Heirloom party!

I am so excited to join my new friend, Marie's Heirloom party! I have quite a few heirloom pieces that I absolutely love, so naturally I'm jumping at the chance to show them again!

I'll give you a little history before we get to the good stuff. When I was younger, my parents went to antique malls and shops a lot. I didn't get it ... then I got older and started going to thrift stores to find home decor, clothing, you name it - I just wanted to save some money! My eye was always drawn to the china. I mean, really, how elegant is a tea cup and saucer? Pretty classy, if you ask me. I've been very fortunate to find nice china pieces at antique shops and even thrift stores.

My favorites are definitely those that belonged to my grandparents (from all four, I think) and their parents. Amazing. Most of what I chose to show is china, although I have a lot of different things. You can just look through my blog ... I have quite a few posts dedicated to my heirlooms!

So, here we go! I truly hope you enjoy!!!

I have a set of four "shot glasses". I've never seen anything like them, and they're pretty cute.

This is a tea set that I love ... Ironstone, Bellegay.





I also have 4 matching tea cups and saucers ... I believe this pattern is from the '70s.

It's now proudly displayed on my kitchen table, along with handmade doilies.



Love this tea cup ... so delicate, so elegant.

A Hall teapot ... don't you love these?

A Nippon mayo bowl. I now have 2 but this one was my great grandmother's.

A Depression Glass juicer ... I'm so glad my family holds on to things!

A little pitcher.

The tea cup that started it all ...
I say that because one day, I happend to find a sugar bowl and 4 plates that match this ... at Goodwill. After telling my mother, she found out that my aunt still had a few pieces of this at her house. Score!!!

I have a beautiful platter, a few bowls, a few more plates and ...

And the creamer ... love the creamer. All that belonged to my great grandmother!

I have a lot of doilies, handmade by my grandma and great aunt that are now prouldy displayed throughout my home and ready to be framed for the wall!

Want more? Check out some past posts ... like this one and this one to see some more of my heirlooms.

Hope you enjoyed your trip down my memory lane!

Feelin' good

I didn't think I was going to have much to write about this week as all my creativity seemed to go out the door. I'm still recovering but am feeling better, slowly but surely. I got a big boost yesterday ... don't you love it when that happens? It came in two different, yet very similar ways.

First off, I received this award from Stephanie at A Fine House! Please stop by and say hello if you haven't checked out her blog lately. She had some very kind words to say about my blog and it made me very happy and gave me another breath of fresh air! I will definitely be passing on the love soon.

Sometimes at work, we get free passes to movie premieres. Yesterday I got passes to Julie & Julia! And it. was. amazing. I love blogging and I love cooking, so it was one of those movies that I didn't want to end.

I was already feeling good about my most recent award and watching this movie was another push in the right direction. The way Julie (Amy Adams) described blogging is how I feel! I sometimes struggle to find something creative and new to write about, but I still do it because I really enjoy blogging. Your comments and kind words always keep me going ... and no matter how my day went, I know I have one thing to do that I will enjoy - blogging.

I think life is all about what you make it. I think that you can do anything you put your mind to. I think that you should always do what makes you happy ... and if you see this movie, you'll be reminded of all these things. It was a feel good film, a feel good day that just put a little extra pep in my step!

I'll see you tomorrow ... already dreaming of my next post as I type!

Ankles and kitchens

I thought I better justify why I haven't had a post since Sunday ..... get ready for it .....

I sprained my ankle.

Yeah, seriously.

I've been out of commission since Sunday and just could not come up with anything to write about!

I have really been wanting to copy this idea from my friend Rhonda at Blue Creek Home. If you haven't been to her blog, please stop by and say Hello! I think this is a cute idea and since I went to school for Interior Design, its something that I technically have done before.

Somehow I always make things complicated and even though this is just a little ol' blog post, I'm still taking this really seriously! I did want to show you what I've come up with so far and hopefully that'll get the ball rolling for me to finish my room!

So, if money wasn't an object I would definitely create a magnificent kitchen first! I've seen concrete countertops before and I love love love this one that I found a picture of. Its so rustic and natural ... I like it way better than granite!

Keeping with a rustic feel, I would definitely go for some cabinetry like this! In fact, I'm going to keep this picture on file and try to recreate it in my next home. I love the green and that distressing?! To die for, if you ask me!

And that's all I have so far ... I'm telling you, I'm taking this very seriously! Even though it's not for a grade, not even for "real life" I still want to make sure everything matches and flows.

I'll try to get some pictures tonight of a couple projects I did last week so I can do a post again tomorrow, but if you don't see me for a while - just know that I'm probably sitting on the couch with my foot propped up! Hope you're all having a great week!

Weekly treasures

I did a little thrifting this week and had some good luck. I'm linking up to Rhoda's Thrifty Treasures party ... if you didn't know, she got a new blog address so be sure to update your own blog rolls and links!

Ok, I'll jump right in. I have been wanting some fancy stemware for a while, but didn't want to pay the price for a whole set. I found these at Goodwill and fell in love! They're really nice.

I don't know if they are real crystal, but at .99 a piece, I can't complain.

I found this cute little tray. I think it was .99, too!

It had some great little details.




I found these two Ball jars, they were supposed to be a prize at my party but we didn't vote! My cousin liked them so much, I'm giving them to her.


This is a cute little plate that isn't stamped ...

But, I found a matching cup (it wasn't stamped either!)
It makes a cute little set.
This was another prize ... I'll show pictures later this week - and I'm keeping this one!

This was one of those weeks when I didn't really need anything, but I'm happy with what I found! Especially my new stemware!

Check out Rhoda's party and see what everyone else found this week.

Still in love

Yup, I'm still completely enamored with this china ... here are a few more pieces that were my great grandmother's!

This is the creamer ... ahhh the creamer. I have a thing for cream and sugar bowls. So, I luckily now have both!

It doesn't get any prettier than this.

I got a few of these great bowls and some more dinner plates!


And the best piece of them all? The serving platter.

So for now, that is all my collection. I hope to continue to collect bits and pieces of this pattern ... I've searched Ebay and Replacements and while I could buy pieces from those outlets, I just like the thrill of the hunt. It just seems too easy to purchase my beauties online.

I'm off until Sunday, where you can find me at Rhoda's Thrifty Treasures party at Southern Hospitality! I got a few neat things at my local Goodwill that I think you'll like! Have a great weekend!

Easy-peasy Redo

As promised ... my furniture reveal! I found this great dresser at Goodwill for $10 that was the perfect candidate for a little tlc.

Here it is before

And after.

Are you scratching your head yet? I did, too so its ok. Stay right where you are and I'll explain.

I started my redo by taking off all the hardware.


Then, it's time to sand. Here's what it looked like before.


And after ... don't you just love it? I pay special attention to the edges and sand those down more than the rest of the shelves.


Close up.


Now, when I got all the pieces sanded down like this ... I was wondering what color I'd paint it. I was stuck between a light green or a robin's egg blue.

So ... it set for a couple of day, awaiting my decision. Patiently awaiting, I might add. The more I looked at it, the more I liked it just as it was. I loved the stripes ... I would never be able to have another piece like that - it looked like something right out of nature.

I put it in my room, decorated it and thought about it for a couple more days - notice I was still not completely sure, because I hadn't put the hardware back on.


There was just something about this look that I couldn't paint over, at least not yet. I love the texture, the scratches, the dings, the well-loved look.

What do you think?

It is perfect ... just enough space to decorate the top!

I love my little bird. It looks so pretty when light shines through it!

This is Noritake plate I found at Goodwill a few months ago, for 25 cents. Its perfect for my rings!

And a final glimpse.

So ... do you think I'm crazy? Have you ever done anything like this before? The way I look at it is if I like it like this for now, then decided to paint it - it'll be a pretty easy project! All the hard work is done for me. I think it'll be neat a super light blue, but I don't want to make any hasty decisions!

Hope you enjoyed my "redo"!

Work with what ya got

I wanted to share some decorating I've been doing the past few days. This is by no means a final product ... I think each time I walk past I move something or put it on another table. But, that's all part of the fun! I didn't even buy anything new - just went shopping in my own basement.

Here's a little peak of what I've been up to!

This is part of a computer desk that was in the basement when we moved in. I used it as an extension of my tv stand. And yes, I am missing a candle in my candlestick. I'm still debating whether I want to even put candles in them ... they are kind of neat without them, I think.

This is a bookcase in front of my main window in the living room. These windows happen to be my kitties favorite spot to scope out birds and squirrels, so I'm usually picking at least one thing up from off the floor and putting it back in its place.


I decided to use my doilies as part of my decor. I like this table a lot more now that I did! Tonight I'm going to cut some wildflowers to put in the green vase - can't wait!

I decided to change my table setting since I have all these matching pieces.

More doilies! I had 3 of the same size and style, so I thought they'd look cute on the saucer.

And the tea set. I really like it on my table - the green is so summery to me.
Come see me tomorrow ... I've got a furniture revamp reveal! It was super simple and I wasn't expecting the outcome I got so I think you'll like it!