A Furniture Weekend!!

Friday morning I went to a garage sale. I got there right after it opened, since I made a wrong turn. The ad had read, some antiques and vintage furniture etc.
Well I ended up buying several pieces. My husband had to come, and help me make several trips, with my bounty.
We finally got it all home, and stored it for now in the garage. I still need to clean it, and paint the black dresser off white.

I got this cute little table with the twig legs for $5.
The coffee table that you see up above is for my daughter. I have one just like it, and she always asks me if she can have it. Well now she has her own.
The white patio set you see has 5 chairs, not 4 not 6, but 5.
My other set has 4 chairs, so I went cushion shopping yesterday.
My daughter will be taking my old set to her new house, in a couple of weeks.

Anyway, the chairs are really unique. The backs move with your back, and they are really comfortable. The table is much bigger, than the one I have now.

I got this, great dresser for $25.00. I had actually been looking for one, that is why I went to the sale in the first place.
Finally, I got this English sideboard/dry sink for $75.00. I have always wanted one for my dining room. I just hope I can figure out where to put it.
In case you were wondering, the patio set was $100.00.
We made many trips to this woman, Sherri's house. She was very nice, and we hit it off. She has a booth at an antique mall, near me. She had lots of other wonderful things for sale too. I wanted it all. When I get everything cleaned up and in place, I will show it to you.
Hope you are all having a great Monday!

Tussie Mussie Swap

Here is a glimpse of the tussie mussie, that I am making for the swap.
It's almost done, and ready to ship off to Texas. I hope my swap partner likes it.

Tussie mussies are fun to make. I was already in practice, from working on them for my daughter's wedding shower. This one is a bit bigger. It's a funny thing, that my partner in the swap (Carrie) likes browns and blues. Those are the same colors of the wedding shower.

I will show you the finished product, before I ship it away. I am filling it with lots of pretties.

Hope you are having a lovely weekend!

Giant Hydrangeas!!!

These are my giant hydrangeas!!
They are getting so large, that we can barely walk up to our front door. I can't trim them back, because they have so many new flower buds.

I guess the best thing to do, is just enjoy them, and walk around. They were just sticks 5 months ago. Who knew??

I added a couple more pictures of things to see, after you get around the hydrangeas.

Enjoy, and have a great day!!

Monday, Garden Swap

Here it is Monday again. You know, typical, blah, after the weekend Monday. Oh, contraire!! Monday just got better.
With the arrival of the mail. There was big package on my front porch. For moi??

Yes, a package all the way from Michigan.

It's my garden swap package from Dolly of, From My Cherry Heart. YAY!
She is a sweetheart, who sent me some really great treasures. Look at the lovely frame/china plate that she made. Of course with pink roses. A lovely little silver basket, filled with lavender sachets.
A little canister with a bird nest on it. I love bird nests!!!
I especially love the blue jay candle holder. Everything she made, and chose, was very well thought out, with my likes in mind.
She is a great swap partner!! (I hear, she is really into the swapping thing) We are both in Maria's, Tussie Mussie swap. Whoever has her for a partner, will be very happy!

Thank you so much Dolly!!

I hope everyone is having a, not so blah Monday too!

Shower Favors and Tea !

I got this bright idea to make party favors, for my daughter's upcoming wedding shower. It's being given by her friend, and bridesmaid Jen, in September.

This is my little prototype. My daughter loved it, and asked if I could make 25?? Of course I can. So I have been working on this little project for the last couple of days.

We are going to fill them with candies. We will have each person's initial on their own tussie mussie, or cone as I like to call them.

Today I took a little break from project central. I went to lunch with my mom, and we stopped in at TJ Maxx.
I could not leave without buying this darling teapot. Then I saw the tea.
A pretty green tin with a crown on it, I jumped on that one. Tea and teapot
$14.00. Sitting down to a cup of tea, after finishing project, priceless!




Here are all of my cones piled up in my new work room, hutch. They are waiting for ribbon, initials and pink tickets.
If you click to enlarge, maybe you can see my daughter's save the date card, that she made.
That is her giant cat Max in the center.

Have a wonderful day!

French Festival and Wedding Reception Site!

Today started with a quick trip to Santa Barbara, for the French Festival. We had never been, and wanted to check it out. It is just about an hour to get to Santa Barbara, from my home.
It was smaller than I had expected, but very cute and very French.


There were many food booths, including french pastry and champagne. Lattes, and crepes.
There was french music and berets. Booths with french tee shirts, and everything french. I don't know any of these people in the pictures above. Just wanted you to see the Eiffel towers.

Now for the important stuff. We then drove back from Santa Barbara, only to drive to Pacific Palisades, near Santa Monica. Our daughter Amanda's wedding will be in October. That is Joe and Amanda, aka Groom and Bride. We met them at Temescal Gateway Park, home of the best wedding reception ever! They will be married at St. Monica's church in Santa Monica. Then have their reception here in Temescal Gateway Park. The building is from the 1920's. It came out very dark. I will give you much better pictures from the actual wedding reception in Oct.
They wanted something rustic, to go along with the October, close to Halloween wedding date.
(There will be a full moon that night) This wedding has been years in the making.
Amanda and Joe met at UCSB in 2000. They got engaged 3 years ago, and waited for Joe to finish law school. He graduated last May from Pepperdine Law. (in Malibu) So they will be getting married on their 7 1/2 year dating anniversary. (So I am told)
Amanda is keeping our family tradition, of getting married in the month of October.
My grandmother, my mother, and I, all got married in October. Amanda thought it would be a nice tradition to keep going. Not to mention, that she loves the Fall and Halloween. There will be plenty of pumpkins, leaves, corn stalks etc. at this reception. We have been working on decorations, invitations and the list goes on. This is what I am doing with my Summer vacation.
If you would like, you can visit Amanda's wedding website. http://amanda-and-joe.weddingannouncer.com/
When I got married, we didn't have a wedding website, oh yeah, we didn't have computers.


Have a great Monday!!!

More Views Of The Kitchen

Two days ago I posted a little glimpse of my kitchen. I have had requests for more views.


This corner is in the family room, which spills out into the kitchen.

The chippy bench above, I bought last summer on Ebay.
The white rooster was a clearance sale item from Target. A couple people asked to see a closer look, of the mercury glass bird. (From B on Main in Ventura)



When I got my new stove, I didn't know what to do for a back splash. I bought this painting from my friend Karen, and voila, back splash. I put a few coats of poly over it, in case I am being a messy cook. (But that never happens) Every French kitchen should have the cookbook that you see above. It not only has recipes, it has tips, and a french way of life.
If you notice the corbels above the stove, they match the ones from the window valance, in the previous post. ( They are the perfect match, yet they were found at 2 different flea markets, at different times)





This corner has recently become, wedding invitation central. I am doing the calligraphy on the envelopes, for my daughter's October wedding.
We had the glass, put into our cupboard doors. It is called bubble or rain glass. It looks antique. We had the 4 doors next to the sink done like that. It gives a very open light look.
I hope you enjoyed the tour.

I was tagged again yesterday.

Here are a couple more random things about myself:
I can't stand any little weeds in the cracks of the sidewalk, or driveway. I have to constantly pick them out.

I am the one in in charge of audio visual. My husband is too busy, so I learn how to operate the TV and Tivo etc. I am the one in control of that.

I have been with my husband since I was 16. I got married at 20, and we have been married for 30 years. 31 this October. If you do the math, I guess you know that I just turned 51. (I can't believe it either) People always tell me I don't look that old. Not a good way to put it.

I only had one child, a daughter who is 26.

I like creepy stuff, like scary books and movies. Halloween is my favorite holiday.

There you go, a few more weird/random facts.

Have a great day!!!

Kitchen Window

Just wanted to show you a glimpse of my kitchen window treatment.
I used an old header, and 2 old corbels. I got the header from my friend Karen.
I told my husband Mark that I wanted to use it as a valance. He put it up for me, to my specifications. I really love it.


The cute little chandelier came from the Rose Bowl Flea Market. It had already been rewired. Mark took out the old ugly light, and wired in my chandelier.

The little mercury glass bird is another favorite thing in my kitchen. He greets me every morning.

Hope you are having a great Tuesday!

Fun at the Flea Market

The Paris Flea Market in Carpinteria was cloudy and cool, but fun just the same. (I'm sure some of you would like cloudy, and cool about now).


As You can see, they put up their own Eiffel Tower. That is my friend Karen sitting at the entrance. She is a dealer, and a friend. She always has amazing stuff. You would love her, she is the nicest lady. This is a very small Flea Market, but really fun, french, and girly. Mark patiently waited for me while I shopped, and he also carried everything for me. ( What a guy)!!





Here are my french flea market finds. This great old red bench, I got from Karen. Some red toile paper for my art. A great french towel, which I am going to use as a table runner. We also stopped in Ventura on the way back. We had some lunch, at the Savory Bakery and Cafe, in keeping with the french theme. I picked up this lovely ribbon at my favorite shop, Garden Memories. Barbara the owner, said she had just gotten the ribbon in. Of course, I had to have some.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

French Inspiration

Here we are again, inspiration Friday!
Today, as everyday, I am inspired by all things French. I don't really know how it started, but I know that I like it.





I think that the French architecture, food, lifestyle, art, decorating etc. are wonderful!

I am Italian, and I think Italy has great architecture and food too, but I guess I have developed this affinity for all things French!
I've noticed on the blogs, that other people feel the same way. There is just something very intriguing about it.

I hope you enjoy some pictures from around my home, and my little bits of France.

The lampshade was a huge splurge, from one of my favorite shops in Ventura. A lady hand makes the shades, using French fabric.



Tomorrow, I am off again to Carpinteria, and to the Paris Flea Market.
As soon as I get brave enough to fly, I will travel to France. Last summer I made the big step and got a passport. (Believe me that was a big step)!!!


Have a wonderful weekend!