{Sweet Finds}

Tis' the season for garage sales and antiquing! We're only one week into June and yet we've already scored some great deals over the past few weeks! 

 Recently painted and re-covered bench $10
Our first garage sale Saturday of the season left us with this lovely addition to our bedroom! I even thought Chris was going to need to haggle for a deal, but when it was marked at such a great price, we decided to snag it as priced.

Antique kitchen scale $24
Exactly the piece I've been looking for to add some vintage flair to our breakfast nook. Found at a cute vintage shop inside a local nursery.

Over-sized Mason jar $9.96
After borrowing one just like it from a friend for my baby shower, I was determined to get my own awesomely large Ball mason jar! After scouring Ebay and finding a few with outrageous shipping, my mom stumbled upon this one at an unlikely place: Walmart!  Who knew? While not exactly a garage sale or antique find, it's equally thrilling to happen upon that exact item you've been dying to find!

How about you, find any awesome deals lately? I love hearing about great finds!

Crazy for Vintage

Remember me sharing about my obsession love for vintage Pyrex? In particular, their Crazy Daisy design? I first shared my amazing garage sale steals and then how I completed my set of mixing bowls at the Alameda flea market, but I was never able to track down a complete (and affordable) set of the charming coffee mugs.

Until this morning, that is! Call it an impulse buy or love for a great deal, but I snagged a set of four mugs in mint condition for only $14 (that includes shipping) on Etsy! I can't wait to receive them next week. And I can know move on to searching for other sweet finds as my Crazy Daisy collection is finally complete!

image/Gingersgirl

Glimpses of a Wonderful Weekend...

Saturday morning we took a trip to our local farmers market. This is, by the way, a huge reason I love this time of year! We got stocked up on yummy produce and other goods while getting a good dose of Vitamin D, gotta love that sunshine!


After a trip to the store for the other necessities we needed and a few sweaty hours of yoga, I made one of the most amazing desserts of all time! This honestly deserves a post all its own. So I will shy away from saying much more than this Coconut Lime Buttermilk cake was an incredible accompaniment to a delicious dinner with the Barkers Saturday night!


Sunday morning I was up at 4:30 to get ready for the Alameda Antique Fair! My Mom picked me up, we grabbed a coffee at Starbucks and headed to the Bay. It was a wonderful, mostly overcast day. We roamed around for nearly five hours and I'm sure, didn't even see two-thirds of the vendors. But we did bring home some great loot!

I snagged a bag of hand picked buttons for only $5, along with the two sweet cotton drawstring bags you see in the background!


Some pink vintage earrings and lovely heart shaped glass necklace.


This fun and quirky rooster pot holder.


And I was able to complete my Pyrex Crazy Daisy mixing bowl collection, which made my whole day!!!


I also bought some vintage childrens books (for our future nursery!) and two adorable vintage serving trays. It was such a fun experience!

And I got to end the weekend by having coffee with Parris Reed!

With the exception of sore abs and a minor sunburn, it was a perfectly delightful weekend!

My Vintage Obsession

During the summer months my family loves to garage sale! And now that Chris and I are settled nicely into our home, we aren't usually looking for anything in particular, just browsing. This was the case last summer, while going through a messy table of kitchen stuff I came across a green Pyrex mixing bowl that I instantly fell in love with. It was the cutest shade of green with a little white daisy pattern and had an adorable retro flair. My Mom actually laughed at me because apparently her Mom or grandma had the exact same mixing bowls and she was never really in to them.

Well, at $.50 I knew I was getting a great deal and was pleased when it suited my kitchen perfectly! A few weeks later I came across this white casserole dish with the very same daisy pattern, except the pattern was green. It felt like I had struck gold finding a matching piece, and for only $.25 (pictured below)!


Perfectly content with my two Pyrex throwbacks (which I use all the time!), I was curious to see if Etsy carried any of this pattern in their vintage section. After typing in "green Pyrex" and having 10+ pages pop up, I was awakened to a whole new world where my garage sale finds were worth something! I just knew they were worth more than the $.75 I paid for both pieces!

Of course now I am obsessed with a few pieces that I am determined to find this summer!

For instance, these coffee cups!

And I would love to find a set of these mixing bowls! The one I have has a spout, which is perfect for scrambling eggs. But these would also be ideal for all my baking needs!

I can't wait for garage sale season because really, finding them unexpectedly is so much more fun than buying them online (and cheaper)!

Friday Favorites

Today is a bitter-sweet ending to the week. Mostly because it will be the last day I am working the routine 8-5 shift. That's right, starting on Monday, my time sheet will say I started at 6AM!!! It's crazy, but I am super excited! I already have my new afternoon workout schedule planned and I can't wait:) And I am almost giddy about making next weeks dinner menu, as I will actually be able to surprise my Love with what's on the dinner table! I will admit, it will be lonely driving to work by myself:( But it's okay, this morning I am getting treated to coffee!

Alright, it's time for my favorites of the week!

*Thunder Storms ~ The weather has taken a turn on the cooler side this week and even brought in a fantastic thunder storm! Chris and I are suckers for a good lightning show. This may be the biggest thing we miss about Texas! A short while after getting home Wednesday night the clouds started rolling in and lightning was visible from a distance. Chris, in all his excitement, said we were driving to our favorite park to watch the storm come in. It was beyond beautiful and, well, a little romantic;)

*Great Vintage Pieces ~ Lately, I am a fanatic for one-of-a-kind pieces! This week I stumbled upon some awesome blogs, notably The Tattered House. It's a store in Roseville that sells beautiful vintage and antique items. I plan on checking it out this Saturday. Honestly, I've been eying this gorgeous dresser I found on their website gallery:) Cant wait!!

*Taken ~ Last night we rented it and all I can say is, "Go to Red Box today!". I thought it had the perfect combination of action, emotional draw and a good ending:)


*Cookies with a Twist ~ one of my favorite go-to recipes is the Oat, Fruit and Nut Cookies from the Better Homes and Garden's Cookbook Pink Limited Edition. They are so delicious and hearty, but we actually just ran out of dried fruit, so I opted to make them with just sliced almonds and top them with a piece of Ghirardelli dark chocolate. The hint of sweet was just enough to make them the perfect after dinner treat!


*Starbucks Reusable Cold Cup ~ I am in love with this thing! See, I'm a devoted "bring my own mug" kind of gal, but when the weather turns warm and my drink switches to an iced unsweetened green tea I'm right back to the ole' plastic cups:( To my great joy, we walked in a few weeks ago and came across two Starbucks employees who were getting ready to put them out on display for the morning. Noticing our enthusiasm, the nice girls let us buy them early because they said the cups usually sell out within a few hours! Thank you nice SB employees!! We are now the envy of many (even some baristas who didn't snag one) when we bust out our cold cups:)


Have a lovely weekend!

The Tin Thimble

I just had one of the best kind of Saturday afternoons and I am newly inspired!! You see, my Mom found these great, never used margarita and martini glasses from Pottery barn on Craig's list and found out the lady selling them owns, with her Mom, a cute little sewing shop called The Tin Thimble (here's a link to their blog). Naturally, she invited me along to pick them up, knowing this is right up our ally! From seeing the fantastic, vintage inspired stuff they make, I am inspired to learn to sew:) When I was little, my grandma tried to teach me but I was never really too interested, but now that I am learning all of the fabulous things I can make myself (and save money buying) I want to learn. We definitely have the crafty gene in our blood:) I bought this adorable handkerchief (and yes, I plan on using it for traditional purposes!) at the Tin Thimble!



We were told by the lady about some other places we should stop by around the cute little town of Newcastle. We had lunch and bought some local produce at the Newcastle Produce Market. Learning while we were there that they also hold cooking/technique classes. I plan on attending the cupcake and sushi class! Oh, these are two different classes:) And finally we stopped by a vintage second hand shop where I picked up some past issues of Country Living for $.25. They actually aren't old at all, one of them is the June 2009 issue! I never thought it was my kind of magazine, but as I started flipping through it I realized it is full of DIY projects, great recipes and encouragement about living green and shopping locally. I am happy my magazine subscriptions are just up, as I may add Country Living to my monthly reads:)

Okay, I'm off to get ready for Darrell's birthday party! Enjoy this glorious Saturday!