A Quick Before & After

Here is a vintage chair that I watched at Goodwill for a few weeks and then purchased at 50% off for $3.50. This chair has layers and layers of paint on it and old decoupaged fabric flowers.

After buying it, I went down the road to Class and Trash to find a scarf of some sort to go on it...found for $1 this trim from an old pillowcase. Total $4.50, oh and of course I used paint from a gallon of Oops paint at Home Depot (always check the Oops ((mixed then unwanted)) paint, it's $5 for a gallon).

BEFORE

AFTER

Toodles!

The Suitcase of Fun

Here are the much anticipated ;0) pictures of all of the FREE linens that were in the suitcase that I bought in this post. It was a blast watching my 2 dd's going through all of these vintage things and squealing with delight as they tried on the nightgowns and aprons! It was like Christmas!

Sorry about the wonky colors in the pictures.



I think she's my favorite and boy was she someone else's favorite as well! Here they all are after I washed them by hand in Oxy-Clean at two different times...

There were 120 things in here!

• 9 aprons


• 1 pr. curtains


• 1 vintage baby bib


• 3 prs. ladies gloves


• 3 crocheted pot holders


• 18 cloth napkins


• 1 heart pillow pincushion


• 4 patches


• 1 tiny bird scarf


• 1 satin jewelry bag


• 1 crocheted black purse


• 1 pink tablecloth


• 1 retro plastic birthday tablecloth


• 1 bun warmer


• 1 very old embroidered picture


• 1 crocheted baby sweater


• 1 pr. petti-pants


• 2 babydoll dresses


• 3 nightgowns


• 2 very old bed jackets


• 15 handkerchiefs


• 1 dressy black cape


• 15 hand towels


• 14 table runners/scarves


• 18 ladies scarves & souvenir scarves


• 1 pillowcase

Also, I am loving my suitcases and have used them quite a bit already...still looking for the traincase to match!

A Week-long Yard Sale

This was a sale of things left over from an antique store or flea market. Their many things were left out all week long (even in the rain - yikes!) and were half of the marked price...

I bought this chair for $2! Ok, so some people can't believe that I actually PAID for this chair, but my oldest dd literally said, "Oh that's gorgeous!". Yes, she knows beauty...well, it WILL be beautiful after I repaint it and my mom re-covers it.

The plate was .13 and the paper placemat doilies were .13 (yes, half of .25)!

This vintage tissue box was $1, the round paper doilies were .13, and the VERY OLD and well loved hamper was $3.50. It is perfectly shabby!

This stool was $3 (my girls are using it as it is-they insisted- beside their bed), the cute vintage hankie was .25 and so was the child's gold necklace.

Just in case you haven't gotten a good look at the chair...

I have now sanded the chair and taken out the old horsehair and burlap that was covering the springs. I will show an after picture in a few weeks (hopefully).

The first time that I went to this sale I was looking at some newly embroidered pillowcases and the (older lady) seller asked if I knew how to embroider. When I said that I didn't, she insisted that she teach me, so I told her that I didn't have time that day, but I would surely be back to her sale later in the week. Well, as soon as she saw me, she had her supplies ready and started in on showing me how to embroider (I did pay a little bit of attention as I was scanning all of the new things that she had put out to sell). Just another bonus to thrifting!

A Day of Fame...

I have been a little GIDDY today after getting a very sweet comment from The Style Sisters telling me that they featured MY BLOG...MY BLOG on their blog! You just have to take a look at their website and make sure to look at ME on THEIR BLOG! Just Maybe I'll start gettin' a few more comments...Hee! Hee! Thanks so much girls!

One Day in May ♥

Yes, I am waaaaay behind in my blog posts, but am slowly trying to catch up!

Well, my mom and I went on a thrifting field trip around Richmond a couple of months ago...just the two of us. It was an awesome day, but I swear it went by so fast that it felt like we were out for an hour instead of 6. Anyway, we started at the River City Diner where it took a long time to get served, but the food was wonderful and then went to The Family Thrift Center which I LOVED, For the Love of Jesus Thrift, Diversity Thrift, Salvation Army, & I'm sure a Goodwill was in there somewhere.This $3 lamp is for the river to kinda match some others that we have there, the $1 Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is for me b/c I ♥ the OBX AND lighthouses, the acrylic wedding stamps were .50, the sweet MRS pillowcase was .50...I'm guessing the MR got rid of this since there wasn't a pair ;o), the plates are for my plate garden border that I'm working on and were .25-.45... ♥ the calendar plates, the frog pots ( ♥ frogs) were .50 each, and the little metal chair was $2.50, oh and the vase was .50.

I couldn't pass up these 2 dresses for both my daughters...they each were $2.00-eyelet & flamingos, the flamingo capris (potential eBay item b/c they're too big) were $2.98, the dress with the sailboats fishing for martinis was $5 and is so perfect for the river.Don't you just ♥ it when a thrift store item is marked down?!

My girls know to look for the color of the week that's 50% off when we walk into Goodwill and they will yell out "look for GREEN!" or whatever color it is very LOUDLY. This used to make me want to dive under the nearest clothing rack, but now I think it's cute & I feel a little proud.

This lilac rose printed duvet was $3!!! And so perfect for the girls' bed...they ♥ it!

So we found a few things, but the best thing of all was spending time with my mom and doing something we both enjoy!

And can you tell that I'm excited about learning the code for " ♥ "?

My Lucky Charms

I don't usually get my 2 little ones up early on Sat. morning to go with me to yard sales, but a couple of weeks ago, I had to. There was a yard sale where an "antique yard sale" right down the road from me and I was going to be there come hell or high water. Don't get me wrong, I love spending time with my girls, but when it comes to shopping of any sort, my youngest usually lasts only about 60 seconds and my oldest about 15 minutes. But anyway, they both ended up going with me this day and I ended up calling them my "lucky charms". Okay, this is what you really want to know:

• King sized wedding ring quilt (exc. cond.) $2
• Vintage blue & white square tablecloth $1
• Very old handmade quilt top (for mom to make lap quilts from)$2
• Hooked rug (to match my other 2 and in great cond.)$7
• Old Coffee Bean Bin $7
• Vanity stool/chair (to go with this) $7
• 5 Boyds Bear animals and 4 access. $13
• Vintage metal kitchen cart (was very wobbly, but used a screwdriver-ingenious) $1
• Beaded purse (the girls bought for themselves to share-yeah right) $2
• 8 clothing items for ME (brand new) $1-$2 each
• 4 "B" hankies (still in vintage box) $1
• Shabby chic frame (with 12.99 sticker on) .50
• 2 sweet dresses for my youngest $4 each
• Large trellis trimmed picture frame $2
• 2 primitive Christmas pillows (for holiday stock at The Porch).50 each
• Plate for my flower garden border .10
• Lilly Pulitzer (love her) acorn pants (new & to sell on eBay) $5
  

So this was an awesome day AND the girls HAD FUN! It was a win-win situation! I think they may go with me again...soon!

Berry Picking

Picking our own berries is one of the simpler things in life that I really enjoy, it just seems so rewarding to me. My sister-in-law and I took our kids to pick berries at this farm, called Pleasant Fields. And although the kids enjoyed it for a little while, they were over it after the first hour in the 98 degree heat. So, my sis-in-law and I kept on for another half an hour while our children watched from the air conditioned van (while jumping out every few minutes to grab a berry snack).

Another reason to pick your own berries...you get to eat as many as your stomach will allow while you're picking!

And although, by the time I had finished sweating out 95% of my body's water, I just about had to have my clothing surgically removed, but... I had these!

Seriously though, it's just so rewarding to pick your own food and thrifty too (total for berries $16...$2 a pint)!

A great trip to Goodwill...seeing beyond the existing color

If you're not any good at seeing beyond the present color of a piece of furniture...here is the time to start! My oldest daughter and I made a trip to Goodwill the other day and somehow this vanity "jumped out" at me. I had to laugh when my friend, Lisa, asked how I was able to find this! I mean who couldn't see this a mile away?! As neon as it looks, I fell in love with it instantly, picturing it in peony pink or robins egg blue...immediately I could see a little girl in her shabby chic room sitting at her vanity admiring her little princess self in the mirror (that I would find later). When I saw the price tag of $20, I grabbed the tag as fast as I could. After getting it home, my daughters were upset when I mentioned painting it...they thought it looked perfect like this and especially for their room! Well, I had to burst their bubble and told them that I would certainly paint it and then probably sell it. My oldest thinks it would look cute in a two-toned green and blue. I'll show you how it looks when I'm done and I'll let you know if I'm going to sell it after it's painted...I'll have to bribe my children... Anyway, always keep your mind open and think outside of the box. I promise you that I've had to train myself to think this way.

By the way, this is a very old vanity & in great shape for it's age. It had the original wooden wheels, but unfortunately I have broken 2 off trying to move it around.
Sorry, I should have ironed first, but in the same trip, I found for $4 each, the vintage green skirt with pink frogs...I literally exclaimed, "Oh this is soooo me!" and didn't realize how loud I was until I heard a few women around me chuckle. This skirt even has the built in petti-pants trimmed in eyelet. Also, I found the Lilly Pulitzer (my favorite designer) green gingham skirt. I think I'll sell this on eBay as it is a little snug (it's a sz.2 if anyone is interested ;0).

My oldest found these 3 dresses for herself, all for $4 each. She gets very excited over finding great deals at Goodwill! I'm teaching her young to be a thrifty shopper!

Last, but not least, here is an adorable pink square seersucker tablecloth that I snagged for $1.50!

I challenge you on your next thrifting trip to see the potential in something you wouldn't ordinarily...feel free to comment about it!

Before & After : Nightstand

I went to this estate sale a few weeks ago that I was so excited about, but when I got there, there were many people leaving empty handed and shaking their heads...not a good sign. Then when I went into the house, it was full upstairs and down and ONLY HALF OF THE THINGS WERE FOR SALE AND NOTHING WAS MARKED...a thrifters nightmare! If I was interested in something, I would have to lug it to find the owner and ask if it was for sale and if so, how much it was. Everything that was for sale was for the appraised prices too...VERY expensive. So anyway, on my way out, I found this little diamond in the rough outside. I asked how much it was and the guy said $10...I told him that I got 2 just like these for $2.50 each at another sale last year (true story)...so he took $5.

Now, are you asking why I would not only purchase this, but for $5?!

Well, because I knew it had potential...

Now look at this little beauty now, would 'ya?!

Now I have 5 coats of paint on this baby, a sweet 'lil rose decal, and ceramic rose knobs. This is now for sale in our booth at Through the Garden Gate. Cross your fingers that it sells for $38!