thrifty style at 73

my country 'tis of thee

Would you believe I have a small "treasure trove"
of 4th of July/patriotic items--

SOMEwhere!?!

I didn't start soon enough to figure out where they are.

I was lucky to have this mug

in my kitchen cupboard!

Thrifted, of course.
I really need to do some serious sorting
and make notes of where things are.
***
Meanwhile, I'm VERY thankful for my country
and pray that the freedoms and prosperity we enjoy
will continue to be valued and protected.

curtain call

Here are the curtains I found at the thrift store last week -

"remodeled" and hung on our kitchen windows.
To see their "rick-rack" hem, go here.

They'll help keep out the heat of the summer sun.

(Shutters are the reason for the lower shadows.)

Bird cage - garage sale find!

(I find myself gravitating quite naturally
toward these colors. Not sure why...)

Here's the third of the three skirts
I also "thrifted" last week.
I call it "white",
but obviously it's tan.
I'm wearing gold beads and a gold belt
with some tan heeled shoes
for church this morning.
So I guess that's a
"curtain call" for the red, white & blue skirts, too!

red

The second of three skirts thrifted this week.

(I've been cropping my face

to spare you the poison ivy effect.)

blue

This is the "blue" of the red, white and blue skirts I found at the thrift store yesterday. It is a Pendleton. (I was unaware that Pendleton did anything except wool!)

It fits fine. I'm SO happy to have some options to fit at a very thrifty price. I don't want to remain at this size forever and was reluctant to "invest" much $$$ in a suitable wardrobe for the rest of the summer.

If you missed my other finds from yesterday and have a minute, check out the previous post. I DID "hit the jackpot"!

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>

the brown conTINgency

This is the "brown conTINgency" of my tin collection.

If you go to labels in my sidebar, you can find other "tin" posts

featuring the black and turquoise collections.

There are two others - blue & red - that I don't think I've featured.

I found most of these thrift stores...a few at garage sales.

I don't believe I've ever paid more than 50 cents for one.

Some hold jewelry; one holds marbles; another keys;

others small assorted stuff;

and some are empty.

The "browns" reside in our living room.

the atmosphere here

Mrs. Rabe at Creekside Cottage posted yesterday about "atmosphere". I was intrigued and warmed by her creative use of lighting to bring an atmosphere of coziness and hospitality to her cottage.

It set me on a quest to photograph the lamps that were "on" in our house as daylight lazily entered OUR four walls this morning. I have many, many lamps. Because our house doesn't have a lot of windows, table lamps are our primary source of lighting.

They create different effects at different times of day.

In addition to lamps, I enjoy the atmosphere that WORDS create.

Whether on vintage plaques such as these or stenciled on walls,

they "warm the cockles of my heart"!

(I see I need to do SOMEthing with the cord on this lamp...)

Except for the rooster lamp which my grandmother made,

all of the items seen here were either

purchased at thrift stores or garage sales.
That includes the canisters and wooden bowl holding tea bags
on the kitchen counter and the lantern above.

woodn't you?

File box - now holding recipes

A post at the Polohouse about old wooden hat molds reminded me

of how much I like wooden ANYTHINGS!

Here are a few quick "for instances"....

Wooden kitchen gadgets

Wooden ?????s on a wooden child's chair

One of my stacks of wooden bowls

Wooden shoe forms on my grandfather's wooden rocking chair

Except for Grandpa's rocker and maybe a wooden spoon or two,

all items were found at thrift stores or garage sales.

“Wouldn’t you, Wouldn’t you,

Like to wear a wooden shoe.

Just like all the children do

Who live in Amsterdam?”

in between

Yesterday, in between leading a hymn-sing
at a nearby retirement home and lunch with a friend,

I enjoyed checking out a few garage sales.

All the large pitcher (above) needs is a big wash bowl to sit in!

I thought the $1 price was reasonable.

I was especially pleased to find the blue glass plant-waterer for $.50.

It looks beautiful in the middle of my philodendron
which thrives in a blue and white pot
under the light of a blue and white based lamp.
If it works as good as it looks,
I'm in business!