Antiques CAN be fun!

My neighbors are better than yours.  And that's just a fact.  One of these awesome neighbors happens to love auctions, probably almost as much as I love garage sales.  She picked up this antique piece for $5 and I very happily took it out to the barn.  I just finished painting it (*gasp* - I painted an antique!) and it almost makes me wish I had done Tori's room in pink!  Another gasp! 

BEFORE (pictured without mirror)

AFTER :)

Monkey Dresser

BEFORE

How I wish I could take credit for this dresser. It is simply the most spectacular redone piece of furniture ever.  These pictures are being used with permission from the lovely and talented Laura Netti.  Why didn't I think of this??

Tour from Tori - my nursery

Hi. They call me Tori.  I got myself two big brothers and we just aren't into pink and frills, so can you believe the duds they got me wearing for this?!  Well, I'm about to take you on a tour of my crib, and you won't find a speck of pink in it (unless you peek inside the closet).  I'm going to let you in on a few secrets, since my mommy doesn't believe in "wasting" money.  However, she did fork over some moola for the curtain fabric since she said something about me being a girl... and she'd never done a nursery for the boys... shows how I rate in the family, huh!  The princess has spoken, folks!  Now then, let's start with my bed.  Guess who else slept in this bed?  My mommy!  The balls were bright red and blue, so of course, those had to get painted my favorite color, turquoise.  I guess she didn't care that they looked gaudy and out dated when my big brothers slept in there.  Grandma made my curtains which we hung on fancy rods found at a garage sale for $1.  Now that big wood flower you see hanging on the wall?  (Good thing there aren't earthquakes in these here parts!)  Mom just picked that up at the Homer Hogstravaganza craft show.  The guy gave it to her for $6, because he said anyone with that many kids deserved a discount.  Weird thing is, just my brothers were with her!  Maybe he had double vision.  Know what my garbage can is?  One of those big tins that once contained 3 flavors of popcorn - just what everyone on your Christmas list who is hard to buy for will receive.  She wrapped two rows of that paintable wallpaper border around it (left over from her bedroom, 7 years ago, of course).

Now on to the cool shelf Grandpa Scott made, so high I'll never be able to reach it!  Mommy put it on the "to do" list on one of Grandpa's visits from Iowa (and she wonders why he doesn't come to visit very often!).  See, she had these brackets she bought a long time ago at IKEA and told him to go dig around in the corncrib for some boards.  He wasn't satisfied with what he found.  Grandpa can be picky sometimes.  So Mommy pulled out this tall bookcase that was hiding in Tobin's closet and he took it all apart and turned it into my shelf!  Then we found some chair rail from the barn to complete the look on the other side.  There was just enough!  As for the flowers that decorate the top, mom plopped them in little clay pots which she bought at JoAnn's and spruced up with a stripe of teal paint around each one and finished it off by tying a strip of brown polka dot fabric around the middle.  My mommy has this really cool friend named Laura who likes to spoil me.  She came over one day and painted those white flowers on the wall, just for me!  If you look closely, you'll see the "hippo" bank on my dresser and not pictured is a very rad light switch plate cover.  Laura painted those too.   The little rocking chair, that hopefully I'll be big enough to use soon, was stashed away in the Jackson Antique mall.  It was kind of scary looking, but mommy painted it white with a cool brown flower. My vanity dresser and the music stand that holds all my burp clothes and other baby necessities are from my daddy's grandpa's house.  Mommy painted them white and I think they're pretty neat!  One last thing, the rocking chair mommy sometimes feeds me in was a freebie from a friend, who was too nice to tell great aunt Maggie Lou it wasn't wanted.  Everyone seems to have mommy's number on speed dial when they have stuff they don't want!
  It sat in the barn, ready for a "free sign" to be stuck on it, when Grandma Kim convinced mommy that despite it's "not so stylin'" looks, it was pretty comfy!  I'm glad she saved it.  I love to snuggle with her in it!

pictured: music stand on the left, freebie rocker, shelf on top from a dismantled bookcase, and white vanity dresser

Free Photo Magnets!! - offer expired

You heard it here first!!!  No catch, no shipping and handling, no credit card, nothing.  I tried it and it works!  Go to www.free-photo-magnets.com and upload your picture and in a few days, wa la! 25 photo magnets delivered right to your door!!!  Here's the three little darlings that will now be on a few fridges... :)  oh, well maybe a few of you would think this is a "catch", I just don't happen to think so.  Their website is written across the bottom.  Didn't even notice, did you?

Thrify Thoughts #16-20 - vehicles

Special edition Thrifty Thoughts on our beloved automobiles.

16.This one is huge.  Never. ever.  EVER buy a new car.  Here's an analogy I heard once that should be enough to scare you away.  Imagine driving your new car off the lot (which loses 20-40% of it's value right there!) and every Monday morning on your way to work, rolling down your window and tossing a hundred dollar bill out into the ditch.  Is that going to add up?  My friend, that is going to add up.

For most people, this is a pride issue.  Will an older, used model that you can pay for WITH CASH get you from point A to B?  Yes.  Will it be good for your ego to show up in that not-so-new vehicle?  Heck yes.  Get over yourself. ;) Unless of course you have the means - to people that think 30 grand is chump cash, buy those new cars - we need you for our economy!  Otherwise, repeat after me: Cars are NOT AN INVESTMENT.  It is a depreciating asset.  If you don't have the money in your account for it, you shouldn't be buying it.  I realize there may be a few exceptions to this rule, since in this day and age cars are pretty much a necessity, and some folks will need to get a small loan.  Avoid at all cost if you can.

17.Grab a bucket, rag, and some soap and wash that vehicle in your driveway.  Got kids?  Have some fun with them while you're at it!  Your lazy rear doesn't need to sit in a magic carwash, and those dollars could be put to better use.

18.Don't trade your car in.  If they can make a profit on it, SO CAN YOU!

19. Combine trips.  You need to hop in your car every time you think of something you "need"?  It's only a few blocks away you say....   Yes, I am somewhat of a homebody.  But some of my "hermit-like" behavior is to save gas.  Need milk and eggs?  I phone the hubby and say to pick some up on his way home from work.  Can the grocery shopping wait for 2 days when I have a dentist appointment so I can make one trip out of it?  Yup, sure can!

p.s. if it is only a few blocks away - walk or RIDE YOUR BIKE!

20.Now this one I need to preach to myself.  I once tried this and the results were unbelievable.  In fact, they were so unbelievable I should probably test it again to make sure I did it right!  Instead of driving like a maniac, like every destination has the potential to get us a NASCAR trophy, drive conservatively.  I am aware this is supposedly a no-brainer.  However, when I actually practiced it (no gunning it when the light turns green, screeching to halts, driving 15mph over the limit, etc) , I got over 100 more miles on a tank of gas!!!! wowzers.

Homer Hogstravaganza

The Homer Hogstravaganza was a first and probably not the last for me! Homer is a small town of about 1,800 people in southwest Michigan.  I first heard about it while glancing through the Salesman - a free weekly "newspaper" of sorts - and the words "craft show" caught my eye.  Now I had been to Homer once, back in the day before kids and we lived in Jackson.  Our weekend fun activity usually involved hopping on our bikes with a picnic lunch and riding to some small out-of-the-way town.  Homer happened to be our destination on one such weekend.  All I remember about it was the nice cement basketball court I took a nap on.  Anyways, I'd been accumulating quite a few crafty things in the barn without an outlet and also making baby headbands, which seem to be all the rage these days.  So I bought a bunch of supplies, paid my $5 booth fee, that's right - $5 - and got to work.  Originally the fee was $10, but the craft show commander and chief had to be fair since the farmer's market was only charging $5.  Laura came out to help and good thing too, since I quickly started to lose my voice!  Our little headband model, Tori, arrived around noon and then sales skyrocketed.  Well, she helped anyway.  But then there was a lull in sales, since baby model fell fast asleep under the table.  When the outhouse races, hog calling contests, mini tractor pulls,watermelon tosses, parade, and Stand Strength Team show were over, it seemed our business was as well.  We began to pack up.  But my partner in crime, or crafts, did my dirty work and walked up and down the main street hawking our wares.  In a matter of 10 minutes she sold a whole load of headbands.  People who didn't even know they needed one, were buying them.  For instance, the woman who said she thought huge flowers on babies were obnoxious got talked into a headband with a dainty little flower.  After she forked over the money she exclaimed, "I don't even know anyone who would wear this!"  Laura was born for sales.  We need to come up with a better set up system though as any little gust of wind sent us into a tizzy trying to hold everything in place.  One of my poor windows succumbed to the wind and now sits cracked and waiting for it's life sentence in the dump.  See you next year, Homer!

An every day must

Or at least every other day!  Part of my morning ritual is to check www.icravefreebies.com which has all kinds of useful, ridiculous, yummy, you-name-it stuff you didn't know you needed (and some you DO need) for free!  I have gotten a free Energy drink (anyone want it btw??), lots of hair products, snacks, deoderant, garbage bags, laundry detergent, and the list goes on!  Plus, how fun is it to get something in your mailbox other than junk mail?!  I'm liking it!  Just don't get tricked by all the "free ads" they have sneakily placed in between each offer!  (Mom!). :)

Orange paint leftovers

I had orange paint for my living room mixed and then there it sat.  Longing to be worn by that one wall in my living room.  My good pal Laura was at my house and convinced me at 11:00 one night that it was a good time to do some orange'n up in that room.  It didn't take much so I've come up with some ways to use some more of that paint, and some leftover salmon color from the porch.  Great background for my latest canvas paintings! Note: Canvases are "upcycled" from a friend who was tired of looking at the scene on them! Score! :)

homeless hearts

I saw these out-of date heart  shelves all the time while garage saling and just kept walking.  Then.... I got a few brainstorms for how to update them for a girl's room.  I just don't know who's "girly room" to put them in!  So for now, they are stashed away out in my barn, waiting for a home.

Team "no helmet"

I was amongst about 15,000 bike riders last week during a day of RAGBRAI.  For those of you unfamiliar with Iowa or biking, this is one amazing week.  It stands for Registers Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa.  I am one of those day riders, not there for the whole week.  Some day, when I'm not nursing a 3 month old perhaps, I will do the whole ride, which is usually around 550 miles.  It's on my bucket list.  I saw a   man wearing a "team bucket list" jersey, by the way!  Now out of these thousands of bike riders, I counted SIX people without a bike helmet.  And three of them included myself, my husband, and my father.  I will not rant and rave about the RIGHT TO RIDE HELMETLESS in this posting.  But I will include some of the harrassment I received during those 95 miles of beautiful corn fields.  These comments started approximately 30 seconds into the ride.

Middle Aged Man: Where's your helmet?
Me: In the store
Repeat above dialogue about 37 times changing the Middle aged man to random different people.

Overheard by my husband: "There's a 17 year old girl back there, long ponytail, without a helmet!!"
Tim: "Hey, that's my wife!"
Uncle Kelly: "Sex offender!"
Me: "They thought I was 17?!  Saweeeeet!"

Young man: You need a helmet!
Me: Thanks, Mom
Young man: *rant, rave, rant rant about dangers and injuries, yada yada.....*

Woman: You should be wearing a helmet!!!
Me: It's not the law.
Woman: Well it's the law on RAGBRAI!

Man: Where's your helmet?
ANNOYED Me: ohhhh kiss mine!
Man: hahaha, just don't want you to hurt that pretty little head.....

Woman: You'd look hotter with a helmet on.
Me: But I'm pretty sexy without one, too!  (Okay so that really wasn't my response....)

The whole day went like this.  RAGBRAI is awesome.  But this time, the intense, serious riders who think they are really something kind of got to me. I put my 95 miles in.  It  felt good, and amazingly, I wasn't sore the next day.  I did it, Dad. :)

And the next overweight rider who dared to say one word to me about my helmet absence they were going to get this line:  "Shall I lecture you on the hazards of being overweight?!"

To wear a helmet should be my choice, thank you.

P.S. I'll be in Heaven when I die.

Our new "Pool"

Okay so I wanted a pool.  Inground.  I sort of got one.  But one that doesn't call for an expensive new liner when boys toss in sharp objects,  or call for chemicals, or pool ladders, etc.  Okay, maybe the chemical part isn't totally true.  AND this "pool" can be used in the winter!  How do you like that?  Okay so we call it our swimming hole, the poor man's pool.  But someday.... I still would love a real in ground money eater....  but how practical is that in Michigan?  Last summer we had one good super hot week, and then in the middle of July, we wore winter coats - and I am not exaggerating - to the Hot Air Jubilee.  Winter coats!!  Anywho, they say Iowan's are hillbillys.  But I happen to think Michigan has turned me into one.  But I don't mind.

Patriotic Panes

How happy am I that only one of these old windows in the barn sold from my Craigslist ad last summer.  I've discovered how easy they are to paint on! I use acrylic paint and do the backside the it is protected by the glass.  I was inspired by an old window painted with a flag that my friend bought for her in-laws.  This idea actually stuck in my memory (a rare occasion, folks) and I finally picked up a paint brush and just did it!  Hopefully more to come....

treasure from a trailer park

before

 

Stopped in to a garage sale one day in a run down trailer park.  The toothless gentleman was extremely friendly.  I was about to leave when I noticed this shelf sitting off by itself.  Is that for sale?  Sure, take it for fifty cents.  It just needed a good cleaning, some more cleaning, and paint.  I used a stencil to add some detail on the edge and finished by covering it in polyurathane.  It went up for sale for $25 but there were no takers.  I'm glad.  It was just what I needed when I redecorated my dining room!  So think twice before you poo poo trailer park garage sales!

A blond moment. Go ahead and laugh.

So we wonder how blonds got such a bad rap.  Well, about five years ago, I added my pea to the pot and contributed to the idea that blonds might really be one fry short of a happy meal!  Here's my story.  If you've ever hung out around a campfire with me, you've probably heard this and know what's coming.  You have the right to skip this one.


Like every good garage saler, I thoroughly examine the "garage sale" section of our free Salesman publication every week and highlight what interests me.  "Neighborhood sales" always catches my eye and it happened to be in the trailer park just a few miles from my house.  (Stop it, I know what you're thinking.  But what's wrong with garage saling in a trailer park?).  So I hop in my truck and drive like a maniac Friday morning to the park, making sure I'm the first in line.  After driving up and down several streets, I've not noticed one single sale.  I'm about to leave in a huff when I notice 2 bikes with a for sale sign out by the street.  Behind all the trees I see a beautiful looking yard sale!!!  I park and hop on out.  A large, grumpy looking man is sitting on his wood porch by the front door, waiting for his money box to fill up.  A rake.  Looks brand new!  Just what I need.  I hate it when things don't have prices on them!  "How much for the rake?"  I enthusiastically inquire.  "It's not for sale!"  comes the reply.  Okay then, why's it out here with all this stuff?  Stuff, I quickly notice, consists almost entirely of stuffed animals.  I find another treasure and repeat my question, with the same response, only this time much more emphasis on the "NOT" for sale part!  I keep digging, and a few puzzled moments later, he stands up and declares, "Lady, this is not a garage sale!"  I go back home and snack on some humble pie.  Then I check the ad again.  The neighborhood sales aren't until  the following weekend.

Chair. Plain and simple.

My chair got a sleek makeover one day last week.  $25 and it's yours. :)

Asian Salmon Stirfry

5 carrots
2-3 cups fresh or frozen green beans
2 or 3 salmon burgers (cooked and cubed)
fresh or frozen broccoli (optional)
sliced bell pepper (optional)

Saute all together in a fry pan with olive oil and sprinkle with some onion powder, chicken bouillon (1 tbls?), and pepper.

Cook rice in separate pan (I make enough for 2 servings).

When stirfry is cooked till tender, pour on and stir:
1/4 cup creamy poppyseed dressing
2 Tbls teriyaki sauce/marinade

Serve over rice.  I also add extra poppy seeds.  Don't take a drug test for a potential job after eating this!

Thrifty Thoughts #11-15

11. Instead of plastic wrap, use....drum roll please.... shower caps!  If you're at a hotel, these usually come complimentary in a little box.  Cover dishes with them, wash, and reuse!  They do make these for food, but you'd have to pay for them. :)  p.s. yesterday while driving to a lawn site, I stopped in at a garage sale and among the great finds I got was a flower shower cap, new in the package for 25 cents.  For the extra money, I thought it would be fun to see the flowers in my fridge.  haha.  I'm being a little sarcastic... sort of??

12. Pack your lunch for work.  Add up how much you spend buying lunch in a month.  Now add up how much it costs to throw leftovers in a lunch bag, or make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  You'll save enough money to build the patio in a previously mentioned blog (May 24)!  Oh, and for those of you who are not morning people - I pack the lunch the night before.  Or while I'm putting leftovers from supper away, slip some into a container (an empty sour cream container of course, see tip # 14!) and straight into the lunchbox so it's all ready to grab in the morning.
13. When you buy sponges for your kitchen, cut them in half.  You don't need a mammoth one to get the job done.  When it's time to have a funeral for your sponge, you have the other half to replace it.
14. Never buy plastic storage containers for leftovers.  When finished with a plastic butter dish, cool whip, etc., don't throw it away!  Wash it and throw it in your tupperware drawer.  This is great when you want to send leftovers home with a friend - don't need to worry about getting your container back.  (This tip is just a given... right?!!!  I thought so... until some friends of mine made fun of me when they saw what I did!!)
15. Wash and reuse the big zip lock bags.  Unless they've had raw meat in them, then I tend to toss them.  I reuse the sandwich size ones on occasion like when I put some cookies in one for my hubby's lunch.  Next day, put his fresh cookies in it again.  Uhhh, I mean, carrot sticks.  Haha.

from days gone by...

Our civil war era house got completely renovated before we bought it.  Otherwise, we wouldn't have bought it.  The barn had quite the stash of old doors, windows, woodwork, etc.  I knew some day I'd get an idea and find a little time to do something with this great stash.  Well, after seven years of looking at those doors and no gumption to turn them into the stunning headboards I dreamed of, I posted them on Craigslist for $10 each.  Some sold.  Some sat in the rain and rotted.  However, one day as I rummaged through my grandparents basement, I found some wedding pictures that they were more than willing to let me have.  I decided these old pics would be just the perfect thing for one of those windows.  And here we are.  Please excuse the missing buttons.  I'm aware there is a hunk of glue where buttons once adorned this window, but my sweet hubby hung it on the wall for me, over the stairway and didn't bother to tell me as he hung it that some had the urge to bungee jump, without the rubberband.  I have no way of reaching it to fix this problem, and he has no way of getting the motivation to get it back off.  Humph.

one "junk day" item gets a makeover

So if you read the list of things I got during Parma "junk day", I have begun some makeovers on the furniture I hauled off the curbside.  Here is my first. I just posted this on Craigslist for a whole $20. Blast - I forgot to take a "before" pic!  By the way, the paint I used was a mistint I found at Lowe's for 50 cents.  I mixed a tad bit of black with it to give it a more grayish tone.  It was Valspar brand and ohhhh did it cover nicely.  Horray for "OOPS" paint!!

Ugly $1 end tables

These were quite the ugly pieces. Uhhhh, yeah.

I'm sure this two tiered beauty was a stylish piece in it's day

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER - I used:  A muddy black/brown colored paint, and coated it with a few layers of polyurethane.  The bamboo (?) legs got a coat of walnut colored stain/polyurethane all in one.  If you can find the "all in one" it saves a step - one that I despise!  I actually found the little can of brilliance at a garage sale. It was barely used. And like I always say, almost everything materialistic you need in life, you can find in a garage sale.

      

First come, first serve

Goodwill mirror BEFORE

So it is with Craigslist.  You gotta be on top of your game to ever get something good on the "free" list.  And if you live in my county, there's only something "good" in that category every 5 weeks.  One day, I clicked on to see if there was anything worthy of checking into and low and behold I see "Free - dresser".  There was no picture, but the description said it was "one of those sturdy, solid wood ones, unlike the cheap junk made today".  I called and said I'd take it. Then I made the reluctant call to my husband, the kind he is finally getting used to, to tell him he needed to pick it up after work.  An hour or so later, the dresser's owner called me to make sure I was serious, since her phone was ringing off the hook with eager free-furniture-seekers.  That afternoon, hubby Tim pulled in with a huge purple dresser, matching nightstand, and 2 large pieces of glass that fit on the tops.  I loved it! And how I wish I'd been smart enough to take a before picture.  But alas, you will have to use your imagination.  It's missing a drawer knob, but we can live with that.  The mirror, I found on a half off sale at Goodwill for $4.  Like everything else I acquire, it just needed a little paint!  It is now my 3 year old's set, and  holds almost all of his clothes.

LOVE the style of this nightstand.  Wasn't so crazy about it purple!  haha

Purple dresser turned 2 toned "boyish" with repainted mirror