Decisions, decisions...

I've been wanting a pedestal table to cut down into a coffee table for awhile now.  Similar to these: 

Or this one: 

Or this: 

I found one on craigslsist earlier this month...already cut down. It was painted a color I didn't like but that's an easy fix. Logistically, it didn't work out and someone else ended up with my table. 

This weekend Jonathan and I went after a Beauty!  Price was right but it's really pretty and solid and antique and I'm having a hard time pulling the trigger on cutting the pedestal. :/

Here it is in pieces:

Look at that solid base! And those feet! I might be dying!,

And those are the leaves (2!) leaning up behind the couch. 

Here's the top: 

Imagine it not on the floor and a cushion not hanging off the couch....

It's really pretty wood...solid wood. The top is about 2" thick!

I have no space for it as dining room height table but I'm seriously struggling at the thought of making major changes to this piece. 

And look what I found on the bottom of the table top: 

It says "All my love, Mike"

To shorten or not to shorten...that is the question. What would you do?!?

Front Porch Sitting Accessories

So, I went to the Salvation Army's in my work town today. I was hunting an ice cream freezer. My Dad's gave up the fight this weekend.

I didn't find a freezer but I did find a few treasures!

If you follow me on Pinterest, you know that I pin a bunch of junk to a board called "front porch sittin". Click {here} to see my board. I'm working on an easy space that's pretty but not fussy. Comfortable but not sloppy. I'm getting closer, I think.

Today, I found a couple of plant stands. They are really tall so I'm going to use them for side tables. For a buck each, I got both!! :) One may make it to my sun porch so I have a coffee perch...we shall see.

I just set them out on the porch...found condition. I think I like them as is....we shall see what Jonny says.

So anyway, before you get bored...

That's a tiny glimpse of a Church Pew my Mom picked up for me at an auction a couple of weeks ago...$50. Score!!!

I'm a sucker for legs and that green leg is just beautimus to me!

Here's my other table:

That's a whole vingette of second hand finds. I got the wreath, covered in grapes and weird ribbon at a yard sale for a quarter. The chair I got from a road side junk store for around $25. I probably over paid for it as it is in pretty rough condition but I still like it. And so far, it has held me up. :)

I'd like to find a small area rug for this corner. Maybe like 4'x6' or so.

Here's the table a little closer.

Here's the burning question...with my purple house and eclectic tables and chair...what color would you paint my Church Pew?

And, I'm linking up over at Southern Hospitality's Thrifty Treasures party. Click {here} to play along!

I was FEATURED!!!

Can you believe it!?!

Rhoda, from Southern Hospitality featured my tea cart in her Thrifty Treasures recap.

I'm talking about this cart:

Here it is currently...still not completely painted.

{Here} is the original party I linked to. And {here's} where she featured me! ME!! Woo Hoo!!! Thank you, Rhoda!

If you like finding great deals, yard sales, second hand shops, etc, etc, you should totally check out Southern Hospitality. You will be glad you did!

Patio Furniture

I don't know about you, but I think patio furniture is horribly expensive!!! I've been looking around for furniture for our tall deck, the one Jj has been repairing. I'll show you progress pictures of the deck...pretty impressive, if I say so myself. That guy is super handy and talented.

Anyway, back to the fur other hunt. I had already decoded that I was going to have to wait for someone to discard their furniture either via garage sale, Craigslist or good ole estate auction!

Enter my sweet Momma and an Auction at Larry Petree Auctioneer in Tipton, MO. And check out this beauty!!!!!

I know! Just wait...it gets better!!!!!!! It was only $20!!!

A couple of weeks ago, on a routine Wal-Mart trip, I perused the spray paint and selected a color that was pretty to me. I didn't have a plan for the paint...I just knew that I liked it and it felt like the Beach to me. If you have been around here much this year, you know that I'm trying to add A little Beach to every room in our house. You can see my progress {here}. Anyway, here's the color I had...just waiting! And here's a sneak peak of the painting:

I only had one can of paint...so I'll have to finish another day. But! I'm liking up with Southern Hospitality's Thrifty Finds party. Check it out {here}.

Master Bathroom Decor

I knew I wanted to get to work on our master bathroom. It is just blah! But I didn't know quite what I wanted.

You can see the things I like by checking out my Pinterest board titled Master Bedroom.

Here's the picture that started it all!!!

SOURCE...as far as I can trace the pin.

I knew I wanted to use lanterns rather than bird cages so I set out chasing them down...and I'm still doing just that. However, I've made some other progress that I wanted to share. Just so you know, I'm probably not going to be putting barn wood on my walls anytime soon. Not that I can't appreciate the look; it's just not my thing...at least not right now.

I couldn't find a completely bare picture but this is pretty close!

I'd like to paint our whole bedroom/bathroom. I'd also like to have a different back splash. But for now, we are talking decorations.

I love that clock for a lot of reasons. One main one is that it doesn't have a second hand! This space is open to our bedroom and I knew from our old house that I did not want a clock, no matter how cool, with a second hand in my bedroom! I think the clock came from Jost & Main but I could be wrong.

I got this shelf from Celebrating Home when my friend, Leslie, had a party. There's nearly no natural light right here...or at least that's on what I'll blame the shadow.

Then, a little online shopping at Kohl's landed me these scones...which were bigger in person that I really thought they were going to be. However, I think I like them.

And I got that big shell at a junk store in Oak Grove, MO. I think this little area needs some more accessorizing but I haven't found just what, just yet.

That door opens into the commode and shower. Directly opposite, opens into our bedroom. Straight across is a double vanity...which is ugly...hence you didn't get to see it. :)

So on the other end of the tub...what shall we see?

There's the first of my lanterns. I want to get the second one and find a light before I do any hanging from the ceiling so...I tied to make it look like I intended for a random lantern to sit next to my bath tub. :)

Upon closer inspection, there's a lot of second hand and re-purposed junk in there. A liquor decanter to hold bubble bath, a fisherman's float Christmas ornament, old broken jewelry in a jar and a great little quote by Lucille Ball.

If you are still reading...THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm glad you are here.

What would you add to that little shelf? Place in the scones? I'd love to know.

Momogram J + Empty Frame = Pretty Eye Candy

I started with this wooden (MDF) letter that I got a couple of years ago at a shop in Rolla, MO while paper shopping with my Dad and Sister.

Side Note: For part of our Christmas, he took us to this local scrapbook store in Rolla. He gave us each money and let us pick out whatever we wanted. While we were shopping, he walked around and picked out stuff he thought we would like too. We had a blast making memories that day!

In that picture above, I had already used some Tim Holtz distress ink in Antique Linen around the edges. I tried Frayed Burlap but it was too dark and too green (like olive drab green).

I covered the letter in Mod Podge and pressed my paper on top. I decided it needed a bit more pressure so I turned it upside down.

That didn't seem to be heavy enough so I did what every girl would do...

I grabbed my knife block and sat it on top!

Fancy, I know. :)

I let it dry for a bit...like maybe an hour and then cut around the letter from the back. In hind sight, I think I would have let it dry a little longer.

I grabbed an old frame I had out in the garage (from a project that didn't go as planned). Now I have this in our entry.

I wish I could show you how ugly those frames were!!! They were all gold and had nasty water stained mats with stinky pictures that were all crinkly from water. I think I got 4 total and they were $2 each...I'm pretty sure I said "perfect" out loud! And I also got crop dusted by a 'gentleman' that day in Salvation Army. Nasty! But worth it for the frame deal I suppose.

Here's a farther back look:

I added a dainty little crocheted doily, about the size of a drink coaster after...but I didn't snap a picture...oops.

I'd like to add some more too..but I just don't know what yet.

See that green in the corner? It's this horse of an Elephant Ear plant my Mom gave us last summer when we bought this house.

So what else would you add in our entry? I'd love to hear.

Besides Murphy's oil soap and poly the baseboard and get rid of that DREADED green tile!!

I'm linking up with Rhoda @ Here's the Party at which I'm playing.

I also linked up with Jennifer Rizzo. Here's the link to the party at which I'm playing.

Pretties

I can share this little find now...



I found these for my friend Holly (Hi, Holly) for her birthday. Her birthday is December 27th but I just got to celebrate with her this past week.

Now these have a story! It goes way back to January '11. We were planning my Sister's bridal shower. We were doing a very fancy tea party type setting and serving our guests on vintage snack sets...did I mention the guest list was over 100?? (thank you sister).

While I have around 30 place settings of my own and my Mom and sister have similar...I needed more. I was calling all my friends borrowing snack sets.

I called Holly. Here's how it went down:

Me: Hey, can I borrow your snack sets for Sarah's shower?
Holly: I don't have any snack sets.
Me: Really?
H: Yes. I don't know why.
Me: Me either. We need to fix that!

Enter Salvation Army while I was looking for white vases. Well, I happened across this pretty little snack set...all four were there, cups included, no chips!

Extra bonus: pinkish roses. Holly's fav. china print. SCORE!!!

Since Jj and I moved twice in the past year, I was in a bit of a panic. I was sure I knew right where they were...wrong. However, they have been properly located, packaged and gifted.

Happy Birthday Holly!

Have you harbored any great finds lately for the perfect gift for that special someone?

My Love Affair...

...with suitcases. Oh how I love thee!!!

Several, several years ago, in a magazine somewhere, I saw a bedside table created from vintage suitcases and so the love affair began! I think I have close to ten and I stash them all over.

When we first moved to the Rental, I had two conundrums. The first: where to drop off the mail until mail opening day (Friday). The second: where to stash that stuff you need in the bathroom but you don't want people to see when your bathroom is only this big: (not even joking...I was standing in the hallway).

Enter Juanita's House Antiques at Main and Ohio in Sedalia, MO (I just love that woman! She invited me to my first auction in my new work town, her shop was one of the fist downtown shops I discovered, her shop has this sweet little entry to the second floor, and to top it all off! She is just sweet as pie!)

So, down to see Juanita's House I head on a random lunch hour in July...after Jj already said we couldn't get anymore stuff until we had a new space to accessorize...well, this one needed just a bit. And, suitcases can help us in the moving process :) and...really...they can "go" in any home that I'm in. State law!

First, I found this little cutie:
It had a luggage tag with someone's name on it; I thought that was cool. Juanita said it belonged to a local doctor's wife...kinda neat. I just knew that with a little elbow grease, I could get that thing slicked up and it would be a great mail holder!

Wouldn't you know! I walked upstairs and look what jumped into my arms!

I know! Hopped right in! (Look! Someone's initials! MC. How cool if it would have been LJ??)

I just used hot water and Pine-sol.

Cleaned up like a dream!



I decided this blue one would have to go in the bathroom.

I was afraid the white one would just disappear with the white walls, white throne, white, white, white!

I just tucked it right down next to the wall.

I feel like the cute little case is kind of hidden but... it's the Rental...it's only temporary.

The white one is in the living room next to our entertainment center...err...coffee table that's holding up our TV. :) I forgot to snap a picture of that...sorry. I promise to show you their locations in our new house; when I find the perfect location!

And! It was the white mail holder that busted me. Jj saw it the second he walked into the Rental. I said sorry but explained that we NEEDED it and that he knew how much I loved suitcases and didn't it look great sitting there? He laughed, hugged me and made me promise that we didn't need anymore stuff. Man he's a keeper!

Purple Cows and Tulips, OH MY!!

We had some beautiful purple tulips and some that were yellow/red bloom in our yard. My wonderful husband commented that the purple were his favorite. Fast forward to a trip to Home Depot where I found these beauties:


OF course, I grabbed them right up because I had found these little cuties the week before at Juanita's on Main in Sedalia, MO over my lunch.



I had a couple of doilies in my stash and piled them all together in the middle of our dining room table!



I got to thinking that those flowers will likely need water. Water + our dining room table could = DISASTER! That's when I dug around and found a little silver charger. I polished it up and added it to the stack.





I LOVE IT!!!!

Here's a picture to show you my new magical silver polish!


What have your found lately that just makes you smile? I'd love to see a picture.

Polishing Silver

I wanted to show you this awesome silver polish I found at a local antique mall called Veranda. It was kind of pricey, $14 if I remember correctly... but look what it did!!!

I didn't think to take a picture until I saw the stark contrast:

Now you are seeing what I saw: It's mega hard to photograph silver!!

Anyway, I kept scrubbing...


And here's what I ended up with:


I payed about $2 for this little platter at a second hand store in Syracuse, MO called the Gift Depot. I had no idea what I was going to do with it but I liked the shape so I brought it home and found a way to clean it up.

I'll show you want I ended up doing in a couple of days.