jokingly, and then actually do it.

Blessings and Happy Wednesday!

Running away to join the Smirkus... but just for a day!

On Thursday while I was home, my sister and I went to Circus Smirkus. My sister worked for Smirkus for a couple summers in concessions and those that know her and are still there miss her very much- if it wasn't for the apprenticeship in Philly, she'd be touring again this summer.

Although Smirkus is internationally known, it only travels through New England and parts of New York. The big kicker about this circus is that all of the performers are ages eighteen and under.

It's awesome to visit Smirkus. It's a fun and casual atmosphere, plus they are always located in beautiful locations, such as the one we visited on Saturday in Manchester, VT.

This year's tour is called Smirkus Ever After: A Big Top Fairytale and one of the prizes upon entry into the Big Top were clown noses. My sister and I look just fabulous as clowns... hmm, I think that says something about our general nature.
At any circus I attend, my favorite acts are almost always the aerial acts.

I think it's amazing how they wrap their limbs up just right and then pretty much fly around the ring, sometimes wrapping themselves way up and then dropping back towards the ground below.

Not to mention the ways in which they contort their bodies while they're flying through the air!Smirkus is totally a family friendly atmosphere. It's casual, fun, and interactive. The performances are great and are even better when you remember that these are just kids doing all these things!

Sister did a little showing off of her own, proving that making cotton candy is just like riding a bike- even if you haven't done it for awhile, it all comes right back to you.

It was a fun day at the circus, followed by a bit of a treasure hunt, which I'll post about tomorrow.

So, if you're ever in New England in summer, see if Smirkus is stopping in a town near you. You wont be disappointed!

Blessings and Happy Tuesday!

A fanstastic few...

One of the main reasons I went home to Vermont this past weekend was for the annual Flea Market in my hometown on Saturday. I hadn't been to it in a few years and was excited to see what I could find within the parameters of my developing "decorating sense."

Sadly, I didn't end up with much... at least not material wise. The day was filled with good times with family, so that made up for my lack of things to share.

Mom, Grama, and I started the morning yard saling. This place below wins for the best view from a sale.

After we had practically filled Mom's car with loot, more hers and Grama's than mine, we made our way to the actual Flea Market. On this day, traffic is hectic in the small town I grew up in...

And the two town greens are filled with people selling their wares, from average joes to dealers.

Before we walked around, Mom, Sister, and I made a very important stop to the Fish and Game chicken BBQ. It's a Flea Market tradition. Members of the Fish and Game, including my Grampa, sell tickets and people line up to pick up their half a chicken, salad, chips, roll, and lemonade.

It is one delicious tradition.

After we finished our BBQ, we made our way around the Flea Market. In general, I didn't see anything that really rocked my boat. And if something just tipped it a little, it was priced to high for my taste. I can be frugal, but really I just don't see the sense in buying something you don't really, really want for more than you'd like to spend.

Though I do wish I had $75 to spare because there was a GORGEOUS set of three fire king jadite bowls at one of the last tables we passed. I was sad not to be able to shop them up, especially because I really, really wanted them, but look forward to some day having the extra cash to purchase such items. $75 for three bowls just isn't in my budget right now, no matter how much I loved them.

Below are the treasures I did end up with: an AWESOME lamp and a couple of "knick knacks," as my husband calls them.

I'm especially fond of this knick knack, which was fifty cents, as was the little bowl above.

This lamp is like ones I've loved in other people's homes and am so glad to have! I bought it from someone we knew- actually it was our first purchase- and we got it at the great price of $2. I'm not sure if it works, she hadn't used it in years, but it's just a lamp kit so I think I can fix the mechanical part quite easily if it turns out it doesn't work.

In total, I spent $4 - $3 for the stuff above and a $1 on a basket for my Mom to replace one she had that she had given to me.

EDIT: I paid three dollars for the stuff above, 50 cents for Mom's basket, and 50 cents on a plastic organizer thingy. I don't know how I don't remember such things, but fortunately I was reminded when I went to put the plastic organizer away today!

Now because my prizes are few, I'll share one last thing, which my Mom almost drove away without, but after Grama asked her "are you going to wish you had bought it?" and I assured her we could get it in the car, she got back out and paid the $10.

It's a great old desk, which needs just a little sticker removal and some paint on the inside, and she already has dreams of filling it with crafty items for when future grandkids come to play in her sewing palace with her. I think it's a great investment and it certainly wont go unused.

So that was my weekend in terms of thrifting. I'm super happy with my finds, even though they are few.

Head on over to Southern Hospitality for more thrifty finds and stay tuned to see if I ever get somewhere to buy all the lamp shades I'm finding myself in need of!

Blessings and Happy Monday!