Keeping track, that is. Now each boy in this house can know by a glance exactly what his day job is, with a little help from an old chalkboard and plaque, which were both refreshed with chalkboard spray paint.
Oh, I am partial to the imperfect look of dusty, frayed, chalk lines on a black board.
Old suitcases, in all shapes, sizes, and ages - they're simply delightful, aren't they?
Who carried this, and where did they go?
What kind of fancy clothes were packed inside? (Because, of course, they were fancy.) Were they neatly folded and stacked, then tied in just so with those pretty ribbons?
I wonder...
I wonder if these suitcases could now be used for keeping things that have the potential for one day becoming fancy, or useful, or fun...
My fabric collection!
(Most of) it fits - with a bit of room for growing! (So important, you know.)
Oranges and yellows, reds and pinks, blues and greens. Three color families for three suitcases.
And when closed and stacked, they look oh-so-much nicer than a pile of clear plastic bins!
Hmm, now my mind is going...what else could lovely old suitcases hold for me? Linens? Photo frames? My big stash of candles?
Remember the orange chair?
How could it be that I found this chair last fall, and I'm just now telling you the story? I have no idea, but sit tight, because this is truly a frog-turns-prince sort of tale.
I had recently selected the color story for the boys' bedroom: a deep inky-blue, a light sage green, and spicy pumpkin orange. The blue and green went on the walls, and I planned to use the pumpkin color as accent. Wouldn't you know, just days later, as I was on one of my fast-paced skim-throughs in a local thrift shop, I saw this chair! Oh, my, but it was bad! So bad! Filthy almost beyond recognition, it had been placed outside, in back, alongside all the other really bad stuff (read: last stop before the dump). It was so dirty I wasn't sure if I even wanted to give it a second chance.
So, I didn't get it.
But, then, I couldn't forget about it.
Could. Not. Get. It. Out. Of. My. Mind.
Not that day, not the next. Not for the whole weekend.
All I could think about were its amazing details - the rolled arms, the nail-head trim, the tapered wood legs with original brass casters, the button back, and the cracks in the seat that someone had repaired with careful hand stitches. It was worn and creased and wonderful.
Truth was, I loved that chair.
I was ready to kiss the frog.
And, with all the snuggles shared, the stories read, and the bedtime prayers prayed from that orange chair, I have to say, I'm so glad I did!
Some thrifted wooden spools...
...a bit of jute twine, two screws, and a big, blank wall.
Some thrifted wooden spools, a bit of jute twine, two screws, a big, blank wall, and a handful of clothes pins.
Some thrifted wooden spools, a bit of jute twine, two screws, a big, blank wall, a handful of clothes pins, and lots of artwork.
Yes, even the lion.
Er...uh...
The goat-lion.
(It's really a goat with a big mane, pretending to be a lion. I asked the artist, and that's what she said. [And we all know that there's only one she artist in this house!])
And don't forget one for the calendar, too!
The curiosity snags me nearly every time.
Just what fabulousness might be sitting, lonely and unnoticed, on the thrift store shelves today? I'm amazed at some of the things I find.
I'd passed by this gray, industrial-looking lamp several times, and it had always caught my eye, but the price, I wasn't satisfied with the price. No matter which angle I tried, it just wasn't fitting into my silken-thread budget. So, yet again, I left the lamp lay.
(But that sweet vintage school chair up there? It just giggled and hopped into my car. Or maybe it was I who giggled as the chair and I hopped into my car. I'll never say for sure.)
But, lo and behold, the very next time I was snagged and pulled into that store, all lamps were 50% off, and my beloved gray industrial lamp was still there!
This, people, was a miracle!
Hello, little guy, you're comin' home with me!
Now, our resident cartoonist and his two puzzling brothers can have illumination on their work surface whenever inspiration hits!
* * *
Oh, this has been fun, sharing the beginning stages of the nesting of our home with you these last few days! I'll be sharing more here and there as we go along, so keep a look-out!
Have a lovely weekend, friends!
That's what it was, mostly, a thrifted Christmas.
And we loved it!
Of course, there were a few new things for the boys but, just a few. Early on, we had decided to see just what we could find for each other in nearby thrift stores.
We found treasures, we did! Not just the, "Hmm, this might work for someone," type things, but the "Oh, my GOODNESS! Look at this! He's gonna LOVE it!!" type things.
See?
Of course, books are pretty much a given, but these boys thrilled over every! single! one! The sing-songy words that kept jumping out of this boy will be forever with me, "Thank you SOOO much!!"
When I found this 'joke shirt', as the ten-year-old boy calls them, I snatched it right up, knowing that a 'joke shirt' was at the top of his Christmas list! (Now, I wouldn't need to make one!)
Speaking of this boy, four sets of eyebrows flew up when he announced at dinner one evening, after an afternoon at the thrift stores, that he had found gifts for all but one person in the family, and had only spent $1!
And, I might add, he had scored some fabulous finds!
But, after several of these thrifty Christmas shopping trips, the boys were beginning to become worried that they hadn't found but one thing for their Mama. I tried to explain that some things just take time; that they may find just the thing on the next trip.
But then, as it turned out, it was I who found just the thing on the next trip. I was at the cashier counter, paying for some things, when I saw something in a semi-opaque plastic bag lying at the end of the counter. I could see just enough of what was inside to know that I liked it, so in with my other purchases it went. Later, while looking the other way, I handed it to the boys and told them I'd found a present from them for me! They thought that was the silliest idea they'd ever heard of but, on Christmas morning, when I I looked into a gift bag that had a tag on it that read:
To: Mama
From: Her Thwee Widdow Kids
This is what I found:
A wool hat, scarf, and glove set from Italy! (for only $2.50!) And, yes, after I got to really see it, I did love it!
I must say, though, for me, the ultimate thrift-store find of the season was, on Christmas morning, discovered at the bottom of three little boys' stockings.
A crazy-lot of G.I. Joe accessories and clothes, some of it vintage, I'm pretty sure. This heaping treasure was in a box that I had peeked into in the basement thrift store of an old brick church some weeks before. The price on the box? $2.50
Just what three ebay G.I. Joes (and their boys) were going to need!
At the end of the openings, when all was torn paper, crumpled tissue, strewn ribbon, and empty bags, we all decided that this thrifted Christmas?
It felt so good!
Love these antique deer that gaze attentively across the room, their faces lit just a bit, just enough, by the lights of the Christmas tree.
Hello, friends! Christmas week is here! I'll be sharing a series of photos each day this week, accompanied by narrative (or not!) to celebrate that wonderful day that's coming.
Enjoy!
Remember these scarves and wraps?
How about using one as a winter table runner?
I even like it (best?) when it's mushed up around the trees so it won't get mussed by little boys' breakfasts!
Hmm...just what will I do with these lovely thrifted scarves/shawls/wraps? It's something to ponder while lying awake at 1:30 a.m.
Loving my fab new/old desk chair, found thrifting for five little smackers! It's in the corner of my kitchen for now, awaiting its rightful place, soon.
I look at it, and, I don't know, it just makes me smile. It's all original, its sassy, and it was made in the '70's, just like me!
Let's Go '70's!! Woo-hoo!! Ra-Ra-Ra!! S-e-v-e-n-t-i-e-s!!
Uh, sorry, I got carried away there for a minute with all the cheering and Ra-Ra-Ra's. So sorry.
Have I been watching too much football, lately?
