The Painted Ladder

This morning the birdbaths were frozen and there was frost on the ground. According to the extended forecast, there are warmer days and nights ahead, so hopefully that will be the last frost.



I saw a painted step-ladder on a blog recently and it was just the inspiration I needed! (I wish I could remember where I saw it, I'd love to give credit for the idea.) I bought this weather worn, paint chipped ladder at a garage sale for $1.00 last year. I loved it but didn't know what to do with it. I thought about using it for a trellis, but that is as far as I got with my plans. This past weekend I found the smaller galvanized container at a garage sale. I have had the larger one for several years, using it for herbs. I plan to use the ladder for a trellis and plant a climbing rose or clematis.




The stump in the middle was a diseased maple tree that we cut down. I had been using it for a birdbath base. It is so windy here that I decided to place the ladder over the stump to keep it from blowing over. Once a climbing plant is established hopefully it will be less noticeable. Any ideas on what climber to plant? What color will go with this crazy bright aqua?

Speaking of climbers, the clematis around our front yard light post is full of blooms and gorgeous.

My one lone azalea is in bloom. I was hesitant to try more until I knew they would survive here. So far this is the third year for this one. Azaleas remind me of spring in Alabama.

I wanted to show you more of my garage sale finds. I love this table! I got it at a sale on Saturday for $10.00. Right now I am loving it inside, but I can also see using this as a serving tray on the front porch, maybe. The cloche was a steal for .10, yep, ten cents! The candle sticks were $2.00. The candles were .50 each. The large white pitcher was .50, even the little magnolia egg and the moss were purchased this past weekend.

I got this picture a few years ago at a garage sale too. The lady I bought it from said that it had hung in a museum in Texas. My daughter saw the same picture in the old movie, Father of the Bride, with Spencer Tracy. The painting isn't visibly signed so I don't know anything about it. I'd love to know the history behind the painting.

I love decorating and sprucing up, both inside and out, for so little money!

Metamorphosis Monday- Mirror

During the summer I came across this dresser mirror at a garage sale. I didn't need a mirror like this but she was only asking a couple of dollars for it so I bought it anyway. I promptly stuck it under a bed and forgot about it.

I had a bare wall in the dining room and all summer long I kept looking at garage sales for a picture or mirror to go in that particular spot. I never found what I wanted and just gave up, knowing that eventually, I will come across something that will be perfect or close enough to satisfy me. I'm patient, (I'm very frugal too), so I can wait.

A few weeks ago I was in a painting mood and remembered the mirror that was under the bed. I spray painted it and propped it on the buffet in the dining room. I didn't want to hang it centered on the wall because I don't want it to look like a dresser with a mirror, (which is exactly what it is).

The beautiful Drexel dresser was another garage sale find. I bought it earlier in the spring for $100.00, and was perfect for this spot in the dining room.




Here is the mirror all decorated. I already had the evergreen wreath and the stash of florals to put on the wreath. So, this was a thrifty way to decorate the buffet for Christmas. Everything here was either purchased at a garage sale or it was something I already had. I'm not completely satisfied with the way the buffet looks, I need a runner and a few more things to finish it off.

The mirror isn't exactly what I wanted for the wall, but at least it isn't bare anymore!

I'm linking this post to Between Naps on the Porch for Met monday!

First Metamorphosis Monday Post- Foot Stool

I'm linking up today for the very first time with Susan, from Between Naps on the Porch, for her Metamorphosis Monday. I've been reading her blog for several months and checking out almost all of the links to the Met Monday posts. So much inspiration here! As the gardening season comes to a close my thoughts have been on sprucing up the interior of my home to make my winter hibernation a more pleasurable experience.



I spend a lot of time on the computer and sometimes I like to prop my feet up while I'm at my desk. This summer I found this tacky foot stool at a garage sale. I think I may have paid a dollar for it. A few weeks ago I took it apart. Oh, was it ever nasty! I had to wear a mask because so much of the padding had deteriorated and there was so much dust. I threw away the old fabric and the foam padding. I cleaned the wood and sprayed it good with Lysol.


Then I spray painted the oak and replaced the foam padding and fabric. I already had the fabric, that I had bought at a garage sale probably three or four years ago.

I say the foot stool is for propping my feet, but truth be known, it is really a kitty cat bed. It seems that the cat likes to sleep beside me here while I'm at the computer.

Anyway, I have been thoroughly inspired by Met Monday with all kinds of great ideas. I hope to include a few more projects over the next few weeks. Stop by Susan's and see the great projects!

Thrifty Finds

Females by nature love to nest and continue fluffing our nest. We like to decorate our homes and surround ourselves with things that make us feel good and add beauty to our lives. During the last few years, due to my husbands career in the declining RV industry, resulting in three job losses in four years, the finances have been very tight and I haven't been able to buy many things for my home. It's really sad to say but at some point I even stopped loving and caring for my home and garden. Most of it was due to the fear that we might lose it, The thought of that was so painful and I needed to detach myself from it...just in case. (Thankfully that fear has subsided, and we are not in danger of losing our home .)

This summer a good friend and I started going to garage sales together again, (I hadn't been to any in about two years), and we also frequented the Goodwill stores in our area. She rents a small space in an antique shop and is always looking for things to sell.

I have been thrilled with the wonderful things I've found that have been perfect for my home allowing me to spruce it up and freshen things up a bit without spending much money at all. I wanted to show you some of the things I've found recently, especially last weekend at Goodwill. They had their half-off sale on Saturday and I found some fun things.


The green leaf plates were found at Goodwill Saturday, the plate in the middle I found a few weeks ago at a garage sale. I thought they went well together. The pretty lamp shade was bought at a garage sale for $1.00, actually there were two of them for $1.00 each and the other one was put on a floor lamp in the living room.

I made the autumn centerpiece; the base was bought at Goodwill, ($1.00), the pumpkin on top was bought at a garage sale, ($1.00), I had purchased the fall picks several years ago at the end of the season for 75% off.

I found the plate holder a few weeks ago at a garage sale for $1.00 and the two Waverly plates at Goodwill for 50 cents each. The white platter is a Johnson Brothers ironstone that I got for
50 cents at Goodwill! (It was about 5:00 PM after an all day half-price sale, I can't believe these three items were still there!)

I couldn't pass up this desk with the glass top, well I did pass it up, but couldn't stop thinking about it, so I went back and got it. I couldn't believe that it was still there! I think it would be beautiful painted, but for now I like it just the way it is.

Are you ready for this? It was only $25.00! It is the perfect spot in my kitchen to pay bills and plan menus and hide junk mail. Oh, and the lamp I found at a garage sale last Saturday along with the pretty candle holder.

I have a large home, (about 4000 s.f.) with quite a bit of wall space to fill. I'm still holding out for a picture for the other side of the china cabinet. I know it's only a matter of time before I find exactly what I want at a garage sale or moving sale, so I will patiently wait.

See this drop-leaf table? I found it at Goodwill several weeks ago for $25.00! I loved it! It matched my Duncan Phyfe dining room table perfectly! Look at the picture of my dining room table feet again, perfect match I tell you! The Victorian sofa also has the same legs. Both the living room and dining room are open to each other and it helps to tie the two rooms together.


It has been so amazing to me how God has provided for even our most basic needs during this time while finances have been tight. Several months ago a corbel on the dining room drapes broke. I looked everywhere I could think of and couldn't find a replacement. I have a matching set in the living room and I couldn't afford to replace them all. The drapes hung across the dining room chair for over two months. How discouraging to see that day after day! One Saturday while coming home from the nursing home, I passed a garage sale; on impulse I stopped. I could not believe it! They had corbels that were almost an exact match! I was one very happy gal!

A lot of people think that there is only junk at garage sales, but that just isn't the case, at least it isn't the case where I live. I like nice things and I don't like clutter and junkie stuff. It amazes me what people sale. This weekend I went to a few garage sales with my friend and I couldn't believe the things I found. The above picture shows the Longaberger Pottery that I got for $6.50.

At the same sale I got three Fiestaware pitchers for $2.00 each. Can you believe it?

This is only part of the loot, there was also a Singer sewing machine that was free at the end of a church sale, (I haven't checked to see if it works), a picture, two pairs of dress boots, ($2.00 ea.) that looked like new, books and some other things that I can't remember right now.

I've had so much fun fluffing my nest with these great finds. Just getting a few new, (to me), things and making these few inexpensive changes in my home has been an enormous encouragement to me. I'm starting to love my home again, and I actually enjoy keeping it clean, well ... enjoy is a bit strong, but there is definitely more enthusiasm than before. I'm overflowing with gratitude and thankfulness to God that we have been blessed to still have our home when so many people have lost theirs during these tough economic times.

I wanted to join in and link with Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality and share my thrifty treasures.

My Style...

I'm still thinking about the planters and I think I have ruled out the smaller one. Everyone here agrees that it is just too small. I still love the style of the larger one and may just use it this year, thankfully it isn't a permanent structure and can easily be changed, well, not that easily, it's very heavy.

I was telling my friend/neighbor what Yolanda Elizabet from Bliss (http://blissyo-elgarden.blogspot.com/) said about the style of the container and the column being too different, one being more elegant than the other. My friend said, "Well, that is your style." And she is right, that is my style, I always mix elegance with ordinary or even a little bit of country. It works for me. I usually don't even think about style, I just go for things that I enjoy looking at and the things that make me happy.


This is in my family room. I love the elegance of tea pots and tea cups (I collect them) and crystal and glassware.


This is my living room, very Victorian and formal.


My china cabinet is filled with more tea cups and tea pots. I love Old Country Roses. (I opened the doors for a better picture.)

So, I really am not afraid to mix elegance with ordinary, but I do believe that Yolanda is right about the scale being off, that is my concern. Thank you for giving your opinions. I'll probably just keep looking for that perfect medium.