goodbye buttons

I have tins.  MANY tins.

Some are empty.  Some are full.

This one is empty now.

Yesterday it contained buttons.

I'm on a new adventure in simplifying this month

Today, that involves buttons...

If you're interested, read about it HERE.

And HERE.

in and out

 Dashed in and out of my Favorite Thrift Store yesterday...

 just long enough to spend $1.25 for these three items.

A 75"x45" vintage curtain panel (pretty sure I bought the other one there several months ago (need to check my stash); a plaid tin; and a thick book of "Family Fun & Games". 

Yes, we ARE game players in our household--

and always interested in trying a NEW one.

a stop at the shop

On the way to spend the afternoon with my mother last week,

I stopped at my Favorite Thrift Store to select a birthday card for a friend.

(For $.45 I find some very beautiful and appropriate greeting cards!)

 Then I made my quick pass through the store.  I was happy to add the blue and white tin

to my blue tin collection ($.10),

and how could I pass up this sweet, unmarked pottery dachshund ($.25)?
I found this puppy on ebay with a pincushion on its back!  What do YOU think?

And you!  What unexpected "treasures" have you stumbled on recently?

real living space

"For too many people, being happy at home is pretty much an abstract idea,

something they can’t know or imagine, until it appears on some taste maker’s must-have list, 

or in a magazine, or reposted on Tumblr. 

A home sweet home is not curated or produced by acquiring 

a perfect arrangement of chairs, lamps and friends. 

A real living space is made from living, not decorating. 

A bored materialist can’t understand that a house has to become a home. 

It happens, not through perfection but by participation."  

(Andy & Elsa Beach Apartamento issue #07) 

As you can see, it's very "real" at our house!  Our living room
is full and doesn't get sorted out nearly enough.
Our hearts are at home here...

free

A "moving sale"... I found this tin in the free box.

It came home with me and joins my collection of similar ones in a similar color family.

hunting goodwill

 Yesterday, my appointments took me in the vicinity of a Goodwill Store

in Defiance, OH.

Seldom do I shop Goodwill locally.  The prices are too high;

too much of the merchandise is new.

 But this particular store was a pleasurable exception

to my local experiences.

 As you can see, I did not leave the store empty-handed!

the autumn un-mantel

 Time and circumstances prohibit me from giving the mantel the attention it deserves.

 My heart really isn't into it.

(And besides, I can't find the note telling me where I'm storing

the autumn decorations I so vigorously sorted out last year....)

 So, this is how it's going to be!

Two white pumpkins (the lidded one I made at a ceramic shop a few years ago),

the wooden fowl - already on the mantel,

 and a couple of tins from my collection sporting autumn color.

 This year I shall spend my free time looking at all YOUR beautiful mantels

and sign with envy...

found

Yesterday (in addition to the free items I stumbled on)

I found a sweet, vintage lampshade

 and another tin for my "collection"...

The shade has already found a home.

I REALLY like its color - 

and what a difference a lampshade makes to a lamp!

In Lieu of Fireworks...

 I don't spend money on fireworks...

 instead, I celebrated the 4th of July eve by spending $2.56 at my Second Favorite Thrift Store.

 It's in a nearby town where my husband works out over the noon hour....

 so today I tagged along, shopped, and then we ate at a small Chinese restaurant 

in the same town.

 These were my purchases along with a large cribbage board

which I can't find at the moment.

 In addition to this large, blue plant-waterer (which have never worked for me),

I also came home with two smaller ones - blue and green.

I use them for "pretty" in our yard.

Not a thing I "needed", but some fun items that will

bring me much more pleasure than sparklers or crackers!

<~candles, mantel, plaids~>

Inspired by an enjoyable Holiday House Walk yesterday,

this morning I lit a few of the red candles I'd grouped on a silver tray.

 Later in the day, I gathered some red and white items

 and arranged them on our mantel.

 I decided to place the small, white ceramic tree I made either last year

 or the year before that inside one of many creches I have.

 

Three plaid tins add a little more color and fill in the empty spaces...

All I need is a plaid lamp shade.....hmmmmmm.  

Maybe a wide ribbon tied around it?
Speaking of plaid...I'll be wearing this to a Christmas luncheon today.

I found the cummerbund at a thrift store recently (I always check out the belts).
I think it makes a festive statement with this jacket
with its OWN plaid binding.

it was a very good day

My husband had a meeting out of town.

I went with him and spent SOME of my time

in thrift stores.

It WAS a very good day.
(And there was even MORE!)

 It's warm, it's comfy, and it's white!
I'm loving it!

transitioning between holidays

 

"Early Christmas gift advice: Friends don't give friends fruitcakes."

(Rick Warren, on Twitter)

I chuckled when I read this...

because only yesterday I purchased -  for a pittance - the fruitcake tin above.

I thought it Thanksgiving decor-worthy.

 This sheath of grain also caught my eye
and awaits placement while sitting on our kitchen table.

After selling the chalkboard I showed in my previous post so quickly, I took THIS one off our wall and placed it in front of the fireplace. This was my FIRST attempt at drawing a turkey.  I'm sure there will be others as I transition from one holiday to the next.