Whimsical little birdies

I love the new whimsical little birdies you see everywhere. I went on Pinterest and found some new ideas for birds. 

I wish I could crochet. I just love these little guys. 

This necklace is too cute. 

I like this one too. I am really getting into necklaces that have multi charms on them. 

I just fell in love with this little bird feeder. 

These would be so easy to make. 

So would these. 

This is a cute wall hanging idea. 

I need to look at my craft supplies to see what I have on hand and try a few of these idea. Have a great weekend. 

It was meant to be...

I am going to have to go shopping today. There is no way around it. It was just meant to be. 

Yesterday, I posted that my new colors are going to be coral (all shades) and turquoise. 

Today, I get an email from Payless about an end of season sale. I am a sucker for Payless sales, especially if flip flops are involved. So I opened the link and scrolled through the sale and what did I find? 

 

And they are just $6.00 per pair. Hubby is off work today and wants me to run errands with him this morning. We will be about 4 miles away from Knoxville Town Center Mall. Guess what is in the mall?  PAYLESS! Guess what is in stock at that Payless according to their website? You got it....BOTH pairs of the shoes. I'm thinking we will be going that extra four miles so I can get these. 

They also have this cute little pair of bow shoes on sale for $15.00. I may not get them today, but they are really cute. They would go well with my new fall wardrobe plans.

It's mid-summer so I am torn about buying a purse with white on it, but we still have until Labor Day to carry white and I would always have it for next year. But I just fell in love with this darling purse and it  is on clearance for just $10.00. It is sorta similar to the one I liked on my blog yesterday. It is so different from what I normally carry, but I did say I want to change things up. I'll have to think about this. 

Of course, they had it in another pattern that I wouldn't have to put up at Labor Day, but it is not really my "pattern" of purse and if I bought it, my daughter would take it from me because it IS her style. 

They had this one other purse that I kind of liked as well. The color is a strange color, especially for someone like me who has been going so understated for years. But it is kind of cute and I think this color is supposed to be popular this year. I am loving the style. 

Lots of things on my wish list, but if I can just get the flip flops today, I will be happy. 

Fall Colors and the Image Rut

Do you sometimes feel like you get into a rut with the style of clothes you wear and the color you choose? Seriously, how many pairs of black dress pants do I need and there are more than just jean shorts for summer. 

My daughter is becoming a fashionista and putting together some adorable outfits. I have decided that this fall I am going to step outside the box. If I am not wearing "mom" jeans, then I am in black dress pants with a red or gray or maroon sweater. All my clothing is understated and subdued. I wear a watch, my rings, earrings, a simple necklace and sometimes one bracelet. 

Well, I am going to get out of my rut this year and venture into more of a "style".  It is going to be hard to be real stylish since my figure needs some work, but I will learn to work with what I've got. 

One thing I am loving is coral and turquoise together. I found some neat looks on Pinterest.

Granted, I can't do the high spike heels any more, but surely there are some smaller heels or flats in these colors. And the skinny jeans thing just ain't a gonna happen to this old gal. But at least they give me a starting point. 

This is cute for everyday casual. 

Again with the heels? I am here to say that ain't a gonna happen. Unless I want to fall and break my ankle. I can do wedge heels though. They don't seem to bother me unless they are stilted really high. I love this peasant style blouse. 

These clothes are too skinny for me, but I love the jewelry and purse. 

I am loving this one. The sweater is gorgeous. 

But this one is my absolute favorite. I love baby doll tops and the fact that they have paired it with sandals is right up my alley. 

A little rearranging

The good part about yard sales and antique shopping is you get some neat new things to put around the house. The bad part about yard sales and antique shopping is you get some neat new things to put around the house.

You find awesome bargains then you come home and have to figure out where to put them. I did a little rearranging yesterday to incorporate some of my latest finds.

This was the little basket I got Friday. I am going to paint it eventually, but until I do I wanted to start using it so I put it on my desk to hold note pads and ink pens.

I am still using the magazine rack I found to keep file folders in. It is working out very well. 

My little bunny from Friday found a home on this shelf. 

A few weeks back I bought a thermos pitcher. I fill it with ice and water every morning and keep it in my office. I am looking for the perfect glass to compliment it, but so far I haven't found one so I am just using this little cup. I put everything on a platter I had. I really want some type of pretty serving tray, but haven't found one yet. This is a work in progress but at least I have water handy all day without having to go to the kitchen all the time. 

I haven't been to the beach in going on three years now. My daughter went back in June and she brought me some Myrtle Beach sand and seashells so I put together this little display on top of the TV in the kids room. I put the sand in a jar and stuck a tea candle in it, surrounding the candle with the shells she brought back and tied a bow and glued one of the shells on the bow. So if I can't go to the beach....she brought the beach to me. Please note that I am probably the only person in the world that puts sea shells in a little antique candy dish (on right)

I love rearranging. 

Blogging Blues...

I am getting to the point where I get to every summer. Life gets hectic and crazy. I get so much going on and the heat gets to me and I start wondering why do I blog? I ask myself if I should take a break. I wonder if I am spending too much time on blogging when I have so much other stuff to do. Every year I think, Maybe I should just give up blogging. And every year the answer is always the same. If I give up blogging, it will rip my heart out. I love blogging and hearing from all my readers and new online friends. I love visiting other blogs and getting ideas for decorating, sharing recipes, or just good old "visiting". 

When I get overwhelmed, I start thinking about taking the famous "Blogging Break". Then the panic attacks set in and a million questions cross my mind.

What if I take a break and I lose some followers?

What if I take a break and readers forget to come back?

What if I take a break and I think of something I want to post...and nobody reads it because they think I'm on a break? Or what if I look like a moron because I made my big ON A BREAK declaration and then come back and blog anyway?

Sometimes I get so overwhelmed with how much time I spend blogging and researching and I feel so confused and disorganized. I think about just giving it up completely. Then I think about making apple butter in the fall and not being able to blog about it. I think of the holidays coming up in October, November and December and not having a place to share all the wonder of the seasons. I have thoughts for what I am going to blog about "on down the road" and then I forget about it until it is too late to do it. I am just overwhelmed right now and didn't have a clue what I needed to do. 

Until today....

I was reading one of my favorite blogs from Tiffanie at Life with the Little Man. She doesn't just have a day planner or a basic calendar. She has two things to keep her organized. A Life Planner and a Blog Binder. Everything just clicked. I schedule everything else in my life. I religiously use my planner for anything I am planning. Why not use it to schedule all the social media that takes up my time. I could schedule a time to do my blog, read blogs, go on Facebook, check out Pinterest and watch my Ebay list. Thanks Tiffanie. 

My first impulse was to run to Staples this morning. But then I thought about it and realized that school is starting back in our county in a month. In the next few days or weeks, school supplies will be hitting the shelves. That means new styles and designs on binders and notebooks. I am a whimsical person so a plain three ring binder just won't cut it. Now, I am excited!

I am going to work on that this week and get so organized (again) that it will amaze everyone. 

Some good bargains

Two of my grandsons spent the night with me Friday and we had a great time together. Yesterday, there was a yard sale out my road. Since it advertised fishing stuff, I asked the boys if they wanted to go. 

I almost changed my mind when we started up the drive to the house. First off, it was beside a old weather gray house that was haunted looking. The gravel drive wound up through woods that were so overgrown you couldn't see what was at the top. The drive was full of ruts and gullies from recent rains. 

I am a born and bred hillbilly from West Virginia. I live in the foothills of the mountains in Tennessee and I am a true southerner with some redneck thrown in. But even I was a little scared to progress to the top of the hill. But when we got to the clearing, it was a nice place with a gorgeous view so we decided to stop. 

Garret is my fisherman and he was able to find him a reel in good shape for just $5.00. Caleb didn't see anything he wanted. I found a few things though.

I loved these little wooden mirrors. I am going to paint them and then paint the mirror with chalk paint and write HOPE - LOVE - FAITH in them and hang them somewhere. I'll post a picture when I do. 

I have seen these baskets before and always liked them. But just never did buy one. I decided I couldn't pass this one up. 

I bought this little basket because it was cute. Not sure where it will end up, but I just loved it. 

I call this my rescue bunny. She was laying down in a box of "stuff" and she just looked forlorn. There were hound dogs barking on top the hill so I thought I better rescue her. She has little pink flowers so she will go in my office. 

But the bargain of the day there was this antique juicer that was tossed in the ".25 junk box". It was filthy and had dirt in it like it had been tossed outside. But I brought it home and scrubbed it up and am very thrilled with it. I saw one later in the day at an antique store for $15.00.  So .25 cents and some elbow grease wasn't a bad deal. 

The boys and I went and picked up the youngest granddaughter because her mom had to work and we went to McDonald's for breakfast then on to do some shopping. After they were all happy with their purchases of the day, I asked if they cared if I stopped at an antique store that I have never been to. They were all for it and we had a great time. 

I was really amazed at how much they "got into it" when we got there. Garret and Caleb found many things that fascinated them. Garret has even decided to start collecting Coca Cola collectibles. He bought a collectors Coke bottle for the 75th anniversary of the University of Tennessee and saw several more he wants to go back and get later. Caleb found some collectible Hot Wheels and bought a NHRA dragster. Shelby didn't buy anything. She was just happy to be walking like a big girl since Mamaw didn't think to get the stroller. She rarely uses it since she is almost 4, but I worried I was insane to take a 3 year old into an antique store. But she did really good, although I would love to have a dollar for every time she said "Am I allowed to touch that?" The answer was always a resounding NO. I didn't think I would find any good deals since it was an antique store, but I was wrong. It was one of those mall type stores where people rent booths. There were tons of booths that the items had more of a flea market pricing instead of an antique pricing. 

I did find this Pyrex divided vegetable dish in the square flower pattern. It didn't have a lid but it was only $3.00 so I bought it. I might find a lid later on. 

If you visited my other blog, you probably saw my post on July 4th that I wanted to get some vintage recipe boxes. Well, I found one at the antique store. I am not sure if it is vintage or not, but the vibrant colors remind me of the vintage era so I decided to get it since it was only $2.00 and I really liked it. 

That was all I picked up yesterday, but I am sure I will go back for more. They had tons of Pyrex that were priced real reasonable, but they were just a little more than I wanted to pay yesterday. I'll keep checking back. On our way home, we were followed by storms clouds and Garret kept checking the WBIR weather app on my phone to see where the rains were. They did hold off until we got home, but after delivering the children to parents or other grandparents, I saw the weirdest clouds and later we had a downpour. 

All in all though, I made a good haul for Friday and Saturday combined. All of this below for just $9.50. I love shopping when you get a lot of goodies, have a lot of fun, but don't blow your budget to do so. 

Wish I had paid attention....

Do you ever glance at something that catches your eye and it doesn't register so you just dismiss it simply to regret it later? Well, that happened to me this week.

I was checking Craig's List early in the week to scout for any yard sales that may be happening in my area this weekend. There was an ad for a store called A-1 Retail that said it was going out of business and selling everything cheap. It was on the highway that runs by my house. I didn't really pay any attention to it until I saw it again on Thursday and read it one more time.



Yesterday was their last day of business and they were a second hand shop. I was out so I figured I would stop by. They are in an obscure location beside a Coke Collectibles place so I had never really even noticed they were there. I wish now I had went earlier in the week. She didn't have much left but I spend $1.50 and here is what I got. 

She had a couple of stacks of plates and I found this Pyrex dinner plate in the blue band pattern for just .25 cents. I think my sister has a cup in this pattern.

This was cute for just .25 cents as well. I couldn't figure out what it was or what it is for, but I liked it so for a quarter it was worth pick up. When I got it home I realized, it has a little divider piece so I am putting note pads in the bigger side and pens in the smaller side and setting it on my desk. Pics will follow later when I get all that done. 

I have always wanted one of these divided baskets that holds silverware and napkins. The little butterfly is tarnished so I will have to do some clean up on it, but it was just .50 cents. 

My favorite find of the day was this little bee. When I was 18 and landed my first job, my boss always said I was as busy as a little bee. So she started calling me Lil' Bee and it stuck. When my first niece started talking she couldn't say Brenda so my boss told her she should call me Lil' Bee. Well, she wasn't even two so she just called me B. Now here I am over 30 years later and I am still B to my nieces and nephews as well as most of the people at church. That is why so much of my personalized bags have B on them. This little guy was just .50 cents so I snatched it up. He will probably land somewhere in my kitchen. 

All in all, not a bad day for such a spur of the moment stop and $1.50 investment.