me, today

Me, today - AFTER a nice lunch with my husband
and a stop at a small thrift shop.
The thrift shop is where I found the belt.  For $.25.
It has a leather buckle, etc. with a stretchy back.
I like wearing belts.  They add a touch of color to my basic
(some would say "drab") wardrobe.
The brown blouse is linen.  I got it over the weekend for a quarter, too!

 Meanwhile....

 My husband is cleaning out the garage - hoping to make space for the car before winter is over!

Look what he found!  He's cleaning it up and I'm trying to figure out where to put it.

(Or if I should sell it.)

I'm sure we got it at a garage sale, thrift store or off the curb.
Neither of us can remember though...

venturing beyond familiar

 Saturday, my husband and I ventured beyond "familiar" into our neighbor state - Ohio.

Thrifting and lunch was our agenda.

At one shop (Lima, OH), after we had selected clothes from the 75% off rack,

I was told we could have had 6 items for $1.00!

I was running out of time, so just took the 4 items I had for $1.00.

The Lee jeans above and the leopard print shirt at the bottom were two of them.

 At another store in another town (Delphos), I found these dishes for $.25 each.

 I'll use them in place of greeting cards--

maybe with a few brownies or cookies.

I found the jacket I'm modeling in the first photo at this shop, too.
I just love the "lines" on its back.
My husband came home with a pair of shoes and a couple of shirts, too.

It was both entertaining and productive to "Venture Beyond Familiar"!

Oh!  I almost forgot this white planter

which fits nicely with my collection

of white planters and ironstone.  Twenty-five cents, too.

another day; another doily

  Doilies seem to be finding me lately....

and though I am not a cat-lover personally,

I snatch up bargains like these notecards above to gift my cat-loving friend with!

OK.  Really.  This one MAY be the last jean jacket that I purchase for awhile, but

I couldn't resist the sequined decoration and its snazzy style.

In spite of what it looks like, here's what I wrote to Di in response to her comment following my last post:  "... believe it or not, I am not "thrifting" nearly so much since I came face-to-face with the extent of my accumulations while putting away Christmas decorations, etc. Sometimes though.....I combine my need for change of scenery with the hunt, most of the time refusing to pay the prices that seem to constantly rising...."

Ahem.  Have YOU noticed those rising prices?!?

I leave you in an awkward pose* trying to show my outfit for today's excursion:

jeans with a faded brown plaid pattern, a brown sweater, and comfortable reddish-brown flats.

All thrifted -- but years ago!

*Remember, my SmartPhone doesn't have a time delay feature on its camera,

and my husband was not available to take the picture.

what to do?

 Hmmmm.  This new Smart Phone isn't as "smart" as the last plain old cell phone I had before!

While sporting a stronger camera, it doesn't have a 10 second delay--

which has me worried when it comes to taking pictures of my Fashion Thrift.

(Today, F.T. includes a black top, and  lined grey slacks with a Talbot's label.)

What to do? What to do?

 Meanwhile, above is a Royal Traveller Casual Tote that I thrifted long ago.

I think I'm ready to pass it on.  I seldom tote my laptop with me anymore

and the few times I'd need a tote like this don't justify it taking up space.

(Read "Purge"!)

These five glasses I thrifted more recently at $.25@.  They are Johnson Bros. and are listed

on eBay for anywhere between $14.99 and $24.99@ if I'm reading it right!

I wonder if I'll have any luck selling them?

If not, I could set a table for more than 5 by alternating clear glasses with these.

What to do?

double denim-ing

 This morning I read about "double denim" at That's Not My Age.

I was intrigued enough to wear the denim skirt this morning

with a black tee.

By this afternoon I was Double Denim-ing BIG time

with this new 50-cent jacket found at a thrift store about 30 miles north of us.

It was a beautiful day for a drive and I just had the urge to go check it out.

With this "new" jean jacket enthusiasm, I'll be hanging out at Sharon's denim blog,

Live to Love Denim.  

I've enjoyed her at Thrift My Style -- Fashion, Vintage, Me

for quite awhile, and since I ♥ denim I'm enjoying this newer blog, too.

 For a quarter, I added the hand-decorated tin can (whimsical folk art)
made with colorful magazine pages;
and the cheerful doily was basically free
when my husband added it to his 2 pair of slacks and a
Van Heusen shirt - for a total of $3!

i resemble that cover (a little)

 Sometimes while looking at magazines at Barnes and Noble, 

certain rooms catch my attention and hold it!

Like THIS one (above).

Once I got home, I realized why!

This is one end of our living room--

obviously in transition between Christmas and Valentine's Day.

(This photo belongs on this blog of mine - Thrifty Style....

because as I look at the details, I realize how much of what we have

has come from thrift stores and curb sides.)

I know I'll never make a magazine,

but we DO resemble that cover a little bit,

don't you think?
~I think it's the red.~

small touches....big differences

Sometimes the smallest "touches" make the biggest differences...
I decided to stop with this small stencil of metallic gold acrylic craft paint on the "toes" of the table my husband has crafted.  If I should decide to sell it, more stenciling might narrow the field of potential customers--an ALREADY small field due to the unusual nature of the table.



The bracelet (right) was a small touch added to my Sunday morning outfit.  I left the house with only this piece of jewelry to complement my black, pinstriped skirt and red, white and black stretchy shirt...

"It has long been an axiom of mine

 that the little things are infinitely the most important."

  (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

waiting for the paint to dry

Pardon my excitement.....but I can't help myself!

My husband is Working Wonders with a couple of unrelated pieces

he uncovered while cleaning out our garage and rearranging his work space!

I can't wait for the paint to dry so I can stencil some metallic gold medallions

(or something) on the toes of this one-of-a-kind table!
You can click on the bold words above to see the project in process.

farmhouse french

 Recently at Cedar Hill Ranch, Anita (whose style I GREATLY admire)

 posted eight budget-friendly ways to add Farmhouse French

flavor to one's home.

 Until looking at her suggestions, I had no idea WHAT my style was

 besides Unmistakeably Eclectic!

 But now, I'm thinking I'm not so far from Farmhouse French.

 I don't need much urging to bring out my wooden bowls and ironstone.

 And I have baskets and chippy/peeling paint...

 ...and I even have some toille-patterned pillows!

 Now, if I can just educate myself about French furniture and

find me a piece or two at one of my Favorite Thrift Stores....

...I'd REALLY be living the Farmhouse French  home style!

Be sure to check Anita out!  I'm pretty sure you'll find her blog

as delightful as Anita seems to be herself.

Oops!  Almost forgot.  This piece of silver with Christmas candles
still on it will have to stand in for the piece or two of silver
that Anita says are part of Farmhouse French style.

 You notice that I'm not ready to show you how it all fits together
just yet...That's the challenge for me.  Getting it all set up.

my apparent obsession

 I'm not sure whether to show or hide my apparent obsession

with children's Golden Books (above)

and wooden puzzles (below).

This is only about 1/3 of my puzzle collection,

and there are probably close to 20 more Christmas-themed Golden Books

out in our Christmas cabin.

All of these items were purchased at thrift stores or garage sales

at extremely low prices.  Believe me!

Do you have any "apparent obsessions" with children's items?

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.

christmas sweater

It's a very cold day today, but this sweater is warm, it's seasonal, and it's old. It was on my closet shelf and originated in Christmases long, long ago.

Do YOU have an old sweater
that you hang on to?

I never wear this one enough to feel like I got my $$$'s worth.  It's rare that I buy a new sweater, but I bought a bunch like this back in the days when our family didn't number 19 and I was buying identical tops for us to wear for Christmas pictures....Given the numerical growth of our family (see prior post for picture) I can't afford to do that any longer.  (Maybe that's another reason I don't part with THIS one.)

♪ whoo ♪

"grandchildren on your knee"

 When I get older losing my hair,
Many years from now,
Will you still be sending me a valentine
Birthday greetings bottle of wine?

If I'd been out till quarter to three
Would you lock the door,
Will you still need me, will you still feed me,
When I'm sixty-four?

oo oo oo oo oo oo oo oooo
You'll be older too, (ah ah ah ah ah)
And if you say the word,
I could stay with you.

I could be handy mending a fuse
When your lights have gone.
You can knit a sweater by the fireside
Sunday mornings go for a ride.

Doing the garden, digging the weeds,
Who could ask for more?
Will you still need me, will you still feed me,
When I'm sixty-four?

Every summer we can rent a cottage
In the Isle of Wight, if it's not too dear
We shall scrimp and save
Grandchildren on your knee
Vera, Chuck, and Dave

Send me a postcard, drop me a line,
Stating point of view.
Indicate precisely what you mean to say
Yours sincerely, Wasting Away.

Give me your answer, fill in a form
Mine for evermore
Will you still need me, will you still feed me,
When I'm sixty-four?

Whoo!

 Maybe you noticed the change in my blog header?  Christmas Day was my birthday.  And yes, I'm old enough to remember the Beatles singing this song!  Whoo!