Cottage Charm Winner!

I want to thank all of you wonderful people who entered my very first giveaway. Thank you for coming and visiting my blog and and thanks to those who followed too! I do want to come visit each of you. The best part of this giveaway is meeting more lovely bloggers. So I hope you will come back often and see what is going on here.

Moody son won't be joining us. He is having a guy night with his visiting college brother and his dad. They are at a sports bar and grill watching the big fight. What big fight you ask? I don't know. It's the mixed martial arts one where they beat each other silly. So, I'm using random.org. Not sure why I thought it was going to be so complicated. It wasn't. Just insert numbers and push button. I stress for no reason sometimes.

Okay, here we go, and the winner of the giveaway is............ Chris and Stephanie! Congrats you two. Thanks for taking the time to come visit my blog. Please send me an email with your information. I can't seem to find your email so I hope you will see this.

Thanks Kim for being a terrific host! It's been great fun : )

Lesson Learned: Shut Thy Mouth

So we head to the estate sale. Hubby is off so he comes along. He has a look of concern because of the area we are entering. I'm not judging and I explain to him that you never know what you will find or where. Luckily it wasn't in the run down, rusted out trailer park that we accidentally turned into. But the sale did turn out to be an glorified yard sale in my opinion. It wasn't run by the company that I usually see. They were a bit high. Wanting $65 for a small dough bowl that I wasn't even sure of it's age. She was a doll collector so there were tons of those. Some pretty darn scary looking ones too. Chucky scary.

We stop at a couple thrift stores. More of a flea market really.  I picked up a couple of ironstone pieces and 2 more milk glass cups to go with my others. Turns out they aren't even the same shape as what I have. Oh well, a quarter each. The gravy boat was 2.  I want to try that peroxide treatment that Red Door Home had suggested. It worked wonders on her piece. I won't be out much if it all goes horribly wrong.  

I bought the chair for a planter. She had $5 on it and I asked her if she would come down. "Well Sugar" she said "whatcha wanna pay me for it?" At this point I should have just shut up. But there was too long of a pause. Times a wasting. And I blurt out 3 bucks just when she was going to say 2. I don't know what came over me. I wasn't too upset. Three dollars for a planter isn't bad I guess. Lesson learned (again) shut up and let them blurt out the price.

Looks comfy huh? That's some really old red vinyl covering the seat. I think I will paint it something cheery. Now I have to buy more plants for the chair. It's rather plain so maybe something viney to grow up the back of it. Stay tuned I hope to get it done before the summer is over. 

Hope everyone has a great weekend. Son #2 is home for a visit from college so it will be a fun weekend here.

Cloudy Skies Can Clear the Head

When things get complicated and your head starts to spin it's always good to step back. Life can just be messy sometimes. Some things are out of our hands and we we realize we have to let go. Let go of things we have not control of. 

We took a drive tonight. Just in time for the sunset. Hubby brought along his fishing rod and I my camera. Here are some shots that helped me clear my head. The beauty that is around us is something we should take the time to enjoy and appreciate. These two fellows below were trying to work out their differences.

Both tried to lay claim to the fish that these two guys were catching with their nets.

The osprey went and got some fish of his own. Now, I only have a 10x zoom on my camera and I wasn't using all of it for this shot. He was just that close.

I think he went off to feed his family. We also saw a pod of dolphins but I didn't get a great shot. 

Look at the top of the tree below and you can see the nest. You can also see a wall of rain. That's how it rains around here. You will get rain on one side of the street but not the other.

The sky was forever changing. Doesn't this sky remind you of that scene in Ghostbusters? Who ya gonna call?

The clouds were amazing. Dark and mysterious but yet glowing.

Thanks to the sunset (and a beer) my head is feeling better :)

Going to an estate sale tomorrow. Fingers crossed. My lazy butt slept in today and I didn't have enough time to go. I hope there is still some good stuff left. Oh, sorry about not editing the photos, still in lazy mode. You're getting them au naturel!

Treasure Hunting

I haven't gotten around to showing you my latest finds from this past weekend. First stop was an estate sale. I could easily spend over an hour at some of these. I never give my self enough time too look at things like books. I only came out with two things. There were some white tureens I wish I had gotten. I don't really have room for them but perhaps I could have resold them. My thinking gets clouded in these situations a lot. I have to be more clear headed next time.

The footed silverplate dish was really dirty and when I cleaned it up it was pretty scratched up. But that is hidden when I put my sea glass in it. I liked all the details. The vase was hard to photograph but it is etched and has a ruffled rim. The bottom is actually sterling and it came with that ceramic rose in it. I didn't want the rose but for $1 I got the rose and the vase. The base still needs a bit of a cleaning.

We then went to a garage sale. Now, I've seen the signs for this sale before but I never seemed to make it over there. They have them twice a month and the money goes to the Covenent House which is a Hospice center. Hospice workers are angels and I felt like I had to get something!

I came home with this blue vase from Target. Which turned out to have some blue missing. The white mini bundt pan which is marked Princess House. I've heard of them, but know nothing of them. It was only $1. And it happens to match my Pottery Barn cake dish to a T. And my favorite find of the day was this small white bowl for .10. It's from WWII. Stamped  US Army Medical Department. I just fell in love with it. 

This will be my newest quest. I must find more! We were Air Force not Army but that's okay. I'll even buy some from the Navy. I will be sure to go twice a month now to that Hospice garage sale. Looks like they will have some good stuff in the future. You never know. I just think of it as giving a donation.

I will be linking up to Southern Hospitality's Thrifty Treasures  and Coastal Charms's Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays

A Cottage Charm Giveaway!

 We have a winner!! I'm so excited. I don't know why, I didn't win. But Chris and Stephanie did!  Please drop me an email with your information. I can't find an email for you guys. Thanks so much for taking the time to visit. Hope you will come back to see what is going on.

I swear, I am always the last girl to the party. I recently found out about this major giveaway over at Twice Remembered. Kim is having her annual Cottage Charm Giveaway. It's happening the whole month of May. Okay, so there are only a few days left. Better late than never I guess. Here is the bounty that I have for you. I wanted to include things that represent me and yet appeal to many.

There is a 63" tie up shade in a neutral ivory sailcloth that you can dress up if you wish.

A sweet little wall plaque

Two small topiary wall hangings

A milkglass dish filled with an assortment of shells. 

A small silverplated dish. Love the bottom of the milk glass.

~Rules Schmules~

I am told there should be rules. Hmmm, well, leave me a comment to let me know you would like to be entered in my very first giveaway. Please leave your email address if you do not have a blog so I can get in touch with you. Take a look around and if you like what you see and wish to hang around more than feel free to follow. Just leave another comment and let me know and you will get another chance. But it's okay if you don't, I will still like you. 

If I can figure out this random generator thingy I will use that. Otherwise you are all going into a basket, so for crying out loud try to get along. And I will have my moody teenage son pick the winner. Lucky you :)

Unfortunately I am going to have to limit it to the US and Canada since shipping is so high and I am not a gozillionaire. Sorry about that.

Out and About on the Water

We went out on the boat yesterday so I thought I'd share some photos I took of the beautiful day. It was pretty hot but not unbearable yet.

Going out through Destin pass. Not too rough today. It can get pretty choppy going through here. You get a peak of the emerald water around the jetty. 

and the sand as white as snow

In hubbys words, now that's a big ass boat!

A little para sailing? No thanks!

                                                                                             

We caught a little fish but this dinner will have to wait until June 1st. The first sea turtle I have seen here. I am hoping that stuff on it's back is not oil! He was hard to get a shot of. The boat was rocking and he kept going under.

On our way in we stopped in a cove to look around. Had to take a shot of these old shrimp boats. It wasn't until our way out of the cove that I noticed the sunken sailboat. Quite the ram shackled yard!

I loved this yard and how it went right down to the water. Maybe one day we will live on the water like that.

My bedroom - from hives to relaxation

I was wanting to show you my bedroom and maybe get some ideas. I am having a hard time getting a good shot and well, I give up. You just have to look at crappy shots. Yes, that's a reflection off the mirror. Oh, my son is going to have a field day with these pictures.

This is stuff I had at my old house and am trying to use here but I need to change some things up.  I have the bed on this wall because it give me the most room. I have a pretty big desk on the opposite wall. But the headboard wall feels unbalanced to me. That's where I need some ideas.  I think I will either paint or replace the lamps. And maybe the curtains. Replace, not paint. Something lighter for the summer. They keep coming out with a pinkish hue to them in the photos but they are not. They are really more like color of the duvet but in a tone on tone stripe. Which I'm using without the comforter at the moment.

 Look my bed is made!

This is the before shot of the same wall with previous owners stuff

This was pretty much the first thing we tackled when we moved in. My during shots got lost when my pc crashed. I only have shots with the previous owners stuff.  It was hunter green and burgundy wall paper AND border! Sort of a ragged on look. It gave me hives. I couldn't stand it. I started ripping off wallpaper only to find it was not coming off without a fight. What a major pain in the patoot that was. I was going to lose it. I think I had a bit of a break down. We rented a steamer and it took all weekend but we got that crap off! Along with some drywall but it was better than the paper! Could not have done it without hubby's help. I would have ended up in straight jacket somewhere banging my head against the wall. So then we sanded and patched and primed, with the smelly stuff. It needed some major sealer. And I used flat paint, I never had before, but it helped hide some flaws that weren't going away. I painted the stained trim but still need to get new doors. It's a lot more relaxing now.

They had their bed where the mantel is now. 

Here is a better shot of the fabric I used for the headboard. They are pretty easy to put together and this one is pretty big. I made the headboard with the help of a friend. You really need an extra set of hands to do the tufting. Just need to figure out how to balance it better.

The fireplace mantel I found at Lakewood antique market in Atlanta. Sadly it is not there anymore. That was the best place. I can't believe it's gone. Anyway, it was an unattractive shade of pink. I wish I had a before but I do not. The tile and mirror mosaic is done on a piece of plywood and then just attached to the back of the mantel.

This is the only other shot I have and it's where my desk is now. 

The desk is made out of cabinets and a door for the top. The door is stained dark and the cabinets are painted pretty much like the mantel. I have 2 floating shelves above it in a dark brown stain. I will have to clean off the desk before I can show you. So, it may be a while. 

I will be linking up with...Funky Junk Saturday Nite Special
                                     DIY Show Off Project Parade
                                     Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday