PLATES II

The other day I blogged about some painted plates I bought. I also collect blue-and-white plates. I've decided to hang them in my blue guest room. The problem is, I don't want to just hang up anything. So I'm accumulating them and when I get a few more, then I'll decide what to hang. (I need to take a picture of those I've already hung.)

In the meantime, I have them sitting on top of the dresser. I love this room because it faces south, and gets the sun for a good portion of the day (in the summer, at least). So even though it's blue, it always looks cheerful.

All these plates were yard sale finds, and I don't think any of them cost more than $1. (And I think the white cotton dresser scarf was a quarter. There are pretty things out there if you're willing to look--and have a good supply of Oxyclean!) I love the little butter pat and now I'm sorry I didn't take a closers picture of it. (One of these days.) And the dresser jar is Avon. I tend to fill them with earrings. (Maybe I should just buy a jewelry box, huh?)

I'm quite fond of the angels plate. Aren't they sweet? Sadly, it has a little chip on the bottom, but I so liked the graphic that I'm willing to over look it. I have no idea how old the plate is, but I'm willing to bet it's nearing the century mark. It looks like a one-of-a-kind sort of thing, for I can't imagine there being a set and actually eating off something like this.

What do you think?

PAINTED PLATES

The garage/tag sales are just starting up in my neck of the woods. This year I've decided to go after roses -- in various forms.

Last week, I went to a great sale that I've been to many times. They always have pretty things. I'm still kicking myself for not buying a gorgeous chrome tea caddy, but I did pick up three very pretty, hand-painted plates. The first one has an Austria mark. It looks like it's seen some hard use (as evidenced by the worn gold rim), but I like the delicate little pink roses so much, that I decided to buy it anyway. (Okay, I admit it--I like to rescue things. This little plate was like a horse ridden hard and put away wet. It needs some love and TLC for the rest of it its life.)

The second plate has some kind of orange flower. I'm not botanist, so I just figured it was pretty and bought it anyway. This one is marked Bavaria.

The last was of these old roses. This was marked England. I love that they all come from different countries. And who knows how old they are.

The beauty of these plates is they don't cost much. The big one was $1.50 and the other two were only $1 each.

I don't know exactly what I'm going to do with all these plates, yet. I think I need to get a bigger collection before I decide if I should hang them or just let them sit on easels. Time will tell.

I have NOT disappeared

...I just haven't done anything blog worthy.

Okay, I went to only my third of fourth garage sale of the season on Saturday and got some wonderful hand-painted plates, and a very cute what-not jar -- and then I left them at our summer cottage.

Yes, I know it's not summer, but we went there on Saturday and stayed overnight. Last summer, on the hottest day of the year, we had baseboard heating installed. What a godsend. It extends our use of the cottage by at least 2.5 months a year.

We went back today to take our new-to-us wicker set, and bring back an old box spring and mattress (now sitting at the curb).

Alas, no pictures, but I'll try to take some next weekend. (And hope it's sunny.)

Lots of plans for the cottage this year. New bookshelves in the living room. Replace the bunkbeds (the children grew up) with a day bed. Paint the porch floor. Paint the bathroom (and maybe add beadboard). And paint the big dresser. That ought to keep me occupied for a couple of months.

SHOPPING FUN!

Last week on my travels, I made it to Batavia, NY-- home of Oliver's Own Make Candy to stock up for Easter. Yum-yum! Boy, was it crowded! Seems like everybody else had the same idea.

As it was a gorgeous, sunny day, I decided to explore a bit and found a wonderful little shop called Present Tense Book & Gift Shop. What a delight. They had all kinds of goodies, including these marvelous hand-made, fabric purses. Did I buy one? No! It wasn't until I got home that I kicked myself. (Ouch!) They had a nice selection of books, but not many paperbacks. Lots of lovely handmade candles and soaps, teas and coffees, and other specialty items.

Next time I head that way to stock up on candy, I'll make sure I stop at Present Tense, too.

HAPPY EASTER

I BE BAD

For some reason, I'm spending money like a drunken sailor this week. Sunday, I visited a Volunteers of America store, and found what I'd been looking for, for at least two years--a three-piece wicker set: love seat, and two chairs. They're a bit faded (white to ivory), so I'm going to paint them a crisp, bright white as soon as the weather gets nice, but other than that, they're in wonderful shape. (The love seat looks somewhat like this picture.)

I went to Pier 1 looking for cushions and the price turned me off more than the limited selection. What's a girl to do? Why, check out J.C. Penney, of course. Naturally, I couldn't capture the picture, because it's some kind of flash deal. Suffice to say, it's pink and floral. (What else?) They're going on my enclosed porch, although I'm a bit dubious about them actually all fitting on one side of the porch. I hope to find a little wicker table on sale, too.

Next up, my poor day bed has a ton of pretty pillows, but no cover--and has sat that way for about a year. I finally bit the bullet and decided--what the heck--to look online to see if I could find something pretty. Oh yes! I was able to capture that picture. My day bed doesn't have a metal front piece like the one pictured, but I'm sure the cover will look pretty when I get it in my little girly guest room.

Lastly, I bought a new camera. Holy smoke the thing is complicated. I figured out how to turn it on and take a picture, but that's about all. Now to figure out how to get the pictures out of the camera. Maybe I'll have it figured out another day.

HEARTS

I've got a lotta heart. Or rather, hearts. For some reason, I like to hang them on door handles, be it closets, cabinets--whatever, and I thought I'd share them. I've been collecting them for a couple of years now. I've got them made from old patchwork quilts (and wouldn't you know I didn't photograph those ones), some that were meant to be Christmas tree ornaments, and some that were just meant to be hung on ... doors.

This fourth one was made by my mother, and it's probably my favorite. She made it out of scraps she had on hand, and used her embroidery sewing machine (doing the crazy quilt stitch--whatever that's officially called).

I really like the beaded one (yup, a Christmas ornament), which is probably my second favorite.
Okay, there is a star that snuck in there, too. (Yup, another Christmas ornament). And there's a round one, too -- that was a yard sale find.

KEEPING IT SIMPLE

I have a love-hate relationship with my bedroom. It's too small. There's just enough room for our king-size bed, a couple of dressers and nightstands. Other houses on the street have similar layouts to ours, but the bedrooms are larger. I wish we had one of them. My parents live up the street and their master bedroom is much bigger. They also have an en suite bathroom. (Boy, would I like that!)

When we were house hunting one of the bedrooms we saw had a bump out with a loveseat and a floor lamp, making it a perfect reading nook. (If we'd bought that house, we would've still been close to relatives, because my brother bought the house right across the street.)

My father made most of the furniture in my bedroom. The headboard, the seven-day lingerie dresser, and the nightstands. He also made a HUGE, oak double shelf for over the bed. The problem is . . . I've never quite known what to put up there. It looks a bit odd with all that space and not much on it. My side has the books on it -- Hubby doesn't really collect anything. I just have a few odds and end on there now. I don't want to put anything too heavy up there--just in case it should fall. (Not likely, but we're paranoid.) I had thought about collecting ceramic swans (like the white planter already up there), but they aren't as available as I would've hoped.

Meanwhile, the top of the lingerie dresser looks okay to me.
BTW, that isn't our real wedding photo. We were at the State Fair and went to one of those old time photography places. I didn't want to be a showgirl, so I choose bride. I'm surprised my boyfriend (now hubby) wasn't scared off, as we didn't get married for another four years. My mother made the wall hanging, and Hubby gave me the Stafforshire dog one Christmas. The little Occupied Japan what-not jar may be a butter keeper (I'm not sure), which a friend of my mother's gave to me. The little fake ivy (and why would I like that?) came from a home decorating store. (Wish I bought more of them.) The doily was a wedding gift from my dad's cousin in Scotland.

Yeah, I like my dresser top. Any ideas on what to put on my long wooden shelf?