Traditionally non traditional

I hope you had a lovely Easter! I know we had a very nice quiet day.

 

We are only semi traditional about Easter at our house, I love to do extravagant Easter baskets for the kids and the traditional Easter ham with all the trimmings for dinner, and we used to do egg hunts when the kids were younger. But, generally speaking it is a quiet holiday at our house, and a holiday that I like to use as an excuse to bring out some of my favorite vintage dishes and set a pretty table.

 

Up until last year, it was my tradition to use my husbands Grandmother Adeline's dishes for any major holiday. But last year, after seeing the beautiful table setting using Jadeite dishes and deep purple flowers in Martha Stewarts magazine from last Spring. I decided to switch it up a bit, and loved it! Loved it so much that I decided to do the same this year, except instead of doing the Jadeite with purple flowers again, I decided to use my newest set. The Honeysuckle Fire King that I purchased with my Christmas cash. Again, I loved how it turned out!

 

 

These are such pretty dishes with a lovely Spring feel to them. I decided to use the tablecloth I purchased at the Nashville Flea Market in February. I thought they would go together well, and I believe I was right!

 

Since I only have one serving platter and not a complete set of serving dishes in the Honeysuckle pattern; I mixed in some of the vintage milk glass pieces I have as well. These milk glass dishes were a gift from a good friend, they were her Grandmothers and that always makes things extra special to me. Here are a couple of them, all are in mint condition.

 

 

I also forgot all about this darling bunny and mushroom I had stashed back with some of my vintage dishes. This kind of thing is happening to me far too often lately. I am formulating a plan to better organize my vintage dishware where it is both safe from breakage and where I can easily see it. A good project for this fall I think!

 

 

Both were Hobby Lobby finds from several years ago, I think they are so cute so they will have to become part of our Easter table from now on.

 

 

And flowers of course. I have been drawn to lilies lately. Coming home to that lovely scent in the air is just wonderful!

 

 

As if we did not have enough sweets in the house on Sunday, I was asked to make a Pavlova for dessert. I just made a small one instead of the full recipe.  My kids love Pavlova, I have been making it since my son was a toddler and it is a family favorite. Actually, I have yet to meet anyone that does not like this dessert when they try it. It is as delicious as it is beautiful!

 

 

I have been keeping very busy again this week, hammering and knocking out a few more small projects inside the house. Next I will dive into doing some minor landscaping, cleaning up in the yard and gardening. I am really missing spending my weekend mornings sitting on my pallet couch under the willow tree with my snorty Pug, drinking Chai tea. I can't wait to get it all cleaned up and the kitchen herbs planted now that the weather is getting warmer.

 

Hope you are having a great week!

Burrrrrrr...a very chilly March Flea Market

I was so excited to be able to spend the morning of Good Friday at the Flea Market, that I never bothered to check out what the weather was supposed to be like. I swear it had said low 70's....I don't think we made it up quite that warm yesterday, it was CHILLY yesterday morning.

 

I suspect the Flea market was insane today, it has been a gorgeous day, but I still think it was worth braving the chilly temps yesterday to be able to get first crack at the goodies. I walked away with some pretty fun finds!

 

Favorite find of the day was this relish dish. My Mom and I spotted one at Southern Thrift last Friday, I had never seen one before and I loved it, but would not buy it because it was obviously missing "something" from the center. At the time I did not realize that something was a cute mushroom to put your toothpicks in. I have been looking for it on eBay all week, and found a few, but they would have cost me close to 20.00 with shipping.

 

 

So, spending 5.00 on a mint condition dish pretty much made my morning, I should mention they wanted 8.00 for the one missing the mushroom at Southern Thrift. See what I mean about their prices? You really have to watch what you buy there.

These relish dishes are so kitchy I am tickled with this find!

 

What? Another insulator? But this one is different I swear! It says "New York"!!

 

Love it!

 

 

Love the egg basket. I am pretty sure it is not really vintage, only made to look so, but I love it!

 

 

Another vintage pitcher? Honestly, my family drinks so much sweet tea and lemonade, I am always looking for a pitcher to use, and a cute two quart Pyrex with the original lid for 2.00? No way I was passing it up!

Already filled with a batch of sweet tea!

 

Another Pyrex find. This is the smallest size bowl,  I love these small bowls, they are so handy!

 Is it me or does that top tomato almost look Angelic in that light?

 

 

And last but not least, this really cute orange Hazel Atlas flower pot! 2.00, perfect condition and the perfect size for the succulent plants I have so far been pretty successful keeping alive all winter! So sweet!

 

 

And of course another handful of silverware to hammer out, I have been busy hammering all week in preparation for the Farmisan market next month. There was a lot at the Flea Market this month, I could have spent a fortune! But I was really happy to walk away with my little finds!

 

Aside from having a messy kitchen, I am all ready for Easter tomorrow. My kids are excited to get their baskets and my son is looking forward to his Easter ham. The boy lives for spiral cut honey ham and sweet potato casserole. He will be happily eating leftovers all week long.

 

Hope you have a Happy Easter!

Holding together on a wish and a prayer!

Cause a wish and a prayer is about all that is holding this project together!

 

I finally got around to my doily project. Problem was, I did not want to damage or alter any of my doilies in making the project, soooooo, it is pinned and very loosely stitched. I am very happy with how it turned out!

 

 

I know, I know, not exactly unique, this idea is all over Pinterest. But I love how it showcases these beautiful vintage doilies.

 

Just don't look too closely or you will see my stick pins! Hummm, I probably need to add a few more to nail them down.

 

I am hammering away and getting ready for Easter this weekend, it will be a nice long weekend for me as our company closes for Good Friday, and as it happens it is also flea market weekend, so, you can guess how I will be spending my Good Friday!

 

Hope you are having a great week!

Fire king and Glasbake and Pyrex oh my!!!

Wow, what a busy week!

 

Started off painful and slow with Spring ahead totally kicking my butt.  Then celebrating my daughters 12th Birthday on St. Patrick's day, and ended with me practically giddy with joy as I dragged my poor mother into Goodwill, Southern Thrift and my favorite indoor flea market.

 

And I was lucky to score some great finds!

 

First score was this Pyrex small casserole WITH the lid! I was very happy!

 

 

Sadly this was my only score from Goodwill or Southern Thrift, although I was very tempted by some gorgeous Havilland bone dishes at Southern Thrift. Probably should have grabbed them, but they just did not grab me hard enough to want to take them home.

 

Now, my favorite indoor flea market had the majority of my great finds.

 

A Glasbake atomic star casserole dish. Already washed and in use. These always get a lot of use in my house, they come in handy for everything.

 

Pyrex covered dish, I have had my eye out for one of these for awhile, The price on this one was too good to pass up!

And finally, my favorite score of the weekend. These Fire King tulip cups.

 

Two dollars each. YES!!!

 

I love all of the Fire Kings cups and the tulips were one design that I have been looking for to add to my collection for some time now, but they are usually pretty pricy, even at the Nashville flea I was finding them for between 9.00 and 12.00. I about threw out my elbow reaching out to snatch these mint condition beauties off the shelf.

 

My daughter and I are both looking forward to eating churro's and drinking hot chai tea latte out of our new tulip cups tomorrow morning. We were hoping to take out churro's and chai tea outside to enjoy, but looking at the weather, I think we will be drinking our morning Chai in the living room under a blanket instead. Burrrrr, after two beautiful days, we are getting a Spring cold snap!

 

My daughter has had a wonderful birthday weekend. After hanging her crystal chandelier and finishing the final touches today, her room re-do is finally complete, and I am happy to report it is absolutely gorgeous and she loves it. Her Grandmother thoroughly spoiled us both with pedicures, and wonderful meals out. And her Grandmothers, Aunt and Great Aunts all spoiled her with Birthday cash so she has a pocket full of spending money to go shopping for Spring clothes. She is one very, very happy girl!

 

But after a fun, relaxing weekend, I am going to be back to hammering tomorrow. The first Farmisan of the year is officially on and I want to be ready in hopes of a great opening weekend!

 

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

Design Change Part II

I was finally able to put the finishing touches on our bathroom "mini" remodel. We got shelves stained and put up this past weekend, but it was Wednesday night before I was able to get in there and decorate.

 

Like most design jobs, it did not turn out exactly as I had envisioned, But the differences are minor so I am ok with it. The most important things worked out just the way I wanted them to.

 

The inspiration for the room was my McCoy pottery collection. I wanted to be able to use and display some of my favorite pieces, so we went with a forest green for the walls with beige and black accents and I am thrilled how it all tied together.

 

 

I ended up only mounting one of the "S's" from the Farm house. I liked it better a little mixed up. I love that I can see my favorite McCoy turtle and frog. The vintage insulators, my favorite blue/green Milwaukee bottle and the blue Ball jar (usually filled with Epsom salt for baths) tied in with the green nicely and the  McCoy planters not only look great, but make perfect containers for cotton balls, soap, Q-tips and tooth brushes.

 

 

This larger Hager planter fits all of my son's toiletries and odds and ends he keeps near the sink without having to look at the clutter. Perfect size and perfect match! I love how this turned out.

 

 

We had a pedestal sink in here for years, liked it, but we needed something with a bit more counter space and storage underneath. The vanity we chose is not a large, and turned out to be the perfect size for this space. A light and mirror are still on my shopping list. The mirror is fine, but I either want to frame it or find something I like more.

 

We painted and started redecorating my daughters bedroom as her birthday gift this weekend and my son said he wanted to do the same for his birthday in May. That will be my last indoor project before the summer. April I will get the garden planted and finish my minor landscape projects, so by the time that is all finished it should be nice enough to get in the pool.

 

After months of project work around the house, It will be so nice to have it all finished and be able to relax in the pool all summer!

 

Well, relax as much as I can in between Farmisan Markets and keeping my stock up!

 

Hope you are having a great Spring weekend!

Just messing around.....

I like to try new things and experiment. And using epoxy with jewelry making has always interested me so I thought I would see how I could tie it in with my herb markers and such.

 

Well, this is what I came up with!

 

Tiny aluminum hydrangea flowers painted with colorful enamel, scattered into an ice tea spoon and forever frozen in epoxy.

 

Kind of interesting!

 

 

I still need to get the hang of using the epoxy, I was not thrilled with the little bubbles, it made the epoxy a bit cloudy. But I still think they turned out well.

 

 

I started with just four, I plan to bring a couple to Creative Village and keep a couple for the Farmisan market just to see if they sell before I make any more.

 

 I like how they add a bit of interest and a pop of color to my green plants!

 

 

And I have to admit, they were really kind of fun to make, so I would be thrilled if they sold well and I had to make more!

 

Only about a month away from the first Farmisan Market of the season, We are back a Charlie Daniels park this year, I was hoping we could get permission to set up in the park by the train depot on a very busy intersection in town, that location would have gotten us a lot of foot traffic, but, things just did not pan out, at least not for this year, but who knows what the future may bring!

 

The Spring flowers are starting to come out because of the beautiful warm temps we have had the last few days, hope you are enjoying this beautiful weather!

 

 

More Ebay finds

Not only have I not had the time to hit my usual thrift shop circuit, but lets face it, this time of year the thrifts seem to be pretty slim on stock other than clothes. I stopped into Goodwill just this past Friday night, the night before 1/2 off Saturday when you expect the store to be packed with stuff. Nope, hardly anything on the shelves in the house wares area. Even my favorite indoor flea market has not had a lot of new stuff coming in, so what can you do when you need a vintage fix?

 

Ebay.

 

I am still very picky, taking into consideration shipping and I look for things that I do not usually come across in my area or things that have been on my long term wish list. I bid a lot, and lose a lot because I am strict about my budget. But I still manage to come away with some fun stuff! 

 

Like these Hazel Atlas glasses. I had been looking for the taller ones for awhile now. I Love these! Got all four for around 15.00 including shipping. Maybe not a bargain in the North, but in my area? I seldom see these at all. The three I found at the Nashville Flea market last summer were the first I had seen in my travels and a real steal, but with these, now I feel like I have a nice little set!

 

Three of the tall glasses and one shorty.

 

A Jadeite egg cup. Stated as vintage, but once I got my hands on it I knew it was not. World Market or Target reproduction most likely. Thankfully I did not spend much, so I will suck it up and take it as a lesson.

 

 

And I snagged a mustard crock! I really do not think this is vintage, but it is cool and I spent just a few dollars on it. It looks great with the rest of the crocks and it is the perfect size to hold some of my darling baby forks and spoons!

 

 

I have been looking for the Fire King Rose and Daisy mug for more than a year now. Usually they are pretty expensive on Ebay, but I found these two for 9.99 with free shipping. one has a manufacturers flaw, the paint does not line up perfectly the way it should, but the other is perfect. Maybe the seller expected a bit of a bidding war, but I was the only bidder. Win for me! Still looking for the Daisy to make my set is complete.

 

 

And I continue to work on completing my set of Fire King Honey suckle dishes. This platter is a bit more dish washer damaged than it looked in the picture, but, for the price I will live with it. 4.99 plus shipping, still came to less than 10.00. I have only seen this pattern in my travels once down here, and I snatched it up. Now all I need is a couple serving bowls and the soup bowls and the set will be complete!

 

 

Oh, and the milk glass salt and pepper shakers. They do not make S&P for this set as far as I could find, so when I saw this set for such a good price, I snatched them up.

 

The search for Jadeite S&P continues!

 

Spring is coming which means the garage sales and outdoor flea markets will start again, the thrift shops will start to see more stock and I will be one happy thrifter again. But until then, I will keep surfing eBay and trying my luck!

 

Hope you are enjoying some beautiful early spring weather this weekend!

February Flea Market

First time for everything, I decided to hit the Nashville Flea Market in February.

 I usually don't bother this time of year, the weather usually sucks and there are not typically a ton of vendors. But the weather was so beautiful on Saturday and I thought it would be really nice to get outside for a walk, do a little junkin and visit with my flea market buddies.

 

Me and half of Nashville.

 

It was packed.

 

But we went early and were getting ready to leave as it was really filling up. It was almost as busy as it gets in November! The vendors that were there had  great weekend sales I am sure!

 

But I only walked away with a few things. Like the last few doilies I need to do my project!

 

 

 

Goal is to have the doily project completed this weekend.

 

And since I was obviously in a vintage doily mood, I grabbed this beautiful table cloth from one of my favorite vintage vendors. Same vendor that I bought my Enid Collins Box bag from, I have bought a lot from this vendor, she always has fun stuff and good prices.

 

 

I think it is vintage, not sure if it is handmade, nice and heavy but with a couple light stains that I think I can soak out. I love it, I think it will look great with both the Jadeite and with the honeysuckle dishes.

 

Perfect fit for my pallet table! Won't be long and it will be nice enough to eat outside again! As a matter of fact, it may be nice enough to eat outside this weekend!

 

Funny, a couple weeks ago at my indoor flea market I was all about the metal, this time I was all about the lace!

 

And I grabbed some more spoons for a class that I will be teaching at Creative Village!

 

 

I need more, but these will be cleaned up and hammered flat for purchase at class.

 

If you would like to learn how I hammer my flatware to create my herb markers and sentiment spoons and live in the greater Nashville area, stop by Creative Village on Saturday April 2nd at 1:00 and join the fun, it is going to be a loud class! Hope we don't drive any shoppers away!

 

This coming weekend will be a craft project weekend. I am going to work on my doily project and a new spoon project, I just hope it works out. Oh, and I need to finish decorating the bathroom now that we have it painted and the new vanity installed. Staining shelves and decorating is the fun part for me! I may not have time to go junking, but I am already looking forward to the weekend!

 

Happy Wednesday! Hope you are having a great week!