"Easter Parade" of sales

Once again I ventured into the glorious world of yard/estate sales and I'm glad that I did.

This first photo is of a pretty red rose in bloom in my backyard.  It has nothing to do with yard/estate sales, but I thought it was nice to look at anyway!

I found these three darling, puffy "Bunnies by the Bay" at a yard sale of a mother and daughter.  I struck up a conversation with them and I thoroughly enjoyed my visit.  I was taken with their friendly smiles and easy, delightful conversation.  Merlie, the mother, and Amanda, the daughter, were selling a variety of things including Vera Bradley handbags, Coach and Dooney.  They also had so many wonderful books...decorating, doll, and cooking...as well as some furniture and wonderful home decor items.  Merlie has a real eye for decorating and I wish I could have bought the vignette in her living room (the sale was both inside the house and outside in the yard and garage).  I even went back the next day to visit and buy stuff!!!  It was so nice to meet such gracious people.

 The red bunny in the middle was $2.00 and the white ones were $1.00 each...all from Hallmark.


This three-tiered serving stand was crooked and stuffed into a plastic bag.  For some reason I liked it and instantly came up with a proper use for it.  So I straightened it out and............

 put some of my miniature dolls on it along with an old tea set.  I'm still not finished with it but at least I now have a purpose for buying the serving stand.

 The two little Victorian dolls on the top tier and the two dolls in front (pink and blue) are from an estate sale. You really should click on the photo to enlarge it so you can really see the detail. They are Maud Humphrey Bogart pieces and I spent a whopping $8.00 on all four!

The mini frames below are from Merlie and Amanda's sale.  I don't think that I've seen frames quite as tiny as some of these.  I like the rose pictures in the frames, however, I think I'll switch some out for photos of my grandchildren.

A close-up of the frames

Picture Perfect!

I recently found this double frame at a yard sale and   walked right by it to look at other things. For some reason I went back to the frame and decided to buy it even though I have a bazillion frames at home!

I didn't know what I was going to do with the frame until I thought about the gigantic roll of wrapping paper I bought at Hobby Lobby several months ago.

Here is the frame in its original state.

                                               

Here is the frame with the harlequin wrapping paper I bought at Hobby Lobby.

       

And here is the frame on the wall along with two corners I bought at a yard sale today!



I don't like how I put the corners up, so I'm going to move them closer to the frame.  My husband is going to love the extra set of nail holes in the wall, and he will  probably threaten to put up his favorite jumper cables if I continue to pound holes in the wall!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The entire project cost about $5.00 excluding the wrapping paper and the photo of my mom both of which I already had.

Yard Sales and Treasure Hunts

Every Saturday morning I visit yard sales and/or estate sales in my area.  I go alone (except I sometimes take our Labrador, Bear) because I have a system and I don't want to wait while a companion leisurely browses all the goodies for sale.  I quickly look over the merchandise and I make split second decisions.  Time is of the essence and I move on if nothing catches my eye.  Bear sits in the back seat with his head out the window and 95% of the time people ask me if they can pet him.  I always say "yes" because Bear is very friendly and loves people.  Little kids get a kick out of Bear as he slobbers kisses on them!! 

Bear is such a baby that he won't even look at the camera because he is afraid of the light that comes on when I'm ready to take a picture!!!!!!!!!!

Every single thing in this photo is from a yard sale except the two pictures of my grandchildren!  The frames, the corbel and the cute illustration of a baby gown with a precious inscription, were all purchased for next to nothing over the past few months.

 I've blogged about this entry table before but not about the things on it.  I found the birdcage and the pear at a yard sale, and the finial at an estate sale.    

Here is a close-up of the finial and the pear.

Easter goodies

                                                                        

The cloche is from an estate sale, the ribbon is from a yard sale, the hanging eggs and the pink rabbit in front are from yard sales, the letter "F" is from Hobby Lobby, the black egg was free and the pear is from a yard sale.

The "Recipe for Friendship" was purchased from Cracker Barrel while the pink vase was recently purchased from a neighbor's yard sale.

For some reason I was drawn to this as I've never seen a pink hob-nail like this.

Darling rabbits from a yard sale.

This little writing desk was given to me because I did a favor for a friend.  I'm still not sure what I should do with it or where I should put it!

These two rabbits were rescued from a box of discarded Easter stuff!!!  One man's trash......

Cute little rabbit ready for Easter.  She came home with me from a yard sale.

This darling table, the finial and the oval frame were purchased at an estate sale.  The pink bunny is from a yard sale.

A close-up of the table and the other goodies.

This whole yard sale/estate sale thing has become an addiction but I love it.  I can't explain the "thrill of the hunt" mentality; I just know that I thoroughly enjoy it!

Please link to Jenny Matlock's blog to read more "Y" posts from other participants.

Breakfast at Tiffany's??????

A few weeks ago my friend, Debbie, invited my husband and me to her house for an informal breakfast.  She asked what I might want and I told her "...pancakes and coffee will be fine."  My husband and I walked into Debbie's house and we were greeted by people visiting from Wisconsin, Debbie's brother and sister, their respective spouses, their children, Debbie, her husband and their two children.  I was surprised but I was also happy to see Debbie's family again and meet the visitors from WI.  I was also shocked by all of the food!  Debbie's "informal breakfast" consisted of:

Coffee

Orange juice

Bottled water

Tea

Waffles galore!

Warm blueberry syrup

Chicken quiche

Vegetarian quiche

Chocolate-covered strawberries

Muffins

Sliced turkey sausage

Cheeses

Ham slices

French pastry

Fruits

Nuts

Fried potatoes

(Debbie is in the background dressed in red)

(Wisconsin visitors in foreground)

BUT.......

there wasn't a pancake in sight!!!!!!!

Of Titanic proportions and T-Ball

                                                           

A few months ago my daughter and I visited the Titanic exhibit in Tucson and we came away with feelings of awe, sorrow and a little regret. We were amazed at the artifacts but we wished that more were on display.  The portraits and stories were heartbreaking, but revealed remarkable feats of heroism and selflessness.  If the Titanic exhibition is in a town near you, I suggest that you visit it and read and view everything that is contained in the exhibit.
Upon arrival, each guest is issued a boarding pass with the name of a passenger on the reverse side.  At the end of the exhibit, you will learn if your passenger survived the sinking.

My passenger, Mrs. Jacques Putrelle (Lily May Peel), age 35, survived the tragedy and returned to her two children waiting in Scituate, Massachesetts. However, I don't know if her husband survived.

Several months ago, my daughter, husband and I were watching a documentary on the  HMHS Britannic and we learned so much.  Some of what we learned was also presented in the Titanic exhibit.  I never knew that the RMS Titanic had two sister ships, the RMS Olympic and the HMHS Britannic.  The RMS Olympic collided with the HMS Hawke in 1911, but it was able to safely return to port.  Of course we all know what happened on that fateful night in 1912 when the RMS Titanic tragically sank with so many people on board.  In 1916 during WWI, the HMHS Britannic struck a mine in the Aegean Sea and, it too, sank.  Another very interesting fact that I never knew was that a stewardess/nurse, Violet Jessop, was aboard all three vessels and survived the mishap and tragedies.  She wrote about her days with the White Star line and she passed away in 1971 at the age of 83!!!! Surprisingly my 3 year old grandson (he's 4 now) was in the room while we were watching the documentary and he was playing with his trains as he does everyday.  Suddenly he had all kinds of questions about the Titanic and the Britannic!!!  To this day, he talks about the ships but I'm sure he doesn't fully understand the impact these two ships had in history.


Speaking of my grandson, here are some photos of him playing T-ball.  He really enjoys it, but he has the attention span of a gnat!!!!!

This is how my grandson stops the ball coming his way!!!!

He's happy about something!

He made it to first base!!!!!!

Go get it, Brandt!

If you want to read more blogs participating in Alphabe-Thursday, please go to Jenny Matlock's blog.  Every week she presents a different letter of the alphabet and this week's letter was the letter T.

Sweet Valentine treats

 Sweet treats from Kohl's~~~~Valentine cookie jar and two "delicious" candles!

         A sweet key to anyone's heart!



New Year's Day Madness!!!

Well it's Saturday and that means yard/garage/estate sale day to me. However, it is also New Year's Day which might mean other things to many people.  We don't usually go out on New Year's Eve so I don't have to worry about feeling funny/sick/bleary-eyed/or exhausted on New Year's Day.  So I headed to one of the few sales that was advertised on Craig's List and I'm happy that I did.  I saw this "shabby" sale yesterday on CL, but I was too busy meeting friends for lunch and shopping with my friend, Robin, (which is always an adventure) to go to this sale.  Alas, this morning I kicked it in gear after a leisurely breakfast with my husband and I found some nice things.

I bought this darling pink and white toile fabric (about 4 or 5 yards) and I might use it as a backing for a light cream-colored shelving unit.  Instead of seeing a bland cream-color background behind the shelves, this fabric will be there!  I have high hopes for this project!!!

I also found the pink bath crystals, a shaker, and this cute shoe at the sale.  They all will undoubtedly go on the shelving unit.

                 

           A close-up of the shoe....I think it is so pretty.

                  A copy of a vintage print that I think is so precious.

There were several teacups and matching saucers at the sale, but I decided on this one because of the soft colors.

Here is the vintage print in its frame.  The frame looks blue in the photo, but it is actually a soft, pale green color.  I like the texture the frame adds to the print.

All in all I'm pretty happy with my New Year's Day venture into the world of yard sales.  For some reason I have a lot of energy, enthusiasm and excitement today....I only hope that it lasts throughout the New Year!!!!

The very best to all for a fruitful, safe, and healthy year ahead.