Feathered Friends & a Dilemma!

I am participating in two blog parties, the first one is the Feathered Friends Party by Gina @ The Shabby Chic Cottage. Check out this link to see more great birdies :)

This is my side table in the living room.

Gotta love Michael's clearance!

I found this little guy, and two of his friends, at a yardsale a couple months ago.

I just love this little bluebird! Another yardsale find. The books are from the thrift, and the yellow pottery is a piece of McCoy pottery I dug out of the back yard!

Remember these guys?

And the other set. Ignore the electronics! My living room is in a state of disorder at the moment.

I ended up putting my chippy birds in the bathroom.

And my Syroco-like birds, too.

What do you think, are they noticeable enough? That's not an acurate example of the shade of blue on the walls, but they dont seem to pop. What do you think?

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The second party I am joining is the Decorating Dilemma party, hosted by Amanda at Serenity Now. Check out this link for more dilemmas!

My dilemma is my living room. I was originally planning on using this, and then I got a new dilemma. We had a LARGE entertainment center. 6.5 feet wide and 5 feet tall. But that's gone now, thanks to the edition of a MASSIVE tv. The entertainment center wasnt pretty, but it held a ton of dvds, the Wii, the PS2 and tons of games. Now with this monster, we didnt know where to put anything. (the kids were watching iCarly!)

We ended up putting my cedar chest here, and putting the games inside. The consoles will go inside when we get a chance. You can see all the stuff still piled on top of the tv.

This is what we have on the other walls so far.

I know, this is probably a little busy.

So, how does it look? I know that wall is a massive blank space. It's funny though, as I was taking these photos, we decided to hang some embroidery hoops on the wall. I had been wanting to do it, but hadnt gotten around to it. So this is what we've started with. I've got to find some more a the thrift/yard sales. And decide on some fabric.

How does it look so far? Any suggestions? Does it look weird having that big tv over there? You cant totally tell, but the computer desk is to the right. I am up for any suggestions or ideas!

Here's a close up of the cedar chest. It needs a little love! Paint? Re-staining?

Thanks for stopping by, and don't forget to check out the hostess's blogs! :)

Coming Soon...

A Recycling Re-Do

I'm sure a lot of you have these lovely recycling bins. Not very pretty! We started with just one, but once we started recycling more, we needed more. A quick call to the recycling company and the next recycling day, we had more bins. They started out looking like this:

But thanks to a handy hubby who was bored one day, and some old cedar pulled from a job they did, they turned into this:

Much better, don't you think?

Weekend Goodies

I took the kids to Home Depot this weekend for their kids workshop. They had a blast! And on the way home, we stopped at a yardsale or two. Didnt find anything at the first few, but the last one we stopped at yielded a few finds.

Like this chippy, iron mini birdbath.

Another glass jar.

I love these birds! They look like they might be made of Syroco, but it doesnt say. They will look much better when I get them painted white.

Check out Rhoda's Southern Living for more great weekend finds!

Heirloom Party

Today I am participating in Marie's Heirloom Party. I dont really have any family heirlooms. None that were actually passed down to me, knowing they were an heirloom. But when my mom passed away, I took a few things that I know were in the family, but unfortunatly, I know nothing about them. I dont know how old they are, or where they came from, or who might have used them. But they are special to me, and I hope to pass them on to my kids, making them heirlooms for sure.

This is a 2 quart churn. The raised letters on the front say Dazey Churn & Mfg. Co. at the top of the circle, and below they say No. 20 Made in St. Louis - USA.

I do remember seeing this in my grandmothers house, but never bothered trying to find out more, or really asking anything about her past. I was 16 when she passed away, and I regret not learning more about her. She would be 95 this year.

Oh to have her here now. The stories I could learn about and the treasure she had. I didnt realize it then, but looking back now, she had some amazing things. I miss her. I wish she could have known my children.

This little Singer sewing machine also comes from her side of the family. From looking it up a little online, I think I remember seeing this one came out in 1914. That's the year she was born. She had siblings, but I cant remember if she had an older sister or not. Maybe their mother got it for them? Maybe it was an older sisters? I will never know. My mother passed away when I was 21, and I still hadnt come around to asking about the past at that point. Yet another thing I regret. There really isnt anyone else in the family to learn much from. I do have an aunt that came to live with my mother when she was in her teens. Her mother died, leaving 13 or so children to be split up among family members.

I've wondered what these might be worth, but could never part with them!

It still has the needle in it.

So there you have it, my two most valued family heirlooms. Be sure to check out Marie's blog for more great Heirlooms!

An Owl Re-Do

Awhile back, actually, probably a year or more ago, I picked up a couple of owl things here and there. I got these two little guys at the thrift store. The owls themselves are the same, just with different finishes. I had them at work on my shelf. I was looking at them the other day and decided to bring them home and spruce them up a bit.

I got the owl painting from Shop Goodwill for $1. Yea, it's pretty 70's and very bright, but I thought the owl himself was kind of cute. Maybe a little angry looking... But I am going to attempt to give him a makeover as well. See if I cant make him a little less 70s and a little more cute.

Check out the frame!

I'll post the "afters" as soon as I get them done!

Another Saturday Finds

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A quick trip to the bank & stop at the thrift to donate a few things resulted in my favorite find of the day! A new coffee table! I was tired of the one we had, not to mention, I think it was too big for the space we have now. So I had been watching Craigslist but hadnt really found anything. And then I saw this. Marked $30. And it was mine! They gave it to me for $25, didnt have to barter, they just rang it up at that price. I love this thrift!

Check out the legs :)

I also found another candlestick. I'm hoping to pry that brass part off so I just have the wood.

I also found this great glass canister. You can never have too many of these.

And this little box that will obviously need repainting.

Here is our old table. Not bad, just needed a change. We've had this for about 8 years. Nice solid wood, and has withstood two toddlers that have now grown into school agers who constantly use it as a chair. And my numerous craft projects.

Real life here, taken before I finished cleaning. You can see how big it is compared to our love seats. When Mike got a deal on two brand new loveseats ($100 a piece, made by the company that makes La-Z-Boy) we knew it was time to replace the old couch & loveseat. Since this room is smaller than what we had when we purchased them, two loveseats seem to fit better than the old couch/loveseat combo. Just need some slipcovers ;).

Check out Southern Hospitality for more great finds!