Playing with Faux Flowers

 I can't help it.  It's what I like to do.

 I'm always on the lookout for convincing faux flowers.

,,,not sure anyone understands it (or is convinced), but I like the effect.

I just keep on adding, twisting, bending, and arranging.
The larger and fuller and wilder, the better for me!

This was a VERY inexpensive pitcher that I found some time ago

at a thrift store.  Most of my flowers are found in "free boxes"

at garage sales.

Another faux bouquet- in front of lace curtains in our living room.

Un-Funky

Here I am - just inside our bedroom door.
A wall of 4 white and inexpensive bookshelves
flank a center window creating an almost-built-in effect .

I'm ready for church and

wearing an entirely thrifted outfit.

I figured out I could wear my old gold belt reversed!

(I have no idea what that inverted "V" is on my skirt front.0

(If you didn't get a chance to see my

Free, Fun and Funky post,

just scroll down to yesterday's.)

Today, I'm back to my un-funky self.

Just finished reading this book
- a good one in my opinion.
Entwined in the story,
wonderful descriptions of fashion and home styles
of the era...and Paris!
A novel about the marriage of
Ernest and Hadley Hemingway
by Paula McClain.

"All good books are alike in that they are truer than if they had really happened and after you are finished reading one you will feel that all that happened to you and afterwards it all belongs to you; the good and the bad, the ecstasy, the remorse and sorrow, the people and the places and how the weather was."  (E. Hemingway)

Free, Fun, Funky

 We spent some time this afternoon at the Taste of Arts - downtown Fort Wayne. 

At one of the art booths (FAME) I made this classy hat!

Complete with flower! 

I'm enthused.  I can't wait to introduce this simple, inexpensive craft

to some friends.

 First some vivacious ladies molded the crown of the cap to my head

and used masking tape to form a circle around its shape.

 

Then I began rolling up the edges.  Scotch tape holds the rolls in place.

Last came the flower.  

(Three sheets of tissue folded accordian style,

then in half, tied with string at the middle and "fluffed".)

Parking and admission to the Taste was FREE,

I was a cheap date.

Kudos to my husband/photographer.

“Creativity is contagious. Pass it on.” - Albert Einstein

losing pounds...finding pottery

In about five pounds, I'll post a complete picture!   

This blog began when I had successfully lost weight

and was delighting in assembling a thrift-store wardrobe.

Alas, the "bloom was off the rose" the past year and I gained back

a great many of those pounds.  

I have finally gotten my groove back and now have a successful week of

healthy eating habits "under my belt" (no pun intended)!

Today I'm wearing a skirt I found at a thrift store

this summer. It has served me well,

but I look forward to returning to the wardrobe waiting for me

in my closet.

My weight-loss saga is documented HERE.

My husband was making a hospital visit yesterday afternoon.  

His route took him very close to my favorite thrift store.

I took advantage of that and enjoyed my browsing time.

I found these two WONDERFUL plates - works of an unknown potter.

My colors.  My style.  My price.
You could say I have a small "collection" of pottery.
I often find it irresistible.

we will we will rock you

 What can I say?

We ROCK!
(Four of the six were found in thrift stores or at garage sales.)

nothing he can't fix

50 cents.  And quite a dandy!

He DOES have one small flaw,

but nothing my HandyMan can't fix...

WELCOME, New Friends!  You've been noticed!
I'll be over soon to get better acquainted.

how do I explain this?

 The Old Spice shaving mug and small statue-ette are the last two items

of Monday's $2.68 splurge. (Remember, I also got two pair of men's slacks, 

some doilies, and a linen towel included in this price).

 My Protestant friends may not understand (I'm not sure I do myself)

my fascination with these objects.  I don't even know their proper names.

 (Above) See how my newest one is dwarfed by St. Francis already in my cupboard?

 Here are a few others in my collection.

On a different subject...

I'm coming to realize I may not return to delving into 

Boheme' or Wabi-Sabi style further. 

I've concluded that I'm quite eclectic in my style

and will probably never tame or categorize it perfectly. 

(I still can't get enough of Dawn's style, but I think I'll

always just be a wannabe.)

i spoke too soon

 

My husband had an appointment that took him very near my favorite thrift store.

In spite of having gone on record saying I was currently NOT in the thrifting mood,

I had him drop me off.

I found this doily - and wonder how it can look so different on its two sides???

 

 And I couldn't resist this linen tea towel.  

Especially in my current favorite color combination.

 And then there were these -- also in one of my favorite colors!

Guess that's why I was thinking "linens" as potential contents 

for the drawers of the chest we found curbside as we drove 

to appointment and thrift store yesterday...

(Oh! I also purchased 2 pair of corduroy slacks for our son-in-law.

ALL clothing was $1@!)

curbside treasure

 Free...Just as we found it curbside this afternoon.

 

Since these pictures were taken, 

my husband has cleaned off the top and applied Restore-a-Finish!  

Handy little chest - and as husband says,

"The price was right!"

(I should have posted size.  It's much bigger than a jewelry 

or silverware box.  I'm thinking maybe tableclothes in the bottom drawer,

dishtowels, place mats and cloth napkins in the other two???)

wabo-sabi?

Thrifted and Wabi-Sabi-ly beautiful(?)

Half-way to deciding "Bohemian" might describe my style of choice, I remembered Wabi-Sabi, a Japanese world view or aesthetic.  Beauty in Wabi-Sabi has been described as that which  is "imperfect, impermanent and incomplete".  Wabi-Sabi's  characteristics include asymmetry, asperity (roughness or irregularity), simplicity, economy, austerity, modesty, intimacy and appreciation of the ingenuous integrity of natural objects and processes.

A thrifted abstract watercolor hanging in our living room.

Is there such a thing as waBO-sabi?

I really identify with the imperfect, impermanent and incomplete thing!

gathering and scattering

"IT'S NOT WHAT YOU GATHER BUT WHAT YOU SCATTER
THAT TELLS WHAT KIND OF LIFE YOU HAVE LIVED!"

Into the middle of my Bohemian Contemplations, 

this quotation plunked itself down and wormed its way into my psyche.  

Sometimes I DO get overly involved in "gathering".  

(I know that must be very hard for some of you to believe.)

My excuses include, "It's one of my few hobbies."  "It's less expensive than shopping retail."  "It was too good a deal to pass up."  (And that's only a few of them.)  

Actually, I AM gathering less.  My reasons include:  "I'm running out of places to put stuff." "It's the economy, stupid." "I don't need another thing."  (And that's only a few of THEM!)

This doesn't mean I'll NEVER enter another thrift store

or stop at another garage sale.

Just that the need to accumulate has lost its luster for the time being.

I'll resume my Bohemian Contemplations shortly.

I haven't  given up trying to define my decorating style.

 

bohemia in the library/music room?

"The rules of Bohemian is that there are none. You use pieces in unconventional ways. And you must use what you have or obtain pieces very, very cheaply. Think outside of normal, or outside of the box,", so says braniac who continues:

"Use large brightly colored scarves for curtains, hanging 20 scarves 

by one corner on a curtain rod to make one curtain.

Use odd pieces together in quirky ways,

like hanging things on the wall that don't belong on the wall. 

Hang plates, trays, or rugs.

 Wallpaper a wall with book pages, or a chic magazine. This came from the 60's when flower power was in, and people didn't have money, but they decorated beautifully with what they had and used things in all different ways.

 Hang a door on the wall. Put an old chandelier up that doesn't work, 
and put candles in the bulb holders. Put a statue in a corner where it is unexpected."

These images from our library/music room 

make me wonder about the

possibility of Bohemia in me...

Everything was found at either thrift stores or garage sales...

my inner bohemia?

Ever since stumbling upon Bohemian Valhalla, 

I'm convinced I have a little "Bohemia"

in my stylistic genes!

 

Take my eating area, for instance.

Yes, all these patterns are present in this one room!

 

Believe me, I've tried the whites and pastels.

Even have an example or two here and there...

But it is the warmth of dark wood, vintage textiles and patterns

that "call my name"!

All the time.

 

I don't know where it will end.

I don't even know all "Bohemia" means.

I just know I like it.

This week I plan to learn a bit more to see if it's actually "me",

or if there's another name for "it".  

I can use all the help and explanations I can get!

Says K. Stone:

Bohemian style decorating is all about living simply and expressing one's creativity throughout the design. The Bohemian way of life is traditionally linked with free thinking counterculture and is influenced by the gypsy lifestyle. Inspiration for this type of décor comes from the art colonies of nineteenth century Europe where musicians, actors, artists, and writers converged into avant-garde communities.