Vintage Treasures

I popped in to my favorite vintage store recently and found some little treasures. 

Sometimes a girl needs some shopping therapy. 

Especially when the price is right!

Everything I found was under $10, most were just a couple of dollars. 

The first thing I found was this lovely milk glass vase. 

I do love pretty vases! 

I also found the sweet embroidered table runner. 

These pottery pieces caught my eye. 

The hand painted mug is from Greece. 

I thought it was just right for a nice cup of tea. 

The pottery crock has beautiful fish designs, each one different. 

It will be very useful to serve shrimp cocktail or display flowers for a seafood dinner. 

The blue glass fish compote with lid and spoon was my Dear Mother's. 

This sweet little basket stole my heart. 

Here it is with pansies on a pansy pot holder, also once my Mother's. 

I now have two! 

The start of a new collection? 

With dried lavender wands and potpourri. 

The scent is heavenly! 

I found these three glass bowls, the bottom one with a lovely blue tint and scalloped edges. 

I have a weakness for blue. 

With the addition of some ice cream glasses.......

I created a tiered serving dish. 

Perfect for strawberries! 

I also found this hand made pillow slip in perfect condition. 

I love the crocheted inserts. 

It is an unusual size and I will need to make a custom pillow, but it will look just right on a summer bed. 

Of course I had to buy some books! 

You can never have too many, I say!

Especially when they are as lovely as these. 

This one is from 1963. 

With hand painted illustrations on each page. 

This beautiful book has instructions for water color painting. 

Published in 1983, it has wonderful tablescapes. 

I also found two lovely books on Friendship.

Both published in the 1960's, they have sweet quotes and verses and pretty illustrations. 

Here is an example. 

Beautifully frame worthy. 

And of course, something to hold all those books! 

This will be a project, as it needs some updating. 

I am thinking cream or robin's egg blue with decoupaged roses on each end. 

A project for a rainy day! 

I found some sweet 'Little Golden Books' to add to my collection. 

Someday I hope to have grandchildren and it doesn't hurt to be ready! 

I just love the detailed illustrations in these beloved little books. 

I know there were days when I felt like 'The Little Red Hen' when I was raising a family! 

And how magical are these illustrations from 'Thumbelina' ? 

xx

I hope you have enjoyed my vintage treasures and are inspired to find some of your own. 

In this throwaway world it is always nice to rescue a few precious finds. 

Simple little pleasures for very little money. 

xx

I will leave you with a little verse from one of my books. 

'We cannot change yesterday, 

that is quite clear

Nor begin on tomorrow until it is here -

So all that is left for you and for me

Is to make today as sweet as can be.' 

Anonymous

I hope your day is as sweet as you are! 

xoxo

My Favorite Place

Now that the weather has warmed up, we have set out the umbrella's on the deck. 

And I have created my own special place to escape to when I want to take a little break. 

With gifts of beautiful hanging baskets and flowers for Mother's Day, I have my own little 'flower shop' to relax and have a morning cup of coffee. 

I've added my own personal touches. 

This little plant stand was purchased over the winter at the Funky Junk flea market. 

Can you believe it was only $10? 

This is what it looked like! 

But I saw the potential and with a little steel wool and some Rustoleum spray paint, 

it is as good as new. 

I had so much fun potting up the little flowers for my 'new' plant stand. 

The sweet polka dot pot of daisies was a gift from my dear daughter in law's Mom, Jayne. 

Here we are on Mother's Day at Gabe and Erica's (my son and daughter in law's) house where we were the honorees. 

I didn't lose a son, I gained another sweet family! 

The 'Herb' sign was a gift from my sweet sister in law, Donna. 

I love how it is made from a piece of vintage garden fencing with the ends curled up into hanging hooks. 

The wreath was made by me in about 10 minutes from a grapevine wreath wrapped with faux cherry blossom branches. I simply wired them in place using floral wire. 

My poor flowers suffered from heavy rainfall the day before and are a little droopy! 

I planted petunias and lobelia in each pot. 

The chippy white folding chair was something The Mr. had in his tool shed that I borrowed to place my wooden planter, a thrift shop find. I want to paint this chair and make a sweet cushion. But that will have to wait for another day. 

The birdhouse on the stand was a gift from my Dear Father. He loved tinkering in his workshop and his 5 daughters were the lucky recipients of his creativity. 

He wrapped it with woodland vines and used shingles that once graced the roof of his hand built home. 

From where I sit, I can see the blue ceramic bird bath that we put out every summer. 

A sweet gift from my youngest son, Dustin on a previous Mother's Day. 

I love coming out here in the morning with my coffee, surrounded by sweet tokens from my loved ones. 

The pansies that I planted earlier this Spring are putting on quite a show now. 

I also planted this white Clematis vine. 

My pansies look on curiously. 

Angels keep watch. 

These Monkey Face pansies are re blooming from last year's plants. 

I under planted them with miniature Iris bulbs yet to bloom. 

Pansies, pansies everywhere! You can't have too many! 

But very soon they will be fading and going to seed, so I have stocked up on flats of summer flowers. 

Petunias, Lobelia, Impatiens, Coleus. 

All waiting patiently in their flats for me to pot them up. 

Next weekend The Mr. will put up the canopy gazebo on the far end of the deck. Then I can put flowers down that end. It is very shady there from the Big Leaf Maple, so I will pot up Impatiens and Coleus, as they thrive in shade. 

Now that it is warmer, strange insects appear. 

Here a stick bug rests on the screen by the porch light. 

More Iris await bloom time. 

As Mt. Rainier peeks above the clouds. 

xoxo

Do you have a special place of your own to relax? 

What kinds of flowers are you planting this spring?