Today is the last day to join the Blog Swap, so sign up NOW.  A lot of people have signed up, so it should be tons of fun.  I will assign partners tomorrow.

My dishwasher stopped working two days ago, so I decided to look on craigslist to see if there were any good deals on a dishwashers.  I found a good one that had been in a model home and only used a couple of times.  So, the kids and I hopped in the car yesterday and drove the 30 minutes to where the dishwasher was.  It looks great, so I bought it and took it home.  Chad gets it installed after making a trip to Home Depot to get a connector for the hose.  He turned it on and it starts the wash cycle and it NEVER stops.  So he tried all these different things to get it to work properly.  Three hours later and he says it is not working.  AHHHHHHHH.   He called the man I bought it from and tells him the whole story.  Basically I am waiting for him to call me after he talks to his repairman to see if there is an easy way to fix it.  If there isn’t we have to take the dishwasher back so we can get our money back!  AND we will still have to go get another one, sheesh!

UGGG, I am currently taking a break from HAND washing a million dishes.  Not only was the whole dishwasher full, but the sink and then the counter from last nights dishes, me not washing them thinking that I would have a dishwasher to wash them in.  Gwen is patiently waiting for me to make a dent in the dish mess so we can make cookies.

Here are the racks from my old dishwasher, sitting on the kitchen floor.  Notice my husband is only allowed one sports item, his Rams mug bottom right.  He actually has two and we are not allowed to use them.  I used one today due to the dish situation:)

I had hoped to get some new items in the shoppe and get some projects done the last two days, but the stupid dishwasher is throwing a wrench in that plan.

It’s almost the weekend:)

XOXO Jen

The week long giveaway contest was fun, it was hard to come up with that many questions.  So the winner is………………………………….. Shara,  CONGRATS!!!!!  Drop me an email with your address and what you would like out of the shoppe!

Yesterday, we took Gabby to her first camp, she will be gone until Friday, I miss her all ready.  I hope she doesn’t get homesick:(  Gwen went to the pool with the neighbors, so it is just the little dude and me.  I have a list a mile long of things I need to get done this week, so todays post is going to be short so I can get started on my list!  Here are some pics from yesterday.

I had to take a photo of Gab and her friend Emily in their cabin.  It is great that little dude is trying to get Gabby to pick him up, he loves her so much and always wants her to hold him:)

It was a little over a two hour drive, so on the way back we saw a sign for an old covered bridge.  We wanted to see the bridge and let the kidos stretch and get their wiggles out.  This is one of the last covered bridges left in NC.

We were walking back to the car from the bridge.

Happy Monday!

XOXO

Jen

I thought I could blog ever day this week, nope. I missed yesterday. Oh well:) I did get out to a sale on Friday and two estate sales on Sat. I got some good stuff, so excited to show you.

These are the two items I got Friday.  Graham and I went to the sale which started at 1pm around 2:30.  It was a little old couple down sizing.  They didn’t have much good stuff left, apparently people started showing up at 9am. Sheesh the sale didn’t even start till 1pm.  I found the frame in a box under the table, I love it because it is art deco and has roses on it.  The chair had a tag on it that said 1937, and the little man said” do you want to know how I know how old it is?”  Yes please I said.  “It was mine when I was a baby.”  I wasn’t going to get it because I didn’t really need another little chair.  However, Graham was in love with it and fell apart when I put it back.  I bought it and the man said” I am so happy this chair is going to people who will hand it down from generation to generation.”  He was so cute about it. It will be a fun story to tell Graham when he is older.

Here is a close up of the frame,I haven’t even read the thing inside, just loved the frame.

Here are most of the goodies I got at the two sales on Saturday. I love the sheets (bottom left) they have huge pink roses on them.  Yep, I got another jewelry box, I will give it to one of the girls.  Under the strawberry apron(top right) there is a down pillow, I got two of them.  They are in perfect condition, they spent the day airing on the clothes line.  Chad wants me to wash them just in case, even though they look perfect.  He is afraid of coodies:)  White ball fringe in the middle was FREEE, YIPPE!!!  The aqua chopper in the middle back actually works, Chad was might impressed.

I love the pink and green crocheted (I THINK) blanket, it is so detailed.  The problem with it is… IT is super scratchy.  Both of these smell like old moth balls.  The pink and green one is in the washer and the very fragile quilt is on the clothes line.  I just can’t leave a cheap quilt behind.

This little his towel was in a box with kitchen stuff, but it is in perfect shape.

Don’t you just LOVE vintage aprons, especially with strawberries on them!!!

Darling vintage straw bag, this will be going into the shoppe this week.

Two more vintage books, the one on the left, the lookies has a lot of cute graphics.  The one on the right is a French course book. I gave it to Chad to read because he has been wanting to learn French.  He is the Canadian sales manager and he thinks it would help with sales in the French territories.  He actually started to read it last night.  It is from 1932.

I got all of these for a quarter. The ornaments are really old and fragile.  Not sure what I am going to do with the light bulbs, maybe they will fit in a strand of lights.

I got these vintage patterns, not sure if all the pieces are there. If not they would be great for collage.

These are from the 50’s are they not sooooo cute!  I may frame them.  I would love one of the dresses and somewhere to wear them.

This table cloth is actually pale pink withe lilly of the valleys on it.  It is in PERFECT shape.  I love it, especially for a DOLLAR!!!

This next one is my FAVORITE  find!!!!!!

I got this coat for 10$, OMG I love it.  It fits perfectly, and the fur around the collar is REAL.  I know there are a lot of people who are against fur, and I don’t like the idea of killing helpless animals.  But this one was all ready made into a coat, so I am going to enjoy it. It is gray wool and lined with pink satiny lining.  I can’t wait for winter so I can wear it. Yes, I am going to wear it.  Maybe even just to go to the grocery store when it is cold.  The light behind me is making my hair look redish and hubby cut off my feet, so here is another picture with poor lighting, but I have feet. It is not the best photo of me, but it shows the coat.

Now, for the final giveaway question….

What is my favorite color?

All answers must be received by midnight EST Tonight.  Then I will tally up the scores and announce the winner tomorrow!

XOXO Jen

Originally I was going to address all the green living, organic, anti ageing stuff I have been thinking about, but there are other more exciting things to write about.

The most exciting thing of the day is …… I got accepted as a seller of the soon to be open lollishops. Sadie Lou Who is the mastermind behind this storefront. It is a great idea and I know there are going to be some really wonderful sellers involved. If you think you would like to be a seller there is an application on the lollishops blog.

Second exciting thing is my giveaway is almost over and it is a close race. Only three more questions to go. If you are new to the contest, see Monday’s post for the rules.

Today’s question is………………………………………. What do I do every night before going to sleep?

The answer is something specific! Good Luck~

Third exciting thing is: The “Blog Swap” I am hosting.  Sign ups are open until July 31st, just post a comment letting me know you want to participate.  Here is a photo you can use if you are participating in the blog swap.

Fourth exciting thing is: my Hubby is getting home tonight after being gone all week.

Fifth exciting this is:  My family from CA will be here in 12 days.  Actually it is only my parents and grandparents, I am so sad my sis, brother in law and nephew can’t come:(  We are going to the beach for a week while they are here.

Sixth exciting thing is:  Gabby is going to summer camp for the first time on Sunday for a 5 days.  I will miss her, she is such a big help.

I think that is it for exciting things today,  seven is a lot of things to be excited about. Happy Friday!!!

XOXO Jen

I decided I wanted to host a swap, so her goes. Do you want to generate more traffic to your blog and meet new bloggers along the way? Then you need to participate in my “Blog Swap”. I will keep sign ups open until the 31st and assign partners on the first.

THE RULES:

1. Please leave your email and blog address in a comment on this post.
2. Mention on your blog that you are participating in this swap, so others can join as well.
3. Each person will receive three blog partners.
4. You must visit your partners blog, check it out really well and leave a thought full comment.
5. Once you receive a comment you may want to visit their blog as well as they are different than your partners you visit. Optional but nice:)
6. Please visit your partners site with in four days.
7. HAVE FUN!!

If you have any questions please drop me an email. I will be adding a picture we can use for this BLOG SWAP later!

If you are here for the giveaway contest, and are new to the game, check Monday’s post for the RULES. The contest is a close one.

The question today is:What type of crafts do I do and which one do I do most often?

A point for each right answer:)

Good Luck!

XOXO Jen

I have a bunch of things floating around in my head that I want to write about, but I am not really in the mood at the moment.  So this is going to be a super short post.  The things I would like to address are green living, organic foods, the Glycemic index and now after watching Oprah, how to slow the aging process.  So many things to think about.

For now I am going to post the giveaway question:  What is the item I have most of in my closet?

There are two possible correct answers for this question and I will accept either.  I tried to make this one a little tougher.  See Monday’s post for the rules for the giveaway.  If you win you get to pick up to 20$ in merchandise from the Shoppe.  Now I am going to go sew!

XOXO jen

Every day I am amazed at the amount of talented women bloggers. I discover new sites each day and wonder how on earth I will keep up with all these sites. I spend a bunch of time on line as it is and as I discover new sites I think “Yikes, more time online.”   I have been swapping and keeping up with Carrie’s blog and now she and a friend have created a blog called Handmade Holidays through the year.  They had a challenge to make a Christmas binder to get organized ahead of time.  I thought it sounded like a good idea, so I made one. 

Here is the binder before.  I got it at Target on clearance, so it was super cheap. But the best part is it is made from recycled materials.

Now it is super cute. Tomorrow I am going to make the dividers cute and fill in the sections.

Close up.

Here are some pictures of the latest swap I just did.

I knitted this dish cloth for my partner in a “flora and fauna swap”.  Heidi at spiritual knitter posted a picture of the one she made and the site for the pattern, so I decided I too must make one. This was one of the knitted items I finished last week but didn’t want to post a picture until my partner received it.

This is the whole package I sent my partner.

These are all the lovely goodies I received from the above mentioned Carrie.  Isn’t it all so pretty, I love love love it.

I have an idea for a swap I am going to host here on the blog in the next few days, so stay tuned.

Giveaway Part 3.  See giveaway rules HERE.  The question for today is…….When did I stat Blogging?

Good Luck!

XOXO Jen

I am starting off with a little gripe session. Today, Graham and I went to Walmart, which I HATE!!!!!!!!!!!!! I didn’t hate it as much when we lived in Napa, because the Walmart there was super close to my house, it wasn’t a super Walmart, It was clean, the people were not too creepy and I did not feel lost in it. The Wal mart here is close to my house, but it is a SUPER walmart and it is sooo big I feel like I may never make it out of the store. I only went because they were having a super sale on school supplies. I got the super sale school supplies and some fruit and headed to the check out. It is finally my turn and I let the cashier know I brought my own bags. She gives me a look and says OK. So, I set my bags up on their plastic bag turney thing and she starts scanning my merchandise. Instead of sticking it in my bags, she sets it on top of the turney thing. I am wondering if she expects me to bag it since I brought my own bags. Finally, there was no more room on top of the turney thing and she looks at me and says” I don’t know what you want me to do with this or if there is some special way you want these in your bags?” She was not nice about it either. I said”I just want the stuff in the bags.” Still no move on her part to bag it. Apparently I am supose to bag my own stuff since God forbid I want to help the planet and brought my own bags. Yes, I bagged it myself. Sheesh!! What do they get paid for at that place???

Today I added these to the store. 1 Set of cloth napkins. I have 3 more sets to add in different colors, just need to get them together and photographed.

I also added these packs of vintage Flinch Cards. There are two different styles, these are from the 30’s and the other set is from 1913. Each bundle contains the numbers 1-15.

This is the other type of Flinch Card. Doesn’t it look cute with the vintage French Flash Card.

You can also find these cute vintage S&P shakers, I will be adding these in the AM, my eyes are bugging out! I also added the cute red cherry trays from yesterdays post.

Onto the giveaway. It has been fun to read everyone’s responses to my question. If you want and extra point you can mention the giveaway on your blog, just let me know that you did it. Here are the rules again.

US residents only. Answer a question each day and get a point for correct answers, the person with the most correct answers will get to pick out 20$ or less of merchandise from the Shoppe. You can either email me the answers or leave them in the comment section. Drum Roll………….

Todays question is: How many kids do I have, what are their names and ages?

You will get a point for each part of the question, so potential of 3 points!

Good Luck!

XOXO Jen

Lately the yard sale scene has been not so good. Last weekend I went to a church sale, thinking there might be something FAB to be had. It was a terrible sale, but I did end up with two Items. Everything else was pure crap, there was a lot of it too.

I did get this cute valance, that is such pretty colors. I am not sure where I am going to hang it, but it is clean and waiting to be pressed. I am working on window treatments this week, I did hang one in my laundry room. Which made me realize how much nicer it looks and that I need to get my rear in gear on the rest of the house. Especially the kitchen because the sun beats in the windows in the am and it gets uncomfortable in there. Grahams room is a priority because he can see out one window from his bed which distracts him from napping. Anyhoo, I got off track. The other item I got is the cute vintage white bowl. It is a great size, I have all ready used it a couple of times.

I Only went to one sale yesterday, it was an estate sale. I arrived at 11:15 and started shopping around. As I was shopping, I overheard the ladies running it talking to another customer. They were telling her they were closing down at 11:30 for a half hour and then everything will be 1/2 off when they re-open. So I took the items in my hand and stashed them in a corner and went and stood outside in line. I was 4th in line to get back in. There I stood for 30 minutes with a bunch of other crazy people. I thought for sure there was no way I would get everything I had scoped out while inside the first time. They opened the doors at 12 exactly and frantically we all entered. I knew what I wanted so I headed straight for the dinning room, the bedroom where I stashed my stuff. I picked up this badminton set because it was only $2.50 and we had just played badminton the other night, without a net. My handy hubby put new grip tape on the rackets and they are like new.

Here are all the goodies I got other than the badminton set and a shelf I will show later in the post. Before they closed I had the red train case, the shoe rack, the sheet music, the wicker purse, the two hats, red appetizer trays and the bride and groom. I know that is most of the stuff, but the other items are what I really wanted but only at the half price.

This is my FAVORITE item, It was the item I stopped off at the dinning room for. I have ALWAYS wanted one of these, but they are usually 30-100$ which I am not willing to pay. So, I usually just drool over them and wish they were less expensive. The only reason I got it was because it was half price which made it $17.50, which is still a lot for a knick Knack, but way cheaper than I have ever seen one. She is in EXCELLENT shape, she still has her earrings and necklace, there are no chips or cracks. She is currently in my living room, I may have to move her to a room I use more so I can enjoy her.

This is my second favorite item, I spied it before I got in line and threw it under some other blankets so no one else would get to it first. It is a twin size, so I think I will turn it into some lovely pillows. I would not have bought this one if I didn’t get it for half price.

I love this old bride and groom, they are so old an fragile. I have them sitting on the pie safe in my kitchen right now as our anniversary is tomorrow. The big bummer is hubby leaves tomorrow for Idaho:( We celebrated today by going out to sushi for lunch, YUMMY!!!

I love this train case and it is more red in person, I may alter it or I may use it for storage. It needs a good cleaning, it was in the garage.

Here is the shelf I got. i am planning on painting it and using it for storage in the sewing room. chad promised Gwen she could help paint, however he has been painting my kitchen cabinets and I don’t think that is a great job for her. I am going to let her help me with this shelf and some shutters for the bathroom.

I love this shoe rack and the only thing that would make it better is if the decals were pink:) I got it for a buck. It is in my closet as we speak.

I love this vintage wicker purse, it is missing the flap that latches it closed. I would like to use it, it may just end up being storage, or I may just use it, who knows.

I could not leave these vintage appetizer trays, they are super cute. They will be in the store soon. I would love to keep them, because I love red and cherries, but that would cause me to add another color to the kitchen and a whole bunch more to collect.

I also got these two adorable vintage books to add to my collection. The one on the left is from 1946 and the one on the right is from 1914, it is not in as good of shape.

The book on the left is the one I got yesterday and the one on the right I got last year in Napa. They were both published by the same company. I love the illustrations on the covers of these, I would love to find more. The one on the left is Alice in wonderland and the one on the right is Little Women and the copywrite in 1947.

The bindings of these lovely books! Maybe someday I will read some of these great old books I keep buying.

Now for what you have been waiting for… the giveaway. I am going to do this one different than the last one. Each day this week I am going to post a question and who ever gets the most answers right will win. The winner will be announced next Monday July 28th. The winner will get to choose an item or items totaling 20$ or less from the Shoppe.  Please post answers in the comment section or email them to me.  This contest is open to US residents only, SORRY:(

Today’s question is: How long have I lived in North Carolina?

Good Luck!

XOXO Jen

I know I said there was going to be a giveaway yesterday, but there has been some technical difficulties with the site I needed to get straightened out.  The server people said they are fixed so we shall see.  Please let me know if you encounter any problems with the site, it will really help me to know so I can let the people know right away.  The giveaway will be this weekend, I am still gathering things for it.

Gabby and I just did tap and ballet in the basement, it was great to dance again. However not quite the same without all our teachers and class mates.  The girls and I can’t wait to get back to a studio, hopefully it will not be too much longer.

Yes another hideous post without pictures, sorry.  Jen