Fun Friday Finds

I only had time to run by one garage sale today.  My two youngest flew in from college this weekend to get a "mom and dad" fix (translation - they need more clothes and want to eat out).  It's one of the benefits that I love about working for an airline.  I probably needed my chickadee fix more than they needed us, but we will take anything we can get!

I spent a whopping total of $3 on the items below.  I already have some gorgeous fabric for the chair makeover.  Those cool vintage style bottles are for me to keep.  One day, I will revamp one of the kids' rooms into a vintage style sewing/guest room and it will be perfect for it.  The tray will see some new life too.

See how dry my poor Texas yard is?  The only good thing about this summer was that I didn't have to mow twice a week!

I'm pretty happy with my buys this week.  You can't lose when you only spend $3!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Fun Friday Finds

I had another fun friday finding either some unique items or some great deals!

Check out the vintage drink crates!  I got them for $1 each.  These are the same kind you see on ebay for up to $45 each.  I have fun plans for the vintage school desk and cosmetic case.  Those metal things you see in front of the desk, are four different trays that will be repurposed into some type of magnetic board. Come back for the transformations.

Just a note.  Because I work long hours and have a specific baby bedding project I have to complete within the next three weeks, I haven't been working on transforming my great garage sale finds.  But hang in there!  I will start posting some transformations in November, or earlier if the stars align!

Linking to:

Her Library Adventures

Just Something I Whipped Up      All Thingz Related      

I {heart} Naptime                        A Diamond in the Stuff

Keep it Simple Sunday                Not Just a Housewife

Craftomanic Monday                  Someday Crafts

Sew Many Ways                         Blue Cricket Design

Sumo's Sweet Stuff                    The Cottage Market

Polly Want a Crafter

Fun Finds Friday

WOWZA!  I found some awesome stuff last Friday!

What you see is ALL vintage/antiques: a sewing cabinet, coca cola crate, two very old suitcases, two old industrial bobbins, an antique cherry pitter, and a vintage box filled with blocks.  All this for less than $60!

I'm going to have to keep most of these treasures.   They are just too fun to resale or repurpose!

I usually link to:

Just Something I Whipped Up      All Thingz Related      

I {heart} Naptime                        A Diamond in the Stuff

Keep it Simple Sunday                Not Just a Housewife

Craftomanic Monday                  Someday Crafts

Sew Many Ways                         Blue Cricket Design

Sumo's Sweet Stuff                      Homemaker on a Dime

Polly Want a Crafter

Extreme Work Cubicle Makeover

Here is a picture of my "home away from home" before a few minor changes.   It's the same one seen all over the world - a drab grey.  Everything is grey - the walls, the desk and the cabinets.

We had a contest at work when we moved into new quarters a couple years ago for the "Best Cubicle Extreme Makeover."  I won!

I covered all the walls in fabric.  My look was supposed to be shabby chic, but I think I kinda turned it more into "grandma chic!"  Either way, I actually liked the way it turned out and I received a lot of compliments on it.

We had to dismantle our cubicles and move again last week.  I haven't decided if or how I will redo my new, smaller quarters.  I do know that I will miss watching how my taller co-workers tried to negotiate talking to me through my curtains.  They could never decide whether to stand outside the cube and hunch down to speak with me, come into my cube (which seemed to make them uncomfortable in such cramped quarters) or accidentally knock my curtains down because they misjudged where they were standing!  

Some of my fabric and lace is slightly skewered in these photos because I had started removing and breaking down my cube before I thought to take photos. 

Au Revoir sweet cube.

 (PS..if you look closely, you can see my three cowboys in the far right side of the last picture.  It was taken in '05)

Linking to:

Just Something I Whipped Up      All Thingz Related      

I {heart} Naptime                        A Diamond in the Stuff

Keep it Simple Sunday                Not Just a Housewife

Craftomanic Monday                  Someday Crafts

Sew Many Ways                         Blue Cricket Design

Sumo's Sweet Stuff                      A Little Knick Knack

Polly Want a Crafter                   Between Naps on the Porch (Metamorphosis Monday)

LoveBakesGoodCakes               TwinklingTrees

Treasure Found, Lost and Found Again!

I purchased a super cool, unique, vintage hutch at a garage sale last week. I couldn’t wait to get it home and install it in my remodeled craft room. But, when I got it home it just didn’t look right in the only place I could use it. I was heartbroken. It is such a fun piece and it had a great story. The man who sold it to me was in charge of the estate of his grandmother. He told me stories of the family dinners around the dining table in the room where the hutch spent the last 60 plus years. I fell in love with his story, his hutch and his family and I promised him that it was going to a good home that would continue to cherish it.

Since it wouldn’t work anywhere in my house, I was left with no option but to put it on craigslist. A lot of people cringe at the thought of a “craigslist encounter”, but I have had several wonderful encounters and met some delightful people through craigslist. Within ten minutes of posting it, I had received five inquiries. (I got a good deal and was passing it on to a lucky purchaser.) Email conversations began. I always try to be conscious of the first responders and give them first shot if I have anything to sell. I ended up pulling the ad down almost immediately because of the interest. Anyway, to make a long story short, the first responder decided I lived too far away, so the second responder jumped on the opportunity (who, incidentally, lived quite a bit farther.)

I wish I could have afforded just to give it to them. They turned out to be a young, beautiful family of four (two small boys) that were absolutely adorable. They even had to come in two vehicles because the truck would not accommodate them all! It was so fun to meet them, hear their story and make a little connection. They made my night.

I no longer felt blue about having to give up the special garage sale treasure because I found a new treasure in a special little family that day. And, I was able to keep my promise to the sweet man who sold it to me. It was going to a good home that would cherish it.

Menu Monday

Week of April 18 - 24

Monday

Pork Shoulder Roast

Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

Salad Greens

Zucchini Stir-Fry

Tuesday

Green Chili Pork Enchiladas (from Monday’s Roast)

Refried Beans

Spanish Rice

Guacamole

Wednesday

Street Tacos (from our favorite taco shop)

Thursday

Deer Roast

Rice and Gravy

Roasted Aspargus

Friday

Homemade Waffles

Sausage

Fruit

Saturday

Out of Town

Sunday

Out of Town

If you wonder why you see “Street Tacos” so much on my menu, it’s because they are so delicious and only $1 each! We have a fun little place in town and each week I get to practice my Spanish while having an awesome, inexpensive dinner! Also, because I work full-time, do a lot of crafts and visit garage sales along with trying to keep my home and laundry from getting too out of hand, we tend to eat out quite a bit. If you prefer more home-cooking than my menus provide, simply pick a meal from a previous menu or share your ideas with me!



Once I get more organized, I am planning to schedule more “Make it once – dine twice (or more) style weekly cooking. Become a follower and I’ll keep you updated!

Menu Monday!

Menu Monday

Week of Mar 20 – 27

Monday

Roasted Whole Chicken (Costco)*

Steamed Broccoli

Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

Note:  I purchase two whole chickens.  From the leftovers, I glean 3-4 cups of chopped chicken for other meals in the week.  The rest of the chicken and carcasses are thrown in a pot with seasonings, water and celery and I create a soup base/stock from that.  Debone and return chicken to pot.  I then separate the stock/soup base into 2-3 containers for future meals.  I usually freeze one of the bases to use for future last minute meals and use the other one/two for this week.

Tuesday

Biscuit-Topped Chicken Pot Pie (from one of the containers above)

Wednesday

Street Tacos

Thursday

French Dip Hoagies

Au Jus

Homemade Potato Salad

Friday

Green Chili Enchiladas (using 3-4 cups of reserved chicken from above)

Spanish Rice

Low-Fat Refried Beans

Saturday

Grilled Deer Steaks

Grilled Asparagus with Soy Sauce and Sesame Seed

Sticky Rice (Cowboy’s preferred side dish)

Sunday

Lunch – Potluck at Friends