Ha Ha Spring, You Got Us...

Sick of seeing snow pics? I sure am!! Just yesterday we actually had grass showing, but today we woke up to this. On the bright side, the kids had a snow day!! So I got to sleep in, YAY!!!

It's April, so I know it will melt soon, right?

Have a glorious day,

Tiff

Have you ever....

.... held an antique sale or upscale yard sale?

I'm looking for advice or tips on throwing something other than a yard sale. My basement is busting at the seems with antiques, collectibles, and home decor stuff, but I don't want to hold just another yard sale and give the stuff away . I don't expect to get store prices either, I'm just looking for something in between. I had thought about taking stuff to a local indoor flea market, but that is a lot of hauling and work. I could sell it on my blog, but I really hate dealing with the packing and shipping.

So that leaves me with possibly turning my garage into a temporary store for a three day weekend sale. What do you think? Have you ever done it before? I thought I could clean out the garage quite well and then set it up with little vignettes . I would have people enter to through my mudroom door and block the rest of the house off and they would go directly to the garage. That way, I don't have to worry about the weather. I was thinking of advertising it with something like "antique and home decor sale", any thoughts? Would you go to something like that? I want to distinguish it from a typical yard sale, because like I said, I don't want to sell things for a quarter.

There is an annual craft sale here in May and I thought about piggybacking off of that because I know if women are out for one thing they are likely to be looking for more to go to. I also have a friend with some hand made goods who is looking to sell things, so I could possibly have a few people involved.

I know I have mentioned something like this before, but this time I am serious, my basement needs to get clean!

Any words of wisdom appreciated.

Tiff

Today's Project and Still Nothing but Water! ...

I hope your week is going well. I had an eventful morning, but we won't go there right now. And there is snow in the forecast for Friday! Actually, I'm kind of hoping for a snowday, but we will see.

I did manage to get this chair and a loveseat that matches it recovered. I used an old hobnail chenille coverlet that unfortunately had a large tear in it. My parents gave me this 6 piece wicker set a few years ago because they no longer had room for it. Well, I really didn't have any place for it either. Though it would look awesome in a sunroom, but I don't have one of those :) Most of it has been stored in the basement, with a piece or two of it finding its way upstairs every once in awhile. BUT, 4 pieces have now found a place upstairs and I'm really like the look and arrangement of it. I can't share the whole thing yet, but you will see it in the big kitchen reveal.

My only dilemma now is, should I paint it? There is a really pretty spray paint called nutmeg(kind of a mocha tan color) that would match the kitchen nicely. However, once I paint it, there is no taking it back.
And just a peak at some cupboards...
Oh, and it's been 3 weeks now with no other beverage but water!!! I have not cheated or slipped up once!! Not even a little lemon in my water. Thank goodness we have really good tasting water here :) I honestly can't believe I have made it this long, not to say that I don't really miss my teas and juices, because Man, I sure do. And seeing commercials for cherry Dr. Pepper don't help, I really want to taste that! And then seeing a sign for Mt. Dew Coolata at Dunkin Donits, sigh, so hard!! That may sound really gross to many of you, but when you are craving something with flavor, it sounds really awesome! Now I'm drooling. Ok, enough of that. I'm off to crochet now, have a great night.

Tiff

New Things...

Last week was a busy week. Hubby had off the week and helped me with some furniture moving and kid running around. There were dress rehearsals for my youngest daughter's school play and then two performances on Thursday and Saturday nights. We had orthodontist appointments and school conferences. Maine Maple Sunday was on the 27th and I took three of the munchkins to another play audition. And some of us are still battling a nasty cough and head cold. And did I mention, we were still getting snow last week!!! The temps are still cold and it looks like Spring is being a bit shy this year.

I did get some goodies last week :) We did a book store run and I finally got a copy of "Weekend Sewing" and I'm looking forward to having some time to make a few things from it.

I have been very good at Goodwill lately and not bringing a ton more clutter in the house. But, I did find this wood shelf hanger for $2.99 and I couldn't pass it up.
A local prim store right down the road from me, Falling Leaf Woodworkers and Primitives (check out her blog), just made some bowl racks and I bought a stained one for a great price! I have it hanging in my dining room, but I need to do some tweaking with what's in it and the wall it is on before I am completely happy with it. I think it needs some wood spoons or something.
I had bought two new skeins of yarn to make something for Mason, but I couldn't figure out what, so I decided to make a twisted granny square afghan. The colors don't go with my house, but I love the vibrancy of them and I think it will make a nice car blanket or an throw for the boy's room.
And I know the kitchen has been "a work in progress" for a very long time. So long, that my hubby has even started to ask me when I plan on sharing the results on my blog :P But really, I just want to get it totally done before I share and I think this past week I finally got the furniture arrangement right(which will make my family happy!). So, I promise, within the next few weeks, you WILL see my kitchen!
Now, I'm going to see if I can lay a sleeping baby down so that I can get some work done :)

Have a lovely day,

Tiff

Name that Blog...

UPDATE... Thank you so much Andrea and Sarah, you guys are fast!!! Off to catch up on The Cottage Nest.

Since my computer died I have been using another laptop that was the kids, but I lost all my bookmarks. There were quite a few lovely blogs that I read that I had bookmarked but hadn't gotten around to putting in my blogroll. One of them happened to be about a woman and her family who moved to a new town and they had been renting a house while looking for one to buy. She had fixed the rental up very cute and she seemed to be quite creative. She often referred to her town as "the Village" and I think she was in Ohio. I "think" she had 2 girls, but I could be wrong. I remember one post about her going for a winter walk around the village and stopping at a bakery and knitting. The town was just adorable with lots of picket fences and cute shops. I would love to find this blog again and see if she bought a home yet. SO.... NAME THAT BLOG!!!! Pretty please !!!!!!!

Thank You !!!!

Tiff

Just Stuff...

I know I haven't been posting much, just busy(school play, redoing the boy's bedroom, still working on the kitchen, and haven't been feeling 100%).

I did want to let you know that I had to change the settings on my comments after I got a disturbing comment and link this morning. So if you have trouble leaving a comment, email me. If this continues, I may have to go to a private blog.

In other news, I ended up returning that galvanized aluminum 3 tier tray to Pottery Barn. Why? you ask. Because I didn't see the "Warning" label on the bottom of it when I bought it. It actually had a warning that it contained harmful chemicals that can cause problems. Yes, I know, sometimes those things can be blown out of proportion, but I did not feel comfortable having that thing sit on my kitchen counter. Really PB, why even sell that kind of thing?

I gave up all beverages except water for Lent, so I'm on day 7 of water only. It has been difficult, because I was a big juice and tea consumer, but each day gets easier. Some observations... I'm actually more thirsty throughout the day, despite drinking a lot of water, my mid section doesn't feel as heavy , and there are no middle of the night bathroom trips.
The snow is finally starting to melt, but mud season is here. I really dislike this time of year, it's not pretty at all. Everything is brown and drab and the snow along the roads is just plain nasty looking. But hopefully we are only a few short weeks away until the lovely lime green buds of the trees start to show. In the mean time, hubby is going to help me build the new home for the feathered friends that will be joining our family.
I need to do laundry and get some vacuuming in, so I'm off.

Have a lovely day,

Tiff

Going Local...

Where do you get your fresh produce? Or your eggs and meat? For us, it's the local grocery store for most of it. I do have our front door kitchen garden, but that doesn't supply us with nearly enough. I do try to buy the locally grown produce at the store and we definitely get our syrup locally, but I have been wanting to go further than that. We do have enough land to have a giant garden, but that requires a Large initial investment(plowing and grading the land and fencing for the deer). And right now, I'm not sure I would be able to handle my own large garden, so that may be a few years down the road. My other option was to find a CSA and do a crop share type thing. Problem with that was that most were a bit of a drive away. BUT, not any more. My dear friend shared with me a blurb she saw in our local town paper and we now have our own CSA farm this year!!!

I called last night and we are going to buy a full share and then I'm going to do a "work share" to get double the amount. I just have to work 4 hours on Tuesdays, beginning in mid June through the growing season(roughly 20 to 24 weeks). I figure I will get some exercise, some sunshine, fresh fruits and veggies(flowers and herbs), and lots of valuable gardening knowledge. Plus, I know where the food is coming from and it should work out to save us money in the long run.

Your local CSA farms aren't just fruit and veggies. They can be beef, poultry, and pork too.

And cheese and fiber...

If you aren't up for your own big garden, but want to buy local and fresh, check out your local CSA farms... but hurry because most only take so many shares and they have to have their numbers in before the planting season starts.

Have a great day,

Tiff

One Kitchen Done, One to Go...

I'm still not ready to share my kitchen, but I can share the boy's kitchen that I finished this weekend. I had been wanting a real wood play kitchen for the little boys and I found a lovely one at a toy store online. The only catch, it was over $350. I almost bought it, but my frugal side just would not let me. So I thought about what I could turn into a play kitchen. After looking online for ideas, I realized I had the perfect solution just sitting in the basement.

I took the top of a hutch that I was not longer using, as the bottom is being used as our TV cupboard in the family room, and asked hubby to help me bring it upstairs. It's all solid pine, no plywood, so it is quite sturdy. Here is the before... the poor thing has been painted quite a few colors over the years...

We flipped it upside down and I started to paint....(and cut a hole for the sink)
And here is the finished result... I absolutely LOVE the way it turned out. Sorry for so many pics, I just adore how it looks.


Sorry for the pink glare, you shouldn't wear hot pink when you are taking pics! The faucet is our old faucet that hubby replaced for me.
This piece was part of the new faucet that we didn't need, so I turned it into the temperature control for the oven. I found a thermostat pic online and printed it out then mounted it behind a thin sheet of plastic.
The bottom works as the mini fridge. I still need to make some shelves for in there.
Storage area under the sink and stove.

So here is my grand total for the project....

1. Bowl for sink...Goodwill .99
2. Towel rack... Ace hardware 5.99
3. 4 wood knobs for stove controls...Ace hardware 3.00

Everything else was in the house and being unused... so free...Total of $9.98 for a new wood play kitchen!!!

I have decided,well finally realized, that we still have lots of little kids in the house, and I need to make more fun places for them. I can have a totally prim home when the kids are grown, for now I need to make it a neat place for them ,(with my touches thrown in). I love the Waldorf play spaces you see online, so I'm kind of making my own style of that in my kitchen area. You will see the whole thing when I share my kitchen reveal with you.

So what do you think? Cute?

Have a fantastic day,

Tiff

Lovely Day...

My day didn't go quite as I planned, but that is a good thing. After I took all the kids to school, I stopped by my best girl friend's house. I told her that me and the boys could only stay a bit because I had a ton of stuff to do at home. Well, we talked and talked, she made us an awesome lunch of meatloaf sandwiches (don't things taste so much better when someone else makes them for you?!), and before we knew it, 5 hours had gone by(Mason had even taken a nap on my lap). So nothing got done at home, but the boys and I had a much needed break out of the house.

And when I got home, I found a nice surprise on my porch. My giveaway win from Gina at Cat Nap Inn Primitives was waiting for me. Here are all my goodies!! 2 embroidered white bar towels, an embroidered Spring towel, a cute snowman doily, recipe cards and make do pad, 2 bags of yummy bowl fillers, coconut linen spray, and my very own personalized kitchen towel!

I did a double take as I was photographing this because I didn't see what it said until I saw it through the lens. I noticed the cow right away and thought it was sweet of Gina to remember that I love cows in my kitchen, but I was blown away when I saw that she put my blog name on it!

These smell so GOOD!!
I put my towel here for now, but I am going to have to find a safer place for it before the kids drip sauce or what not on it.
THANK YOU SO MUCH Gina!! I love it all!!!!!

And they weren't my only gifts. My dear friend gave me these today too. A new pickle for my glass Christmas tree and a neat tin link garland. I have never seen one like it and I can't wait to find a spot for it in my kitchen. She hates having her name mentioned on my blog. So I will just say Thank You again for lunch and my gifts ******* :)
It wasn't the day I planned, but it was very nice and unexpected.

Have a great day,

Tiff

Done with the Snow...

I really love the winter and the snow that comes with it, but there comes a time when enough is enough. And even though I'm not looking forward to the mud season that will soon be here, I can honestly say that I am Done with the Snow!! Of course, as I write this, it is snowing outside and accumulating fast.

As you can see in the picture below, my front door garden isn't going to get planted any time soon, you can just barely see the fence peaking through.

On the bright side, it can't last forever right? And when I'm melting in the summer heat, I can look at pictures like this and long for the white stuff.

Have a lovely day,

Tiff

YAY, YAY, YAY and GRRRR....

The wonderful hubby bought me some new pretties for my kitchen redo today!!! My first YAY is a new kitchen faucet. Here is the one I chose.... I'm so excited to finally have a working sprayer again.

2nd YAY is a set of big and little Bee glasses. I just fell in love with these when I saw them at the mall today. They are nice and thick and textured on the outside with bees.

YAY #3 is this galvanized 3 tier tray. I want to put a bunch of potted plants on it.
Thank you hubby !!!!! I love it all!!!

Now for the GRRRR! of the day. After hours at the mall, letting the new 16 yr old girl get clothes with her birthday money and dealing with way too crowded stores and loud music(I hate the mall with every fiber of my being) we finally came home. But I realized that I didn't get the fabric I needed for the kitchen. I had looked at Mardens and Walmart but they didn't have it. I knew Joann's carried it because I bought it there about 3 months ago. So at 7 this evening, my youngest daughter, Mason, and my self headed there. I looked where the ticking is, but all I saw was red and blue. So I asked one of the sales women. She said she had never seen brown
ticking and that they didn't carry it. I told her that I bought it there before. She insisted that she had never seen it. Then she asked a second sales woman and she rudely said that they didn't make it. Ummm, I have some sitting right on my craft pile, I KNOW they make it and they carry it. Anyway, even my daughter thought they were a bit rude. So, I really thought I was going to get the fabric for my curtains and such today, but GRRRRR, it is going to have to wait a bit longer now because I had to come home and order it. YES, from Joann's, they had it on their website!!!

Oh, and as I was typing this post, a certain little Mr. crawled on my lap and knocked the computer to the floor. The screen went all liney and it is no longer working. Hubby is trying to fix it, and I'm crossing my fingers it is not totally gone. So for right now I'm finishing this up on my daughter's computer. If I don't post for a few days, you know why.

Until next time,

Tiff

We are heading to Boston tomorrow to watch my oldest at a cheering competition, it should be fun.

Walk in the woods...

On a week day, when the temperature is up and the snowmobile path is quiet, it's nice to take a walk through the woods. It's amazing how peaceful and still things can be.

So peaceful and quiet, that a baby can fall asleep....





Enjoy your weekend,

Tiff