NumberNineteen

Decorating with Thrift Finds

My recent thrift haul kick started a decorating frenzy.  I've been re-arranging, re-painting and generally fluffing everything in my path.  A couple of projects are still in progress, so I'll have to share them in the coming weeks, but I was able to play with my thrift finds this week for a little bit of immediate decorating gratification.

I put my new white pitcher on the mantel along with 2 creamers from my collection. The mantel is always tricky for me because we have high ceilings so we had to hang our pictures pretty high.  The items on the mantel need to "fill in" the area between the fireplace and the pictures, so they need to be tall.  Everything in our old house was on a smaller scale, so I'm still collecting larger items (like the new big pitcher) that fit in the new house.

The Pepsi crate isn't strictly a thrift find -- I found it in my neighbor's garbage pile several years ago!  It was in the closet holding mittens, but in my decorating fever, I thought "That is too cool to be hiding -- what can I do with it???". This little mini wine bar is perfect for our evening glass of wine.

Remember the lavendar find from last week?  They found a good home in the kitchen on either side of the little tureen.

I shifted the topiary from the kitchen (where the lavendar now resides) and added the architectural picture above the table.  We are on a *tight* decorating budget, so buying art for this spot is not going to happen.  Enter my favorite free image sites!  You all know that I love The Graphics Fairy and I've also found a new great site, The New York Public Library Digital Gallery.  The NYPL site provides thousands of images from their collection, which are completely free to use and print!  Gotta love libraries ;) 

I found this image of an old beautiful gate and used a frame that was sitting in the basement.  Instant art!

Thrift Store Bonanza!

I haven't had a good thrift store score in a really long time, but this weekend, I hit the jackpot!

I found all of these items (except the small silver bowl -- more about that in a minute) at the Salvation Army store for $17!

I love this white pitcher ($3), which I think that I might use in the guest room & the little white plate($1).  I"m pulling together white plates for above our bed, so this will be perfect.

These gorgeous classic silver bowls will clean up well and will be beautiful in the dining room ($6 & $3).  I find so many silver items at thrift stores for dirt cheap.  I guess that people don't want to polish them, but it really only takes a minute and I love the way they look in  a grouping.

I love topiaries (are these topiaries??? Close enough!) & these are real lavendar.  They smell so pretty and were just $3 for the two of them.

I also  scored 4 dinner plates that match our dishes (seen in the first picture - $8 total).  We have Martha Stewart Everyday dishes that are no longer made.  I haven't found any other dishes that I like as well so I snatch up extras when I see them in thrift stores. 

As I left the Salvation Army, I noticed an antiques store that I hadn't seen before (how did this happen???).  I went in and found  wonderful pieces for my vintage kitchen cabinet (totaling$32 including the silver bowl).

I just love those ice cream containers & the plate from an ice cream parlor (marked 1947!).  And the colored sugar sprinkles are such a find!  I can't wait to have all of these cute vintage sweet & cooking goodies gathered in my cabinet.  In the mean time, I'm having fun collecting for it ;)

In my next post, I'll show you how I've used my new finds in the house -- I'm on a decorating roll!

Disney World!

We've just returned from the happiest place on earth!  One whole week at Disney, just the three of us, on a wonderful, fun & relaxing vacation.We've been saving & planning for the trip for a long time but sprung the actual trip on Hope at the last minute. 

(Hope finding out that she is going to Disney -- Glenn is holding a Disney brochure in the upper right of the picture)

We spent the first few days at the Magic Kingdom & Epcot...

...and some time in the Animal Kingdom & Hollywood Studios.

We stayed in the Boardwalk Inn, which was absolutely beautiful & right on the Disney Boardwalk. There were always  a lot of fun things going on like street performers & magicians, especially at night.  It was also steps away from Epcot, which was a nice bonus.

It was so much fun for all of us.  The thing about Disney is that they do everything to such a high standard that it truly becomes magical.  Over & over we were so amazed at how much fun and how well done that everything was for both kids & adults. 

Since we were there for a week, we were able to take some time to relax, which I really recommend if you have the time.  We sat down for a nice dinner every night (Chefs de France in Epcot was a favorite!), went back to the hotel to rest if we got tired and spent some time at the pool.  It was so nice to not feel that we had to pack everything in.   We were very lucky in that it was sunny the entire week & warm most of the week (not the last 2 days -- brrrr!).

We were so glad that we could give this special experience to Hope. I said to Glenn that Hope's constant smile and excitement was worth every penny that we spent.