Respect....the story.

Lessons....

We teach our kids lessons all the time.  How to be kind.  How to be honest.  The consequences of not doing what they should have done....like homework.  These are all lessons that as adults we get..we have been there done that.

The other day I was at an auction.  It was a GREAT one!  There were pieces I really wanted and I bid to win.

Victorian dresser with square nails......the antiquity and craftsmanship is lovely

I can get kind of geeeeeked at an auction.  If you have not been....well the energy is palatable. You can taste the competition.   I talk about this obsession in one of my posts...http://joanniedoors.blogspot.com/2012/05/hunt.html

Dont worry...I am not going to add more layers of paint...this guy needs to be stripped..cant wait to see what is under all that paint.

There was a sweet little victorian dresser that had great lines.  It was heavy and it needed me.  As I marked it I heard a conversation in hushed tones behind me.  I tried to ignore it but it was hard too because it was about me.

each drawer has a lock and key............sigh

The little dresser was at auction because a family was liquidating their grandmothers estate.  There was a gal on the phone from across the country who despiritely wanted that dresser.  She remembered it from when she was a child and could not bare to think of it being sold at auction.

This is how you know you have an old piece....always check out the back....thick solid barn type blanks....

I froze.    All these treasures were obviously someones at one time.  That is the whole point.  The idea that things can be repurposed and reused and loved again.  But the heartache...the memories that are infused into the table that you had tea at with your beloved grandmother.  The dresser that held the hand mirror that belonged to your mother.  This is real ....the stories are inside of each piece.  They maybe dusty or covered in layers and layers of old paint...but the stories live on in the treasures and in the hearts of those that loved them before.

Dove tail.............stay tuned on this one...it will be for sale ...Most likely $350, but I need to see how much fun I need to put into it.

I was taught a lesson at auction.....one that intuitively I thought that I knew.  But I really didn't.
So...I want to thank all those old pieces that I have repurposed and loved on....thank the folks that kept them so that I could do what I love....and thank the customers that always become friends for keeping the story going.....it is humbling and i promise to RESPECT THE STORIES......always.

Change is in the air.....

Fall is a favorite time of year for me.  The sun looks different..less intense and the colors are calming ..like things are getting ready to slow down.

Everything has a glow about it.

The kitchen is full of warm smells.  Everything seems to be getting closer, snuggly, more relaxed.

  I kiss my kids more...random hugs.  I dare say that I even linger while folding clothes...to see how much they have grown and neatly tuck their t-shirts in their drawers.  Marveling that each one of them is a gift.  ....and then I trip over the  lego box...but the moment is still precious.


This move has been an awesome gift to me.  Some moves like the last are proving grounds..we already talked about that one... but this one has landed me  in an inspired space.  My love for decorating and junking has been renewed. 


This house has a unique floor plan.  The master is on the main and I have never had that before.  It has been a challenge and I have pulled all my color mastery to determine how I wanted this new space to feel.

I am working on a color palette.  I want this house to feel like a French Cottage, relaxed and elegant.

I have had some help....and I can not wait to share with you.....

Sold!! To the Cougar in the cowboy boots....

As promise my sweet friends....I am going to make your mouth water!

It was a crazy morning.  Nicholas was just starting to make it through the school day without needing me and I had already run errands.  It was only 9:30 and my girls had told me about an auction that they wanted to check out.

I swung by and picked them up and we were on our way in the White Rhino, thats my trucks name.

My copilot, Annette has the best way to travel, county roads...the smaller the better.  Off the beaten path.  We laughed so hard at all the names of the roads around here.  I will be naming my next child 

"Chula"....just sayin. 

The bidding started at 10:00 so we were a tad late.
  It was the coolest, funnest auction ever.  Have you ever been tailgating??  Of course you have!!
 I am from Michigan Sate University so ...YES...love to tailgate.
 This was a tailgating auction minus the keg.
Those selling pulled their trucks into a large circle with the tailgates down and unloaded the big stuff.  The caller rode in the back of a four wheeler and moved around the circle.

I was scoping out the boxes full of old jars and bitters bottles.  Little did I know that some of the really old guys were scopin out me.....lol
 See....I have a problem with bling.   You know it...you've seen it.  I over dress ....all the time.  So when I got dressed in the morning knowing I was heading to the country for a field auction....what else do you wear...but..cowboy boots and cut offs.....  Not tacky short short..please I am too old for that garbage...just cute.  Back to the bitters bottles.

I wanted those bottles bad....they were in horrid shape but they were cool.  I played it smart and did not return to the box..just walked past casually and never touched the box.  That is a rule....never touch a lot that you really want...dead give away.  Look at everything around it but never right at it.

BIdding started......$7.oo chanted Tom.....I stayed quiet...about killed me but ..nope..not a word.  And my dream came true...I wanted to see if I had any competition for them.....not a sound.  So I yelled $5.00......and 

"SOLD!! to number 161 the cougar in the cowboy boots."

THere were about 20 old bottles in that box and they were dirty.  Like buried for years out back somewhere kind of dirty.  This picture was taken after being soaked, sprayed and run through the dishwasher a few times......

These three are my favorites....they have cork tops and are super heavy.

THere were about 8 soda bottles.  Three are Pepsi ones and are super collectable and the rest are local soda companies from the 30's.  By local I mean that back in the day, the big three had bottlers all over.  Coke , Pepsi and Mt. Dew...the little guys in Lynchburg VA...bottled their own stuff called PAL.  This heart bottle is a PAL soda bottle.  It was fun learning about the jars and bottles.  It makes me happy to have saved them and now they decorate my home.  Well..the clean ones do....lol

Tiny spaces......

Awwwwww.......the tiny downstairs bathroom.

The one that everyone in the neighborhood uses.  The one that floods most.  The one that gets

 "clogged" most.  And in my house...the one that gets neglected...in the decorating department..

Who has time to worry about the way it looks and how well it is functioning when you need to be on the cleaning part....

Well with the kids back in school this was one of my projects.
I love crates.....and I scored a bunch at an old antique place...soooooo!

My little bath that needed some storage and some love got some this week.

I brushed the crates off with light steel wool and then hit them with lots of Minwax...clear.  There are lots of Minwax products for all sorts of projects.  I didn't want to change the color of the crates I just wanted to bring out the vintage yumminess and protect them from little hands.  This paste is easy.....wipe on wipe off.

My love for all things Ball Jar...continues...they just make me so happy...I mean who knew the jars that my grandmother used to put up the tomatoes are now used everywhere in my house....

FIND THE STUDS!!!

This is a must and I don't mean your hubby.......

This one isn't as old but the lid is great to hide the TP.......

The towel rack was pulled down too many times.  Kids eager to get back outside just yanked and it was gone.  This simple solution has managed to stay up and the kids return the towels.

My mom makes these cute purses.  We keep the hairbrush and face powder in it for quick touch ups...and it is a sweet splash of color.

Soul scrubbing.....

It is hard to believe that one minute you can be super super happy and the next ill with disappointment.

The kitchen remodel was going great....
I was so very happy with all the work and the way it was turning out.

But there was this little voice saying that something was just not right.
 Ya see.
 During the demolition the guys found some blue cakes of stuff under the counters.

 Weird....how did it get there?  

What was it?  

Why was it built into my counters?

As the work continued I was on the phone and my mind was in a million places...like usual..( i need to get that looked into..)  And it hit me......blue nasty stuff under counters....rat poison.

I should have thought of that sooner.  It is really a no brainer.  But who does that???

Why would you do that???  Who did it??  Oh man!!

I felt sick.

And then the worst part.  I started looking for blue caky stuff.  Down on my knees pulling drawers completely out and there it was.  Six more.................Oh NO!!!  Not my kitchen!!

When the counters came off the nasty stuff fell behind the drawers up against the wall.  Some of them broke apart and splattered my dishes.

I am a strong girl.  I can and have faced a lot.  But this was over the top.

I grabbed the kids and we hit the store.  We bought lysol, rubber gloves, trash bags, paper towels, masks and some new dishes.

My "bigs" ( big kids) hit it hard......scrubbing scrubbing scrubbing..and SCRUBBING!

I felt good about it.  But there was one more wall of cabinet to check...............

By this time I had called in backup.  My sweet friend Emily.

She said..No biggy lets just check out the other cabinets.

Now we were both armed with gloves and flashlights.  No signs......phew....

Until we looked up...........the blue nasty was squished and running down the inside of the cabinet.

It was 10am and I opened a bottle of wine.

Emily joined me in scrubbing and drinking.

When hubby came home...........I cried.

For some crying is not an event.  But for me...........it is.

I want to move.
My house has not felt like mine since we moved in two years ago.
I have painted, fluffed, replaced, redone...and it still doesnt fit.

Hubby is amazing he said yes.
But we had a vacation coming up.  We decided to use the time to think and pray and regroup.

The scrubbing of the soul..............

This is best done in a sweet little town in Michigan at my cousin's house.
Fresh air, sweet moments with family an plenty of wide open sky. Oh and lots and lots of kittens.

These little ones eyes had not opened yet....The sweetness of the mass of fluff makes me remember that I am not the one in control.  God knows what I need.  He knows where He needs me.  Even when I cant see the plan He has me covered, snuggled down deep in cozy warm grace.

Give the soul a good scrubbing...............God has a plan...

blessings

Shine the light on me!!

Repurposing old treasures into everyday joys!!

Send me your broken!!
Send me your rusted!!
Send me your "hate that thing"!

We all have a stash of these items.

The stuff that was you at one time, but we change and we replace and we HUNT!

But what we dont do is toss.

I should toss more, but I fear that I will miss my treasures..... ya know what I  mean...


Here is a perfect example.....


Lamps.....


Bought ten years ago from Kirkland's......
Matchy matchy, brown with a pineapple thing on top.....and cheap.


They worked hard...got dinged up ...broken...repaired...well sort of and stuffed in "the closet".

I have been working on the master bedroom......in this new house for over a year.

It just was not coming together for me....I wanted Swedish White and Gray....clean lines....

WEllllll....not happening.....


In the mean time I got into a red spray paint mood and started hitting all my old stuff with it.


The lamps included.....they looked super cute.

But still in the closet....did not want to keep those lamps.....dont know why...just wanted NEW!


Well this weekend i was sick of looking at the all white walls in the master....they were dark and I mean dark blue.....so I painted them "steam" by Benjamin Moore.  Super bright and airy....and no color in the room at all.....

So, I went HUNTING...in my own closet....and the "Lazarus Lamps" jumped out at me.....

I was inspired by the red and the need to brighten up my once "clean lined" all white Master Bedroom.

Soooo..... I screwed them together again...tightened them as best they could and added Estate jewlery and other sparkels....cause I loves me some SPARKLE!

And  Cute..CUte  Cute!!

I guess this goes to show me that...even though you love what you see in the magazines....ie..the all white rooms..and how badly we want that image to be our reality....NOT!!

You just got to be you.....

AND I NEED SPARKLE!

So let the light shine in ............and up-cycle  those old treasures.

blessings!