Man-Fashion and More

 My husband, the pastor.  Our small church is not a formal one.

This morning, however, he donned a short-sleeve dress shirt and tie.

I asked him, "Why not wear one of your tie clasps?"

I'm not sure he remembered where they were, 

so I retrieved them---

this collection we've amassed over the years from thrift stores

and garage sales.

And here's a teaser!

I found two pieces made of this fabric at a garage sale this week.

Even the seller wasn't sure what they were, but she had a bedspread made of the material.

I brought them home and have ripped out the seams

(which were obviously sown by a diligent professional).
Now I have a VERY long piece of BEAUTIFUL, exotic fabric!

I have a plan.

Jig Saw Puzzles

 I bought this vintage (probably from the 50s)  29 cent puzzle for 25 cents
at a thrift store last week,

 wondering whether or not all the 304 pieces were "there"...

They ARE!

(But though the pieces were larger than most of today's puzzles, they were cut differently.

It was not the breeze to put together that I thought it would be!)

Do YOU "jig saw"?

Over-the-Top Happy Here

 I'm over-the-top happy with how a fresh coat of paint

 perked up this garage sale find!

 And after a little scrubbing, the removable liner

 looks crisp and clean, too.

 

Dressed to match the basket

in my thrifted red, plaid skirt and a simple white Tee.

Here Today; Gone Tomorrow

 

A dive back into pond of second-hand fashion....

This dress and shoes were "found" on the Give and Take table of our church

where things are "here today and gone tomorrow"!

And on another note, see what I found yesterday....

Check out the WHOLE STORY 

by clicking on WHOLE STORY!
(Condensed version:  These TOO were here today and gone tomorrow.)

Face Lift

At a garage sale today, I found the small vintage print above.

I thought the colors would look fine near my "new" kitchen curtains.

It set me back a WHOLE dime, by the way!

 I had purchased this vintage lamp shade some time ago.

 It was printed in shades of blue, and since I was phasing out some of the blue in our kitchen....

I took some markers and began coloring in the flowers in colors 

that would look OK with the curtains.

 I'm happy with the result!

 Slowly but surely, I'm changing the face of our kitchen.

Better than Starbucks

 For less than a cup of coffee

 I satisfied myself with some thrift store shopping this morning!

I'm thinking I'll paint the sunburst with a bright color

and add it to the side of our shed.

 I was surprised to find this vintage toy in such great condition AND in its original box!

 But by far, my greatest excitement was over this vintage fabric!

 It actually was one panel of a drapery with pleats at the top.

I removed the pleats, cut it carefully down the center, stitched up the edge,

and created a pocket for the free shower curtain rod I'm using here above our kitchen sink!

I've been searching for just the right fabric at just the right price

for quite awhile.  This works just fine!

Friday's Foray

 Yesterday's forays found me hunting....

 and gathering;

 shining and polishing.

 Even when I don't find that much,

 I return home 

happy and content.

For the scoop on the birdbath below,
and so much MORE, click on the picture!

Room for Improvement!

 "The biggest room in the world, is the room for improvement." (Unknown)

 “There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that's your own self.”

(Aldous Huxley)

"We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily differences we can make which, over time, add up to big differences that we often cannot foresee."

(Marian Wright Edelman) 

Isn't My Man amazing? 
He made a BIG difference!

The Thrifting Adventure

One highlight of the past few days include this FREE cedar chest.

My husband's already "on it"--
repairing and eventually refinishing it!

 The old Westclox wind-up seemed to be locked up and non-working. 

 But I bought it for a quarter.  Hubby removed the back & oiled it a bit

 and now it's ticking away and keeping good time.  

 I love the tick of an old clock!

 Maybe my favorite find is this gateleg table complete with 

 drawers and cupboard storage.

 A few repairs are necessary, but I can't wait to move it into the house!

There were other "smalls" that I found along the way,

so today I'll be thinning out a few items to make way for the new.

 That, to me, is the fun of this Thrifting Adventure!

It Made My Day

 It keeps getting BETTER...

 and BETTER...

 and BETTER!

 The details on these pieces are amazing.

 The three flat surfaces have glass cut to fit them -- curves and all.

 A quality single (used) boxspring and mattress complete the set.

Unfortunately,the set turns out to be  too large for our small guest room.

So, I'm hoping to help pay off the last little bit of our mortgage

with the sale of this incredibly gorgeous set.