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Christmas Front Porch

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It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas at my house!  I’m still not lifting or moving too much since my back surgery, but my pointer finger works just fine.  My kids and my hubby really like it when I ask them to do something and then just sit and point at what I’d like done.  (Can you hear the sarcasm?)  So, I can’t take credit for the loveliness of the front door.  My hubby did the work and I just pointed.
I have used the same garland and wreaths for many years.  I’d like to bulk it up, but it’s hard to splurge on decorations when I could use that money to buy gifts for people.

This is my favorite sign of all time.  If you live in my neighborhood, you know how true this is.

Ok, maybe this is my favorite sign.

Ok, I guess I have a problem deciding which sign is my favorite.  I love this one too.

I cute sign, a bucket of holly, and some birch logs from the deck are all it takes to make my chair kind of cute!

This is the sled I grew up using.  It’s missing the middle wood piece, but I still love it.  That sled has seen many miles of happy hills!

I’m having a hard time believing that MY sled could possibly be an antique!

Happy decorating!

Antiques That Tell Your Family Story

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I love filling my home with things that have history. I don’t spend a lot of time shopping antique and thrift stores. (Although I wish I had the time and money to browse antique stores.) Most of my treasures come from family members, so I really appreciate the history behind these pieces.

 

The pocket watches belonged to my step-dad and grandpa. I love holding something in my hand that they held onto for so many years.

 

This sewing machine was in a corner of my parents’ garage for years, before it found a home in my craft room.

 

There is nothing more meaningful than holding your great-grandmother’s Bible. There are even handwritten notes inside from church services and Bible studies.


When we were going through my grandma’s old suitcases, we opened one and found her wedding dress and my grandpa’s WWII army uniform. Many years before, she told us she had thrown them away because they were tattered. It was amazing to find them in perfect condition inside a suitcase in her garage.

The flower garden quilt is from my husband’s side of the family. His grandma sent it home with me after a visit to her house. It is very tattered, but I just have the good part of the quilt poking out of the basket. The star quilt was made my great grandmother and the picnic basket belonged to my grandma and grandpa.

This one was made my great grandmother and my great, great grandmother as a wedding gift for my grandparents. The patterned fabric was made from old shirts and dresses. They didn’t have a lot of money and they used the scraps they had available.

I can’t say I purposefully fill my home with antiques. I don’t seek them out, scour thrift shops, or shop ebay for a great deal. I fill my home with these treasures because each piece has a story.

What story does your home tell?

Decorating With Old Books – Loving Family History

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My husband calls it old junk, but I love home decor that has some sort of history.  I think he may be coming around a bit.  Recently, when we went away for the weekend, I convinced him to wander the antique mall for a few minutes.  He actually said that it wasn’t the worst part of the weekend.  That’s improvement!

I love treasures that tell a story. Even more special is a treasure that tells part of my own story, and reveals a little bit about where I’m from. I love the look of old books in home decor, but I really love that my old books came from my grandparents.



They have the neatest old covers.

The inside of the cover is beautiful too! They just don’t make books like this anymore.

Here’s my favorite. This is a bible that was on my grandma’s bookshelf. Inside, it says, “For Our Dear Mother. From, Edith and Chester. August, 1927.” Edith and Chester were my grandmother’s parents. So, this bible belonged to Edith or Chester’s mother, my great-great-grandmother. How cool is that… just to know that I’m holding the same bible that my great-great-grandmother held.

There are even hand written notes inside the margins that were written during church services or bible studies.

I also have an old hymnal from Seattle Pacific College (now Seattle Pacific University). Both of my grandparents, both parents, several aunts, uncles, cousins, and I also went there.

If you look around my house, you’ll see that I decorate with lots of old books. To most people, that’s all they are… just old books. To me, they’re part of my history and it’s amazing to hold a little piece of history in my hands.

Happy decorating!

Filling Your Home With Personal Treasures

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I was looking through old posts the other day, looking for a picture.  I found an old post about antiques around my house.  It reminded me so much of my grandma and I thought I’d do a repost of a few of the highlights.  
I don’t mind if things around my house look a bit tattered or scratched.  I think those little imperfections show that things are used and loved.  I tend to be a collector.  (My husband would embellish that and call me a hoarder.)  But, there are so many special treasures that I love to display in my home that bring back memories or remind me of people.

 

This sewing machine was in a corner of my parents’ garage for years, before it found a home in my craft room. My step dad said it was either is mom’s or grandma’s.  I love the case as much as I love the machine and display it with several old wooden spools of thread that my mom had.

 

There is nothing more meaningful than holding your great-grandmother’s Bible. There are even handwritten notes inside from church services and Bible studies. It’s tattered and I’m always a bit worried that something will happen to it, now that it’s sitting on a table in the living room where the boys play their video games.

When we were going through my grandma’s old suitcases, many years ago, we opened one and found her wedding dress and my grandpa’s WWII army uniform. Many years before, she told us she had thrown them away because they were tattered. It was amazing to find them in perfect condition inside a suitcase in her garage.

The flower garden quilt is from my husband’s side of the family. His grandma sent it home with me after a visit to her house. It is very tattered, but I just have the good part of the quilt poking out of the basket. The star quilt was made my great grandmother. I had to bribe my sister to let me have it.

This one was made my great grandmother and my great, great grandmother as a wedding gift for my grandparents. The patterned fabric was made from old shirts and dresses. They didn’t have a lot of money and they used the scraps they had available. What a treasure!  I hung this in my hallway and think about a great grandmother and great, great grandmother who I never met, every time I walk down the hall.

I fill my home with these treasures because each piece has a story. It reminds me about home and family, and isn’t that what life should be all about?

What story does your home tell?

Antique Linens

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I absolutely love antique linens.  My grandma had piles of them.  I think everyone in the family took a stack, when we helped her move a few years ago, and we still had plenty for the thrift store.

Many of the linens hold memories of visiting Nanie and Baumpa’s house.  The bedspreads covered the twin beds for as long as I could remember.  I always loved the nubby texture and the fringe at the bottom.  Someday, when my kids are grown and I have an extra bedroom, I will have twin beds with white nubby bedspreads.

I don’t use all of the linens, all of the time.  I usually start pulling them out in Spring.  They feel light and bright to me, which feels springy.

Most of the linens were made by my great grandmothers (at least that’s what I think my mom said).


I wish I had the patience to do this type of stitching.  It’s beautiful.

Happy Spring!

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Antique Picnic Basket

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A few months ago, I was delighted, as I was browsing Goodwill. I came across this adorable picnic basket.

I love old picnic baskets. I can’t honestly say that I’ve ever taken one on a picnic, but I just love the way they look around the house. They are perfect for hiding a magazine pile or storing an old quilt. I always imagine my grandparents taking a basket like this on a picnic to the beach. When my grandma moved from her home to a retirement center, I think we found about five picnic baskets in her garage. I have several of her baskets, but I couldn’t resist buying this one too. It was $6.00, and I thought that was a pretty good deal.

I had seen baskets like this at antique stores, usually selling for $15-$20. I don’t really make purchases like this, thinking I’m going to sell it and get make a little extra money. If I buy something old or antique, it’s because I like the look and think it will add character to my home.

I can’t tell you how excited I was, when my Country Living magazine arrived this month.  See the basket on top of the fridge?

Here’s a closer view.

It’s my basket!  I wonder what’s hiding in that basket.

Happy decorating!

A New Outdoor Vignette

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I bought this broken table, last spring, for $3 at a garage sale.  I started sanding it because the finish was chipping off. Once I was done sanding the top, I gave it a few quick coats of spray paint.

Next came a few accessories.

The box was a barn treasure I found on my cousin’s farm.


The rooster planter was a treasure my mom found in her garage a few days ago.
I’m loving this new little area of my deck.

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New/Old Milk Bottles

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Every week we make a fruit and veggie run down the hill. Stocker Farms is one of my favorite spots of the Summer. Well, this week, I spotted a huge stack of milk bottle crates. There was a sign that said $14.99, but then crossed out. They were marked down to $9.99! I was kind of thinking that the price was for the crate only. To my surprise, ALL of the milk bottles were included! If you’ve ever seen milk bottles and crates like these at the antique stores, you know that this is a GREAT deal!

I love the way this looks on my front porch. I picked a crate with a little rustic red paint, to match my door. Sooner or later, I’ll probably use these bottles as gifts with fresh cut flowers in them. If you live close to me, you should probably run yourself right down to Stocker and pick up a few crates!
Happy shopping, decorating, and gift giving!
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My Latest Goodwill Find

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Don’t you just love this? I can’t tell you how excited I was when I saw this on the bottom shelf, with all of the glassware, at my local Goodwill. Here’s the best part… $2.99!!!

Note to self:
Stop by Goodwill more often this summer.

Happy thrifting!

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Goodwill Finds

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The conversation usually goes something like this:
Me: ” I have a bag to drop by Goodwill while we’re out.”
Hubby:  “Anything to get another bag out of my garage.”
Me: “While we’re there, you guys can drop off the bag in the back and I’ll just run in really quickly.”
Hubby:  “We don’t need other people’s crap that they didn’t want.”
Me: ” It’s not crap.  It’s treasures, waiting to be discovered!”
Here are today’s treasures.
You can find silver trays at thrift stores for about $1.99.  They are often passed by because they look filthy and disgusting.

The trays and plates I bought today were only $1.99.  What a steal!
 
This big bowl/tray was my splurge at $4.99.
 
I couldn’t wait to get home and polish them up.  I like the Tarn-X.  It really smells horrible, but the results are amazing.

They just sparkle now! 

You might be wondering why I would need four silver plates.  Well, what do you do when you need to take a dessert or appetizer to a party and you don’t want to lose your good platter, or you know you’ll need to leave it there?  If you’re like me, you run to the party store and buy something lame, plastic, and cheap.  Oh, $1.99 seems like a good price for a plastic platter.  So there you have it.  Instead of paying $1.99 and showing up with your lame plastic, you’ll show up with beautiful silver!

I do use silver around the house in my decor.  This was a platter that my hubby and I received for our wedding.  It has a few scratches, but I still love it.  It sits a little table in the kitchen.

This tiny bowl was a .99 Goodwill find.  It holds antique spools of thread in the living room.

This bowl was only .79, at Goodwill, because it had personalized engraving.  No one knows, once you put a few old pocket watches inside.

Hit your local thrift store and see what you can find.  There are treasures just waiting to be discovered.  Just don’t go to my Goodwill, because there aren’t any silver trays left!
Happy thrifting!

 

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