Buy now, no regrets later...

Read a sign at Todd's Farm this past weekend.   I wish I had followed it.  There were two Witney Point wool blankets, a mint green and pink one, in excellent condition.  I saw them as soon as we drove in and knew I had to stop to  see how much they were.   The woman was selling them for $125 for the pair (she wouldn't split them up, "they belong together" as she put it).   My husband didn't quite understand why I was so obsessed with the blankets and didn't think it was worth spending the money.   Until later when I was showing him Witney Point blankets online for $150-200 a piece.   By the time we were ready to leave I had convinced him we should buy them... and sadly they had sold.    So here I sit regretting not buying the blankets.

Here is the same pink one for sale on ebay...sigh.

The day wasn't completely filled with regrets.  We did find buy a few items inspired by a bird bath we bought at a craft fair over the weekend.  Here is a little preview of our project.    

Nick had bought some vintage car advertisements from LIFE and LOOK magazine as well as a very cool Christmas themed Master Charge ad.

We also bought an oil painting by an artist named Jacallo, all I can find on him is that he was a German Expressionist painter.   I loved it and my husband thought it was "cool".  He told me that it reminded him of M. Night Shyamalan's The Village, which I'm not sure is good or bad.  Its a little dark but I really like the colors in it and the subject matter.  We saw it originally the day before but decided to think about it.  Luckily it was still there today (I really need to learn my lesson to "buy now").   We might hang it in our foyer or in the hallway heading into the "man cave". 

Last Two Chairs

We finally found 2 more chairs for our new dining room table about a month ago.  My husband found them on the side of the road for free on his ride home from work.   Although they do not match the style of the other 4 chairs they are a similar size.  We also liked how they were a bit more modern to off set the ornate style of the other 4 chairs.

We knew we didn't want to paint them blue like the others.  We thought about yellow however I thought I was starting to copy the Country Living cover a bit too much!  Instead we went with an almost hunter green color (its darker shade than it looks in the pictures.  We are upholstering the seats in the same striped fabric as the blue chairs.  Pictures of the whole table set up with the chairs will be coming soon.

On another note... our garage is starting to look a bit scary with all our projects we have going, eek!  Definitely need to tackle that before fall!

Snug as a bug in a rug...

Now that we have finally found 6 chairs for our new table and sold the old one the search is on for a new rug.   The current one we bought at Target 3 1/2 years ago and its starting to show its wear (rugs don't tend to do well with two shedding dogs).    I would really like to get a oval braided rug and I found a few that I love from LLBean fairly inexpensive (as far as rugs go).

 Blue Meadow Chenille rug 5x8 $299

This is my favorite one but my husband isn't crazy about it.

Tarragon Chenille rug 5x8 $299

The colors would work but its almost too pastel colored.

Navy/Green wool rug 4x6 $329

My husband and I both love this one and the colors so I think it is the winner.   Plus it is 100% wool and sound like it will be very durable and stain resistant especially having our two dogs.

Sunday Morning Antiquing - July 15th

Last Sunday we went over to Todd Farm, in hopes of finding two more dining room chairs.   We left empty handed as far as chairs but did find this mint green shabby chic shelf with two ornate cast iron brackets.   I actually found the same brackets on ebay for five times what we paid for the shelf so I think I got a pretty good deal.

After Todd Farm we stopped at another nearby flea market/ antique store.  One of the vendors was having a 40% moving sale in the antique store so we scored two great finds.    We also saw a chair there that would have been perfect for our dining room table, it almost matched the style of the other chairs we have purchased - plus it was only $8 on sale!  Unfortunately, there was only one not two so we passed.   

My husband really loved this metal and glass lantern.  Not sure where we can put it yet, we were thinking of taking the outdoors in and hanging it in our guest bedroom.

Lastly, we purchased this sweet little rocking horse wooden hanging.  I think it would be so charming in a nursery someday.  I was even thinking you could paint the baby's name on it.

Dining Room chairs - Before and After

Now that we have the four chairs spray painted for our new dining room table, we have been looking for fabric to reupholster the seats with.   The chairs originally had a stained and worn beige and what I would call "dusty" rose color floral pattern fabric, definitely not pretty.

We narrowed down to our three favorites (all from JoAnn Fabrics):


Waverly Carino / Buttercup - Definitely one of my favorites.  It also comes in blue which would work well with two yellow end chairs.  However it might be a bit too much of a mustard yellow. 

Waverly Porch Swinger / Chambray - The stripe is classic,  love how it's called Porch Swinger.  The blue matches almost perfectly to the chair.

Waverly Language Of The Garden Ballroom Plaid - I really like the plaid but the blues look a bit off and it might be slightly a too country kitsch for my taste.

We ended up going with a pattern very similar to Waverly's Porch Swinger and we love it. 

We spent yesterday upholstering two of the four chairs (one of the wooden seats is cracked so we need the 3rd chair as a sample to trace a new seat seat).   I have never upholstered anything in my life so it definitely was an newbies's attempt.  Not perfect but I think overall a vast improvement to how the chairs looked before.   The fabric was exactly what we were looking for and just so happens to almost match the fabric on the Country Living cover that was my inspiration!

Four Chairs Down... Two More to Go.

Ever since we found the white distressed dining room table at Brimfield we have been on the hunt for chairs.   A few weeks ago as my husband was returning from a day of fishing in Newburyport when he spotted 4 vintage chairs at a yard sale.  The chairs were exactly what we were looking for.   They were not too ornate or to large (we have a very small dining room).   The best part was the claw and ball front legs!

I had just received my June issue of Country Living and the cover image became our inspiration.   We wanted to bring some color into the room so we decided to go with a slate blue similar to the one on the cover.   We still need to find two end chairs, which we plan on spray painting yellow.    I have also been looking at fabric to reupholster.    

via Country Living

The table we purchased at Brimfield.

Weekend Laundry and Cooking

A few weeks ago I went home to see my parents for Father's Day weekend.    My mom and I of course had to do some shopping.   She took me to this adorable consignment store in town.  The whole store is set up as if it was a living room/ dining room with items laid out on coffee tables and end tables. There were couches with pillows and blankets and hutches filled with dishes and vases.   It was so fun to look around because everything almost blended in so you wanted to make sure you didn't miss anything.

As soon as I saw this antique laundry drying rack I loved it.    I actually wasn't quite sure at first what it was.  It was in excellent condition and has this very ornate detail on the hinge and brass caps at the end of each wood rod.    I have looked on ebay and esty and found similar ones that were not as ornate or in as good of shape.   I'm thinking of putting it in my laundry room once we refinish it or my dad suggested it would look nice in our bathroom.

The drying rack is stamped with a patent date of Sept. 12 1871.     I looked into the patent further,  it was filled by Osgood Plummer of Worchester, Mass. as an improvement to the towel rack.    Below is the patent drawing and description.  

On our way out I noticed this mint green enamel dutch oven and I just had to have it as well.   My mom mentioned it looked like something either a relative on my dad or her side had but she couldn't remember who.    We soon got the answer when I got back to my parent's house, where above their cabinets was a tea kettle from the same maker in blue from my father's grandmother.   My dad said I could have the tea kettle since it went with the dutch oven.     I researched a bit more and found both are Dru Holland enamelware, made in Holland.    The company went out of business in the 1970's.    Yellow Dru Holland is the oldest, from the 1930's, and considered more rare.   The blue is from the 1950's.    I'm guessing the mint green is from the 1940's or 60's but haven't been able to confirm yet.   I will definitely have to make a trip back to the store next time I am in town.  

 

Roses of June

Today is my 30th birthday!  My husband and I took the day off and got a couples massage and went out to dinner.   Originally, my husband had planned a sunset hot air balloon ride, which would have been amazing if it had not rained!  We rescheduled for July, I can't wait!

I also shared a birthday month with my late Grandmother.   She passed down to me two "June" items, a beautiful Royal Albert china teacup and saucer, and a rose painted on a piece of slate.   Both feature the flower of the month, roses (which also happen to my favorite flower - next to lilacs and peonies).

A few of the roses in my garden.   

"I wonder what it would be like to live in a world where it was always June."

-  L. M. Montgomery

Salvation Army Desk - Before and After

A few months ago we bought a desk for only $39 at a Salvation Army store.   We have finally finished sanding and staining the desk.   The stain is Misson Oak by Minxax and we love how the darker finish makes the desk look more modern.

We added the porcelain knobs we bought at Brimfield!   We are debating keeping it (we really liked how it came out) or selling it.