easy alteration

Recently, I told my coffee friends about my failure to find a navy and white striped top,

I was rewarded with this shirt, found by one of the friends at an estate sale!

Unfortunately, it was a size too large.

I had to roll up the sleeves, and it stretched down to cover my hips.

And it had a turtleneck collar.

I wore it once.  It has since lain - forlorn and unworn. -

draped over the back of a chair...
awaiting its fate.

This morning, I took pinking shears to it!

I'm very pleased with this quick and easy alteration.

It's certain to get many wears in the future.

tweaking

Saturday, I tweaked!

The sun porch in the back of our house had become the unloading dock

for most everything all winter long.

While trying to get it straightened a bit, 

I came across both the print AND the empty frame (above).

My husband took the frame to the local hardware store and had a glass cut to fit in,

cut in insert to cover the back and applied a hanger.

I have JUST the place for it!

THEN...

he stitched the binding that had begun to detach from one of the rug's (below) back sides.

When surveying the finished product, 

I realized there were roosters in each corner and the middle!

How could I not have realized this?

Having noticed that, the logical place to put it was in front of the faux mantel

in our dining area where the five roosters join

more roosters, swan, geese and a few other miscellaneous fowl.

All items seen in these photos were garage sale or thrift store purchases

or -in the case of the mantel, for example - curbside treasures!

silent sentinel

Rather worn and ragged,

 it uncomplainingly stands beside my makeshift bed,

 handsome, sturdy, useful.

Pulled into temporary service, 

it has stood as silent sentinel to pain and

holder of all and any things necessary for recovery.

I'm thankful it caught my eye one day at a thrift store or garage sale.

Details escape me.

a tiny tweek

 I've been putting it off, but it desperately needed to be done...

 so I removed a few things...

 added a a few...

and changed out the faux flowers.

I can't say it's "perfect",

but it will have to do.

~Our white mantel tweeked a tiny bit with thrifted finds~

as we are

 I got a new Smart Phone over the holidays.

So, I'm trying out the camera options.

Here are pictures from our living room and

the spare bedroom.

As we are.

(No time to explain.)
I'm sure I'll get better at this.
There's quite the learning curve here for me.

 Wooden fruit in a wooden bowl
on our library/music room table.
I have a collection of fruit AND bowls
gathered from thrift stores, etc.

we do!

"Use it up

Wear it out

Make it do

Or do without"

Most of us have HEARD this adage or a variation of it.

At OUR house, we try to DO it.

This Rubbermaid(?) organizer has hung on cabinet doors

in a few houses I've lived in (THIS one, for the past 9+ years).

No doubt the unit has stretched,
and for sure the packaging of these items has shrunk!

The paper and foil seem to always be falling out - to my aggravation and consternation.

So this morning - EARLY this morning - I asked my husband to help "make it do".

These are his hands and the terrific solution!

Yay!

We DO make it do!

 These slacks just may be as old as the Rubbermaid organizer!
At any rate, they are good quality and lined.
The pleats don't do a thing for my figure,
but I don't mind "making do".
The outfit will see me through a varied schedule from morning through evening.
(Everything I'm wearing came from a thrift store
at one time or another.)

black again

 For church this morning, I'm wearing a sleeveless LBD.

The rust-colored jacket frames the square neckline.

Though shorter than I usually wear my skirts and dresses,

I feel comfortable in this length.

All three visible items of clothing were thrifted, of course.

The dress & jacket - YEARS ago!
The shoes - recently.

After hours of work restoring this (free) table,

my husband pronounced it "finished"!

I am desperate to find a place for it. 

I don't want to part with it.

 It's the distressed wood that most attracts me.

(That and its drop leaves...)

Below:  Ready to go with 4 folding chairs

we found at a garage sale earlier this fall...

in the mood for october

 What a beautiful way to start the month of October!

The air is crisp and cool...

I'm definitely In The Mood for it and

dressed in all thrift from head to toe.

 I will probably don this "new" denim jacket when I leave the house

 to run some errands and meet a friend later today.

 I was drawn to its unique cuffs and Eton collar and delighted that if fit so well

 and cost only $1.50 at my Second-Favorite-Thrift-Store!

i hit the jackpot

Having "outgrown" my clothes (another story for another day),

and NEEDING something to wear during our upcoming vacation,

I made the trip in to my favorite thrift store this morning.

It had been a l-o-n-g time since I've been there.

I found the red, "white" and blue skirts above.  They'll get me through!

 There was a lot of "new" merchandise!  The store was packed!

I couldn't resist the pair of curtains with handmade border (above)...

 nor the crewel kitty above...

nor the white one with pink ears and yellow eyes below!

And I'm not even that fond of cats.

 Deciding I was on a "ROLL", I stopped in at another store 

where I found this child's kitchen unit.

For $10 plus a few repairs, I will find a place for it.  

It should easily hold most all of the toys our grandchildren

like to play with when they visit.

I definitely had too much fun today.

<I'm supposed to be in a decluttering mode>

two newly found treasures

As soon as I saw its Pfaltzgraff mark, I knew I wanted this dish.

I scratched at the dirt & grime that covered it and saw that it would clean up.

So glad I found it.  Twenty cents.

It matches my set and I don't have this particular piece.

Another 20 cent bargain!  

"I feel that, in the heavens above

The angels whispering to one another 

Can find among their burning termz of love

None so devotional as that of Mother."

stay-at-home-style

Yesterday - wore this light, short jacket over a white sweater to church with a black velvet skirt.

It's a stay-at-home-day today.  I have household chores to do 

so choose to be comfortable.

Everything purchased at thrift stores.

I'm wearing my transitional-sized clothes

looking forward to smaller sizes

SOON!

brooch day at lady bugs

From left to right:  A hand-painted floral, a bird of paradise, a colorful hand-made floral, a turquoise/faux pearl, and a celluloid child's pin with eyes that jiggle...

When I couldn't decide which brooch to wear for our monthly meeting of Lady Bugs, I decided to go with several of my more unusual ones...

A bit of color for this gray, overcast day.
All were acquired at thrift stores except the turquoise/pearl one which I actually selected at a jewelry exchange at Lady Bugs' meeting last year.

before and since (janie)

B.J. (Before Janie) I wasn't much into painted furniture.  But look at me NOW!

I had decided on painting this desk green when I remembered we had some paint that might work.  (I realize now that the paint was old - and we probably SHOULD discard all of our old paint. Still, it was a frugal and thrifty decision to use up what we had.)  My husband kindly and capably sanded, primed and painted yesterday, and this is the result.

B.J. (Before Janie), I would have been perturbed about the way the paint covered.  

But S.J. (Since Janie) I am embracing the imperfection and actually seeing the beauty in it.

The color goes quite well with the colors in this thrifted pillow

and the leaves in the rooster picture hanging above the desk.
It DOESN'T match the green in the chair seat covering as well as I'd hoped.

That's fine.  I'm happy.