Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Got Glue? Epsom Salts UPDATE

Thrifters need good glue! Let’s face it….we’ve all brought home ‘treasures’ in need of a little repair.

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This looks like Santa’s workbench.

Santa needed his belt glued back on, the green bottom fell off the little house and some gold starry thingys fell apart when I opened the zip lock. (don’t you love the little birds that came in the bag?)

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I still think this skier looks like he has one bandaged foot. (not sure glue can fix that! heehee)

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This is my favorite ‘go to glue’! It wasn’t given to me, I bought it at the store. And I think you can find it most places you shop. Beacon 527 Multi Use Glue. So far I’ve used it on just about every surface, even seashells and it works great.

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I made the little glass jar with vintage pretties and Epsom salts. (and it will be easy to take apart and pack away…it’s NOT glued! lol)

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I’m joining Coastal Charm ,

Brenda at the Cozy Little House,

Make it Pretty Monday

and Inspire me Tuesday .

I was so pleased with the Epsom Salts I bought this year. (hubby actually found them at W*almart!) I don’t know how I ever did projects without them. They look like SNOW, perfect little granules of white!

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Do you have projects on your work table that wait and wait? I finished all mine today, just in time for NEXT Christmas!

Sunday, December 29, 2013

“Best of 2013”

I wanted to feature my most popular posts for the year and decided to use those with the most comments.

Everyone shared in my joy when I FINALLY got my bathroom painted blue! (I’ve been talking about it for years! lol)  And 78 of you were nice enough to leave sweet comments on “I’ve been feeling very BLUE”.

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The next one with almost as many comments is “I’ve Bragged Too Much GIVEAWAY” because I win a lot and then I brag about it! heehee! (so I had a giveaway, too)

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A Book and a Blanket got a lot of comments about HGTV.

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I shared a trip to the beach on this post, My Golden Life.

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And I show some of my thrift finds in The Unexpected.

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I’ll sneak the 6th most popular in, too. We all loved the Lego creations from the NC Arboretum, Some Assembly Required.

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I’m joining Beautiful Sunday,

Seasonal Sundays,

Mosaic Monday,

and Amaze me Monday!

Thanks to all of you for taking the time to visit my little blog and share in my fun. It’s been a great year and I’m looking forward to lots of happiness in the year to come. I’ll be right over to visit you, too!

*Happy Blogging*

Saturday, December 28, 2013

“The Good Luck Girls of Shipwreck Lane”

This was a fun book to read and it’s a debut novel by Kelly Harms.

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The characters ‘grow on you’! You wonder how you can relate to them at first but then you fall in love with them the more you read.

Ricki Jill featured a cook book with the recipe for Cherries Clafoutis and that’s one of the main dishes in this book.

Confidentially….this book will make you want to cook AND bake! (I’m using one of your photos Ricki Jill, hope that’s OK)

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I also read another Lee Child book, Worth Dying For but it was intense and had a disturbing ending. I still love these books with Jack Reacher as the main character but I need to read a few other authors and mix it up a bit before I return to more of these.

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I finally got my Goodreads updated for the year. I’ve read 37 books for 2013 and I’ll probably add at least one more before the new year!

Are you on Goodreads? Are you reading something good right now?

Join us for Literary Friday HERE !

Friday, December 27, 2013

We took a little holiday drive…

to Canaveral National Seashore.

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I hope your Christmas day was wonderful!

Ours was special, too!

(and our high was 74 degrees!)

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Look who tagged along!

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He was ready to surf! lol

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Hubby took this from the boardwalk and I didn’t alter these or even crop them…

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AMAZING!

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Wishing you a good day and happy memories of a wonderful holiday season!

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Merry Christmas from Florida!

We’re wishing you the very best holiday ever!

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Thanks to all of my blog buddies, family and friends that visit with me on my blog. It means the world to me! I appreciate each and every one of you!

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Blessing from our Lavender Cottage.

***Merry Christmas***

Monday, December 23, 2013

Holiday memories

I know we all have memories of our childhood and the older you get, the more you look back with fondness.

I’ve enjoyed seeing old photos of my blog friends at Christmas time so I looked through my scanned photos and found this one.

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So here I am….blond curls and all smiles, my shy sister, Delores in the center and my sweet cousin, Cindy on the other side of her. (they are only a few months apart in age…I’m older! lol)

I hope you are having a wonderful holiday week and taking time to think of the good old days of Christmases past.

*Merry Christmas*

Sunday, December 22, 2013

“Primitives”

Oh, how I love my ‘prims’!

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This year I’m decorating with vintage and prims and I’m loving it all!

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Two years ago I won a HUGE giveaway sponsored by Primitive and Folk Artists - a team of talented artists! Some of these items were made by these talented ladies, some I made and others I bought from Etsy and the thrift store.

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My giveaway post is HERE if you missed it.

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It’s so much fun to get all of my treasures out and decorate with prims.

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It helps to have my new bookcases to really show them off.

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The other side…

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And this year I won a primitive snowman from my girlfriend, Wendy at Ravenwood Whimzies.

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So he found a special place to sit and I provided a little ‘snow’ to make him feel at home.

I’m joining Beautiful Sunday,

Seasonal Sundays,

Mosaic Monday,

and Amaze me Monday!

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What is your style of decorating this year?

Happy weekend!

Friday, December 20, 2013

Historic Haile Homestead at Christmas

We drove out to this Florida cotton plantation last weekend for their holiday event.

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It was a beautiful day and the house was decked out in natural splendor.

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They used fresh greenery all through the house

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and every window had a beautiful wreath.

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The 6,200 sq.ft. home was completed in 1856 and the homestead was once a 1,500-acre Sea Island cotton plantation. (I know, it’s not what you expect in Florida!)

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All of the people there were volunteers and they were dressed in period dress

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and so helpful and friendly.

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We had a wonderful afternoon and learned a lot, too.

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My new banner was a photo taken there.

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And don’t you love these sweet stockings?

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They had 12 boys and 2 girls in this big family. (they lost one girl before they moved there)

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For more information about the Haile Homestead click HERE.

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Don’t you love to learn more about the history of our country and the area you live in?

I’m joining  Sundays in my City.

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*Happy Holidays*

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

More Vintage touches around the house!

Guess what! I found a Mrs. Claus to go with Santa.

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He’s still rolling his eyes but he looks happier now, doesn’t he?

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And look at this precious little Pinecone tree that our friend, John made for me.

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A quick photo of John and I at a Donut Drop In.
(hubby took the photo! thanks hubby!)

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Yesterday I went to the thrift stores and found these 2 angels.

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Oh, how I love them on the shelf way up high.

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(a little help from picmonkey)

I’m joining Thrifty Things Friday!

Also Katherine’s Corner,

Ivy and Elephants and

Jann for Share Your Cup

and Home Sweet Home.

I’m trying to be happy with my decorations and not add anything else but it’s hard to stop.

Are you enjoying your home this year?