Monday, October 31, 2011

Farewell Harvest Gold

After 20 years of living with a harvest gold bathroom, I am happy to report that the gold tub and tile is finally gone!   My hubby began the demolition  this past weekend.  

Here it is in all its golden glory.

And here it is in the trash….where it should have been years ago.

It looks better already.     I asked my hubby if he absolutely had to cut that hole in the wall and he insisted he did.   He never passes up an opportunity to cut holes in walls.

The new tub is installed but it is not quite ready for bath time so for now my hubby and I are sharing a bathroom with our teenage son.     Fun times.

Only one piece of harvest gold is left in the house….the golden throne…and it won’t be here much longer!

Thanks for visiting and come back soon to see the progress as we continue our quest to eliminate the harvest gold.

Have a great week…hard to believe that November is here!

Marlee

I am linking to Linda’s Nifty Thrifty Tuesday @  Coastal Charm.

Monday, October 17, 2011

The Bakers Rack that Almost Wasn’t

Last weekend my sister and I went to an estate sale.      The antique furniture was gorgeous but way out of my price range.      As we were leaving we noticed people walking around to the back, so being nosy like we are we went to check it out.

A screen porch across the back of the house was loaded with “junk”.    I was more in my element now.      Amazingly I spotted a wrought iron bakers rack which was covered with years of dust accumulation.  It was marked $50.00.     I asked the gentleman conducting the sale what his best price was  and he replied $40.00.    As I was about to whip my wallet out and hand the man two twenties, my sister says “let’s think about it”.    I thought maybe she had spotted some major defect that I hadn’t seen, so being the good little obedient sister that I am, I walked away from what I thought was an incredible deal.    As we neared the car, she said “I think you can get him to go lower.”        I am thinking, are you kidding me, but since she has a knack for getting good quality stuff at rock-bottom prices, I went along with it.     We ran an errand and then went back to the sale to purchase my bakers rack only to find they were closed.    Uh oh.    Big sis was in trouble because I wanted that bakers rack.

The next morning I got up early and headed back to the sale and thankfully the bakers rack was still there.    I offered the man $30, batted my big brown eyes at him (actually my eyes are green but I liked the alliteration of the b words), after a moment’s hesitation he said yes, he loaded it up for me because it was HEAVY, I took it home, cleaned it up, and was very happy to see it fit perfectly in the spot right where I wanted it.     Finally, after all my rambling on, here is a picture of the bakers rack that caused me so much angst and could have caused a serious rift in my relationship with my sister if the deal had gone sour.

BakersRack-1

I am still in the decorating phase….haven’t quite decided what I am going to put on the shelves yet.    Do you have any creative suggestions on what to place there?

BakersRack-2

Love the scrollwork on the sides.    The rack is in almost perfect condition except for two finials missing on the front.   Even the old somewhat discolored glass shelves are in good shape.

If you are still reading my novelette, thank you for sticking with me.     Please allow me to to share one more story before calling it a night.     A customer told me the recently deceased woman and former owner of this bakers rack was known around the neighborhood for being somewhat eccentric.     She kicked her husband out but went and got him and brought him back home when she discovered he had cancer and took care of him for the rest of his life.      He died one night, she bathed him, dressed him in his finest, and called the funeral home the next morning to come get him for burial.     She was insistent that he be taken straight to the cemetery and not be embalmed because he didn’t want anyone to see him naked.     I bet this if this bakers rack could talk, it could tell all kinds of tales.

And with all the money I saved, I went out and bought a shiny red convertible.   I wish.

MarCamaro-2

Have a great week!

Marlee

I am linking to Nifty Thrifty Tuesday @ Coastal Charm.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Fall Plant Sale

This past weekend I went to a fall plant sale.     I have to admit that I prefer spring plant sales because of all the colorful options and I am more motivated to plant in the spring than I am in the fall.  I did manage to find a few plants with color at the sale.

purple plant (1024x765)

This is a beauty bush and the sign by it indicated it was a bush that birds are attracted to.  I have one of these in my front yard and honestly thought it was a weed.    Apparently this plant is very hardy because I have never watered it or fertilized it or spoke lovingly to it and it still comes back every year in spite of the lack of attention it gets.

sunflower (1024x765)

The plant with the yellow blooms is a swamp sunflower.   

Muhly grass (1024x765)

I considered purchasing this pink muhly grass but I wasn’t sure where to plant it.

white bush (1024x765)

The master gardener wheeled out these plants with white blooms just as I was leaving the sale so I failed to get the name of them.

hairy wicky (1024x765)

The name of this plant cracked me up so I had to take a picture of it.     Anyone got a hairy-wicky in their yard?   You can click on the picture for a close up.

birdhouse (1024x765)

In conclusion I wanted to share with you the morning glories and hummingbird vine  blooming all around the birdhouse  in my back yard.     Often I see a hummingbird perched on the top of the birdhouse but haven’t been able to get a picture of him.   He must be camera shy.

P tree 2 (765x1024)

To the left of the birdhouse is my persimmon tree.     It is loaded with persimmons, so much so that the branches are almost touching the ground.

Have a glorious week!     See ya next time.

Marlee

I am linking to Outdoor Wednesday @ A Southern Daydreamer.

Outdoor Wednesday: Click on the picture below to learn more...

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

The Gestalt Gardener

When I think of gardening, I usually associate it with planting a plot of ground. Felder Rushing, a colorful personality who lives in the same town I do, has planted a garden in the back of his truck. I got lucky and spotted it the other day so I snapped a couple of pictures.

Felder, a horticulturist and “dirt” gardener, is host of a popular MPB radio show The Gestalt Gardener and is famous partly for his eccentric garden at his home (to which this comment on his website might apply: “I do care what the neighbors think … it just doesn’t matter!”) He is the author of quite a few gardening books and also writes a weekly column in our local newspaper.

photo (1024x765)

The edges of the truck bed are Mississippi license plates held in place by beer tops.    Love all the bottle trees and bottles in the back.

photo (2) (1024x765)

Check out the rack legs on the cute little frog with the pink bow in her hair.

Have you ever planted a garden in an unorthodox location?

See ya next week,

Marlee

I am linking to Outdoor Wednesday @ A Southern Daydreamer.

Outdoor Wednesday: Click on the picture below to learn more...

Monday, October 3, 2011

Tiger Stripes

With the arrival of cooler weather, I am finally getting in the mood to decorate for fall.    This year I am scaling back and trying to go for a more simplistic look and to use items I already have.

The only new purchases in this vignette are the pumpkins.     I was thrilled to find the 3 tiger striped ones at Walmart for the low price of $2.99.  My honey bought the big white one for me because he knows how much I love white pumpkins.

photo (765x1024)

The basket was a find at TJ Maxx this past summer and the lantern was a QVC Today’s Special Value last year.    I picked the acorns in the lower right of the picture right off the oak tree in my yard.    Yes, my deep dark secret is out.   I am an acorn picker and a QVC-aholic.

Happy Fall Y’all!    Thanks for stopping by.

Marlee

I am linking to Nifty Thrifty Tuesday @ Coastal Charm and to Table Top Tuesday @ A Stroll Thru Life.