Old Is Gold

I love old things. I am sure you can tell that by now. I love to collect presidential items and have started picking up a few old postcards, but the nicest surprise came from a dear friend when she sent me this beauty of

a card she found at a local shop near her.   

The card was sent in 1920 to a recipient in the town my friend actually lives in.

Though I love my old treasures, I use them if I can.

I found this old grain sifter, a real conversation piece, as no one knows what it is.

Just What We Needed

I cannot begin to tell you how nice my weekend with my hubby was. He has worked on a job out of town for seven months and only makes it home for a night or two a week. It is wearing on us. We don't like to be apart. He took a few days off and came home to us and we just had such a wonderful time. Nothing special.

Just family time.

My little one filled her rain boots to water the plants.

We of course went to the nursery.

But mostly we did a lot of this...

And moved at a snails pace.

And I enjoyed just watching this. Dad and Q playing in her kitchen.

Girls if your hubby throws his socks on the floor everyday and you complain about it, stop and pick them up as gift to him. It means he is there with you. I want to pick up more dirty socks. Oh, I can't wait until this job wraps up. 

I am actually off to spend a few days with him at his hotel since it is spring break here and the kids won't need me as much. Thank goodness for grandparents.

Linking to:

A Delightsome Life

Coastal Charm

BNOTP

A Stroll Thru Life

Thankful Thursday

A Tiny Break

Taking a little break for a few days to focus on my hubby who works out of town and who I dearly miss. I called him on Thursday and told him to take a few days off and get home to me. Yep I did. I needed to be near him. And thankfully he made it happen. Yeah! See you all in a few.

Coffee Time

Ever have one of those weeks where by Wednesday you already feel you lived the week twice? It is Thursday and life has been so crazy busy this week that I just need my coffee. Yep, I am weak and it is what keeps me going. I admit my addiction but boy does that first cup in the morning taste good. A small treat in life to savor before another crazy day starts around here.

For me it is a time of reflection and a chance to organize my day.

Linking to:
BNOTP
Rednesday
My Cottage Charm
My Romantic Home

Vintage Garden

A garden is so much more than plants and trees and grass. It is being surrounded by the things we use and enjoy while we are outdoors. Mine is a simple garden and I love my vintage tools and touches.

I love old watering cans. Works of art in a yard.

Old andirons found in my parents garage. My father was a mason and said they came from some huge fireplace he repaired.

An old green bucket that now holds pansies.

This area of my yard holds all my garden tools. This old galvanized bucket holds whatever I need to lug around the garden. I dare say it will outlast any plastic bucket you'd buy today.

Old rusted shovels, long past their use are now decor for my shed.

These were used in this very yard by my husband's grandmother, a prolific gardener and planter of way too many orange trees.

Vintage dining.

Our cast iron bench that is so heavy it takes two to move it and a not so vintage kitty.

Linking to:
Vintage Thingie Thursday
Lily-Rose Cottage
Brambleberry Cottage
My Romantic Home
The Thrifty Groove
Sat. Night Special

I've Done Been Robbed!

Tis' true! My hubby has done stole my laptop. He has decided he gets too bored up in those hotel rooms and needed my laptop as an extra diversion. So here I am at my desktop and not able to spend as much time in Blogland as I would like. I miss my baby and all of its bookmarks. I feel my left arm is missing or half of my brain. What does this say about me? It has given me some extra time to play with the kids and get some good old cleaning done. Don't feel too bad as I was instructed to go out and buy myself a new laptop but I hate shopping for electronics and have not bothered to do it yet. I will probably just buy what I had before but it involves going into BestBuy. Sorry to all you tech fans but I hate that store. It is so cold and sterile and monochromatic in there. Must suck up the courage as I miss visiting all of you! Here I go.....

Frugal Challenge Update - Laundry/Clothing

Wow is all I can say. You sure can see a rise in clothing prices. I am a Target shopper. Love them. They are coupon friendly and the prices are good and you can get such a variety of items under one roof. I am bummed though that they closed their garden centers. While in Target today I was really surprised at the rising prices of clothes. I have been on the hunt for some pants. The last pair I purchased was a pair of jeans six months ago. Now usually you can pick up a pair of Merona brand pants for under $20 but not now. I did find a pair but had to pay $25. Now I may sound cheap but $25 for pants at Target seems high but that was what they were asking. Don't get me wrong, I love the thrift stores too but haven't been able to find some that I liked. Heck they are even getting expensive. It's used stuff people. You can't charge what a retail store would charge. I digress.

Maybe I am in shock because I don't shop for clothes often. Rising cotton prices I fear and other inflationary factors are to blame. I really try to stretch out clothing budget by taking care of the clothes we own. I always check for stains and repair items that are worth keeping. No more does an item hang in my closet with the tags on it unworn. I try everything on at the store and make sure I love it before it comes home with me. Making my own laundry soap helps me to keep down the cost of maintaining our clothes. I had a couple of requests recently for the recipe. Here it the link to my laundry soap recipe. I have made one change to the recipe and that is I no longer dilute with water. I just mix the dry ingredients and use it that way. I decided to try it out to save on time and storage space and it is working great. I use the scoop from the OxyClean and only fill it half way. That is about a heaping tablespoon.

Linking to:
Raising Homemakers
Homestead Revival
The Thrifty Home

Remember Those 50's Tiles?

I mentioned in my post on my kitchen that I had strategically hid the 50s tiles in our kitchen. I've always gone for more of a country look but we have decided to embrace the tiles and tie them into our decor. So we are taking this kitchen back to the 50s. I am keeping my dishwasher though. We are trying to pick a color for paint. And I have already been pulling together some new decor. The picture is a little dark as it was very cloudy when I shot this photo. Anyone know the name of the tile? I thought is was Sunburst but we have always just called them the George Jetson tiles.

How cute is this sign? But I am not much for pink.

We are thinking more in the line of blues, greens and reds. I then found the most amazing ebay store. I am so getting these shelf liners.

How bout this tablecloth? 

Linking to:

Rednesday

**UPDATE. A few nice folks have told me that the polka dot shelf  liners in the photo above are actually trim for classroom boards and are available for a few bucks at education supply stores.

Easter Decor Part One

The spring bug has hit us and we have broke out some of the Easter decor.

A sweet little bunny on a kitchen shelf guarding the graters.

Changed up the table decor with another little bunny. Need to break out my white table cloth.

Some eggs added to a vintage grater.

A bunny with blue accents fits perfectly in my den.

This one is peeking out from behind the little birdbath.

A few people asked where I bought my bee hive and it is from a shop near me but I did see one online. Here is the link Bee Hive.

  Some very prim bunnies that were a gift. My kids make fun of them every year when I pull them out.

Linking to:

Tabletop Tuesday

Coastal Charm

Met Monday

Toot Your Horn Tuesday

Sugar Bee

Faded Charm

Savvy Southern Style

Alphabe Thursday

BNOTP

Spring Riot

It is a riot of color breaking out in the garden. I find myself out there with the camera everyday.

Hey this little guy is trying to eat my flowers.

The Iris are at their peak.

I wish I could capture the color of my Japanese Maple. It is so deep burgundy.

Have you ever seen one of these trees? It is an Henry Lauder's Walking Stick. Strange name and strange little tree with its curly twisted branches.

Linking to:

Met Monday

Boogie Board Cottage

The House in the Roses

Dittle Dattle

Motivate Me Monday

Coastal Charm

A Southern Daydreamer

Easter is Coming!

Just a sneak. Easter is beginning to arrive at our house.