Not Much To Say...

My clock collection.  My sister remarked that it makes no sense that none of them have the correct time. 

Can you imagine if I wound all of these up?  The ticking alone would send me off the deep end.  

And of course, once the alarms started going off, the neighbors would probably call the cops.

At any rate, this is just one of the many collections I have.  I don't go overboard with any of them.  You won't find me with tons of anything except bracelets.  Those I can't turn down.  

The weather has put a serious damper on my redecorating efforts.  I have a chandelier to paint!  I have a table to refinish.  I need no wind and no moisture.  And no cold would be nice too.  

Anyway, I'm sleepy and turning in early.  I'll be less boring tomorrow.

Easter Do-Over.

This was my Easter outfit.  It's a far cry from what I  thought I was going to wear, but the sunny yellow dress I was saving (for months) and looking forward to wearing, just didn't live up to the hype.  I found this dress in my closet and went with it.  I bought this (RETAIL!) a few years ago for my son's 8th grade graduation.  I still like it a lot.  The sweater is from some thrift haul some time ago (it's really starting to blurrrrr....) and the purse, likewise.  You may remember these shoes from last year.  I've worn them more times than I ever expected, partly because of the fact that they're comfortable, and partly because I love the color, but mostly because I love telling the story of how they got to be this fabulous!  The earrings are one of tons of vintage pairs that I own.  The dress fit well and I didn't have any complaints about how I looked in it, so I was happy with my impromptu put-together.

Still, I knew it needed a little oomph!  So right away, I got started on a matching purse.  I'd bought it for this purpose, but put it off with all of the home decorating I have going on.  I totally regretted it, because the do-over is so much better...agree?

I was very impatient and impulsive when I took this picture.  The purse hadn't been "detailed".  You know, fixing all the places where I failed to stay inside the lines.  It's done now, and ready to take outside the house.  

I was wearing the dress while I painted.  Impatient.  Impulsive.  Risky.  Dumb. 

The sweater?  You don't really have to ask, do you?

I was running low on the leather paint, so I added some acrylic craft paint that I had on hand. 

We'll see how it holds up, but it was super spreadable and the job was a quick one. 

Now, the reason that most of you are reading this tonight...I picked the winner the old fashioned way, sort of.  I didn't have a hat handy, but I did have my beloved Catherine Holm enameled pot.  I never, and never will, cook in it.  It is strictly for me to adore.  And pick names out of.  These next pictures are strictly for the purpose of dragging this thing out...

Hey Girl...you know who you are!  You are the big winner of the summertime drink set!  Congrats, and I'll talk to you on my Facebook page.  

And NOW I know how to get you all to read my blog...Give Stuff Away.

That Happened.

When I was a kid, my brother and his wife moved into a house with a stove unlike anything I'd seen.  You could only use Corning Ware on the stovetop.  The burners, defined only by a series of circles on the surface was a real mystery to me.  Of course, they bought a set of "Visions" cookware, and it worked out fine.  I didn't think the ceramic cooktops ever became really popular, because I never saw many after that, but apparently some people are still loving them.  They seem to have evolved, however, and you aren't just limited to Corning Ware.  I figured that out when I moved into this house and discovered a similar cooktop.  I was a little concerned about that shiny, flat surface, and I didn't have much in the way of Corning Ware.  There was no instruction to only use a certain type of cookware, as I remembered seeing on my brother's stove all those years ago.  I figured that there should be pretty clear instructions if that were the case, so I took a chance and used my enamelware, then tried out pretty much everything until I was convinced, as I now am, that this stove is going to work out just fine. (As long as I don't keep tempting fate.)

I had Easter dinner yesterday and we had baked chicken and shrimp, sweet potato casserole, salad, corn, rolls and mashed cauliflower.  There wasn't a lot left, but even with the little that was leftover, I didn't have anything to put it into.  I haven't lived here long enough to amass a collection of empty margarine tubs (if I do that, I have officially turned into my mother!) or Rubbermaid Take-a-Longs.  I have no storage or take home containers.  Not even a ziploc bag!  Then I remembered that I had one lidded dish that would work perfectly.  A piece of vintage Corning Ware.  I was so glad that I never got around to listing this for sale.  I don't collect the stuff, and I know it's highly collectible, so I figured I'd get a few bucks for it one day.

This little dish was perfect for the two pieces of chicken that were left, a few pieces of shrimp and a couple of scoops of that delicious cauliflower.  I put it all in the bowl together, figuring I'd pop it in the oven today for lunch.  

Lunchtime came.  I had another great idea!

Since I have this ceramic cooktop, I could just warm my lunch up on top of the stove!  My vintage Corning Ware (which turned out to be Pyrex---don't know if that made a difference) sat nicely on the burner, and after a short while I heard a little sizzling sound, which meant that lunch was almost ready.  I could just taste that tender chicken, the rosemary, the sea salt, the parsley.  And that cauliflower, buttery and creamy and lumpy in all the right places.  And I could hear a LOUD POP!  What the?  What?  

THIS HAPPENED...

Yeah, that's my lunch under glass.  On top of glass.  Mixed in with glass.  It kind of exploded.  

Pretty outrageous and scary.  Thankfully, it didn't splatter, just kind of stayed right there on the stove.  Perhaps even more outrageous is me digging around the shards of glass to rescue that chicken.  The cauliflower I could do without, but I've never met a piece of chicken that I didn't like.  My tastebuds were primed, I had a croissant split and waiting, and yes, I found the chicken unharmed and unscathed and I ate it.  THAT HAPPENED.

Sometimes I do really crazy things.  

Happy Easter, and How This Week Flew By.

I have been thinking for the past four days that I blogged on Tuesday of last week, meaning that it had ONLY been four days.  Not!  I blogged on Palm Sunday, which means that it's now been nearly a week.  By writing this just after midnight, it hasn't been quite a week, but I'm getting this in with just hours to spare.

I don't have a rule as to how many times each week I write, but I do know that once a week isn't helping with building my readership, and there has to be someone out there who's just waiting to hear what witty things I have to say!  Right?  You there??  

Needless to say, I have a Happy Easter outfit all planned for tomorrow.  It hinges greatly on this pair of heels that I have in my bag.  I'm not going to wear them a minute longer than necessary.  I'll be wearing loafers until I step out of the car and I'm hoping that I can get through two hours in the heels.  They are an essential part of the outfit, of course.  If not, I have a backup plan, but I don't want to use it.  Over 70 degrees has a lot of folks happy about the prospect of enjoying a full day of family and fellowship and fancy duds.  

Now, about why I haven't been writing.  I've been busy organizing and decorating my house, with a quick craft project or two thrown in:

1.  I finished painting the kitchen.
2. I painted a vintage mirror for my daughter's room.
3. I painted a vintage clothes valet for myself. (Or to sell...)
4. I hung a bunch of pictures.
5. I made a monogram picture in a frame for my bathroom.
6. I rearranged the same chair and table 5 different times.
7. I received a delivery of the wrong armoire and had to deal with "attitude" from the salesman who made the mistake.  
8.  The armoire was too big (my mistake) so his mistake was actually a good thing because it gave me the opportunity to switch completely.
9.  I got rid of all the empty boxes.
10. I emptied them first!
11. I got a free television!
12. I took my mom to see her new apartment in the seniors' complex.  
13. In doing so, I acquired a new place to decorate.
14. I got an order for a commissioned piece.
15. I got an estate sale client.
16. I went to church 4x this week.
17. I reached a new high in how many body parts can hurt at one time.
18. I went to two birthday parties.
19. My daughter tried to teach me the Tango.  Too many body parts involved--all of them in pain. 
20. I slept in on Saturday, but stayed up way too late Saturday night.  Blogging.

I didn't have time to go full-on with the Easter decorating, but I took out a few things.  

Pistachios!  I just love 'em.  The bunny dish was a gift from a friend. 

My sister made me this pretty wreath for the front door.

I used to think these things were creepy.  Now, they're my favorites because they're so old.  The lady bunny belonged to my Mom when I was little.

Gotta change those fixtures.  I'm thinking...gold....

Love these estate sale owls!  The monogram happened one night when there was a P.F. Chang's comment card lying on the counter.  The back was blank.  Blank paper is a good thing.

Painted during my "season" as a painter last year.  

Clothes valet found on the curbside.  I gave it a new look today and I can't decide if I should distress it or leave it alone.

That's what I've been up to.  How about you?

Making a long story longer...

 It all started with this picture.  A friend pinned it on Pinterest, and although I don't spend much time on that site, I was on at the right time and saw this, falling in love with the color combo. I never got this out of my mind. A blue and gold outfit was in my future. 

I don't wear heels like this for more than a few minutes, and I already own a couple of pairs of gold shoes.  What I really needed, considering the six-month winter we've had, was more boots.  I started looking for royal blue boots.  I found a nice pair of suede boots with a short, chunky heel.  My knees got happy.  Soon after I ordered them, I came across a vintage gold sleeveless top at a thrift store.  I really liked it and envisioned this outfit with a royal blue skirt and boots, with my gold top.  I could not find a skirt, so I finally went to JoAnn Fabrics and looked in the remant bin.  Voila!  Two yards of a nice weight, royal blue polyester which could not have been more perfect.  

I haven't sewn in a long time.  This skirt proves it.  The top was ill-fitting and in dire need of darts.  As an extreme "apple" shape girl, I need help with shaping.  Still I took the pictures.  It was an epic fail, and I'm not afraid to admit it.  

The smile is totally fake. I couldn't wait to get this horrid thing off.

I do love the thrifted ($2) vintage gold clutch, and the earrings turned "scatter pins", since my ears aren't pierced.

See?  Aren't they pretty??

The next part of the story is this dress, and many others I've seen like it.  

I love the stripes going in all kinds of directions.  It looks great on the model and I pinned it for my niece because she has a similar body type.  All last summer the striped maxi and denim jacket look was one that I wanted to try, but I never had the components.  Jean jackets are really tough for me, as is any jacket really.  The extreme apple, super short waist and aversion to anything "stiff", especially around my neck means that the whole concept of a jean jacket goes against my grain.  But you know how it is with fashion sometimes...we just take the pain.  

Still smarting from the failed blue and gold attempt, I chucked the skirt, put the top away for another day and a cardigan, and stared at my beautiful blue boots.  My daughter was more than happy to break them in for me, and I have to admit that her yellow cords and royal blue sweater looked awesome with the boots.  I didn't take a picture--too jealous.  A few weeks later I happened upon this little spot while waiting for my son at soccer practice.  Gotta keep busy, right?  

Way off my normal route.  Good thing I like driving!

So while there I found two of my most elusive finds.  A black and white maxi dress and a jean jacket!  The dress is Lane Bryant, which means it's plus size, and the jacket is unstructured, soft, and short-sleeved.  I'm not a huge fan of long sleeves either, and usually push them up if I can. I grabbed both and sang my way to the counter. (They play great music in Goodwill, btw.)

There was my Sunday outfit, hanging right in front of me when I got up this morning. I tried a few pairs of shoes, but the dress was just too long. I even hitched it up a bit with a silver brooch at the waistline, because I really wasn't in the mood for tripping up the steps to the choir stand. I took a few sideways glances at those boots and...YES! Definitely! And that almost ends the story of how I got dressed today. Riveting.

As luck would have it, my niece had the black and white striped bangle lying around when I stopped over there today.  HAD.  TO.  HAVE.  IT.  Even if it's only on loan.  The other bracelets were already in my collection.  And THAT ends the story.  

The comfort and color of these boots is everything right now.  I feel like a total "Glamour Do".  Even with my first failed attempt at rocking them, I think I did a good thing.  No Glamour Do is complete without a Glamour "Don't" to compare it to.  Of course the goal is always to do it better the second time.  In my case, much, much better.

Just Getting You Caught Up.

I've been writing less and less lately.  I had a long hiatus earlier this year, but that had more to do with not having much to say.  Correction: much to say that anyone else would be interested in reading.  I always have plenty to say.

These past few weeks, I've just been way too busy!  I moved into a new house, and am super impatient to get everything in order.  I don't like living with the house half done because I know that a few weeks can stretch into a few months, and before I know it, Christmas will be here and I still won't have the kitchen painted, pictures hung, or furniture painted. I'm determined to LIVE in this place, not have it be a work in progress for the next year.  That said, I accomplished quite a bit, but not without some issues:

1.  Living room is painted and some pictures are hung.  Still to do:  paint an end table, get glass cut for my thrifted sofa table and hang the big pictures.

2. The house is clean.  Messy in some spots, but clean.

3.  I finally got a dresser for my daughter's room.  It was delivered today.  It was the wrong one.  Her clothes will have to remain in boxes and bins for another few days.

4.  Kitchen is organized.  But, it's still not painted, which means the pictures are still leaning up against the walls. 

5. My bedroom is lovely. It's also a catch-all for the rest of the rooms until they're completely organized. Which can't happen without that dresser.  BTW, I don't have one either!  

6. My son's room is just about done! 

I like color.  He likes sleek and efficient.  We're both happy with this.

                                                 
I painted an end table yesterday, but hated the way it turned out.  I'm starting over with paint remover, a scraper and sander. Down to the original wood.  The way I should have done it in the first place.  The yard is basically a lost cause until the weather stablizes, meaning that it consistently stays above 40 degrees.  I think that's about as stable as we can expect this year. 

I hung curtains, did laundry and cooked a turkey.  Pretty ambitious!

I call this "scaffolding". What is it doing in my turkey?  I haven't cooked one in awhile, but I don't remember this.

And of course, I found time to check out a new thrift store and take some pictures.  

My daughter stepped out for an afternoon get together in this extremely cute outfit:

The Ted Baker top was still tagged at $98.  I got it free at a fashion swap.  The Gap sweater was $2. The jeans were probably $3 or $4, the shoes are old flats from Payless that she's had forever. The bag is Jessica Simpson, $8, and the array of vintage bracelets are from my collection.  The sunnies are estate sale, $1 and the pearls are her signature piece. Chic on the Cheap. 

And oh, how I wish this were true:  

                                                   Now that would be the best deal of all!

A Super Sunday!

What made it so super?  The weather, of course!  Warm temps and sunshine make me happy, and were the cherry on top of an already great day.  Sunday is church day, which makes it special--all the time!

I remember when a spring coat was a must.  Not a trench, but a fashionable, fabric coat, usually in a pastel color, that I got every Easter and wore throughout the spring for church or any other really special occasion.  I am really glad to find that they're still "findable", even for grownups.  Over the past few weeks, I've found a few.  I finally decided on one for my daughter, a mint green Ann Taylor coat, which looks great on her.  More surprising was finding one for myself.  I am loving this Dana Buchman (Kohl's) swing coat with just one hook and eye at the top.  It fits great, and I actually like the way it looks.  Labels mean nothing to me.  I'm strictly a looks kind of girl. 

I happen to be one of those people who likes dark colors with other dark colors.  Like black with brown or navy.  When I put this outfit together, I had that in mind but was a little leery about the pattern mixing.  I think it worked because I kept the colors subtle and always with a mix of dark and white.  The shoes are black and white, the coat is actually navy and white, and the dress is still undecided.  I think it's black, but don't quote me on that.  I'm rarely seen without a few of my vintage bracelets, and I decided on blue for a little bit of color, but keeping with my dark palette.  You can sometimes "force" a color to look like what you want it to be, and I think that worked out here.  Good thing because I was determined to wear the coat, navy blue, black, whatever. 

Now, no outfit would be complete nor quite so sweet, if it weren't a major bargain.  This one was no exception.  First off, the dress was retail.  Retail as in Ross, which means, even though it wasn't thrifted, it was pretty darn cheap.  I think I paid about $20 for it.  Ross has a nice selection of plus size dresses all of the time, and if you really look, you can find good labels, if that's your thing.  I really like the substantial weight and body of this fabric and the waistline draping.  It really does slim!  The shoes were free, and if you read this blog at all, you know that my niece's epic closet purges are legendary.  She's one of the reasons I'm overrun with clothing right now.  I should tell her to slow down...but I wont!  The coat was a $6 bargain at Restoration, with 50% off.  $3!  I have no complaints.  The Aeropostale sunglasses were $1 at the Village, and while they belong to my daughter, we have amassed quite the sunglass collection and have no problem with sharing.  The bracelets are part of my vintage collection, and the pin was a "whim" purchase from a Facebook friend at the Sunshine Gift Shop.  She is inarguably the "Brooch Queen" and if you can't find it with her, you won't.  

So that's my Sunday look this week.  For under $40, I think I was able to put my best foot fashion forward.  Sunday's Best!  

The One That Got Away

I got up this morning and did what I hadn't planned.  The plan was to sleep late, then get up and dressed and out to find some household items that I really need because I can't find them.  Things like garbage cans, plungers, tp holders.  What I did was get up early, take my son to school for ACT Prep class and go back home for a couple of hours before I had to pick him up again.  
I had an item that I sold about a week ago that I needed to get in the mail because, well, it's been a week.  I needed a box, and with all the packing and unpacking, I didn't have anything small enough for this.  I found out that a mac and cheese box was perfect, so I dumped one out and since I dumped it out, I figured that I may as well cook it.  Being the creative type (?!), I decided to add a little "umph" and try to pass it off to my kids as homemade.  I added some Swiss cheese and extra milk and thought I might succeed until I saw this:

Way to blow my cover!

Next!  

So I picked the kid up, and took him to his next stop, which was a soccer game.  He had to get there early, so I dropped him off and went off in search of...wait for it...a thrift store, resale or consignment shop.  Of course I did!  I had a good reason too because in addition to all the missing household items, I really need dressers.  I'm overrun with clothes and when I moved out of my house a year ago, I gave my bedroom set away.  My daughter's room had built-ins so she never had one.  Now you have two women with way too many clothes and nothing to put them in.  The situation is desperate. A quick Google search yielded two within a mile of where I was, so off I went.  

First stop:  A thing of beauty!

The front of the store was housewares and furniture, but it was pretty lean.  In the back of the store was the "boutique" and it was huge.  I was being very "picky" and committed to restraint since I really only came here for furniture.   Everything I picked up was a "maybe" until I saw this Talbot's sweater that I knew my daughter would love:

Even if she didn't, I did, and that was close enough.

I actually found this sweater when I walked away from my cart.  When I went back for it, I couldn't find it, so I got another one and put this, and several other tops into my cart.  I figured the other one was nabbed my either someone who appreciated my good taste, or an over zealous store volunteer.  Either way, it seemed to have vanished.  Not to worry, there were just a couple of glasses and a red suit that I'd pretty much decided not to buy.  I was happy with my new basket and started finding a lot of cute things, like the aforementioned tops.  I decided, in the interest of showing the also aforementioned restraint, that I would try on the things I'd picked up for myself.  I NEVER try anything on in the thrift store.  If it doesn't fit, I just give it to someone else.  BUT, I just moved and really need to watch my budget.  If it didn't fit, that would be a great way to pare down the pile.  Somehow, before I got around to going into the fitting room, I walked away from cart #2.  When I went looking for it, it wasn't there.  Not that I had any idea where "there" was.  Nabbed again!  I was starting to get a little annoyed.  I mean, if you want my expertise, just ask me.  Don't steal my cart!  Well guess what?  While I was looking for cart #2, I found cart #1!  I looked and looked for #2, but I never found it.  The Talbot's sweater was gone and it never came back. 

Next stop, another little resale shop that would have been right next door to this one, except that little car lot was in between them.  As soon as I stepped inside I heard "GOOD MORNING!" in a nice Indiana twangy drawl.  The proprieter was sitting right at the door at a little table with a register on top.  I also think there was a gun under there somewhere.  It was an interesting mix of a few bags, a few items of clothing, about 10 pieces of furniture and assorted other random things.  No rhyme or reason to it at all.  But---who needs rhyme or reason when you can have random?  Yep, I can pretty much go with the flow, whatever's flowing.  Today, my flow netted this bag for just $8.  Nearly new I'd say:

The owner was a really nice guy, and he was listening to classic rock, which made him cool too.  The Stones were playing when I left: "You Can't Always Get What You Want".  Truer words were never spoken.  I wanted a dresser.  But I needed that purse.  

I got back to the soccer field just as the game ended.  Bad Mom, Good Shopper.  I parked my car and for some reason, looked back across the street before I made my way to the field.  There was a consignment shop RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET.  How did I miss that?  How did the GPS miss it?  Well anyway, I'm on a resale/thrift/garage sale budget, not a consignment store budget. But since my son ended up not going home with me, but with a friend, I figured I had to  may as well check it out.  It was priced way too high for me today, but it was lovely:

One of these days, I'll be waking up to go to work and work will look like this. 

Glass mortar and pestle.  I love glass.  This is totally impractical, but if it had been under 20 bucks, I would have brought it home. 

Later on, after a pit stop at home, I took a quick trip to Savers.  This is usually a great place for housewares.  I needed a few more pots, some curtain rods, and maybe a picture frame or two.  I parked next to someone who obviously loves paint as much as I do.  Why spend money on custom wheel covers when you can do this?

Spray Paint!  A woman after my own heart.  At first I thought it was pretty cheesy, but then I remembered that from a woman who paints her shoes, I had no room to talk.  She even had embroidered butterflies on her seat covers to match the wheels.  (What's that you say?  Oh no, I wasn't being nosy, just observant.)

I didn't find much at Savers, but I made the mistake of taking my nephew with me, who has decided that thrift stores are cool.  He went looking specifically for Levi's, and he found them.  He also found a few other things--shorts, shirts and a baseball cap.  Me?  I found a pot.  

It was a full day, and it wasn't over yet.  I went home to resume my unpacking.  My daughter and I loaded Christmas bins into the garage, put away all the shoes and purses (that are currently here) and found "homes" for lots of things that were lying around.  It was all coming together!  

I never sold my vintage sofa, so I'm figuring out how to make it work in a more modern setting.  

I love these Art Deco lamps found at one of my favorite rummage sales.  

Less than five bucks each. The framed pencil sketch was purchased many years ago for a dollar.  Still one of my favorites, and I'm convinced that I really "have something" here.  It's too beautiful to be just another thrift store find. 

My one new purchase for my short stint as an apartment dweller.  I really wanted to get away from the green and brown, but not so fast.  The budget says, "you better make it work".

Then I discovered yet another two boxes of clothes.  BIG boxes.  Just looking at it makes me tired:

 The good news is, I am actually IN the bed, and I got all of the clothes put away.  One thing I set out to buy today was hangers, and I did.  The closet is full and there are four plastic bins sitting in the corner of my room.  I never did get that dresser.