Happy Thursday, a Surprise, and dirt-digging

Well, I have had quite a day today!

I worked 6:30-2:30 today....nothing interesting, an average day. When I got off work, my mommy called to tell me she was at the Goodwill nearby, and would I like to meet her there. Well, of course I did, and I found a splendid treasure.... which I haven't taken pictures of yet, so you'll be left hanging. But I promise, it is quite wonderful!

Inspired by the beautiful (and painfully hot) weather, and also my new treasure, I went next door to the Goodwill, to Lowes, and perused their many racks of clearanced plants. I came up with a grand total of 10 plants, for only $12! And they weren't dead! I honestly don't know why some of them were even clearanced. Who cares! I bought 'em all! I got: 2 geraniums (red and pink), a 6-pack of alyssum, a 6-pack of begonias (<3),>

After I tired of floating 'round the pool, I came inside, turned on Disc 2 of Pan's Labyrinth (featurettes, yay!), and started sewing my newest *top secret* project. I must say, it turned out pretty well. I am, by no means, a seamstress, so everything I sew is....how shall I say....."shabby-chic". But that's how I like it. Its called "handmade" for a reason, people!!

Anyway, its getting late and I'm getting sleepy. Sorry for all the mystery.... I've just been to busy/lazy to take pictures today! ;D

I will tomorrow, I promise!

In the meantime - Visit Peachcake's brand new MySpace.... she hates MySpace, but has created one for your viewing pleasure (and to attract sales to her Etsy shop!). She's got a spot in the Showcase coming up on June 4, so swing by her shop and show her some support!

*hint hint* I've got a Showcase spot on the 5th, too! ;)

Photo Prints Galore!

Taking a hint from my good buddy Peachcake, I decided to list some photo prints in the shop today.

Right now, I have mostly 8x10's listed, with a couple of 5x7 sets of either 2 or 3. I'm going to expand on that later, but now, I must leave you to go to work. Today is a very short day - only 10:30-3:00. So fear not, for I shall return!

Happy Wednesday!

Tulips for sale!

Before:

After:
I finally got around to re-painting the wooden pull-toys this afternoon. I loooooove how they turned out!

I saw them at the Goodwill a few weeks ago, and thought they were so cute. All they needed was a little T.L.C. and a fresh coat of paint! The original paint job was terrible - smudges all over the place, and messy brush strokes galore. I updated the colors a little - tuned down the palette a little. I think it looks a little more Scandinavian, a little less Country. In my mind, anyway! ;) I traded the pink tulip for a yellow one, because honestly - who's ever seen a pink tulip before? Not I. Yellow tulips happen to be a favorite of mine, however. And I made the green paint match the green pull-cord, and painted the "box" a nice periwinkle blue. Love it!

I'm baaaaack!

Ok, everything is officially back to "normal". Chris went back to State College on Sunday; and Philipp left this afternoon for Austria. Now, I'm all alone. :(

But I can get back to my routine of blogging incessantly. Yay.

As promised, I can finally share some pictures of the past week or two with you! Let's see....

This is me yelling at one of the machines at Charlestown Races & Slots. Chris and I went there last week and lost some money. Always a fun time.

That's Chris sunning himself at Fuller Lake, where we went on this past Thursday. I caught about 50 tadpoles (there were MILLIONS) and put them in my 5-gallon fishtank, but they all seem to have disappeared.... I haven't figured out if they are just hiding in the gravel, or if they turned into little frogs and hopped right out (highly unlikely!). I absolutely refuse to believe that my tiny little guppies ate the tadpoles, which were almost their size.....

Finally, some pictures of my new little baby, Porkchop! Yes, I know, Porkchop is kind of a strange name for a kitten. I didn't name him. His mommy, Lauren, did. And he learned his name (along with brothers Bacon and Sausage, and sister Tofu) at a very young age, and so, I hesitate to call him anything but! My family insists on calling him O'Malley, but I think that's an even more terrible name than Porkchop (or the inevitable "Porky")! I suggested the name Louie, as it really seems to suit him, but I was met with great consternation. *Hmph*

And this afternoon, I took many, many pictures of our garden. I even found some tiny little inhabitants!

I stayed pretty busy today... I helped my mom tear up the carpet from our stairway. It was so old and gross! The staircase looks really nice now, without carpet! I also turned a $10 Forever21 dress into a cute top (but it still needs a little work...maybe a belt or something...); and I shortened a white eyelet-lace tube-top-tunic thing that my sister gave me a loooong time ago. It was just too long, and looked stupid on me, so I cut the bottom off, and now its absolutely adorable. *happy* I'll have to get some pictures of that later on.

Also this past week: Lauren got married (but my camera died after 1 picture, which didn't even turn out. I'm going to get pictures from my friends a.s.a.p. !), and I attended a graduation party for my good friend Bobby, who graduated from West Point this week. I'm so proud of him! Again, no pictures of the party, but my friends had cameras so pics will be up soon! (I'm an idiot when it comes to taking my camera with me when I might actually need it. Really.)

Oh dear!

I've been a bad blogger again! But I promise, that will change shortly. Chris is going back to State College for a week or two to spend a little time with his best friend Doug before Doug moves to Atlanta for his job. Chris' parents are taking him up today (*cries*), which means that I will be sad because I miss him, but also a little bit glad because I can get back to my normal routine! (Ok, mostly just sad). Philipp is coming back from visiting West Point today, and then he's going back to Austria on Tuesday, so I will be completely bored and back to normal. ;) So I promise, I will have lots of fun things for you later this week!

On a side note, the wedding went off without a hitch (er...with a hitch!) yesterday. It was beautiful. As it turns out, I'm a cryer... I started crying almost as soon as the ceremony began, and cried until it was time to leave for the reception. That was my first wedding to go to since I was in 4th grade, and it was the first of my friends' weddings, so I had no idea how I would react. I'm definitely a cryer. How embarassing. My only consolation was that the groom cried more than me. Thank goodness. Otherwise I would have just looked silly. ;)

Ok, off to work I must go. Ho-hum.

I hope everyone is having a lovely and fruitful weekend!

I'm not lost!

Just a quick post to let everyone know that I have, indeed, not fallen into the Black Hole of Calcutta. Nay; instead I have been super-duper busy trying to juggle my two boyfriends. (I wish! Ok, my boyfriend and my boy-friend). Between work, Chris (boyfriend), and Philipp (Austrian boy-friend) my head is spinning. And last-minute craft stuff for Lauren's wedding gifts. I posted about the box a while ago, but that was only the beginning. Here's the whole kit and kaboodle:

Philipp and I went to the mall yesterday and I picked up these "bride" panties for Lauren, plus the other 2 pairs. Every bride needs a pair! I already had planned on making a feather tickler, and when I found those pink "ticklish" underwear, I was so stoked! So I got my act together last night and made the tickler and the black drawstring pouch (with white thread....grrrr! Stupid me forgot to pick up some black thread...) But its ok. It serves its purpose well! Later this evening, Chris and I are going over to Lauren's so that a) Lauren can finally meet Chris in a more intimate setting, b) Chris can play with the kitties, and c) I can bring my baby kitty home tonight!! Yay!!

Yard Sale Heaven!!

Well, I think today might have been the luckiest day of yard-saleing I have ever had. Ever! Really!

One of the very first yard sales that we stopped at this morning was an older couple who recently cleaned out their attic. They had BOXES of their 40-something year old son's toys for $0.25 each. Each BOX. We totally cleaned up at their sale. And yet my dad and I have been saying all day that we should have bought all of their stuff! Look at what I got:

A shoebox FILLED with these tiny vintage toys... I think a lot of them were cake-toppers?? Maybe? I'm sure the Snow White and the Seven Dwarves ones were...I've seen those before, here.... there are a ton of tiny little Disney characters, some other cartoons, and other litle guys like cowboys, a wrestler, a baseball player, and a scuba man.

A close-up of some of the Disney littles and an army of Gumbis

Another $0.25 box that we got was filled with these: a bendy Popeye, Gumbi and 2 Pokeys, a plastic Peter Pan and an astronaut, and the complete set of Pogo characters. (Just for reference - we paid $0.25 for the entire contents of the box. I just checked on Ebay and those Pogo figurines are selling for about $15 each). I'm definitely going to be setting up an Ebay account this weekend.....

My mom got this little guy, but I secretly want him. He's a pull-turtle, with a little string that you pull him by, and his little feet wobble and jingle as he goes. So cute! Maybe she won't notice if I keep him all for myself.....

My dad got a whole box filled with vintage, never-been-used, coloring books. Lone Ranger, Swiss Family Robinson, and a whole bunch of others. I'm thinking those might bring in some Ebay-cashola too....(if I can convince my dad to part with some of them!). He paid $1 for the box.

Included in one of the $0.25 boxes was this set of rubber stamps. I love the little gunslinger and scuba guy the best! There were also a whole bunch of numbers and letters.

My mom also got a bunch of stuff for her classroom: a really cool wooden car-ramp playset for little matchbox cars (it even has a litle wind-up elevator to take the cars to the top of the ramp!) that she says she's seen in teachers' catalogs before for about $20. She paid $1... and some wooden blocks and stuff. I regret not buying EVERYTHING at their yard sale!

We went to a bunch of other sales but I didn't really get too much. My dad bought a Yamaha stereo-receiver for Chris that he says would have retailed for about $800 when it was new. He paid $10, which is awesome because Chris has been looking for one, and my dad knows everything about electronics and stuff, so it was a great deal! Chris is going to be thrilled.

My grandma picked this adorable little guy up for my mom for her classroom, but I swiped it (and mom didn't want it anyway).

Princess kisses the frog, and....

POOF! A handsome prince!

(Its one of those turn-it-inside-out, 3-dolls-in-1 deals. Love it!)

That was the bulk of what I got. A few vintage books here and there (which I have been coveting of late.... though sadly, I didn't find any more Beatrix Potter books! But I still have hopes.), including this Walt Disney's Stories from Other Lands...

(Its a bad picture, but that's a little picture of Snow White and some of the dwarves repeated all over the cover. Its very cute!)

The afternoon dragged on, and the yard sales started wind down, and people began to pack up. We went back up the mountain, dropped my mom off at home (she was getting tired from walking so much), and my dad and I went down the other side of the mountain to a ritzy community called Penn National for their yard sales. The signs said they ended at 1:00, and by this time it was almost 2:00, so we didn't expect much. Boy, were we wrong!

A lot of houses had put their remaining stuff out at the curb with FREE signs all over it! So we went "Dumpster Diving"!!! Haha! We made out like bandits, too!

This stuff all came from one heap of discarded treasures!

Some really great books.... I think the Childrens' Foods one will be a new favorite... its not necessarily for children, its just simple and fun recipes, usually made in the shape of something cute. Love! And how could I resist another copy of The Old Man and the Sea? That's my most favorite book ever.

My dad found this one - it was a cracked, ugly old binder. But when we opened it up, its a wealth of sewing-knowledge! And heaven knows I can use some! ;)

And this, adorable childrens' book written in French. How sweet!

We filled a whole bucket up with free treasures. I found a planter, a little watering can, a huge sheer curtain that I can cut up to make at least a pair (maybe 2 pairs!), and a whole bunch of martial arts belts (obis) that will make really nice bag-handles. Yay for free stuff!

Good morning!

(Philipp, me, and Bobby at Disney World in 2003 in the picture!)

Good morning, and happy Saturday everyone!

I'm up bright and early this morning for some very good reasons - yard sales all morning and cleaning house all day! My town is going to be teeming with yard sales today - I saw at least 5 signs yesterday on my street alone. Boy, am I excited! I haven't been yard-saleing in over 2 years, now. The area where I lived in NC didn't have many yard sales, and it didn't matter anyway because I worked so much I wouldn't have had time to go. And then last summer I was living in Maryland and didn't have any time either. And no one to go with. So I am super-excited to go this summer!!

This evening, my friend Philipp is flying in from Austria to visit and attend our friend Bobby's graduation from West Point next week. (Philipp was an exchange student my senior year of high school; and Bobby was his host-brother, and one of my best guy friends). I'll be so glad to see him! Its been 2 years since the last time he visited - he even brought his parents and brother that time, and they came and visited me in N.C. for a week. Fun times!

Well, I'll be leaving in about 5 minutes. I hope everyone has a wonderful day and a fun-filled weekend!

*I'm going to do my best to do a Good Things post this weekend.... no promises, but I'll try!

Treasures galore!

My mom asked me to pick up Krista from school today at 4:30 (she had field day or something today, I think), and when I got there, I waited and waited for about 20 minutes. Then my phone rang and it was Krista, telling me that she didn't need me to pick her up, and she was going to a friend's house. Needless to say, I was livid. I had been busy at home, but made a special trip to the school (its about 1/2 hour away) to pick her up, and now she says she's going to a friend's house. Grr. But - instead of making the trip become a complete waste, I decided to stop in at the Goodwill to see if there were any treasures to be found.

Well!

There were!

This is definitely one of my new favorite things in the whole wide world. Isn't it the cutest?? Its about a foot tall, and drawers really pull out. I put it on my night stand so I can put my jewelry that I wear every day in it at night when I go to bed. I need to find a really great picture of Chris and I to put it in. We're not too photogenic together, as it seems, though....so I shall leave it empty for now. Still cute! I found 2 of these little wonders... only $2 each! I'm going to give 'em a fresh coat of paint and maybe some little extras.... I think they're just adorable!

and

my favorite thrifted treasure of the day:

Isn't it just beautiful?

What? What's that? You - you think its hideous??

Well, you're right. It is (was) quite hideous.

But what do you think about it now?

The little shadowbox was so ugly before. The background was the cardboard that makes up the back of the frame, with flowers cut out of the front of a greeting card scotch-taped onto it. And there was lace. Ugly, yellowing lace glued into the inside perimeter of the frame. So, so ugly.

So. I cut out the lace, covered the cardboard-backing with stripey fabric, painted the little girl (anybody know who she was inspired by?? My mom guessed it right away!), and made her a little felt-and-thread kite to fly.

I can just see her flying her little red kite in the Tuileries in Paris, singing Let's Go Fly a Kite from Mary Poppins all the way....

I'm a bad, bad, blogger.

Looks like I've broken my promise, once again. I'm sorry. I came home last night and went straight to sleep. The kittens' utter cuteness just exhausted me. ;)

But today I don't have to be at work til 9:30 (late for me!), so I can make it up to you all!

I'm going to try out my green-thumb again. I usually have bad luck with anything that's green and even remotely plant-like. My boyfriend's mom gave me these hens and chicks last Sunday and I've been searching high and low for a suitable pot, to no avail. Then yesterday my grandma stopped by (she lives next door...) and said she had a perfect pot. Perfect! I love it! Carollynne (Chris' mom) said its virtually impossible for me to kill hens and chicks, so.... we shall see! :D

I just think its so pretty!

I also bought this miniature rose plant the other day...

And....

Here are all the thrifted goodies I got earlier this week!

One of the best sections - all about different types of fabrics

and the coolest project from this book - can you tell both books are straight out of 1975???

I am so making a bread-basket chicken.

I got all of those treasures at my local Goodwill store. That was definitely a day of treasure-finding! I wish every trip to the Goodwill could be like that!

Well, there it is. I hope everyone has a lovely Friday, and a happy weekend too! I'm going to be crazy-busy this weekend cleaning and sprucing-up around the house because I have TWO visitors coming this weekend - 1) a friend from high school is flying in from Austria (exchange-student!) and I haven't seen him in 2 years; and (yay!) Chris is coming home for about a week so he can go to Lauren's wedding with me. What a good boy. :D