Saturday Sightings - DC For a Day...

We visited the National Mall and museums in DC last Saturday.

  What fun (especially when we found free parking)!  

I caught My Love in the act...

And of course - had to get a shot of the capitol.  Do you see the

 little specks on the dome that appear to not 'belong'?

Here they are!  We couldn't figure out what they were doing...

some sort of maintenance or repairs.

(This and the following photos all compliments of My Love...)

The steps of the Natural Gallery of Art were abuzz with activity...

Under Ulysses S Grant was a great place to people-watch...

Or to have people watch me!

Thanks for joining our Saturday excursion - even if a week late.

Enjoy your Lord's Day tomorrow!  ~Joyce

Friday Finds & Buffet Dessert Idea...

It's time to share my Friday Finds with you.  Always a treat for me. 

 This was my haul from yesterday... some for me and some for you. 

The shabby candle holders were too good a deal to pass up.  

($2.50 for both!)  So home they came.  I'll enjoy them in various places...

 For now they are joining my dining table centerscape...

The 80's handpainted towel rack with the lovely roses 

and cameo Victorian gal is available here...

And need a ladies meeting snack idea?  I was at a girl's function

 last evening and they served 'Make Your Own Trifle'...

It started with your choice of pudding in the bottom of a cup...

...to which you added your choice of fruits 

(they had anything you could think of!)...

 ...and chunks of cookies and cake.  Oh my!

And they didn't forget the succulents that are so 'in' right now.

Happy Friday Friends!  ~Joyce

Thrifty Thursday - How to Buy Part II...

A few weeks ago - I shared a post on how to buy - or rather what all 

you can buy 'used' to avoid the expense of buying 'new'.   

Here are a few more things that I buy 'used' - except many are 'new'.  

Confused yet?    

1.  Candles 

These are easy to find unburned.  And I often don't mind if 

they've been burned a little... I'll just be lighting them anyway.  

I look for white pillars to burn in my fireplace.  

 And I always pick up the new still packaged ones when they are pretty.  

A brand new candle for $1?  Why not?

2.  Gifts

I keep a gift drawer just stuffed with new treasures that I found on

 the secondary market.   It's great to have something on hand when

 I need a hostess, thank you, mailman, new neighbor or unexpected

 birthday gift.  I pick up generic gifts that are not person specific.

  ie - lotions, bath salts, greeting cards, pretty soaps, candles etc.  

The blue box below is a gift set of sweet greeting cards that 

anyone would like to receive and give. 

3.  Books and Magazines

I don't subscribe to any magazines.  I find plenty of current reads

 on the cheap!  And pretty hardback books that are or are 'like' new?

  Yep - find them too.  Cookbooks are especially plentiful and 

they often go into my gift drawer.

This particular magazine I picked up today for 40 cents.  

The 'sale' subscription rate per an inner mailer card is $19.95/year.

Did you notice the key word on the cover?  'Budget'!  

Many magazines are covering thrift and budget topics.  

Saving money is in vogue.  

It doesn't mean we're poor.... it means we're smart!  

Buy well - & save!  And with your savings - Share!  ~Joyce

How To Buy Part I

Spring and Easter Vignettes...

I have brought Spring to the dress racks at the thrift shop where 

I volunteer.  This is a sampling of today's displays...

As always - working with what I can find that isn't already 

in a display somewhere (I just shop the store!)

Was running out of options by the time I got to this one.  

Spring is such a happy time!  

And in the middle of February - we're having spring-like weather.

  It won't last - but it's kinda fun!  ~Joyce

A Spring Mantel...

The forsythia sprigs that I mentioned in this post are part of my spring mantel.

 They were my starting point.  

 From there - it was a matter of seeing what I already had

 that would go with them.  I have very few spring things - 

so that narrowed my choices.  I pulled out these chicks and then

 remembered these old Victorian poem gift books...

I also remembered an antique Easter post card on a 

wooden block I picked up somewhere for my gift drawer.

Haven't had occasion to gift it yet - so may as well use it...

  

I also usually decorate my chest coffee table.  Again - I worked

 with what I could find that went with the color scheme already

 developed on the mantel.  Pickin's were slim.   

A few aqua Mason jars as candle holders...

 ...and a ring of pink berries will have to do.

Did you notice the vintage show towel with the clover damask?

Spring IS coming!

Look around and pull out some yellows, pinks, lavender 

and aquas and see what you can come up with.

A chick, egg or nest or two will help too!

Would love to hear about it!  ~Joyce

Friday Finds & 40% Off Sale!...

It was a vintage roses fabric week for me.  

Just 2 finds that will land in my shop shortly.

Love this vintage flat bed sheet and the yard of vintage fabric.

  Perfect together!

And a quick Etsy shop announcement.  

For a limited time - I am offering 40% off everything in the shop 

over $9.99.  Just enter COUPON CODE - FEB40OFF.

Enjoy!  ~Joyce

Thrifty Thursday - A Full Natural Bouquet from 2 Faux Sprigs...

 A few years ago I found some thrifted faux sprigs of Forsythia.  

I love them!  But when I went to fill my ironstone pitcher 

on my mantel - they were not enough... 

A few days ago this pitcher looked like this.  

So I simply left the real twigs in place...

...and added my 2 sprigs of faux forsythia.  

I'm loving my nice and full bouquet that looks real 

with only 2 sprigs of faux flowers.  Of course it helps that

these sprigs were the 'multiple bunch' kind. 

But still... I'm thrilled!

Don't overlook faux flowers when you're thrifting.  

I gravitate toward the ones I would pick naturally if I had them... 

ie -greens, hydrangea, and especially seasonal flowers

such as this forsythia or berries.

I'll share my full Spring mantel with you soon.  

Enjoy this day!  ~Joyce
Linking to Home Sweet Home

St. Patrick's (Green) Tablescape for One...

Now that Valentine's Day is over... there are 3 seasonal decor 

looks to consider - Spring, St. Patrick's Day or Easter.  

I don't usually decorate for St. Patrick's Day - but just for fun -

  I played with a little tablescape using this plate/bowl...

I paired it with other green dishes that I have - 

all on a straw placemat...

I have seen people use twig wreaths as chargers - but I would find

 that incredibly uncomfortable for eating.  Using one under a side

 dish makes more sense.  You can then move just the bowl closer 

to you when you're ready to eat from it.  

So what do you think - would this work for St. Patrick's Day?  

And why not do a little inspirational reading if you're dining alone?

  The green devotional book is available here.

We have almost Spring-like weather here in PA today.  

And 'green' always makes me think of Spring. 

As always - happy creating!  ~Joyce

A Valentine's Night In...

We have gone out for dinner a few times on Valentine's Day - 

but it's been the exception rather than the rule.  We've found

 we prefer keeping romance to ourselves.  Here is tonight's plan...

Inspiration struck with a Pier One red box I found at the 

thrift store yesterday (yes - only yesterday!) for $1.50...

But more on that in a bit.   Last night I came up with a simple 

dinner idea and this AM quickly went for groceries to make it happen.

  I work this afternoon - so simple it will be. 

So what's for dinner?  An easy Kielbasa & Pasta dish similar to this.

  Tossed Salad with a favorite dressing similar to this.  

Strawberry meringue dessert (strawberries were only 99 cents/quart)...

The meringue before it was baked

And a few special candy pieces that I  know My Love enjoys...

We'll eat on the floor by our fireplace which will be ablaze with candles.

Now back to that red box.  

I thought I should fill it with something.... but what?  

'Discussion questions' came to mind.  A quick web search found

these questions which I printed off and cut into strips.  

They weren't very exciting  laying in the box all my themselves - 

so I mixed them among some brown crinkle paper that I had on hand.  

Some of the questions are serious and some are just for fun.  

We'll see how it goes.  

And as always - we recognize that the author of Love is 

God Himself.  There is no true love outside of Him.

Here's to a lovely evening 'in' - just the 2 of us...

and a Happy Valentine's Day to you too! ~Joyce
Linking to Talk of the Town