I LOVE SWAPS!

I participated in Chars Patriotic swap. My partner was Sondra from Home & Garden Grace. She is fairly new to bloggin but she has got this swap thing down pat! Look at my goodies!Look at the little pillow she made for me....look at the detail, Love it! The quilted wall hanging is wonderful!!! And a little flag she primed up and added the special tag and... the little metal old glory but look at this.....

I just love him,,,,,he is laying on my table right now, but I think I may add him to a grapevine wreath and hang it above my mantle. Oh he is so purdy!!!
Thank you so much ......I will treasure everything forever!

And if that was not enough I got another package today. Janene and I did a swap...she wanted some room sprays, so I ask her about a spoon rack (she is always finding the best stuff)...So I fixed her up a little goodie box ...and look what she sent me

She even added spoons!!!! I am so in love with it. It looks like the one I saw on Under the Wild Cherry Trees I am so tickled!!!! Look at the perfect color and finish!
And you might remember the cute little snowman she got on one of her latest thrifting sprees......well I commented on how much I liked him and how I was gonna copy him.....well now I have him!


She also put in this cute little angel (I am sure it made her think of me!)
I feel like it is Christmas night and I got the best presents in the world!
Thank you so much.....you are the sweetest!

And now for an update on my crocks with painting....
No scraping for me....I am much to lazy for that.
I just put a little finger nail polish remover on a cotton ball and it came right off.
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend....I know I will!

Thrift Store Goodies

I have done pretty good about staying away from thrift stores and yard sales.....because I have so many, many projects here at the house.
But a prim girl can only hold out for so long! MAMA NEEDED A GOODIE!
So today I stopped by Habitat for Humanity Restore and got me a little fix. I nearly peed my pants when I saw these crocks...they were nested all inside each other with there wood lids on top....waiting for me!
Look at their pretty little bottoms ......stamped Robinson Ransbottom Roseville, Ohio
USA. They only have one draw back....someone painted on them. But I think I can get it off, if not I will just keep it turned around to the back. I paid $3.59 for the whole set.Then there was a little bag of little pillows and bears made from quilt pieces....25 cents!
This sadly painted game board, I could not leave it .....lookin' like that! And these napkins and...a 1995 Country Sampler's Decorating Ideas and a 1988 Better Homes and Gardens Christmas ideas...some things were dated, but a lot of it is just timeless!
And last there is this No I don't know what it is or what it was used for but .....it made me think of this....

Yea, it reminded me of this picture I had seen on Primp Your Pad (don't spank me for stealing your picture!) I think I can make it work, we will see!

Let me brag for just a minute on my babies..../>
Mary-Kate turned 13 on June 4th, I took her and a couple of friends to the beach,we got rained out....but we did some shopping and stopped for chili-cheese fries (her Fave) they gave them all sundaes!
Last Saturday Joseph graduated from South Lenior High School
We all look a little melted...it was very warm!
He plans to become a High School teacher....he would love to teach "Theater"!
My Babies are growing up!

The Rag Bag

Yesterday the children and I took a little break in the action around here, and took a little trip to the "Rag Bag". One of my favorite places....I always find something special. This is not my first post about the "Rag Bag"......I posted last Summer about the wonderful stop...that is right on the way to the beach. His shop then was in a very old log cabin near the old mill pond. I was so sad when I found out the log cabin had burned down. Go back and read that post here.
Soooo...the "Rag Bag" has moved to "downtown" Trenton.
Trenton is a very small, but quaint little town. He is right next door to a bail bondsman....that is conveniently located across the street from the courthouse/county jail.
Take a look around.....











and one thing you won't see in the pictures above....




because it was already loaded in my truck!
This great old mantle....20 bucks! The picture does not do it justice...I love the old chucky wood. It is gonna look great on my brick fireplace wall......much better than the white "shelf thing" that is up there now.
I got this little goodie at a TS the other day....
I love the size of it and the antique green color, I don't think I can deal with little gay colonial guy....I will probably just flip it...IDK yet!
I need to get in the attic and get my box of Summer/Americana stuff...I better hurry before it gets to HOT!
Have a great day!

Before and, Well.....Still working on it

This was taken a few weeks before move in day on March 1St...
(noice the one set of shutters on the porch, it looked like a man with one eyebrow)

And this is how it looksthis morning......after paint,new door hardware,new light fixture, window boxes, landscaping and lots of DIY!
I still have more painting to do and the metal post will be replaced..... and as you can see we took out the overgrown shrubs...and made the beds bigger. I decided to use low growing eveergreens. Dwarf youpon hollys are lovely green now, but this fall leaves will turn burgundy-red. Dwarf gardenias are blooming now and smell so good, but will keep the glossy green leaves all year. I have not got my water feature going yet....I need a new half whiskey barrel, but I have not had any luck finding a new one.
Color will always be added in my window boxes, planters and other containers.
Mary-Kate planted dwarf lavender, english and lemon thyme around the steping stones.
I need more topsoil and mulch....and the list goes on! But we are getting there.
Look at our workshop/storage building Joey is building.He keeps telling me that he is no carpenter....but I have found that as long as I give him plenty of good lovin' and ice tea....he can do anything! He has made a little more progress since I took this pic on Sunday.
Oh, he said the sweetest thing to me..."I think I will have enough wood left over to build you a little potting shed"! That melted my heart!
I gotta get back to work, have a great day!