Lilacs

Our lilac bushes are in full bloom and I love filling the house with cuttings. We have 4 lilac bushes, two huge ones that were planted at least 50 years ago and I have planted two since we have been here.

My $3 flea market basket is perfect for holding the cuttings till I get them inside.

This crock I picked up at the flea market for $2 makes for the perfect vase for the shorter cuttings.

I bought these antique church books at the flea market...I just love the coloring and the wear on them from years and years of people opening them up to sing in church.

And I promise this is the last time I will mention it but don't forget tomorrow is my TAG SALE...come if you can. I have 4 car loads of stuff!!!

It will be May 11th at Stewart Hall (218 Mercer St. Harmony PA 16037) in Harmony PA starting at 9 AM. Hope to see you there! 

Flea Market Goodies

I found some great deals at the flea market on Sunday...this was what my trunk looked like by the time I left.

Good stuff huh?

I hung the mirror I bought for $3 in our mudroom so that you can see what you look like on your way out. I thought the old laundry sack would be perfect for holding plastic bags. And I love the old watering can with the rope handle.

I will show you where and what I do with all my other goodies sometime soon. I actually haven't even had the time to go through a lot of the stuff I bought. Between getting everything ready for the Tag Sale this weekend and trying to get all of my flower beds mulched and my garden in I am feeling a bit stressed this week I must say. It has been so beautiful outside here the last week and I have been working non-stop in my yard. Hopefully next week I will have an evening that I can sit on my porch and relax with a glass of wine and a magazine.

A Diamond In The Rough

Boy oh boy did I luck out yesterday! As I was driving to the grocery store I saw a garage sale sign and decided to check it out. I drove back a road some ways and then saw a large garage with 1970's furniture and kids bikes out front. I got that "Oh there is nothing here for me" feeling, if you frequent garage sales you know just what I mean.

Well boy was I wrong! I walked inside the garage and what did I see among lots of outdated clothes and ugly lamps, but this beauty! I couldn't believe my eyes and it was only $5!

I have lots of yellowware bowls but none in this soft creamy white color.

It is right at home on my kitchen island and call me cheesy but I talk to it every time I walk past it, I just love it so much. It made my day and to top it off I got free fish to cook up for dinner from the guy at the antique place I stopped at on my way home (that's another story).

So the moral of the story is...if you go to a garage sale and all you see are kids clothes and toys don't be scared off you just never know what might me hiding in there!

Old Fence New Ironstone

I made a stop at my favorite shop Romantique Boutique yesterday and I found something that I have been looking for forever...an ironstone footed bowl! These are so hard to find and usually very expensive when you do find them. This one was very affordable however due to some minor cracks.

I placed it on our round table along with some other recent finds.

The beautiful daffodils are from our property, to my delight they grow by the hundreds in our woods. I placed them in a $2 thrift store vase. And the old lantern piece is from TumbleweedHome on Etsy. I just love  the rustic look it gives the table setting and a candle looks so pretty burning in it. 

And look at these amazing fence pieces that I also got at Romantique Boutique. I can't wait to do something fun with these, but for now I think they look pretty good right on our porch. 

And when I haven't been rototilling or spreading mulch I have been getting everything priced for the tag sale. 

Once again....the Tag Sale will be May 11th at Stewart Hall (218 Mercer St. Harmony PA 16037) in Harmony PA starting at 9 AM. Please come if you can, Harmony is right off of Interstate 79 and there are many cute shops to visit and you can eat at the historic Harmony Inn. 

Happy Day! 

Our Kitchen Part 4

I wanted to share these beautiful shallow bowls I just got at the thrift store.

I love brown and white transferware and these bowls only cost $1.50 for both!

As I was taking these pictures I realized I have yet to show you the other end of our kitchen. With all the sunshine coming in I thought what better day to do so?

The upper cabinet pictured is one of the cabinets we got from my parents when they got new ones. They were solid wood doors but my mom had my dad put the glass in them years ago so that she could see all of her dishes. As a young girl I never would have known that some day I would be looking at my very own dishes through those doors.

Neal built the open shelving next to it for all of our many white bowls (what can I say? I love white bowls).

The bread box holds all of my baking supplies and cake/cookie decorating items. The old beverages crate holds our snack foods and keeps them out of sight. The things I use daily I keep right on the counter, if they are pretty that is.

On the days that it hasn't been nice enough to work outside I have been busy getting things ready for our Tag Sale on May 11th. I have been going through all of my cupboards and bins in the attic and I have SO much stuff that I am hoping to sell! The Tag Sale will be May 11th at Stewart Hall (218 Mercer St. Harmony PA 16037) in Harmony PA starting at 9 AM. 

Hope you enjoyed the last part of our kitchen, have a great day!

Porch Weather

Finally we are having what I call "Porch Weather" here! I love sitting on my porch in the evenings after a hard days work and it has finally been warm enough to do so!

This is a tiny little alcove porch right outside of our kitchen and it is the perfect place to sit and watch the sun go down. The warm weather has allowed me to bring out some of my gardening and porch items that were stowed away for what seemed like an endless winter.

I found the old watering can in the gardening shed of my sister's new house, boy was I excited! And I found the old enamelware wash basin in our basement just recently! It was down there all this time and I didn't know it (there isn't much that scares me but our basement is somewhere I try never to go).

Another great find is the fabric that the cushion pictured is covered with. Year after year I search for subtle colored non-patterned outdoor fabric and come up empty handed. Not everyone wants giant red flowers on a yellow background people! I know there are catalogs I could order from and I know I could special order from Jo-Ann's but I can't afford either of those options. My dream outdoor fabric would be an oatmeal color with a blue ticking stripe but I will settle for this Sunbrella fabric I found at Jo-Ann's. It is subtle and pattern-less and matches great with my pillows and such. It would normally also be out of my price range but at 50% off I could afford 2 yards. I ran home with it yesterday and had the cover sewn in no time!

I use an old mattress pad as our blanket out here so that if it gets wet or dirty I don't have to stress about the stains. Clearly the grain sack pillow goes in with me at night:)

Neal built the little table one day while working out in the garage, you just never know what he might come carrying in.

There is tiny bit more to this little porch that I will show in a later post. Believe it or not when we bought the house this was a closet. The open side had been walled up at some point. I was determined to show Neal that it had been a porch at one time and couldn't wait for the day to rip down the drywall and unearth the original siding. Those are my favorite days, the days that ripping something down exposes the original farmhouse architecture. I feel like the house takes a big deep breath.

I will be doing some ripping down and exposing next week...stay tuned. For now I hope that you are having some "Porch Weather" of your own:)