Heart of the Home

Hi everyone.     Hope your week got off to a good start.    I was happy to see that Kate at Centsational Girl came up with the fun idea of a Where Do You Blog party.     My special blogging spot is in the heart of my home….the kitchen.    I sit on a barstool at my kitchen island and type away on my laptop.     I always have my mug of hot tea, telephone and remote by my side.    One day I hope to carve out another space for me, but for now this works well.

I have The Closer on in the background.    Congratulations Kyra Sedgwick on your Emmy win last night.    Well deserved!

In this photo you can see my rat terrier waiting patiently for his Meaty Bone treat.

That’s it for me.    I hope you have a great week!

Marlee

Kid Goes to College, I Go Shopping

There were zero garage sales in my neighborhood this weekend.     Not a one to be found.   No problemo though because I was busy getting my son ready and then moving him into his dorm at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) for his freshman year (sigh).    It was hard leaving him there.   But he is happy and very excited about starting this new chapter in his life, so I consider myself blessed.

As a result of the move, I didn’t get to shop much.     But you never know where you are going to find something you can’t live without.    We stopped at a gas station on our way home, and I found this cute little amber wasp trap for $6.00.     It had that beehive shape that I have developed a fondness for, so I had to have it.    I probably won’t use it to trap wasps but it is nice to know that I have the capability to do so.    It is a lot more stylish and less stinky than a can of wasp spray.

Today I went to JC Penny because I had a $10.00 gift coupon they sent me and I wanted to use it before it expired.      I went with the intention of buying a dress on sale or a piece of jewelry (I was not going to leave that store without using the coupon), but ended up with this instead.

Another mirror, just what I needed.    I love mirrors and couldn’t resist the arched shape of this one and the metal work.    The best part is that it was on clearance for $11.99 (originally $39.99) and I had the $10.00 coupon so it cost me a total of $1.99.

I have placed it above this shelf for now, but may move it if I find a better spot for it.     It won’t be long before I replace those fake flowers with my fall decor.

That is the extent of my thrifty purchases this weekend, but I wanted to end this post with a picture of my weekend visitors.

Have a wonderful week!    I am linking to these awesome parties and hope you will visit them:

Rhoda at Southern Hospitality for Thrifty Treasures.

Linda at Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday.

Terrell at Frou Frou Decor for Fabulous Friday Finds.

Marlee

Views from the Mirror

It was not a good day for garage sales in the neighborhood…..I only found one and about all they had was baby clothes which I sure as heck don’t need.    I did, however, find three books that I purchased for a dollar each.      These books are to read, not to decorate with.   HA!

I had better luck at a home consignment store that specialized in antiques and vintage items.      Could have spent a fortune in there if I had one.   The sweet lady that owned it said it had always been her dream to own an antique store so she quit her day job and followed her dream.      This store opened last October and I just discovered it this week.    Guess I need to get out more because this place had some great stuff and really good prices.     She had a big selection of $5.00 lamps and they were going fast.   

I have been on the search for an oval or round mirror to hang in my great room to catch the reflection of my leaded glass front door.     The room doesn’t get much natural light so I try to lighten it up with lamps and mirrors.    Every mirror I had found was either too expensive or not the right size.    Luck was with me today because I found this oval mirror for $20.      Perfect size.     Perfect price.

Mission accomplished.     The mirror reflects the light from my front door.    Note my son sitting in the chair watching tv while I am snapping pics.     He will start his freshman year at Ole Miss next week.

Yeah, I managed to get a picture without me being in it.    This picture reflects the bookshelves in my room and the small  demilune table that I featured here.

No, that is not a recycling bin to the left of the mirror.     It is my son’s computer desk.     As soon as we dump him off take him to college next week, that corner is mine, all mine!    I haven’t decided yet whether to make it a comfy little reading area or set my computer up there.   

In addition to the mirror I bought this stained glass mosaic vase which was marked down to $10.00.     

For now it will go on my sideboard in the dining room next to my stained glass dragonfly lamp that my honey gave me for Christmas a few years ago.     That lamp has been all over my house and I think I have finally found the best place for it.     The colors really pop against my terra cotta walls.

That’s all I have got for today!    I hope you have a good week.

I will be linking to these awesome parties.    Check them out!!

Rhoda at Southern Hospitality for Thrifty Treasures.

Linda at Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday.

Marlee

Stained Glass

I love stained glass windows and have been fortunate enough to find some at reasonable prices.    Three of my favorites are hanging on my sun porch.     They are so beautiful when the sun shines through them.    However, the sun is not shining through them in these pictures because Tropical Depression # 5 is hovering over my house.   They are still lovely, though, even without the light behind them.    The pictures don’t really do them justice.

This is my most recent purchase.    I found it at an antique shop in Pearland, TX for $20.00.     It is the smallest piece I own at 12 x 18.  The frame is white although it doesn’t look like it in the picture.    The bottom two side pieces are a rippled green color and the stained glass in the center of the flower is purple.

I can’t remember where I found this piece.    I have had it for about 10 years.    In case you are wondering, I have this piece hanging behind my bakers rack and the metal leafy looking things are the top of my bakers rack and the pinkish looking flower is my orchid which is looking sickly.

This is probably my favorite stained glass piece.    I love that little pop of red in it.    I have often wondered about the history of my pieces, what the houses looked like that they were in, what room they were in, etc.    Ah, the stories they could tell!

I hope you have enjoyed looking at my stained glass.     Have a good weekend.

Marlee

I am linking to Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home.    Check it out.     There is some great stuff on there.

Plant Stand Love

This weekend I went to a new flea market in town so my first flea market find was the flea market itself.    My favorite flea market which was at the fairgrounds closed about five years ago and I haven’t found many others in the area that were as good as it was.    I read in the paper recently that a new one had opened so I checked it out today.     The place did not have air conditioning so I rushed through it but not so fast that I didn’t make a couple of purchases.     The first item that caught my eye was this olive oil drizzler bottle.    It is in pristine condition….looks like it has never been used.    I am loving the bee hive look and the price was right….$2.00 and it matches the bee hive beverage dispenser I bought earlier this summer at Old Time Pottery in Foley, AL.      Does anyone else out there in Blogland have an olive oil drizzler that matches their beverage dispenser?    I think not.

My next find and my favorite one was this little metal plant stand for $10.     I had been looking for a small table for my deck that I could paint and this was perfect.      I spray painted it aqua blue and sanded it in a few places to make it look slightly worn.     This little plant stand makes me smile.   

This is the before picture.

Don’t you love how I staged the before picture at the crossroad of cracks in my driveway?

This is a close up of the cute little medallion that was on the side.    I didn’t realize until I bought it and put it in the car that the other one was missing.

Here it is screaming for a coat of aqua paint.

And here it is painted aqua (my honey insists it is baby blue but I beg to differ)….my gnome approves of the color.

 

For now it is placed on my sun porch.     I will move it onto the deck after I tire of looking at it every few minutes.

Now on to some thrifty retail finds.    I found this Italian landscape picture at Big Lots for $10.     I added the ribbon to hang it.   The sconces were 50% off at Hobby Lobby so I paid $5.00 for the pair.     I must confess that I purchased the sconces originally as a birthday gift for a friend (who shall remain nameless in case she is reading this because I don’t want her coming over here and ripping them off my wall) but kept them for myself when I discovered that I needed something on that wall besides the picture.    I am naughty that way.

I am joining these awesome parties and hope that you will check them out!

Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Met Monday.

Rhoda at Southern Hospitality for Thrifty Treasures.

Linda at Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday.

Well, that’s it for today friends.     I hope you have a pleasant week!

Marlee

Cabinet Transformation

I have never met a necklace that I didn’t like so as a result I have quickly outgrown the space allotted for necklaces in my jewelry armoire.   I didn’t even know what I had because it was such a jumbled mess.

Seeing all the cute jewelry holders out there in the Blogosphere inspired me to make one using materials I already had.     I started with a lighted wall display cabinet that my hubby made for me  years ago.    I don’t have a picture of it when it was used for its original purpose, but I did take a photo of it before I started the transformation.   Here it is leaning against a small wall in my kitchen.   As you can see, it didn’t have a back.

      

I removed the glass  door and glass shelves from the cabinet and the painting began.    I used Cottage White by Behr which I had on hand from another painting project.

A couple of coats of paint later, I ended up with this.   My hubby made a back for the cabinet out of some left over plywood and I bought some burlap and cup hooks to hang the necklaces on.   I got a good deal on the burlap at Hobby Lobby because it was the end of the bolt so they sold it to me at clearance price and I ended up getting almost 2 yards of burlap at a price lower than the cost of one yard.   This was my first project using burlap and since I now have some extra, I am sure it won’t be my last.

So, for a grand total of approximately $4.00, I ended up with this lovely and useful necklace holder.

Thanks for visiting!    Please come again!

Marlee

I am linking to Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home; Frugalicious Friday at Finding Fabulous; Frugal Friday at The Shabby Nest;  and Inspired By at The Inspired Room. 

P.S.   This is my first post using Windows Live Writer and hopefully everything has worked properly.

The Mantel of Lights

Ok, here I come sneaking in at the last moment to the Funky Junk Interiors Mantel Party . I just found this cute blog a few minutes ago and thought I would join in.

I love to decorate my mantel and always change it during the seasons. One thing always remains constant though....lights! I currently have gold lights on the mantel placed underneath a gold mesh fabric. It doesn't translate too well in the pictures, but it really does create a nice, cozy effect. There are also some white lights on the hearth in the apothecary jar and woven through the branches in the large clear vase both of which were gifts from my hubby. He always picks out the best gifts! The artwork came from Kirklands. I bought it with a gift certificate that my co-workers gave me.

My sister gave me the green olive vase, one of my sister in laws gave me the small yellow vase and another sister in law gave me the Blenko handcrafted vase which she purchased while visiting West Virginia.

I bought the lantern at Crate & Barrell a couple of years ago and the books originally belonged to my parents.

Thanks for taking the time to look at my mantel. Have a great week.

Marlee