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Friday, June 26, 2009

A Finish!!

TGIF!! This week has been a slow moving one for me for some reason. I really need the weekend to go slow too. I'm leaving on vacation next Thursday and I have a ton to get done before then! There is cooking so I don't have to do it while I'm there, laundry, packing, stash packing, cleaning so I can come home to a somewhat clean house, (Dan's not going so I never know what it will look like when I get home), getting the dog to the vet for shots, checking out a photography studio for Amy's senior pictures, not to mention I have to work today, tomorrow and next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Wish me luck!

We had a storm roll through here the other day. Nothing too serious, I managed to make it home and in the house with about 30 seconds to spare before the hurricane force winds blew through. After the storm, I looked outside and saw this lovely sight:



I finished the new freebie by Paulette at Plum Street Samplers. It was a quick stitch and so cute. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with this piece when I started it.
A flat fold, a small pillow, frame it.....then I got it off the q-snaps and it hit me, a brick!! It was the perfect size and shape to put on the front of a brick! It would make an awesome door stop! So yesterday when I should have been framing customers projects, I worked on mine instead. Here is the finished piece. I haven't done something like this before so I wasn't sure how it would work. What do you think?





I like it. A Lot! Can't wait to show it at Last Saturday stitching tomorrow. Speaking of stitching, why didn't someone out there in blogdom tell me what the thread pack for the Peace Sampler by A Stitchers Hand was going to run me? $240.00!!! Are you kidding me?? How am I supposed to justify that expense to Dan? He's a pretty understanding man but come on...$240.00 bucks! Even he will sh*t a brick on that one! :) Sorry couldn't resist the pun.

Well friends, I best get a move on. I need to eat breakfast, check out blogs, make a grocery list, clean up the kitchen, figure out what to make for supper tonight and head to work. You all have a great day and a fantastic weekend if I don't talk to ya before Monday. Thanks for stopping by and an extra thanks for posting!

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Thrifty Finds

Happy Tuesday! I thought I would share my thrift store finds from Saturday since I don't really have any stitching to share today. I've been too busy to stitch a whole lot. First, let me say that thrift shopping with my husband is always an experience. He digs through every little thing, every box, every bin. He looks up high and way down low. Which I guess isn't a bad thing in a thrifting partner except he has a tendency to find the strangest, most oddball things in the store and then he wants to bring them home. To my house. Like I don't have enough crap of my own, now I have to find a place for his latest gonkculator (his word) or doodad. There was this one item he wanted at the first store. He wanted it baaaad. I wouldn't have given it a second glance. But Dan, he takes it down off the highest shelf, starts playing with all the parts, ooohing and ahing over the thing like it's a newborn baby or a cute little puppy. I left him to his fun and went to browse the books. Pretty soon he calls me over and says I want to show you something and he takes this tall piece of metal down off the shelf and asks me what I think it is. I got nothing. Finally I say, is it a drill press?? Giving me a disgusted look he rolls his eyes and says no, it's a wine bottle opener. Wouldn't it be great for mom for Christmas??? It would look so cool sitting on a bar. Sure Dan, except your mom doesn't have a bar. "Does it even work?" I ask. The excited look fades from his face ( it's kind of like kicking a puppy) and he shakes his head no and says, I don't think so. But he starts showing me how it would work if it did work. Yeah, that's cool Dan, come over here and look at these old smelly football cleats. Aren't these sweet? Reluctantly, he put the cool wine bottle opener back up on the shelf and came over to check out the cleats. I checked the internet when we got home and found something similar to what he was looking at. It's actually an expensive little item. If it worked, and his mom had a bar to sit it on it might have been a great Christmas present. Here's a picture I found of Dan's treasure:


If you read my previous post, you know our mission for the day was to find a bed frame, headboard and possibly a footboard for Abby. We didn't find that at the first store we went to but I did manage to find these there:


The amber plate and pedestal bowl caught my eye. I'm a sucker for glassware and I thought they would look great in my diningroom. Here's a shot of the whole area. Not sure if this is where they will stay but for now it's all good.


I also found this little silver dish. No particular need for it but I thought it was cute and so I brought it home with me.


It's currently in the kitchen hutch. The general consensus is I should use it for mints or jewelry.


You can almost see it there on the middle shelf. If you have your readers on and enlarge the picture anyway!

After the first store, we headed over to the Salvation Army. Browsed that store for a long time and I kept pointing out things to Dan and saying, ya know that would be really cool if we painted it up nicely. Whereupon he would show me some freaky little item he had found and say, if you decide to buy something here I'll get this too. Back went my cool little find cuz no way was his freaky thing coming home! No bed to be found at the SA so we moved on to Thrift America. Lots of neat furniture items and shelves there and two 4 poster beds in the correct size. I called Abby to get her opinion on the 4 poster style. "I was thinking more of a sleigh bed mom." Right, at the thrift store. Are you kidding me?? Bought some books for vacation but passed on the 4 poster. Off to another GW to see what they had. This store was busy. Really busy. I sent Dan over to the furniture area while I started perusing the glassware. Pretty soon he comes over and wants to show me something. "They have a bed?" I ask. No, they have a neat old dresser with a mirror and a rocking chair but no beds. OOOKay.....you were supposed to look for a bed. What do you want to show me this time. He takes me over to the small appliances, bends over and picks up this brightly colored box. It says Rival Ice Cream Maker on it. I see. What are you going to do with that I ask. He says he thinks it would be fun to make ice cream when we go on vacation. But I'll only get it if you buy something here. So now it's on my shoulders. I finishing browsing the store quickly, hoping that nothing catches my eye and then just as I was about to say lets go.....I see a white basket just the right size and shape for holding cross stitch charts at the shop. Crap. Taking the basket, I tell Dan to go get his ice cream maker and to meet me in line. You would think I had given him a hundred bucks or something. Doesn't take much to make my man happy. This is Dan's treasure for the day.


And this is Dan using his treasure on Sunday:


The ice cream was delicious btw but I have no idea where I am going to store the thing!

By this time it is getting late and I have a hair appointment I have to be at so we decide to head home. I tell Dan to take Abby back to Thrift America and let her decide whether she wants the 4 poster or not and I head off to my appointment. When I got home, Dan was in the garage. He was already painting the bed. Did you take a before picture sweetie? No, I didn't think about it was his response. So, I'm sorry but you will have to imagine the cream and gold french provincial look it had before it's makeover. This is what it looks like now.


and....


Looks pretty good for $60.00. We also fixed the lamp that Abby found for free when she was out with her friends garage saling. It needed a new cord. Pretty cool light I think.


That's it for our weekend of thrifting. Dan is still talking about his wine opener find. I'm not sure we've seen the last of that one.

Gotta head to piano lessons with Amy so I best get a move on.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!