Don't Be A Yard Sale Snob...

What's a yard sale snob you ask?  Well - it could be several things -

 but for the sake of this post -  it's someone who doesn't stop at a

 yard sale cause it doesn't look 'good' enough or they don't see

 anything they want.  Such was my case with this particular yard sale today.  

But because I was parked right at the end of the driveway to visit

 other sales in the development - I sauntered in to be polite.

To the left (and not in the picture) was a table with a few apparent

 less-than-desirable things.  But when I got closer - I noticed maybe 3 linens. 
 And underneath them - this darling coral pink satin damask vintage tablecloth.  
Yippee skippy!

It even retains its tag!  (oooh - a 'crown' tag)...

Among my other finds of the day were these shell encrusted

 miniature shoes... (more pink)

Shoes and tablecloth will be in my Etsy shop shortly.

And I treated myself to a bit of great smelling perfume for 50 cents.

Okay - it's really body mist.  But still - it's from Victoria's Secret 

and even at half a bottle - worth every penny.  And ya can't put a

 price tag on the pick-me-up some new nice smelly stuff gives a gal!

But what really tickled me today - was a pile of baskets.. for free!

I chose 3 to use for gift baskets.  And look - I found some flower

sprigs and an almost new candle too -  totaling just 75 cents.  

Turns out they make a pretty nice instant fall grouping... 

It won't stay a grouping long... 

gonna be filling & gifting one of those baskets shortly.  

How I love weekends...~Joyce

Displays... Cookbooks, an Owl and Oriental...

Just sharing some of the displays I put together from donated goods

 at the thrift shop this week.  These are on top of dress racks - 

so pardon the lack of back drop, etc.  Interestingly - the one that

 photographs the best - I did not like as well in real life.  

And that would be this one...

I love to use books to give height.  And anywhere I can throw in

 some vintage - I do!  So the vintage bowl is on some contemporary cookbooks.  

Since the spines are all in the same color scheme that coordinates 

with the remainder of the grouping - they work!

Below was my favorite 'real life' display... but it falls a little flat 

when photographed I think.  Perhaps it needs something spilling

 out of that awesome vase.   At any rate - it's essentially gray, black and aqua.  

Love it!  Any guesses as to what the first thing was that sold 

out of this grouping?

And a 3rd display from the week has an oriental flavor.  The 

 chest or box was my starting point and I tried to find things

 to go with it.... not an easy task in this Pa dutch area.

Now back to my question... 

did you guess what sold first out of this display?  

Did you guess the owl?

Nope - not the owl (although everybody loved him!) 

Can you see what's missing in this photo?  Its the long pillow 

that was behind the sign.  It lasted only an hour or so once in the

 display - although had been in the store for sale for 2 days!

Gotta love playing with other people's stuff!   ~Joyce

Getting The 'To-Do' List Done...

We all have a to-do list a mile long.  

And we all feel we hardly have time to do them.

So what's the secret?

  It's simple really... plan to do it - and then do it!

Here are a few more tips to 'get stuff done'...

Make room in your schedule...

Don't bite off more than you can chew... (know your time/ability limits!)

Write it down (make a check-list)...

Tackle the most dreaded thing first...

Multi-task where possible but not overwhelming.  What can be done while something else is happening?  (ie - while something is cooking I can...)

Give yourself extra time if 'learning' is required... 

Do it as close to when you notice it as you can...

If a project is large (ie - flower beds) do just a portion each time...

Last evening I noticed a corner of our front flower bed that was

 quite overgrown and unattractive.

Sunday is our day of rest - so I didn't tackle it then -

 but I did write it down to tackle this morning...

I only have mornings to work on my list.  

So keeping the list small and simple is best for me.

Then 1st thing this morning (after throwing in a load of wash)  - 

I got out to that section of the garden and removed a bunch of

 overgrowth and several plants altogether.

Now it's ready to bounce back for fall.

 

Then I moved indoors to work on pasta salad and the rest of today's list...

 

I can't tell you how good it feels to have those things done!

A final tip:

Simplify according to your schedule...  (i.e. - don't have time to

keep up with the flower beds?  Don't have them or reduce to one.

Same with vegetable gardening, canning, or other noble things.  

We are us - we can't be someone else.  Let's be us well!

Tomorrow my list will have just one main thing... 

cause it will take me all morning.  Stay tuned!  ~Joyce

Hint of Fall Displays...

As I do every week - last week I did some 'on-top-of-dress-rack' 

displays at the thrift shop.  The shop is officially moving into fall - 

so my displays are as well...

Everything except the vase in this first vignette sold... 

and now I see why.   50 cents for that cute horse?  

I perhaps should have increased the price for them a bit...

This display on the otherhand (which didn't photograph well - but looked great!) - 

had nothing sell.  And those earthen vessels are amazing.  

This week I added a beautiful scarf to the grouping which tied

 everything together beautifully.  Unfortunately - I had no time to take a photo. 

 Can't wait to see if that simple scarf addition helps it all sell...

This last grouping had several things sell - but not near everything. 

 It sits a little 'high' - not an easy reach for shorter people.

Definitely the lower-in-height display of the 3 always sells the best.

It's fun doing fall at the shop - but I'm not near ready to do it at home.    

We haven't even had our 'summer' vacation yet (coming up in Sept.).  

How 'bout you?  You ready for the fall decor?  ~Joyce

Our Lowe's and Ikea Kitchen Remodel...

And finally - my 'kitchen remodel' post...

As you'll soon see - it is indeed a Lowe's and Ikea kitchen...

To jump right in - these are KraftMaid cabinets that we

 purchased from Lowe's - and designed with Lowe's.

(Whew - what a long process... and full of hard decisions!)

We had a contractor that we had experience with do the install.
This cost a little more than a total DIY - but made for way less
 stress for My love and was totally worth it to us.

  They are cream - although may appear white in the photos...

The shelves to the left of the microwave (our only new appliance purchase) - 
I used in my antique booth at one time (they were much longer).
My Love cut them down and now they sit on Ikea brackets...

Our kitchen is U-shaped and opens into a family room.  
This is the family room end...

I found these wrought iron wall hooks in an antique shop 
(actually my sister in law's booth)  and saved them for 'who knows when'.  
And here they are... love 'em!

The other end of the kitchen is a bit more jumbled as it holds our techy stuff.  
You can find more on the hutch (also just Kraftmaid cabinets) 
in this blog post.  It is a dark-stained cherry wood.

The pendant sink light is another Lowe's find for around $25.

We (or rather I) decided to forego a dishwasher this go round.
   This drawer unit (gotta have drawer units!!) is the same size as a
 dishwasher and can be exchanged at any point.  Plumbing is ready to go... 

This countertop corner I'm sure will evolve over time.  
Our countertops are just a high-grade laminate.  They look great -
 cost much less than most granites - and are a no-maintenance option.  
Works for me.  Again - these came from Lowe's.

 A favorite addition to our kitchen is this island from Ikea...  
We found ourselves there on a day trip during the remodel 
and over our 30th anniversary and on impulse - bought it.
  We thought we'd like it - but we abundantly love it!  
We have a big hairy dog -and yes - I have to wipe off things 
sometimes - but I still love it!  
(Our ceiling is too low for a pot hanger.)

The chairs/stools (with backs - gotta have backs) are also from Ikea... 
And check out these great farmhouse cushions - (yep - from Ikea...)

Here are  just a few shots of the 'before' kitchen.  It doesn't look awful - 
but the quality of the cabinets was very poor.  

My Love installed this kitchen himself when we added on to our home
approx 20 years ago.  It was a bitter-sweet addition as it was related
 to some chronic health issues I was experiencing at the time.  
To help afford the house addition - we opted for 'cheap' 
cabinets...hoping the day would come we could upgrade it.

In this picture (the current 'hutch' area) - 
I had already begun unpacking the cupboards.
(A kitchen remodel is lots of work - even when you don't do the install!)

Very few of these cheap cabinets survived the removal process,
but thankfully - served us well when we needed them.

We are beyond grateful that the Lord allowed us this upgrade.  
We give Him all the honor and glory 
and are mindful to use this blessing to bless others.
My chronic health issues are doing much better - 
and I rejoice daily!

I was tickled by a comment from a service man who was in 
our home just this past week.
We were discussing the kitchen and in his own words - 
he referred to it as a 'farmhouse style' kitchen.  
Thank you sir!  I'll take 'farm house' any day!  

  Stop on by - we'd love to have you.  ~Joyce
Linking to Let's Talk Vintage

A Yard Sale and a Modern Day Healing Story...

I went to several yard sales today...and found nothing.   

But I found 'something' at the last yard sale. 

It was a 'whole house' sale again.  

But this time, the owner of the house was on hand.  

Curious as to why she was selling all her possessions - I asked.  

Her answer?  She was moving to Africa to help with orphans.  

The story continued... 

Africa was the country where she grew up.   Turns out she even knows Swahali (she was very 'white').  

As we talked more - she told me she had nearly died 4 times and had been recently healed of all her diseases 

(which included a very weak heart, insulin dependent diabetes, high blood pressure, etc.).  

Really?  I urged her to tell me more...

Well - she had felt the Lord's call to go to Africa when she had been single - 35 plus years ago.  

But she didn't obey (her words) and rather got married to a man who wouldn't go.  The marriage proved 

very difficult as he loved another woman.  Finally - the marriage ended.  As a newly 'single' woman - 

she asked the Lord to increase her faith for healing and that she'd go or do whatever He asked.  

She prayed, studied scripture on healing, etc. A time came when she felt her faith was strong

and she asked her pastor to pray for her.  She came home from that prayer and began to exercise for an hour... 

when previously she couldn't even do 15 minutes.  It had been an 'instant' healing of all her health issues. 

Soon - another pastor came to her church and talked about the orphanage he has in Africa.  

Would she consider going to help?  It was her 'answer'.  She is selling everything and going to be a 

'grandma' in the girls' dorm. She is loving telling everyone that miracles still happen today.

Indeed they do!  If you're in need of a miracle - may this story encourage you.

On my way home I spotted these mules in a field...

 

...all huddled together in close fellowship...

just the way the Lord wants us to be.

Oh the treasures we can glean from a yard sale...
Enjoy your day!  ~Joyce

From Readers and Sellers and Buyers and...

It's so much fun to interact with you my readers.  

Recently a buyer/reader told me she was intrigued with my  

pony and cart picture from this post.

 

And with good reason.  Turns out - they care for 11 miniature horses 

at their place.  Eleven!  Oh - and 2 donkeys and 3 riding horses too.

  Oh my!

I asked for pictures.  These are a few she sent my way...

 Just precious...

 And is that a pot-bellied pig I see?  

They need to open a petting zoo!

Thanks Karen for sharing a bit of your world with us.

And I'd like to also give a shout-out to 2 Etsy sellers... Fall is coming 

and I'm thinking you just may enjoy what these gals have to offer.

Chunky Knits has some awesome trendy hats and ear wraps.  

I'm especially loving this ear warmer headband...and the color!

Available here.

And AhuvaKnits has some great pieces as well.  

I love the boho vibe of this shawl (and gotta love her modeling!)...

Available here.

There's still a good month of no-school summer left.  But it will go fast!  

Thanks online friends - you make my day!  ~Joyce