I wasn't going to blog today....

....but just got home and thought I'd add a post. 

Well, our trip to Home Depot was a bust. Couldn't find what we were looking for. Lowe's didn't have it either. I have been to every HD and Lowes in our area. I have been to the gardening area of Walmart, to the floral departments in our local grocers, to the local Co-Op, to the mom and pop greenhouses and garden supplies and I can't find any Swedish Ivy anywhere. Has it become extinct? Does it not thrive is East Tennessee? I want four hanging baskets for my front porch, but want plants not flowers. And I really, really want Swedish Ivy. Any thoughts on where to get it?

If I can't get Swedish Ivy, I will settle for ferns. Ferns always make me want to relax and isn't that what front porches are for?

I have one more place to look that I haven't checked yet, and if they don't have my Swedish Ivy, I will get some ferns. I sort of like Spider Plants but I really thing the fern is my second choice and I'm pretty sure that is what I will end up getting.

And so we giggled....

...and giggled...and giggled some more.

(L-R: Me, Daddy, Rachel around 1958 or 59)

Do you have a sister? Do you remember growing up and sharing all those little girl secrets. Knowing things that nobody else new, sharing things that nobody else shared. My sister and are were like that and still are. When we are together, about 50% of our conversations start with "Do you remember the time...." and then we scream YES and burst into a fit of giggles and nobody else has a clue what we are talking about. Mom just shakes her head and laughs at us. 

(L-R: Me, Mommy, Rachel)

Just a little over 13 months apart in age, we were as close as twins. Rachel was the oldest. That closeness has never changed. We still share our secrets and have our little giggle fests. We can get so tickled at the littlest things and laugh for years over it. To this day, I can look at my sister and say Barbara Bush and we both will erupt in laughter. (It was one of those "you had to be there") stories and it cracks us up every time.

(L-R: Me, Rachel)

I used to drive her crazy growing up. She was "the neat one" while I was ....well, let's just say I was not." So glad that changed though.

(L-R: Rachel, Me)

We have always been close and have always shared so much. Love, laughter, tears, pain, happiness and of course...the giggles. 

(L-R: Daddy, Jack, Rachel, Me)

The worst part...

The worst part of taking a long weekend off is having to get back into your groove on Tuesday. I had a pretty uneventful weekend. I did make it to Old Time Pottery and am beyond thrilled with all the new items. The linen section was unbelievable. There were some good bargains on cloth napkins.

And I fell in love with this set of dishes. The picture looks more plain blue, but they were actually a really light turquoise/aqua color. 

I fell in love with tall the dish towels they had.

Especially these bright colors. 

They had some adorable quilted throws that would be perfect for those cool fall evening or cold winter nights. 

They had a large assortment of tablecloths. i will probably visit that section often. A woman can never have too many tablecloths. And they actually carry the 104" long ones. Most places have the 102". You wouldn't think those 2" makes much of a difference, but on a table that seats 8 it does. 

They had so much to look at that it just boggles the mind. Saw lots of glasses, serving bowls, kitchen storage, lamps, pictures, trunks, wicker, and so much more. I have to go back again soon and again soon after that. I only made one purchase yesterday since I was so busy taking everything in. But I am so happy with my purchase. I have been looking for a half cloth/half lace tablecloth since October and finally found one at Old Time Pottery. The cost? Just $5.99 for the 104". I can't wait to put it on today and do a different centerpiece for the table. I am pretty sure the results will show up on a blog post later this week. 

Since hubby had to work last night, I was responsible for my own dinner. So I decided on home made pizza bread. My favorite is sausage so I made some for my supper.

The funny part was, I only had to pick up the bread and sausage. I already had the cheese and pizza sauce. You would think I could just run in a store and get two items. But then I thought, "Well, I'll need something sweet for dessert." Yes, you guessed it. I got carried away.

The weekend

It has been a quiet weekend so far. I haven't done a lot of anything, but have spent the last couple of days relaxing. I did manage to go to a thrift store on Saturday in a neighboring city. I had never been there and was really pleased with it. I was mostly just window shopping but I did find this adorable magazine rack. 

I have been looking for something to put file folders in on my desk. I am not a fan of those black stacking trays that I am using now. I wanted something unique and different that would allow my folders to stand instead of laying flat. It makes it easier to drop them in. I haven't moved my folders around yet because I want to get some more pretty folders, but here is just an idea of how they will fit. 

Today is my annual holiday shopping day with my friend Sherrie and my daughter. We shop together every Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day. One place we are going to is Tanger Outlets in Sevierville. I want to check out the Donna Sharp purses. Here are some of the ones I have been looking at online. I want to see them in person. I always pre-shop online for my Donna Sharps. They are so gorgeous that when I get in the store I am overwhelmed. So I do my homework on each purse before I head to the store. This new Spring line is gorgeous. Here are the patterns and styles I like the best.

We are also heading over to Old Time Pottery which had its grand opening this weekend. They have some great deals going on. One thing I want to look at is some everyday utensils. Over the years, you tend to lose or misplace silverware and I have never figured out where it goes. It must have ran away with all the misplaced socks that can't be found. Old Time Pottery has it on sale for the grand opening for $2.99. I may take one look at it and say forget it, but it could be a good deal. You just never know.

I was really surprised when I saw fabric on sale. The old Old Time Pottery did not carry fabric. Curious to see what this one has.  It's on sale for $3.92 per yard. For my current project I need 1/4 of a yard so that will only be about .98 cents. Not bad.

I have been looking for wicker baskets like this for both bathrooms. They have them on sale for just .99 cents - $1.99 depending on the size.

I am obsessed lately with clear glass plates and dinnerware. I fell in love with these. The price says items range from .99 cents each to $1.49. Not a bad deal. I may have to check this out.  

I also love these little jute tote bags. They are perfect for gift bags. At just .99 each they are just as cheap as paper gift bags and have the added benefit of being useful.

Hubby has to work tonight so I am going to order pizza for supper. Don't feel like doing a cookout for just myself. Hope I have lots of good shopping bargains to celebrate this evening. Hope you enjoy your holiday.

To our Military

In loving memory of all our military who now rest in peace in the arms of our Father. Whether passing away during active service, or health reasons or civilian accidents or simply natural causes, they still chose to lay their life on the line every single day of their service no matter how short or how long they served. They are still heroes and we remember and honor each and everyone of them today. 

Melmac Memories

I love scouring the internet to find vintage items that I can search for at yard sales and thrift shops. I know it would be just as easy to buy them on Ebay or Etsy when I find them, but that's not the point. It is not the ease of purchase that I am seeking. It is finding that hard to find bargain in an out of the way place. It's the thrill of the hunt. I am not such an avid collector that I have to have everything I see in my particular collection. I am more of a "if I stumble across it and the price is right and I like it, I'll buy it" type of person. 

So here are some recent online finds that I may start looking for. The first is Melmac dishes. Of course, growing up with these dishes I didn't see anything special about them. But now I remember eating lunch on them, serving my children their pb and j sandwiches on them, Daddy eating his supper from them. So now I want a set for daily use. Here are some pretty patterns I found. This daisy pattern is unique plus I love the light avocado green that brings back the 60's and 70's.

This is probably one of my favorite patterns. I am really into pastels right now. 

This is another favorite that I would love to stumble on. 

This is a cute pattern. Lots of color going on and I love anything with flowers. 

This is very unique. You see lots of blues and pinks in pastel vintage dishes, but rarely do I see lavender or purple.

I like this with the background is woven looking. That is pretty cool.

These pink ones are just absolutely precious.

Another item I would love to find are vintage powder dishes. My Grandma Garretson had a pretty dish on her dresser that had her talcum powder in it. It smelled so good and I remember stopping by her dresser and lifting the lid many a times. I would love to find one to put in my bathroom. Here are some I saw that I liked. 

I would love to find one of these Fenton Glass hobnail dishes.

This Westmoreland Milk Glass one is pretty, too.

I really, really, really like this one. How feminine and delicate looking.

And one more thing I am looking for our vintage candy dishes with lids. I have found quiet a few that don't have lids, but I want them with lids. This one is cute. It is clear which I would really rather have milk glass or color, but I do like this style. 

This one is unique. It has seashells on it. I could put it in the grandchildren's room and keep M & M's in it for them. 

I think about everybody in my family had one like this in clear glass at one time or another. I haven't seen one in colors before. 

This one is probably my favorite. I love the style and I love the color. This would go on my desk filled with Junior Mints. 

This one is a pretty one for milk glass. The lid doesn't seem to fit just right, but that could just be the way they have it for the photo. 

I know I want one with a lid, but truth is I have been scouting this one out at local antique stores for quite some time. I want it for my nightstand to keep Hershey kisses in. I want the blue/green Carnival glass color. I have seen it several places but the price is always a little higher than what I want to spend. The cheapest I have found is $8.00 and I'm thinking that since these are not seen at yard sales or thrift stores, I may just have to bite the bullet and fork over the $8. I want it that bad. We will wait and see. 

Well, there are my wish list items for the day. I hope that sometime over the weekend I can hit some thrift stores or antique stores.

Red, white and blue

I am going to take the day off today to start the holiday weekend. I haven't had a four day weekend in a long time and I am really looking forward to it. I'm not sure what all I'm going to do with four full days, but I know I am going to enjoy it and try to get some relaxation in.

 

I would like to spend some time just laying out in the sun and reading a good book. I need to buy me a new chair for the back yard so I can do that. I may run and get one today.

I know I will be going to church on Sunday. We always do a special service on Memorial Day to honor our veterans and many of our members who still have their military uniforms wear them that day.

Monday is always a shopping day with my daughter and her mother-in-law. We are going to Tanger Outlet Mall this year. One stop I will make will be the Donna Sharp Outlet. I am in the mood for one of their purses but can't decide what pattern or style I want. I am really liking this pattern for summer. 

Hubby gets his work schedule today so I have to wait and see what he works before we decide what we will be doing for the weekend. I am hoping he is off Sunday so we can go somewhere after church and then cookout for supper that night. 

We live within 5 minutes of the Smokies Baseball Stadium. They are always having fireworks displays on the holidays. We can here them really good and when we set on the front porch, we can see them over the tree tops. So I'm sure we will be enjoying fireworks over the weekend.

All in all, it should be a pretty good weekend. I miss not having the family here for the holiday, but my son and his family spend time at the lake for the weekend and my daughter and her family normally have cookouts and fireworks at her brother-in-laws sometime over the weekend. So it will just be me and hubby. I am going to try to make a Butterfinger cake for the weekend. My daughter-in-law gave me the recipe but I haven't had a chance to make it yet. 

I hope each and everyone of you have a relaxing, fun-filled holiday weekend.