THRIFTY THURSDAY!!!!

It's time again for Thrifty Thursday, a fun blog party hosted by our fun hostess, Leigh at Tales From Bloggeritaville. I know I said that I wouldn't be yardsale-ing last weekend due to a lack of funds, but the great thing about yardsale-ing is, you don't NEED alot of funds. So, after scrounging for loose change under anything I could move (sofas, cushions, tables), piggy banks, junk drawars and my car (always good for at least a coffee's worth of change) I came up with $20 - enough for coffee and the following finds.

This table was very country looking, just a plain old table. I've been needing a small table like this for my mud-room to throw my keys and mail on when I come through the garage (we never use the front door here - it's only for esteemed guests - HA!). So I gave it a little black spray paint and voila! You'll get a better look at this on Monday when I finally post my mud-room makeover on Met Monday. Cost of table was $5.


These little silver darlings were too cute to pass up. A mini sugar and creamer I'm guessing (help me out here peeps) for $2. Whatever they are, they found a home on a shelf in my master.


This was my favorite purchase of the day! White Ironstone creamer and sugar bowls. I think I paid $3 for the set.



I liked these old keys. I'll come up with a better use for them later, but for now they are just laying on an old desk in my rec room. They were $2.


The frame I fell in love with - so shabby - and the sconce will hold something at some point, probably a pretty plate, and be displayed in my Living Room. Both were $1.



And finally, I found these cute little wire baskets from Pier 1 that were never used. They fit perfectly on my bookshelf/entertainment center. I thought the labels were a fun addition, and they came with a bunch of em, so I can always switch them out. For now, I just labeled them "This" and "That". Of course they're still empty. I've been wracking my brain trying to come up with something cute to put in them, but I'm out of gas. Any suggestions???
Anyhoo, I paid $3 for these guys.




So that's it, and I even had some change left over to get a slice of homebaked coffee cake. Don't you just love it when they sell baked goods at these church flea markets???
So the moral of the story is, go in search of loose change! Another great place to check is the washer/dryer. Hubby is always leaving money in his pockets and sometimes I score big just doing the wash!

Don't forget to check out Leigh's blog for other great thrifty finds! Have a great day!!!
Kim

A "New" Old Lamp

Welcome to Metamorphosis Monday, a fun blog party hosted by Susan at Between Naps on the Porch. Met Monday is a great opportunity to show off your "Butterfly Skills" - something your transformed from a caterpillar to a beautiful butterfly.

Today I'm featuring a vintage lamp I purchased recently at Goodwill. It was dirty when I bought it, and the patina needed a bit of sprucing up but I loved the detail on it and the glass balls really give it a classy look. So after adding some Rub n Buff and dangling crystals I bought at Lowes, the only thing left to do was find the perfect lamp shade. Well turns out that was alot easier said than done. The lamp is really tall and called for a substantial shade. I finally found one that worked, only it was white. Too white. It looked too stark against the walls, which are a pale yellow. So I painted the shade a camel color to sort of blend in with the wall and then added some gold wire ribbon for added elegance.






A big thank-you to Susan for hosting this fun event. Be sure to check out Susan's blog for more great transformations.
Thanks for visiting and have a blessed week!!

Four Yardsales and an Auction

As promised earlier in the week, here are my finds from LAST weekends adventures in yardsale-ing.

This is alot smaller than it looks, but I picked up this sweet little white urn for $1.


These cloth cocktail napkins also came in at $1. I fell in love with the bright colors.


I picked up this table for $5 at a church flea market. I thought it was so unique the way the little door in front opens instead of a pull-out drawer. It was old and chippy, so I painted it black and added some Rub n Buff in "Antique Gold". I'm happy with how it turned out. The space next to my couch is very small because the door to my basement is right next to it so this little table was the perfect size - just big enough to hold my table lamp.


This little stool was given to me by my BFF. She picked it up at an estate sale for $1. I spray painted it red and turned it into a plant stand. It goes great with the new yellow walls in my Mud Room.


Of course I saved the best for last. My wonderful hubby loves going to auctions. One in particular is out in the middle of nowhere and there are always lots of treasures to be found. I try to go with him when I can, but this particular time I stayed home. Well, he just knew I would LOVE this accent table so he bid on it and won it for $4!!!! The man knows me SO well!! The picture hardly does it justice, as it is SO beautiful. I love the legs and the scalloped edges. The handpainted sage color goes perfectly in my Living Room. The best part is - there wasn't anything wrong with it! All I had to do was wipe it down. Gotta love that!



I'm taking the weekend off from yardsale-ing, unless I find some loose change in the sofa! Gotta feed the family!

F.R.E.E. That Spells Free.......

Nope, I'm not talkin about your credit report, I'm talkin about my lastest undercover trashpicking trip around the neighborhood - not MY neighborhood of course. That's just asking to get caught. I do have some pride ladies. Who am I kidding?

These treasures were lying helplessly on the curb, just begging for someone to pick them up and transform them. They looked like those poor toys on the Island of Misfits. I couldn't just LEAVE them there, that wouldn't be right. With a little help from my BFF's hubby, and some quick thinking, we outsmarted the other trashpickers (I knew the lay of the land) last Sunday and scored these beauties.





Above is a pic of an armoire that completely fell apart as we loaded it into the truck! We died laughing. Thankfully, my DH was able to put the whole thing back together and now it just needs a fresh coat of paint. I was gonna do black and make it an Entertainment Center, but the thing is so old, there is no place inside for a TV! So now I'm gonna paint it white - can't you just envision some old sweaters and blankets goin' in there????

This next piece was hiding behind an old pine desk and hutch that also got picked up that day. It's a vintage sewing table with a flip-top lid. Inside is a little shelf for holding sewing notions. I foolishly forgot to take a "before" so here is my after.




I threw that tassle on there for good measure - it was on clearance at Michaels for $4 - but my new friend Jen from Sanctuary Arts at Home is going to give me some suggestions on what I can do with it. I painted it Heirloom White to go in my bedroom, which is completely Shabby, but it just looks too plain. Jen is a dynamo with furniture. Her before and afters are featured on her blog and they are so amazing, seriously. She hand-paints each and every piece and let me tell you, there are people who would pay good money for this kind of handpainted furniture. She is SOOOOO talented.

These pictures were lying lifeless on an old dresser. I did a drive-by to see the dresser and decided to pass on it, but thank goodness I saw these beauties before I drove off! Can anybody tell me anything about these?? I doubt they are worth anything, but they are so pretty!



Those frames are SO going to be painted white!

So that's it! Was it worth sacrificing my pride?? I think yes!

Lookie What I Got!!!

You all know how ridiculously excited I get just to receive a new comment! Getting a new follower, almost too much for me to handle! So getting an award, well there are no words to describe. Except, maybe..."Bliss"! My new and sweet-as-pie blog friend (heck, why do I say "blog" friend, you all are just my true friends!) Laura at White Spray Paint has chosen me to receive the Lemonade Attitude of Gratitude Award to which I am eternally grateful. For those of you who don't know Laura, please do yourself a huge favor and visit her amazing blog. She is so talented, yet tremendously humble. Just a real "lady" who oozes class and sophistication. Okay, have I gushed enough? Can you tell I adore this woman?
Well, back to the business at hand. You know the drill:

The Rules of Accepting and Sharing this Award
1. Put the logo on your blog or post
2. Nominate at least 10 blogs that show an attitude of gratitude
3. Link to your nominees within your post
4. Comment on their blogs to let them know they've received this award
5. Share the love and link to this post and the person who nominated you for the award.
Tell us how you've come to have an attitude gratitude.

Without further ado, I have chosen the following "friends" and wonderful women!

Misti - Studio M Designs
Gloria - Happy To Be
Lauralu - Hidden Promise
Bo - Blinks N Winks from Brown-Eyes
Beth - I Am Heading Towards My Destiny
Melissa - Melissa's Heart And Home
Leigh - Tales From Bloggeritaville
Lisa - Fern Creek Cottage
Kathy - Kathy's Red Door Welcome
Terrie - Terrie's Little Piece Of Serenity
Jen - Sanctuary Arts at Home

You all mean so much to me. Thanks for being there for me, for your encouraging words, for caring enough to read my posts, for leaving me such sweet comments, for sharing your creativity, for opening up your homes and lives for me to get a glimpse! I am so blessed and so grateful for each and every one of you. This blogging thing has become such a huge part of my life - a place where I feel safe and know that I can trust the people that I'm opening myself up to. It's such a great feeling and something that I look forward to so much. It has opened my eyes in ways that I never could have imagined. Seeing that there are so many other sincere and caring Christian women out there who share the same interests. How many times have I read one of your profiles and said to myself, "that's exactly how I feel!". You have encouraged me to think outside of the box that I have been hiding in for all of these years - opening my creative side wide open. And finally, and probably most importantly, helping me to realize that I don't have to be perfect. I've come to not only accept, but embrace my flaws and the flaws of my home, and let me tell you that is so enormously liberating. So thank you thank you thank you - ALL of you! I am forever grateful!!!!

Our Childhood Bedrooms Linky Party!!!!!

I've been so excited about this party since I first heard about it from my "Soul Sister" and host, Misti of Studio M Designs. She is extremely talented and has an Etsy store that has been featured on very well-known blogs. Her unique creations, called "Sknobs" are adoreable hand-painted knobs of all kinds for every room in your house. They're huge and very well-priced. Be sure to check out Misti's blog today for other posts of your fellow bloggers' childhood bedrooms.

My childhood bedroom still has the original furniture! It was Ethan Allen. My wonderful mother has always been great about preserving things from my past, including baby clothes, old toys, dolls and even the furniture looks brand new. Don't know how she does it! I took pictures of how my bedroom looks today, but strangely, it really hasn't changed that much from when I was little. Of course it has fresh paint and hardwood floors now, and the bedding and window treatments have changed, but everything else is still the same. So let's go take a peek, shall we??

My four poster bed never had a canopy because the top pieces didn't come off like they were supposed to. My big sister and I shared this room for much of my childhood so there used to be two of these beds in there. We would have so much fun making tents out of our beds by hanging sheets from the posters. Our imaginations went wild as we pretented to be in our own "homes". She was a bossy thing my big sis, but I only have good memories of sharing a room with her. Love you Darcy!!!!!



The furniture is a bright and cheery yellow and my carpets were a kelly green (my parents let me pick the color out myself!). I think the wall color was yellow too, but I can't remember at the moment. The curtains were white with lace eyelet trim - very sweet and dainty.



This is where I did my homework. Those dolls on the desk hutch are Little Women Madame Alexander dolls and are still on display - it's like I never left!! The same with the Beatrix Potter stuffed animals. Like I said, everything remains in pristine condition.



More of the furniture - didn't I tell you? Mint condition!!! And no, I am not like my mother in that respect. Wish I was ;)



Even some of the original accessories are still there - like the lamp (how cute is that?) and the needlepoints as well as a framed picture of Raggedy Ann & Andy that my sister drew that won her an award in grade school.






So that's it! I hope you enjoyed the tour. And might I say that I think my mom has done a wonderful job of updating the room while preserving my childhood at the same time! Love the new bedding and adorable curtains and accessories. Thanks Mom for giving me such a great space filled with lots of wonderful memories! One memory in particular - having the window candles lit up when I went to bed at Christmastime. I will never forget that feeling - knowing that the big day was just around the corner - all because the window candles were now up in my windows, keeping watch over me as I sleep......

Have you ever had a "God Moment"?? Read this!!

I just received this story in an email from a church friend and wanted to pass it along. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.


HAIRBRUSH EXPERIENCE OF BETH MOORE AT THE AIRPORT



For those of you who do not know Beth Moore, she is an outstanding Bible teacher, writer of Bible studies, and is a married mother of two daughters.


This is one of her experiences:
April 20, 2005, at the Airport in
Knoxville, waiting to board the plane, I had the Bible on my lap and was very intent upon what I was doing. I'd had a marvelous morning with the Lord.
I say this because I want to tell you it is a scary thing to have the Spirit of God really working in you.

You could end up doing some things you never would have done otherwise.
Life in the Spirit can be dangerous for a thousand reasons, not the least of which is your ego.



I tried to keep from staring, but he was such a strange sight. Humped over in a wheelchair, he was skin and bones, dressed in clothes that obviously fit when he was at least Sixty pounds heavier.
His knees protruded from his trousers, and his shoulders looked like the coat
hanger was still in his shirt. His hands looked like tangled masses of veins and
bones.
The strangest part of him was his hair and nails. Stringy, gray hair hung well over his shoulders and down part of his back. His fingernails were long, clean but strangely out of place on an old man. I looked down at my Bible as fast as I could, discomfort burning my face. As I tried to imagine what his story might have been, I found myself wondering if I'd just had a Howard Hughes sighting. Then, I remembered that he was dead. So this man in the airport... an impersonator maybe? Was a camera on us somewhere? There I sat; trying to concentrate on the Word to keep from being concerned about a thin slice of humanity served up on a wheelchair only a few seats from me. All the while, my heart was growing more and more overwhelmed with a feeling for him
Let's admit it. Curiosity is a heap more comfortable than true concern, and suddenly I was awash with aching emotion for this bizarre-looking old man. I had walked with God long enough to see the handwriting on the wall. I've learned that when I begin to feel what God feels, something so contrary to my natural feelings, something dramatic is bound to happen. And it may be embarrassing.
I immediately began to resist because I could feel God working on my spirit and I started arguing with God in my mind. 'Oh, no, God, please, no.' I looked up at the ceiling as if I could stare straight through it into heaven and said, 'Don't make me witness to this man. Not right here and now. Please. I'll do anything. Put me on the same plane, but don't make me get up here and witness to this man in front of this gawking audience. Please, Lord!'

There I sat in the blue vinyl chair
begging His Highness, 'Please don't make me witness to this man. Not now. I'll
do it on the plane.' Then I heard it.... 'I don't want you to witness to him. I want you to brush his hair.'











The words were so clear, my heart leapt into my throat, and my thoughts spun like a top. Do I witness to the man or brush his hair? No-brainer. I looked straight back up at the ceiling and said,
'God, as I live and breathe, I want you to know I am ready to witness to this

man. I'm on this Lord. I'm your girl! You've never seen a woman witness to

a man faster in your life. What difference does it make if his hair is a mess if

he is not redeemed? I am going to witness to this man.'

Again, as clearly as I've ever heard an


audible word, God seemed to write this statement across the wall of my mind.


'That is not what I said, Beth. I don't want you to

witness to him. I want you to go brush his hair.'

I looked up at God and quipped, 'I don't have a

hairbrush. It's in my suitcase on the plane. How am I

supposed to brush his hair without a hairbrush?'

God was so insistent that I almost involuntarily began to

walk toward him as these thoughts came to me from

God's word: 'I will thoroughly furnish you unto all good works.' (2 Timothy 3:17)



I stumbled over to the wheelchair thinking I could use one myself. Even as I retell this story, my pulse quickens

and I feel those same butterflies. I knelt down in front of the man and asked as

demurely as possible, 'Sir, may I have the pleasure of brushing your hair?'

He looked back at me and said, 'What did you say?'

'May I have the pleasure of brushing your hair?'

To which he responded in volume ten,
'Little lady, if you expect me to hear you, you're going to have to talk louder

than that.'

At this point, I took a deep breath and
blurted out, 'SIR, MAY I HAVE THE PLEASURE OF BRUSHING YOUR HAIR?' At which

point every eye in the place darted right at me. I was the only thing in the

room looking more peculiar than old Mr. Long Locks. Face crimson and forehead

breaking out in a sweat, I watched him look up at me with absolute shock on his

face, and say, 'If you really want to.'
Are you kidding? Of course I didn't want to.

But God didn't seem interested in my personal preference right about then.

He pressed on my heart until I could utter the words, 'Yes, sir, I would be

pleased. But I have one little problem. I don't have a hairbrush.'


'I have one in my bag,' he responded. I went around to the back of that
wheelchair, and I got on my hands and knees and

unzipped the stranger's old carry-on, hardly believing

what I was doing. I stood up and started brushing the

old man's hair. It was perfectly clean, but it was tangled
and matted. I don't do many things well, but must admit I've had notable experience untangling

knotted hair mothering two little girls. Like I'd done with either Amanda or

Melissa in such a condition, I began brushing at the very bottom of the strands, remembering to take my time not to pull.
A miraculous thing happened to me as I started brushing that old man's hair. Everybody else in the room disappeared.

There was no one alive for those moments except that old man and me.
I brushed and I brushed and I brushed until every tangle was out of that hair.
I know this sounds so strange, but I've never felt that kind of love for another soul in my entire life.

I believe with all my heart, I - for that few minutes - felt a portion of the very love of God. That He had overtaken my

heart for a little while like someone renting a room and making Himself at home for a short while.


The emotions were so strong and so pure that I knew they had to be God's. His hair was finally as soft and smooth as an infant's.

I slipped the brush back in the bag and went around the chair to face him. I got back down on my knees, put my hands on his knee and said, 'Sir, do you know my Jesus?' He said, 'Yes, I do'

Well, that figures, I thought. He explained, 'I've known Him since I married my bride. She wouldn't marry me until
I got to know the Savior.' He said, 'You see, the problem is, I haven't seen my bride in months. I've had open-heart surgery, and she's been too ill to come see me. I was sitting here thinking to myself, what a mess I must be for my bride.'


Only God knows how often He allows us to be part of a

divine moment when we're completely unaware of the

significance. This, on the other hand, was one of those

rare encounters when I knew God had intervened in

details only He could have known. It was a God

moment, and I'll never forget it.

Our time came to board, and we were not on the same

plane. I was deeply ashamed of how I'd acted earlier

and would have been so proud to have accompanied him on that aircraft.


I still had a few minutes, and as I gathered my things to board, the airline hostess returned from the corridor, tears streaming down her cheeks. She said, 'That old man's sitting on the plane, sobbing. Why did you do that? What made you do that?'



I said, 'Do you know Jesus? He can be the bossiest thing!'
And we got to share.


I learned something about God that day.

He knows if you're exhausted, you're hungry, you're serving in the wrong place

or it is time to move on but you feel too responsible to budge. He knows if

you're hurting or feeling rejected. He knows if you're sick or drowning under a

wave of temptation. Or He knows if you just need your hair brushed. He sees you

as an individual. Tell Him your need! I got on my own flight, sobs choking my throat, wondering how many opportunities just like that one had I missed along the way .. all because I didn't want people to think I was strange.







God didn't send me to that old man. He sent that old man to me.

Please share this wonderful story. 'Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain!'


IN GOD WE



TRUST

Giveaway Alert!

Hi friends! Hope you all had a great weekend. My family enjoyed a Benefit Dinner/Chinese Auction Friday nite for a friend with Leukemia. Both of my girls won baskets. Then it was a weekend of yard"sailing", thrifting and trash-picking. I got some great things which I will be posting about later in the week. But I wanted to mention a great giveaway over at Life at Eventually Cottage. The host of this wonderful giveaway is Dawn and her blog is so worth checking out. There are many ways to enter for a chance to win, just go to http://lifeateventuallycottage.blogspot.com and see the wonderful things Dawn is generously giving to one lucky blogger.

Don't forget to check back later in the week to see my treasures!!

Grab the Tissues!!!!!

For anybody out there who lives under a rock and hasn't heard about this woman yet, do yourself a huge favor and check her out on Youtube. Her audition on Britain's Got Talent has had over 7 million hits already. It gave my goosebumps like I've never had before and I bawled my eyes out.
Her name is Susan Boyle and she is 47 years old. She lives alone with her cat and has never had a date or even been kissed. This is bound to be an incredible story of rags to riches. I just had to share this with you all.

What's On Your Wall Wednesday!!!

Welcome to another What's On Your Wall Wednesday (try sayin that fast five times!) hosted by the ever-talented, ever-popular Barb at Grits and Glamour. I encourage all of you to check out Barb's blog, if you haven't already that it, because she is one decorator extroardinairre! Her talents are endless. Also be sure not to miss the other WOYWW posts.

When it comes to decorating, I've always had a thing for symmetry. I read somewhere recently that people with traditional-style homes, usually implement symmetry into their decor. I am a traditional girl, and a quick look around my home would convince anyone that I like traditional decor, but I'm convinced that this balancing act has more to do with my being a bit "anal" than traditional. When I hang a picture, for instance, I don't just HANG a picture. First I get out the measuring tape, then I make a handy template, mark my hole with a pencil while holding the tape in my mouth, the hammer between my legs, usually while I'm standing on a step ladder. Lastly I stand back about four or five.......hundred......times to make sure it's even before putting a nail in my perfect wall. HA! Who am I kidding! Even after all of that "anal-ness" I still readjust the picture about four or five......hundred......times until my perfect walls are now looking more like swiss cheese. Needless to say, spackle is my best friend.

I recently did some rearranging of my walls, moving things from different rooms more so out of necessity because of this darned economy. Can't go out and buy a new print when my kids are in dire need of haircuts now can I??? I even had some of these things listed on Craig's List - thank goodness nobody else wanted them!! HA!


I love decorating with dishes, especially hanging them on a wall. These dishes I purchased recently at a yard sale, they were 6 for $2. The rest I have in my curio.


I bought the ones on my dining room wall off of ebay for a steal! They are Royal Doulton and I just fell in love with them. I didn't even know where I was going to hang them I just thought they were too pretty to pass up. They found a home next to my hutch.



From dishes to trivets! I found these cuties on a recent trip to Home Goods and of course I thought they added much needed "symmetry" to my kitchen hutch.



So that's it for this WOYWW for me! Thanks for checking in and be sure to check out other wonderful walls at Grits and Glamour! Have a great Wednesday!!!